Chapter
XIII: SANCTIFI
1. The Holy Prophet
Ezechiel, son of a priestly family, is the third of the Major Prophets.
His mission as prophet unfolded entirely within the Babylonian
captivity, where he was the stay of the Jews in their exile on account of
his prophecies as also his most commendable life, which ended with the
glorious palm of martyrdom. `God
is powerful' is the meaning of his name.
2. First of all we
shall examine his sanctification, stated clearly in his Book, and defined
by us in accord with out correct inter-pretation of the following
remarkable vision of Ezechiel: whilst in captivi-ty in Babylon, and being
in his house on the bank of the river Chobar, the heavens were opened to
him, and he saw a whirlwind speeding towards him together with a great
cloud and a fire of great radiance envel-oped in the cloud.
Rapt in ecstasy, he was shown the glory of the Lord; four cherubim
with the emblems of the Evangelists bore the Most Holy Mystery or
Sacrament, reposing in the Chalice of Melchisedech, in a heavenly chariot.
The Most Divine Soul of Christ in the figure of a man, seated upon
a throne, with a touch of the Triple Benediction purged the lips of the
Prophet, giving him the indwelling of the Holy Ghost and the prophet-ic
unction, this last being symbolized by the eating of the mysterious book
as told in the Bible. The
different elements in this vision are inter-preted as follows: the Cloud
is the Divine Soul of Mary; the Fire, the Most Divine Soul of Christ; and
the Whirlwind is the Holy Ghost. The
expression "as it were the resemblance of electrum", used in the
Sacred Text, in-dicates the Sacrament of the Triple Benediction reposing
in the Holy Grail.
3. The Sacred Text
confirms the sanctification of Ezechiel, described in his own words:
"... And I saw, and I fell upon my face; and I heard the voice of one
that spoke. And he said to me: son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I
will speak to thee: and the Spirit entered into me after he spoke to me
..." (Ez. II, 1, 2). The
Doctor of the Church Saint Catherine Emmerick refers in her revelations to
the Prophet's sanctification taking place as he eats the book given to him
in the vision, correctly interpreted here by us.
4. The Holy Prophet
Ezechiel gives us a series of discon-nected visions and prophecies, which
makes their clear and orderly in-terpretation in general more difficult;
the richness and depth of their teaching and prophecy,
however; meet the eye at first glance, although their elaboration
and explanation be far from easy.
5. We shall begin with
the teaching referring to the qua-lities of spirit needed in the true
shepherd. Chapter XXXIII
takes up this theme with the use of figures which mark out and distin-guish
the true shepherd from the hireling.
Christ has entrusted
His flock to the care of the shepherds of His Church, who have the immense
responsibility of teaching the true faith.
This is con-tained in v. 7: "... I have made thee a watchman
to the house of Israel: therefore thou shalt hear the word from my mouth,
and shall tell it them from me". In the following verse he describes the figure of the bad
shepherd, who observes the people's godless-ness but does not openly
denounce it, nor does he move them to penance and conversion, and so
becomes guilty of the same godless-ness: "When I say to the wicked: O
wicked man, thou shalt surely die: if thou dost not speak to warn the
wicked man from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity: but I
will require his blood at thy hand" (XXXIII, 8).
While verse 9 corresponds to the good shepherd, who openly condemns
the people's godlessness and moves them to conversion; but if one of these
impious souls ignores the shepherd's voice and persists in his evil ways,
the shepherd is vindicated before God: "But if thou tell the wicked
man, that he may be converted from his ways, and he be not convert-ed from
his ways; he shall die in his iniquity: but thou hast delivered thy soul".
6. In chapter XXXIV,
Ezechiel describes in detail the per-verse conduct of the bad shepherd:
"You took the milk; and you clothed yourselves with the wool; and you
killed that which was fat: but my flock you did not feed" (XXXIV,
3). These are the
shepherds who be-cause of their evil ways become ravenous wolves; the
Prophet continues: "The weak you have not strength-ened; and that
which was sick you have not healed: that which was broken you have not
bound up; and that which was driven away you have not brought again;
neither have you sought that which was lost: but you ruled over them with
rigour, and with a high hand. And
my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd: and they became
the prey of all the beasts of the field, and were scat-tered...
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: Behold I will
require my flock at their hand; and I will cause them to cease from
feeding the flock any more; neither shall the shepherds feed them-selves
any more: and I will deliver my flock from their mouth; and it shall no
more be meat for them" (XXXIV, 4,
5, 9, 10).
7. Farther on in the
same chapter, the Prophet Saint Eze-chiel describes to us Jesus Christ,
pattern of the Good Shepherd: "I will feed my sheep: and I will cause
them to lie down, saith the Lord God.
I will seek that which was lost: and that which was driven away, I
will bring again: and I will bind up that which was broken: and I will
strengthen that which was weak, and that which was fat and strong I will
preserve: and I will tend them in jus-tice" (XXXIV,
15, 16). And the Good
Shepherd knows those who are truly his sheep, those who graze where the
rich pasture is, avail-ing themselves of the many graces and making good
use of the Sacraments; which cause them to bear fruit of virtue and
holiness. Whereas the bad
sheep trample the rich pasture, violating the Sacraments and spreading
perversion and corruption to the rest.
Here is the Sacred Text: "And as for you, O my flocks, thus
saith the Lord God: Behold, I judge
between cattle and cattle, of rams, and of he-goats.
Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures, but you must
also tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and when you
drank the clearest water, you troubled the rest with your feet.
And my sheep were fed with that which you had trodden with your
feet: and they drank what your feet had troubled" (XXXIV, 17- 19). But the
Divine Shepherd, su-preme Judge on the Day of Judgement, will separate out
the cockle from the wheat; the cockle will be thrown onto the fire, and
the wheat gathered into the barn: "I will save my flock; and it shall
be no more a spoil; and I will judge between cattle and cattle"
(XXXIV, 22).
8. The final verses of
Chapter XXXIV describe the chief features of the Messianic Kingdom; they
speak of one fold and one She-pherd - Jesus Christ, who will tend His
flock in Person. Men will
enjoy the preternatural gifts to an extraordi-nary degree, amongst them
the sublime qualities of the state of bodily glory; and also the supernatu-ral
gift of the Beatific Vision, without veil and without cease.
This is the meaning of verse 29: "And I will raise up for them
a bud of renown: and they shall be no more consumed with famine in the
land, neither shall they bear any more the reproach of the gentiles".
Considering this verse in greater depth we complete the above
teaching: Christ will establish His throne of glory in the midst of men,
and His glory will blossom not only in their souls but also in their
bodies; in such a way that they shall share in the gifts of glory
possessed by Christ's Body, through
the glorification of His Mystical Body.
Man, enraptured at the sight of God, will be wholly filled with
every happiness, and therefore will no longer be subject to bodily needs
nor to the burden of fallen human nature; nevertheless, he shall be able
to gain a higher throne in Heaven according to the measure of his love.
Mary shall reign in the heart of every man with such power as to
make of them all one heart with the Heart of Christ: His Mystical Body. She is the Hill where Christ reigns; and all men,
round about Mary, shall reign with Christ,- She, the Throne of
Wisdom, Mother of the Church, and Fount of every grace and blessing:
"And I will make them a blessing round about my Hill: and I will send
down the rain in its season: there shall be showers of blessings"
(XXXIV, 26).
9. Verse 25 tells us
of the total peace that the inhabitants of the Messianic Kingdom shall
enjoy, with Satan now impotent to try the nations: "And I will make a
covenant of peace with them, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out
of the land: and they that dwell in the wilderness shall sleep secure in
the forests". Later, Ezechiel shows us the Earth made new, whose springs of
fertility will be the joy of its inhabitants; nature will bloom with all
the intensity given her in Creation, for it was only sin that placed
limits to this perfect work of God. Man
will see his labour as a blessing from Heaven, and it will bring him no
feeling of sorrow, unbearableness or bondage, for he will enjoy perfect
freedom from every suffering together with a wealth of all material goods. Marriage
will reach its highest perfection; man will multiply as the sand of the
sea and the stars of heaven; and here God's promise to Abraham will be
fulfilled in all it's compass; until the number decreed by God is reached.
This is the meaning of the following verse: "And the tree of
the field shall yield its fruit: and the earth shall yield her in-crease;
and they shall be in their land without fear: and they shall know that I
am the Lord, when I shall
have broken the bonds of their yoke, and shall have delivered them out of
the hand of those that rule over them" (XXXIV, 27). Moreover,
man will enjoy complete lordship over nature, and hence will possess
immortality of body, with neither man nor animal able to inflict harm upon
him; this is the teaching of verse 28: "And they shall be no more for
a spoil to the nations; neither shall the beasts of the earth devour them:
but they shall dwell securely with-out any terror".
10. In Chapter XXXVII,
Ezechiel sketches with abundance of detail the mystery of the resurrection
of the dead by means of an ex-traordinary prophetic vision.
He sees a field covered with dry bones; these are quicke-ned by the
Spirit, and are joined together in the proper anatomical order of the
human body; they are then covered with nerves and flesh, and clothed with
skin, thus forming an exceedingly great army of men out of those dried up
remains. Here are some verses
of the Sacred Text: "... Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord... :
Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live.
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to grow over
you, and will cover you with skin: and I will give you spirit; and you
shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord" (XXXVII, 4-6). And the
Prophet continues: "... Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will open
your graves, and will bring you out of your sepulchres, O my people: and
will bring you into the land of Israel" (XXXVII,
12). This process of
formation which Ezechiel de-scribes in detail will take place in a single
instant, as is shown in his Prophecy: "... and behold, a commotion:
and the bones came together, each one to its joint" (XXXVII,
7); and so shall be the resurrection of the body, in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, as Saint Paul says (I Cor. XV, 52).
The final verses of chapter XXXVII relate to the eternal destiny of
man after his resurrec-tion, although here Ezechiel refers only to the elect, whom the
Lord will gather from all nations and bring to the heavenly fatherland,
where they shall be forever Saints.
11. Ezechiel's most
inspired Book could not be without a prophecy relating to the Mother of
God, who in time would conceive the Son of the Most High; in Chapter XLIV
we find the following symbol of the per-petual virginity of Mary:
"... This Gate shall be shut: it shall not be opened; and no man
shall pass through it; because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in
by it: and it shall be shut" (XLIV, 2).
12. In Chapter XXXVI
Ezechiel offers us a series of pro-phecies on the Church and the
Sacraments, on the Holy Mass and
the Priesthood, full of interesting and captivating insights.
In verse 24, God tells of His Church whose members, chosen from
throughout the world, are those who correspond to the call from Heaven,
exactly as expressed in the Gospel: "You have not chosen Me: but I
have chosen you ..." (Jn. XV, 16); here is Ezechiel's verse: "For
I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out
of all the countries; and will bring you into your own land".
In order howev-er to belong to the True Church of Christ, a
regeneration is necessary by means of the Sacrament of Baptism, the first
Sacra-ment to be received and indispensable in order to receive the others.
Through Baptism received within the true Church is ac-quired the
Indwelling of the Holy Ghost, which is lost by mortal sin and must be
recovered by means of the Sacrament of Penance; which is the teaching
contained in the following verse: "And I will pour upon you clean
water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will
cleanse you from all your idols" (XXXVI, 25).
Verse 26 has a most rich doctrinal content, enrapturing the soul
with the sweet fragrance of God's love for man.
The Lord speaks to us through the Prophet: "And I will give
you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you"; words which
describe the deep significance of the Mass and the Priesthood; for the
Holy Sacrifice of the Altar is the Heart
of the Universe, and the Priest the spirit who gives life to this mystical
Heart. Then he writes: "and
I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a
heart of flesh", a text having the same meaning as the words of Saint
Paul: "And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. II
20), a meaning which Pope
Gregory XVII has defined and expressed with masterful and supreme clarity
saying that in the hearts of those who live in the state of grace, through
Holy Communion, a particle of the Deific Heart of Jesus and, by
concomitance, a particle of the Immaculate Heart of Mary become enthroned
in a unique and sacramental way. Verse
27 clearly confirms the following article of faith from the Palmar-ian
Creed: "The Holy Ghost is the Soul of the Church"; here is the
bible text: "And I will put my spirit in the midst of you: and I will
cause you to walk in my commandments, and keep my judgements, and do them".
We illustrate the Creed text with this verse, affirming that it
implies as well the continuous help and assistance of the Divine Spirit,
Spouse of the souls of the faith-ful in the state of grace; which He fills
with His Gifts and Fruits according to their degree of correspondence.
Continuing our sublime Palmarian doctrine, we interpret verse 28:
"And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers: and
you shall be my people, and I will be your God"; which is to say: if
you hear my words and put them into practice, I will make for you a
lasting abode in Mary, whom I have given as Spouse to your Fathers the
Priests, for them to live in Her and for Her; and you may become espoused
to Mary through the Priest, and make your souls into my dwelling-place,
and live in My City Mary: "He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be
confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin.
They that explain me, shall have life everlasting" (Ecclus.
XXIV, 30-31). This teaching
we confirm with the following Gospel parable: "Therefore, whosoever
heareth these my words, and
doeth them, shall be likened to a wise man, who built his house upon a
rock" (Mat. VII, 24).
13. To end our
treatment of this admirable and instruc-tive Prophecy, we interpret verses
29 and 30 of the same chapter: "And I will save you from all your
uncleannesses: and I will call for wheat, and will multiply it, and will
lay no famine upon you. And I
will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that
you bear no more the reproach of famine among the nations".
A colourful description full of prophetic symbols of the Most Holy
Sacrament of the Eucharist; first wheat is mentioned, material used in the
consecra-tion of the Body of Christ, and then the multiplication of the
Fruit of the Tree; for Christ, Fruit of the Tree which is Mary, multiplies
His Presence in countless consecrated Hosts in order to feed, strengthen
and sanctify the faithful of the Church.
