The Making of the Maria Valtorta Audio Books
The Making of the Maria Valtorta Audio Books
The Story Behind the Recordings:
Creating the Audio Book Version of Maria Valtorta's 'The Gospel As Revealed to Me'
By: Father Peter Bowes
When I first was asked to record The Gospel As Revealed to Me by Maria Valtorta, I was a little overwhelmed with the idea. It was pages and pages of reading, actually thousands of pages – 8,000 approximately. I mulled it over in my mind and wondered if my voice would hold out or better yet, could I actually finish it.
I meditated on whether I would be a good instrument to represent the life of Jesus adequately for others. When I asked Jesus whether He wanted me to do it, He said, “You are the one to do it.” That surprised me at first. Then I felt very humbled by the task and realized that my love for Jesus is very deep. I have read all the volumes through four times start to finish and I have grown in my understanding of Jesus and His teachings from what Jesus has dictated to Maria Valtorta over many years.
I am awed by the majesty and power of Jesus Christ and am sure anyone who immerses themselves in this work will be changed and moved as I was.
The Recording Project Begins
When I started to record The Gospel as Revealed to Me, I was exhausted after a couple of chapters. I think the reality of the words of Jesus, which I was trying to capture in His feeling and His meaning, really changed me.
I was changing with each chapter. Saying things aloud is much different than just reading with my mind. I was taking on the presence and energy of Jesus as He was talking and that was what was so transforming and powerful.
I found for the first three volumes of recording, I had to take a nap after an hour or two of reading. My energy was being made different by giving so much. And yet, if I think of how much Jesus gave, I cannot say I gave that much. Jesus was teaching me directly while I was reading and I was changing into a deeper servant of God.
I know that the reader will be changed just listening to the story of Jesus’ life from Jesus’ own words.
“When I started to record The Gospel as Revealed to Me, I was exhausted after a couple of chapters. I think the reality of the words of Jesus, which I was trying to capture in His feeling and His meaning, really changed me.”
Maria Valtorta and Her Relationship With Jesus
I know some critics say that Maria Valtorta took fictional license in artistically making up things to elaborate the text. But Maria was an obedient instrument for Jesus and never changed His words or elaborated what Jesus meant. Jesus even edited what she wrote and corrected mistakes from time to time if she did not take His dictation accurately the way He wanted to describe something.
She was an obedient instrument for Jesus and He subjected her to pain and suffering and inability to take care of herself so that she would be able to focus on what He was giving her. She was not able to walk or fend for herself for many years of her life while Jesus was visiting her daily for hours at a time giving her the details and scenes of His life.
The Gift of 'The Gospel As Revealed to Me'
Nothing in The Gospel contradicts the New Testament, but many things are described more fully.
If Jesus has decided to give us a more complete and detailed history of His life and teachings and experiences, than that is His business and we should not be so scandalized by the additional material. We should be grateful for it. It is for our benefit that He gave us this more expanded vision of His life and experience.
I think you will be very moved and awakened to the depth of His reality and teachings if you immerse yourself in this work as I have done. Blessings to you in your listening.
My First Experiences Reading 'The Gospel as Revealed to Me'
When I first started reading The Gospel as Revealed to Me by Maria Valtorta, I was moved to tears many times. I would have to put down the book and just feel Jesus and be moved by His love and patience with all of His children.
Everyone is His children. I was awed by His love for humanity and He was talking to me directly. I was also awed by how Jesus formed Maria Valtorta into an incredible instrument for His dictations and the work, as He calls it.
It is His story and He has rights over how much disclosure and how many details He chooses to make known to us. He added many details in the dictations that illuminate the parables and the texts from the New Testament in ways that do not detract from the teachings we have known for 2000 years.
He decided to elucidate them and fill in the details of the picture for us as an act of compassion and kindness. He has said that He hopes this will spark some real devotion to God in the people of this planet.
“I would have to put down the book and just feel Jesus and be moved by His love and patience with all of His children.
Everyone is His children.”
Going Deeper Into the Teachings
As I read, I was moved into a more real and clear discipleship than I had been shown. He was the Teacher and I felt He was personally teaching me how to live, think, breathe and act while moving through the stories of His life.
At the end of His forty days of fasting, Jesus was tempted by Satan himself and had to endure that wretch of a being while Satan tempted Him with power, sensuality and pride. The temptation lasted much longer than my conception and Jesus was steadfast and faithful throughout.
The cunning language of Satan and the lies mixed in with truth showed a stunning intelligence in the fallen archangel. Satan would say that he could help Jesus make converts and then he would show Jesus how few people would be salvaged from humanity by His sacrifice. These are the lies and truths mixed together in the deceitful demons. Jesus overcame it by quoting the verses from the prophets about worship of God.
Another amazing thing that impacted me was that Jesus spent five days teaching the Sermon on the Mount. It was not just a long sermon one morning.
He taught for five mornings, since the afternoon sun was brutal and people needed shelter from the harshness of the heat. Each day was a long sermon about many things where Jesus goes through very thorough explanations of truths that the people needed to know.
He taught with authority and not as the Pharisees, Scribes and hypocrites. Then at the end of each sermon, Jesus would heal, not just one or two, but twenty or thirty people all at once by saying His word of healing to them.
In the New Testament, there are healings scattered throughout the Gospels, but in reality everywhere Jesus went He healed many people and sometimes it was just by Him saying, “I want.” And it was done. The majesty and power of His presence was shocking and awe inspiring to everyone who met Him.
May You Be Healed and Inspired By These Works
I too was moved and inspired and humbled and felt complete acceptance and love from Jesus while reading this work. I hope that in the telling of this story vocally, you will be healed, inspired and lifted up by this as I was.
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