Refutation of Their First Failed Attempt to Demonstrate a Contradiction with the Canonized Gospels

The Resistance Dominicans made a list in which they attempted to demonstrate a contradiction between Valtorta's work and the canonized Gospels. Here is their first listed item:

One can note numerous contradictions with the Gospel, for example: Our Lord is supposed to have sucked with avidity the vinegar given by the soldier;

This is a meaningless objection since the canonized Gospels themselves reveals that Jesus took the vinegar:

Now there was a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they, putting a sponge full of vinegar and hyssop, put it to his mouth. Jesus therefore, when He had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing His head, He gave up the ghost. (John 19:29) [emphasis added]

Now let's look at the context of the passage in Valtorta's work that they criticize:100

A soldier goes towards a jar, in which the assistants of the executioner have put some vinegar with gall, so that with its bitterness it may increase the salivation of those condemned to capital punishment. He takes the sponge immersed in the liquid, he sticks it on a thin yet stiff cane, which is already available nearby, and offers the sponge to the Dying Victim.

Jesus leans eagerly forward towards the approaching sponge. He looks like a starving baby seeking the nipple of its mother.

Mary Who sees and certainly has such a thought, leaning on John, says with a moan: « Oh! and I cannot give Him even one of My tears... Oh! breast of Mine, why do you not trickle milk? Oh! God, why do You abandon us thus? A miracle for My Son! Who will lift Me up, so that I may quench His thirst with My blood, since I have no milk?... »

Jesus, Who has greedily sucked the sour bitter drink, makes a wry face in disgust. Above all, it must act as a corrosive on His wounded split lips.

He withdraws, loses heart, abandons Himself.

An article has a question and answer that is relevant to this discussion:101

Question: John 19:29-30 tell us that Jesus received the drink that was offered to Him while on the cross. "Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." Matthew 27:34 and Mark 15:23 say that Jesus refused this drink. Is there a contradiction?

Answer: There is no contradiction. It should be remembered that Jesus was alive on Calvary's cross for some six hours [Note: most exegetes say three hours is the correct length of time; regardless, the point of this argument remains]. A lot can transpire in six hours [three hours]. Jesus was offered drink while He was on the cross on at least two, perhaps three, separate occasions. Furthermore, Matthew 27:34 says that drink was mixed with gall, that is, something that was bitter. Mark 15:23 tells us that it was myrrh, which is a narcotic.

The ancient Jews followed a practice, based on Proverbs 31:6, of administering pain-deadening medication mixed with wine. Proverbs 31:6 says, "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts." This is what Jesus refused, according to Matthew 27:34 and Mark 15:23.

It is significant that in Valtorta's work Jesus commented about this in a dictation where He was giving details about His Passion:102

Thirst. What a torture thirst! And yet you have seen it. Among so many, there was not one who gave Me a drop of water. From the Supper onwards, I had no refreshment. And fever, sunshine, heat, dust, loss of blood, made your Savior so thirsty.

You have seen that I refused the wine mixed with myrrh. I did not want any lenitive for My suffering. When we offer ourselves as victims, we must be victims without pitiful arrangements, compromises, mitigations. It is necessary to drink the chalice as it is offered. We must relish the vinegar and gall to the very end. Not the spiced wine that deadens pain.

Oh! the destiny of a victim is really severe. But blessed are those who chose it as their fate.

What Valtorta wrote is not only not in contradiction to the Scriptures at all, but is very enlightening. Valtorta reported what the Scriptures themselves say Jesus did in John 19:29. Not only that, her work gives a keen insight into why Jesus refused the pain-deadening mixture mentioned in Matthew 27:34 and Mark 15:23, but took the vinegar and gall as stated in John 19:29. In fact, the Resistance Dominican's objection here and their claim that what she wrote contradicts Scripture is so patently absurd and so obviously contradicted by John 19:29, that it makes one wonder if they even have a basic grasp of Sacred Scripture, thus calling into serious question their ability to evaluate and judge mystical writings like those of Valtorta, especially as compared to the renowned theologians like Archbishop Carinci, who have already evaluated her writings far more in depth than they and affirmed that they are completely in line with Sacred Scripture.

The Resistance Dominican's erroneous objection is without any substance and stands refuted by the Scriptures themselves. What Valtorta wrote not only does not contradict the canonized Gospels, but it also provides us with keen and instructive insight into why Jesus, the Supreme Victim, refused the wine and myrrh, but chose to drink from the vinegar and gall.