The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. - documenta ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerichconfusion in a great degree, and then did their utmost to prevent the people from looking uponthese stupendous events as testimonies of the innocence of Jesus. The Roman garrison belongingto the fortress of Antonia likewise made great efforts to maintain order; consequently, the disturbanceof the festival was not followed by an insurrection, although every heart was fixed with fear andanxiety, which anxiety the Pharisees endeavoured (and in some instances with success) to calm.277278I remember a few other striking incidents: in the first place, the two columns which were placedat the entrance of their Holy of Holies, and to which a magnificent curtain was appended, wereshaken to the very foundations; the column on the left side fell down in a southerly, and that on theright side in a northerly direction, thus rending the veil in two from the top to the bottom with afearful sound, and exposing the Holy of Holies uncovered to the public gaze. A large stone wasloosened and fell from the wall at the entrance of the sanctuary, near where the aged Simeon usedto kneel, and the arch was broken. The ground was heaved up, and many other columns were throwndown in other parts of the Temple.An apparition of the High Priest Zacharias, who was slain between the porch and the altar, wasseen in the sanctuary. He uttered fearful menaces, spoke of the death of the second Zacharias, 14 andof that of St. John Baptist, as also of the violent deaths of the other prophets. The two sons of theHigh Priest Simon, surnamed the Just (ancestors of the aged Simeon who prophesied when Jesuswas presented in the Temple), made their appearance in the part usually occupied by the doctors,of the law; they also spoke in terrific terms of the deaths of the prophets, of the sacrifice of the oldlaw which was now about to cease, and they exhorted all present to be converted, and to embracethe doctrines which had been preached by him whom they had crucified. The prophet Jeremiahlikewise appeared; he stood near the altar, and proclaimed, in a menacing tone, that the ancientsacrifice was at an end, and that a new one had commenced. As these apparitions took place inparts where none but priests were allowed to enter, Caiphas and a few others were alone cognisantof them, and they endeavoured, as far as possible, either to deny their reality, or to conceal them.These prodigies were followed by others still more extraordinary. The doors of the sanctuary flewopen of themselves, and a voice was heard to utter these words: ‘Let us leave this place;’ and I sawall the angels of the Lord instantly leave the Temple. The thirty-two Pharisees who went to Calvarya short time before our Lord expired were almost all converted at the foot of the Cross. They returnedto the Temple in the midst of the confusion, and were perfectly thunderstruck at all which had takenplace there. They spoke most sternly, both to Annas and to Caiphas, and left the Temple. Annashad always been the most bitter of the enemies of Jesus, and had headed every proceeding againsthim; but the supernatural events which had taken place had so completely unnerved him that heknew not where to hide himself. Caiphas was, in reality, excessively alarmed, and filled withanxiety, but his pride was so great that. he concealed his feelings as far as possible, and endeavouredto reassure Annas. He succeeded for a time; but the sudden appearance of a person who had beendead many years marred the effect of his words, and Annas became again a prey to the most fearfulterror and remorse.14 The Zacharias here referred to was the father of John the Baptist, who was tortured and afterwards put to death by Herod, becausehe would not betray John into the hands of the tyrant, He was buried by his friends within the precincts of the Temple.160
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine EmmerichWhilst these things wore going on in the Temple, the confusion and panic were not less in Jerusalem.Dead persons were walking about, and many walls and buildings had been shaken by the earthquake,and parts of them fallen down. The superstition of Pilate rendered him even more accessible tofear; he was perfectly paralysed and speechless with terror; his palace was shaken to the veryfoundation, and the earth quaked beneath his feet. He ran wildly from room to room, and the deadconstantly stood before him, reproaching him with the unjust sentence he had passed upon Jesus.He thought that they were the gods of the Galilæan, and took refuge in an inner room, where heoffered incense, and made vows to his idols to invoke their assistance in his distress. Herod wasequally alarmed; but he shut himself up in his palace, out of the sight of every one.279More than a hundred persons who had died at different epochs reëntered the bodies they hadoccupied when on earth, made their appearance in different parts of Jerusalem, and filled theinhabitants with inexpressible consternation. Those souls which had been released by Jesus fromLimbo uncovered their faces and wandered to and fro in the streets, and although their bodies were,the same as those which they had animated when on earth, yet these bodies did not appear to touchthe ground as they walked. They entered the houses of their descendants, proclaimed the innocenceof Jesus, and reproved those who had taken part in his death most severely. I saw them passingthrough the principal streets; they were generally in couples, and appeared to me to glide throughthe air without moving their feet. The countenances of some were pale; others of a yellow tint; theirbeards were long, and their voices sounded strange and sepulchral. Their grave-clothes were suchas it was customary to use at the period of their decease. When they reached the place where sentenceof death was proclaimed on Jesus before the procession started for Calvary they paused for amoment, and exclaimed in a loud voice: ‘Glory be to Jesus for ever and ever, and destruction tohis enemies!’ Towards four o’clock all the dead returned to their graves. The sacrifices in theTemple had been so interrupted, and the confusion caused by the different prodigies was so greatthat very few persons ate the Paschal lamb on that evening.CHAPTER XLVII.The Request of Joseph of Arimathea to be allowed to have the Body of Jesus.SCARCELY had the commotion which the town had been thrown into begun to subside in a degree,when the Jews belonging to the Council sent to Pilate to request that the legs of the criminals mightbe broken, in order to put an end to their lives before the Sabbath-day dawned. Pilate immediatelydispatched executioners to Calvary to carry out their wishes.Joseph of Arimathea then demanded an audience; he had heard of the death of Jesus, and he andNicodemus had determined to bury him in a new sepulchre which he had made at the end of his161
Page 1 and 2:
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Je
Page 3 and 4:
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116: The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Je
Page 165: The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Je
show all

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. - documenta ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?