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

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerichof the fine arts, for he was a learned man. His character was firm, his figure short and thick-set,and his complexion dark.361352‘Abenadar was early convinced, by the doctrine which he heard Jesus preach, and by a miraclewhich he saw him work, that salvation was to be found among the Jews, and he had submitted tothe law of Moses. Although not yet a disciple of our Lord, he bore him no ill-will, and held hisperson in secret veneration. He was naturally grave and composed, and when he came to Golgothato relieve guard, he kept order on all sides, and forced everybody to behave at least with commondecency, down to the moment when truth triumphed over him, and he rendered public testimonyto the Divinity of Jesus. Being a rich man, and a volunteer, he had no difficulty in resigning hispost at once. He assisted at the descent from the Cross and the burial of our Lord, which put himinto familiar connection with the friends of Jesus, and after the day of Pentecost he was one of thefirst to receive baptism in the Pool of Bethsaida, when he took the name of Ctésiphon. He had abrother living in Arabia, to whom he related the miracles he had beheld, and who was thus calledto the path of salvation, came to Jerusalem, was baptised by the name of Cæcilius, and was charged,together with Ctésiphon, to assist the deacons in the newly-formed Christian community.‘Ctésiphon accompanied the Apostle St. James the Greater into Spain, and also returned with him.After a time, he was again sent into Spain by the Apostles, and carried there the body of St. James,who had been martyred at Jerusalem. He was made a bishop, and resided chiefly in a sort of islandor peninsula at no great distance from France, which he also visited, and where he made somedisciples. The name of the place where he lived was rather like Vergui, and it was afterwards laidwaste by an inundation. I do not remember that Ctésiphon was ever martyred. He wrote severalbooks containing details concerning the Passion of Christ; but there have been some books falselyattributed to him, and others, which were really from his pen, ascribed to different writers. Romehas since rejected these books, the greatest part of which were apocryphal, but which neverthelessdid contain some few things really from his pen. One of the guards of our Lord’s sepulchre, whowould not let himself be bribed by the Jews, was his fellow countryman and friend. His name wassomething like Sulei or Suleii. After being detained some time in prison, he retired into a cavernof Mount Sinai, where he lived seven years. God bestowed many special graces upon this man,and he wrote some very learned books in the style of Denis the Areopagite, Another writer madeuse of his works, and in this manner some extracts from them have come down to us. Everythingconcerning these facts was made known to me, as well as the name of the book, but I have forgottenit. This countryman of Ctésiphon afterwards followed him into Spain. Among the companions ofCtésiphon in that country were his brother Cæcilius, and some other men, whose names wereIntalecius, Hesicius, and Euphrasius. Another Arab, called Sulima, was converted in the very earlydays of the Church, and a fellow countryman of Ctésiphon, with a name like Sulensis, became aChristian later, in the time of the deacons.’THE END.203