The Apostles' Creed
Consider The Apostles’ Creed
–I believe in God, The Father Almighty: Who is God, the human being, Who stays in the
background?
Consider: A mystery is a truth which we cannot fully understand and God is a mystery Whom we cannot fully understand.
“30 + On one occasion I was reflecting on the Holy Trinity, on the essence of God. I absolutely wanted to know and fathom who God is. …..In an instant my spirit was caught up into what seemed to be the next world. I saw an inaccessible light, and in this light what appeared like three sources of light which I could not understand. And out of that light came words in the form of lightning which encircled heaven and earth. Not understanding anything, I was very sad. Suddenly, from this sea of inaccessible light came our dearly beloved Savior, unutterably beautiful with His shining Wounds. And from this light came a voice which said, Who God is in His Essence, no one will fathom, neither the mind of Angels nor of man. Jesus said to me, Get to know God by contemplating His attributes. A moment later, He traced the sign of the cross with his hand and vanished.
–Creator of Heaven and earth and of all things: For we are in God’s world – our physical world.
Consider: Since we are in God’s world, and not He in ours, note well when you say, “I can do what I want. God will never know.” God said to Adam and Eve when they were in Paradise: “Don’t touch that tree.” Adam and Eve said, “Oh, He’ll never find out.” The next thing Adam and Eve knew they were back on the earth, looking for someplace to live and something to eat. God can be pretty hard on people who disobey Him.
Consider: Hurricane Katrina 2005, the Haiti earthquake 2010, the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in Otsuchi, Japan March 2011, the deadly outbreak of tornadoes in the southern United States April 2011, and Hurricane Sandy 2012. It is so easy to say “God is angry with us and He is punishing us for our sins.” The thing is, God is not sitting on His throne in Heaven somewhere hurling thunderbolts and baseball-sized hail at us. The thing is God has allowed us to know the physical world in which we live through the development of cameras, the internet, etc., which has led to space exploration, viewing and a greater knowledge of the interior of the planet earth, that we can easily be forewarned or at least able to respond quickly to a disaster without major loss of life.
The human beings who spend a lifetime studying these natural happenings trying to understand them and to predict them or prevent them, those human beings who work to alert us to the disasters, those human beings who respond to these disasters helping those who were affected by them: all of these human beings have been inspired and guided by God to help their fellow human beings. “Whatsoever you do to the least of My brothers, this you do unto Me.”
–And in Jesus Christ, His only Son:
Consider: Why would God the Father send a second son or second Messiah to us? Look what happened to Jesus.
–Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost: Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost are one and the same Being.
The following paragraphs are taken from the book The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations, Volume I, From the Visions of the Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich, Originally published in 1914 by Desclée, De Brouwer & Co. of Lille, Paris, and Bruges, in conjunction with The Sentinel Press of New York. Reprinted by Academy Library Guild in 1954, and later by Apostolate of Christian Action, both of Fresno, California. Reprinted in 1979 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc. Retypeset and published again in 1986 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., pages 193-195
“I saw the Blessed Virgin a short time after her marriage in the house of Nazareth. Joseph was not there. He was at that moment journeying with two beasts of burden on the road to Tiberias, whither he was going to get his tools. But Anne [Mary’s mother] was in the house with her maid and two of the virgins who had been with Mary in the Temple. . . . Anne seemed to be very busy about the household affairs, . . . while the Blessed Virgin ascended the steps to her room. There she put on a long, white, woolen garment, such as it was customary to wear during prayer, a girdle around her waist, and a yellowish-white veil over her head. . . . Mary drew out a little, low table which stood folded by the wall, and placed it in the center of the room. . . . When the little table was prepared, Mary laid a small, round cushion before it and, resting both hands on the leaf, she gently sank on her knees, her back turned to her couch, the door of the chamber to her right. . . . Mary lowered her veil over her face, and folded her hands, but not the fingers, upon her breast. I saw her praying for a long time with intense fervor. She prayed for Redemption, for the promised King, and that her own supplications might have some influence upon His coming. She knelt long, as if in ecstasy, her face raised to Heaven; then she drooped her head upon her breast and thus continued her prayer. And now she glanced to the right and beheld a radiant youth with flowing, yellow hair. It was the archangel Gabriel. . . . In an oblique line and surrounded by an effulgence of light and glory, he came floating down to Mary. The lamp grew dim, for the whole room was lighted up by the glory. . . .
“As Mary uttered the words: “May it be done unto me according to thy word!” I saw an apparition of the Holy Ghost. The countenance was human and the whole apparition environed by dazzling splendor, as if surrounded by wings. From the breast and hands, I saw issuing three streams of light. They penetrated the right side of the Blessed Virgin and united into one under her heart. At that instant Mary became perfectly transparent and luminous. It was as if opacity disappeared like darkness before that flood of light.
“While the angel and with him the streams of glory vanished, I saw down the path of light that led up to Heaven, showers of half-blown roses and tiny green leaves falling upon Mary. She, entirely absorbed in self, saw in herself the Incarnate Son of God, a tiny, human form of light with all the members, even to the little fingers perfect. It was about midnight that I saw this mystery.”
–Born of the Virgin Mary: The following paragraphs are taken from the book The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary From the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, translated by Sir Michael Palairet, First published by Burns and Oates, Limited, London, England 1954; pages 191-194.
To Anne Catherine Emmerich was revealed the following concerning the birth of Jesus.
“Mary had told St. Joseph that to-night at midnight would be the hour of the child’s birth, for then the nine months since the Annunciation would have been completed. She begged him to do all that was possible on his part so that they might show as much honour as they could to the child promised by God and supernaturally conceived. She asked him, too, to join with her in praying for the hard-hearted people who had refused to give them shelter. Joseph suggested to the Blessed Virgin that he should summon to her assistance some pious women whom he knew in Bethlehem. She declined, however, saying that she needed no human help. Just before the close of the Sabbath Joseph went into Bethlehem, and as soon as the sun had set, he quickly bought a few necessary things – a stool, a little low table, a few little bowls, and some dried fruit and grapes. With them he hurried back to the cave and then to the tomb of Maraha, and took the Blessed Virgin back to the Cave of the Nativity, where she lay down on her couch in the easternmost corner. Joseph prepared some more food, and they ate and prayed together. He then completely divided off his sleeping-place from the rest of the cave by surrounding it with posts and hanging on them mats which he had found in the cave. He fed the donkey, which was standing to the left of the entrance against the wall of the cave; then he filled the manger above the crib with rushes and fine grass or moss, and spread a covering over it which hung down over the edge.
“On the Blessed Virgin telling him that her time was drawing near and that he was to retire into his room and pray, he hung up some more burning lamps in the cave and went out, as he had heard a noise outside. Here he found the young she-ass, . . . .
“When Joseph came back into the cave and stood at the entrance to his sleeping-place looking towards the Blessed Virgin, he saw her with her face turned towards the east, kneeling on the bed facing away from him. He saw her as it were surrounded by flames, the whole cave was as if filled with supernatural light. He gazed at her like Moses when he saw the burning bush; then he went into his little cell in holy awe and threw himself on his face in prayer.
“I saw the radiance round the Blessed Virgin ever growing greater. The light of the lamps which Joseph had lit was no longer visible. Our Lady knelt on her rug in an ample ungirt robe spread out round her, her faced turned towards the east. At midnight she was wrapt in an ecstasy of prayer. I saw her lifted from the earth, so that I saw the ground beneath her. Her hands were crossed on her breast. The radiance about her increased; everything, even things without life, were in a joyful inner motion, the stones of the roof, of the walls, and of the floor of the cave became as it were alive in the light. Then I no longer saw the roof of the cave; a pathway of light opened above Mary, rising with ever-increasing glory towards the height of heaven. In this pathway of light there was a wonderful movement of glories interpenetrating each other, and, as they approached, appearing more clearly in the form of choirs of heavenly spirits. Meanwhile the Blessed Virgin, borne up in ecstasy, was now gazing downwards, adoring her God, whose Mother she had become and who lay on the earth before her in the form of a helpless new-born child. I saw our Redeemer as a tiny child, shining with a light that overpowered all the surrounding radiance, and lying on the carpet at the Blessed Virgin’s knees. It seemed to me as if He were at first quite small and then grew before my eyes. But the movement of the intense radiance was such that I cannot say for certain how I saw it.
“The Blessed Virgin remained for some time rapt in ecstasy. I saw her laying a cloth over the Child, but at first she did not touch Him or take Him up. After some time I saw the Child Jesus move and heard Him cry. Then Mary seemed to come to herself, and she took the Child up from the carpet, wrapping Him in the cloth which covered Him, and held Him in her arms to her breast. She sat there enveloping herself and the Child completely in her veil, and I think Mary suckled the Redeemer. . . . It might have been an hour after His Birth when Mary called St. Joseph, who was still lying in prayer. When he came near, he threw himself down on his face in devout joy and humility. It was only when Mary begged him to take to his heart, in joy and thankfulness, the holy present of the Most High God, that he stood up, took the Child Jesus in his arms, and praised God with tears of joy.
“The Blessed Virgin then wrapped the Child Jesus in swaddling-bands. . . . Then I saw Mary and Joseph sitting side by side on the bare earth with their feet under them. They did not speak, and seemed both to be sunk in meditation. On the carpet before Mary lay the new-born Jesus in swaddling-clothes, a little Child, beautiful and radiant as lightning. . . . Then they laid the Child in the manger, which was filled with rushes and delicate plants and covered with a cloth hanging over the sides. It stood above the stone trough lying on the ground, to the right of the entrance, where the cave makes a big curve towards the south. This part of the cave was at a lower level than the place where Our Lord was born: the floor slanted downwards in a step-like formation. After laying the Child in the crib, they both stood beside Him giving praise to God with tears of joy. Joseph then arranged the Blessed Virgin’s resting-place and her seat beside the Crib.”
–Suffered under Pontius Pilate: Pontius Pilate, the Roman civil authority person who wrongfully sentenced Jesus to death.
The devotion of the Stations of the Cross begins with Jesus being condemned to death. They omit His Agony in the Garden, the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, Jesus being arrested, Jesus being taken to the High Priest Annas’ house, then to the High Priest Caiphas’ house, being tortured by Caiphas, taken to Pontius Pilate’s palace, sent to King Herod’s palace, and thence back to Pontius Pilate’s palace where He was scourged, crowned with thorns, rejected by the people in favor of Barabbas and then sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate, all the while being physically, verbally and emotionally abused.
–Was crucified: The thing is that no man has the right to take the life of any other human being whether by civil death penalty, abortion, murder, suicide or any other way – Thou shalt not kill. And if a human being creates a rule or law that is contrary to God’s Commandments, then the human being’s law may not be followed. For God is over all and we are in His world and we must follow His rules.
Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph, the poor carpenter of Nazareth, and son of Mary, a most holy lady who lived, worked and studied in the Temple in Jerusalem from about the age of 4 years until 14 years of age. Jesus was a holy human being who practiced the tenets of the Jewish religion of His time, and Who was looked on and Who was treated as a human being all of His life on the earth. Jesus had to have been treated as a human being, otherwise He would not have been put to death so horribly by those who killed Him. Even though Jesus may have been thought of as a false prophet, a rogue rabbi, a Jewish religious problem, He was still a human being Who was wrongfully put to death – Thou shalt not kill.
–Died: The following paragraph is taken from the book The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ From the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, Translation published circa 1928 by Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd., London, page 292
“Jesus then said: ‘It is consummated;’ and, raising his head, cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.’ These words, which he uttered in a clear and thrilling tone, resounded through heaven and earth; and a moment after, he bowed down his head and gave up the ghost. I saw his soul, under the appearance of a bright meteor, penetrate the earth at the foot of the Cross.”
–And was buried: “. . . Joseph of Arimathaea, who was a disciple of Jesus . . . asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave permission, so they came and took it away. Nicodemus came as well . . . They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, following the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there.” *John, 19:38-42, page 150
–He descended into Hell: Sheol or Limbo. Because He was a human being, Jesus had a soul. And when His body died, His soul returned home to God the Father in eternity for the very last time.
The following paragraphs are taken from the book The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ From the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, Translation published circa 1928 by Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd., London, pages 344-345, 349-350
“. . .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. . . . 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. . .as also that of the bad thief. . ..”
“. . .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, . . . 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.”
Consider: All through the Old Testament of the Bible, God the Father held the souls of every human being from Adam and Eve to the time when Jesus died, and continuing after His death, in a place in eternity called Sheol or Limbo. When Jesus died, His soul went to Sheol or Limbo where He became the Just Judge of the souls who were waiting for Him and the Gatekeeper to Heaven.
–On the third day, He arose again from the dead:
Consider: Why did Jesus appear to Mary Magdalen as a gardener?
The following paragraphs are taken from the book The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations, Volume IV, From the Visions of the Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich, Originally published in 1914 by Desclée, De Brouwer & Co. of Lille, Paris, and Bruges, in conjunction with The Sentinel Press of New York. Reprinted by Academy Library Guild in 1954, and later by Apostolate of Christian Action, both of Fresno, California. Reprinted in 1979 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc. Retypeset and published again in 1986 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., pages 11-13
Immediately preceding Jesus’ solemn entrance into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), He was “with Peter, John, James, and Lazarus, and the Blessed Virgin with six of the holy women, “remained hidden at Lazarus’s. They were in the same subterranean apartments in which Lazarus lay concealed during the persecution that had risen against him. These apartments were under the rear of the building, and were comfortably fitted up with carpets and seats. . . .”
“. . .Jesus propounded to the holy women and Lazarus a great parable, which He explained. He began His instruction by speaking of Paradise, the fall of Adam and Eve, the Promise of a Redeemer, the progress of evil, and the small number of faithful laborers in the garden of God. From this, He went on to the parable of a king who owned a magnificent garden. A splendidly dressed lady came to him, and pointed out near his own a garden of aromatic shrubs, which belonged to a good, devout man. She said to the king: “Since this man has left the country, you should purchase his garden and plant it with aromatic shrubs.” But the king wanted to plant garlic and similar strong-smelling herbs in the poor man’s garden, although the owner looked upon it as a sacred spot in which he desired to see only the finest aromatics. The king caused the good man to be called, and proposed that he should remove from the place or sell his garden to him. Then I saw the good man in his garden. I saw that he cultivated it carefully and was desirous of keeping it. But he had to suffer great persecutions. His enemies went even so far as to attempt to stone him in his own garden, and he fell quite sick. But at last the king with all his glory came to naught, while the good man, his garden, and all belonging to him prospered and increased. . . . Jesus explained this parable as having reference to Paradise, the Fall of Man, Redemption, the kingdom of this world, and the Lord’s vineyard in it. . . . The parable signified also that as sin and death had begun in a garden, so the Passion of Him who had taken upon Himself the sins of the world would begin in a garden, and that after satisfying for the same, the victory over death would be gained by His Resurrection in a garden.”
The following paragraphs are taken from the book The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ From the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, Translation published circa 1928 by Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd., London, pages 365-367
The day of the Resurrection: “I then saw Magdalen re-enter the garden, and direct her steps towards the sepulchre; she appeared greatly agitated, partly from grief, and partly from having walked so fast. Her garments were quite moist with dew, and her veil hanging on one side, while the luxuriant hair in which she had formerly taken so much pride fell in disheveled masses over her shoulders, forming a species of mantle. Being alone, she was afraid of entering the cave, but stopped for a moment on the outside, and knelt down in order to see better into the tomb. She was endeavouring to push back her long hair, which fell over her face and obscured her vision, when she perceived the two angels who were seated in the tomb, and I heard one of them address her thus: ‘Woman, why weepest thou?’ She replied, in a voice choked with tears (for she was perfectly overwhelmed with grief at finding that the body of Jesus was really gone), ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.’ She said no more, but seeing the empty winding-sheet, went out of the sepulchre and began to look about in other parts. She felt a secret presentiment that not only should she find Jesus, but that he was even then near to her; and the presence of the angels seemed not to disturb her in the least; she did not appear even to be aware that they were angels; every faculty was engrossed with the one thought, ‘Jesus is not there! Where is Jesus?’ I watched her wandering about like an insane person, with her hair floating loosely in the wind: her hair appeared to annoy her much, for she again endeavoured to push it from off her face, . . ..
“She then raised her head, looked around, and perceived a tall figure, clothed in white, standing at about ten paces from the sepulchre on the east side of the garden, where there was a slight rise in the direction of the town; the figure was partly hidden from her sight by a palm-tree, but she was somewhat startled when it addressed her in these words: “Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?’ She thought it was the gardener; and, in fact, he had a spade in his hand, and a large hat (apparently made of the bark of trees) on his head. His dress was similar to that worn by the gardener described in the parable which Jesus had related to the holy women at Bethania a short time before his Passion. His body was not luminous, his whole appearance was rather that of a man dressed in white and seen by twilight. At the words, “Whom seekest thou?’ she looked at him, and answered quickly, ‘Sir, if thou hast taken him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him; and I will take him away.’ And she looked anxiously around. Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She then instantly recognized his beloved voice, and turning quickly, replied ‘Rabboni (Master)!’ She threw herself on her knees before him, and stretched out her hands to touch his feet; but he motioned her to be still, and said, ‘Do not touch me, for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren and say to them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God.’ He then disappeared.”
–He ascended into Heaven: For the very last time.
The following paragraphs are taken from the book The Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations, Volume IV, From the Visions of the Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich, Originally published in 1914 by Desclée, De Brouwer & Co. of Lille, Paris, and Bruges, in conjunction with The Sentinel Press of New York. Reprinted by Academy Library Guild in 1954, and later by Apostolate of Christian Action, both of Fresno, California. Reprinted in 1979 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc. Retypeset and published again in 1986 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., pages 423-426
The day of the Ascension: “At dawn of day Jesus left the house of the Last Supper with The Eleven. The Blessed Virgin followed them closely; the disciples, at some little distance. They passed through the streets of Jerusalem where all was quiet, the inhabitants still buried in sleep. At each moment the Lord became more earnest, more rapid in speech and action. On the preceding evening He appeared to me much more sympathetic in His words to His followers. I recognized the route that they took as that of the Palm Sunday procession. I saw that Jesus went with them over all the paths trodden by Him during His Passion, in order to inspire them by His teachings and admonitions with a lively appreciation of the fulfillment of the Promise. In every place in which some scene of His Passion had been enacted, He paused a moment to instruct them upon the accomplishment of the words of the Prophets, upon the Promises, and to explain the symbolical relation of the place to the same. On those sites which the Jews had laid waste, over which they had thrown heaps of stones, through which they had opened ditches, or which they had rendered impassable in other ways in order to prevent their being venerated, Jesus ordered the disciples in His train to go on ahead and clear away all obstructions, which they quickly did. Then bowing low as He passed, they allowed Him to take the lead again while they followed. Just before the gate that led out to Mount Calvary, they turned aside from the road to a delightful spot shaded by trees. It was one of several places of prayer that lay around Jerusalem. Jesus paused to teach and comfort the little flock. Meanwhile, day dawned brightly; their hearts grew lighter, and they even began to think that Jesus would still remain with them.
“New crowds of believers arrived, but I saw no women among them. Jesus again took the road that led to Mount Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher. But He did not follow it up to those points; He turned off and went around the city to the Mount of Olives. Some of the places on these roads consecrated to prayer and sanctified by Jesus’ teaching, and which had been laid waste or hedged in by the Jews, were now restored by the disciples. . . .
“Jesus paused awhile with the crowd in an exceedingly cool and lovely spot covered with beautiful long grass. . . . Jesus spoke to them a very long time, like one who is about closing his discourse and coming to a conclusion. His hearers divined that the hour of parting was near, and yet they had no idea that the time still intervening was to be so short. The sun was already high, was already far above the horizon. . . . Jesus and His followers tarried here fully an hour. By this time the people in Jerusalem were all on the alert, amazed at the crowds of people they descried around Mount Olivet. Out of the city, too, crowds were pouring in bands. They consisted of all that had gone out to meet Jesus on Palm Sunday. The narrow roads were soon thronged, though around Jesus and His own, the space was left free.
“The Lord went only to Gethsemani and from the Garden of Olives up to the summit of the mount. He did not set foot upon the path on which He had been arrested. The crowd followed as in a procession, ascending by the different paths that encircled the mount. Many even pressed through the fences and garden hedges. Jesus at each instant shone more brightly and His motions became more rapid. The disciples hastened after Him, but it was impossible to overtake Him. When He reached the top of the mountain, He was resplendent as a beam of white sunlight. A shining circle, glancing in all the colors of the rainbow, fell from Heaven around Him. The pressing crowd stood in a wide circle outside, as if blending with it. Jesus Himself shone still more brightly than the glory about Him. He laid the left hand on His breast and, raising the right, turned slowly around, blessing the whole world. The crowd stood motionless. I saw all receive the benediction. Jesus did not impart it with the flat, open hand, like the rabbis, but like the Christian Bishops. . . .
“And now the rays of light from above united with the glory emanating from Jesus, and I saw Him disappearing, dissolving as it were in the light from Heaven, vanishing as He rose. I lost sight of His head first. It appeared as if one sun was lost in another, as if one flame entered another, as if a spark floated into a flame. It was as if one were gazing into the full midday splendors of the sun, though this light was whiter and clearer. Full day compared with this would be dark. First, I lost sight of Jesus’ head, then His whole person, and lastly His feet, radiant with light, disappeared in the celestial glory. . . . I cannot say that I saw Him becoming apparently smaller and smaller like something flying up in the air, for He disappeared as it were in a cloud of light.
“Out of that cloud, something like dew, like a shower of light fell upon all below, and when they could no longer endure the splendor, they were seized with amazement and terror. The Apostles and disciples, who were nearest to Jesus, were blinded by the dazzling glare. They were forced to lower their eyes, while many cast themselves prostrate on their faces. The Blessed Virgin was standing close behind them and gazing calmly straight ahead.
“After some moments, when the splendor began to diminish, the whole assembly in deep silence – their souls swayed by varying emotions – gazed fixedly up at the brightness, which continued visible for a long time. I saw two figures appear in this light. They looked small at first, but seemed to grow larger and larger as they descended. They were clothed in long white garments, and each held a staff in one hand. They looked like Prophets. They addressed the multitude, their voices like trumpets resounding loud and clear. It seemed to me that they could surely be heard in Jerusalem. They made no motion, stood perfectly still, and said: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking up to Heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come as you have seen Him going into Heaven.” After these words the figures vanished. The brightness remained for a while longer and then disappeared like daylight retiring before the darkness of night. The disciples were quite out of themselves, for they now comprehended what had happened to them. The Lord had left them and gone to His Heavenly Father! Many, stunned by grief and amazement, fell to the earth. When the glare had entirely died away, they arose again, and the others gathered around them. They formed groups, the Blessed Virgin stepped forward, and so they stood for some time longer recovering themselves, talking together, and gazing upward.”
–And is seated at the right hand of the Father: After Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was brought before the Sanhedrin and the High Priest who asked Him: “’Are you the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus ‘and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.’” *Mark 14:61-63, page 66
–From whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead: The thing is that Jesus and God the Father are always and ever present. They aren’t sitting in Eternity waiting for the world to end. They are “hands on” human beings working together, each in His own way, to get all souls back home to Heaven.
–I believe in the Holy Spirit: Jesus’s words during His public ministry: “’And so I tell you, every one of men’s sins and blasphemies will be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And anyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but let anyone speak against the Holy Spirit and he will not be forgiven either in this world or in the next.’” *Matthew 12:31-32, page 20
Consider: Human beings have their own way of thinking. When you tell a human being not to do something, they sometimes do. Don’t worry about the Holy Spirit – leave Him to His mystery. The thing is, if you do for some reason speak against Him, always ask Jesus to help and ask Him to use all for His good, for His is the greater good. Even if you are not forgiven, you will at least know why and sometimes that is all that a person needs to reverse his human being thinking.
–The holy Catholic Church: Catholic means “universal.” One of the problems Jesus and God the Father had in redirecting the Church from the tenets of Judaism was that God the Father created every human being, not just the Jewish people, the Chosen Ones, and the religion had to be open to all human beings.
The following paragraphs are taken from the book The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ From the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, Translation published circa 1928 by Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd., London, page 298
After the earthquake in Jerusalem following the death of Jesus on the Cross: “. . .the two columns which were placed at the entrance of their Holy of Holies, and to which a magnificent curtain was appended, were shaken to the very foundations; the column on the left side fell down in a southerly, and that on the right in a northerly direction, thus rending the veil in two from the top to the bottom with a fearful sound, and exposing the Holy of Holies uncovered to the public gaze.”
The following quotation is taken from the website TheTabernaclePlace.com Copyright 2004-2013 The Tabernacle Place, The Holy of Holies and the Veil:
“Within the Holy Place of the tabernacle, there was an inner room called the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place. . . . It was God’s special dwelling place in the midst of His people. . . .
“A thick curtain separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. This curtain, known as the “veil,” was made of fine linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn. There were figures of cherubim (angels) embroidered onto it. . . . These cherubim were also on the innermost layer of covering of the tent. If one looked upward, they would see the cherubim figures. . . .
“So the presence of God remained shielded from man behind a thick curtain during the history of Israel. . . . When He [Jesus] died, the curtain in the Jerusalem temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom. . . . (The Jerusalem temple, a replica of the wilderness tabernacle, had a curtain that was about 60 feet in height, 30 feet in width and four inches thick.) . . .
“As the veil was torn, the Holy of Holies was exposed. God’s presence was now accessible to all. . . .”
–The communion of saints: Saints are very holy human beings, whose souls have gone home to God for the very last time. They are given the title “Saint” by the Church after they died. Sometimes saints are not named by the Church for many years or even centuries after their deaths. Human beings on the earth pray to the Saints in Heaven, for the souls in purgatory and for each other. The communion of saints is the union which exists between the human beings on earth, the holy saints who have died and gone straight home to His heaven, and the suffering souls in purgatory.
Consider: What is a soul? When God creates a human being, He gives each new human being a soul. The soul grows with the human being and gives its body life and when it has finished its time on the earth, it goes home to God in His heaven. The soul has understanding and free will and we are judged according to the Ten Commandments and how we have obeyed them.
The souls in purgatory are those human beings whose bodies have died and whose souls have gone home to eternity for the very last time. For reasons known only to Jesus and to themselves, these souls have not quite made it to Heaven but are on their way. Human beings on earth pray for themselves and for one another while they are here on the earth. They also pray for the souls in Purgatory. Human beings also pray to the Saints who are in Heaven for their help in situations which may come up while they are living here on the earth. And the Saints in Heaven pray for the human beings on the earth and for the souls in purgatory.
The souls in purgatory help the human beings who are on the earth. The following paragraphs are taken from the book Read Me Or Rue It, by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, O.P. (E.D.M.). First published circa 1936 by the former Edições do Corpo Santo, Lisbon, Portugal. Retypeset and republished in 1992 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc. with permission of the Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary, Pius XII Monastery, Fatima, Portugal, pages 28-31
“A poor servant girl in France named Jeanne Marie once heard a sermon on the Holy Souls which made an indelible impression on her mind. She was deeply moved by the thought of the intense and unceasing sufferings the Poor Souls endure, and she was horrified to see how cruelly they are neglected and forgotten by their friends on Earth.
“Among other things the preacher stressed was that many souls who are in reality near to their release – one Mass might suffice to set them free – are oftentimes long detained; it may be for years, just because the last needful suffrage has been withheld or forgotten or neglected!
“With her simple faith, Jeanne Marie resolved that, cost what it might, she would have a Mass said for the Poor Souls every month, especially for the soul nearest to Heaven. She earned little, and it was sometimes difficult to keep her promise, but she never failed.
“On one occasion she went to Paris with her mistress and there fell ill, so that she was obliged to go to the hospital. Unfortunately, the illness proved to be a long one, and her mistress had to return home, hoping that her maid would soon rejoin her. When at last the poor servant was able to leave the hospital, all she had left of her scanty earnings was one franc!
“What was she to do? Where to turn? Suddenly, the thought flashed across her mind that she had not had her usual monthly Mass offered for the Holy Souls. But she had only one franc! That was little enough to buy her food. Yet her confidence that the Holy Souls would not fail her triumphed. She made her way into a church and asked a priest, just about to say Mass, if he would offer it for the Holy Souls. He consented to do so, never dreaming that the modest alms offered was the only money the poor girl possessed.
“At the conclusion of the Holy Sacrifice, our heroine left the church. A wave of sadness clouded her face; she felt utterly bewildered.
“A young gentleman, touched by her evident distress, asked her if she was in trouble and if he could help her. She told her story briefly, and ended by saying how much she desired work.
“Somehow she felt consoled at the kind way in which the young man listened to what she said, and she fully recovered her confidence.
“’I am delighted beyond measure,’ he said, ‘to help you. I know a lady who is even now looking for a servant. Come with me.’ And so saying he led her to a house not far distant and bade her ring the bell, assuring her that she would find work.
“In answer to her ring, the lady of the house herself opened the door and inquired what Jeanne Marie required. ‘Madam,’ she said, ‘I have been told that you are looking for a servant. I have no work and should be glad to get the position.’
“The lady was amazed and replied: ‘Who could have told you that I needed a servant? It was only a few minutes ago that I had to dismiss my maid, and that at a moment’s notice. You did not meet her?’
“’No, Madam. The person who informed me that you required a servant was a young gentleman.
“’Impossible!’ exclaimed the lady. ‘No young man, in fact no one at all, could have known that I needed a servant.’
“’But Madam,’ the girl answered excitedly, pointing to a picture on the wall, ‘that is the young man who told me!’
“’Why, child, that is my only son, who has been dead for more than a year!’
“’Dead or not,’ asserted the girl with deep conviction in her voice, ‘it was he who told me to come to you, and he even led me to the door. See the scar over his eye; I would know him anywhere.’
“Then followed the full story of how, with her last franc, she had had Mass offered for the Holy Souls, especially for the one nearest to Heaven.
“Convinced at last of the truth of what Jeanne Marie had told her, the lady received her with open arms. ‘Come,’ she said, ‘though not as my servant, but as my dear daughter. You have sent my darling boy to Heaven. I have no doubt that it was he who brought you to me.’”
Note well: A prayer to God is a prayer to God, no matter who says it, when, where, why or how. A prayer to God is a prayer to God.
As we ask Mother Mary to pray for us – now and at the hour of our death – so we ask the saints in Heaven to pray for us.
–The forgiveness of sins: Consider Forgiveness in Jesus’ own words.
The following paragraphs are taken from the book The Way of Divine Love by Sister Josefa Menéndez, Reprinted by arrangement with the copyright holder: Sands & Co. (Publishers), Ltd., 79 Larmans Road, Enfield, Middlesex, England 1949. Copyright © 1972 by TAN Books; Publishers, Inc. (Pocketbook Edition), pages 283-284
On March 24, 1923, Jesus came to Sister Josefa and continued to relate the story of His Passion. Jesus continued at the point when “. . . finding Barabbas preferred to Me, and how, at seeing Myself so scorned, I felt cut to the quick by the cries of the crowd urging My death. . . .”
“O all you who are steeped in sin, and who for a time more or less long have lived as wanderers and fugitives because of your crimes . . . if the offences of which you have been guilty have hardened and blinded your hearts . . . if to grant satisfaction to one or other of your passions you have sunk into evil ways . . . Ah! when the motives or accomplices of your sin have forsaken you, and you realize the state of your soul, O then, do not yield to despair! For as long as a breath of life remains a man may have recourse to mercy and ask for pardon.
“If you are still young, if already the scandals of your life have lowered you in the eyes of the world, do not be afraid. . . . Even if there is reason to treat you as a criminal, to insult and cast you off . . . your God has no wish to see you fall into . . . hell. . . . On the contrary He ardently desires you to come to Him so that He may forgive you. If you dare not speak to Him, at least look at Him and let the sighs of your heart reach Him, and at once you will find His kind and fatherly hand stretched out to lead you to the springs of pardon and life.
“Should it happen that you have spent the greater part of your life in impiety and indifference, and that the sudden approach of the hour of death fills you with blinding despair . . . Ah! do not let yourself be deceived, for there is still time for pardon. If only one second of life remains to you, in that one second you can buy back eternal life!
“If your whole life has been spent in ignorance and error . . . if you have been a cause of great evil to other men, to society at large, or to religion, and if through some set of circumstances you have come to realize that you have been deceived . . . do not allow yourself to be crushed by the weight of your sins and of the evil of which you have been the instrument; but with a soul penetrated with deep contrition throw yourself into an abyss of confidence, and hasten to Him who awaits your return only to pardon you.”
–The resurrection of the body: At the Last Judgment, when God will put away the wondrous creation of His world – the physical world in which we live – the body of every human being from Adam and Eve to the end of time will be reunited with its soul in Eternity.
Consider: Waiting for the Last Judgment, waiting for the world to end. The thing is these two events are in the future and the future we may not know and so must leave to His Divine Providence. And the past is done and cannot be changed or undone, and so we must leave it to His mercy and ask that He use all for His good, for His is the greater good. And the past is two seconds done as the future is two seconds from now.
Which leaves us in the Present time, which is where Jesus is. For He is, Yahweh, I AM, for He and the Father are as one.
–And life everlasting: Every soul home to Heaven.
Amen.
*All Biblical quotations are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, Copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd. and Doubleday, a Division of Random House, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America March 2000 First Doubleday Reader’s Edition.
Copyright Bernardette Grant, 2015, 2017, 2021 All Rights Reserved
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