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The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerich287288The garden of Joseph of Arimathea 16 was situated near the gate of Bethlehem, at about a sevenminutes’ walk from Calvary: it was a very fine garden, with tall trees, banks, and thickets in it,which gave much shade, and was situated. on a rising ground extending to the walls of the city. Aperson coming from the northern side of the valley, and entering the garden, had on his left handa slight ascent extending as far as the city wall; and on his right, at the end of the garden, a detachedrock, where the cave of the sepulchre was situated. The grotto in which it was made looked to theeast; and on the southwestern and north-western sides of the same rock were two other smallersepulchres, which were also new, and with depressed fronts. A pathway, beginning on the westernside of this rock, ran all round it. The ground in front of the sepulchre was higher than that of theentrance, and a person wishing to enter the cavern had to descend several steps. The cave wassufficiently large for four men to be able to stand close up to the wall on either side without impedingthe movements of the bearers of the body. Opposite the door was a cavity in the rock, in which thetomb was made; it was about two feet above the level of the ground, and fastened to the rock byone side only, like an altar: two persons could stand, one at the head and one at the foot; and therewas a place also for a third in front, even if the door of the cavity was closed. This door was madeof some metal, perhaps of brass, and had two folding doors. These doors could be closed by a stonebeing rolled against them; and the stone used for this purpose was kept outside the cavern.Immediately after our Lord was placed in the sepulchre it was rolled in front of the door. It wasvery large, and could not be removed without the united efforts of several men. Opposite the entranceof the cavern there stood a stone bench, and. by mounting on this a person could climb on to therock, which was covered with grass, and from whence the city walls, the highest parts of MountSion, and some towers could be seen, as well as the gate of Bethlehem and the fountain of Gihon.The rock inside was of a white colour, intersected with red and blue veins.CHAPTER L.The Descent from the Cross.AT the time when every one had left the neighbourhood of the Cross, and a few guards alone stoodaround it, I saw five persons, who I think were disciples, and who had come by the valley fromBethania, draw nigh to Calvary, gaze for a few moments upon the Cross, and then steal away. Threetimes I met in the vicinity two men who were making examinations and anxiously consulting16 We must here remark that, in the four years during which Sister Emmerich had her visions, she described everything that hadhappened to the holy places from the earliest times down to our own. More than once she beheld them profaned and laid waste,but always venerated, either publicly or privately. She saw many stones and pieces of rock, which had been silent witnesses ofthe Passion and Resurrection of our Lord, placed by St. Helena in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre upon occasion of thefoundation of that sacred building. When Sister Emmerich visited it in spirit she was accustomed to venerate the spots wherethe Cross had stood and the holy Sepulchre been situated. It must be observed, however, that she used sometimes to see a greaterdistance between the actual position of the Tomb and the spot where the Cross stood than there is between the chapels whichbear their names in the church of Jerusalem.166
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerichtogether. These men were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. The first time was during theCrucifixion (perhaps when they caused the clothes of Jesus to be brought back from the soldiers),and they were then at no great distance from Calvary. The second was when, after standing to lookwhether the crowd was dispersing, they went to the tomb to make some preparations. The thirdwas on their return from the tomb to the Cross, when they were looking around in every direction,as if waiting for a favourable moment, and then concerted together as to the manner in which theyshould take the body of our Lord down from the Cross, after which they returned to the town.Their next care was to make arrangements for carrying with them the necessary articles forembalming the body, and their servants took some tools with which to detach it from the Cross, aswell as two ladders which they found in a barn close to Nicodemus’s house. Each of these laddersconsisted of a single pole, crossed at regular intervals by pieces of wood, which formed the steps.There were hooks which could be fastened on any part of the pole, and by means of which theladder could be steadied or on which, perhaps, anything required for the work could also be hung.289290The woman from whom they had bought their spices had packed the whole neatly together.Nicodemus had bought a hundred pounds’ weight of roots, which quantity is equal to aboutthirty-seven pounds of our measure, as has been explained to me. They carried these spices in littlebarrels make of bark, which were hung round their necks, and rested on their breasts. One of thesebarrels contained some sort of powder. They had also some bundles of herbs in bags made ofparchment or leather, and Joseph carried a box of ointment; but I do not know what this box wasmade of. The servants were to carry vases, leathern bottles, sponges, and tools, on a species oflitter, and they likewise took fire with them in a closed lantern. They left the town before theirmaster, and by a different gate (perhaps that of Bethania), and then turned their steps towards MountCalvary. As they walked through the town they passed by the house where the Blessed Virgin, St.John, and the holy women had gone to seek different things required for embalming the body ofJesus, and John and the holy women followed the servants at a certain distance. The women wereabout five in number, and some of them carried large bundles of linen under their mantles. It wasthe custom for women, when they went out in the evening, or if intending to perform some workof piety secretly, to wrap their persons carefully in a long sheet at least a yard wide. They beganby one arm, and then wound the linen so closely round their body that they could not walk withoutdifficulty. I have seen them wrapped up in this manner, and the sheet not only extended to botharms, but likewise veiled the head. On the present occasion, the appearance of this dress was moststriking in my eyes, for it was a real mourning garment. Joseph and Nicodemus were also inmourning attire, and wore black sleeves and wide sashes. Their cloaks, which they had drawn overtheir heads, were both wide and long, of a common gray colour, and served to conceal everythingthat they were carrying.They turned their steps in the direction of the gate leading to Mount Calvary. The streets weredeserted and quiet, for terror kept every one at home. The greatest number were beginning to repent,and but few were keeping the festival. When Joseph and Nicodemus reached the gate they foundit closed, and the road, streets, and every corner lined with soldiers. These were the soldiers whomthe Pharisees had asked for at about two o’clock, and whom they had kept under arms and on guard,as they still feared a tumult among the people. Joseph showed an order, signed by Pilate, to let them167
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