Greatest Mystic of our Time

 

 

 

 

Greatest Mystic of Our Time

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich

Richard Salbato 7-7-07

I have been studying and writing about apparitions and mystics for over 40 years now.� I have personally met five mystics who have had true mystical experiences, two from God and three from demonic sources.� I wrote the first book on one of these mystics and the only book approved by the bishop.� It was because of Padre Pio and Fatima that I came back to the Church and from exorcisms and mystics that I learned to know the true from the false regarding revelations.� True apparitions and mystics do not give any new knowledge to the deposit of faith but sometimes they do give better understanding, proof, and devotion to what we should already know.�

Guadalupe supported the Church against the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther. Bernadette of Lourdes supported a controversial doctrine given earlier by the Holy Father regarding the Immaculate Conception and proved it with miracles. Our Lady of Fatima came to warn us and save us from Communism. Padre Pio came to give us greater devotion to Christ in the Mass and understanding of need for Confession.� Tre Fountain was heaven�s way of teaching the errors of Protestantism.�

One of these mystics was Anne Catherine Emmerich, now Blessed, who God used to counter Nazism, Secularism, Evolution, Atheism, and Agnosticism. Because she came at a critical time in history of the many false Philosophies of the time, she needed to be armed by God with the most evidence of the truth she would communicate.�

Atheism and Communism were spreading throughout the world from the Latin Quarter of France and thanks to the printing press it covered the world quickly. Solid evidence against these trends was needed in the world backed by proof of their validity.� To support the infallibility and historicity of the Bible and the unity of the Catholic Church, God chose a woman who could not read or write. She was able to become a nun simply because she could play the organ and the convent needed an organist. In the convent she was the wash woman and organist.�

Soon after God sent to her (guides) Guardian Angels to take her back in time with visions and teachings so that she understood the creation, test and fall of the Bad Angels, the reason for the creation of the world, the fall of man, and his redemption.� Almost every mystery of the Bible was explained to her and she saw details that are not found in the bible.�

She even saw the details of the clothes people wore, the symbolisms of the events, and the meaning of each historical event. When the time came for her to write all this down God sent to her, The Pilgrim, as she called him.� Brentano was one of the best writers of the time, but he had drifted away from the Church and was becoming a Pluralist.� Listening to and writing down Emmerich�s visions, sometimes as they were happening, Brentano converted back to the faith and became her biggest advocate.� He wrote volumes and volumes of her revelations until they covered every shelf and table of his home.

Today, after 150 years, only a small portion of Emmerich�s revelations have been published and in English those can be purchased at Tan Books and Publishing.� For those who have read them and forgotten them I plead with you to do as I have, read them over and over again.� When I study the Bible I read it with the Fundamentals of Catholic Doctrine, a Bible Dictionary - Thesauruses, a Greek � English translator, and Emmerich�s books.� Nothing has given me more understanding of the historicity and truth of the Bible than Emmerich, and the Early Church Fathers.

Emmerich�s Proof

What Emmerich did for me the most was take away all doubt regarding the Bible and the Church.� God backed up her revelations with one of the most documented stigmatas in history, with short term prophesies, with miraculous cures, reading and understanding the minds and souls of others, discernment of true and false relics, and revelations of the locations of things and places lost to archeologists.� She saw visions of the future with its blessings and curses.

Using the revelations of Emmerich, Heinrich Schliemann discovered the Chaldean�s City of Ur. Using the books of Emmerich over a 100 years after her death two Lazarist priests from Smyrna, Fathers Poulin and Yung, determined to check the authenticity of Sister Emmerich.

Emmerich had described the exact location of Our Lady�s house in Ephesus and her death and bodily resurrection from that place.� Every detail was given in her revelations, to the location, to its size, its interior, a cave next to it, the stations of the Cross John built for Her, the later Basilica built for Her there, the cave of John�s death and his Basilica, all in Ephesus.

After five days' search in the mountains south of the ancient city the two priests were led by some natives of the region to a small ruined building near the summit of an isolated peak. The site and the plan of the house corresponded accurately to Sister Emmerich's description (See Vol. IV, pp. 451-455). The explorers learned that the place had been locally venerated since time immemorial by villagers descended from the early Christians of Ephesus, who called it Panaya Kapulu, "The House of the Holy Virgin", and who made annual pilgrimages there on the Feast of the Assumption.

Later two Americans, a husband and wife, rebuilt the house back to its original form as described by Emmerich.

�House of Our Lady in Ephesus today.

Ephesus became, in fact, the great Marian city of the primitive Church, the site of the earliest known basilica built in honor of the Mother of God. In this same church the Council of Ephesus (431) defined the first Marian dogma, that of the Theotokos or Divine Maternity.� During the 63 years since the discovery many archaeological investigations as well as several new discoveries in the neighborhood have confirmed the authenticity of Panaya Kapulu.

Not far from the house the Christian cave-settlement and the ruins of the palace described by Sister Emmerich have also been found.� In 1954 the Little Brothers of Jesus accepted the post of serving at Panaya Kapulu, now known as the Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption.

When the Christians were driven from Jerusalem, St. John came to Ephesus together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. A large group of Christian people came with them. St. John settled in Ephesus. He did not move from there, except when he was forced to go in exile on the nearby island of Patmios.� Thus, Ephesus and Asia Minor became the very place where the Apostles and the first Christians, after having left the Holy Land, reorganized their forces and prepared themselves for their apostolate to the West.

The body of St. John was not found. The Manna became since then the main characteristic of the Apostle's tomb. Every now and then, it was reported, the Manna came out from the tomb.� The body of St. Mary Magdalene was transferred from Ephesus to France. The Basilica of Saint John, in its full length of 428 feet, occupies the entire width of the hill at that place, and, like all oriental Churches have to be built, covers exactly the axis East-West making thus, with the length of the hill, a geometrically perfect right angle of 45 degrees. St. Mary's Basilica at Ephesus is some 857 feet long.�  

Then it was that the Blessed Virgin who until that time had dwelt in the small house near the Crenaculum and in Bethania, allowed herself to be conducted by John to the region of Ephesus, where the Christians had already made settlements.

He had built for her a dwelling of stone very similar to her own at Nazareth and he help the Blessed Virgin erect the first Stations of the Holy Way of the Cross

After Mary had lived three years in the settlement near Ephesus she visited Jerusalem with John and Peter. Several Apostles were there assembled.� It was the first Council, and Mary assisted the Apostles with her advice. 

A year and a half before her death, she made one more journey from Ephesus to Jerusalem, and She again visited the Holy Places. She was unspeakably sorrowful, and Her companions thought her dying. When She recovered sufficient strength, She journeyed back to Ephesus where, a year and a half later, She did indeed die. The tomb prepared for her on Mount Olivet was ever after held in reverence, and at a later period a church was built over it. This is why some did not believe Emmerich�s vision that Mary lived and died in Ephesus.

More Emmerich to be Discovered

Nobody seems to have noticed that Emmerich also describes the exact location of a treasure in the walls of Santa Maria Maggiore (Rome): relics, writings from the first Christians and the original painting of the Virgin by Saint Luke (miraculously finished).Emmerich also describes a real treasure in a Judean city in Ethiopia which, so far has not been discovered.

Emmerick gives a detailed map of Jerusalem and places where Jesus had traveled. She also gives hints to the exact location of important places and relics.� A Benedictine priest at the D.C. Abbey of St. Anselm, following Emmerich�s writings, discovered new sites in the Holy Land as she described them.

Emmerich's calendar system plotted Julian, Gregorian, Roman and Jewish calendars against astronomical data: I am sure that all the dates and moon phases she gives align perfectly, something really hard in our time and quite impossible in her time.� A study of this would give us exact dates of the important Catholic feasts (Immaculate Conception, Incarnation, Nativity, etc.).

Consider that Emmerich describes in detail the story of hundreds of relics and the locations of religious treasures such as:� The Holy Grail, Lignum Crucis, Crown of thorns and nails used in the Crucifixion, The sacred spear, Hair of Blessed Virgin Mary, Hand of Blessed Virgin Mary stamped in the rock, Stone miraculously engraved in Saint Peter�s, Nuptial ring of Blessed Virgin Mary, House of the Sacred Family, House of Saint John and Mary in Ephesus, Miraculous spring/fountain asked by our Mother in Egypt, Miraculous paintings and images of our Lord and our Mother, House of Saint Peter, House of Saint Paul, Body and head of John the Baptist, Body of Saint Catherine stamped in the rock, Arc of the Covenant and hundreds of etc.

Each relic and place can be directly linked to a Bible passage or Tradition and will raise more trust in the scriptures, the Church, as well as Emmerick/Brentano writings.� All or most of the above could be found just by studying the writings of Emmerich.

A Better Promotion of Emmerich�s Writings

Consider that almost every apparition has one or more web sites promoting it but Emmerich has none. Organizations have grown up to promote Fatima, like the Legion of Mary, the Blue Army, the International Apostolate of Fatima, etc. but none for Emmerich.� We have the Spiritual Children of Padre Pio, but nothing for Emmerich. We have new religious orders for some saints but none for Emmerich.� We have over 100 web sites for Medjugorje but none for Emmerich.�

It is sad that there is no real promotion or organization or even a web site for Emmerich�s writings because resurrecting Emmerich�s theological message will have a great impact on: The appreciation of the Catholic Church�s tradition in interpreting the Bible, The appreciation of images and relics as channels of especial blessings; The answers to questions such as: If God loves us, why did He wait thousands of years to incarnate and leave us the Sacraments? Why wasn�t Virgin Mary the grand daughter of Eve?� Why did Mary deserve to be chosen among all women? Why is it fair that God chose the Jews, while discriminating the rest?� Why is Latin so important to the Church?� Why is prayer, penance and mercy, for the love of God, essential to salvation?� Why should we trust the Gospels? Emmerick determines the location, date, author and circumstances related to their writing.� Why is The Da Vinci Code wrong on issues like Trinity, priesthood, Mary Magdalene, celibacy, etc.?

Emmerich gives a detailed account of unknown facts about the life of Jesus (including childhood), our Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, the apostles, the first martyrs and saints, Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, etc., not to mention the passion of Christ.� Consider what just one man did in making a movie of the passion of Christ inspired by the writings of Anne Catherine Emmerich. It influenced the entire world and brought faith back to millions.� Who knows how many souls were saved by this movie.� What more could be done if she were promoted properly?

An Emmerich Organization

An Emmerich Organization, Web Site and Board of Directors could not only bring great devotion back to the Church but save many souls who are starting to doubt the faith because of secular influences and weak education of the faith.� Such an organization could do many things.� It could:

1. Produce a documentary on Emmerick

2. Take advantage of the documentary trip to complete the research on Santa Maria Maggiore (since providentially Emmerick was beatified there). There the treasures could be found using:

3. The rent or purchase a machine to scan the walls of Santa Maria Maggiore, if the research of point 2 proves trustworthy.

4. Show the world the magnificent discovery

5. Research the discovered writings (if possible, after nearly 1700 years)

6. Start a website dedicated to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerick in many languages.

7. Find the originals from Brentano (there�s an institute in Germany) or the earliest German editions

     8. Find the secret passages in Troy, Ur, Jerusalem, Ethiopia, etc.

9. Produce a series to be broadcasted in networks like EWTN

10. Starting with Emmerick/Brentano complete writings by scanning the books and posting them on the net so that hundreds of volunteers will start a treasure hunt by identifying the relics and locate the ones already discovered while pointing out the ones to be discovered (some relics are venerated but the story about them have been forgotten).

11. Study groups (Bible, Philosophy, Theology, Church documents, private revelations, etc.)

Resurrecting Emmerich

The entire purpose of this Newsletter is to resurrect interest and study of the life and writings of Anne Catherine Emmerich, the greatest mystic of our time and maybe the greatest mystic of all times.� God used her to resurrect faith in the bible and the Church and reveal hidden meanings to bible passages, archeological locations and proof of these things.

In spite of 30 years of study on Emmerich, I am not the best person for this, but I do know those people who can do it. There are people in South America, Germany, France and America who if working together could shock the world with their findings and insights to the mysteries of God revealed to Emmerich.� I am using this Newsletter to get them involved and to try and bring them together.� I will co-ordinate dialogue between these people and then fade into the background so that they can do their work.� I want to see a massive web site on Emmerich and I do mean massive because the extent of her information is unbelievable.� Books could be written on just the first page of her revelations. Video documentaries should be done on her life, maybe even a movie.� Video documentaries should be done on her archeological revelations. Art works should be done on her descriptions of the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, the Crucifixion (not well done in Mel Gibson�s Passion), and many other things that will help our image of Bible passages.�

I personally tried to hand carve the Crucifixion according to Emmerich and not being an artist did not do a good job, but this should be done and then sold to Churches all over the world.� This alone could pay for all the rest of the investigations and expenses needed.�� My poor wood sculpture:

You can see even in my poor sculpture that there is a great difference between what we see in crucifixes and the true crucifixion.� But this revelation of Emmerich verifies the Shroud of Turin and the passages of the Old and New Testaments. It also reconciles medical science because it shows that being pierced in the hands would hold the body of Christ since the weight would be on the elbows an not on the hands.� This is just one example of how Emmerich�s revelations remove confusion in Bible passages and perception of things.

Help me resurrect interest in Emmerich and bring greater glory to God in these times and even greater understanding of the future of the Church from now to the end of time.

Rick Salbato� 7-7-07�

 

 Notes On Crucifixion:  

STIGMATA

Many of us owe to Padre Pio the fact that we are and have stayed Catholic. I have studied the stigmata of over 300 stigmatists. I have in our office a life-size picture of the Shroud of Turin. I studied all the books of the Shroud. It is from the scientific evidence of the Shroud and the 360 stigmatists throughout history that made me dubious, to say the least, about Gino.

First of all, I studied all the doctors� reports about the Shroud of Turin. We know that it was the common practice of Romans to nail in the wrists. We know that the Shroud has a large blood-clot on the wrist. We also read that it was the doctors� conclusion that Christ was nailed in the wrists.

But we also know the Scriptures. In the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin languages there are distinct words for wrist and hand, and yet John 20:27 and Psalm 21:17 reads "hands". In the Greek the word hand includes wrist. But if you go back to the Old Testament in Hebrew, the word is always "hand". You must also be impressed by the fact that all the 360 stigmatists in history, not only had the stigmata in the hands but also had them in the same way, not round but three edged.

We are also aware of many false stigmatists, like Magdalen of the Cross in the 16th Century, who not only fooled the hundreds of priests and nuns she lived with, but fooled her own bishop. Only exorcism saved her soul at the last year of her life.

Pope Benedict XIV's criteria of discernment regarding the stigmata also becomes interesting when you consider that 360 stigmatists have been approved by the Church using this criteria:

1) "The stigmata are localized in the very spots where Our Lord received the five wounds...

2) Generally, the wounds bleed afresh and the pains recur on the days or during the seasons which recall the Savior's Passion ...

3) The wounds do not become infected, and the blood which flows from them is pure, while the slightest natural lesion in some other part of the body develops pus ... etc."

Yes, the Shroud of Turin shows large blood-clots on the wrist, but listen to the words of Anne Catherine Emmerich, Book 4, Pages 271-274:

EMMERICH

"Jesus was now stretched on the cross by the executioners. He had lain Himself upon it; but they pushed Him lower down into the hollow places, rudely drew His right hand to the hole for the nail in the right arm of the cross and tied His wrist fast. One knelt on His sacred breast and held the closing HAND flat; another placed the long, thick nail, which had been filed to a sharp point, upon the PALM OF HIS SACRED HAND, and struck furious blows with the iron hammer.

"A sweet, clear, spasmodic cry of anguish broke from the Lord's lips, and His blood spurted out upon the arms of the executioners. The muscles and ligaments of THE HAND had been torn by the THREE-EDGED NAIL, driven into the narrow hole.

"After nailing Our Lord's right hand, the crucifiers found that His left, which also was fastened to the cross-piece, did not reach to the hole made for the nail, for they had bored a good two inches from the finger tips. They consequently unbound Jesus' arm from the cross, wound cords around it and, with their feet supported firmly against the cross, pulled it forward until the hand reached the hole. Now, kneeling on the arm and breast of the Lord, they fastened the arm again on the beam, and hammered the second nail through the left HAND."

Remember, God does not contradict Himself, and His true seers will not contradict each other. Now, let us read the same account by the visions of Therese Neumann, Pages 171-178. See References:

NEUMANN

"The policemen then throw the Savior down onto the cross and bind him tightly around the hips. Then they tie his right arm tightly against the crossbeam, close to the WRIST, and drive a nail through his right HAND into the prepared hole. When they come to the left hand, they find that the hole had been bored too far out. They tie a rope around his WRIST, and while one of them kneels on his right arm, the others pull until his hand reaches the hole. In performing this operation they wrench his arm out of the shoulder socket. Then this arm too is tied tight to the wood and the nail is driven through the HAND. Therese can hear the individual blows of the hammer. Every time the nail bites into the hand, she jerks her knees up under the covers. From the wounds and the marks of the stigma fresh blood flows. Her fingers, curved inward over her PALMS, are moving convulsively throughout the vision ... Meantime, rivulets of blood have been flowing FROM THE STIGMA ON THE INNER AND OUTER SURFACE OF THE HANDS, COMING TOGETHER IN THE VICINITY OF THE WRISTS AND DRYING THERE."

Now let us look at the Shroud of Turin keeping in mind that both seers saw the cross-beams up in the shape of a "Y", the hands tied at the wrists, and nailed in the hands. Also keep in mind the way the blood flowed on Neumann's hands [from the palm to the wrist].

THE SHROUD

The shroud shows a small blood clot on the back of the palm of the hand, then a line of blood to the wrist and a large blood clot on the wrist. Not only that, but there is a long blood clot down the arm. This blood is straight on one side and jagged on the other.

In 1982 I started doubting Gino. We studied Emmerich, Neumann and the Shroud. I made crucifixes in clay, in wood, and even put live people on a cross to see if what the mystics said could be true. Then I knew.

IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE FOR OUR LORD TO HAVE BEEN NAILED IN THE WRISTS.

If the cross-beams were straight as most crucifixes show, and He was nailed in the wrists, the blood would flow from the wrist down--not towards the hand. If, however, He was nailed in the hand and tied at the wrist with the cross-beams up, the blood would flow from the hand to the rope at the wrist and coagulate there.

Then there is the problem of the stain on the arm. The only way that blood stain could have occurred is if His arm was tied tightly to the beam. Then the blood would flow down the arm in the shape of a "V" between the arm and the beam. It would be straight on one side [the side where the arm and beam come together] and irregular on the other.

If, however, his hands and arms were on the top of the side beams and tied only at the wrists, it could easily hold all His weight and account for the arm blood stain. True science must take into account all observable facts. The blood stain in the hand and the "V" stain on the arm leave no other conclusion.

Before we go on we must establish that the Holy Shroud of Turin is really the cloth that was wrapped around Christ at His death. You may remember that it was dated using the Carbon 14 dating method and was found to be only 500 years old. Even the Vatican said that if the Carbon 14 method was correct, it is not the Shroud of Christ. Here are the facts compiled from the investigation of "The Catholic Counter-Reformation of the Twentieth Century", and published in April 1991.

SHROUD INVESTIGATION

In 1981, "the Shroud of Turin Research Project" published in detail their main conclusions. Not the least trace of paint had been detected on the Shroud, but instead the cloth had been stained with real human blood from a real human body which had suffered all the torments of Christ's Passion. The markings composing the image had been scorched onto the cloth in an instant of most intense heat from a body which was, temporarily at least, weightless!

On the basis of the 48 classes of pollen tested on the Shroud, the team affirmed that the linen cloth dated back to Palestine 2,000 years ago.

The team of "the Shroud of Turin Research Project" had taken the first steps (in 1979) towards gaining authorization for a radiocarbon dating of the Holy Shroud. On the 18^th of March 1983, the Shroud's owner, Umberto II, the exiled King of Italy, died, bequeathing the Shroud to the Holy See. Pope John Paul II appointed the Archbishop of Turin as the Shroud's Pontifical Custodian.

THE FRAUD

No doubt that the Shroud of Turin Research Project�s findings made the same reaction with anti-Christian scientists that the finding of Noah�s Ark did. They determined that, at any cost, the findings must be discredited. But how? They needed a fraud like the "Piltdown Man". It was decided that this would best be done by giving it radiocarbon dating, but not by the same research team. With an "authoritative" dating, the Shroud could be changed overnight into just another scandal. The task then was to get control of that project away from the research team, to get the desired result.

In July 1982 the Trustees of the British Museum placed Dr. Michael Tite, Director of the Museum's Research Laboratory, in charge of their campaign to "get" the Shroud. They convinced the Vatican that they and they alone would do the dating, leaving the Research team out in the cold. Even the Vatican Scientific team was not allowed in the project. How they convinced the Vatican of this is another story involving a Cardinal.

Dr. Tite then went about looking for a piece of cloth from the 14^th century to be used in the fraud. With the help of Dr. Evin, they pulled some tufts out of a cape worn by St. Louis.

Meanwhile Dr. Tite had acquired from the Victoria and Albert Museum a 10 mm. by 70 mm. strip of 14th century cloth which he had cut into three equal pieces. These he placed in each "Sample 3" cylinder - to be switched later with each "Sample 1" cylinder containing the Shroud piece. ("Sample 3" was nominally from the mummy of an Egyptian child buried during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (r. 117 to 138 A D)

At Turin on 21 April Dr. Tite ordered a strip the same size as the fraud to be cut from the Shroud. But the cutter, Giovanni Riggi, cut a strip which he then cut into two pieces. The smaller piece was kept as a "reserve" by Riggi while the larger was cut into four pieces. (It was this piece kept by Riggi that proved the fraud.)

"Cleopatra's mummy" (in fact the Shroud) was dated by the three laboratories, at 9 B C to 78 A D. The forged piece, (now called the Shroud) dated between 1300 and 1400 A D.

On 13 October 1988 Cardinal Ballestrero announced that the Shroud had been shown by radiocarbon dating to be a forgery.

(Note: We firmly believed in the Shroud of Turin from the beginning. When we heard that they were going to carbon-14 date the Shroud, we expected it to work, since carbon-14 dating does work up to 5000 years. After that it cannot work, since it assumes that the ozone, oxygen, heat, and ice are the same today as they were the same 5000 plus years ago. But that is another story.)

Condensed from the writings of D. J. McDonnell.

Note on the Catholic Church:

My favorite passage in the life of Emmerich is when Brentano said to her that he found more faith and holiness in the Protestant faiths than in the Catholic Church, but she said nothing.  That night her Guardian Angel scolded her for not defending the faith. The next time she met him she said:

"Pilgrim, If the Catholic Church was reduced to only one person, and that person was the Holy Father, it would still be the one and only Church of Christ on earth."

 

The Holy Grail

The Grail According to Anne Catherine Emmerich
German mystic Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) is in the spotlight these days for her contributions to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and her own impending beatification. Her visions of scriptural events published as The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1833) and The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations (1858-60) contain unique descriptions of the Holy Grail. The term "Grail," however, is never used, for she prefers to call it simply the Chalice of the Last Supper. According to Emmerich, the Chalice was delivered to Noah by three angels while he was at work on the ark. In it was a grain of wheat and a vine branch destined to grow after the Deluge. Noah used the Chalice during worship. It passed to his eldest son, Shem, who carried it to Mesopotamia whence Melchizedek returned it to Abraham. At this point, the Chalice "had cups in the shape of little barrels. These vessels were neither of gold nor silver, but transparent as of brownish precious stones." At this point, the massive Chalice "looked as if it had been shaped by nature, not formed by art." The patriarchs used the Chalice and cups in priestly rites prefiguring the Mass and to convey God's special blessing via a vaguely described "Holy Thing" to their heirs. Later, Moses placed the vessels and the mysterious Holy Thing that the Chalice contained in the Ark of the Covenant. They were removed before Jeremiah hid the ark prior to Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of Jerusalem. Essenes preserved the Chalice and returned it to the Second Temple. An angel conveyed the Holy Thing to St. Joachim just before the conception of Mary, but the temple priesthood sold the now-surplus ancient Chalice to an antiquarian. St. Veronica bought it and provided it for Jesus to use at religious festivals. By the time of the Last Supper, the Chalice was "pear-shaped, and of a brownish, highly polished metal overlaid with gold." It was now equipped with handles and a foot of "dark virgin gold, the edge encircled by a serpent," embellished with jewels and a grape design. The Chalice, which contained a small vase and was covered by a plate, sat on a flat tray that concealed a tablet and was equipped with a spoon, linen covers, and a leather case. "Jesus alone knew of what it was made." The Chalice remained in the keeping of the early Church and is still preserved somewhere. Emmerich predicts that "it will come to light as it did once before." — S. M.

Visions of hell

Blessed  Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824)
Mystic, Stigmatist, Visionary, and Prophet    

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich - vision of HELL

A Detached Account of the Descent into Hell

WHEN Jesus, after uttering a loud cry, expired, I saw his heavenly soul under the form of a bright meteor pierce the earth at the foot of the Cross, accompanied by the angel Gabriel and many other angels. His Divine nature continued united to his soul as well as to his body, which still remained hanging upon the Cross, but I cannot explain how this was, although I saw it plainly in my own mind. The place into which the soul of Jesus entered was divided into three parts, which appeared to me like three worlds; and I felt that they were round, and that each division was separated from the other by a hemisphere.

    I beheld a bright and beautiful space opposite to Limbo; it was enamelled with flowers, delicious breezes wafted through it; and many souls were placed there before being admitted into Heaven after their deliverance from Purgatory. Limbo, the place where the souls were waiting for the Redemption, was divided into different compartments, and encompassed by a thick foggy atmosphere. Our Lord appeared radiant with light and surrounded by angels, who conducted him triumphantly between two of these compartments; the one on the left containing the patriarchs who lived before the time of Abraham, and that on the right those who lived between the days of Abraham and St. John Baptist. These souls did not at first recognise Jesus, but were filled nevertheless with sensations of joy and hope. There was not a spot in those narrow confines which did not, as it were, dilate with feelings of happiness. The passage of Jesus might be compared to the wafting of a breath of air, to a sudden flash of light, or to a shower of vivifying dew, but it was swift as a whirlwind. After passing through the two compartments, he reached a dark spot in which Adam and Eve were standing; he spoke to them, they prostrated and adored him in a perfect ecstasy of joy, and they immediately joined the band of angels, and accompanied our Lord to the compartment on the left, which contained the patriarchs who lived before Abraham. This compartment was a species of Purgatory, and a few evil spirits were wandering about among the souls and endeavouring to fill them with anxiety and alarm. The entrance through a species of door was closed, but the angels rapped, and I thought I heard them say, ‘Open these doors.’ When Jesus entered in triumph the demons dispersed, crying out at the same time, ‘What is there between thee and us? What art thou come to do here? Wilt thou crucify us likewise?’ The angels hunted them away, having first chained them. The poor souls confined in this place had only a slight presentiment and vague idea of the presence of Jesus; but the moment he told them that it was he himself, they burst out into acclamations of joy, and welcomed him with hymns of rapture and delight. The soul of our Lord then wended its way to the right, towards that part which really constituted Limbo; and there he met the soul of the good thief which angels were carrying to Abraham’s bosom, as also that of the bad thief being dragged by demons into Hell. Our Lord addressed a few words to both, and then entered Abraham’s bosom, accompanied by numerous angels and holy souls, and also by those demons who had been chained and expelled from the compartment.

306

    This locality appeared to me more elevated than the surrounding parts; and I can only describe my sensations on entering it, by comparing them to those of a person coming suddenly into the interior of a church, after having been for some time in the burial vaults. The demons, who were strongly chained, were extremely loath to enter, and resisted to the utmost of their power, but the angels compelled them to go forward. All the just who had lived before the time of Christ were assembled there; the patriarch; Moses, the judges, and the kings on the left-hand side; and on the right side, the prophets, and the ancestors of our Lord, as also his near relations, such as Joachim, Anna, Joseph, Zacharias, Elizabeth, and John. There were no demons in this place, and the only discomfort that had been felt by those placed there was a longing desire for the accomplishment of the promise; and when our Lord entered they saluted him with joyful hymns of gratitude and thanksgiving for its fulfilment, they prostrated and adored him, and the evil spirits who had been dragged into Abraham’s bosom when our Lord entered were compelled to confess with shame that they were vanquished. Many of these holy souls were ordered by our Lord to return to the earth, re-enter their own bodies, and thus render a solemn and impressive testimony to the truth. It was at this moment that so many dead persons left their tombs in Jerusalem; I regarded them less in the light of dead persons risen again than as corpses put in motion by a divine power, and which, after having fulfilled the mission intrusted to them, were laid aside in the same manner as the insignia of office are taken off by a clerk when he has executed the orders of his superiors.

    I next saw our Lord, with his triumphant procession, enter into a species of Purgatory which was filled with those good pagans who, having had a faint glimmering of the truth, had longed for its fulfilment: this Purgatory was very deep, and contained a few demons, as also some of the idols of the pagans. I saw the demons compelled to confess the deception they had practised with regard to these idols, and the souls of the poor pagans cast themselves at the feet of Jesus, and adored him with inexpressible joy: here, likewise, the demons were bound with chains and dragged away. I saw our Saviour perform many other actions; but I suffered so intensely at the same time, that I cannot recount them as I should have wished.

307

    Finally, I beheld him approach to the centre of the great abyss, that is to say, to Hell itself; and the expression of his countenance was most severe.

    The exterior of Hell was appalling and frightful; it was an immense, heavy-looking building, and the granite of which it was formed, although black, was of metallic brightness; and the dark and ponderous doors were secured with such terrible bolts that no one could behold them without trembling. Deep groans and cries of despair might be plainly distinguished even while the doors were tightly closed; but, 0, who can describe the dreadful yells and shrieks which burst upon the ear when the bolts were unfastened and the doors flung open; and, 0, who can depict the melancholy appearance of the inhabitants of this wretched place!

    The form under which the Heavenly Jerusalem is generally represented in my visions is that of a beautiful and well-regulated city, and the different degrees of glory to which the elect are raised are demonstrated by the magnificence of their palaces, or the wonderful fruit and flowers with which the gardens are embellished. Hell is shown to me under the same form, but all within it is, on the contrary, close, confused, and crowded; every object tends to fill the mind with sensations of pain and grief; the marks of the wrath and vengeance of God are visible everywhere; despair, like a vulture, gnaws every heart, and discord and misery reign around. In the Heavenly Jerusalem all is peace and eternal harmony, the beginning, fulfilment, and end of everything being pure and perfect happiness; the city is filled with splendid buildings, decorated in such a manner as to charm every eye and enrapture every sense; the inhabitants of this delightful abode are overflowing with rapture and exultation, the gardens gay with lovely flowers, and the trees covered with delicious fruits which give eternal life. In the city of Hell nothing is to be seen but dismal dungeons, dark caverns, frightful deserts, fetid swamps filled with every imaginable species of poisonous and disgusting reptile. In Heaven you behold the happiness and peaceful union of the saints; in Hell, perpetual scenes of wretched discord, and every species of sin and corruption, either under the most horrible forms imaginable, or represented by different kinds of dreadful torments. All in this dreary abode tends to fill the mind with horror; not a word of comfort is heard or a consoling idea admitted; the one tremendous thought, that the justice of an all-powerful God inflicts on the damned nothing but what they have fully deserved is the absorbing tremendous conviction which weighs down each heart. Vice appears in its own, grim disgusting colours, being stripped of the mask under which it is hidden in this world, and the infernal viper is seen devouring those who have cherished or fostered it here below. In a word, Hell is the temple of anguish and despair, while the kingdom of God is the temple of peace and happiness. This is easy to understand when seen; but it is almost impossible to describe clearly.

308

    The tremendous explosion of oaths, curses, cries of despair, and frightful exclamations which, like a clap of thunder, burst forth when the gates of Hell were thrown open by the angels, would be difficult even to imagine; our Lord spoke first to the soul of Judas, and the angels then compelled all the demons to acknowledge and adore Jesus. They would have infinitely preferred the most frightful torments to such a humiliation; but all were obliged to submit. Many were chained down in a circle which was placed round other circles. In the centre of Hell I saw a dark and horrible-looking abyss, and into this Lucifer was cast, after being first strongly secured with chains; thick clouds of sulphurous black smoke arose from its fearful depths, and enveloped his frightful form in the dismal folds, thus effectually concealing him from every beholder. God himself had decreed this; and I was likewise told, if I remember rightly that he will be unchained for a time fifty or sixty years before the year of Christ 2000. The dates of many other events were pointed out to me which I do not now remember; but a certain number of demons are to be let loose much earlier than Lucifer, in order to tempt men, and to serve as instruments of the divine vengeance. I should think that some must be loosened even in the present day, and others will be set free in a short time.

    It would be utterly impossible for me to describe all the things which were shown to me; their number was so great that I could not reduce them sufficiently to order to define and render them intelligible. Besides which my sufferings are very great, and when I speak on the subject of my visions I behold them in my mind's eye portrayed in such vivid colours, that the sight is almost sufficient to cause a weak mortal like myself to expire.

309

    I next saw innumerable bands of redeemed souls liberated from Purgatory and from Limbo, who followed our Lord to a delightful spot situated above the celestial Jerusalem, in which place I, a very short time ago, saw the soul of a person who was very dear to me. The soul of the good thief was likewise taken there, and the promise of our Lord, ‘This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise,’ was fulfilled.

    It is not in my power to explain the exact time that each of these events occurred, nor can I relate one-half of the things which I saw and heard; for some were incomprehensible even to myself, and others would be misunderstood if I attempted to relate them. I have seen our Lord in many different places. Even in the sea he appeared to me to sanctify and deliver everything in the creation. Evil spirits fled at his approach, and cast themselves into the dark abyss. I likewise beheld his soul in different parts of the earth, first inside the tomb of Adam, under Golgotha; and when he was there the souls of Adam and Eve came up to him, and he spoke to them for some time. He then visited the tombs of the prophets who were buried at an immense depth below the surface; but he passed through the soil in the twinkling of an eye. Their souls immediately re-entered their bodies, and he spoke to them and explained the most wonderful mysteries. Next I saw him, accompanied by a chosen band of prophets, among whom I particularly remarked David, visit those parts of the earth which had been sanctified by his miracles and by his sufferings. He pointed out to them, with the greatest love and goodness, the different symbols in the old law expressive of the future; and he showed them how he himself had fulfilled every prophecy. The sight of the soul of our Lord, surrounded by these happy souls, and radiant with light, was inexpressibly grand as he glided triumphantly through the air, sometimes passing, with the velocity of lightning, over rivers, then penetrating through the hardest rocks to the very centre of the earth, or moving noiselessly over its surface.

310

    I can remember nothing beyond the facts which I have just related concerning the descent of Jesus into Limbo, where he went in order to present to the souls there detained the grace of the Redemption which he had merited for them by his death and by his sufferings; and I saw all these things in a very short space of time; in fact, time passed so quickly that it seemed to me but a moment. Our Lord, however, displayed before me, at the same time, another picture, in which I beheld the immense mercies which he bestows in the present day on the poor souls in Purgatory; for on every anniversary of this great day, when his Church is celebrating the glorious mystery of his death, he casts a look of compassion on the souls in Purgatory, and frees some of those who sinned against him before his crucifixion. I this day saw Jesus deliver many souls; some I was acquainted with, and others were strangers to me, but I cannot name any of them.

    Our Lord, by descending into Hell, planted (if I may thus express myself), in the spiritual garden of the Church, a mysterious tree, the fruits of which—namely, his merits—are destined for the constant relief of the poor souls in Purgatory. The Church militant must cultivate the tree, and gather its fruits, in order to present them to that suffering portion of the Church which can do nothing for itself. Thus it is with all the merits of Christ; we must labour with him if we wish to obtain our share of them; we must gain our bread by the sweat of our brow. Everything which our Lord has done for us in time must produce fruit for eternity; but we must gather these fruits in time, without which we cannot possess them in eternity. The Church is the most prudent and thoughtful of mothers; the ecclesiastical year is an immense and magnificent garden, in which all those fruits for eternity are gathered  together, that we may make use of them in  time. Each year contains sufficient to supply the wants of all; but woe be to that careless or dishonest gardener who allows any of the fruit committed to his care to perish; if he fails to turn to a proper account those graces which would restore health to the sick, strength to the weak, or furnish food to the hungry! When the Day of Judgment arrives, the Master of the garden will demand a strict account, not only of every tree, but also of all the fruit produced in the garden.