MAN-GOD
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— INTRODUCTION —
Maria Valtorta introduces the brief selection, translated here from her recently published [2006] Quadernetti collection, with the words: "Reaction of Most Holy Jesus to Pende". "Pende" would be Dr. Nicholas Pende, Italian physician and world renowned endocrinologist, whom Valtorta's editor, Dr. Emilio Pisani, has described as an admirer of Valtorta and very favorable toward her writings. Dr. Pende had personally visited with Valtorta at least three times, and had read some of her writings. He especially marveled at her description of Christ's crucifixion, of which he said: As a physician, the
greatest admiration and
astonishment was aroused in me for the skill with which Valtorta
describes a phenomenon
that only a few consummate physicians would have known how to
explain. It is the scene of Jesus'
agony on the Cross: the spasms
of pain, the most atrocious suffering of
the Redeemer from the wounds of His head, of His hands and feet
supporting, in those punctures, the weight of His body. In Valtorta's
account, these [sufferings] provoke rigid contractions of the whole
body—tetanus-like stiffening of the trunk and limbs—which do not cloud
the
consciousness or the will of the Dying Man, even though they are the
expressions of the greatest physical pain, produced by the greatest of
tortures. The whole phenomenal progression of the agony of Jesus, as
described in this Work [The Poem],
shows that it had been the immense
pain of His body which had stopped the breathing and heart of the Son
of Man. The greatest pity and emotion invade the Christian reader on
reading in Maria Valtorta's manuscript, this astonishing page, written
in a
truly medical style.1
And
yet, despite Dr. Pende's enthusiastic
assessment of Valtorta's writings, Christ seems to be displeased with
his defective faith. Though Pende is not mentioned by name in the
following critique, Christ's use of the term "costui" ["this man"]
three times, and "egli" and "lui" ["he"] once each, together with
Valtorta's introductory remark, seem to target Pende personally, and
as typical of "all those physicians of bodies or spirits who judge like
him..."
Dr. Pisani in fact had said of Pende that "he always remained profoundly impressed by the whole complex of Valtorta's writings, passionately seeking a scientific explanation of them, and never succeeding in formulating it in a complete manner with which he was fully secure." Apparently, one of the defects of Pende's faith—which Christ targets in this critique— is his unbelief in Satan and the demonic. This is a typical defect of the Faith that characterizes many of today's Catholic and Christian academics and scientists, who attempt to reduce demonic manifestations in the New Testament to mere psychological pathology. Perhaps this stern critique from Christ will be a wake-up call to them, and a warning of their perilous position toward the Faith and their salvation... —Translator
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