Chapter 50
The Descent from the Cross
AT the time when every one had left the neighbourhood of the Cross, and a few guards alone stood around it, I saw five persons, who I think were disciples, and who had come by the valley from Bethania, draw nigh to Calvary, gaze for a few moments upon the Cross, and then steal away. Three times I met in the vicinity two men who were making examinations and anxiously consulting together. These men were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. The first time was during the Crucifixion (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 look whether the crowd was dispersing, they went to the tomb to make some preparations. The third was 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 they should 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 for embalming the body, and their servants took some tools with which to detach it from the Cross, as well as two ladders which they found in a barn close to Nicodemus's house. Each of these ladders consisted 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 the ladder could be steadied, or on which, perhaps, anything required for the work could also be hung.
The 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 about thirty-seven pounds of our measure, as has been explained to me. They carried these spices in little barrels made of bark, which were hung round their necks, and rested on their breasts. One of these barrels contained some sort of powder. They had also some bundles of herbs in bags made of parchment or leather, and Joseph carried a box of ointment; but I do not know what this box was made of. The servants were to carry vases, leathern bottles, sponges, and tools, on a species of litter, and they likewise took fire with them in a closed lantern. They left the town before their master, and by a different gate (perhaps that of Bethania), and then turned their steps towards Mount Calvary. 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 of Jesus, and John and the holy women followed the servants at a certain distance. The women were about five in number, and some of them carried large bundles of linen under their mantles. It was the custom for women, when they went out in the evening, or if intending to perform some work of piety secretly, to wrap their persons carefully in a long sheet at least a yard wide. They began by one arm, and then wound the linen so closely round their body that they could not walk without difficulty. I have seen them wrapped up in this manner, and the sheet not only extended to both arms, but likewise veiled the head. On the present occasion, the appearance of this dress was most striking in my eyes, for it was a real mourning garment. Joseph and Nicodemus were also in mourning attire, and wore black sleeves and wide sashes. Their cloaks, which they had drawn over their heads, were both wide and long, of a common grey colour, and served to conceal everything that they were carrying.
They turned their steps in the direction of the gate leading to Mount Calvary. The streets were deserted 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 found it closed, and the road, streets, and every corner lined with soldiers. These were the soldiers whom the 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 them pass freely, and the soldiers were most willing that they should do so, but explained to him that they had endeavoured several times to open the gate, without being able to move it; that apparently the gate had received a shock, and been strained in some part; and that on this account the archers sent to break the legs of the thieves had been obliged to return to the city by another gate. But when Joseph and Nicodemus seized hold of the bolt, the gate opened as if of itself, to the great astonishment of all the bystanders.
It was still dark and the sky cloudy when they reached Mount Calvary, where they found the servants who had been sent on already arrived, and the holy women sitting weeping in front of the Cross. Cassius and several soldiers who were converted remained at a certain distance, and their demeanour was respectful and reserved. Joseph and Nicodemus described to the Blessed Virgin and John all they had done to save Jesus from an ignominious death, and learned from them how they had succeeded in preventing the bones of our Lord from being broken, and how the prophecy had been fulfilled. They spoke also of the wound which Cassius had made with his lance. No sooner was the centurion Abenadar arrived than they began, with the deepest recollection of spirit, their mournful and sacred labour of taking down from the Cross and embalming the adorable body of our Lord.
The Blessed Virgin and Magdalen were
seatcd at the foot of the Cross; while, on the right-hand side,
between the cross of Dismas and that of
Jesus, the other women were engaged in preparing the linen, spices,
water, sponges, and vases. Cassius also came forward, and related to Abenadar the miraculous cure of his dyes. All were deeply affected,
and their hearts overflowing with sorrow and love; but, at the same time, they
preserved a solemn silence, and their every movement was full of gravity and
reverence. Nothing broke the stillness save an occasional smothered word of lamentation, or a stifled groan, which escaped from one or other of these holy
personages, in spite of their earnest eagerness and deep attention to their pious labour. Magdalen gave way unrestrainedly to her sorrow, and neither the
presence of so many different persons, nor any other consideration,
appeared to distract her from it.
It was a most touching sight. They all
took the same precautions, the same care, as if they had feared to cause Jesus some
suffering. They seemed to have concentrated on the sacred body all the love and
veneration which they had felt for their Saviour during his life. The eyes of each were
fixed upon the adorable body, and followed all its movements; and they were
continually uplifting their hands towards Heaven, shedding tears, and expressing in every
possible way the excess of their grief and anguish. Yet they all remained perfectly calm,
and even those who were so busily occupied about the sacred body broke silence but
seldom, and, when obliged to make some necessary remark, did so in a low voice.
During the time that the nails were being forcibly removed by blows of the hammer,
the Blessed Virgin, Magdalen, and all those who had been present at the
Crucifixion, felt each blow transfix their hearts. The sound recalled to
their minds all the sufferings of Jesus, and they could not control their trembling
fear, lest they should again hear his piercing cry of suffering; although, at
the same time, they grieved at the silence of his blessed lips, which
proved, alas too surely, that he was really dead. When the body was taken down it was wrapped in linen
from the knees to the waist, and then placed in the arms of the Blessed
Virgin, who, overwhelmed with sorrow and love, stretched them forth to receive
their precious burden.
Chapter 51
The Blessed Virgin seated herself
upon a large cloth spread on the ground, with her right knee, which
was slightly raised, and her back resting against some mantles, rolled
together so as to form a species of cushion. No precaution had been neglected which
could in any way facilitate to her " the Mother of Sorrows " in her deep affliction
of soul, the mournful but most sacred duty which she was about to fulfil in regard to
the body of her beloved Son. The adorable head of Jesus rested upon
Mary's knee, and his body was stretched upon a sheet. The Blessed Virgin was
overwhelmed with sorrow and love. Once more, and for the last time, did she hold in her arms
the body of her most beloved Son, to whom she had been unable to give
any testimony of love during the long hours of his martyrdom. And she gazed upon his
wounds and fondly embraced his blood-stained cheeks, whilst Magdalen pressed her face upon
his feet.
The men withdrew into a little cave,
situated on the south-west side of Calvary, there to prepare the different things
needful for the embalming; but Cassius, with a few other soldiers who had been converted,
remained at a respectful distance. All ill-disposed persons were gone back to
the city, and the soldiers who were present served merely to form a guard to
prevent any interruption in the last honours which were being rendered to the body of
Jesus. Some of these soldiers even gave assistance when desired. The holy women
held the vases, sponges, linen, unction, and spices, according as required; but when not
thus employed, they remained at a respectful distance, attentively gazing upon the
Blessed Virgin as she proceeded in her mournful task, Magdalen did not
leave the body of Jesus; but John gave continual assistance to the Blessed Virgin, and went to and fro from
the men to the women, lending aid to both parties. The women had with them some large leathern bottles and a vase
filled with water standing upon a coal fire. They gave the Blessed Virgin and Magdalen, according as they required, vases filled with clear water,
and sponges, which they afterwards squeezed in the leathern bottles.
The courage and firmness of Mary remained
unshaken even in the midst of her inexpressible anguish.* It was absolutely impossible for her to leave the body of her Son in the
awful state to which it had been reduced by his sufferings, and therefore she began with indefatigable earnestness to wash and purify it from the traces of the
outrages to which it had been exposed. With the utmost care she drew
off the crown of thorns, opening it behind, and then cutting off one by
one the thorns which had sunk deep into the head of Jesus, in order that she might
not widen the wounds. The crown was placed by the side of the nails, and
then Mary drew out the thorns which had remained in the skin with a species of
rounded pincers,** and sorrowfully showed them to her friends. These thorns were placed
with the crown, but still some of them must have been preserved separately.
* On Good Friday, March 30th, 1820,
as Sister Emmerich was contemplating the descent from the Cross she suddenly fainted
.in the presence of the writer of these lines, and appeared to be really dead. But after a time she recovered her senses and gave the following explanation, although still in a state of great suffering:
" As I was contemplating the body of Jesus lying on the knees of the
Blessed Virgin I said to myself : ' How great is her strength ! She has not fainted even once ! ' My guide reproached me for this thought, in which there was more astonishment than
compassion, and said to me, ' Suffer then what she has suffered ! ' And at the same moment a sensation of
the sharpest anguish transfixed me like a sword, so that I believed I must
have died from it." She had to endure this suffering for a long time, and, in consequence of it had an illness which
reduced her almost to the brink of the grave.
The divine face of our Saviour
was scarcely recognisable, so disfigured was it by the wounds with which it was
covered. The beard and hair were matted together with blood. Mary washed
the head and face, and passed damp sponges over the hair to remove the
congealed blood, As she proceeded in her pious office, the extent
of the awful cruelty which had been exercised upon Jesus became more and more apparent, and caused in her soul emotions of compassion and tenderness
which increased as she passed from one wound to another. She washed the wounds of the
head, the eyes filled with blood, the nostrils, and the ears, with a sponge and
a small piece of linen spread over the fingers of her right hand; and then she purified, in the same manner, the half-opened mouth, the
tongue, the teeth, and the lips. She divided what remained of our Lord's hair
into three parts,* a part falling over each temple, and the third over the back of his head; and when she had
disentangled the front hair and smoothed it, she passed it behind his ears. When the head was thoroughly cleansed and purified, the Blessed Virgin
covered it with a veil, after having kissed the sacred cheeks of her dear Son. She then
turned her attention to the neck, shoulders, chest, back, arms, and pierced hands. All the
bones of the breast and the joints were dislocated, and could not be bent. There was a
frightful wound on the shoulder which had borne the weight of the Cross, and all the upper
part of the body was covered with bruises and deeply marked with the blows of the scourges. On the left breast there was a small wound where the point of
Cassius's lance had come out, and on the right side was the large wound made by the
same lance, and which had pierced the heart through and through. Mary washed all these
wounds, and Magdalen, on her knees, helped her from time to time; but
without leaving the sacred feet of Jesus, which she bathed with tears and
wiped with her hair.
* Sister Emmerich was accustomed, when speaking of persons of historical importance, to explain how they divided
their hair. " Eve," she said, " divided
her hair in two parts, but Mary into three." And she appeared to attach importance to these
words. No opportunity presented itself for her to give any explanation upon the subject, which probably would have shown what was done with the hair
in sacrifices, funerals, consecrations, or vows. She once said of
Samson : " His fair hair, which was long and thick, was gathered up on his head
in seven tresses, like a helmet, and the ends of these tresses were fastened
upon his forehead and temples. His hair was not in itself the source of his strength, but only as the witness to the vow which he had made to let it grow in God's honour.
The powers which depended upon these seven stresses were the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. He must have already broken his vows
and lost many graces, when he allowed this sign of being a Nazarene to be cut off.
I did not see Dalila cut off all his hair, and I think one lock remained on
his forehead. He retained the grace to do penance and of that repentance by which
he recovered strength sufficient to destroy his enemies. The life of Samson
is figurative and prophetic."
The head, bosom, and feet of our Lord were now washed, and the sacred body, which was covered with brown stains and red
marks in those places where the skin had been torn off, and of a bluish-white colour, like
flesh that has been drained of blood, was resting on the knees of Mary, who covered the
parts which she had washed with a veil, and then proceeded to embalm all the wounds. The
holy women knelt by her side, and in turn presented to her a box, out of
which she took some precious ointment, and with it filled and covered the wounds. She also
anointed the hair, and then, taking the sacred hands of Jesus in her left hand,
respectfully kissed them, and filled the large wounds made by the nails with this ointment
or sweet spice. She likewise filled the ears, nostrils, and wound in the side
with the same precious mixture. Meanwhile Magdalen wiped and embalmed our
Lord's feet, and then again washed them with her tears, and often pressed her
face upon them.
The water which had been used was
not thrown away, but poured into the leathern bottles in which the sponges had been squeezed. I saw Cassius or
some other soldier go several times to fetch fresh water from the fountain
of Gihon, which was at no great distance off. When the Blessed Virgin had filled
all the wounds with ointment, she wrapped the head up in linen cloths, but she did not as yet cover the face. She closed the half-open eyes of Jesus,
and kept her hand upon them for some time. She also closed the mouth, and then embraced the sacred body of her beloved Son, pressing her face fondly
and reverently upon his. Joseph and Nicodemus had been waiting
for some time, when John drew near to the Blessed Virgin, and besought her
to permit the body of her Son to be taken from her, that the
embalming might be completed, because the Sabbath was close at hand.
Once more did Mary embrace the sacred body of Jesus, and utter her
farewells in the most touching language, 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 with which 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 though her Beloved were being
forcibly carried away from her, and hastily ran forward a few steps, with her arms
stretched forth; but then, after a moment, returned to the Blessed Virgin.
The sacred body was carried to
a spot beneath the level of the top of Golgotha, where the smooth surface
of a rock afforded a convenient platform on which to embalm the body. I first saw a piece
of open-worked linen, looking very much like lace, and which made me think of the
large embroidered curtain hung between the choir and nave during Lent.* It was probably worked in that open stitch for the water to run through.
I also saw another large sheet unfolded. The body of our Saviour
was placed on the open-worked piece of linen, and
some of the other men held the other sheet spread above it. Nicodemus and Joseph then knelt down, and underneath this covering took off the linen which they had
fastened round the loins of our Saviour, when they took his body down from
the Cross. They then passed sponges under this sheet and washed the lower parts of the body; 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 water came from the
sponges when pressed. Next they poured water of myrrh over the whole body,
and then, handling it with respect, stretched it out full length, for it
was still in the position in which our Divine Lord had died, the loins and knees bent. They
then placed beneath his hips a sheet which 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 up the 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, which were stretched out to their full length,
and wrapped them up entirely in these sweet spices.
* This refers to a custom of the Diocese of Munster. During Lent there was hung up in the
churches a curtain, embroidered in open work, representing the Five Wounds, the instruments of the Passion,
Then John conducted the Blessed Virgin
and the other holy women once more to the side of the body. Mary knelt down
by the head of Jesus, and placed beneath it a piece of very fine linen which had
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
women placed some more herbs into those of the hands and feet. Then the men put
sweet spices around all the remainder of the body, crossed the sacred
stiffened arms on the chest, and bound the large white sheet round the body as high as the chest, in the
same 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 head and 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, and one
corner of the sheet was raised from the feet to the chest, the other
drawn over the head and shoulders, 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 take their 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 been pleased to reward
their their love, and leave them a portrait of himself through all
the veils with which he was enwrapped. With tears they embraced the
adorable body, and then reverently kissed the wonderful impression which it
had left. Their astonishment increased when, on lifting up the
sheet, they saw that all the binds 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 made by the bleeding wounds, since the
whole body was wrapped up and covered with Sweet spices, but it was a supernatural
portrait, bearing testimony to the divine creative power ever abiding in the body of
Jesus. I have seen many things relative to the subsequent history of this piece of
linen, but I could not describe them coherently. After the resurrection it remained
in the possession of the friends of Jesus, but fell twice in the hands of
the Jews, and later was honoured in several different places. I have seen it in a city of Asia,
in the possession of some Christians Who were hot Catholics.
I have forgotten the name of the town, which is situated in a province near the
country of the Three Kings.
Chapter 52
The men placed the sacred body on
a species of leathern hand-barrow, which they covered with a brown-coloured cloth, and
to which they fastened two long stakes. This forcibly reminded me of the Ark
of the Covenant. Nicodemus and Joseph bore on their
shoulders the front shafts, while Abenadar and John supported those behind. After them came the Blessed Virgin,
Mary of Hell, her eldest sister, Magdalen and Mary of Cleophas, and then the
group of women who had been sitting at some distance, Veronica, Johanna Chusa, Mary the
mother of Mark, Salome the wife of Zebedee, Mary Salome, Salome of Jerusalem,
Susanna, and Anne the niece of St. Joseph. Cassius and the soldiers closed
the procession. The other women, such as Marone of Naïm, Dina the Samaritaness, 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 the sepulchre; and the procession continued to advance in this order
for about seven minutes, the holy men and women singing psalms in sweet but
melancholy tones. I saw James the Greater, the brother of John, standing upon a hill the other side of the valley, to look at them as they passed, and
he returned immediately afterwards, to tell the other disciples what he had seen.
The procession stopped at the entrance of Joseph's garden, which was opened by the removal of some stakes, afterwards used as levers to roll the stone to the door of the sepulchre. When opposite
the rock, they placed the Sacred Body on a long board covered with a sheet. The
grotto, which had been newly excavated, had been lately cleaned by the
servants of Nicodemus, so that the interior was neat and pleasing to the eye. The holy
women sat down in front of the grotto, while the four men carried in the body of our Lord, partially tilled the hollow couch destined for its reception with aromatic spices, and spread over them a cloth, upon which they
reverently deposited the sacred body. After having once more given expression
to their love by tears and fond embraces, they left the grotto. Then the Blessed
Virgin entered, seated herself close to the head of her dear Son, and
bent over his body with many tears. When she left the grotto, Magdalen hastily and eagerly came forward, and flung on the body some flowers and branches which
she had gathered in the garden. Then she clasped her hands together, and with sobs kissed the feet of Jesus; but the men having informed her that they
must close the sepulchre, she returned to the other women. They covered the sacred
body with the extremities of the sheet on which it was lying, placed on
the top of all the brown coverlet, and closed the folding-doors, which were made of a bronze-coloured metal, and had on their front two
sticks, one straight down and the other across, so as to form a perfect cross.
The large stone with which they
intended to close the sepulchre, and which was still lying in front of the
grotto, was in shape very like a chest* or tomb; its length was such that a man might have laid himself down upon it, and it was so heavy that it was only by means of levers that the men could roll it before the door of the
sepulchre. The entrance of the grotto was closed by a gate made of branches
twined together. Everything that was done within the grotto had to be accomplished
by torchlight, for daylight never penetrated there.
*Apparently Sister Emmerich here spoke of the ancient cases in which her poor countrymen keep their clothes. The
lower part of these cases is smaller than the upper, and this gives them some
likeness to a tomb. She had one of these cases, which she called her chest. She often described the stone by this comparison, but her descriptions have
not, nevertheless, given us a very clear idea of its shape.
Chapter 53
The Sabbath was close at hand, and
Nicodemus and Joseph returned to Jerusalem by a small door not far from the garden, and
which Joseph had been allowed by special favour to have made in the city wall. They told the
Blessed Virgin, Magdalen, John, and some of the women, who were returning to Calvary to
pray there, that this door, as well as that of the supper-room, would be opened to them
whenever they knocked. The elder sister of the Blessed Virgin, Mary of Heli,
returned to the town with Mary the mother of Mark, and some other women. The servants of Nicodemus and
Joseph went to Calvary to fetch several things which had been left there.
The soldiers joined those who were
guarding the city gate near Calvary; and Cassius went to Pilate with the lance, related
all that he had seen, and promised to give him an exact account of everything that should
happen, if he would put under his command the guards whom the Jews would not fail to ask
to have put round the tomb. Pilate listened to his words with secret terror, but only told
him in reply that his superstition amounted to madness.
Joseph and Nicodemus met Peter and the
two Jameses in the town. They all shed many tears, but Peter was perfectly overwhelmed by
the violence of his grief. He embraced them, reproached himself for not having been
present at the death of our Saviour, and thanked them for having bestowed the rites of
sepulture upon his sacred body. It was agreed that the door of the supper-room should be
opened to them whenever they knocked, and then they went away to seek some other disciples
who were dispersed in various directions. Later I saw the Blessed Virgin and her
companions enter the supper-room; Abenadar next came and was admitted; and by degrees the greatest part of the Apostles
and disciples assembled there. The holy Women retired to that part of the building where
the Blessed Virgin was living. They took some food, and spent a few minutes more in tears,
and in relating to one another what each had seen. The men changed their dresses, and I
saw them standing under the lamp, and keeping the Sabbath. They ate some lambs in the
supper-room, but without observing any ceremony, for they had eaten the Paschal lamb the
evening before. They were all perturbed in spirit, and filled with grief. The holy women
also passed their time in praying with the Blessed Virgin under the lamp. Later, when
night had quite fallen, Lazarus, the widow of Naïm, Dina the Samaritan woman, and Mara of
Suphan,* came from Bethania, and then, once more,
descriptions were given of all that had taken place, and many tears shed.
* According to the visions of Sister
Emmerich, the three women named in the text had been living for some time at Bethania, in
a sort of community established by Martha for the purpose of providing for the maintenance
of the disciples when our Lord was moving about, and for the division and
distribution of the alms which were collected. The widow of Naïm, whose son Martial was
raised from the dead by Jesus, according to Sister Emmerich, on the 28th Marcheswan (the
18th of November), was named Maroni. She was the daughter of an uncle, on the
father's side, of St. Peter. Her first husband was the son of a sister of Elizabeth
who herself was the daughter of a sister of the mother of St. Anne. Maroni’s first
husband having died without children, she had married Elind, a relation of St. Anne, and
had left Chasaluth, near Tabor, to take up her abode at Naïm, which was not far off, and
where she soon lost her second husband.Dina, the Samaritan woman, was the same
who conversed with Jesus by Jacobs well. She was born near Damascus, of parents who were half
Jewish and half Pagan. They died while she was yet very young, and she being brought up by
a woman of bad character, the seeds of the most evil passions were early sown in her
heart. She had had several husbands, who supplanted one another in turn, and the last
lived at Sichar, whither she had followed him and changed her name from Dina to Salome.
She had three grownup daughters and two sons, who afterwards joined the disciples. Sister Emmerich used to say
that the life of this Samaritan woman was prophetic, that Jesus
had spoken to the entire sect of Samaritans in her person, and that they were attached to
their errors by as many ties as she had committed adulteries.
Joseph of Arimathea returned home late
from the supper-room, and he was sorrowfully walking along the streets of Sion,
accompanied by a few disciples and women, when all of a sudden a band of armed men, who
were lying in ambuscade in the neighbourhood of Caiphas's tribunal, fell upon them,
and laid hands upon Joseph, whereupon his companions fled, uttering loud cries of terror.
He was confined in a tower contiguous to the city wall, not far from the tribunal. These
soldiers were pagans, and had not to keep the Sabbath, therefore Caiphas had been able to
secure their services on this occasion. The intention was to let Joseph die of hunger, and
keep his disappearance a secret.
Here conclude the descriptions of all
that occurred on the day of the Passion of our Lord; but we will add some supplementary matter concerning Holy
Saturday, the Descent into Hell, and the Resurrection.
Chapter 54
Whilst meditating on the name of Golgotha, Calvary, - the place of skulls, - borne by the rock upon which Jesus was
crucified, I became deeply absorbed in contemplation, and beheld in spirit all ages from
the time of Adam to that of Christ, and in this vision the origin of the name was made
known to me. I here give all that I remember on this subject.
I saw Adam, after his expulsion from
Paradise, weeping in the grotto where Jesus sweated blood and water, on Mount Olivet. I
saw how Seth was promised to Eve in the grotto of the manger at Bethlehem, and how she
brought him forth in that same grotto. I also saw Eve living in some caverns near Hebron,
where the Essenian Monastery of Maspha was afterwards established.
I then beheld the country where Jerusalem
was built, as it appeared after the Deluge, and the land was all unsettled, black, stony,
and very different from what it had been before. At an immense depth below the rock which
constitutes Mount Calvary (which was formed in this spot by the rolling of the waters), I
saw the tomb of Adam and Eve. The head and one rib were wanting to one of the skeletons,
and the remaining head was placed within the same skeleton, to which it did not belong.
The bones of Adam and Eve had not all been left in this grave, for Noah had some of them
with him in the ark, and they were transmitted from generation to generation by the
Patriarchs. Noah, and also Abraham, were in the habit, when offering sacrifice, of always
laying some of Adam's bones upon the altar, to remind the Almighty of his promise.
When Jacob gave Joseph his variegated robe, he at the same time gave him some bones of
Adam, to be kept as relics. Joseph always wore them on his bosom, and they were placed
with his own bones in the first reliquary which the children of Israel brought out of
Egypt. I have seen many similar things, but some I have forgotten, and the others time fails me to describe.
As regards the origin of the name of Calvary, I here give all I know. I beheld the mountain which bears this name as it was in the
time of the Prophet Eliseus. It was not the same then as at the time of our Lord's
Crucifixion, but was a hill, with many walls and caverns, resembling tombs, upon it. I saw
the Prophet Eliseus descend into these caverns, I cannot say whether in reality or
only in a vision, and I saw him take out a skull from a stone sepulchre in which
bones were resting. Some one who was by his side, I think an angel, said to him,
" This is the skull of Adam." The prophet was desirous to take it away, but his
companion forbade him. I saw upon the skull some few hairs of a fair colour.
I learned also that the prophet having
related what had happened to him, the spot received the name of Calvary. Finally, I
saw that the Cross of Jesus was placed vertically over the skull of Adam. I was informed
that this spot was the exact centre of the earth; and at the same time I
was shown the numbers and measures proper to every country, but I have forgotten them,
individually as well as in general. Yet I have seen this centre from above, and as
it were from a bird's-eye view. In that way a person sees far more clearly than
on a map all the different countries, mountains, deserts, seas, rivers, towns, and even the
smallest places, whether distant or near at hand.
The Embalming of the Body of Jesus
** Sister Emmerich said that the shape of these pincers reminded her of the scissors with which Samson's
hair was cut off. In her visions of the third year of the public life of Jesus she had seen our Lord keep the Sabbath-day at
Misael—a town belonging to the Levites of the tribe of Aser, and as a portion of the Book of Judges was read in the
synagogue, Sister Emmerich beheld upon that occasion the life of Samson.
The Body of Our Lord Placed in the Sepulchre
The Return from the Sepulchre - Joseph of Arimathea is put in Prison
Mara of Suphan was a Moabitess, came from
the neighbourhood of Suphan, and was a descendant of Orpha, the widow of Chélion, Noëmi’s son. Orpha
had married again in Moab. By Orpha, the sister-in-law of Ruth, Mara
was connected with the family of David, from whom our Lord was descended. Sister Emmerich
saw Jesus deliver Mara from four devils and grant her forgiveness of her sins on the
17th Elud (9th September) of the second year of his public life. She was living at Ainon,
having been repudiated by her husband, a rich Jew, who had kept the children he had had by
her with him. She had with her three others, the offspring of her adulteries.
" I saw " Sister Emmerich would say." I saw how the stray branch of the stock of David was purified within her by
the grace of Jesus, and admitted into the bosom of the Church. I cannot express how many
of these roots and offshoots I see become entwined with each other, lost to view, and then
once wore brought to light."
On the Name of Calvary