Chapter XV: THE TWELVE HOLY MINOR PROPHETS.  THEIR SANCTIFICATION AND MORE NOTABLE PROPHECIES.

              1.  After a profound study by this Holy Council, Pope Gregory XVII defines that Malachias is the Holy Ghost, and that Baruch is one of the twelve Minor Prophets.

              2.  In order to declare the excellence of these twelve illustrious and holy men, known as the Minor Prophets, who are Baruch, Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus and Zacharias, - this Holy Council affirms and defines that they all were en-dowed with the Indwelling of the Holy Ghost at the moment they were anoin-ted and sanctified for their prophetic mission.  They received that exal-ted grace through the contact on their lips of the Sacrament of the Triple Benediction administered by the Most Divine Soul of Christ.

              3.  The Book of Ecclesiaticus affirms the doctrine given above in the words: "And may the bones of the twelve Prophe-ts flourish again from their place, for they strengthened Jacob and redeemed themsel-ves by strong faith" (Eccles.  XLIX, 12).

              1) Baruch

              4.  The Holy Prophet Baruch is found in the Vulgate after Jeremias and before Ezechiel.  His name signifies `Blessed'.

              5.  Baruch was as well secretary and spokesman of Jeremias.  Jeremias dictated his prophecies to Baruch, who proclai-med them in public.  Following the death of Jeremias, which took place in Egypt where both prophets had taken refuge, Baruch left for Babylon taking with him a let-ter from Jeremias in which he warned his people against the idolatry that prevailed in Babylon and foretold their future liberation.  This much dis-cussed letter of Jeremias is included in the Vulgate among the Prophecies of Baruch as final chapter, though it is made clear that it comes from the Prophet of the Lamentations.  The location of the letter among the pro-phecies of Baruch dates from after the Septuagint, in which it follows the Lamentations independent of the Book of Baruch.  Therefore this Holy Coun-cil affirms that the Prophecies of Baruch consist solely of five chapters, and that the sixth, as found in the Vulgate, belongs to Jeremias.

              6.  There is clear proof of the Sanctification of the Pro-phet in Chapter XLV, verse 5, of Jeremias, who transmits the following words of the Lord, referring to Baruch:"...  and I will give thee thy soul and save thee in all the places  whithersoever thou shalt go".  This we interpret to mean that the Holy Ghost would dwell in his soul.  Another proof of the Sanctification of Baruch is found in chapter IV, verse 22, of his Book, where the Prophet professes his faith in the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, clearly distinguishing the Three Divine Persons with their particular attributes.  Consider the lofty grandeur and the depth contained in the verse: "Because my hope is in the Eternal that He will save you: and joy is come upon me from the Holy One for the mercy which shall come to you from our Everlasting Saviour".  Which means that the Prophet received from the Eternal Father the joy of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in virtue of the anticipated merits of Christ the Saviour.

              7.  The Holy Prophet Baruch, in Chapter III, gives utter-ance, in a series of maxims, to a lofty doctrine which recalls that of the Book of Wisdom.  He expounds the spiritual elevation of the man who drinks continually at the fount of Wisdom, inexhaustible treasure of holi-ness and salvation.  In contrast, he speaks of those who depart from the path of Wisdom to heap up material goods and to labour for what is peri-shable. 

              8.  The latter verses of Chapter III refer particularly to the Souls of Christ and Mary and to the Incarna-tion of the Word.  They of-fer clear proof of the Creation of those Divine Souls before all things.  Verse 29 contains the mystery of the Hypostatic Union: "Who hath gone up into Heaven and taken her and brought her down from the clouds?" The Word is the Heaven that is the glory of the infinite essence of God, from whom the Soul of Christ, on being created united to the Word, that is, in virtue of the hypostatic union, took Wisdom.  The expres-sion "and brought her down from the clouds" means that Wisdom went forth from the essence of God through the humanity of Christ, in order to become manifest for every creature.  The Most Divine Soul of Christ was constituted, within the infinite Heaven of the essence of God, in an ocean overflowing with Wisdom.  Verse 30 is a poetic figure of Mary: "Who hath passed over the ocean and found her and brought her in preference to chosen gold?" Which means that the Soul of Mary in the very instant of her creation was asso-ciated with the Divine Council and espoused with Christ, thus enclosing the Ocean of Grace which is the Soul of Christ, and in Him all the Wisdom of God.  Thus Mary is the Tabernacle of Wisdom and is herself Wisdom.  Mary, in the Incarnation of the Word, bore Wisdom Incarnate in Her most pure womb and, remaining a virgin throughout, gave birth to Wisdom for all men to partici-pate in it.  Verses 31 and 32 declare the unfathomable abyss of the Souls of Christ and Mary, Wisdom of God, whose magnitude only the Creator can know, and which He, through infinite love, gives to mankind.  Verse 33 expresses this well, in the words: "He that sendeth forth light, and it goeth ... ".  This doctrine is completed in verse 38: "Afterwards, he was seen upon earth and conversed with men", which expresses the Incar-nation of the Word, his birth and public life.  Verse 37 speaks of Jesus Christ, the way, the  truth and the life, who bequ-eathed the infinite treasure of His doctrine to the Pope His servant, and to Israel His Be-loved Church: "He found out all the way of knowledge and gave it to Ja-cob His servant, and to Israel His beloved".

              9.  The Martyrology does not include the lofty figure of Baruch, eminent in wisdom and holiness.  This Holy Council solemnly adds his name, for posterity to recognize, venerate and invoke him as a Saint.

              2) Osee

              10.  The Holy Prophet Osee, whose name means `Saviour', pro-phesies in the first place, symbolically, the adultery and prostitution of the Chosen People, which has dared to oppose God, her Divine Spouse.  He severely reproaches her for her execrable sins, and tells his People that God is going to pour out over her His implacable wrath if she does not repent.  Prophe-tical symbolism, which also prefigures the apostasy of the present Roman Church.  And her prostitution with the infernal Beast, which makes her the Great Harlot of the Last Times, through her infide-lity to her Divine Spouse, Jesus Christ.

              11.  In respect to his messianic prophecies, Chapter VI ver-se 3 gives emphatic proof of the Resurrection of Christ as well as other matters: "He will revive us after two days.  On the third day He will raise us up and we shall live in His sight.  We shall know the Lord and we shall follow Him that we may know Him.  His going forth is prepared as the morning light, and He will come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth".  Duly interpreting this verse, we have clear proof of the fulfillment of the words of Christ found it the Gospel, that He would rise again on the third day.  The phrase, "He will revive us", is interpreted in the same verse, which adds: "On the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight".  This agrees with the Pauline teaching that by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are vivified in spirit and shall rise with Him.  Continuing our interpretation of the same verse, we recognize in other points again the teaching of Saint Paul, since the Resurrec-tion of Christ is the chief proof of His Divini-ty, the supreme fulfillment of all the messianic prophecies and the foun-dation of our faith.  This doctrine is contained in the following phrases: "We shall know the Lord, and we shall follow Him that we may know Him".  We reaffirm our interpretation above, supported by the doctrine of Saint Paul, that if Christ be not risen from the dead then vain is our faith (I Cor.  XV, 17).  Again considering Osee, Chapter VI, verse 3, we see how the Prophet gives the precise moment of the Resurrection of Christ with-in the third day, using the expression, "His going forth is prepared as the morning light", which exactly cor-responds with the Holy Gospel.  And immediately, within the same verse, the Prophet foretells the Pentecost of the Apostles in the following words: "...  and He will come to us as the early rain", which indicate the proximity of the Resurrection of Christ the visible coming of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles.  The fi-nal phra-se of verse 3  is admirable, saying: "and the latter rain to the earth", which indicates the Second Pentecost over the Palmarian Hierar-chy, the Marian Apostles of the Last Times.

              12.  As for the eschatological content of Chapter III, we read in verse 4: "For the children of Israel shall sit many days without king and without prince and without sacrifice and without altar and with out ephod and without theraphim"; which indicates the rejection by God of the Jewish people because of their apostasy, who thus remain outside of the true Church.  Verse 5 refers to the conversion of the Jewish people at the end of the Times, their recognition of Christ, and their entrance into the Church.

              3) Joel

              13.  The Holy Prophet Joel, whose name signifies `the Lord is God', foretells the phenomena and prodigies to occur at the end of the last times, evident signs of the Second Coming of Christ.  The Book of Joel is rich in descriptive passages similar to the apocalyptic discour-ses of Our Lord in the Gospels.  The Apostle Saint Peter cites Joel in his sermon on the day of Pentecost, as related in the Acts of the Apostles (Il, 1:7 seq.), including verses 18 to 32 of Chapter 11 in their en-tirety.

              14.  This prophecy has been fulfilled during the recent de-cades preceding the election of His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII, when the appari-tions of the Virgin Mary were multi-plied in singular fashion to tell us of the spiritual and material evils of these last times and to make an anguished appeal for penance and conversion.  In addition, the Virgin Mary, Most Pure Spouse of the Holy Ghost, lavishly poured out the gift of prophecy over all flesh, preferably over the humble.  That pro-fusion of graces is prophesied by Joel:"...  I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.  And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.  Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  Moreover, upon my servants and handmaids in those days I will pour forth my spirit" (II, 28, 29).  Which prophecy has been fulfilled in all its exten-sion.

              15.  We round off our doctrine on the Prophet Joel by awarding his Book the title of honour, `Little Apocalypse'.

              4) Amos

              16.  The Holy Prophet Amos displays a simple, artless cha-racter, though at the same time tenacious in the fulfillment of his pro-phetic mission.  Amos laments and weeps for the iniquity of Israel.  He foretells the destruction and desolation of the kingdom for her arrogance and impiety and exhorts her to be converted.  The Holy Prophet, after being cruelly persecuted by the priest Amasias, was murdered by a son of the latter.

              17.  The prophecies of Amos, written in simple style,  form an abundant source of wisdom full of profound myster-ies easy to appre-hend.  In Chapter III, verse 7, the Holy Prophet proclaims the merciful love of God for His people: "For the Lord God doth nothing without re-vealing his secret to his servants the prophets".  Throughout the ages God has, through His elect, announced future events, in sufficient time so that no one need remain uninformed of those notifications, which make evident the realization of God's plans.  Here is seen the importance of listening to the voice of the prophets, to study their messages a-nd to benefit from the good they contain.  Saint Paul mentions this doctrine in the First Letter to the Thessalonians, in which he says: "Extinguish not the spirit.  Despise not prophecies.  But prove all things and hold fast that which is good" (1 Thes.  V, 19-21).

              18.  Regarding the Last Times, Amos foretells the present moment of the Church: "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that the sun shall go down at midday, and I will cover the earth with darkness in the day of light" (VIII, 9).  In this glorious age of the Church of Christ, the Palmarian Church, whose splendour has surpas-sed that of all the moments of the History of the Church, the earth in covered by the greatest darkness ever known, since only a small army of true faithful quartered in the desert of El Palmar de Troya enjoy the brilliant Sun, of midday, who is Pope Gregory XVII, Vicar of Christ.  Whereas the immense majority of men live under the cover of the dark shadow of apostasy, captained by a monster Star of hell, the Antipope John Paul II, who has dared to come between the Sun and humanity and bring about the greatest solar eclipse known up to the present.  The sac-red text offers a surprising paradox, which quite coincides with ano-ther, no less surprising, namely, the coincidence of the motto `De Glo-ria Olivae' pertaining to the brilliant Sun, Gregory XVII, and the oppo-sing motto, `De labore solis', which means `Eclipse of the Sun', and pertains to the usurper John Paul II, the Beast Personified.  And how they have tried to twist the meaning of the motto `De labors solis'!  They have given an interpretation that favours the plans of the masons, whose visible head is John Paul II, by translating it as `the labour of the sun', as though referring to the dif-ficulties, suffering and perse-cution which the Church has suffered under the communist yoke in his na-tive Poland.  However, the official translation, classic and correct of the Latin expression is solely and exclusively `of the Eclipse of the Sun'.  With that we unmask the satanic ruse fabricated by this false translation in order to eclipse the light of the Church, - be it only for the moment.

              5) Abdias

              19.  The Holy Prophet Abdias, whose name signifies `Servant of God', prophesies the inhumanity of the enemies of God's People as well as the crushing of their pride and the ruin of idolatry.  He marks out the spiritual Reign of Jesus Christ and the triumph of His Church.

              20.  The Book of the Prophet Abdias implicitly contains the doctrine of the qualities to be found in a good ruler, as well as the way he is to act in the exercise of his power.  At the same time he speaks of the evil consequences of abuse of power, and concludes with the doc-trine of the two-fold power of the Pope, the spiritual and the temporal, inasmuch as he enjoys complete sovereignty over the universe.

              21.  The Book of Wisdom, speaking of rulers, says: "Hear therefore, ye kings, and understand: learn, ye that are judges of all the earth ...  For power is given you by the Lord.  and strength by the Most High, who will examine your works, and search out your thoughts" (Wisd.  VI, 2 & 4).

              22.  The Holy Prophet Abdias on the one hand presents figuratively the reign of a Monarch symbolized under the expression `the House of Jacob', representing the ideal Monarch, who excels in virtue, wisdom and right judgement as a ruler, and whose watchword in the exer-cise of power is the exaltation of God and His Church, the spiritual and intellectual progress of his people, the economic development and well being of his subjects, as well as the fortification and vigilance of the frontiers in order to prevent any damage, material or moral, to his so-vereign-ty.

              23.  The good Monarch places his sword at the service of the Church and makes laws in conformity with the directives of the Ma-gisterium.  He is irreproachable in the administration of justice in all its extension.  He permits no disorder, material, social, political or moral within his state.  He punishes with severity every breach of public morals, and prohibits in his domains every religion that is not the au-thentic one, as well as all proselytizing contrary to eternal truth or to his political action.  At every moment he is ready to give his life in the service of the Church and for the good of the nation.

              24.  Of the good Monarch the Book of Wisdom (VI, 26) says: "A wise king is the support of his people", thus referr-ing to him who does not depart from the right way which teaches t-he Wisdom of God.

              25.  On the other hand, the Holy Prophet Abdias speaks figuratively of the rule of the bad Monarch, under the symbolic expression, `Mount of Esau', those personal and executive traits are the antithesis of all the doctrine given above for the true Monarch.

              26.  The bad Monarch, for having betrayed the divine law, Church doctrine and the wisdom of good government, does not deserve the name of Monarch, but that of usurper.  He dishonours the image of the good Monarch since he darkens and obscures the brilliance of the lat-ter's unstained and

venerable person.

              27.  The Holy Prophet Abdias, in expressive figure-s,  fore-tells the action of that perverse king in the following verses: "For the slaughter and for the iniquity against thy brother Jacob, confusion shall cover thee and thou shalt perish forever.  In the day when thou stoodest against him when strangers ...  entered into his gates and cast lots upon Jerusalem, thou also was as one of them" (verses 10-11).  In verse 3 the Prophet denotes the arrogance of the bad Monarch, who is raised high on a throne of sand that appears as gold, beneath a canopy obscured in darkness.  Here is the Sacred Text: "The pride of thy heart has lifted thee up, who dwellest in the clefts of the rocks, who settest up thy throne on high, who sayest in thy heart: Who shall bring me down to the ground?" Here is seen the mad presumption of him who puts his trust in, and bases his power on the worthless foundation afforded by his own iniquity and that of his collabora-tors, of those who falsely adulate and idolize him for their own perverse ends, but are ever on the watch to bring him down to ruin.  This is the meaning of the follow-ing verses: "How have they searched Esau!  How have they sought out his hidden things!  They have sent thee out even to the border.  All the men of thy con-federacy have deceived thee.  The men of thy peace have risen up against thee.  They that were with thee shall lay snares under thee.  There is no wisdom in him" (verses 6- 7).  Such are the consequences of a reign without wisdom, blinded by a false peace.  Verse 15 of the Pro-phecy puts into relief the tragic end of the bad ruler whose vain presumption brings down upon him the terrible wrath of the Supreme Judge, the Giver of all power, power which is not transferable to the people or to the enemies of God.  Here are the relevant words of the Prophet Abdias: "For the day of the Lord is at hand upon all nations.  As thou hast done, so shall it be done to thee.  He will turn thy reward upon thy own head". 

              28.  Verse 17 of the one chapter of Abdias speaks of ano-ther reign, that of Mount Sion, which is the Holy Church of God, the spiritual Reign of Jesus Christ, under His Vicar on earth.  In this ver-se, after exalting the spiritual power of the Pope, he speaks of his temporal power, symbolized once more by the expression, `House of Jacob'.  It is astonishing how in verse 18 the martial character of the temporal power is made to stand out, describing the House of Jacob as burning fire that will totally consume the House of Esau.  Here are ver-ses 17 and 18: "And in Mount Sion shall be salvation, and it shall be holy.  And the House of Jacob shall posses those that possessed them.  And the House of Jacob shall be a fire and the House of Joseph a flame and the House of Esau stubble, and they shall be kindled in them and shall devour them, and there shall be no remains of the house of Esau, for the Lord hath spoken it".  How well the Prophet in the words, "and the House of Joseph", expresses the warfare of the armies of the tempo-ral power of the Pope, by whose Sacred Person will be established the temporal power asserting his rights as Great Monarch, exterminating all impiety, symbolically expressed by `the House of Esau', figure of the reign of Antichrist, and governi-ng his Empire with all the recti-tude that the Wisdom of God requires.  Verse 21  expresses the same: "And the saviours shall come up into Mount Sion to judge the mount of Esau, and shall remain the kingdom of the Lord".  Verse 19 gives us the same doctrine: "And they are towards the south shall inherit the mount of Esau".

              29.  Verse 20 speaks of the captivity of the Church, indi-cating the limitation, for the time being, of her temporal power.  The Church will increase this power of hers through successive conquests until the great Empire is formed.  Here is the Sacred Text: "And the cap-tivity of this host of the children of Israel...  , and the captivity of Jerusalem that is in Bosphorus shall possess the cities of the South".  It is astonishing how Spain is named in this verse through the word Bos-phorus.  In the Hebrew it appears more clearly, since the name is `Se-pharad', that is, Spain.

              6) Jonas

              30.  The Holy Prophet Jonas prophesied not only in word but also with the events of his life.  His name means `Dove'.  Regarding his childhood there is an extraordinary episode in the Book of Kings which draws attention to his person and disposes him for a difficult prophetic mission in the future.  After a profound study of the person of the Prophet, and attend-ing to a pious tradition, we conclude that there is complete identity between Jonas and the son of the widow of Sa-rephta, the child the Prophet Elias raised from the dead.  This Holy Council affirms that the child restored to life is the Prophet Jonas, born in Geth of Opher, and shortly afterwards taken by his mother to Sarephta, there Saint Elias visited them and there the miraculous event took place.  Of profound significance are the external signs through which the Prophet Elias obtained the extraordinary miracle, when he ex-tended himself three times upon the body of the child.  All this presents Jonas, since his childhood, as figure of the death and resurrection of Christ.  

31.  Many years later there was to take place another event equally significant.  Jonas had received from God the order to go and preach in Ninive.  He disobeyed the command and fled towards Tarsis by sea.  God caused a great tempest so that the boat was on the verge of sinking.  Jonas confessed that it was his fault, and to save the crew he offered himself to be thrown into the sea, where miraculously he re-mained three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish, after which he was cast out safe and sound upon the dry land.  Jonas had learned his lesson not to evade the divine command, and he went to Ninive to fulfill his prophetic mission preaching penance to that pagan capi-tal.  Christ Himself presents Jonas as figure of His Resurrec-tion: "For, as Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights" (Matt. II, 40).

              32.  The Book of Jonas also contains the doctrine that the fulfillment of prophecy, whether threat or promise, is conditioned by the correspondence of men.  The threat against  Ninive which Jonas had to an-nounce to her inhabitants was not fulfilled because the Ninivites accep-ted the invitation of the Prophet to do penance.  In the Book of Jonas is seen that the salvific will of God is not limited to the Hebrew Peop-le, but extends also to the pagan nations.

              33.  Jonas preached many years to the Israelites, but his preaching and threats were unavailing, for they rejected the word of God, and that plunged Jonas in a sea of bitterness.  God then abandons His people and orders the Prophet to Ninive, that pagan capital, which despite her corrupt heart was moved to penance by the preaching of Jonas.

              34.  The Sacred Text brings into relief the human reactions of the Holy Pro-phet, which in no wise makes light of his exalted virtues, since Jonas, in the depth of his heart desired only the glory of God, even though bit-terness and discouragement engulf his soul, given the difficult circum-stances of his prophetic mission.  Our Lord Jesus Christ, like Jonas, was rejected by His people, who tu-rned a deaf ear to the word of God and where excluded from His Church.  Here is the gospel text: "The men of Ninive shall rise in judgement with this generation and shall condemn it.  Because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas.  And behold, a greater than Jonas is here" (Matt.  Xli; 41).

              7)  Micheas

              35.  The Holy Prophet Micheas occupies a prominent place among the minor prophets.  Considering the angelic signific-ation of his name, `Who is like God?', and the content of his book, divided into se-ven chapters, which express the principal mission of each of the seven Archangels, this Holy Council honours the Prophet with the most worthy title, `Angelic Prophet'.

              36.  In the first 1 chapter, Micheas symbolically fulfills the mission of the Archangel Sedechiel, where he severe-ly reproaches his people for their idolatry and perversion, and at the same time threa-tens them with the righteous anger of the Most High.  Here we have the meaning of the name Sedechiel: `God is just'.

              37.  In Chapter II, God, abandons His people who have dared to rebel against Him, while, at the same time, He promises to gather in His flock the faithful sheep of Israel, who will be led to pasture by the Good Shepherd, the promised Messias, who will go before them to lead them and raise them to the supreme dignity of sons of God, divinizing their souls and communicating to them His mysteries.  Here is marvelously contained the profound meaning of Jereniel: `God rises up', expressing the angelic mission to inspire in souls the desire for sal-vation.

              38.  In Chapter III, Micheas foretells the incurab-le sick-ness of his people, who have sinned against the Holy Ghost  with foolish presump-tion of God's mercy, not to speak of their attributing to God the works of the devil.  This gravest of evils comes from the poison ad-ministered by the false doctors, who are the false prophets and sooth-sayers in whom, but of conve-nience, the princes and the priests place their trust, and in these latter most of the people place theirs.  None the less, they reject the salutary medicine of the divine physician, Micheas, true prop-het of the Most High, who performs the very painful surgery on his people of making them recognize the cancer of their perversity and spiritual blindness, covered over with a white bandage.  Here we have the meaning of Raphael: `Medicine of God'.

              39.  In Chapter IV, the Holy Prophet Micheas speaks of Jesus Christ, who is the Light, and of His Church, bearer of that Light throughout the ages.  He brings out especially the complete and absolute triumph of Christ with the introduction of the Messianic Kingdom, whose light will shine on all men without mixture of darkness, since Satan will have been buried in the lake of sulphur for ever and ever.  Here we have unfolded the very beautiful mystery contained in the name.  `Uriel', which means `Light of God'.

              40.  In Chapter V, the Holy Prophet fulfills the mission of announcing to the would the birth of the Messias, who will pasture the flock in the strength of the Lord, and destroy the reign of Satan and all the power of the world with the sword of His doctrine.  Micheas fulfills in this chapter the mission of the Archangel Saint Gabriel, bearer of the Good Tidings, whose n-ame means `Strength of God'.

              41.  In Chapter VI, the Holy Prophet Micheas reveals how tender is the paternal heart of God, whose grief and lamentation are expressed in so human a manner.  For He came unto His own and His own re-ceived Him not.  At the same time He moves them to the most profound re-flection, and reminds them of His constant affection and very special predilection for them.  In this way, God tries to make His people acknowledge their sins, do penance and return to Him, to be happy with Him for eternity.  This doctrine coincides admirably with the mission of the Ar-changel Saint Cediel to inspire the faithful to be converted to God.

              42.  In Chapter VII, the Prophet raises his voice and, like the Archangel Saint Michael, cries out: "Who, O God, is like unto Thee?" And at once he sings the merciful love of God, who receives the repentant simmer and forgets his sins forever.  The mission of the Archangel Saint Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, is to exalt God's greatness and take his sword in defence of God's rights; mission which is seconded by Micheas in his prophetic life on earth, since his name means: `Who is like God?'

              43.  We shall now consider the sanctification of Micheas and his anointing as prophet, doctrine found in Chapter III, verse 8: "But yet I am filled with the strength of the spirit of  the Lord, with judgement and power: to declare unto Jacob his wickedness and to Israel his sin".

              44.  In Chapter V the Holy Prophet Micheas foretel-ls the place of birth of the Messias and describes with flow of detail the person and salvific mission of Jesus Christ.  Verse two is astonishing for its doctrinal content, since, besides mentioning precisely the city of Christ's birth, Bethlehem, it refers to several, mysteries that are enshrined in the Incarnation of the Word.  On the one hand he offers unmistaka-ble proof of the creation of the Most Divine Soul of Christ, the nature created before all things, by the expression "from the beginning".  On the other hand he defines the eternal existence of the Word, the uncreated divine nature of Christ, who is the divine Person living in the bo-som of the Father "from the days of eternity".  Verse three contains the doctrine of the pre- existence of the Divine Soul of Mary and the assistance of the Most Divine Soul of Christ to the Church of the Old Testa-ment, until the time when the Woman announced in Genesis will give bir-th to the Messias, in Whom will be established the New Israel, that is, the Mystical Body of Christ, and in Him will be incorporated the faith-ful remnant of the Ancient Church.  Here is the sacred text: "And thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and His going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.  Therefore He will assist them even till the time when she that is to give birth shall bring forth: and the remnant of His brethren shall be reunited to the children of Israel" (verses 2-3).  In successive verses of the same chapter, the Prophet extols the sublime mission of the Mes-sias, Corner-stone of the Church, which latter bears the doctrine of salvation and will spread it to the ends of the earth.

              8) Nahum

              45.  The Holy Prophet Nahum, whose name signifies `the Con

soled', puts into relief and combines, with great force and meaning, in the first chapter of his book, various attributes of God, which makes of his Book a small treatise with profoundly theological content.  Chapter II of the Prophecy is an historical and doctrinal narration replete with splendid, elegant metaphors which speak in mysteries of the sovereignty of God's power over the enemies of His people.  And chapter III puts in-to relief the abominations of the inhabitants of the city of Ninive, beautiful and mighty, which has given herself to a whole series of dis-orders and fornications, for which reason it was completely destroyed, like Babylon.  Both cities, figura-tively, are of apocalyptic transcend-ence.  Their names are used figuratively to designate the greatest har-lot of all times, the present Rome, Seat of the apostate Roman Church, whose abominations much exceed those of her sisters, those twin cities.

              46.  The Holy Prophet Nahum is truly lavish in his use of metaphors, replete with colour and full of meaning.  Verse 15 of Chapter I is a messianic prophecy which presents Jesus Christ at the high point of His preaching that leaves on the earth the living imprint of His teaching and the triumphant jubilation of the Church at the presence of her Spouse.  Let us see the Sacred Text: "Behold upon the mountains the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings and that preacheth peace.  O Juda, keep thy festivals and pay thy vows, for Belial shall no move pass th-rough thee.  He is utterly cut off" (1, 15).

              47.  There exists between the prophecies of Nahum and his name an impressive and paradoxical relation, in that the city of Capharnaum, called so in honour of the Prophet and signifying `Town of Nahum', was the centre of Christ's aposto-late and His place of preference, being the home town of Saint Peter, the first Pope.  Nevertheless Capharnaum, .  like Ninive, merited the malediction of Our Lord Jesus Christ for not having corresponded with His call and, for that reason, was also des-troyed.  We terminate this brief historical review with the words of Christ in the Gospel: "And thou, Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted up to heaven? Thou shalt go down even unto hell.  For, if in Sodom had been wrought the miracles that have beep wrought in thee, perhaps it had re-mained unto this day.  But I say unto you that it shall be more tolera-ble for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee" (Matt.  XI, 23-24). 

              9) Habacuc

              48.  The Holy Prophet Habacuc is the same of whom the Book of Daniel speaks, and who was carried miraculously by an Angel to Babylon in order to bring some food to the prophet Daniel.  His name signi-fies `Garden produce', and enshrines a mysterious relation to his Book of prophecy, most fertile garden of rich and varied doctrine.

              49.  In our work of interpreting the Prophecy of Habacuc, we concentrate our gaze particularly on Chapter III of the Book, which, in the form of prayer, presents the messian-ic vision of the Prophet.  There is reference to that vision in verse 2 of chapter II, where God orders him to write for posteri-ty.

              50.  The prophetic prayer of Habacuc has been subject to various interpretations, given that the literary style of the Prophet is profoundly enigmatic, which has caused consid-erable difficulty for the biblical commentators.  Also contribut-ing to the difficulty have been the different readings among the various versions of the Bible, all of which has made of the prayer of Habacuc one of the most controversial biblical texts. 

              51.  This Holy Council with the light of the Holy Ghost  expounds, as follows, the doctrine on the prophetic vision of Habacuc narrated in Chapter III.  Let us see how it unfolds:

              52.  Verse 2 ways: "O Lord, I have heard thy announcement and I feared".  Which signifies the Annunciation of the Incarnation of the Word by the Archangel Saint Gabriel to the Most Holy Virgin Mary.  The greatness of the mystery produced in the soul of the Prophet a holy fear.  In the same verse, Habacuc pleads with God for the prompt realization of the mystery of the Incarnation and of the Redemption.  This is the meaning of the following words: "...  O Lord, thy work, in the midst of the years, bring it to life, ... " Considering the text of Habacuc more deeply, we see how there is revealed to the Prophet all the mystery con-tained in those words of hope, affirming, as we do, that Habacuc embraced in his vision the whole process anticipating the future -Redemption, that is, the spiritual offertory of the Souls of Chr-ist and Mary; which causes him to break out in ardent supplica-tion for God to hasten the hour of the Incarnation of those Divine Souls, thus meritoriously to accomplish the Redemption of mankind.  The close of the verse expres-ses the manifestation to all of the Work of Redemption-, inasmuch as it would be an event of universal knowledge and transcende-nce, the centre of all of history, stumbling block, stone of scandal and object of the gaze of all; and only those who accepted that Work of Salva-tion would be saved.  Furthermore, Christ would continue His evangelic work through the Church, Fruit of Calvary, and within her, through the Holy Sacrifice of Mass, the merciful Heart of Christ would act through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

              53.  In verse 3 we find mysteriously enshrined the process of the Incarnation of the Word of God.  The ex-pression, "God will come n from the South", signifies that the Word, to Whom is united hypostatic-ally the Soul of Christ, descen-ds from heaven without being separated from the glory of the Father.  And the expression, "the Holy One from mount Pharan", signifies the Holy Ghost who overshadows the Virgin Mary, forming from her most pure Blood the corporeal ZZZ pppt part Christ's human nature, which part at that very instant is united to the Most Divine Soul and to the Divine Word.  The words `South' and `Phara-n' have the same interpretation: Heaven.  In the same verse, the Prophet exultantly gives vent to his joy describing, in briefest words, the glorification of the Soul of Christ in heaven since the moment of His creation before all things.  The expression, "his glory covered the heavens", signifies that God endowed the Soul of Christ with the maximum glory possible for a creature.  With the phrase, "and the earth is full of his praise", Ha-bacuc produces a flood of doctrine, since he means to say that the earth, which is the Virgin Mary, contains in her Most Pure Womb all Heaven, that is, the infinite glory of Christ as God, and the finite glory of Christ as Man.  Which implies that from the very moment of His Incarna-tion, the glory of God dwelt on earth.

              54.  Verse 4 is amazing for forcefulness of doctri-ne and  beauty of expression.  The words, "His brightness shall be as the light", signifies the quality of the glorious Body of Christ from the moment of the Incarna-tion, though His glory was veiled, according to His own will, the greater part of His life.  Christ calls Himself Light, since Light is His Body and Light is His Doctrine, which means that the Word of God made Flesh is the manifesta-tion of the splendour of the glory of the Father, Light of the world.

              55.  Verse 4 presents another luminous expression which contains all the Wisdom of the Cross: "rays of glory in His hands..." That is where there is fulfilled Christ's supplication to the Father on the eve of His Passion:"And now glorify thou me, O Father, with Thyself, with t-he glory which I had with Thee before the world was" (John XVII, 5).  He asks that His human nature be glorified with the same glory that His soul had in heaven before the Incarnation, that is in all its fullness and without veil.  That glorification of Christ would be definiti-vely manifested through His Passion and Death on the Cross, as Christ Himself affirms for the disciples at Emmaus: "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into His glory?" (Luke XXIV, 26).  In addition, the Holy Prophet affirms the glorification of the wounds of Christ, those most potent beacons of penetra-ting and inextinguisha-ble divine light, since through His glorious humanity is manifested the infinite glory of the Father, as Saint Paul says:"Who being the brightness of His glory, and the figure of His substance, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having made purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high" (Heb.  1, 3). 

              56.  Besides, the expression, "rays of glory in His hands" indicates the Glorification of the Mystical Body, fruit of the Passion and Death of Christ, her Head.  The Glorification of the Mystical Body of Christ has the following aspects:

              57.  The Glorification of the souls of the members living in grace of the Church Militant, that is, the Indwelling of the Holy Ghost; Glorification in its beginning, hose development will depend on the action of the Holy Ghost in souls, according to their co-operation with grace, and which is lost through mortal sin.

              58.  The Glorification of the Holy Souls of Purgatory, consisting in the Indwelling of the Holy Ghost with full assurance of eternal salvation.

              59.  The Glorification of the Blessed Souls of heaven before the resurrection of their bodies, that is, the possession and vision of God, according to the measure of their merits on earth.

              60.  The Glorification of the bodies when reunited with their souls at the general resurrection of the flesh.  After the resurrection, the essential glory of the soul, or beatific  vision, will receive an increase through enthronement in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, remaining stable in grade until the Nuptials of the Lamb, in which the essential glory oft he soul will be augmented to its definitive fullness for an eternity of eternit-ies, through enthronement in the Deific Heart of Jesus.  Both the increases in essential glory will correspond to one's merits acquired on earth.  The Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph, as also Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, enjoy in, heaven, in their respective, grad-es,  the Glorification of soul and body, remaining subject to the two increases of essential glory like the other blessed and at the same moments as they.

              61.  The survivors who will live in the Messianic, Kingdom will enjoy Glorification in soul and body, but in a grade inferior to that which they later will have in heaven.  The Glorification enjoyed in the Messianic Kingdom will be susceptible of increase according to the measure of love.

              62.  The souls of the children in Limbo will acquire Glo-rification an instant before the Return of Christ through the hands of the Divine Virgin Mary, and that of their bodies at the moment of the Resurrection of the Flesh, when they go to live in the Messianic King-dom.  Their Glorification will be as that of the Blessed in heaven, since they will enter the Messianic Kingdom without having lost the glory of the Blessed.

              63.  The Angels enjoy Glorification in accord with their nature.  That glory was augmented when they were confirmed in grace, in virtue of their participation in the full glory of the Mysti-cal Soul of the Church, that is, the Espousal of the Souls of Christ and Mary.  All the angelic hierarchies became members of the Mystical Body of Christ at the moment of the Incarnation of the Word.  The Angels, like all the Blessed, are subject to the two remaining increases of essential glory.

              64.  The Most Holy Virgin Mary enjoys in heaven full glory of Soul and Body, in virtue of the Nuptials of the Lamb, which for Her took place through Her espousal with the Most Divine Soul of Christ at the very instant of the creation of Her Divine Soul.  Although the body of the Virgin Mary was conceived in glory, the extension of the Nuptials of the Lamb took place at the Incarnation of the Word, with the definitive and full Glorifica-tion of Her body.

              65.  The Glorification of the Mystical Body of Christ is the participation of the members in the Hypostatic Union of their Invisible Head, Christ.  This Saint Paul expounds so marvelously: "Now you are the body of Christ and members of member" (I Cor.  XII, 27).  Thus we affirm that the Hypostatic Union of Christ is extended through grace to all the members, living in grace, of the Mystical Body, which is the Church, so that they are divinized.

              66.  Continuing with the Sacred Text, we find in verse 4  the expression, "there his strength is hid", the meaning of which we have precisely in Saint Paul: "...  Christ, having risen again from the death, dies now no more.  Death shall no more have dominion over Him.  For in that He died to sin He died once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God" (Rom.  VI, 9-10).  Precisely in the Death and Resurrection of Christ is the founda-tion of our strength, since Christ won all for us by conquering death, the devil and the world.  Which precisely is the meaning of verse 5 and of a part of verse 6, as we shall now explain.  The expression, "Death shall go before His face", signifies that Christ begot us to the life of grace, conquering sin in order that we, corres-ponding to that grace, have eternal life.  The other phrase of verse 5 is profound in meaning: "And the devil shall go forth before His feet", since Christ, dying on the Cross, con-quered Satan, crushed his head and put him in chains beneath His feet.  Versus 6 tells of the triumph of Christ over the world.  The phrase, "He stood and measured the earth", explains mysterio-usly the preceding doctrine, in that He who had the power to measure the earth is the One who has the power to subdue it.  We complete the doctrine with the following phrases of the same verse: "He beheld and disjointed the nations, and the mountains of old were reduced to dust.  The hills of the world were bowed down by the ways of His eterni-ty".  Which means that Christ redeemed us by His Blood from the power of Satan, as also from Satan's works and pomps, resting His merciful gaze upon His elect, those who turn to His grace, taking them out of the world in fulfillment of His words: "Think ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no, but division.  For there shall be from henceforth five in one house, divided three against two, and two against three.  They shall be divided, the father against the son, and the son against the father.  The mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother.  The mother--in-law against her daugh-ter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-la-w" (Luke XII, 51-53).  Thus, for the cause of.  Christ, the ties, of blood are un-done, as well as ideological and political ties whenever they are obstacles to one's remaining united to Christ.  Here is to be included life together in marriage, not in the sense of dissolving or breaking the matrimonial bond, something contrary to the Law of Christ, marriage being indissoluble, but in the sense of personal separation, if that be necessary, rather than allow married life to lead one of the spouses to a complete and irreparable break with the Divine Spouse, that is, to the loss of faith.  We leave aside the Pauline privilege lest we over-extend our material.

              67.  We continue our interpretation and complete the doc-trine of verse 6.  The Kingdom of Christ, which is the Church, bears with in herself the overthrow of the mighty, since God casts down the proud of heart, and, at the same time, the exaltation of the humble, to whom He communicates His mysteries, filling them with the light of His doc-trine and the Wisdom of the, Sacraments, through Mary, Mother of the Church, and these are the ways of eternity to which Wisdom refers in the Book of Proverbs: "Blessed are those that keep my ways.  Hear in- struction and be wise, and refuse it not" (Prov. VIII, 32-33). 

              68.  Verse 7 enshrines the mystery of the existence in the world of the power of darkness, and its action against the Church of Christ before the Messianic Kingdom.  In such wise that the members of the Church are tried and purified, so that they, turning to the grace of God, display their good works, and so that through grace they tri-umph over Satan.  Thus the life of a true son of the Church is a stubborn and constant warfare against the enemies of the soul: the world, the flesh and the devil, as the Book of Job affirms: "The life of man upon earth is a warfare" (Job VII, 1).  And only those who triumph over their enemies will possess eternal life, as Christ says in the Gospel:"...  the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and those who do themselves violence bear it away" (Matt. XI, 12).  But let us look at the Sacred Text of Habacuc: "I saw the tents of Ethiopia for their iniquity.  The curtains of the land of Madian shall tremble".  The first part of the verse signifies the existence in the world of the power of Satan.  And the second, the trembling of the power of darkness at the strength of the just who turn to the spiritual power of the Church.  Because there exist in the world both powers, the power of the Church of Christ and, as well, the power of hell.  And the latter trembles at the power of the Church.

              69.  Verse 8 says: "Wast thou angry, O Lord, with the ri-vers? Or was thy wrath upon the rivers? Or thy indignation against the sea? Thou who dost mount thy horses.  And thy chariots are salvation".  The meaning is that God will not be angry with those who fight with va-lour against the enemies of the soul, the fight being expressed by the words `river' and `sea'.  On the contrary, He sends them help and a most generous outpouring of grace through the Sacraments, for them to tri-umph in the battle.  That is the meaning of the second part of the verse.

              70.  Verse 9 contains the doctrine of the founda-tion of Christ's Church, the culminating fulfillment of the promise of Eternal Alliance between God and men: "Thou wilt surely take up thy bow, according to the oaths which thou hast spoken to the tribes".  The word `bow' signi-fies the rainbow, symbol of the Church.  The second part of the verse ex-presses in few words all the richness of the communication of Grace stored in the Church: "Thou shalt open the rivers of the earth".  The rivers signify the Sacraments and other means of sanctification.  The word `ear-th' signifies the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, Universal Mediatrix in the dispensation of all grace, since it is She who opens to men the founts of salvation.

              71.  Verse 10 contains the doctrine of the in-defectibility and invincibility of the Church: "The mountains saw thee and trembled".  Which signifies that all the powers of the world, expressed by the word `mountains', perish, but the  Church remains unshakable and ineffaceable throughout the centuries, and powerful against her enemies.  The expression, " the great body of waters passed away", signifies that the Bark of the Church, continually agitated by the attacks of her enemies, remains steady amidst all the convulsions, so that the various actions of the infernal powers against the Church pass, one after the other, without ever making her capsize.  Thus is fulfilled the promise of Christ to His Church:"...  and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her" (Matt. XVI, 18).

              72.  The second part of verse 10 says: "The abyss put forth its voice", signifying the unchaining of Satan in the Last Times and the ferocious warfare of the infernal powers against the Church.  The same verse concludes: "The deep lifted up its hands", signifying the appear-ance of Antichrist in person, that is, the incarnation of Satan and his activity as man-devil.

              73.  Verse 11 contains the doctrine of the great general apostasy of the Last Times and the fall of the Roman Church.  The verse refers also to the recruitment of what remains of the Church Militant in the desert of El Palmar de Troya and the great battle, spiritual and temporal, of Pope Gregory XVII, with the establishment of the Reign of the Sacred Hearts and the formation of the Great Hispano-Palmarian Em-pire.  Let us look at the Sacred Text: "The sun and the moon stood still in their habitat-ion.  -In the light of Thy arrows they shall go, in the brightness of Thy glitter-ing spear".  The expression, "the sun and the moon stood still in their habitation", signifies that Christ, who is the Sun, and Mary, who is the Moon, pitched camp in the desert of El Palmar de Troya, for being the habitation of the true Church and the Seat of His Vicar, Pope Gregory XVII.  There they reign giving Light i; all its intensity, since there alone do they manifest their Light.  Meanwhile the immense majority of men, because they belong to the Reign of Satan, live in continual darkness.

              74.  Considering more deeply the second part of the verse, we see that the sun is also Pope Gregory XVII since he is the vi-sible Head of the Church, representing Christ, the invisible Head.  And the moon is the Church, the Ark of Salvati-on, a title which also belongs to Mary.  The expression, "in the light of Thy arrows they shall go", signifies the army of the Palmarian Church directed and captained by the Great Pope Gregory XVII, who sustains a fight without quarter against the enemies of the Church in defence of the faith, and who will conquer a vast territory for the Reign of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.  The expression, "in the brightness of Thy glitt-ering spear", signifies the Pontificate "De Gloria Olivae", which will be of the greatest splendo-ur known in the History of the Church, and in which will take place the greatest manifestation of her temporal power with the Banner of Christ gracefully waving, the luminous and invincible sword being brandished by the Great Captain and Monarch, Gregory XVII.

              75.  In verse 12, the expression, "Thunderously Thou wilt tread the earth under foot", signifies the Third World War, in which will be used the most powerful military arms causing desolation in many nations and cities of the world.  That World War will be the chastisement of God for the first great general apostasy and will occur before the formation of the Great Hispano-Palmarian Empire.  The expression, "and with fury Thou wilt terrify the nations", refers to the three last days of darkness that will precede the Second Coming of Christ, and which will be the greatest manifestation of the Wrath of God on mankind causing the death of two-thirds of the people.

              76.  Verse 13 contains the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ with great power and majesty, when He destroys Antichrist with the breath of His mouth and the brightness of His comings: "Thou didst go forth for the salvation of Thy people, for salvation with Thy Christ".  In which expression we have the Second Coming of Christ.  Following is the expression, -"Thou didst strike the head of the house of the wicked", which refers to the destruction of Antichrist.  The final phrase of verse 13 contains the doctrine of the Universal Judgement, in which nothing shall remain hidden from the sight of mankind: "Thou hast laid bare the foundation even to the neck".

              77.  Verse 14 manifests the sentence of the Supreme Judge.  The first part of the verse says; "Thou hast cursed his sceptres, at the head of his warriors, them that came out as a whirlwind to scatter me".  There we have the malediction of God upon the reprobates, and their sen-tence of condemnation to eternal fire.  The second part of verse 14 re-fers to the joy and gladness of the jus-t, since God will bless them and reward them with eternal hap-piness for their patience and perseverance.  Here is the Sacred Text: "Their joy was like that of him that devoureth the poor man in secret".  Expression of profound meaning, since the just will rejoice according to the measure and intensity of their past sufferings and persecu-tions.

              78.  Verse 15 refer to the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom on earth, in which all who survive the final chastisement will rejoice with perfect happiness and without mixture of any evil whatso-ever.  The expression, "Thou madest a way in the sea for Thy horses", signifies the disappearance of all difficulties, and that man, in virtue of his glorified body, will master all the elements.  The expression, "in the mud of many waters", signifies the transformation of the world, con-verted now into a new paradise.

              79.  Thus far the Prophetic Canticle of Habacuc.  The remaining verses of the chapter express the profound impre-ssion caused in the soul of the Prophet by the grandeur which God has shown him in the sub-lime vision.  That revives in his soul the desire to quit the prison of the body and fly to the home where dwells the Creator.  The Prophet's soul, thus renewed and detached from the things of the world, thinks only on the Lord, since He is his fortress and his hope.  In Him he will rejoice  and live forever singing psalms of praise.

              10) Sophonias

80.  The Holy Prophet Sophonias is a descendant o-f a very illustrious family, in whose lineage is found a king.  The meaning of his name is `Secret of the Lord ', which enshri-nes the whole fount of prophe-tic knowledge contained in his Book, since Sophonias enlightens and ex-horts his fellows with all the persuasive power of his words in order to fix their hearts on eternal things, and thus for them to be able to penetrate the secrets of the Lord where are hidden all the treasures of true wisdom.

              81.  The Book of Sophonias is a hymn to the Wisdom of God, foundation of all the rest of science, since all the riches of human knowledge are of no use to men if they are not founded on the fulfillment of eternal principles.  That is the doctrine of verse 13 of Chapter I: "And their substance shall become a booty and their houses as a desert.  And they shall build houses, and shall not dwell in them.  And they shall plant vineyards and shall not drink the wine of them".  Which means that all men's efforts to acquire vain science and posses perishable riches will bring upon them the punishment of blindnes-s of heart, in which there is left no room for the savoury food of the spiritual life.  For only in the fulfillment of the Law and in correspondence with divine inspiration is found the mysterious delight in spiritual knowledge, as Wisdom teach-es in the Book of proverbs: "My son, if thou wilt receive my words and wilt hide my precepts with thee, ...  then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and shalt find the knowledge of God.  Because the Lord giv-eth wisdom, and out of His mouth cometh prudence and knowledge -", (Prov. II, 1, 5, 6).  With what power of expression Sophonias announces the end of the brief course of this life, and the afflic-tion of those who contem-plate the near end of their pleasures and the severity they will encoun-ter in judgement.  That is what verse 14 expresses: "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and exceeding swift.  The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter.  The mighty man shall there meet with tribulation" (Soph. 1, 14).  We complete the edify-ing doctrine of Sophonias with the luminous words of Ecclesiastes: "Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.  What hath a man more of all his labour that he taketh under the sun?" (I, 2- 3).  Verse 15 of the same chapter is a path-etic song of inestima-ble richness, that resumes in few lines the most brilliant apocalyptic pages.  This verse alone offers sufficient matter for the most profound and absorbing meditations, since it penetrates -the soul and overwhelms the spirit with such force and power that only the heart of a fool would not be moved by the rigour of expression.  In this verse the liturgy of the dead has found inspiration for recalling the severity of the Judge without appeal.  For in the day of God's wrath all show of mercy will va-nish for the wicked.  Let us however consider the verse and vivify our spirit by reading the prophetic text: "Day of wrath, that day, day of tribulation and grief, day of calamity  and misery, day of darkness and obscurity, day of clouds and tempest".

              82.  The second Chapter manifests the saving pater-nity of Jesus Christ, and the destruction of those who do not turn to the meek-ness and humility of His Deific Heart.  Theref-ore the Prophet incessantly cries out to men for them to seek the Lord and to gather beneath His wings.  Here we have the Prophet's doctrine: "Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, you that have kept His precepts.  Seek the Just One, seek the Meek One, if by any means you may be covered on the day of the Lord's indignation" (II, 3).

              83.  We leave the Book of Sophonias, putting in relief the doctrine of the holiness and indefectibility of the Church, as well as of the perfection of the members who put, in practice her teaching and exhortations, The Church, in the Person of the Pope, enjoys the infalli-ble assistance of the Holy Ghost, and so her doctrine is the truth, for she cannot deceive nor be deceived.  Let us consider the Sacred Text: "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, nor shall a de-ceitful tongue be found in their mouth.  For they shall feed and shall lie down, and there shall be none to make them afraid" (III, 13).  The expression `remnant of Israel' is understood as the true sons of the Church.

              11) Aggeus

              84.  The Holy Prophet Aggeus was born in Babylon during the Captivity and, in the company of Zorobabel and of the High Priest Joshua, he migrated to Jerusalem where he was to die.  His name signifies `joyous' or `cheerful'.

              85.  His prophecies served as a stimulant for the Jewish People in the difficult mission of rebuilding the Temple of Jerusalem, in order to raise their spirits, fallen largely through their own fault, since, on their return from captivity in Babylon, they took more inte-rest in building comfortable houses for themse-lves, forgetting that the first and principle thing was the reconstruction of the House of God.  For that reason they met with the Lord's indignation, seeing their per-sonal interests affected, in the lack of increase of the land and of their livest-ock.  Thanks to the preaching of the Prophet Aggeus, the work of rebuilding the Temple was set in motion.  Which, although it did not attain to the splendour of the Temple raised by Solomon, it nevertheless became more glorious when the Messias there set His divine foot, preach-ing His divine word, and when the Virgin Mary lived there during Her childhood and after Her marriage with Sa-int Joseph visited it many times.  Aggeus knew the Temple newly rebuilt, and was the first to sing there his Alleluia, song of joy in praise of God, which is quite in accord with the meaning of his name.

              86.  The most important prophecy of Aggeus is found in  Chapter II of his Book and refers to the Coming of the Messias.  The Holy Prophet, his soul exulting in the hope of the future Redemption, announces to his people the event soon to come, unique in history, which will shake the Universe.  Verses 7 and 8 recount the Prophet's prediction, but let us attentively examine his words: "For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Yet one little while, and I will move the heaven and the earth and the sea and the dry land.  And I will move all nations: AND THE DESIRED OF ALL NATIONS SHALL COME:and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts".  The Prophet presents the Coming of the Messias as something close at hand, imminent, whereas it is a proximity of five centuries, to come.  If we compare the time predicted by Aggeus with the time passed since the first promise in Paradise up to his prophecy, a period of 47 centuries, we end by affirming that, at this time of the Prophet, the Coming of the Messias was at the door.  The expression, "and I will move the heaven" shows us the glorious event among the Angels when the Souls of Christ and Mary de-scended to earth at the moment of their respective incarnations.  Ad-mirable events, which were exceeded only by the grand occasions of the triumphant entrance of Christ into Heaven and by that of the glorious Assumption of His Most Holy Mother.  The Birth of the Messi-as was accompanied by prodigious and dazzling signs that moved the earth even to the depths, convulsed the seas and made to tremble the celestial bodies of the cosmos.  And all the elements, with one voice, manifested the glory of God.  The Gospel gives proof of the truth of those extraor-dinary happen-ings.  Even the infernal powers left bloodstained marks at the birth of the Messias, as in the slaughter of the Holy Innocents, victims of the agitation of hell.  Only those simple of heart recognized the divine mystery hidden in those events.  The wise and prudent, who had in Sacred Scripture proofs most worthy of belief, for their conceit did not care to accept them.

              87.  Verse 8 of the same chapter contains teaching on the mystery of Redemption, that embraces all the dwellers of the Universe, not only those who live on Earth, but as well those on the planets that are inhabited.  They all have the opportunity of receiving Christ's doc-trine and, through Baptism, of incorp-oration in the true Church.  For on-ly by that means can they obtain the Redemptive Blood of Calvary, if they put in practice Christ's doctrine, and be saved.  The second part of verse 8, which says: "And I will fill this house with glory", refers to the Foundation of the New Church, which is the renewal of the Old, with the immense treasure of the Sacraments, the eternal priesthood, the Indwelling of the Holy Ghost and a wealth of incalculable grace.

              88.  The doctrine of the Holy Prophet Aggeus has led us to make a profound investigation of the extension of Christ's Redemption to the other planets, and, consequently, of the mission among them of the Church.

              89.  In the first place we affirm and define the  doctrine that the inhabitants of the various planets are descended from the first pair, Adam and Eve, created on Earth, and that therefore there was no additional creation on the other planets.  God, through the ministry of the Angels, populated the various planets that are inhabited by transporting, for that purpose, pairs of humans from the Earth.  Through descent from Adam and Eve, those born on the various planets inherited original sin, and therefore, like men on Earth, are subject to the spiritual slavery that accompanies original sin.  If the sin of this Earth spread to the various inhabited planets, their Redemption had also to come, logically and necessarily, from this same Earth, which was the place God chose to accomplish the grandiose Work of Reparation and Redemption of the Human Race.  According to God's plan, Israel was the People chosen to receive the divine word through the prophets, and to be in the centre of the mystery of Salvation, primarily through the economy of Grace that pertains to the -period of the Old Law;and later, through the redemptive death of Christ on Calvary which gave us as fruit the Church, perf-ectly organized, in order to communicate Redemption to all nations.  In the same way, among all the planets, the Earth was chosen as centre of evangeli-zation of the Universe.  Therefore the Head of the Church is on earth, that is, the Pope with his College of Cardinals.  And all the other planets are subject spiritually to the economy of Grace as administered and communicated from the Earth.  Our Lord Jesus Christ, before He ascended -into Heaven, transmitted to Peter supreme power, spiritual and temporal;that is, the power to bind and to loose.  And He ordered all the Apostles to preach the Gospel to all the inhabited Universe: "All po-wer is given to me in heaven and on earth.  Go, therefore, and teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Ho-ly Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have comman-ded you.  And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world" (Matt. XXVIII, 18-20).

              90.  In order to treat the doctrine of the Redemption of the inhabited planets, it is necessary to consider the Church in the va-rious periods of her history.  The first is that of the Natural Law, which extends from the Creation of the world to the Written Law.  The second is that of the Mosaic Law, commencing with Moses and terminating at the Death of Christ and the Birth of the New Church, marking the beginning of the Evangelical Law, which is the perfection of the Old Law.  The fi-nal period of the Church will begin with the establishment of the -Messi-anic Kingdom, at the Second Coming of Christ.

              91.  In the period of the Natural Law, the B-ible mentions in Genesis, Chapter V, verse 24, a mysterious event, practically unnoticed but of transcendental importance, namely, the translation of the Holy Patriarch Henoch to the planet of Mary.  In Ecclesiasticus the fact is confirmed and amplified: "Henoch pleased God and was translated into paradise that he may preach penance to the nations" (Ecclus. XLIV, 16).  Saint Paul reaffirms the fact : "By faith Henoch was translated th-at  he should not see death.  And he was not found because God had translated him ... " (Heb. XI, 5).  Saint Jude Thaddeus testifies that Henoch was a Prophet and mentions one of his prophecies announcing the Last Judgement (Jude I, 14-15).  Having established the basis for our doctrine, we affirm that the translation of Henoch to another place in the Universe was to this end:that the Saint exercise his authority as Patriarch and, at the same time, as spiritual guide through his prophetic and priestly office in the form which, on Earth, pertained to the Patriarchs prior to Abra-ham.  Just as the Holy Patriarch Henoch had been translated from the Earth, later, in the same way, he was translated successively from one planet to another in order to fulfil his mission on each.  There he preached pe-nance to men and communicated to them the orders and teaching prescribed by God, as well as the promises of future Redemption.  Quite as on Earth, the Divine Souls of Christ and Mary intervened mightily in order to help and inspire the inhabitants of the planets who had kept their bond of relationship with the Mystical Soul of the Church, and who enjoyed the same economy of Grace as did those on Earth.  Although Sacred Scripture does not explicitly mention other cases similar to that of Henoch until that of the Prophet Elias, we nevertheless affirm that there were other cases similar, and for the same end, as, for example, that of Moses, which we shall treat latter on.  We take the opportunity to affirm that the Holy Patriarch Mathusala, son of Henoch, was translated from Earth to the Planet of Mary before the flood, and once the cataclysm was over he returned to the Earth, where he passed the remaining 14 years of his life.  We affirm that the Holy Patriarch fulfilled a great mission among the

inhabit-ants of the planets, bringing them the doctrine God had left on Earth.  Before terminating this section we wish to define the doctrine of the presanctification of Henoch in his mother's womb, which took place in the seventh month after his conception, as in the case of Elias, but at a later moment of development.

              92.  We turn now to consider the period of the Mosaic Law.  After a profound study by this Council of the Sacred Texts, His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII has defined that the Holy Captain Moses did not die but fell into a deep sleep on Mount Nebo.  He lay buried for the briefest instant, and was taken by Saint Michael the Archangel to the Planet of Mary.  This Holy Council affirms that the mission of Moses at that moment of the Church's history was to establish and enforce on the inhabited planets the precepts of the Law given by God on Sinai.  Of the doctrine defined on the dormition of Moses, namely, that he did not die, there are sufficient proofs in the Vulgate version of the Bible, when duly in-terpreted in the light of the Holy Ghost.  Although that holy version of the Bible repeats literally that Moses died, nevertheless it is to be understood not of natural, but of apparent death, since this truth is deduced from the context.

              93.  Chapter XXXIV of Deuteronomy, verses 5, 6 and 7  says: "And Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, by the commandment of the Lord.  And He buried him in the valley of the land of Moab over against Phogor, and no man hath known of his sepulchre un-til the present day.  And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died.  His eyes were not dim, neither were his teeth moved".  The ex-pression, "by the command of the Lord", indicates that God let fall upon him a deep sleep.  And the expression, "and He buried him", means that the Lord buried him for the briefest instant underground.  For that rea-son, the same verse adds that "no man hath known of his sepulc-hre".  In addition, verse 7 shows us the condition in which his body remained: "His eyes were not dim, neither were his teeth moved".  Which means that the typical signs of death did not affect his appearance, as is typical of sleep.

              94.  Chapter XXXII, verse 50, gives us another -proof in support of the defined doctrine, "When thou art gone up into it (Mount Ne-bo) thou shalt be joined to thy people, as Aaron, thy brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people".  As is seen in the text, Mo-ses was brought to a place different from that of Aaron after his death.  If Moses had really died, he would have gone to join Aaron.  The Greek version says literally: "God said to Moses: ...  ...  and terminate on the mountain ...  as Aaron, thy brother, died in his turn".  Here is seen a difference of expression in each of the two cases, whereby their ends are distinguished.

              95.  There are other passages that speak litera-lly of the death of Moses.  This is because Saint Jerome, in preparing the Vulgate, translated the Hebrew text according to the literal sense.

              96.  Saint Paul, in the Letter to the Hebrews-, Chapter XI, relates the life and mission of Moses, but does not mention his death.  This contrasts with his relation of the lives of other great Patriarchs, whose death he mentions;with the exception of Henoch, who was translated.  This has a logical explanation in that Saint Paul bases his account on the Greek version, where all the passages related to the end of Moses use, not the word `death', but the word `term ' or ` terminate', ;with a few excep-tions, as for example, in Chapter XXXI verse 14 of Deu-terono-my, which says: "Behold, the days of thy death are nigh".  This we interpret to mean that the Lord did not wish to reveal the secret of his passing to Moses until the opportune moment.  Another example is that found in verse 27 of the same Chapter, where Moses himself, speaking to the people, says: "How much more when I shall be dead ?" It is logical for Moses, in speaking to the people, to express himself in those terms when the mystery of his passing is still to be revealed to him.  Never-theless, in every other case of deaths that appear in the Vulgate the corresponding text in Greek uses the words `death' and `die'.

              97.  It need not cause surprise when an expression is used in various senses.  In the Gospel Christ does so on various occasions.  For example, there is the case of the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus, when the Lord says: "Leave the place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth"  (Matt.  IV, 24).  Or when, at the raising to life of Lazarus, He say: "Lazarus, our friend, sleepeth.  But I go that I may awake him out of sleep" (John XI, 11).  Though afterwards, explaining the obscure ex-pression for His apostles, He adds: "Lazarus is dead" (John XI, 14).  Which presents an apparent contradiction.

              98.  One of the greatest proof found in Sacred Scripture for the dormition and translation of Moses is his appearance together with Elias on Mount Tabor at the Trans-figuration of the Lord.  From the words of the apostle Saint Peter on witnessing the extraordinary event, is understood the natural human form in which the two prophet appear, for, in spite of their glorious condition, Saint Peter offers to erect three tents.  Saint Catherine Emmerick mentions also in her revelations on the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, that the figures of Elias and Moses were of natural bodies.  Furthermore, when they departe-d, they took the same route.  Which proves that Moses dwells with Elias in another part of the Universe, and therefore is not dead.

              99.  After the previous digression, a necessary one, we re-turn to our doctrinal, exposition on the economy of the Redemption on the planets during the period of the Mosaic Law.  Like Henoch and Moses, Eli-as was translated from the Planet of Mary in order to accomplish, in other parts of the universe, an important mission, particularly that of preaching all the doctri-ne contained in the Sacred Books up to that time and, as well, to set up the Order of Carmel which he had founded.  Besides those missions, Elias, like Henoch and Moses, engaged in various activi-ties corresponding to the historical moment of the Church.  One of those has a profound relation to the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, where Mo-ses and Elias saw the glory of Christ, who communi-cated to them details of the Redemption, as the evangelist Saint Luke tells us: "And they spoke of His passage, which He should accom-plish in Jerusalem" (Luke IX, 31).  Saint Catherine Emmeric-k describes it so: "Jesus told them all that He had suffered and all that He still would suffer ...  Moses and Elias showed repeatedly their emotion and joy ...  At the moment when

Jesus, in the description of His Passion, came to the Crucifixion, He extended His arms to show how the Son of Man would be lifted up..."  All the teaching which Moses and Elias received on Tabor, they preached later on the inhabited, planets.

              100.  His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII has defined that the Holy Captain Moses will return to Earth during the reign of Antichrist and, as illustrious warrior, will place his sword at the service of the Vicar of Christ.  He will die under the sword of the followers of Antichrist, only to rise on the third day in  order to accompany with the might of his sword, the Pope, Elias, Henoch, Saint John the Evangelist and others.

              101.  The Holy Doctor Mary Jesus of Agreda mentions in her revelations that, at the Mass of the Last Supper of the Lord, Saint Elias and Saint Henoch were present, and that both received communion from the hands of Saint Peter, at the command of the Lord.  Given the interpretation by this Holy Council of that remarkable event, His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII defines that Christ ordered Saint Peter to ordain Priests and to consecrate Bishops Elias and Henoch by the imposition of hands.  It was reasonable for those two great planetary apostles to receive this most high dignity at the hands of the first Pope, Saint Peter, as sign of subjection to the supreme Authority of the Church.  Shortly after re-ceiving sacred orders, they returned to the planet whence they came, and from there they witnessed the Passion and Death of Christ.  There were, besides, very clear signs of those events on the planets.  It is not ne-cessary to give the reasons for the reception by the Holy Prophets of the grace of the Priest-hood, since thus they were empowered to preach the Gospel and to apply the fruits of Redemption.  As did the two Pro-phets, Moses saw the Passion and Death of Christ from the place where they now live.

              102.  Another mysterious event, clearly indicated in the Gospel, is that which concerns the person of Saint John the Evangelist, who did not die.  In the light of the Holy Ghost, this Holy Council defines that the beloved Apostle, Saint John the Evangelist, was translated to the Planet of Mary, for the purpose of representing in the rest of the universe the Pope, whose See is on Earth.  We affirm and define that the Apostle Saint John the Evangelist will return to Earth with Elias, He-noch and Moses in order to fight against the Antichrist.  Like those, he too will die in Jerusalem, together with the Pope and several Princes of the Church, and will rise again on the third day.  The survival of Saint John the Evangelist until the Second Coming of Christ is found in the Gospel: "This saying therefore went abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not die.  And Jesus did not say to him:He should not die; but, so I will have him to remain till I come ... " (John:XXI, 23)

              103.  The Holy Prophet David, in one of his psalms, presents the doctrine of the mission of Saint John the Evangelist to the planets: "I will announce Thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation...  Mercy shall be built up for ever in -the heavens: Thy truth shall be pre-pared in them ...  Thy heavens shall confess Thy wonders:and Thy truth in the Church of the Saints" (Ps. LXXXVIII, 2, 3, 6).

              104.  This Holy Council defines that the Holy Prophets Elias, Henoch and Moses, and the Apostle Saint John the Evangelist have enjoyed the beatific vision from the moment of their transl-ation to the Planet of Mary.

              105.  The doctrine of the inhabited planets and of the redemption and evangelization of those who live on them, besides being contained implicitly in biblical texts, appears wi-th greater clarity in va-rious mystical-prophetical revelations given to His Holiness Pope Gregory XVIT on certain dates, when they are duly interpreted (27-XII-1970/ 29-X-1977/11-XII-1-9771). 

              12) Zacharias

              106.  The Holy Prophet Zacharias is the most impor-tant of the Minor Prophets.  He, was a Priest and his name signifies "Whom the Lord remembers".  Christ refers to him in the Gospel when He says: "That upon you may come all the innocent blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just even unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar" (Matt. XXIII, 35).  Besides identifying the Prophet, Christ here indicates that Zacharias is the last of the Prophets in mortal flesh, officially recognized, of the Old Testament, which agrees with their chronol-ogical order, and which we define as doctrine.  The Martyrology says that Zacharias was buried by the tomb of Aggeus.

              107.  The Book of Zacharias is full of sublime and profound mysteries difficult to penetrate, in which the apocalyp-tic sense predominates, especially in his visions, which now we do not treat because we wish to concentrate our doctrinal teaching on his Messianic prophecy.

              108.  Chapter III verse 8 tells of the birth of the Messias emphasizing the condition of servitude that was to characterize His Divine Person, who, as Saint Paul says, likened Himself to us in all things except sin.  For that r-eason the greater part of Christ's life passed in circumstances of marked poverty, submission and veiling of His glory, -except for certain occasions, even though He still gave overwhelming proof of His Divinity.  In acting so, Christ complied with the will of His Heavenly Father, showing men that there is only one way to posses the Kingdom of Heaven, a way paved and marked out in the forma-tive doc-trine of the Beatitudes.  And that was the narrow and tortuous way that Christ wished to go in order that all who seek salvation follow in His steps.  Here is the Sacred Text: "...  for behold, I WILL BRING MY SERVANT THE ORIENT" (III, 8).  Verse 9 of the same chapter confirms the doctrine mentioned above, presenting Christ who, as Corner-stone, erected the edifice of the Church by His most sorrowful Passion and Death, instituted in Her the Mass and the seven Sacraments, inexhaustible sources of grace, means of salvation and sanctification of her members.  That is the mean-ing of the words; "Upon one stone there are seven eyes.  Behold I will grave therein with chisel".  The final phrase of the verse: "And I will take away the iniquity of that land in one day", manifests the triumph of Christ over sin, Satan and the world,  fruits of His immolation on Cal vary.  The expression, `in one day', is deeply significant, indicating as it does that the Work of Reparation and Redemption on the part of Christ culminated in a day, that is from the First Mass in the Cenacle to the burial. 

              109.  Chapter VI also contains the promise of the Coming of the Messias, in which promise other aspects are consid-ered: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts: BEHOLD THE MAN, THE ORIENT IS HIS NAME.  And of Him-self shall He be born, and He shall build a temple to the Lord.  Yes, He shall build a temple to the Lord, and He shall bear the glory and shall sit and reign upon His throne.  And He shall be a priest upon His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both" (VI, 12-13).  We af-firm the doctrine that the word `Orient' refers to the Messias.  Saint Luke con-firms this doctrine in the Canticle of Zachary (Luke I, 78).  It is astonishing with what precision is prophesied the Mystery of the Incarnation, since the words, "and of Himself shall He be born", prove unquestionably that the Incarnation of the Word in the most pure womb of the Virgin Mary is the work of the Triune God, though theologically it is attributed to the Holy Ghost, given that the Incarnation is the Work of Love, and the Holy Ghost, in the Trinity, is the Love of the Fa-ther and of the Son.  Thus is excluded any intervention on the part of man.  The expres-sion, "and He shall build a Temple to the Lord", refers to the Temple of His Body, since the resurrection of Christ was through His own power.  Zacharias, with these words, prophesies what Christ says of Himself in the following Gospel text: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John II, 19), which took place in His Death and Resurrection.  In verse 13, Zacharias again speaks of the buil-ding of a temple.  Here he refers to the glorious Foundation by Christ of the Church.  The other phrases of the verse are also of great beauty and doctrinal richness.  They speak of Christ, eternal and temporal King, since as God He is King of Infinite Majesty, and as Man is King of Juda, heir to the throne of David.  The verse al-so contains the doctrine of Christ Eternal High Priest.

              110.  The Prophet Zacharias, with his prophetic spirit, penetrated the admirable mystery of the Divine Espousal of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, marvellous doctrine explained and defined by His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII.  The Holy Prophet in this word `throne' of verse 13 mentioned above, clearly indicates the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in which is enthroned the Deific Heart of Jesus with majestic Throne of Universal King and exalted Altar of High Priest.  Mary in turn, as Divine Em-press, has placed the glorious Throne of Her Immaculate Heart within the Divine Heart of Jesus, displaying the sceptre of Her omnipotent power of government and Universal Mediation.  With what precision in expression the Prophet manifests the perfect harmony and mutual compenetration of both reigning Hearts, since, as can be seen in the marri-age of Cana, the most loving Heart of Christ beats with joy delighting to fulfil every wish expressed in His Mother's heartbea-ts.  That is the meaning of  the Sacred Text, "and the counsel of peace shall be between them both".

              111.  Later on, Zacharias exults with joy contemplating in prophetic vision the triumphal entrance of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem amidst jubilant acclamations.  The Sacred Text could not be more concise in describing that event: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, break out in song, O daughter of Jerusalem: BEHOLD THY KING will come to thee, the Just and Saviour.  He will come poor and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass" (IX, 9).  Reflecting on the meaning of this passage, and comparing it with Gospel texts, we find strangely expressed a profound symbolism.  On the basis of the various texts, we affirm that Jesus Christ first mounted the ass, representing the Church of the Old Law, and that, on coming near the Golden Gate of the City of Jerusalem, dismounted the ass, mounted the colt, and thus entered the City.  In this manner He symbolized the renovation of the Church and the establi-shment of the Evangelic Law to which the Old Law was subordinated.

              112.  In the same Chapter Zacharias raises his spirit contemplating the Holy Eucharist, to penetrate the depth -of all the grandeur hidden under the accidents of bread and wine in this Most Blessed Sacra-ment of the Altar.  But before continu-ing, let us consider the Sacred Text: "For what is that good of His, and what is that beauty of His, but the wheat of the elect and the wine that engenders virgins?" (IX, 17).  In the light of our interpretation, these brief and simple word s enshrine the whole doctrine of the Eucharistic Mystery as food of souls.  Our Lord Jesus Christ during His public life had revealed Himself to His people as food of eternal life, when He said that His Flesh was meat indeed and that His Blood was drink indeed;nevertheless He kept hidden the manner in which He would become their food, that is, in sacramental form, since He kept the revelation of the mystery reserved for the moment of the in-stitution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  Without the nutriment of the Eucharistic food it is not possible to sustain the life of grace, since that is what gives the latter its vigour.  So as not to extend the digres-sion, we shall keep strictly to the interpretation of the prophecy.  Za-charias, in the words `wheat' and `wine', refers to the Body and Blood of Christ respectively, under the two sacram-ental species.  In speaking of wheat, he emphasizes the species under which is hidden the substance of the Body of Christ, common food of the members of the Church.  And in speaking of the species `wine', which contains the substance of the Blood of Christ, he reserves it exclusively for the nourishment of the Priest celeb-rant, since in Holy Mass he has to communi-cate under both species.  The expression, "which engenders virgins", with all clarity points to the Priest, whose greatest treasure is his celibacy.

              113.  Considering more profoundly the words of Zacharias, we see with all clarity, in the light of our in-terpretation, that not only does he manifest the doctrine of the presence, Body, Blood, Soul and Di-vinity, of Our Lord Jesus Christ under  the accidents of bread, and as well under those of wine, but also the doctrine of the presence, real and spirit-ual in Body, Blood and Soul, of the Divine Mary under both sa-cramental species.  The word `good' refers to the eucharistic presence of Christ, and the word `beauty' refers to the Eucharistic presence of Mary;the two, inseparable.

              114.  In Chapter XI the Holy Prophet presents an allegory in which he himself performs symbolic acts.  God orders him to take two staffs, one called `Beauty', the other `Cord'.  The former represents the bond of relationship of God's People with the Mystical Soul of the Chur-ch, the bond that was broken by the apostasy of the Jewish people for not recognizing the Messias.  The other staff represents their character as nation, in respect to the territory the Jews occupied at the time of Christ.  The second staff was broken as well by the apostasy of the Jewish people, since, for not accepting Christ, they were destroyed as a nation to be trampled by foreign powers until the Last Times. 

              115.  In the same Chapter we find the prophecy that alludes to the betrayal by Judas, and which exactly agrees with the Gospel text.  Verse 12 refers to the price of the betrayal: "...  and they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver".  Verse 13 refers to the action of Ju-das, moved by remorse, after having accomplished his project: "...  Cast it to the potter, a handsome price that I was appraised at by them.  And I took the thirty pieces of silver and I cast them into the House of the Lord, to the potter".

              116.  In Chapter 12, Zacharias foretells the histor-ical mo-ment of the re-establishment, in the Last Times, of the Jewish people as Nation with political autonomy.  This took place in the year 1948 with the proclamation of the State of Israel.  Verse 6 gives us precisely the total incorporation of the ancient Jerusalem and her official recogni-tion as National capital, which took place, respectively, in 1967 following the six days' war, and in the decade of the eighties.  In addition, the verse makes clear and precise the constant warfare between Israel and sur-rounding nations, and the resultant exp-ansion of the Nation, win-ning back by conquest all the land that once constitu-ted her ancient realm.  Let us see the Sacred Text: "In that day I will make the captains of Juda like fiery coals under the wood, and as a firebrand amongst hay.  And they shall devour to right and to left all the people round about.  And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in the same place that was Jerusalem".  Later, in the same Chapter, Zacharias foretells the conversion of the perfidi-ous Jewish people and their incorporation in the Church of Christ, theme that is expressed in verse 10: "And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of prayer.  And they shall fix their eyes upon me, whom they have pierced.  And they shall sorrow and lament as over a firstborn son, and they shall mourn over him as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn".  As can be seen, the process of political reintegra- tion and reunion with the Church of the deicide people is the inversion of their spiritual separation and national disin-tegration at the time of Christ.  And the interval of time between both events of the two distinct epochs is quite similar. 

              117.  Chapter 13 contains the doctrine of the final chastisement during the three days of darkness, and speaks with precision of the great human mortality which will include two- thirds of mankind.  Here is the Sacred Text: "And they shall be in all the earth, saith the Lord:two parts in it shall be scattered and shall perish:but the third part shall be left thereon" (XIII, 8).  Continuing, verse 9, in figurative speech, relates the spiritual and corporal transformation of those who survive the chastisement for the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom: "And will bring the third part through fire and will refine them as silver is refined:and I will try them as gold is tried.  They shall call on my name and I will Hear them.  I will say: Thou art my people.  And they shall say:Thou art my God". 

              118.  The content of Chapter 14 is impressive, referring to the Second Coming of Christ and the Universal Judge-ment.  Verse 4 gives the precise place where Christ will set foot when He descends in the Se-cond coming.  We affirm that it is the same place where Christ stood at the moment of His glorious Ascension into Heaven.  There his footprints remain visible in the Shrine of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives.  In that place He will again place His throne, now as Supreme Judge, to jud-ge all the peoples of the Uni-verse.  Christ will gather to Himself the just, and, separate from Himself the reprobate to feed the fire of hell.  We give now the Sacred Text, which could not be more explicit: "And in that day his feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, which is over against Jerusalem toward the East:and the Mount of Olives shall be di-vided in the midst thereof to the East and to the West with a very great opening:and half of the mounta-in shall be separated to the North and half thereof to the South".  We reaffirm our doctrine on the place of Judgement with verse 11 of the first chapter of The Acts of the Apostles: "And while they were beholding Him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments.  Who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking up to heaven? this Jesus who, in your sight, has gone up to heaven shall so come as you have seen Him going into heaven" (Acts I, 10-11).  In these verses the place of Judgement is implicitly given, from which Christ will be seen by all the inhabitants of the Universe: "For as lightning cometh out of the East, and appeareth even unto the West;so shall also the Coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt. XXIV, 27).  We affirm that the two men in white garments, mentioned in the Sacred Text, are the Holy Prophets Elias and Henoch, now joined to the Aposto-lic College, and that they came to the Mount of Olives to join the Apos-tles and receive the final commands of the Lord, as is seen also in the same chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, verses 8 and 9: "You shall re-ceive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto Me  in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, a-nd Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.  And when He had said these things, while they looked on, He ascended:and a cloud received Him out of their sight".  We affirm that the Holy Prophets Elias and Henoch also went from their place of abode to the Cenacle to be present at the Coming of the Holy Ghost and to participate, like the Apostles, in Pentecost, since the Sacred Text contains the doctrine that that promise was for them too.

              119.  Verses 6 and 7 of Chapter 14 give us a prophet-ic truth, luminously instructive.  The Prophet refers to the third day of darkness.  for, on that third day, Christ will return to Earth with great power and majesty.  Here is the Sacred Text: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall be no light, but cold and frost (verse 6).  And there shall be one day, which is known to the Lord, which shall be neither day nor night:but in the time of the evening there shall be light" (verse, 7).  Strange and star-tling at the same time is the expression the Prophet uses speaking of cold and frost, for he shows us that the three days of darkness will be a likeness of hell though here on earth, since together with a devouring fire, men will be afflicted with cold in its most in-tense and death-dealing severity.  And all this in accord with the words of Christ in the Gospel when He says: "...  and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth ..." (Matt. XIII, 50).  Verse 7, quoted above, speaks of a day known to the Lord, the day of His Second Coming, since only God knows the day and the hour.  The expression, "which shall be neither day nor night", tells us that that day will be a likeness of hell, although on that third day will appear the light, that is, the Coming of Christ in glory.  The Prophet expresses this so: ".  .  but in the time of the eve-ning there shall be light".  Which indicates that He will anticipate His hour for love of the elect.

              120.  We are truly amazed when to consider the meaning of verse 8 of the same Chapter, in which the Prophet continues to refer to the third day, the same day in which the Messianic Kingdom begins.  The doctrine is abridged masterfully in that verse: "And it shall come to pass in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem:half of them to the east sea and half of them to the last sea:they shall be in summer and in winter".  This means that man no longer will be subject to the inclemencies of the weather.  Rather will it be for him a gentle and lasting springtime.  Verses 9 and 11 continue to refer to the Messianic Kingdom.  Here there is no need of explanation, because they bring to the fore with all clarity the doctrine we have given in previous chapters of this Treatise on the subject.  Here are the prophetic words of these two verses: "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth:in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name shall be one...  And they shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more an anathema:But Jerusalem shall sit secure".

Chapter XVI: THE MOST HOLY PROPHET MALACHIAS

              1.  In the previous Chapter we affirmed the doctrine on the Divine Person of Malachias, truth of faith defined by His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII, namely, that the Mysterious Personage known as the Prophet Malachias is the Holy Ghost, who appeared in the Old Testament in human form.

              2.  We go on to present the arguments on which this Holy Council has based this true identification of the Person of the Most Ho-ly Prophet Malachias.

              3.  We begin by clarifying the problem which up to now the interpretation of verse 12 of Chapter XLIX of Ecclesias-ticus has presen-ted.  In that verse there is reference to twelve prophets whose bones lie buried.  In this way we can see why Baruch has, up to now, not been con-sidered as one of the Minor Prophets, but rather as an annex to Jeremias, due to the assis-tance which he, forgetful of self, lent his illustrious master, the Prophet of the Lamentations.

              4.  The commentators of Sacred Scriptures, unaware of the Divine Personality of Malachias, found no place among the twelve Minor Prophets in which to put Baruch, since Ecclesiasticus determined their num-ber (XLIX, 12).  However, an examination of the Book of Baruch shows that he is an authen-tic prophet with as much right to figure among the Minor Pro-phets as the others, - and, besides, he surpasses a good majority of them in the volume of his prophecies.

              5.  Once the Mystery of the Person of Malachias has come to light, He remains apart from the Minor Prophets, and the place He oc-cupied is given by this Holy Council to Baruch, since it belongs to him.  Thus the problem of the Twelve Minor Prophets is resolved.

              6.  We have also examined all the pertinent declarations of the Church, and have found nothing opposed to this doctrine on Mala-chias.  The Council of Trent names the Prophetic Books and defines no more than that they are books divinely revealed.

              7.  Having also rigorously and scrupulously examined, with detained reflection, the Sacred Texts, as well as the various lines of thought of the Doctors, we declare that, in the Sacred Books, there is no reference to the genealogy of Malachias.  And regarding the authors who have undertaken to treat the question, they present mere conjecture without foundation, like those who have wished to identify Malachias with Esdras or with an angel.

              8.  We wish to complete the arguments for this infallible doctrine with the proofs found in the book itself of Malachias, and also with the mystical prophetical revelations, particularly those received by the Holy Doctor Catherine  Emmerick, where the proofs for this defined truth are irrefutable.  We shall, at the same time, avoid the apparent obstacles that might inhibit one's comprehension of so elevated a doctrine.

              9.  We begin with the revelations of Saint Catherine Emme-rick.  The Holy Doctor desc-ribes in detail the characteristic traits of the Prophet Malachi-as when He was accom-plishing His prophetic mission on earth.  Here is how she presents Him: "I did not see him as an ordinary man.  He appeared a man like Melchisedech, but different from Him ...  He was very amiable, superhumanly patient and meek".  She adds, too, that Malachias had frequent contact with Jeremias, and, on various occasions gave him counsel and help.  Malachias took charge of the Sacrament of the Triple Benediction at the beginning of the Babylonian captivity, and later He left it in the keeping of the Essenes.  The Holy Doctor also saw the Prophet Malachias come to the town of Sopha, of the tribe of Zabulon.  He wore red garments and had a staff in His hand, and according to our in-terpretation He dwelt there a certain time.  On this historical event, passed down from father to son, some doctors base their opinion to put Sopha as Malachias' birthplace.  But the evidence to the contrary elimi-nates the conjecture.  It was quite the general opinion among the Jews to regard Malachias as an angel, since no one knew of his death.

              10.  Saint Catherine Emmerick gives us the il-luminating in-formation that, in the most important moments in the life of Christ, when the Holy Ghost appeared, she saw a heavenly figure with human appearance enveloped in and radiating light, which she considered to be the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Doctor does not say expressly that the luminous figure is Malachias except on one occasion, the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor where, after mentioning the appearance of Moses and Elias, one on either side of Christ, she speaks of a third apparition, affirming this to be Malachias, and describing his appearance in comparison with that of the other two: "The third apparition did not speak.  It was lighter and more incorporeal.  It was Malachias ...  Malachias was more impassible and more immaterial than the other two.  He had something superhum-an about Him, something angelical.  He was a Force, a mission under sensible form."  There is an overwhelming logic in that the manifestation of the glory of Christ, with the presence of the Eternal Father, should include a visi-ble manifest-ation also of the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, even though the Holy Gospel does not mention this.  We find no other rea-son to justify - in our judgement - the presence of Malachias when Christ, in the Transfiguration, was surrounded by Angels.  Besides, Saint Cathe-rine Emmerick affirms that, when the three figures departed, Moses and Elias took a path different from that of Malachias.  In Sacred Scripture the appearances of the Holy Ghost are under various forms.  In the Old Testament there is the appearance of the Most Holy Trinity to Abraham as three men.  In the New Testament the Holy Ghost appears under the form of a dove, as tongues of flames, ...  etc.  In the lives of certain mystics, there is  evidence of the appearance to them of the Most Holy Trinity in the form of three human figures, among whom, Saint Teresa of Avila.  His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII has defined that the Holy Ghost appeared at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor in human form.

              11.  Another important event in support of our doctrine on Malachias is also found in the revelations of Saint Catherine Emmerick, placed in the historical time of the prophetic mission of Malachias on Earth.  Here are the words of the Holy Doctor, who refers to the place of the Cenacle: "I saw the Prophet Malachias hidden under those same vaults.  There He Wrote His prophecies on the Most Holy Sacrament and the Sacri-fice of the New Covenant".

              12.  We turn now to examine and interpret the Book of Mala-chias, which is the golden clasp that closes the prophetic cycle of the Old Testament, in whose brilliant pages culminate all the promises given by God to the Chosen People.

              13.  Throughout His Book, Malachias presents His prophetic and doctrinal message in the manner of the other prophe-ts, that is, in regard to the form in which He transmits His prop-hecies.  Being the same Spirit who spoke by the Prophets, He displays the likeness of a man who receives God's orders.  Nevertheless, His words bear a particular seal, which the soul readily senses in the paternal love and gentle unction that flow mysterio-usly from His pen.  A moving example is found in the very first words He speaks to His people: "I have loved you, saith the Lord ... " (I, 2), words which do not appear in other Prophets as opening phrase, and which display the affectionate and direct intercourse bet-ween God and men, inviting them gently to reflect on and acknowledge their infidelities and failure to respond.  This does not mean that His words lack severe reproval and con-demnation of men's impiety.  For it is precisely Malachias who vividly describes the contamination and corrup-tion of the Priests-, of those who, abandoning the path of justice and sanctity, spend their lives in the practice of a whole series of aberrations with the conse-quent profanation of the true service of God.  Altogether simi-lar was the prophetic mission of Jesus Christ.

              14.  In the first Chapter of His Book, Malachias, after ma-nifesting His love, invites the Priests to reflect seriou-sly on their unworthy conduct and ingratitude to God, Who chose them and honoured them with the greatest dignity possible for men, the priesthood.  Malachias unburdens His paternal heart in plaintive and gentle reproaches, to let the unworthy priests understand what dishonour they show the Creator, what contempt for His Holy Name, confront-ing them with the malice of their action when they try to justify themselves as innocent and pretend ignorance of having behaved badly.  In verses 7 and 8 of the same Chapter, the Most Holy Prophet Malachias, in His usual manner, accuses them of having adulterated and profaned the true worship of God.  This He pre-sents in figures taken from the  forms of worship proper to the Old Tes-tament.  Though He speaks of the corruption of the Levitical Priests and the profanation of their worship, nevertheless the whole force of His prophetic words are directed particularly to the apostasy of these last times when the degradation of the priestly dignity and the profanation of the true worship of God have reached the depths of the abominable, an abyss of impiety.  Here is the Sacred Text: "You offer polluted bread upon my altar, and you say: Wherein have we polluted Thee? In that you say: The table of the Lord is despised.  If you offer a blind victim for sacrifice, is that not evil? Offer it to thy prince, if he will be pleased with it, or if he will accept thy face, saith the Lord of hosts" (I, 7-8).

              15.  In verse 10, Malachias closes prophetically the doors of the Old Testament, leaving the ancient sacrifices without force, since God will not now accept oblations or animal victims.  Which marks the transition to the offering and immola-tion of the Divine Victim, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who revaluates, in infinite degree, sacrifice in general.  He further accuses the Priests of adulterating levitical worship for not keeping intact the conditions required of a true sacrifice of the Old Testament, that is, the concomitance of the material element, the victim, with the internal act of offering to God.  That is what is meant by the words, "my will is not in you".  Let us see the Sacred Text: "Who is there among you that will shut the doors and will kindle on my altar gratis? My will is not in you, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will not receive a gift of your hand".

              16.  Verse 11 of Chapter I enshrines the most important and transcendental prophecy of Malachias, that which foretells the institu-tion and universal establishment by Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the perpetuation of the Sacrifice of Calvary.  This prophecy, up to now, has been fulfilled only in limited extent in respect to all places.  It will attain complete fulfillment in the Messianic Kingdom.  No prophet has presented this doctrine with such clarity and precision of

detail as has Malachias.  It is clearly seen that the Holy Ghost, who spoke by the prophets, that is, Malachias, has reserved to Himself the moment personally to reveal that great eternal event.  Here is the Sacred Text: "For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles:and In every place there is sacrifice and there is offered to my name a clean obla-tion.  For my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts".

              17.  In verse 12, Malachias refers to the sup-pression of the perpetual Sacrifice, that is, the Holy Mass, and the introduction of the `Novus Ordo', that abominable fruit of the apostasy of the Roman Church.  The `Novus Ordo' abhors all sacrif-ice whatever, and replaces it with a mere banquet blasphemous and idolatrous worship, whose purpose is to deny God the glorifica-tion and infinite reparation which He recei-ves in  the Sacrifice of the Mass, thus, through an abominable Lutheran supper, to offer sacrilegious worship to Satan.  This idolatrous worship finds expression in the whole mundane structure of the modern satanic liturgy, where there is no more altar of sacrifice but rather a table facing the people.  The Celebrant is no longer called a Priest, but rath-er the president of the assembly.  He faces the people like an actor, centres all the attention on himself, and occupies a throne in the place where previously stood the Blessed Sacrament.  In addition he degrades his ministry by allowing in the sacred enclosure of the presbytery lay people, who perform functions that pertain only to the Priest.  Here is verse 12: "And you have profaned it in that you say:the table of the Lord is defiled:that which is laid thereupon is vile, with the fire that devoureth it".  It is contempt of the sacred under pretext of a fal-se renovation adapted to the times.

              18.  We turn now to interpret verse 13, whose words are the following: "And you have said:Behold the fruit of our labour, and you make it vile, saith the Lord of hosts, and of the plunder you offered the lame and the sick, and these you offered:shall I perchance accept it at your hands, saith the Lord?" In the presence of this prophecy, and without the need of further reflec-tion, there appear the characteristic marks of the anti-mass, which is the `Novus Ordo'.  Whereas in the true Sacrifice of the Mass a pure Host is offered and immolated, which is the Body and Blood of Christ, in the anti-mass is offered the fruit of man's labour, resulting in a desecrated and degraded worship of God.  This last, is contained in the first part of verse 13.  In the verse we are examining there is a curious point that is very significant: "And of the plunder you offered the lame and sick, and these you offered".  We affirm that in this simple phrase is contained all the work of masonry culminating in the abolition of the perpetual Sacrifice and the introduction of the satanic mass, since that is the fruit of the appropriation and assimila-tion of heretical liturgies, in which Protestants and Jews participated and which calls down the Wrath of God, as can be seen in the last part of the verse.

              19.  We complete the above doctrine referring to verse 14, which expresses the Divine malediction for the deceit of the Hierarchy of the official Roman Church.  For, while they have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, they dare to offer the Lord a wretched worship that opens the door to every kind of abomination and which is the official pass to en-ter hell.  Here is the Sacred Text: "Cursed is the deceitful man that hath in his flock a healthy male, and making a vow immolates that which is feeble to the Lord:for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the Gentiles".

              20.  In the second Chapter the Most Divine Prophet speaks directly of the Priesthood, presenting the doctrine of the good qualities required in a true minister of the Altar, given that he has been chosen by God and raised to his high dignity in order to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to  administer the Sacraments, and to be model of virtue, guardian of the faith and vessel of Wisdom.  This is contained in verses 6 and 7: "The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips:he walked with me in peace, and in justice, and turn-ed many away from iniquity.  For the lips of the Priest shall guard wis-dom, and they shall seek the law at his mouth;because he is the Angel of the Lord of hosts".  On the other hand he condemns the evil conduct of the priests and their corruption of doctrine, since by their preaching they have led the faithful away from the path of truth and have scandal-ized them, as is expressed in verse 8: "But you have led away and have caused many to violate the law:you have made void the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts".  In the same verse is contained, in figurative manner, the profanation of the Sacrifice of the Mass, which draws from the lips of Malachias the most severe pronouncements condemning those outrages and revealing His irresistible revulsion.  Take for example one of these declarations: "I will send poverty upon you, and will curse your blessings, yea I will curse them" (II, 2), "and I will scatter upon your face the ding of your solemnities, and it shall drag you away with it" (II, 3).  In verse 4 of the same Chap-ter, He foretells the command of Christ to His disciples to perpet-uate the Mass which He instituted at the Last Supper.  Malachias expresses it speaking figuratively of the Le-vitical sacrifices: "And you shall know that I have sent you this com-mandment, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts".

              21.  There could not be absent from His prophe-cies the doctrine of the spiritual espousal of the ministerial Priest with the Chur-ch.  It is found in verses 14 and 15 of the second chapter. "And you have said:For what cause? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, whom thou hast despised:yet she is thy part-ner, and the woman thou didst espous-e.  Did not He who is One make her, and is she not a particle of His spirit? And what doth that One seek, but a progeny of God? Watch over your spirit then, and despise not the wife of thy youth".  In the words of these verses the Holy Ghost speaks implicitly of His very special espousal with the Priestly Soul in indis-soluble union.  At the same time He reveals explicitly the espousal of the Soul of the Priest with the Most Holy Soul of Mary, signified by the word `the woman'.  The Priest, precisely, on being espoused to Mary, is espoused to the Church.  And in virtue of Espousal with Mary, is espoused with Christ.  And being espoused with Christ, Head of the Mystical Body, he is espoused with the Soul of the Church, which, is the Holy Ghost, and with the whole Mystical Body of Christ.  Therefore the ministe-rial Priest owes everything to his Spouse, the Church, since mystically he is one flesh and blood with her, which in unfathomable manner sur-passes the bond of the Sacrament of matrimony.  If the latter is an indissoluble and most sacred bond of union, what must be the sublimity of the union between the Priest and the Church!  Here we have the absolute need for sacred priestly celibacy, precious token of fidelity of the sacred spouse to the Divine Spouse, for, if that perpetual vow  is broken, the Priest be-comes an adulter-er, sacrilegious, by breaking the faith he owes to his Divine and Mo-st Holy Spouse, through a repugnant concubinage with a daughter of prostitu-tion.  His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII defines magisterial-ly the essence of the ministerial Priesthood as the participation of the Priest's Soul in the Divine Souls of Christ and Mary, in virtue of Mys-tical Espousal with the Most Divine Soul of Christ through Espousal with the Divine Soul of Mary,

              22.  We shall now overcome the sole remaining difficulty for the Divinity of Malachias, that found in Chapter II, verse I of His Book.  The Sacred Text according to the Vulgate speaks thus: "Is not One the Father of all of us? Hath not one God created us? Why then doth eve-ry one of us despise his brother, violating the covenant of our fathers?" In view of what this text seems to say, the difficulty arises from the words in the first person plural, so that the Most Holy Prophet appears to be merely one more of flesh and blood.  We find the solution of the problem in the Greek of the Septua-gint, in which the verse is expressed in the second person plural, which we quote in the following: "Hath not one God created you ? Is not He the Father of all of you ? Why then does each one despise his brother, violating the covenant of your fathers?" Besides the favorable conclusion reached by compari-ng this verse in both translations of Sacred Scripture, we also affirm the inaccuracy of the Latin text.  Here we keep in view the whole context of the Book of Mala-chias, which maintains the second person plural.  For that reason, verse 10, which offers the difficulty now solved, is, in that Latin transla-tion, strangely inconsistent and interrupts the uniformity of expression, admira-bly sustained by the pen of Malachias throughout the very luminous pages of His Book.

              23.  In Chapter III, the Most Holy Prophet Malac-hias resu-mes in few brief pages all the mystery of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, which culminates in the Messianic Kingdom.  In verse 1, Malachias, who is the Holy Ghost, is mysteriously sig-nified by the Angel precursor of the great events of the Church.  We give the text in the following: "Behold, I send my Angel and He shall prepare the way before my face.  And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the Angel of the Testament whom you desire shall come to His temple.  Behold He cometh, saith the Lord of hosts".  If we ascend in spirit to the life of the Blessed Trinit-y, we have to admit, necessarily, that the love of God, which is the Holy Ghost, is the impellent of all God's works "ad extra", first manifested in the marvellous Work of Creation, where the Spirit of God overshadowed the waters giving life to all.  If we examine the whole content, histori-cal, doctrinal and prophetic, of the Old Testament, we have to admit that it was the Holy Ghost who filled God's People with inspira-tions, taught them and spoke to them through the prophets.  It is the Holy Ghost who closes, prophetically, the Old Testament, it is He who opens the door of the New Testament, effecting through His grace the Incarnation of the Word in the most pure womb of the Virgin Mary.  The verse also contains the doctrine on Saint John the  Baptist, the Angel Precursor of the first Co-ming of Christ, as instrument of the Holy Ghost.  We reaffirm this doct-rine with the following Gospel words referring to Saint John the Bap-tist: "And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb" (Luke I, 15).  Therefore it was the same Divine Spirit who acted and spoke through the Baptist.  The phrase "the Angel of the testament whom you desire", signifies the Coming of the Messias, who is "the desired of the eternal hills".  The life of Christ on earth was the fullness of the action of the Holy Ghost, being, as God, consubstantial with Him, and, as Man, Christ possessed the greate-st fullness of grace, acting always in harmony with divine inspira-tion.  The phrase, "the Lord whom you seek", refers to the Second Coming of Christ, the culmination of the fullness of the action of the Holy Ghost on Earth, where the Angel precursora is the Most Holy Virgin Mary, always full, through the Holy Ghost, of all vir-tue and grace in imponderable degree.  As Mary, Mother and Hea-rt of Cre-ation, was the cooing of the Holy Ghost hovering over the waters, so is Mary, Mother and Heart of the Second Coming of Christ, also the cooing of the Spirit Who renews the face of the Earth.

              24.  We continue our interpretation of Chapter III, which vividly presents the historic moment of the first general apostasy.  As in His first Coming, Christ finds it necessary to seek new apostles to consoli-date His Church, howbeit, now He does it through Mary.  Now our apostles are the Hierarchs of the Palmarian Church, whose Head is Pope Gregory XVII, and who are the Marian Apostles of the Last Times.  Mala-chias in certain verses of this Chapter, gives as a glimpse of the hero-ic and glorious action of these new apostles, who are in complete oppo-sition to a corrupt and idolatrous world.  Because, outside of the Palmarian Church, there prevails the greatest spiritual darkness known to his-tory.  Malachias, Soul and Fortitude of the Church, foretells the abundance of grace that will be poured out over the Palmarian apostles.  These He will gather beneath His snow-white wings for them to obtain the virtue of perseverance, once they have been tried and purified through their co-operation with grace.

              25.  It is the moment to present the doctrine of confirma-tion in grace of the Palmarian Apostles, contained in the pages of the text of Malachias.  This Holy Council affirms and defines that the Hierarchy of the Palmarian Church, those who remain faithful in this arduous period of the Church's existence in the desert, will receive, in a flood of Divine Mercy, the precious gift of confirmation in grace.  We affirm and define that this will take place before the conquest of the Great Palmarian Empire, since such an extraordinary infusion of strength will be necessary so as not to fail in that hazardous and laborious mission.  The privilege of confirmation in grace will also be extended to a number of religious and faithful of the Palmarian Church to whom the Most Holy Virgin Mary judges opportune to grant such a gratuitous privilege, for the greater glory of God and the good of the Church.  With what we have said, we do not pretend to limit the action of God, - an  impossible sup-position, - since He can confirm in grace whomsoever He choose and whensoever he please.

              26.  Through this most singular and par-ticular gift of con-firmation in grace, the Church will be ex-alted and specially enriched, since the Virgin Mary, Universal Mediatrix, will open and widen the flood-gates of the infinite store of grace, in a torrential outpouring never before known.  This will benefit the whole Church in superabundant manner, and many of her members will attain to unheard of grades of sanctity.  Many of them will be able to surpass in holiness even those confirmed in grace, since this special gift does not imply the power to acquire grades of holiness which cannot be surpassed.  Confirmation in grace is for the good of the Church, and not an exclusive right of the recipient.

              27.  It is admirable how the Divine Spirit has reserved for Himself personally to preach the confirmation in grace of the Palmarian Apostles.  That extraordinary grace will be the work of the Divine Mary, Mother of the Church and Immaculate Dove, since Our Lord Jesus Christ has commended, especially in these critical moments, the salvation and survival of the Church to His Most Holy Mother.  And She embraces it all and with wisdom arranges Christ's greatest triumph.

              28.  Verse 12 of Chapter III, referring to the Palmarian Apostles confirmed in grace, honours them with the title `Blessed', which means that they are guaranteed their eternal salvation, since nothing will be able to separate them from the grace of God, now that their souls are marked with the seal of impeccability, which is an extrinsic, that is a moral immpeccability, and consists in the special privi-lege, granted by God, that keeps them actually from falling into sin.  That is the meaning of the words of the same verse: "For you shall be a precious land", which is to say that, through confirmation in grace, they will enjoy, in anticipation, though partial-ly, the Messianic Kingdom.  At the present moment the Palmarian Apostles have not yet obtained this singular privilege, and only God knows the exact moment.  For that reason, cherishing the hope, they must, day by day, be exercised patiently in the fight against the enemies of the soul so to merit such an unusual grace.  Only he who perseveres will obtain it.

              29.  Confirmation in grace of the Palmarian Apostl-es is, as has been said, the seal of impeccability, the special grace not to sin, either mortally or venially.  Nevertheless, God will permit in the souls of those confirmed in grace, certain defects and imperfections, which, while not entering in the concept of moral impeccability, will serve to keep men from venerating unduly the Palmarian Apostles, in the sense of idoliz-ing them, for only to God is adoration due, according to the words: "Only One is good, and He is God" (Matt. XIX, 17).  Besides, confirmation in grace does not exclude the `fomes peccat-i', precisely in order for the Palmarian Apostl-es confirmed in grace to gain merit by exercising virtue heroically.  Because,  although the powers of hell can no longer make them fall, neverth-eless they will keep pursuing them day and night by divine permis-sion.  In that way the Apostles confirmed in grace will have to sustain against them a fierce and constant war through prayer and great penance.  Verse 16 also refers to the confirmation in -grace.  We pause to consider the phrase, "and a book of remem-brance was written before him", which we shall put in relationship with verses 4 and 5 of Chapter III of the Apocalypse of Saint John, where he says: "But thou hast a few persons in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments:and they shall walk with me in white garments, because they are worthy (v.  4).  He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of Life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his Angels" (v.  5).  We interpret that verse 4, in speaking of the Church at Sardis, indicates the Roman Church of the general apostasy, whose last true Pope was Saint Paul VI.  With the election of his succes-sor, Pope Gregory XVII, commences the period of the Church of Philadelphia, which is the Palmarian Church.  Verse 4, speaks of certain persons in Sardis who have not defiled their garments.  These are the Pal-marian Apostles, chosen by the Most Holy Virgin and ta-ken uncor-rupted out of the apostate Church.  In the same verse is seen the confirmation in grace of those apostles, indi-cated in these words: "And they shall walk with me in white garments, because they are worthy".  Verse 5 refers to all the other members of the Palmarian Church, who, not enjoying the privilege of confirmation in grace, will, none the less, if they persevere to the end receive their white garments in the Messia-nic Kingdom or in Heaven.  The phrase, "and I will not blot out his name out of the book of Life", applies to all the members of the Church who have attained to their final perseverance.  Which, in relation to the Apostles confirmed in grace, is understood starting from the moment of that confirmation.  Reflecting on this doctrine, we affirm that the mem-bers of the true Church are written in the book of Life at the moment they receive Sanctifying Grace in their Baptism, - and that their name is blotted out from that book if they commit mortal sin, to be re-inserted if they recover Grace.  The Palmarian Apostles who receive the privilege of confirmation in grace will never then be blotted out of the book of Life from the moment of reception of that most special gift.  And that is also the meaning of verse 17 of Chapter III of Malachias, of which we transcribe these substan-tial words: "In the day that I have to work they shall be for me a special possession".

              30.  We shall conclude by examining and interpret-ing Chap-ter IV, the final one, of Malachias, placing particular attention on verses 5 and 6, which say: "Behold I will send you Elias the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord (v.  5).  And he shall convert the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers:lest I come and strike the earth with anathema" (v.  6).  In the light of our interpretation, we affirm the true mean-ing of these verses, which ought not to be underst-ood in the literal sense of all the words.  It is defined doctrine that Elias,  accompanied by Henoch and others, will come to preach penance during the Reign of Anti-christ, which is the meaning of verse 5.  With their preaching they will lend the Church great assistance, since Elias will collaborate efficaci-ously in the conversion of the Jewish people.  That conversion will be attained, and Henoch will collaborate in the conver-sion of many gentiles.  We give now the correct interpretation of the final wo-rds of verse 6: "Lest I come and strike the earth with anathema".  It is to be understood that the preaching of Elias and Henoch will be under the authority of Pope Gregory XVII, to whom they will lend their assistance, and that, thanks to the Church, God will not strike the earth with anathema, a virtue that cannot exclusively be attributed to the preaching of Elias, but rather to the action of the Church in all her Mystical Body, since sole-ly to attribute that virtue to the preaching of Elias and Henoch would be to imply that the Pope, and consequently the Church, would not have re-mained in existence in that time.

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