Discover the experiences shared by our readers
These detailed testimonies reveal the profound impact of Maria Valtorta's work on the spiritual lives of its readers. Each account witnesses the graces received and conversions experienced.
135
testimonies collected
These detailed testimonies have been collected according to a structured methodology, allowing precise documentation of the impact of Maria Valtorta's work on readers' spiritual lives. Each testimony addresses the discovery of the work, its impact on faith, the graces received, and recommendations for other potential readers.
Clare Paulson
It's been over a decade since I began engaging on online discussion boards, where I encountered many lost and misguided souls. I wanted to better answer their questions about Christian core beliefs and doctrines, Gospel scenes, as well as address heresies (e.g., Antidicomarianism, reincarnation). Therefore, my mother recommended The Poem of the Man-God, which she knew of through her own mother; both are long-time devout Catholics and advocates of this Work. I read it, and since then I've researched Maria Valtorta further, discovered her other God-Authored Works as well, and re-read and advocated for them all.
The Poem of the Man-God is an illumination of the Gospel, because it is a more in-depth look into, and an intimate understanding of, Jesus's mortal days, where He is made greater in His humility, which is substantial nourishment for us to teach us to be humble and like Him, a man like us, who bore the perfection of a God. Furthermore, in it, the lives of other characters are made more known as well, such as Joseph and Mary of Nazareth, Mary the Magdalene, apostles Peter and Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, the Pharisees and scribes, and countless others. Their journeys, weaknesses, strengths, failures, and victories are shown in greater detail, serving for us as lessons to be better understood and applied. Lastly, as I read the Work, I experience narrative transportation. These are just a few brief reasons that contribute to my having lived, in a way, with Jesus and His companions, and to coming to know them more personally through their times of holy joys, comforts, sorrows, and sufferings, all of which ever fortify my increasing desire to love Him by living and sharing the Gospel.
In reading the Work, I find that I've been increasingly regular at integrating God into my day-to-day life in the following ways: reading the Gospel, receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, practicing spiritual and corporal acts of mercy, being vigilant of and deliberate in my desires, thoughts, words, actions/deeds, and emotions/feelings, being cognizant of how they can affect my soul and eternal destiny, as well as influence the spiritual journeys of others, and offering more sacrifices and expressing thankfulness to God throughout the day. Furthermore, it has increased my God-given fortitude so that, when I stumble in my humanness, I may more readily resist unholy fear, despair, and hopelessness, and rather run to Him with sincere repentance, trust, humility, and much love, as well as first give others the opportunity to do the same when they sin against themselves or another, rather than judge and condemn them, because faith in God is a responsibility. These are just a few examples of concrete Graces that this Work of God has brought to my spiritual life.
The four Gospels are essential and sufficiently describe Jesus—the minimum necessary for bringing one to belief and salvation—but it's not a complete knowledge of Him (Jn. 21:25), and His Mother is little known, etc. There's more helpful knowledge to learn and understand. To the little sheep seeking to become acquainted with their Shepherd, Jesus, Maria Valtorta is the staff leading you to Him.
Like others, I have and will continue to share the God-Authored Works by Maria Valtorta with others, especially priests, in the hope that they too will recognize the Voice of our living, loving, and interactive God, as well as the voices of other heavenly persons, such as the Blessed Virgin Mary, apostles Peter, John, and Paul, and others.
Gwenyth Story
A non-Catholic friend told me about it as we traveled home from a meeting about the Virgin Mary. She had only just begun reading it, and we were able to continue reading it together for the next few years. We met once a week to discuss it and to pray the Rosary. My friend later entered the Catholic Church and has been a strong Catholic since. I absolutely loved Maria's work, and I treated it as my exciting reward to read in the evenings after busy family days.
It strengthened my faith and was like a continual conversion, as it helped me understand the Gospels more. Maria's writings filled in gaps in the Gospels for me. It was like coloring in black-and-white Gospel pictures, and all became alive. It certainly helped me to know Jesus and to see how perfect He is; hence, I continually fell in love with Him more and more. It also helped me see, know, and love Blessed Mary, and helped me know and understand the Apostles, and laugh and cry along with them.
It has helped me pray more sincerely. The Mass and Confession became more meaningful. Jesus became a strong Friend during my daily life activities. At the time of discovering these writings, I was feeling quite disillusioned with the Church, so I do wonder where I would now be if I hadn't started reading these wonderful writings. I am so grateful to God for pointing me towards them.
The only way to know if you believe it or not is to read it. In 1948, Pope Pius XII said, "Publish this work as it is. Those who read it will understand." That is so true. If you want to understand the Gospels more, read Maria's writings, and they will help the Gospels come alive for you.
Noel Ashcroft
I heard about it on a pilgrimage to Medugorie in 1986. I got hold of the first volume of Poem of the Man God. After reading for a relatively short while (couple of hours), I quickly felt that this was not written by a human mind. I read on and became increasingly convinced that God was directing this writing. From then on, I could not put the book down. I knew I was listening to Jesus speaking and thirsted for more. The upshot was that I bought the full set of the Poem and, later, the Notebooks, Autobiography, Azariah, and everything published.
My faith has gone from strength to strength since 1986, and I attribute this to a great extent to these readings. I have not been able to put these writings down, as they have continued to create a spiritual thirst in me. I read this pretty much every day and have read everything at least six times and continuing, and get much more from the writings each time I read them. I know I will continue this until I can no more. I am currently 81 years old.
I find I now talk to God many (very many) times a day, either to the father, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, depending on circumstances, much of this being thanks to God in what I see around me. For example I see people doing ordinary automatic things and I give silent thanks to God on their behalf as it wouldn’t occur to them to say thanks as it was automatic to them. At other time a tree or plant and often the immensity of the sea, and then creation itself. The work has given me a feeling that I know Jesusin his daily life and can talk to Him more freely as a brother. The work has given me a feeling that I know Jesus in His daily life and can talk to Him more freely as a brother. I now love Him and Mary much more.
I would ask them to read a piece for an hour or two and see how they go. I often tell people that Mother Teresa always kept one of the volumes with her as she travelled, and that’s a strong endorsement of the value of the work.
If I look back over my life, there have been many things and people that have contributed to where my faith is today, as a committed practicing Catholic. However, without a shadow of a doubt, I believe these works by Jesus through Maria Valtorta have been, by far, the major positive influence on how I see and respond to God.
Gerard Beer
Like many I discovered ’The Poem’ from Our Lady Queen of Peace, Medjugorje. One of the Visionaries asked about Our Lady’s life and she recommended this book. That was 1988 and I continued reading it.
It deepened my prayer life as well as returning to Confession.
It deepened my relationship with Jesus as well as having a deeper relationship with his friends who are the many characters throughout the book.
Research shows that there is an imprimatur, as well as approval by many holy clergy and laypeople. One in particular is Dr. Mark Miravalle, Doctor of Mystical Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and Ave Maria University, Florida.
In conclusion, it has illuminated the Bible for me. Some of my favorite characters are Lazarus, who was well off but in no way attached to his wealth; additionally, Maximinus, his steward, and, of course, his dear sisters Mary Magdalene and Martha, as well as Sidonius, Mary Clopas, and Mary Salome. These individuals helped me connect the dots with the Poem, so to speak, in my Air Force travels to France 23 years ago. The Dominicans in St. Baume, France, as I do, believe that they evangelized there. Additionally, these Saints are mentioned in the Lives of the Saints. Finally, the Early Church and Western Church believed that Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, and Martha were indeed siblings, as the Poem demonstrates.
Anthony Smith
I remember being in the local parochial house at a meeting with the priest at the time, about twenty-five years ago, and I saw this book, The Poem of the Man-God, in his book cabinet. I asked him about it, and he said, “Would you like to read it?” and I said yes. It was Volume Four. I couldn’t wait to get the other volumes. Little did I know what I was being prepared for.
It made it all so real for me. I became enthralled by this incredible mission, I would call it. I feel very fortunate that I had a great love of reading, given to me by my father. When I was a child, I would sit at my father’s feet and listen to him reading cowboy books.
I started to take my faith very seriously: to go to Mass more, to receive Jesus at every Mass and to do so with reverence, and to try to live my life the way Jesus would want me to.
I have just gotten my sister to read a paragraph where Jesus appears to Judas’s mother to console her. My sister is seventy-seven years of age. It’s never too late to learn.
At seventy-three years of age, I feel I was being prepared for events that I would not have been able to face without God’s help. You see, twenty years ago this month, my only son died in a car accident. He was just twenty-one. It was our nine-eleven. He was a passenger in the car his friend was driving. I had gone to sleep the night before reading Volume Five, the paragraph where Jesus was lying in the arms of his mother after being taken down from the cross. Shortly after, at about five a.m., I got the word that my son was dead. I just said, “God, I’m finished; you have to take over,” and He did. That is why I’m here to write this. God bless your work. Tony
Ed Chavez
I first heard of Maria Valtorta's work in the 1980s on a network site and later through a fellow parishioner. My interest was piqued because I had been searching for some form of study of scripture that was informal and not just another catechism class, and designed for a personal pace. When I read an excerpt of "The Gospel as Revealed to Me," I was hooked and quickly bought the five volume set and gradually obtained the Notebooks and additional supporting volumes. They were so engrossing I read them quickly and have since been re-reading them slowly just to savor them. It is always "new."
The volumes have nourished my faith and love for scripture by the vivid portrayals of the gospel. The scenes and explanations not only sharpen the events but bring out such subtleties such as His glances, smiles, reproaches, parts of speech, and silence displaying His true humanity within the hypostatic union. Listening to the Gospel at Mass brightens up as I immediately recall the description shown in the work.
The work has brought me the grace of a deeper comprehension in my spiritual life: the Eucharistic sacrifice, the mysteries of the rosary, reconciliation, and a firm hope for eternal life. It's a solace that has kept me less defensive about my faith and at peace with a renewed resolve in its truthful foundation.
Time and again I encourage others to read just one chapter. Most are daunted, however, by the sheer volume of the work and its details: "Too descriptive of the landscape," "Dialogues are too long," etc.
Jean Louis
Via the internet on the website of Marie de Nazareth.
This allows me to better understand and illuminate certain passages of the Gospel, to put the events in their context, the gospel thus becomes much more alive, (we thus share Jesus' life better). This has allowed me to better know the life, the characters of the disciples, those close to Jesus (women, friends, etc..), to see all the problems with the Pharisees and the scribes, and also to realize the love and tenderness of Jesus for his mother.
I need to regularly read the writings of Marie Valtorta, I think this increases my faith.
One should not hesitate to discover it because there is no opposition with the Gospels.
Sr. Christine Kabumbu
In 1999 while doing my Master's degree, I went to our Mother House but had an attack of malaria. I was on medication and couldn't sleep. So I went to get a boring book to help me sleep. I found a thick one with the word ‘Poem’. In less than a page, I fell asleep. In mid-1999, I went to Tanzania for a research program for three months. While there, I met a devout Catholic man who told me about Valtorta's books and he insisted I get them. Back in Zambia, my friend Maria told me about Valtorta. I went and found that 'boring Poem' at the back of my locker. These three things led me to Valtorta.
I felt a real thirst. I recall how my life felt so empty after finishing one volume. I felt something missing. The more I read, the more my spiritual life completely changed because Jesus took control of everything, He became so meaningful and close. I felt my studies meant nothing without Jesus. I graduated from the school of Jesus rather than from the school of natural sciences. I was on a higher plane with regard to my religious and Christian life. I was very prayerful and aglow with the spirit. Through the writings, I came to love the name of Jesus and I don’t tire talking about the people and events. In 2000, I was elected as a councilor in the leadership team of my congregation. Our then Apostolic Vicar for Religious who was my spiritual director and now a bishop congratulated me saying, “You see? This is where Maria Valtorta has led you, so be ready for challenges.” This was like a prophesy.
In 2016, I became the Superior General of my congregation. It has been the most turbulent of my human life. I believe the Faith, which the reading of Maria Vartorta’s writings instilled in me, has kept me sane! There are many inspiring words in the writings of Maria Valtorta which I have amassed and use for my meditation and counsel. They speak to me very profoundly because it is Jesus, Mary and the Apostles speaking to me directly.
They are to be shared - I took the five volumes back with me to the University where I shared them with other devout students and friends.
These are my memorable experiences of how deeply the Valtorta works have affected people who open their hearts. When my late elder sister she read the passion and death of Our Lord, she could not contain herself. She could not sit still but started going round the house just to get rid of her emotions. Before my sister died (much later), after being acquainted with Vartorta’s works, she looked forward to dying to meet the Man-God. Another experience was that of a teacher who was dying. I used to go to him to read the Poem of the Man God during his sickness. Each time I arrived with the volume, the sick man would sit up, weak as he was, to give glory and praise to God who he said had spoken to him more than ever in his life. The teacher cried tears of joy for having encountered God just before his death. The man died happily having received the gift, as he put it, of hearing the voice of God. These two experiences left a deep impression on my life and I always wished many people would open-handedly and open-heartedly receive the Work of Maria Valtorta and not miss something great.
Ode
The reading of the work was suggested to me by members of my family at the beginning of the 2000s. A few years later, a fire ravaged both my business and my home. This forced stop gave me the opportunity and time for this inner pilgrimage. It is with great interest that I devoted myself entirely to the reading of the work throughout the following year.
As a person of Catholic faith, this reading was a real turning point in my spiritual life. I was overwhelmed by this endless journey that deeply moved me. I had a personal and authentic encounter with Jesus. I felt his presence intensely. On each page, I took the time to savor each word, each sentence, as if I was transported into his time and immersed in his universe. I felt lucky to live this extraordinary experience. I fell in love with Jesus. I learned to know and love Mary and Joseph with all my heart, as well as the apostles, the shepherds, the disciples. I knew and loved all those who surrounded him and loved him. Jesus made me feel the infinite love He feels for me and for each of us. This reading allowed me to experience deep joys as well as intense sorrows by his side. I shed all the tears of my body, for various reasons.
I take the time to immerse myself in the pages of the ten volumes of the work, reading and rereading them incessantly. I will never tire of it; I savor and scrutinize every detail, I refer to the New Testament, the Bible, as well as to the readings of the great saints and the notebooks of Maria Valtorta. Even if it seems senseless, the fire that devastated our home and our business was a blessing, a gift that God gave to our family. I believe that with the kind of life we were leading, this frantic race for work and leisure, this tumult around us would have been the end of our marriage. We pray as a family now. My son has undertaken the reading of the work and his partner is embarking on a spiritual exploration seeking to discover the face of Jesus and his teaching, through the exchanges and conversations we have as a family. Today, I strive to share my Christian faith, with kindness, without passing judgment, with people who, with sincerity, are in search of God.
Don't hesitate to get started, because you have nothing to lose in this process. Read the testimonials on this site.
Marie
Around 1961: Retreat with Father Berti OSM. He spoke to us about Maria Valtorta. Occasional reading of a page from one of the 10 volumes we had in the library. Then Total Forgetfulness... Fifty years later, at least, seeking to deepen the Truth of the Gospels... after having read a lot... Looking for answers to my questions of FAITH... after stumbling upon some videos talking about M.V. and The Work... I found the gold mine or better the Source I was looking for...
Although Christian, baptized, etc... even religious... around my 17 years, I questioned EVERYTHING... walking on water like Peter... (ups and downs succeeding each other) = "crisis of faith"... After many years of searching for The Truth (my scientific mind wanted "proof" of the Resurrection first)... I finally discovered The Truth by reading, meditating, praying "The Gospel as it was revealed to me". "Jesus today" has become my daily manna as well as: "the calendars" on "Valtorta.fr".
I'm not saying that I have come out of "crisis," but I know why Jesus is making me live through it. I am more present to the Mystery of the Eucharist, I quickly discover in the moments of my daily life what is contrary to "His doctrine"... or where He has acted in my favor or for others, or even what the Father is doing in the world... putting me in almost continual thanksgiving...
Read and you will understand... As Pope Paul VI said. If you have your own questions of Faith (Jesus knows them better than we do! be sure of it!) believe that little by little your eyes will open and He will lead you to the answers, as is always the case for me.
I know that my answers to the questions are incomplete. But the explanations would be too long. I remain available to those who might need to know something else to be helped in their own life. My life is a unique path like for everyone, but it does not belong to me: "no one lives for oneself, no one dies for oneself."
Your testimony can encourage other people to discover Maria Valtorta's work and contribute to the ecclesiastical study of this important case.
Share your testimony