Refutation of Their Fourth Failed Attempt to Demonstrate Error
The Resistance Dominicans made a list in which they attempted to demonstrate errors in Valtorta's work. Here is their fourth listed item:
Saint Anne gave birth without pain;
If there was any woman in the history of mankind who would be blessed with giving birth to a child without pain besides the Blessed Virgin Mary, wouldn't it make sense that this privilege would be granted to the extremely pure and holy mother of the Ark of the Covenant herself (St. Anne)? In fact, personally, I would consider it unbecoming for the dignity and glory of Our Lady for her to have caused her saintly mother pain when she was born. How can she who is "full of grace" be a source of pain for her mother? It is not defined dogma or doctrine that St. Anne must have suffered the usual pains of childbirth simply because this is the ordinary punishment for women since the Fall of Adam and Eve. Since it is not a defined dogma or doctrine, Catholics are free to form their opinion on this matter.
In the chapter in Valtorta's work about St. Anne praying in the Temple, Our Lord gave Valtorta the following dictation which sheds more light on the extremely high virtue and purity of the Blessed Virgin's holy parents:79
« The just are always wise, because, as friends of God, they live in His company and are taught by Him, yes, by Him, Infinite Wisdom.
My grandparents were just and therefore they possessed wisdom. They could quote accurately from the Book, singing the praises of Wisdom from its context: "She it was I loved and searched for from my youth: I resolved to have her as my bride".
Anne of Aaron was the strong woman of whom our Ancestor speaks. And Joachim, a descendant of King David, had not sought so much charm and wealth as virtue. Anne possessed a great virtue. All holy attributes joined together like a sweet-smelling bunch of flowers to become one beautiful thing that was: this exceptional Virtue. A real virtue, worthy of being set before the throne of God.
Joachim had therefore married wisdom twice, "loving her more than any other woman": the Wisdom of God enshrined in the heart of a just woman. Anne of Aaron had not sought anything else but to join her life to that of an upright man, certain that family joy lies in uprighteousness. And to be the embodiment of the "strong woman" she lacked only the crown of children, the glory of the married woman, the justification of marriage, the one of which Solomon speaks, as for her happiness she lacked children, the flowers of a tree that has become one thing with the adjoining tree and obtains thereof abundance of new fruit, in which the two good qualities blend into one, because she had never experienced any disappointment on account of her husband.
Although she was now approaching old age and had been Joachim's wife for many years, she was always for him "the spouse of his youth, his joy, the most dear hind, the graceful fawn", whose caresses always had the fresh charm of the first nuptial evening and sweetly fascinated his love, keeping it as fresh as a flower sprinkled with dew, and as ardent as a fire continuously kept burning. Therefore, in their affliction, their childless state, they spoke to each other "words of consolation in their thoughts and troubles".
And eternal Wisdom, when the time came, besides teaching them in waking consciousness, enlightened them with dreams at night, visions of the poem of glory that was to come from them and was Most Holy Mary, My Mother. If their humility made them hesitant, their hearts trembled in hope at the first hint of God's promise. There was already certainty in Joachim's words: "Do hope... We shall gain our favour from God by our faithful love". They were dreaming of a child: they got the Mother of God.
The words of the book of Wisdom appear to be written for them: "By means of her I shall acquire glory before the people... by means of her, immortality shall be mine and I shall leave an everlasting memory to my successors". But to obtain all this they had to become masters of a true and lasting virtue which no event marred. Virtue of faith. Virtue of charity. Virtue of hope. Virtue of chastity. The chastity of a married couple! They possessed it, because it is not necessary to be virgins to be chaste. And chaste nuptial beds are guarded by angels and from them descend good children who make the virtue of their parents the rule of their lives.
But where are they now? Now children are not wanted, neither is chastity. I therefore say that love and marriage are desecrated. »
In another dictation, Our Lord said to Maria Valtorta, when speaking of chastity:80
The first chaste love of a spouse, love as that of men ought to have been, according to the Creator's thought: love without the sting of sense and the mire of malice. A love at once natural and angelic, for in the souls of Adam and his children, according to the thought creating them, there was to be the angelic purity of the spirit mingled with human tenderness, and like a flower opening sinlessly from the stem bearing it, so, without the worm of lust, love was to arise in spouses and give children to chaste marriage beds.
To be chaste does not mean to prohibit union. It means to fulfill it while thinking of God, who makes two reasoning animals into two lesser creators, and as God created the male and the female without introducing malicious thought into them and did not place in their pupils a fleshly light to reveal the flesh to the innocent, so spouses ought to make marriage a holy creation gladdened by cradles, but not sullied by lust.
Such was the pure union of St. Anne and St. Joachim, which was guarded from impurity by God to such a degree that St. Anne merited the grace to be able to give birth to the Queen of Heaven and the Queen of Angels without the usual pains that all other women (besides Our Lady) have to endure in giving birth.
In fact, in the chapter in Valtorta's work about the death of St. Anne and St. Joachim, Valtorta received a dictation from Our Lord where He explains this privilege and this phenomenon:81
« Like a quick winter twilight when an ice-cold wind gathers clouds in the sky, the lives of My grandparents had a quick decline, after the Sun of their lives was placed to shine before the Sacred Veil of the Temple.
But it is said:
"Wisdom brings up her own sons, and cares for those who seek her. Whoever loves her loves life, those who wait on her will enjoy peace. Those who serve her, minister to the Holy One and the Lord loves those who love her. If he trusts himself to her he will inherit her and his descendants will remain in possession of her because she accompanies him in his trials. First of all she selects him, then she brings fear and faintness on him, ploughing him with her discipline, until she has tested him in his thoughts and she can trust him. In the end she will make him firm, will lead him back to the straight road and make him happy. She will reveal her secrets to him, She will place in him treasures of science, and knowledge of justice".
Yes, all this has been said. The books of wisdom may be applied to all men, who will find guidance in them and a light for their behavior. But happy are those who can be recognized amongst the spiritual lovers of Wisdom.
I surrounded Myself with wise people, in My human kinship. Anne, Joachim, Joseph, Zacharias, and even more Elizabeth, and then the Baptist, are they not real wise people? Not to mention My Mother, the abode of Wisdom.
Wisdom had inspired My grandparents how to live in a way which was agreeable to God, from their youth to their death, and like a tent protecting from the fury of the elements, Wisdom had protected them from the danger of sin. The sacred fear of God is the root of the tree of wisdom, that thrusts its branches far and wide to reach with its top tranquil love in its peace, peaceful love in its security, secure love in its faithfulness, faithful love in its intensity: the total, generous, effective love of saints.
"Who loves her, loves life and will inherit Life" says Ecclesiasticus. This sentence is linked with Mine: "Who loses his life for My sake, will save it". Because we are not referring to the poor life of this world, but to the eternal life, not to the joys of one hour, but to the immortal ones.
Joachim and Anne loved Wisdom thus. And Wisdom was with them in their trials.
How many trials they experienced, whilst you, men, do not want to have to suffer and cry, simply because you think that you are not completely wicked! How many trials these two just people suffered, and they deserved to have Mary as their daughter! Political persecutions had driven them out of the land of David, and made them excessively poor. They had felt sadness in seeing their years fading through without a flower that would say to them: "I shall be your continuation". And afterwards, the anxiety of having a daughter in their old age when they were certain they would never see Her grow into a woman. And then the obligation of tearing Her from their hearts to offer Her on the altar of God. And again: their life became an even more painful silence, now that they were accustomed to the chirping of their little dove, to the noise of Her little steps, to the smiles and kisses of their creature, having to wait for the hour of God, their only company being the memories of the past. And much more... Diseases, calamities of inclement weather, the arrogance of mighty ones of the earth... so many blows of battering rams on the weak castle of their modest possessions. And it is not enough: the pain for their far away creature, who was going to be left lonely and poor and, notwithstanding their cares and sacrifices, would get only the remains of Her father's property. And how will She find such remains, since they will be left uncultivated for many years, awaiting Her return? Fears, trials, temptations. And yet, loyalty to God forever!
Their strongest temptation: not to deny their declining lives the consolation of their daughter's presence. But children belong first to God and then to their parents. Every son can say what I said to My Mother: "Do you not know that I must be busy with My Father's affairs?" And every father, every mother must learn the attitude to be maintained looking at Mary and Joseph in the Temple, at Anne and Joachim in the house of Nazareth, a house which was becoming more and more forlorn and sad, but where one thing never diminished, but increased continuously: the holiness of two hearts, the holiness of a marriage.
What light is left to Joachim, an invalid, and to his sorrowful wife, in the long and silent nights of two old people who feel they are about to die? Only the little dresses, the first pair of little sandals, the simple toys of their little daughter, now far away, and memories of Her, memories... And peace when they say: "We are suffering, but we have done our duty of love towards God".
And then they were overcome by a supernatural joy shining with a celestial light, a joy unknown to the children of the world, a joy that does not fade away when heavy eyelashes close on two dying eyes: on the contrary, it shines brighter in the last hour, illuminating the truth that had been hidden within them throughout their lives. Like a butterfly in its cocoon, the truth in them gave faint indications of its presence, just soft flashes, whereas now it opens its wings to the sun and shows its beautiful decorations. And their lives passed away in the certainty of a happy future for themselves and their descendants, their trembling lips murmuring words of praise to God.
Such was the death of my grandparents. Such as their holy lives deserved. Because of their holiness, they deserved to be the first guardians of the Virgin Beloved by God, and only when a greater Sun showed itself at the end of their days, they realized the grace God had granted them.
Because of their holiness, Anne suffered no pain in giving birth to her child: it was the ecstasy of the bearer of the Faultless One. Neither of them suffered the throes of death, but only a weakness that fades away, as a star softly disappears when the sun rises at dawn. And if they did not have the consolation of having Me present, as Wisdom Incarnate, as Joseph had, I was invisibly present, whispering sublime words, bending over their pillows, to send them to sleep, awaiting their triumph.
Someone may ask: "Why did they not have to suffer when generating and dying, since they were children of Adam?" My answer is: "If the Baptist, who was a son of Adam, and had been conceived with the original sin, was presanctified by Me in his mother's womb, simply because I approached her, was no grace to be granted to the mother of the Holy and Faultless One, Who had been preserved by God and bore God in Her almost divine spirit, in Her most pure heart, and was never separated from Him, since She was created by the Father and was conceived in a womb, and then received into Heaven to possess God in glory forever and ever?" I also answer: "An upright conscience gives a peaceful death and the prayers of saints will obtain such a death for you".
Joachim and Anne had a whole life of upright conscience behind them and such a life rose like a beautiful landscape and led them to Heaven, while their Holy Daughter was praying before the Tabernacle of God for Her parents far away, whom She had postponed to God, Summum Bonum ["the highest good"; i.e., the supreme good from which all others are derived], and yet She loved them, as the law and Her feeling commanded, with a perfect supernatural love. »
I believe the clarification and details shown in Valtorta's work more than adequately justifies the idea that St. Anne was able to give birth to the Queen of Heaven without pain. As I said earlier, if there was any woman in the history of mankind who would be blessed with giving birth to a child without pain besides the Blessed Virgin Mary, wouldn't it make sense that this privilege would be granted to the extremely pure and holy mother of the Ark of the Covenant herself (St. Anne)? In fact, personally, I would consider it unbecoming for the dignity and glory of Our Lady for her to have caused her saintly mother pain when she was born. How can she who is "full of grace" be a source of pain for her mother? It is not defined dogma or doctrine that St. Anne must have suffered the usual pains of childbirth simply because this is the ordinary punishment for women since the Fall of Adam and Eve. Since it is not a defined dogma or doctrine, Catholics are free to form their opinion on this matter.
It is precisely those who don't know actual Church teaching on what is and is not permitted to be believed regarding matters that have not yet been defined, who like to set themselves up as their own Magisterium and pretend that anything that is not exactly as they themselves personally think must be wrong (as if their opinion and exegesis is the highest authority on such matters). There were precisely these types of people during Jesus' day who would not accept so many of Jesus' teachings and would not accept Him as the Messiah because they thought they knew better and they had preconceived ideas on what the Messiah must be (Pharisees and Sadducees).
I could go on listing 24 extremely learned clerics or Doctors of Theology/Divinity/Canon Law, 7 Members or Consultants of the Holy Office/Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and 7 Saints/Blesseds/Venerables/Servants of God (not all of whom honest traditional Catholics would doubt their holiness or learning) who have all publicly praised Valtorta's writings and recommended their use and affirmed that they are free of errors in faith and morals. All of these renowned theologians fully approved and embraced the written account of the chapters and statements under examination. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of lay faithful and dozens of bishops have also expressed approval and appreciation of the chapter in question (the Birth of Mary). The only ones who would have problems with it are those who are purposefully looking for faults, are highly uneducated in the relevant issues under examination, and are oftentimes swayed by personal bias. One must be mature, open-minded, and interested in the truth to find the truth, but unfortunately, many people are not, including among traditional Catholics.
Many renowned theologians have read this chapter of Valtorta's work and affirmed it is perfectly consistent with the canonized Gospels and is not only not against faith or morals, but is remarkably instructive and enlightening, including Fr. Gabriel Roschini, O.S.M. (one of the top two Mariologists of the 20th century and Consultant to the Holy Office and the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints), Archbishop Carinci (Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of Rites from 1930 to 1960), Blessed Gabriel Allegra, O.F.M. (world-renowned scripture scholar and theologian, whose work had the support and acknowledgement of successive popes from Pius XI to Paul VI), Msgr. Hugo Lattanzi (Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Lateran Pontifical University and Consultant to the Holy Office and the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints), Bishop John Venancio (who taught Dogmatic Theology at a Pontifical University in Rome and was Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Portugal, from 1954 to 1972), and many others.
Now getting back to addressing the Resistance Dominicans: many theologians and exegetes have a certain view of the way things were. They form images in their mind and preconceptions and they sometimes find it disturbing to consider another view that is different or contradicts their view.
There are also other viewpoints that cannot be scientifically or historically proven. These consist of interpretations of events based on a study of Scripture (a.k.a. scriptural exegesis), archeological evidence, and historical writings of the time. This is an imperfect science and there is often room for different and contradicting interpretations and presumptions, and the best exegetes (including saints and eminent Catholic theologians) have indeed contradicted each other and disagreed with each other on many points and often throughout the centuries, including today. It is impossible to know with certainty what it was really like without being a witness (such as Maria Valtorta was through supernatural means and the two Evangelists who were Apostles, but who, nevertheless, themselves didn't witness every event they reported -- as, for example, Matthew wasn't at the Crucifixion) and even then, what we know of the witnesses depends on the accuracy and the level of detail (and the length) of the writings of the witness in question.
Once you remove away subjective unprovable preconceptions based on what one thought things were like (which other theologians and exegetes can validly disagree with and hold their own opinion on as well), there is lack of evidence of an inability to reconcile Valtorta with the canonized Gospels or with Tradition.
You have Blessed Gabriel Allegra and other theologians such as Archbishop Carinci who affirm that Valtorta's revelations are in accordance with the canonized Gospels, the doctrines and dogmas of the Church, and Tradition. On the other hand, you have the Resistance Dominicans who have their own personal interpretation of the historical events (such as St. Anne giving birth to the Blessed Virgin Mary) based on their own subjective understanding which is less than credible or objective as evidenced by the academic falsehoods, logical and methodological fallacies, unsubstantiated presumptions, and other errors they have fallen into in their anti-Valtorta article, time and time again, as shown throughout this refutation. Because Valtorta's writings in this scene conflict with this critic's personal subjective interpretation and understanding of things, they affirm that her writings must be erroneous (as if their exegesis is the authority and the measure of authenticity on this matter and above the exegesis of the likes of world-renowned pre-Vatican II exegetes more learned than them who hold the contrary position). Personally, I will put more stock in the world-renowned exegetes who actually investigated her writings much more in depth and who haven't made fallacious arguments of the type the Resistance Dominicans have done multiple times.
I'd also like to point out that sometimes learned scholars can get so proud about their understanding, opinion, and learning and their ability to impress others or about the reputation they have, that they are opposed to contrary ideas more out of pride or a desire to be right or to maintain a certain position than out of an honest desire to find out what is correct and what is the truth. That is why Our Lord sometimes referred to "the difficult doctors" and "the ever-alive Scribes and Pharisees" in His dictations to Valtorta. Blessed Gabriel Allegra also alluded to a similar phenomenon and mentioned that it takes a certain amount of humility to reconsider previously-held (erroneous) presumptions.
Christ said to Maria Valtorta:82
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.
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:83
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.
[...] 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.