[The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Anna Catherine Emmerich]@TWC D-Link book
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

CHAPTER I
27/37

He had given his own divine Self to us for our Food in the Holy Sacrament, in order to unite in one body--that of the Church, his Spouse--men who were to an infinite extent divided and separated from each other; and now he beheld himself torn and rent in twain in that very body; for his principal work of love, the Holy Communion, in which men should have been made wholly one, was become, by the malice of false teachers, the subject of separation.

I beheld whole nations thus snatched out of his bosom, and deprived of any participation in the treasure of graces left to the Church.

Finally, I saw all who were separated from the Church plunged into the depths of infidelity, superstition, heresy, and false worldly philosophy; and they gave vent to their fierce rage by joining together in large bodies to attack the Church, being urged on by the serpent which was disporting itself in the midst of them.

Alas! it was as though Jesus himself had been torn in a thousand pieces! So great was my horror and terror, that my Heavenly Spouse appeared to me, and mercifully placed his hand upon my heart, saying: 'No one has yet seen all these things, and thy heart would burst with sorrow if I did not give thee strength.' I saw the blood flowing in large drops down the pale face of our Saviour, his hair matted together, and his beard bloody and entangled.
After the vision which I have last described, he fled, so to speak, out of the cave, and returned to his disciples.

But he tottered as he walked; his appearance was that of a man covered with wounds and bending beneath a heavy burden, and he stumbled at every step.
When he came up to the three Apostles, they were not lying down asleep as they had been the first time, but their heads were covered, and they had sunk down on their knees, in an attitude often assumed by the people of that country when in sorrow or desiring to pray.


<<Back  Index  Next>>

D-Link book Top

TWC mobile books