An Analysis and Refutation of Their Footnote #4

Lastly, the Resistance Dominicans wrote a footnote for their "last advice" sentence that I want to address. Here is the aforementioned sentence which references the footnote: "Last advice: Rather than read these novels where errors abound, it would be better to read Holy Scripture with good commentary based on the Fathers of the Church³, or even good lives of the saints⁴". Now here is their footnote #4 for the sentence:

4. The lives of the Saints, except in the case of a bad biography, make us remain in the real rather than depart into the imaginary, as is the case of these "visions". The lives of Saints have what is needed to nourish the imagination, the heart and the intelligence of all Christians, even the most simple. Even today, one can find good illustrated lives of the saints.

Apparently, then, if the Resistance Dominicans are correct, then no one should be reading the scriptural book of the Canticle of Canticles (also known as "The Song of Songs") in the Holy Bible, because it does not "remain in the real but departs into the imaginary". Apparently, then, if the Resistance Dominicans are correct, that book of Scripture doesn't have any value and the Catholic Church made a mistake in including that book in the canon of Scripture.

This statement of the Resistance Dominicans is absurd, unbalanced, is not consistent with the teaching of the Church, and can be easily refuted. It furthermore contains the logical fallacy of the false equivalence which I will get to shortly, but first I want to address something else first.

Fr. Kevin Robinson, FSSPX, wrote:149

The Poem ... is really the remedy of sentimentalism in matters of faith. It is no more sensual than the works of St. Ignatius, who encourages the use of all five senses, plus imagination, in his 'Spiritual Exercises'. The Biblical Book 'Canticle of Canticles' could be charged with the same falsehood by the spiritually immature. Valtorta always leads from the senses to the spiritual, the sublime, and the supernatural.

According to the logic of the Resistance Dominicans, one shouldn't be reading St. John of the Cross's mystical writings, because it is "imaginary", and its plot describes a very flowery, imaginary mystical process of the soul's experiences with God, as explained in this introduction to his Spiritual Canticle:150

Although these canticles resulted from a love flowing out of abundant mystical understanding, they cannot declare fully the understanding or experience. John asks in the Prologue: "Who can describe in writing the understanding he [the Beloved] gives to loving souls in whom He dwells? And who can express with words the experience He imparts to them? Who, finally, can explain the desires He gives them? Certainly, no one can! Not even they who receive these communications." Always, as John explains in stanza 7, there is an "I-don't-know-what" that strives to be articulated, something further to say, something unknown, not yet spoken, a sublime trace of God still uninvestigated but revealed to the mystic. The effort to convey the contents of the experience becomes sheer stammering.

Faced with an inability to make their experience clearly known and at the same time feeling a loving impulse to convey it outwardly, these persons who speak of mysteries and secrets seem to be uttering absurdities. But the apparent absurdities of the poetic images and similes are a more powerful means than rational explanations for expressing the mystical experience; they can suggest so much more about its contents. John, in fact, points out that his is the method of the Holy Spirit who, "unable to express the plenitude of His meaning in ordinary words, utters mysteries in strange figures and likenesses," as for example in the Song of Songs.

In fact the Song of Songs is the principal source of The Spiritual Canticle. In this biblical work John found an expression of his own profound experience, and also found the scenes, images, and words, even though sometimes foreign to his environment, with which to create his own work.

Apparently, the Resistance Dominicans think they know better than St. John of the Cross and the many Popes, theologians, and pious priests and lay faithful who have been reading St. John of the Cross's "imaginary" works for centuries, with great profit. According to the Resistance Dominicans, all these clerics and faithful shouldn't have been reading this saint's works because, in their opinion, they don't consider it "real" enough and it isn't worth people's time (and God shouldn't have given St. John of the Cross those mystical experiences and have him write them down) because (to quote the Resistance Dominicans) "it departs into the imaginary".

The Resistance Dominicans categorize Valtorta's writings as "imaginary" as opposed to "real" like a biography of a saint. This argument is invalid because not only does it presume that Valtorta's visions are not visions of historical events (whereas many renowned theologians and scientists believe they are historically accurate), but they suggest that, even if it were fiction (like parts of the revelations attributed to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich are and parts of Mary of Agreda's Mystical City of God, which was promulgated by multiple Popes, are), there would be no profit to be gained from reading such a work of, allegedly, fiction. There have been thousands of renowned works of Catholic fiction which have been very effective in promoting faith and evangelization. One of the most notable and well known is Venerable Mary of Agreda's Mystical City of God, which is loaded with historical errors, but was nevertheless promoted by multiple Popes, imprimatured, and graced with a papal apostolic blessing. On the secular side of things, fans of the devout Catholic Tolkien's Lord of the Rings would object to the idea that if something is fiction, that it has no value or meaningful symbolism. People who enjoyed legitimately good religious novels or films such as Ben Hur, The Robe, The Great Fisherman, The Silver Chalice, The Spear, would object to the idea that there is no value in such works of fiction and that they should be avoided exclusively in favor of "real" biographies of saints.

This argument of the Resistance Dominicans is invalid from another point of view as well. You can pick up many books and writings of many saints, such as of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Teresa of Avila, who have written extensively about the benefits and the necessity for Catholics to engage in meditation, where one imagines a spiritual/religious scene, and one paints the environment with one's imagination, immerses oneself into it, and converses with God, and derives some spiritual benefit from it. In fact, the SSPX is well known for strongly encouraging Catholics to attend their Ignatian retreats where this type of "imaginary" meditation is a major component of the activities of the retreat. The Resistance Dominicans cannot possibly claim that all of these hundreds of personal meditations done each year by retreatants have no "imaginary" aspect to them, and that, consequently, there is no value in them. The testimonies of retreatants would confirm otherwise.

Fr. Kevin Robinson, FSSPX, was correct in calling "spiritually immature" those who try to claim that there is no benefit in using imagination in meditation. He was correct, because imagination is used in St. Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises and in the Word of God (Scripture), especially in the Canticle of Canticles.

In fact, because it is so relevant to the topic at hand, I will include below what I wrote under "Refutation of Argument Form #4" in the chapter of my e-book entitled "Analyzing and Refuting Some Critic's Arguments that it Appeals Too Much to the Sensitivity or Presents a De-Supernaturalized Christ Because it Contains So Many Details of the Human Side of Our Lord's Life" (see the e-book for the refutation of the other three variations of this groundless argument).

A few critics claim that the Poem presents a humanized, de-supernaturalized Christ because it gives so many details of the human side of Our Lord's life (His words, conversations, travels, detailed scenes, etc.) They are concerned that the Poem’s giving so many details of Our Lord's daily life makes Him too material, and brings us down from the spiritual level of the four Gospels.

That is a legitimate concern to have for a private revelation about which one has little knowledge, or about one which has not been adequately researched yet, but when one researches the Poem of the Man-God in depth, this concern proves to be completely unfounded, and I'll explain why.

There is a book entitled In the Likeness of Christ (originally published in 1936) written by Rev. Fr. Edward Leen, D.D. (1885-1944, a Holy Ghost Father who earned a Doctorate in Divinity and was an author of several highly acclaimed books in the 1930s and 1940s). His book In the Likeness of Christ is sold by the Society of St. Pius X's Angelus Press. This book's whole thesis is centered on the benefits and even the need to understand and contemplate the humanity of Jesus in all of its details. Here is an excerpt from the introduction:151

Now what the soul, eager to advance, and completely won to the ideal of "putting on Christ," desires above all else to know is, how is this to be done? What practical co-operation is it called on, itself, to furnish, in order that its lofty ambition be gratified? In effecting divine instincts in the soul, the Holy Ghost is principal agent. Results of a divine kind can proceed only from a cause which is, itself, divine. But God deigns to make use of an instrument in carrying out this work of the sanctification of His creatures. That instrument is the Sacred Humanity of Jesus---it is Jesus, as expressed in the whole sum of His earthly experience, active, as well as passive. All know this.

...Few grasp the far-reaching significance of the well-known words of St. Paul: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31). This is more than a pious exhortation to the cultivation of a right intention; it is the formulation of a profound truth---a truth too little understood. The supernatural life, as has been so often repeated in these recent years, is not something apart from, or beside, much less in opposition to, or destructive of the natural. It is the natural elevated, transmuted, penetrated through and through with a divine leaven. Grace necessarily implies the existence of what it elevates. It presupposes human life, not partially or in some scattered and isolated elements, but in its totality. It is the life of man, as man, that grace sets out to sublimate and refine unto the refinement of God. It is through man's own life, taken in all its activities and passivities, in its thoughts, views, judgments, decisions, in its deliberate emotions and reactions; in its outward activities as guided by his rational faculties, in all its willed contact with circumstances, with things, with men, and with God; it is through and by means of all this that man is to be wrought to a better, to a divine form.

The instrument of man's sanctification is, in a subordinate sense, man's own human life. This conclusion is not in contradiction to, but supplementary to, the statement made above, namely, that the human life of Christ is the instrument of the divinity in the divinization of the human soul. For the work of sanctification consists, precisely, in establishing vital contact between two life experiences---the life experience of Christ and the life experience of the Christian. Everything is in that.

...The first step in the spiritual ways is to aim at developing and cultivating a strong personal admiration for Jesus of Nazareth---Who loves to style Himself the Son of Man. By a psychological law, admiration begets love, and love inspires imitation. He who admires the Man Jesus will feel impelled to imitate Him in His life, His principles, and His actions. It is a matter of common observation that those who look up to and admire other characters tend, insensibly, to shape their thoughts and conduct to the pattern of the thoughts and conduct of such characters. The willing and devoted follower is gradually molded to the form of his chief...In a somewhat similar way, the human character of the Christ gradually forms to its own likeness those who strive to cultivate an enthusiastic admiration for Him.

...The divinity works through the Sacred Humanity and directly gaining the hearts and souls of men can work transforming effects there. Grace reinforces and gives supernatural energy to the natural psychological influence of a Great Personality on its admirers. When one has learnt to admire Jesus, and through that admiration is insensibly drawn to imitate Him, the grace of the Man-God enters into action to make that imitation real and effective, in the inner dispositions of the soul and in the outward forms of conduct.

The Poem of the Man-God reveals these details about Jesus: His activities, thoughts, views, judgments, decisions, deliberate holy emotions and reactions, His outward activities as guided by his rational faculties, His willed contact with circumstances, with things, with men, and with God. Learning from Jesus in this way helps to elevate men to a higher spirituality -- to be "divinized" as sons of God. Far from being an obstacle to growth in holiness and progressing on a spiritual level, seeing these details in Christ's life is an aid -- and according to the author of this book -- the most perfect aid -- to achieve this.

Maria Valtorta reports Jesus said to her:152

And also the third year of My public life has come to its end. Now comes the preparatory period for My Passion. That is, the period in which everything seems confined to few actions and few people. It almost decries My figure and My mission. In actual fact He, Who seemed defeated and rejected, was the hero getting ready for His apotheosis, and around Him were concentrated and elevated to this highest peak not people, but the passions of people.

Everything that preceded and that in certain episodes perhaps seemed aimless to ill-disposed or superficial readers, is now illuminated by its gloomy or bright light. Particularly the most important figures. Those that many will not admit are useful to know, just because they contain the lesson for the present masters, who more than ever are to be instructed to become true masters of the spirit. As I said to John and Manaen, nothing of what God does is useless, not even a thin blade of grass. Thus nothing is superfluous in this work. Neither the magnificent figures nor the weak and gloomy ones. On the contrary, the weak and gloomy figures are more useful to the masters of the spirit than the perfected and heroic ones.

As from the height of a mountain, near its summit, it is possible to take in the whole structure of the mountain and the reasons for the existence of woods, torrents, meadow and slopes, to reach the peak from the plain, and one can see all the beauty of the sight, and is more deeply convinced that the works of God are all useful and wonderful, and that one serves and completes another, and they are all present to form the beauty of Creation; thus, always with regard to those whose spirits are righteous, all the different figures, episodes, lessons of these three years of My life spent in evangelizing, contemplated from the height of the summit of My work as a Master, serve to give the right view of that complex, which is political, religious, social, collective, spiritual, selfish to the extent of being criminal, or unselfish to the point of sacrifice, in which complex I was a Master and in which I became the Redeemer. The grandiosity of a drama is not seen in one scene, but in all its parts. The figure of the protagonist emerges from the different lights by which secondary parts illuminate it.

We are now close to the summit, and the summit was the Sacrifice for which I became incarnate, and as all the most secret feelings of hearts and all the intrigues of sects have been disclosed, we can only do what the wayfarer does when he reaches the summit, that is, to look at everything and everybody; to become acquainted with the Jewish world; to know what I was: the Man above senses, selfishness, hatred, the Man Who had to be tempted by all sorts of people to take vengeance, to seek power, to wish for the honest delights of marriage and family life, the Man Who had to put up with everything living in the world and suffer by it, because infinite was the distance between the imperfection and sin of the world and My Perfection, the Man Who replied "No" to all the voices, to all the allurements, to all the reactions of the world, of Satan and of My human ego. And I remained pure, loyal, merciful, humble, obedient even to death on a Cross.

Will all this be understood by modern society, to which I grant this knowledge of Myself to strengthen it against the more and more powerful attacks of Satan and the world? Also nowadays, as twenty centuries ago, those to whom I reveal Myself will contradict one another. Once again I am the sign of contradiction. But not with regard to Myself, but with regard to what I stir up in them. Good people, those of good will, will have the good reactions of the shepherds and of humble people. The others will react in a wicked manner, like the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and priests of those days. One gives what one has. A good person who comes in touch with wicked people provokes a surge of greater wickedness in them. And judgement will be passed on men as it was done on Good Friday, according to how they have judged, accepted and followed the Master, Who with a fresh attempt of infinite mercy has made Himself known once again.

How many people's eyes will open and how many will acknowledge Me saying: "It is He. That is why our hearts burnt within us as He talked and explained the Scriptures to us"? My peace to them and to you, My little, faithful, loving [Maria].

Camillo Corsánego (1891-1963) was national president of Catholic Action in Italy, Dean of the Consistorial Lawyers, and a professor at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, and he wrote:153

Throughout my life, by now fairly long, I have read a very large number of works in apologetics, hagiography [saints' lives], theology, and biblical criticism; however, I have never found such a body of knowledge, art, devotion, and adherence to the traditional teachings of the Church, as in Miss Maria Valtorta's work on the Gospels.

Having read those numerous pages attentively and repeatedly, I must in all conscience declare that with respect to the woman who wrote them only two hypotheses can be made: a) either she was talented like Manzoni or Shakespeare, and her scriptural and theological learning and her knowledge of the Holy Places were perfect, at any rate superior to those of anyone alive in Italy today; b) or else "digitus Dei est hic" ["God's finger is here"].

Obedient as I am (and as, with God's grace, I intend being all my life) to the supreme and infallible Magisterium of the Church, I will never dare take its place. Yet, as a humble Christian, I profess that I think the publication of this work will help to take many souls back to God, and will arouse in the modern world an apologetic interest and a leavening of Christian life comparable only to the effects of the private revelation [of the Sacred Heart] to St. Marie Alacoque.

It has been said that the Work lowers the adorable Person of the Saviour. Nothing could be more wrong: Christians, I believe, usually after having affirmed faith in Jesus Christ, God and man, always forget to consider the humanity of the Incarnate Word, Whom He is regarded as the true God, but rarely as true Man, frustrating the invitation to many ways of sanctification, which is offered to us by the exemplary human life of the Son of God.

Anyone who reads [even] a limited number of these wonderful pages, literally perfect, if he has a mind free of prejudices, cannot not draw from them the fruits of Christian elevation.

Repeating part of the excerpt from In the Likeness of Christ quoted earlier:154

The instrument of man's sanctification is, in a subordinate sense, man's own human life. This conclusion is not in contradiction to, but supplementary to, the statement made above, namely, that the human life of Christ is the instrument of the divinity in the divinization of the human soul. For the work of sanctification consists, precisely, in establishing vital contact between two life experiences---the life experience of Christ and the life experience of the Christian. Everything is in that.

...The first step in the spiritual ways is to aim at developing and cultivating a strong personal admiration for Jesus of Nazareth---Who loves to style Himself the Son of Man. By a psychological law, admiration begets love, and love inspires imitation. He who admires the Man Jesus will feel impelled to imitate Him in His life, His principles, and His actions. It is a matter of common observation that those who look up to and admire other characters tend, insensibly, to shape their thoughts and conduct to the pattern of the thoughts and conduct of such characters. The willing and devoted follower is gradually molded to the form of his chief...In a somewhat similar way, the human character of the Christ gradually forms to its own likeness those who strive to cultivate an enthusiastic admiration for Him.

...The divinity works through the Sacred Humanity and directly gaining the hearts and souls of men can work transforming effects there. Grace reinforces and gives supernatural energy to the natural psychological influence of a Great Personality on its admirers. When one has learnt to admire Jesus, and through that admiration is insensibly drawn to imitate Him, the grace of the Man-God enters into action to make that imitation real and effective, in the inner dispositions of the soul and in the outward forms of conduct.

By studying the life, words, and actions of Jesus during His life, we can better imitate Him and grow in holiness. Jesus gave Maria Valtorta a dictation which explains one of the reasons why He has given these revelations (to serve as a model) and in which He directly answers one of the arguments of some critics that reading details about His life in Maria Valtorta's works presents a "de-supernaturalized" Christ or a too "humanized" Christ. Jesus says:155

With so many books dealing with Me and which, after so many revisions, changes, and fineries have become unreal, I want to give those who believe in Me a vision brought back to the truth of My mortal days. I am not diminished thereby, on the contrary I am made greater in My humility, which becomes substantial nourishment for you, to teach you to be humble and like Me, as I was a man like you and in My human life I bore the perfection of a God. I was to be your Model, and models must always be perfect.

Fr. Kevin Robinson, FSSPX (Priestly Fraternity of the Society of St. Pius X) wrote:156

...The works of St. Ignatius encourages the use of all five senses, plus imagination, in his 'Spiritual Exercises'. The Biblical Book 'Canticle of Canticles' could be charged with the same falsehood by the spiritually immature. [Just like him], Valtorta always leads from the senses to the spiritual, the sublime, and the supernatural.

It is these unprecedented details in Christ's life (most especially His word -- that is, His speeches; and how He responded to other people's actions and words) which provides such nourishing food and raises our soul towards the supernatural.

John Haffert was a co-founder and the head of the famous Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, which is a public international association promoting Fatima that once consisted of 25 million members. John Haffert met with Sr. Lucy (the Fatima visionary) and worked with her to develop the "Fatima Pledge" in 1946 that all members had to ascribe to. He was also the editor of Scapular Magazine, which was responsible for helping one million Americans become enrolled in the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima.157 John Haffert was a very significant figure in the Catholic Church from the 1940s until his retirement in 1987. He was a strong advocate of the Poem of the Man-God, and wrote in 1995:158

"I have the 10 volumes of The Poem of the Man-God in Italian and French. It is the most wonderful work I have ever read and I consider it a blessing of God. I'm in my seventies. And in my entire life, among all the books I've read, The Poem of the Man-God is the one that has done me the most good in my spiritual life."

John Haffert also wrote a 17-page booklet about the Poem entitled That Wonderful Poem! which is available online here: That Wonderful Poem! by John M. Haffert.

What is interesting to us in this discussion is what he reports the former Bishop of Fatima said on this subject. In this booklet, John Haffert talks about Bishop John Venancio (Bishop of Fatima from 1954-1972 and learned theologian who taught dogmatic theology at a pontifical university in Rome, and who was the one who provided important evidence about the Third Secret of Fatima).

John Haffert discusses Bishop John Venancio below:159

I happened to be in Rome with the Most Rev. John Venancio, the Bishop of Fatima, when he sought out a special bookstore to purchase the ten volumes of the Italian edition [of the Poem of the Man-God]. It had been recommended by a highly esteemed friend in Paris, the celebrated author-editor, Abbé André Richard.

Years later, after Bishop Venancio retired, whenever I visited him our conversation seemed to turn to the Poem. In his last years the Bishop read from it every day. He must have read all ten volumes over and over. I began to wonder what could be so special about it. The Bishop was widely read and had a sizable library. He had been a professor of dogmatic theology in Rome before becoming the Bishop of Fatima. Yet now, when he had ample time to read anything he wished, he seemed to spend all his time on this one book... Having struggled -- like millions before me -- with the mystery of the dual nature of Jesus, I said one day to Bishop Venancio, before I myself had begun to read the Poem: "Does it help you to understand Jesus at once as God and man?"

The holy bishop (and let it be remembered he was a learned theologian who had taught dogmatic theology at the university in Rome) seemed to be looking into the Divine Light, as he sighed: "Oh, more and more!"

Most who read the Poem will have this experience. They will discover Jesus. But how... except by those more than 3,000 pages... will they be able to tell others what He is really like?

Contrary to some critics who try to say that the details are a bad thing, Maria Valtorta reports that Jesus said that the details will help souls come to Him, in the following dictation given on January 25, 1944:160

To those few who are so entirely Mine, without reserve, I open the treasures of revelations and contemplations, and give Myself without reserve.

However, Maria, I choose you for the role of making known My Divinity, in its different manifestations, among those who need to be awakened and led to glimpse God.

Remember to be scrupulous to the utmost in repeating what you see. Even a single trifle has value, and it is not yours, but Mine. It is thus not licit for you to hold it back. It would be dishonest and selfish. Remember that you are the reservoir for the Divine Water into which that water is poured, so that all may come to draw from it.

As regards the dictations, you have arrived at the most faithful fidelity. In the contemplations you observe a great deal -- but in the haste of writing, and on account of your special conditions in health and surroundings -- it happens that you omit some details. You must not do so. Place them at the foot of the page, but write down all of them. This is not a reproach -- it is sweet advice from your Master...

The more attentive and precise you are, the more numerous those who come to Me will be, and the greater your present spiritual happiness and your future eternal happiness will be.

Go in peace. Your Lord is with you.

What is written in the Poem helps us to understand the canonical Gospels better, and to love Jesus more. Archbishop Alfonso Carinci was the Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Rites from 1930 to 1960 and was the one in charge of investigating causes of pre-Vatican II beatifications and canonizations. He studied Maria Valtorta's writings in depth. He praised Maria Valtorta and the Poem, writing in 1952:

"There is nothing therein which is contrary to the Gospel. Rather, this work, a good complement to the Gospel, contributes towards a better understanding of its meaning... Our Lord's discourses do not contain anything which in any way might be contrary to His Spirit."161

Archbishop Carinci also stated:

 "...it seems impossible to me that a woman of a very ordinary theological culture, and unprovided with any book useful to that end, had been able on her own to write with such exactness pages so sublime [...] Judging from the good one experiences in reading it [i.e., The Poem], I am of the humble opinion that this Work, once published, could bring so many souls to the Lord: sinners to conversion and the good to a more fervent and diligent life. [...] While the immoral press invades the world and exhibitions corrupt youth, one comes spontaneously to thank the Lord for having given us, by means of this suffering woman, nailed to a bed, a Work of such literary beauty, so doctrinally and spiritually lofty, accessible and profound, drawing one to read it and capable of being reproduced in cinematic productions and sacred theater."162

Souls of good will who read the Poem of the Man-God and give it an honest chance find out how wonderful it is. They learn about Jesus. They grow to love Jesus. They learn about both Jesus' humanity and His divinity. They become holier.

Fr. Ludovic-Marie Barrielle (the first spiritual director and professor of the SSPX Econe seminary, a confessor of Archbishop Lefebvre, and an expert in St. Ignatius of Loyola's discernment of spirits) said to the SSPX Econe seminarians: "If you wish to know and love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, read Valtorta!"163

Fr. Kevin Robinson, FSSPX, relates:164

I have read about a 1,000 pages a year of Valtorta for 20 years, since Fr. (now Bishop) Williamson appointed me to run the seminary bookstore. He was led to read it by the great Retreat Master of Econe, Fr. Barrielle.

I have in my office a huge file "pro", and a small file "con" of the works of Maria Valtorta. I have the 10-volume Italian edition for reference with its many profound footnotes. The pros far outweigh the cons.

The holiest and most learned clergy I know are those who appreciate Valtorta, including two Rome-trained Pre-Vatican II Doctors of Canon Law who only say the Tridentine Mass.

A professor and sculptor friend of Maria Valtorta wrote in 1965: "[her works] have completely transformed my inner life. The knowledge of Christ has become so total as to make the Gospels clear to me and make me live them in everyday life better" (Lorenzo Ferri). All those among our parishioners who have read Valtorta say the same thing.

An article relates:165

The Poem is wholly orthodox, and in fact promotes "traditional values" such as the role of the husband and the wife, children to their parents, obedience and respect due to priests, reverence due to the Eucharist, etc. And while the text presents the life of Jesus horizontally in His day-to-day life, it is also distinctly vertically-oriented as well, always directing the reader's gaze upwards towards sublime spiritual realities, such as Christ's majesty and magnificence as King. There is quite a profound Marian component in the writings as well, which magnify and glorify the deeper Mysteries of the Faith, such as the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, the role of Mary as Queen of Heaven and sharer in Christ's suffering as Co-Redemptrix.

Let us note also that those who opposed the Poem are often those who never actually read it -- or, if they have, have only briefly thumbed its pages in cursory fashion. For if they took the time to read it, they would not have tolerated the anonymous letters in L'Osservatore Romano, one of which called the Poem a "mountain of childishness" -- a most peculiar claim, since even an atheist can admit that its content is more than merely indiscernible ramblings of a delusional woman. It is a brilliantly written narrative -- written in the same tradition of private revelation as Catherine Emmerich or Maria Agreda -- that keeps perfect track of Jesus, Mary, and over five-hundred characters, none of whom are in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the words of Fr. Gabriel M. Roschini, who Pope Paul VI praised for his commentary on the Poem:

"I must candidly admit that the Mariology found in Maria Valtorta's writings, whether published or not, has been for me a real discovery. No other Marian writing, not even the sum total of all the writings I have read and studied [he wrote over 130 truly orthodox books about Our Lady] were able to give me as clear, as lively, as complete, as luminous, or as fascinating an image, both simple and sublime, of Mary, God's Masterpiece."

Fr. Kevin Robinson, FSSPX (Priestly Fraternity of the Society of St. Pius X) wrote:166

If The Poem at times seems sentimental, it is really the remedy of sentimentalism in matters of faith. It is no more sensual than the works of St. Ignatius, who encourages the use of all five senses, plus imagination, in his 'Spiritual Exercises'. Valtorta always leads from the senses to the spiritual, the sublime, and the supernatural.

But there is a certain category of people who are incredulous, obstinate, and of bad will. They don't want to believe that God would be so good as to give such expansive and detailed revelations about Christ's life and His Words during His earthly life. Almost always, if it isn't otherwise due to being misinformed or ignorant about the Poem (which constitutes the vast majority of the critics), it is due to pride or a weak faith. Christ gave a dictation where He discusses this:167

One of the greatest sorrows I have is seeing how rationalism has infiltrated into hearts, even into hearts that say they are Mine. It would be useless to let the other priests share in such a gift [His revelations to Maria Valtorta]. It is precisely among them that one finds those who, while preaching Me and My past miracles, deny My Power, as if I were no longer the Christ, capable of speaking again to souls who languish for lack of My Word; nearly admitting a current incapacity on My part for miracles and for making grace powerful in a heart.

To believe is a sign of purity as well as of faith. To believe is intelligence as well as faith. One who believes with purity and with intelligence distinguishes My Voice and gathers it in.

The others quibble, argue, criticize, deny. And why? Because they live from their heaviness and not from their spirit. They are anchored to the things they have found, and do not consider that these are things that have come from men who have not always seen correctly; and even if they have seen and written correctly, they have written for their own times and have been badly understood by those of the future. They do not consider that I could have something else to say, suitable to the needs of the times, and that I am Master of saying it however and to whomever I please, since I am God and the Eternal Word Who never ceases being the Word of the Father.

Now, I believe it is demonstrated above that the material details of Our Lord's life helps souls and does not present a humanized, de-supernaturalized Christ because it gives so many details of the human side of Our Lord's life (His words, conversations, travels, detailed scenes, etc.) Also, the Poem’s giving so many physical details of Our Lord's daily life in no way brings us down from the spiritual level of the four canonized Gospels. It rather helps our souls to meditate and to know Christ because these details aid us in our meditation of Him. A famous saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words." In the Poem, we not only hear Christ's Words to a much greater degree than before, but we see His actions in the context necessary to understand them to a much greater degree than before.

But, you have to realize something (and most critics seem woefully unaware of these facts):

1. A huge percentage of the Poem of the Man-God is not detailed descriptions of the human side of Christ's life: His travels, conversations, detailed description of his surroundings and the people present, etc; but a huge percentage of the Poem of the Man-God are speeches that Christ gives. If the other details "bother" you, just read His speeches then! And there is no way that any sane judge can accuse His speeches of being "sentimental" (in a derogatory sense), "focusing too much on material details", etc. In fact, His speeches are among the loftiest words you will probably read in any spiritual book anywhere. For more details, see the subchapters of this e-book entitled "Proof By the Writing's Extraordinary Purity, Holiness, Loftiness, and Eminence Among the Writings that Exist in the World" and "Proof by its Knowledge, Depth, and Eminence in the Theological, Exegetical, Mystical, and Mariological Fields (Which Many World-Renowned Trustworthy Theologians Say Exceed Anything They Have Ever Read)".

2. The Poem of the Man-God is only about 60% of Maria Valtorta's total writings. In addition to the approximately 4,200 printed pages of the Poem of the Man-God (a.k.a. The Gospel as Revealed to Me), she wrote a total of over 1900 printed pages published under the title The Notebooks which cover a whole range of topics from visions of the early Church, the Eucharist as the greatest miracle, commentaries on Old Testament prophecies pertaining to our times, mystical theology and the spiritual life, the End Times and the Book of the Apocalypse, along with a tremendous number of other topics. She also wrote 336 printed pages of dictations from her guardian angel of lessons for the 58 Sunday Masses found in the traditional Roman Missal published under the title The Book of Azariah, which are phenomenal words, explanations, and theology. She also has 310 printed pages on a commentary on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans dictated by the Holy Spirit, which are invaluable. All of her other writings outside of the Poem of the Man-God do not cover details of Our Lord's life as much and are kept on a more "purely spiritual level", and so if you are one who does not appreciate material details of Our Lord's life as described in the Poem, read these other works instead then! There is absolutely no way that these other works can ever be accused of being sentimental or being too much focused on non-spiritual details.

Now I just want to address two more possible objections about the details of Christ's Life as revealed in the Poem.

The first objection might be someone saying, "But the length of Jesus' speeches are short and simple in the canonized Gospels. Perhaps it is not believable that Maria saw actual visions of what Christ said because He is so much more powerful and detailed in His speeches in the Poem as compared to His speeches in the canonized Gospels."

Jesus addresses this objection in a dictation which He gave to Maria Valtorta:168

I know the objection by many: "Jesus spoke simply." In the parables I spoke simply because I was addressing crowds of common folk. But when I spoke to cultured minds---Israelite or Roman or Greek---I spoke as was most appropriate for perfect Wisdom.

My words, moreover, in the versions of the Evangelists, just two of them were Apostles---and if one observes closely, they are the two Gospels most clearly mirroring Me, for Luke's, good stylistically, may be better termed the Gospel of My Mother and My Childhood, abundantly relating details in relation thereto which the others do not narrate, rather than the Gospel of My public life, being more an echo of the others rather than a new light, as is that of John, the perfect Evangelist of the Light who is Christ the God-Man---the versions, I was saying, of My words were greatly reduced by the Evangelists, to the point of being diminished to a skeleton---more an allusion than a version. A fact which deprives them of the stylistic form which I had given them.

The Teacher is in Matthew (see the Sermon on the Mount, the instructions for the Apostles, the praise of the Baptist and the rest of this chapter, the first episode in Chapter 15 and the heavenly sign, [the subject of] divorce in Chapter 19, and chapters 22, 23 and 24). The Teacher is [also] in the luminous Gospel of John, above all, the Apostle in love, fused in charity with his Christ the Light. Compare what this Gospel reveals about Christ the Orator, to what is displayed in this regard by the essential scantiness of Mark's Gospel---precise in the episodes he had heard from Peter, but reduced to a minimum---and you will see whether I, the Word, used only a very humble style, or whether the power of the Perfect Word did not often flash forward in Me. Yes, it shines out in John, though quite reduced in a few episodes.

Now, if to [Maria Valtorta] I have wanted to grant an increase in knowledge of Me and My teaching, why should this make you incredulous and obstinate? Open up. Open your intellects and hearts, and bless Me for what I have given you.

Jesus addresses another objection:169

When I reveal to you unknown episodes in My public life, I already hear the chorus of difficult doctors saying, "But this fact is not mentioned in the Gospels. How can she say, 'I saw this?'" I respond to them with the words of the Gospels.

"And Jesus passed through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all the weakness and illnesses," Matthew says. (Matthew 4:23, 9:35)

And, in addition: "Go and tell John what you see and hear: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, and the good news is announced to the poor." (Matthew 11:4-5, Luke 7:22)

And, in addition: "Woe to you, Chorazin; woe to you, Bethsaida -- for if in Tyre and Sidon the miracles worked in your midst had taken place, for a long time now they would have been doing penance in sackcloth and ashes... And you, Capernaum -- will you be exalted to Heaven? You will descend to hell, for if in Sodom the miracles worked in you had taken place, it might still exist." (Matthew 11:20-24, Luke 10: 13-15)

And Mark: "... And many people followed Him from Galilee, Judah, ldumaea, and beyond the Jordan. Many people, having heard what He was doing, also came to Him from the surroundings of Tyre and Sidon..." (Mark 3:7-8)

And Luke: "Jesus went through the cities and villages, preaching and announcing the good news and the Kingdom of God, and with Him were the twelve and some women who had been freed from evil spirits and infirmities." (Luke 8:1-3)

And My John: "After this, Jesus went beyond the Sea of Galilee, and a great crowd followed Him because they saw the miracles worked by Him among the sick." (John 6:1-2)

And since John was present at all the miracles of whatever nature -- which I worked for three years -- the beloved one bears Me this unlimited witness: "This is the disciple who has seen these things and has written them. We know that his testimony is true. There are, moreover, other things done by Jesus, and, if they were to be written one by one, I believe the world could not contain the books which would have to be written." (John 21:24-25)

So? What do the doctors of quibbling say now?

If My goodness -- to relieve a woman who loves Me and bears My cross for you... to awaken you from the lethargy in which you are dying -- makes known episodes in this ministry, would you like to turn this into a reproach for that goodness?

You won't indeed want to think that in three years I worked the few miracles narrated? You won't think that the few women mentioned were the only ones healed, or the few miracles mentioned were the only ones worked? If the shadow of Peter served to heal (Acts 5:14-15), what must My shadow have done? Or My breath? Or My glance? Remember the woman suffering from bleeding: "If I manage to touch the hem of His robe, I shall be healed." (Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-29, Luke 8: 43-48) And so it was.

The power of miracles issued from Me continually. I had come to take people to God and open the dikes of Love, closed by the day of sin. Centuries of love expanded like waves over the little world of Palestine. [This was] all God's love for man, which could finally expand as He desired, to redeem men first with Love, rather than with Blood.

You may ask Me, "But why to her, who is such a poor thing?" I shall answer you when she -- whom you disdain and I love -- is less exhausted. You would deserve the silence I observed with Herod (Luke 23:8-9). But it is My attempt to redeem you -- whom pride makes the hardest to persuade.

Finally, I conclude this section with one last point. The following very learned (and some of them: world-renowned), trustworthy, non-modernist ecclesiastics, theologians, authorities, and scholars would not have approved the Poem of the Man-God after their very careful, in-depth study of it, as they did, if the Poem truly presented a humanized, de-supernaturalized Christ, and makes Him too material, and brings us too far down from the spiritual level of the four Gospels, including:

Pope Pius XII (who, in 1948, ordered it to be published), the Holy Office, 13 years later, in 1961 (and again in 1992) granted permission for the publication of her work, Bishop Roman Danylak, S.T.L., J.U.D. (who issued an official letter of endorsement of the English translation of the Poem of the Man-God in 2001), and Archbishop Soosa Pakiam M. of Trivandrum, India (who granted the imprimatur of the Malayalam translation of the Poem in 1993). It has also received the documented approval of three pre-Vatican II Consultants to the Holy Office in 1951-1952, five pre-Vatican II professors at pontifical universities in Rome, Blessed Gabriel Allegra, O.F.M. (a world-renowned exegete and theologian), Fr. Gabriel Roschini, O.S.M. (world-renowned Mariologist, decorated professor and founder of the Marianum Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Rome, Consultant of the Holy Office, and who wrote over 130 totally orthodox books about Our Lady), and many other cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests.

None the least of these was Archbishop Alphonsus Carinci, who was the Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Rites from 1930 to 1960 (which was later renamed the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 1969). Archbishop Carinci was in charge of investigating causes for beatification and canonization. He was conversant in recognizing true and false sanctity and was of distinguished repute. He visited Maria Valtorta three times, said Mass for her, read her writings in depth, wrote many letters back and forth with her, and analyzed her case. He was so convinced that her writings were inspired by God, that eyewitnesses report he would say to Maria Valtorta: "He is the Master. He is the Author," and in his letters to Maria Valtorta, he wrote "Author" with a capital "A".170 Archbishop Carinci was one of two prominent authorities who advised Fr. Corrado Berti to deliver typewritten copies of the Poem of the Man-God to Pope Pius XII, which led, in 1948, to his papal command to publish it.171 In January 1952, Archbishop Carinci also wrote a thorough certification and positive review of Valtorta's work (four pages long when typed), which has been published.172 That same year, he also wrote a letter on behalf of himself and eight other prominent authorities (among them, two Consultants to the Holy Office, three professors at pontifical universities in Rome, a Consultant to the Sacred Congregation of Rites, and the Prefect of the Vatican Secret Archive) to be delivered to Pope Pius XII in an audience, although the audience wasn't able to be arranged.173 Archbishop Carinci is also one of the authorities whose favorable certifications about Maria Valtorta was given to the Holy Office in 1961 by Fr. Corrado Berti, which led the Holy Office to grant their approval of the publication of the second edition of her work.174

Among the other bishops who officially approve and promote the Poem of the Man-God are: Archbishop Alberto Ramos of Belem, Brazil, who granted the imprimatur to an anthology of the Poem of the Man-God that was published in 1978; Archbishop Nuncio Apostolic Pier Giacomo De Nicolò, who preached about Maria Valtorta and her writings with positive approval for the 50^th anniversary of Maria Valtorta's death in 2011 in the basilica where she is buried; Bishop John Venancio (former Bishop of Fatima and learned theologian who taught dogmatic theology at a pontifical university in Rome and who provided important evidence about the Third Secret of Fatima); Archbishop George Pearce, S.M., D.D.; and seven bishops in India who sent out letters to the translator of the Malayalam translation of the Poem praising and endorsing its translation and dissemination, stating that there is nothing against faith or morals in the Poem (one of them was a cardinal, another one was an archbishop, and the other five were regular bishops -- two of whom were later appointed archbishops).

There are also documented eyewitness accounts by several trustworthy sources that Saint Padre Pio approved and encouraged the reading of Maria Valtorta's works, and that he had mystical experiences with Maria Valtorta during the time when they were both alive (see the chapter of this e-book entitled "Padre Pio and Maria Valtorta" to read about these accounts).

There are also many other trustworthy and well-learned bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and theologians not mentioned above who approve of and endorse the Poem of the Man-God (many of whom approved it prior to Vatican II and the revolution in the Church that broke out after the Council).

In addition to the significant ecclesiastical approval of the Poem -- many of whom testify that they are certain that this is an authentic private revelation from God -- there are a multitude of experts in a great variety of the secular sciences and arts that attest to the evidence of the divine origin of the Poem, writing authoritatively in their particular field and area of expertise.

Now I want to address what I mentioned earlier in the article: the statement of the Resistance Dominicans contains the logical fallacy of the false equivalence. False equivalence is a logical fallacy which describes a situation where there is a logical and apparent equivalence, but when in fact there is none.

There is very strong evidence that Maria Valtorta's revelations are highly historically accurate, and, therefore, are visions of real, historical events. I invite readers to see my e-book for this evidence. In my e-book, there is a chapter entitled "Proofs of the Supernatural Origin of Maria Valtorta's Visions Described in Her Work". This chapter contains the following subchapters:

1. Proof by Geography and Topography and Archaeology (Such as Her Mentioning in the Poem Over 350 Geographic Locations in the Holy Land, Including Nine Towns/Villages Not Discovered Archaeologically Until After Her Death, and at Least 62 Places Which Were Either Unknown at the Time of Her Writing or Known Only by a Few Specialized Archaeologists)

2. Proof by Astronomy (Such as Detailed Astronomic Observations Over the Course of Hundreds of Pages in Her 1940s Visions that a Purdue University Professor of Theoretical Physics Testified Are Remarkably Consistent with Her Dating System and that She Could Not Have Predicted or Verified Without a Computer)

3. Proof by its Knowledge, Depth, and Eminence in the Theological, Exegetical, Mystical, and Mariological Fields (Which Many World-Renowned Trustworthy Theologians Say Exceed Anything They Have Ever Read)

4. Proof by Her Detailed, Exact, and Often Unparalleled Knowledge of the Political, Religious, Economic, Social, and Familial Situation -- as Well as the Dress -- of the Ancient Jewish, Samaritan, and Roman Peoples that Astound Even World-Renowned Biblical Scholars

5. Proof by the Poem’s Unquestionable Expertise, Deep Knowledge, and Exhaustive Information in Such a Wide Variety of Theological and Scientific Subjects, and the Fact 15,000 Handwritten Pages of Such Was Written in Only 3½ Years Amidst Her Unusually Severe Physical Condition and Illnesses and Even Though She Lacked the Learning, Resources, and Books Required to Write a Work a Tenth as Profound as This

6. Proof by the Extraordinary, Unprecedented Way in Which it Was Written, Compiled, & Put Together (Such as the Fact that 166 Out of the 647 Chapters Were Written Out of Order, and She has Jesus Ministering in Over 350 Named Locations and Traveling Over 4,000 Miles in Six Different Cycles Across Palestine, and Yet Jesus and All of the Other 500+ Characters are Never in a Place Inconsistent with Either the Story Line or the Timing and Distance Necessities Required for Traveling, and There is Not One Person, Place, or Thing Out of Place)

7. Proof By the Writing's Extraordinary Purity, Holiness, Loftiness, and Eminence Among the Writings that Exist in the World

8. Proof (or a Substantiating Factor) by Research that Shows that the Poem is Not Based on (or a Mere Expansion of) any Known Gospel Manuscript Standard, Version, or School of Critical Thought, Something Expected if a Work of This Magnitude, Detail, and Accuracy Had Been a Mere Human Effort

9. Proof (or a Substantiating Factor) in How the Poem Resolves Many Problems in the Gospel Accounts Which Scholars Have Struggled with For Years (Including Apparent Contradictions Between the Different Gospel Accounts and Apparent Errors or Inconsistencies Within the Same Gospel Account), and How It Furthermore Corrects Certain Misunderstandings and Translation Errors that Have Been Perpetuated Throughout the Centuries

10. Proof (or a Substantiating Factor) by the Fact Maria Valtorta's Visions of Christ's Passion Perfectly Match Detailed Findings on the Miraculous Shroud of Turin that Recent Modern Scientific Tests Have Revealed Decades After Her Writings Were Published and the Fact Her Writings Foretold Something Amazing About the Veil of Veronica Which Has Been Scientifically Proven for the First Time Decades After Her Death

11. Proof (or Argument from Probability) by its Perfect Correspondence to the Ancient Liturgical and Patristic Tradition in the Ancient Catholic Byzantine Rite of the Church

12. Proof by the Testimony of Countless Trustworthy Clerics, Authorities, Experts, Scientists, and Pious Lay Faithful and the Tremendously Good Fruits Produced in Individuals and in the Church as a Whole

13. The Best Grand Summary Article of Proofs of its Divine Origin I Could Find By Anyone

Also, in my e-book there is a chapter entitled "How does the Poem of the Man-God Compare to the Revelations of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and Venerable Mary of Agreda's Mystical City of God?". This chapter contains four subchapters:

1. How Maria Valtorta's Revelations and the Transcription of Them into a Written Format Has Been Uniquely Preserved From Error to a Very High Degree, and How Most Other Mystics' Revelations and Their Transcription Were Not Preserved From Error to the Same Degree

2. A Discussion on Real or Apparent Contradictions Between the Different Mystics

3. How Maria Valtorta's Revelations Are Being Proven By Science to a Degree Much Greater than Most (if Not All) Previous Mystics of the Church

4. How, in Many Respects, Maria Valtorta's Revelations Are Greater than Most Previous Mystics' Revelations and Are Especially Suited for Our Time

These aforementioned chapters show the arguments for why it is only reasonable for informed scholars who have actually properly investigated Valtorta's work (unlike the Resistance Dominicans) to conclude that her work is highly historically (and even scientifically) accurate. Therefore, there are very strong arguments that her work, is, in fact, not "imaginary" or fiction, but rather based on real, historical events (i.e., non-fiction). In this case, even this aspect of the objection of the Resistance Dominicans falls through and does not apply to Valtorta's work. That is why I say that they have exercised the logical fallacy of the false equivalence, because they are associating Valtorta's work with fictional works, whereas, in reality, her work ought to be more associated with non-fiction than fiction. In fact, if you read the chapter in my e-book "How does the Poem of the Man-God Compare to the Revelations of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and Venerable Mary of Agreda's Mystical City of God?", you will see that Valtorta's work has proven to be far more scientifically and historically accurate than Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich's work and Mary of Agreda's Mystical City of God, the latter of which was promoted by multiple Popes, imprimatured, and graced with a papal apostolic blessing.

Prof. Leo A. Brodeur, M.A., Lèsl., Ph.D., H.Sc.D., wrote:175

No one should be surprised or worried if scientific or historical errors are found in The Poem of the Man-God, or if she contradicts what other mystics have said. Even if The Poem of the Man-God were full of historical errors, that would be no reason to reject it, as it was approved in 1948 by Pope Pius XII, a doctor in Canon Law.

Now it must be admitted that as a whole, that writing by Valtorta is astonishingly precise even from the viewpoints of archeology, history, and experimental sciences. No one should worry if some small errors have crept in; but wouldn't the great overall historical and scientific accuracy of the work be an act of condescension by the Lord for our times which attach great importance to science? Maria Valtorta, to all practical purposes an ignoramus without documentation, could never have invented the historical or scientific details in her visions: she would have blundered and many details would have turned out to be false. Since she did not know enough to be able to invent them, she must have received them from another source.

[...] Before such testimonies [of science] it is fitting to conclude that one must not attach too much importance to the historical and scientific details in Valtorta's work. As a whole they help to establish its authenticity; but that does not prevent that some details may turn out to be wrong. Once its authenticity has been acknowledged, we must rather consider it from the point of view of the mystical and spiritual life. For this work was given essentially to feed the soul and help it to love Jesus and Mary---not primarily to satisfy intellectual curiosity.

Apart from those who have trouble with understanding actual Church teaching on mystical writings, I doubt that any honest and serious Catholic would go so far as to reject Valtorta's revelations entirely (including for the consideration of its spiritual value) based on apparent historical error, or else he would have to reject every other mystics' writings in the history of the Church, including Venerable Mary of Agreda's Mystical City of God which is loaded with historical errors, but was nevertheless promoted by multiple Popes, imprimatured, and graced with a papal apostolic blessing. There is just too much spiritual value in the Poem to reject it entirely -- even if it were filled with 99%+ historical error rather than 99%+ historical accuracy. To reject the Poem's spiritual value because of several historical errors would be like the atheist who rejects the entire Bible and won't even consider any of Christ's saving words and life-changing doctrine because he found one apparent historical error or one apparent contradiction or inconsistency with another book of Scripture. The overwhelming scientific proofs of the divine origin of the Poem in such a diverse number of fields completely overwhelms the insignificance of a few historical errors (if they even can be proven to really be historical errors). For an in-depth treatment, see my e-book.

Regarding Maria Valtorta's work, this Resistance Dominican's position and advice is a restriction inordinately beyond the current restrictions which the Magisterium in general, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in specific, have put forth. The Resistance Dominicans neglect the historical facts about Pope Pius XII's command to publish the Poem, the multiple imprimaturs and episcopal endorsements this work has received from numerous bishops, the Holy Office's approval of the publication of the second edition in 1961 according to the testimony of Fr. Berti, and the fact that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has in recent times confirmed it is free of error in faith and morals and has given permission to the publisher to publish it and the faithful to read it. For someone purporting to give an honest and accurate review of the position of the Church on her writings, they fall far short. It shows that they did not do their homework (or selectively ignored certain inconvenient facts which many bishops, theologians, professors, and even journalists recognize, the blatant omission of which could be viewed as a type of academic dishonesty).

It seems that the Resistance Dominicans highly underestimate (or are ignorant of) the tremendous accuracy of Maria Valtorta's work in numerous scientific fields and in historical accuracy and do not acknowledge or appreciate them. Theologians and scientists (many of whom are more learned than them) have not hesitated to express appreciation of these details. Therefore, I would encourage Catholics, in imitation of Fr. Gabriel Roschini, Archbishop Carinci, and Fr. Ludovic-Marie Barrielle, FSSPX, the latter of whom Archbishop Lefebvre called "our model spiritual guide", to exercise their legitimate freedom that the Church permits to appreciate Maria's revelations with a measure of human faith proper for private revelations and to appreciate the tremendous historical accuracy -- and above all spiritual richness -- which God, in His unparalleled generosity, has provided through this mystic and victim soul.

But what about claimed contradictions with Scripture? There have been numerous contradictions with Scripture indicated in the revelations of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and Mary of Agreda's Mystical City of God (which was promoted by multiple Popes, imprimatured, and graced with a papal apostolic blessing); yet, the Magisterium still permitted them to be printed and read by the faithful and they did not take the unbalanced position of the Resistance Dominicans and claim that faithful should not read them. On the other hand, many competent and renowned theologians have affirmed that Valtorta's work is completely in accord with Sacred Scripture. I have also analyzed just about every major argument and claim of critics attempting to demonstrate contradiction between Valtorta's work and Scripture and I have either referred to another person's refutation or wrote one myself which shows that their arguments fail to demonstrate this and are based on errors/falsehoods, methodological and logical fallacies, deficient theology, ignorance of relevant facts, wrenching of statements out of context with false unsubstantiated insinuations, distortions and misrepresentations of the text, unsubstantiated subjective impressions which are contradicted by those of greater learning and authority than the critics, and similar fallacies.

Now, even if Valtorta's work could be objectively and thoroughly proven to contradict Scripture somewhere in historical or secondary details not related to faith or morals, according to the teaching of the Church, that would be an insufficient reason to reject her visions or writings and to try to prevent other Catholics from reading them. We could spend quite some time listing numerous mystics who have reported words of Christ in historical visions that were permitted or allowed by the Magisterium that I very much doubt the Resistance Dominicans would consider 100% historically accurate (for example, read: A Critical Review of Mary of Agreda's Mystical City of God). So was the Magisterium wrong then in permitting and/or approving these mystical writings? Do the Resistance Dominicans presume to hold a stricter criterion than previous Popes and the Magisterium?

Personally, I will follow the teaching of the Magisterium regarding what is permitted in mystical writings rather than the opinion of the Resistance Dominicans. I will also hold the position of leading pre-Vatican II theologians who approved Maria's writings and considered them supernatural who are more learned than the Resistance Dominicans, especially in the areas needed to judge mystical writings, and who, furthermore, studied it in much greater depth (not to mention that many of them actually personally knew, investigated, and communicated at length with the mystic in question).

I especially do not trust the Dominicans' analysis and their "advice" since it is obvious that they have a notable level of ignorance on the subject they are writing about and their article is riddled with falsehoods, deficient theology, wrenching of statements out of context with false unsubstantiated insinuations, poor research, ignorance of too many relevant facts, sweeping generalizations, and lack of objectivity. It is readily apparent from their article that they carried out a cursory, non-in-depth investigation into Maria Valtorta's writings, bringing in unsubstantiated subjective impressions which are contradicted by those of greater learning and authority than them (and by "those of greater learning and authority than them", I'm also referring to pre-Vatican II, highly learned, trustworthy theologians who have spent hundreds of hours evaluating her writings, some of whom actually met the author in question).

Prof. Leo A. Brodeur, M.A., Lèsl., Ph.D., H.Sc.D., wrote:176

Theologically: Valtorta's writings exude a great, all-encompassing breadth of knowledge and a clear-mindedness and loftiness of concepts worthy of the greatest theologians, of the Church Fathers, and of the greatest mystics... Furthermore, she had never studied philosophy or theology either at school or on her own. The only education she had received was the average education of upper-middle class Italian girls of the early 1900s. How could she have composed her lofty writings?

Spiritually: Valtorta's writings are outstandingly practical, drawing the reader to practice the Faith in everyday life. They are not in the least dry theological textbooks. They bring spirituality alive, they bring it home, to the reader's heart, by showing us Jesus intimately, personally. Many a reader has exclaimed that reading The Poem is like living with Jesus as the apostles did. As depicted in The Poem, His character -- the perfect blend of warmth and reason, of mystical outlook and practical attentions, of holiness and love -- has helped many a reader to reform a life of sin, to increase love for our Lord, to become holier. Jesus is portrayed in The Poem as in perhaps no other mystical work. It is quite doubtful that Valtorta could have produced such an uplifting portrait on her own, when she was the first to admit her "nothingness" and ascribed everything to Jesus.

Even scientifically: Valtorta's The Poem of the Man-God exhibits an uncanny accuracy with regard to the archeology, botany, geography, geology, mineralogy, and topography of Palestine in Jesus' time, an accuracy commended by various experts in those fields. Yet, given her lack of education and reading in those fields, and given the fact that she never traveled to Palestine, how could she have given accurate descriptions of places she never went to and never read about in any detail?

Finally, from the literary point of view: Valtorta wrote on the spur of the moment, without preliminary plans, without rough drafts. She wrote fast -- over 10,000 handwritten pages in three years -- with great consistency of thought and purpose, in masterly Italian combining the highest achievements of the Florentine style of the 1930s with the vividness and spontaneity of common folks when they are quoted. Few writers throughout the history of humanity have been that good and that prolific in that short a period of time; perhaps none of these wrote without rough drafts. Yet, she was bedridden and subjected to frequent physiological crises and down-to-earth interruptions by her relatives or neighbors. How then could she have written so well, when most writers crave solitude to be able to write?

When one ponders the theological and spiritual loftiness of Maria Valtorta's The Poem of the Man-God, as well as its scientific and literary remarkableness, in the light of her average education, lack of health, and in the light of her speed, accuracy and greatness of achievement, how could one seriously entertain the thought that she accomplished all that without supernatural help? When one also ponders her personal lifestyle as a generous victim soul who practiced the virtues heroically, when one also ponders the sufferings which she daily offered to the Lord, then with all due respect, how could [anyone] casually dismiss her claims to supernatural visions and dictations without a full-fledged investigation into her case?

I now end this section with an English translation of Antonio Socci's April 2012 article about Maria Valtorta entitled "A wonderful gift to our generation: 'The Gospel as it Was Revealed to Me' by Maria Valtorta". Antonio Socci is a leading Italian journalist, author, and public intellectual in Italy. He had his own television show, which he hosted, and is a prominent media personality, especially for topics on the Catholic Church. He has regularly held press conferences for cardinals (including Cardinal Ratzinger and Cardinal Bertone).

He is well known among traditional Catholics because of his book The Fourth Secret of Fatima, which is highly read among many traditional Catholic priests and lay faithful and is often available in traditional Catholic bookstores. His book, The Fourth Secret of Fatima, is discussed in the traditional Catholic documentary The Secret Still Silenced.

To see what is said about Antonio Socci and his book in this documentary, click the following timestamped link which is set to automatically jump to this part in the documentary:

About Antonio Socci and The Fourth Secret of Fatima.

Antonio Socci also released in 2012 a fictional work in which Maria Valtorta's writings play a very prominent role. A May 20, 2012, Vatican Insider article discussed this, but it is no longer available online.

Antonio Socci also released in March 2014 a book entitled Tornati dall’Aldila (Returned from the Beyond), where Maria Valtorta's writings also play a prominent role. The January-June 2014 Bollettino Valtortiano #87 from the Centro Editoriale Valtortiano relates:177

A new book from Antonio Socci, entitled Tornati dall’Aldila [Returned from the Beyond], published by Rizzoli, is being distributed in libraries as we send the present number of our Bulletin to press. Startling for the theme which it treats, and moving because of the experience of life which has inspired it, the book is surprising for its ample citations of the Work of Maria Valtorta. We are grateful to the author for the dedication to Emilio and Claudia Pisani, coinciding [as it does] with the issuing of the book Lettera a Claudia [Letter to Claudia] of Emilio Pisani, published by CEV.

Antonio Socci wrote an article about the Poem of the Man-God that was published in an Italian newspaper and which he also published on his blog on April 7, 2012. It is available online here: Antonio Socci's Valtorta Article.

Here is a translation:178

A wonderful gift to our generation: "The Gospel as it Was Revealed to Me" by Maria Valtorta

April 7, 2012

It's a paradox, but modern "non-believers" seem literally fascinated by Jesus of Nazareth. Ernst Renan calls Him “a man who is incomparable, and great, to such a point that I would not feel like contradicting those who call Him God.”

Another "anti-Christian" intellectual, Paul Louis Couchoud, admitted:

“In the minds of men, in the ideal world that exists inside one’s head, Jesus is immeasurable. His dimensions are beyond comparison; His level of grandeur is hardly conceivable. The history of the West – from the Roman Empire onwards – is ordered around one central fact, one event-generator: the collective representation of Jesus and of His death. Everything else came forth from that, or adapted itself to it. Everything that has been done in the West for so many centuries has been done in the gigantic shadow of the Cross.”

And so much do men greatly desire to learn more, that often writers, filmmakers, and intellectuals give free rein to their imagination in order to fabricate fables about the Gospels; to invent theories, or often lies; and maybe even to produce films, television series, or theatre -- usually of a low-level -- but which reap a large audience, because -- as the Church says -- "the whole world seeks His Face."

The Gospels, in fact, are chronicles that are rather sparse, containing the necessary and essential facts, but leaving much to the imagination. Saint John concludes his own Gospel, in fact, with this: "There are still many other things done by Jesus which, if they were written out one by one, I think that the world itself would not suffice to contain the books that would need to be written."

Well, if it is true that all would have desired to have been present there, to have seen Jesus of Nazareth -- to have seen His Face, "The fairest of the sons of men" -- to have listened to Him in some town's market-square, along some dusty roads ­­-- to have been present at His tremendous, earth-shattering miracles; then it must be made known to everyone: there exists a work – the only one of its kind in the world; the only one of its kind in history – which fulfills exactly this “impossible” desire.

It was precisely for our very own generation that this exceptional gift was given. It is a work of ten volumes, about 5,000 pages -- literally awe-inspiring -- where is re-lived, day by day, as though broadcast live, the adventure of Jesus of Nazareth, the God-Man who overturned human history.

It is entitled “The Gospel as it Was Revealed to Me,” and its author is Maria Valtorta.

These pages are the fruit of several years of mystical experiences, in which Jesus literally made those days of two thousand years ago come back to life again for the visionary, just as if she had been there at that time; indeed, even more so because she also sees and hears things in those days that the apostles themselves were not able to see, know, and relate (such as the entire, long path of Judas's going astray from the beginning, which was known only by Jesus, Who tried in every way and with a love unheard of, for three years, to save him).

But who is Maria Valtorta? She was born on March 14, 1897. Beginning in 1913, the Valtorta family was living in Florence. She was an active member of Catholic Action and, during World War I, was a volunteer nurse.

Still living in Florence, in 1920, [while walking with her mother], a revolutionary struck the back of the young woman, who happened to be there by chance, thus establishing her condition and subsequent immobility.

In fact, after various painful experiences from April 1, 1934, until her death on October 12, 1961, she spent twenty-seven-and-a-half years "nailed" to her bed: a "Calvary," which she lived out with heroic faith.

For this reason, fifty years after her death, the number of those who await the opening of her beatification process is ever increasing. Valtorta was a lady of strong character -- greatly reasonable and practical, in no way inclined towards fantastical suggestions -- who never desired nor sought after mystical experiences.

The supernatural phenomena began in 1943, just when she thought she would not make it anymore and was close to death. On the morning of April 23, Good Friday, Jesus entered into her life and began daily supernatural visits to her, made by means ​​of interior locutions, visions, and dictations, which bound Maria -- already suffering on that bed -- to an enormous transcription project: approximately fifteen thousand handwritten pages.

From 1944 to 1947 -- by means of many successive visions -- Maria Valtorta re-lived the whole history of Jesus, relating every episode and even describing smells and the wind.

These are exceptional pages, which practically contain all four Gospels and fill in missing periods, solving so many enigmatic points or apparent contradictions.

Reading these pages is not only an extraordinary adventure for the mind since it reveals everything you would want to know and illuminates every truth, but it also changes your heart and changes your life.

Above all, it confirms the veracity of all the dogmas and teachings of the Church, of St. John, St. Paul, and of all the Councils.

For twenty years, after having laboriously stumbled through trying to read hundreds of biblical scholars' volumes, I can say that – with the reading of the Work of Valtorta – two hundred years of Enlightenment-based, idealistic, and modernist chatter about the Gospels and about the Life of Jesus can be run through the shredder.

And this perhaps is one of the reasons why this exceptional work -- a work which moved even Pius XII -- is still ignored and "repressed" by the official intelligentsia and by clerical modernism.

In spite of that, outside the normal channels of distribution, thanks to Emilio Pisani and Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, the Work has been read by a sea of people -- every year, by tens of thousands of new readers -- and has been translated into 21 languages.

A renowned Biblical scholar, [Blessed] Gabriel Allegra, has described it as “a masterpiece of world-wide Christian literature.” He also wrote about the "astonishing Scriptural knowledge" of the author who had never studied theology and who only had at her disposal an older, common version of the Bible.

Also significantly emblematic is the judgment which was expressed in 1952 by the Jesuit, Father Augustine Bea, an authority in the field of exegesis, as the Rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, (where, several years later, Carlo Maria Martini succeeded him).

Bea was also a prominent personage of the Church because, after having been the confessor of Pope Pius XII, he became a cardinal and was one of the main protagonists of the Second Vatican Council.

Thus, in 1952, he wrote that he had examined an extract of the Work, "...paying particular attention in my reading to the exegetical, historical, archeological, and topographical parts."

Here is his judgment: "As regards its exegesis, in none of the records I examined have I found errors of any relevance. I was, moreover, very impressed by the fact that the archeological and topographical descriptions were propounded with remarkable exactness."

All this is humanly inexplicable.

In Maria Valtorta's Work is found a reconstruction that is so accurate and rich in historical, geographical, and human facts about the Public Life of Jesus, that it is impossible to explain -- especially if one considers that it came forth from the pen of a woman who was ignorant of these subjects and of theology, who was not familiar with the Holy Land, and who did not have any books to consult, lying sick and immobilized on a bed in Viareggio, on the Gothic Line, during the war's most ferocious months.

There are thousands of pages, overflowing with information and with the loftiest reflections and meditations; with geographical descriptions which only today, by going onsite, would be able to be done.

There are hundreds of topographical names and details and of descriptions of places, which were unknown to almost everyone and which only the latest research and archaeological excavations have brought to light. Maria Valtorta’s Work is, in truth, inexplicable by merely human means. Even the literary style is very lofty and profound.

But above all, the Giant – Who runs through these pages and Who fascinates by means of power, goodness, and beauty; Who inspires, by means of words and actions – is precisely that Jesus of Nazareth of Whom the Gospels speak. The world had not seen – nor will ever see – anything comparable.

Antonio Socci