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

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The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine EmmerichOnce more did Mary embrace the sacred body of Jesus, and utter her farewells in the most touchinglanguage, and then the men lifted it from her arms on the sheet, and carried it to some distance.The deep sorrow of Mary had been for the time assuaged by the feelings of love and reverence withwhich she had accomplished her sacred task; but now it once more overwhelmed her, and she fell,her head covered with her veil, into the arms of the holy women. Magdalen felt almost as thoughher Beloved were being forcibly carried away from her, and, hastily ran forward a few steps, withher arms stretched forth; but then, after a moment, returned to the Blessed Virgin.298299The sacred body was carried to a spot beneath the level of the top of Golgotha, where the smoothsurface of a rock afforded a convenient platform on which to embalm the body. I first saw a pieceof open-worked linen, looking very much like lace, and which made me think of the largeembroidered curtain hung between the choir and nave during Lent. 20 It was probably worked inthat open stitch for the water to run through. I also saw another large sheet unfolded. The body ofour Saviour was placed on the open-worked piece of linen, and some of the other men held theother sheet spread above it. Nicodemus and Joseph then knelt down, and underneath this coveringtook off the linen which they had fastened round the loins of our Saviour, when they took his bodydown from the Cross. They then passed sponges under this sheet and washed the lower parts of thebody; after which they lifted it up by the help of pieces of linen crossed beneath the loins and knees,and washed the back without turning it over. They continued washing until nothing but clear watercame from the sponges when pressed. Next they poured water of myrrh over the whole body, andthen, handling it with respect, stretched it out full length, for it was still in the position in whichour Divine Lord had died—the loins and knees bent. They then placed beneath his hips a sheetwhich was a yard in width and three in length, laid upon his lap bundles of sweet-scented herbs,and shook over the whole body a powder which Nicodemus had brought. Next they wrapped upthe lower part of the body, and fastened the cloth which they had placed underneath round it strongly.After this they anointed the wounds of the thighs, placed bundles of herbs between the legs, whichwere stretched out to their fall length, and wrapped them up entirely in these sweet spices.Then John conducted the Blessed Virgin and the other holy women once more to the side of thebody. Mary knelt down by the head of Jesus, and placed beneath it a piece of very fine linen whichhad been given her by Pilate’s wife, and which she had worn round her neck under her cloak; next,assisted by the holy women, she placed from the shoulders to the cheeks bundles of herbs, spices,and sweet-scented powder, and then strongly bound this piece of linen round the head and shoulders.Magdalen poured besides a small bottle of balm into the wound of the side, and the holy womenplaced some more herbs into those of the hands and feet. Then the men put sweet spices around allthe remainder of the body, crossed the sacred stiffened arms on the chest, and bound the large whitesheet round the body as high as the chest, in the game manner as if they had been swaddling a child.Then, having fastened the end of a large band beneath the armpits, they rolled it round the headand the whole body. Finally, they placed our Divine Lord on the large sheet, six yards in length,which Joseph of Arimathea had bought, and wrapped him in it. He was lying diagonally upon it,20 This refers to a custom of the Diocese of Munster. During Lent there was hung up in the churches a curtain, embroidered in openwork, representing the Five Wounds, the instruments of the, Passion, &c.172
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerichand one corner of the sheet was raised from the feet to the chest, the other drawn over the head andshoulders, while the remaining two ends were doubled round the body.The Blessed Virgin, the holy women, the men-all were kneeling round the body of Jesus to taketheir farewell of it, when a most touching miracle took place before them. The sacred body of Jesus,with all its wounds, appeared imprinted upon the cloth which covered it, as though he had beenpleased to reward their care and their love, and leave them a portrait of himself through all the veilswith which he was enwrapped. With tears they embraced the adorable body, and then reverentlykissed the wonderful impression which it had left. Their astonishment increased when, on liftingup the sheet, they saw that all the bands which surrounded the body had remained white as before,and that the upper cloth alone had been marked in this wonderful manner. It was not a mark madeby the bleeding wounds, since the whole body was wrapped up and covered with sweet spices, butit was a supernatural portrait, bearing testimony to the divine creative power ever abiding in thebody of Jesus. I have seen many things relative to the subsequent history of this piece of linen, butI could not describe them coherently. After the resurrection it remained in the possession of thefriends of Jesus, but fell twice into the hands of the Jews, and later was honoured in several differentplaces. I have seen it in a city of Asia, in the possession of some Christians who were not Catholics.I have forgotten the name of the town, which is situated in a province near the country of the ThreeKings.300CHAPTER LII.The Body of our Lord placed in the Sepulchre.THE men placed the sacred body on a species of leathern hand-barrow, which they covered witha brown-coloured cloth, and to which they fastened two long stakes. This forcibly reminded me ofthe Ark of the Covenant. Nicodemus and Joseph bore on their shoulders the front shafts, whileAbenadar and John supported those behind. After them came the Blessed Virgin, Mary of Heli,her eldest sister, Magdalen and Mary of Cleophas, and then the group of women who had beensitting at some distance—Veronica, Johanna Chusa, Mary the mother of Mark, Salome the wife ofZebedee, Mary Salome, Salome of Jerusalem, Susanna, and Anne the niece of St. Joseph. Cassiusand the soldiers closed the procession. The other women, such as Marone of Naïm, Dina theSamaritaness, and Mara the Suphanitess, were at Bethania, with Martha and Lazarus. Two soldiers,bearing torches in their hands, walked on first, that there might be some light in the grotto of thesepulchre; and the procession continued to advance in this order for about seven minutes, the holymen and women singing psalms in sweet but melancholy tones. I saw James the Greater, the brotherof John, standing upon a hill the other side of the valley, to look at them as they passed, and hereturned immediately afterwards, to tell the other disciples what he had seen.173
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