On April 23, 1943, Good Friday, Maria Valtorta received the first of a series of “dictations” - mainly attributed to Christ, but also, on occasion, to God the Father, the Holy Spirit, Mary, and other figures associated with Divine Revelation1 - which would extend over a number of years. During that period, in response to Christ’s invitation, she contemplated and wrote in narrative form all of the major episodes connected with the life of the Redeemer.2
This new phase in her human and, above all, spiritual development did not appear abruptly, but had been preceded by many years of progressive union with Christ, culminating in an act of self-sacrifice whereby she had offered herself as a “victim soul” desirous of cooperating with the work of redemption.3
Bedridden as a result of serious and growing infirmity, virtually cut off from normal social life, and generally not understood by those immediately in contact with her, under the insistent touch of inspiration she blossomed into a prolific writer, always maintaining, however, that the content of her “dictated” or revealed works was not a literary creation of her own, but that she was merely a willing instrument in the hands of God and wrote down what she heard or saw.
The magnitude of her production and the sources to which it is attributed present us with an extraordinary spiritual event in the middle of the twentieth century which warrants attentive consideration.
The body of her works is entirely sealed by an intense perception of “Catholicity” - what it means to be a Catholic believer at this stage in history, with a lively awareness of the twenty centuries of Christianity which have already transpired and of the challenges which now face the Church and all mankind.
The Notebooks. 1945-1950 is the third and last volume to appear in English of the three works published in Italian under the title Quaderni which contain additional visions and dictations received by Maria Valtorta during the period in which she contemplated and recorded the events which would constitute her major opus on the life of Christ.
The present work contains a wide variety of complementary materials which complete the Valtortan contribution to the mystical understanding of Christ’s presence and action in his saints and in human history. The violent, but faith-filled experiences of martyrs, both known and unknown; the treachery of Satan in trying to torment the writer with doubts and anguish over the genuineness of her labor and Christ’s timely intervention to protect her; messages and instruction granted to those needing special guidance in their trials; clarification of specific problems facing contemporary thought, such as the question of evolution; a description of the Lord’s gestures of intimacy and closeness to those who are deeply and selflessly united to Him; and a long concluding commentary on the content of the Book of Revelation are some of the many highlights of this always surprising and enriching spiritual document.
Other works by the writer, a number of which are available in English,4 are referred to in the notes, and readers are provided with biographical information shedding light on The Notebooks. In addition, in order to situate the present text in the broader context of Maria Valtorta’s other writings, reference is frequently made to the accounts of Christ’s life which were dictated within the timespan of the entries in this volume but are published elsewhere. These Notebooks belong to a category of mystical literature which the Catholic Church has long been familiar with: that of so-called “private revelations.” A private revelation is not binding for the faith of Christians; rather, its value is to be measured by its capacity to instruct and inflame souls, spurring them to love God more and apply divine teachings to their everyday lives. Indeed, the authenticity of Maria Valtorta’s works, precisely as “private revelations” granted to her under very special conditions, can best be gauged by the intensity of the Divine Love throbbing powerfully through all these passages, like beats f the Sacred Heart.
In the confidence - and the conviction - that this work superabounds in these inspired qualities, we offer it for the spiritual nourishment of readers.
Rome David G. Murray
August 28, 2002
1 The commentaries attributed to her guardian angel have been published in English as The Book of Azariah (Isola del Liri, Italy: Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, 1993), translated by David G. Murray.
2 Published in English in five volumes as The Poem of the Man-God (Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, 1986-1990), translated by Nicandro Picozzi.
3 The events marking the genesis and unfolding of this special mission are narrated in Maria Valtorta, Autobiography (Isola del Liri, Italy: Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, 1991), translated by David G. Murray.
4 In addition to the English versions mentioned in the three previous notes, readers may consult The Notebooks. 1943 and The Notebooks. 1944, published by the Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, Isola del Liri, Italy, in 1996 and 1998, respectively.