Volume 2

Jesus Blesses a Well 135
Many of the cured, rising up, cast themselves at His feet,
and then followed Him joyously, as we here follow the
Blessed Sacrament, though always reverently and at a distance.
But to others again, Jesus gave a command to remain
in their homes.
He directed some of the cured to bathe in the water that
He had blessed; these were the children and the leprous.
Jesus went to a well near the synagogue and blessed it,
casting in at the same time salt that He had previously
blessed. This well was very deep; a flight of steps led
down to it. He taught on this occasion of Eliseus, who
with salt had rectified the water near Jericho; then He explained
the signification of salt. He furthermore commanded
that the people, when sick, should use the water
of the well for bathing purposes. He always blessed in the
form of a cross. While He was thus engaged, the disciples
held His mantle, which He sometimes laid off, and
handed Him the salt that He threw into the water. He performed
all these ceremonies with great gravity and
recollection.
During this vision, I saw interiorly that a similar power
to heal is given to priests. Some of the sick were brought
to Jesus on beds, and He cured them. He delivered a discourse
in the synagogue, but He took no repast, for the
whole day was spent in teaching and healing. On the evening
after the Sabbath, He left the place with His discipIes.
On taking leave of the inhabitants, who were distressed
to see Him go, He ordered them not to follow
Him, and they obeyed humbly. He had blessed and
purified the water for them, because it was bad and full of
snakes and animals with thick heads and long tails. About
two hours from this place Jesus and His disciples put up
at a large inn among the mountains where they ate and
slept. On their journey to the Jewish city, they had passed
this inn at some distance.
The next day, crowds of people bringing their sick