81.
We teach that Sidonius went home again after this incident, and Jesus, Who
had been informed of what had taken place, went to visit him. As the
Evangelist relates, He said to him: "Dost thou believe in the Son of
God?" (John IX, 35), to which he answered: "Who is He, Lord,
that I may believe in Him?" (John IX, 36), thus manifesting to Him
that he had not had the opportunity to see with his eyes the One Who had
cured him, and so did not yet know Him, but that he ardently desired to do
so in order to manifest his gratitude and his faith in Him. Jesus said to
him: "Thou hast both seen Him; and it is He that talketh with thee"
(John IX, 37), which is to say: <
82.
In the afternoon of that same day, Saturday the 16th of October, Jesus
preached by the synagogue of Orphel, for many had gathered there because
of the healing of Sidonius. Saint John (X, 1-21) cites this sermon when he
relates the allegory of the Good Shepherd, of which we transcribe these
heartening and most beautiful words: "I am the Good Shepherd. The
Good Shepherd giveth His life for His sheep. But the hireling and he that
is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming
and leaveth the sheep and flieth: and the wolf catcheth and scattereth the
sheep" (John X, 11-12). We see in the Gospels that in all His sermons
Jesus contrasted His vehement zeal for the salvation of souls with the
evil conduct of false shepherds, at that time the Jewish religious
authorities. Also, referring to the Gentile People, who in the future were
to believe in Him and form one Church with the Jewish Christians, He said:
"And other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must
bring. And they shall hear My voice: and there shall be one fold and one
Shepherd" (John X, 16). This sermon will be fulfilled to the full in
the Messianic Kingdom. Until then it is being partly fulfilled as far as
the number of its members is concerned, but in the doctrinal and
hierarchical sense it is now being fulfilled perfectly, given the
universality of the Church, which is for all peoples, all times, and
embraces all truths contained in the Sacred Deposit of Divine Revelation.
We teach that although Saint John cites from this sermon of Jesus only the
beautiful allegory of the Good Shepherd relates in his Gospel, nonetheless
the Master taught the people many other things, and said finally: "Therefore
doth the Father love Me: because I lay down My life, that I may take it
again. No man taketh it away from Me: but I lay it down of Myself. And I
have power to lay it down: and I have power to take it up again. This
commandment have I received of My Father" (John X, 17-18). As these
words clearly show, Jesus spoke of the most generous and voluntary
surrender He was to make on the Cross for the salvation of men; and of how
He, as God, had the power to die in His Humanity, and in it also to rise
again, thereby fulfilling the command of His Father. As can be seen in the
Gospel this gave rise to further discord among the Jews, that is His
enemies, many of whom treated Him as mad and bedeviled. Others, however,
acknowledging that the miracle of the blind man could only be of divine
origin, came to His defence.
83.
That same day, the 16th, after the sermon in Orphel, Jesus and His
followers headed for Bethany. On the way the Apostles brooded about the
sheep He had said He had in another fold, which brought them to connect
those sheep with the man whom they had seen in the Decapolis casting out
devils in the name of Jesus. All this moved John to ask the Lord about
that event, as Saint Mark (IX, 37-39) and Saint Luke (19, 49-50) relate,
of whose texts we cite that of the former: "Master, we saw one
casting out devils in Thy name, who followeth not us: and we forbade him.
But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that doth a miracle
in My name and can soon speak ill of Me. For he that is not against you is
for you" (Mark IX, 37--39). Without revealing the mission of the two
formerly possessed men of Gerasa, Jesus gave them to understand that he
whom they had seen expelling demons in His name, who was one of the two,
also belonged to the number of His disciples.
84.
We shall now treat of Jesus' visit to the three Holy Kings, Melchor,
Gaspar and Balthassar, which was mentioned in Chapter XXVIII of this
Treatise. He made the journey to reciprocate the kindness they had shown
Him in Bethlehem at His Nativity, and availed Himself of it to evangelize
many. In accordance with our interpretation of Saint Anne Catherine
Emmerich, Jesus went with three mysterious youths, who we affirm were the
Holy Prophets Elias, Henoch and Moses, since He did not consider it
convenient that others accompany Him. Before departing for the territory
of the Magi, Jesus told His Apostles and disciples that they would know
nothing of Him for a time, and that His Divine Mother was to remain in
Bethany to direct them and look after them. Jesus left Bethany alone on
Sunday the 17th of October, and when He reached Bethabara was joined by
the said Holy Prophets, who, of great beauty, seemed to be youths in
passible bodies. In their company Jesus skirted the east side of the Dead
Sea and, crossing Idumaea, entered the Sinai peninsula, known since
antiquity as Arabia Petrea. On the 24th of October He reached the Kings at
a lonely, out of the way place in the vicinity of Mount Sinai or Horeb,
where God had given Moses the Tablets of the Law. Days before Jesus'
arrival, Melchor, Gaspar and Balthassar had seen in the heavens the Star
that once guided them to Bethlehem, and thus understood that the time was
close at hand when the Son of God was to visit them, as had previously
been revealed to them. Therefore, the better to receive Him, they prepared
themselves with special prayers and penances. When Jesus arrived, they,
prostrate on the ground, adored Him. Indescribable was the joy of the
elderly Kings to find themselves with Jesus and to be instructed by Him in
the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; above all, to receive Baptism from
His divine Hands, present at which ceremony was the Divine Mary, Who
appeared for that purpose while remaining visible in Bethany. Despite
contrary opinions, we teach that Melchor, Gaspar and Balthassar did not
receive any of the Holy Orders from the Apostles.
85.
On Wednesday the 27th of October, after taking leave of the Magi Kings
Jesus headed for Egypt, accompanied by the three Holy Prophets Elias,
Henoch and Moses, and on the 30th of October reached Helipolis, today
Cairo, where He had lived with His parents as a child because of the
persecution of Herod. Although the Holy Family had moved many to
conversion during their stay there, a great number of them had returned to
their former pagan customs after Their return to Israel. That is why, when
Christ now visited them during His Public Life, His mere divine presence
once more caused the devils to flee, the pagan temples to shake, and the
idols to fall from their pedestals, some people recalling that similar
phenomena had also occurred years before at the arrival of the Holy Family.
It was therefore not difficult for them to recognize Jesus, after those
intervening years, when He arrived with the three interplanetary Apostles.
The simple people who had known Him as a Child were filled with sublime
joy to see Him now. For such was the veneration they had always felt
towards the Holy Family that after their return to Israel they adorned the
house in which They had lived, and used it as a sacred place of prayer
where they received graces and consolation. During the time He taught in
Egypt Jesus worked great miracles and conversions, and many became His
disciples. These He more especially instructed, so that after His
departure they might preach the Kingdom of God to their countrymen.
Naturally, during this apostolate there was not wanting the opposition of
many of the Jews who dwelt there.
86.
On Tuesday the 23rd of November, with Elias, Henoch and Moses, Jesus left
Heliopolis. After crossing the Sinai peninsula and Idumaea He made for the
Dead Sea, the western shore of which they skirted, then to cross the
Jordan and arrive at Bethabara of Peraea on the 7th of December. Shortly
afterwards the three holy men accompanying Him disappeared. On the return
journey from Egypt they carried out an intense apostolate.
87.
We think it appropriate now to examine in greater depth the doctrine of
the beatific vision with respect to wayfarers. In the dogmatic definitions
of His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII it is stated that the Lumen Gloriae, has
its seat in the higher part of the soul in virtue of the indwelling of the
Holy Ghost, and that if the lower part be not veiled, it illuminates all
the soul with equal intensity. We know that infused Faith or Sacred
Treasure of Divine Revelation, which dwells in the soul in Sanctifying
Grace, is the beatific vision veiled. We teach now that the Lumen Gloriae
is the Soul of Christ present in souls in virtue of the Drop of Mary's
Blood. When God removes the veil of Faith from a soul in Sanctifying Grace,
that soul perceives with its understanding the Most Divine Soul of Christ;
and also, at that same moment, in the brilliant light of the Most Divine
Soul, sees directly, immediately and without any intermediary, that is,
face to face, the divine essence and other infused truths of the Sacred
Treasure of Divine Revelation. The beatific vision can be in the higher
part of the soul only, or at the same time in the lower part. In order
that the higher part of the soul be able to communicate that joy to the
lower part, God must remove the veil between the two parts. When removed,
the lower part makes both the accidental body and the essential body
partake of its beatific joy. The souls of the Blessed of Heaven are
completely without veil, while the Holy Souls of Purgatory are completely
veiled as long as they remain in that place of expiation. As for the
angels, though superior to men by nature, they also need the intervention
of the Most Divine Soul of Christ or Lumen Gloriae to see the divine
essence.
88.
We amplify further the doctrine of sacramentality. We know that through
sacramentality a body is entirely present in each quantitative part of the
same. For a body to be glorious in essence it must of necessity possess
the essential gift of sacramentality, for if not it would be glorious only
accidentally. Sacramentality is, then, a preternatural gift of bodies in
the state of glory. This grace, given to our first parents in Paradise and
lost to them and their descendants through sin, was preserved by God in
the Triple Benediction, and in this way the Divine Mary inherited the
essential gift of sacramentality in Her Immaculate Body; and She
transmitted it to Her Divine Son in the three Drops of Her most pure Blood.
Therefore only the Most Sacred Bodies of Christ and Mary have always been
glorious in essence. All other bodies in Heaven, including that of Joseph
Most Holy, are glorious only accidentally, for they lack the gift of
sacramentality, which they and all the saved will receive at the beginning
of the Messianic Kingdom in virtue of their enthronement in the immaculate
Heart of Mary.
89.
The gift of sacramentality makes real and true bilocation possible,
whereby a wayfarer is really and truly present, whole and entire - with
all his elements - in two different places at the same time, occupying and
therefore carrying out missions simultaneously in both. To that end, God
concedes him momentarily the gift of sacramentality, extracting from him a
drop of blood without wounding any part of his body. Then his soul, by
divine virtue and taking the essential body as model, reproduces in
another place, by means of the drop of blood, the accidental body, which,
consequently, occupies simultaneously two places. Through sacramentality
multilocation is also possible, whereby a person occupies many places
simultaneously through the multiplication of the extracted drop of blood.
God can also effect apparent bilocation through the ministry of angels,
who fabricate ethereal bodies that have the features of those whom they
wish to represent, without there being anything of the persons they
replace. In true bilocation, however, the person bilocated is always aware
of everything he does at the same time in both places. Be he a priest, for
example, administering a Sacrament in the place where he is, and at the
same time administering another in the place where he is bilocated, both
will be perfectly valid for his having administered them in his real and
true person. When it is not true bilocation, the person replaced is
unaware of what the ethereal body fabricated by the angels does, it having
nothing of his person, unless God should reveal it to him in some way. One
concludes from all this that to admit the thesis of Saint Thomas Aquinas
and other doctors, that the explanation of true bilocation is that an
angel, let us suppose, with the appearance of a certain priest, occupies
one of the two places and celebrates, for example, the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass, would be to contradict right reason, because an angel cannot
offer such a Sacrifice. We teach that the angels, in virtue of the angelic
nature itself, have the power to fabricate ethereal bodies when God
entrusts them with some mission requiring their use, and are able also to
occupy a particular place if required. Souls separated from their wayfarer
bodies and therefore freed from their ties, be they in Eternal Happiness,
in Purgatory, in Limbo or in Hell, by virtue of their own spiritual nature,
are also able to fabricate ethereal bodies. Souls already united to their
risen bodies have the same power.
90.
We teach also that in the same way as the Blessed are wrapt in
contemplation of the divine essence - as corresponds to their degree of
glory - in virtue of the Lumen Gloriae, the devils and other condemned,
through the same Light, are immersed in eternal torment, since it is the
Lumen Gloriae which produces the inextinguishable fire of Hell, of
supernatural origin, real, true and material, but with spiritual qualities,
which burns without consuming. Although the Most Divine Soul of Christ
does not dwell in the condemned, the devouring fire of Its divine justice
nonetheless penetrates and engulfs each of them. That one and only fire
dwells simultaneously - with unequal intensity according to the degree of
condemnation - in each and every reprobate. The damned are at the same
time tormented by a shivering cold, also produced by the Most Divine Soul
of Christ, which freezes without numbing or consuming them; and with the
same intensity as the fire, that one and only cold dwells in and
penetrates each of the condemned. As one can appreciate, the Lumen Gloriae,
which for the Blessed is Light of happiness, becomes for the condemned
implacable fire and ice, since he who rejects the Light of Salvation is
burned and frozen by that very Light, Christ, the Sun of Justice; in other
words, wounded by a ray His infinite Wrath, which torments him for all
eternity.
91.
At the same time, the Lumen Gloriae produces the purifying fire of
Purgatory, of the same nature as that of Hell, which burns without
consuming, and purifies the Holy Souls to prepare them for Eternal
Happiness. That fire is extinguished in each of them at the end of their
purification. That one and only fire of Purgatory dwells simultaneously in
all the Holy Souls, with unequal intensity according to the degree of
expiation. Moreover, together with that fire they are purified by a cold,
which also dwells in them, of the same nature as that of Hell.
92.
We make clear that in Hell and Purgatory, neither does the fire nullify
the effects of the cold, nor the cold the effects of the fire, and that
both are, for the condemned and for the Holy Souls, the pain of sense,
which implies for them unimaginable suffering. They also suffer the pain
of loss, to be deprived of the vision of God, those in Hell eternally and
those in Purgatory only for a time. Of the two, the pain of loss is the
essential one, and therefore that which makes them suffer most. We ought
to make clear that, God having impressed in each angel and human being the
innate desire for happiness, there is in all of them an inviolable will to
claim that right. For the condemned the pain of loss, therefore, is the
agonizing and desperate desire to see God so as to be happy, and at the
same time the obstinate refusal to see Him out of hatred for Him and so as
not to humiliate themselves by having to ask forgiveness for their sins.
For the Holy Souls of Purgatory the pain of loss, however, is the most
vehement desire to see God without being able to see Him because of
unremitted temporal punishment. Nevertheless, those souls do not wish to
leave that state until they are completely purified.
93.
Furthermore, the Lumen Gloriae projects a reflection in the Souls of the
Children of Limbo. That reflection dwells in each and every one of them,
according to their merits, keeping alive their hope of liberation. It is
fitting to remember that the Souls of Limbo possess an imperfect heavenly
joy, on account of which they do not suffer in any way.
94.
Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and Limbo are not established, determined or
enclosed places. Rather, Heaven is the state of eternal glory which the
Blessed enjoy, Hell the state of eternal condemnation which the reprobates
suffer, Purgatory the state of purification of the Holy Souls before
entering Eternal Happiness, and Children's Limbo the state of expectation
before going to Heaven, at Christ's Return. Therefore the Angels and other
Blessed, the devils and other condemned, the Holy Souls of Purgatory and
the Souls of Children's Limbo, each in his state, are scattered throughout
the immense space of the universe. From all this it follows that Heaven,
Hell, Purgatory and Limbo have not been created, but are states of
happiness, of condemnation, of purification and of expectation,
respectively, produced by the Most Divine Soul of Christ.
95.
In the light of our doctrine, the following words of Christ are the more
easy to understand: "The Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke
XVII, 21). In other words, in souls that Kingdom is a state of grace. For
the Angels and other Blessed it is essentially the beatific vision; and
though scattered throughout the universe, each in his state of glory, they
are closely united among themselves in the contemplation of the divine
essence, the most perfect love of God and mutual charity, and form one
Heavenly community, the Church Triumphant, with intercommunication of
accidental happiness among its members, each one rejoicing in the well-being
of the others. In a state of expiation, and by virtue of the indwelling of
the Holy Ghost, the Holy Souls of Purgatory, of course, also belong to the
Kingdom of God; and though scattered throughout the universe, each in his
state of purification, they form among themselves a close-knit family, the
Church Suffering, through the indwelling of Grace, perfect love of God,
mutual charity and the purification suffered by each. In an imperfect way,
through the indwelling of the reflection of the Holy Ghost, the Souls of
Children's Limbo, namely the Church Expectant, also belong to the Kingdom
of God; and though scattered throughout the universe, each in his state of
expectation, they also form among themselves a closely bonded family, the
Church Expectant, by virtue of that divine reflection, love of God -
though imperfect, mutual charity and the hope of liberation that
encourages them. As well as those respective holy families of the Kingdom
of God, the Blessed of Heaven, the Holy Souls of Purgatory and the
Children of Limbo form also, with the members of the Church Militant or
Kingdom of God on earth in the state of grace, the invisible aspect of the
Mystical Body of Christ, being closely united in Grace, in the love of God,
in mutual charity and in the participation of spiritual goods.
96.
The antithesis of the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of darkness, to which
the devils and other condemned belong through the indwelling of Satan.
Though all are scattered throughout the universe, each in his state of
reprobation, they form among themselves, for evil, an abominable and close-knit
rabble through the indwelling of Satan, eternal privation of the beatific
vision, implacable hatred of God, the fire and cold that torment without
consuming, and their mutual hatred and unhappiness. Together with all
those who, on earth or other planets, are in the state of mortal sin, the
condemned form the Mystical Body of Satan, who also dwells and reigns in
those wayfarer souls as their father and lord.
97.
We teach that on the Planet of Mary there is a unique economy of grace.
Whereas the universe in general suffered the consequences of Adam's fall,
at the request of the Divine Soul of Mary God preserved that place from
the punishment of the first sin, in order for its future inhabitants to
enjoy in part the graces proper to original justice, which our first
parents possessed in Paradise and later lost. At different epochs and
times God selected privileged souls, from earth and other inhabited
planets as well, to live on the Planet of Mary and from there to carry out
very special missions in the various inhabited worlds. From the moment of
arrival those who live on the Planet of Mary possess, albeit in lower
degree, the supernatural and preternatural gifts lost by our first parents,
and consequently enjoy the beatific vision in all their soul, that is, the
vision of the divine essence and the glorifica-tion of their essential and
accidental bodies, though still deprived of the essential gift of
sacramentality. Gifts and graces on the Planet of Mary are of a far lower
degree than those of the Messianic Kingdom to come, of which the Planet of
Mary is a foretaste. For that reason the accidental bodies of its
inhabitants, though beautiful and in glory, do not yet have their
proportions and features in conformity with those of their essential
bodies. Hence we can understand what was said in this chapter regarding
Elias, Henoch and Moses, who <
98.
Many of the inhabitants of the Planet of Mary will come to earth to preach
penance in their fight against the Antichrist. In order for them to be
able to exercise faith, as well as to suffer and to die, God will veil the
beatific vision in all their soul, though preserving certain gifts of
glory in their bodies. After clinical death will take place the Particular
Judgement of each, and then the true death, when their souls will begin to
enjoy the eternal bliss of Heaven. After the resurrection of their
essential and accidental bodies on the third day, these will be forever
glorified when reunited to their respective soul, now glorified. We
believe most opportune the completion here of the teaching on the
martyrdom, under the power of the Antichrist, of the last Pope and the
princes of the Church. Their Particular Judgement will take place, of
course, after clinical and before true death, following which their souls
will go on to enjoy the eternal bliss of Heaven. At the resurrection of
their essential and accidental bodies on the third day, these will be
forever glorified when reunited to their respective souls, now glorified.
We teach also that the martyrs of the Antichrist just mentioned, that is,
those from the Planet of Mary and those of earth, following their glorious
resurrection, as Blessed, will continue their apostolate, now without
merit, in this world against the Man of Iniquity. At the Coming of Christ
they will go on to live in the Messianic Kingdom as Blessed, having
received their respective increase in essential and accidental glory.
99.
We complete the doctrine of the Redemption of the inhabitants of the
planets, already treated in Chapter XV, now adding that during the period
in which the baptism of penance was compulsory on earth, the Precursor
secretly baptized the Holy Prophet Elias in the Jordan. When the latter
returned to his interplanetary mission he administered it first to Henoch
and Moses. All three holy men then preached the necessity of that baptism,
which was conferred by their Elian priests on those who accepted it. After
the institution of the Sacrament of Baptism by Christ, He secretly
baptized Elias in the Jordan on the same day and after baptizing His
Divine Mother. The Holy Prophet then returned to his interplanetary
mission and baptized Henoch and Moses first. The three holy men, in
continual and mysterious communication with Jesus, have preached the
Evangelical Law on the various inhabited planets, entrusting the Elian
priests with the task of baptizing the many who profess faith in the
Messias.
100.
We continue now our narrative of the Gospel with what occurred to Jesus in
the Temple on the day of Dedication, an event recounted by Saint John (X,
22-39). The Evangelist says: "And it was the feast of the Dedication
at Jerusalem: and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the Temple, in
Solomon's Porch" (John X, 22-23). We teach that on the 7th of
December, the first day of the feast that year, 33, Jesus, Who was in
Bethabara of Peraea following His journey to Egypt, of a sudden went to
the Temple. It was a cold and rainy day, which is why the Evangelist says
that "it was winter", meaning that it was wintry weather, the
winter season then not having begun. When Jesus walked through Solomon's
Porch, "the Jews therefore came round about Him and said to Him: How
long dost Thou hold our souls in suspense? If Thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly" (John X, 24). They said this seeking an opportunity to
condemn Him by His own words, as is clearly seen from the context of the
event, in which Jesus gave proof of their bad faith in refusing to believe
in Him. First, He told them openly: "I and the Father are one" (John
X, 30), because of which they took up stones to stone Him. A little later
He told them also that He was the Son of God, and they accused Him of
blasphemy and attempted to seize Him. The Evangelist says, however, that
Jesus "escaped out of their hands" (John X, 39). That is, He
made Himself invisible in their presence and went to Bethany, where He
rejoined His Divine Mother, His Apostles and disciples. As one can easily
sense from this Gospel episode, Jesus went to the Temple alone to show
that He did not fear His enemies, and to make evident that until His hour
was come, nothing could they do against Him. We teach that the Apostles
and disciples did not go to the Temple for that year's feast of Dedication,
on the Divine Mary's counsel. Besides, the Law did not oblige them to. We
record that this feast, of eight days duration, began in the year 33 on
the 6th of December after sunset, which gave commencement to the 25th of
the ninth month of the Jewish liturgical year; and ended at sunset on the
14th of December. We also clarify the chronology of the feast of
Dedication of the preceding two years: In Chapter XXX we said that Jesus
visited the Temple on the 30th of November, its' being that year, 31, the
feast of the Dedication. It had begun, therefore, on the 29th of November
after sunset, and it ended on the 7th of December at sunset. In Chapter
XXXI we said that the 18th of December was, in the year 32, the feast of
the Dedication, and that Jesus visited the Temple on that day. This means
that it began on the 17th of December after sunset, and ended at sunset on
the 25th.
101.
On the 9th of December, that is before the end of the feast of Dedication,
Jesus, to avoid quarrels with His enemies, for they continually waylaid
Him, withdrew once more to Bethabara, with His Apostles and some of His
disciples, and arrived the following day. His Divine Mother, however,
remained at Bethany. That is why Saint John says: "And He went again
beyond the Jordan, into that place where John was baptizing first. And
there He abode" (John X, 40). The text proves that Jesus had been at
that place on previous occasions since His final departure from Galilee,
as we have already seen. According to our interpretation, Saint Matthew
refers to this journey when he says: "And great multitudes followed
Him: and He healed them there" (Matthew XIX, 2), that is in Bethabara,
which shows moreover that on the way, many already were following Jesus,
the sick among them. Saint Mark also mentions: "And the multitude
flocked to Him again. And as He was accustomed, He taught them again"
(Mark X, 1b). Saint John stresses Jesus' prestige in Bethabara when he
says: "And many resorted to Him: and they said: John indeed did no
sign. But all things whatsoever John said of this Man were true. And many
believed in Him" (John X, 41-42).
102.
According to our interpretation, Saint Luke (XVI, 1-31) relates one of
Jesus sermons in Bethabara of Peraea, which we affirm was on Sunday the
12th of December in the year 33, a sermon in which, addressing His
Apostles and disciples, in the presence of many other followers, He
explained first the parable of the unjust steward (Luke XVI, 1-8), which
He ended by saying: "And the lord commended the unjust steward,
forasmuch as he had done wisely: for the children of this world are wiser
in their generation than the children of light" (Luke XVI, 8). It is
to be understood that the master praised his steward, not for the
fraudulent theft, but rather for the skill and astuteness he employed to
his own advantage. For the steward, by having the debtors record their
debt to his master at less than the true amount - to their consequent
advantage - provided for himself by gaining them as friends to help him
when he was removed from the stewardship, so that he did not end his days
in destitution. To inspire us to use that astuteness to good purpose,
Jesus went on to say: "Make unto you friends of the mammon of
iniquity: that when you shall fall, they may receive you into everlasting
dwellings" (Luke XVI, 9). In other words, He directs us to make good
use both of our spiritual gifts and of our material possessions, to attain
thereby the inestimable treasure of eternal salvation, and consequently
the conversion, through our good works, of even the most hardened sinners.
Thus do we make use of holy astuteness to gain the latter as friends and
intercessors before God to the common benefit of eternal happiness. The
expression "mammon of iniquity" here symbolizes the gifts of
this world in contrast, through their inferiority, with those of Heaven,
to be used always for our salvation. Jesus continued His sermon as follows:
"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in that
which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little is unjust
also in that which is greater. If then you have not been faithful in the
unjust mamom, who will trust you with that which is the true?" (Luke
XVI, 10-11). Here He teaches us, on the one hand, that the practice of the
virtues must embrace even the obligations which seem to us most
insignificant; and besides, that if pure love of God does not move us to
good, then may the promise of eternal reward, or at least the fear of Hell,
so move us, since if one does not even fear God's punishment, how is one
to love Him? We know that the perfect desire of man is to do good for the
love and glory of God. But as this is difficult for many, we should at
least do good out of personal interest in our own salvation; and God, Who
sees our fidelity in the least perfect, which is the meaning here of
"unjust mammon", will not deny His grace for the most perfect,
which is the meaning of the word "true". Jesus went on to say:
"And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who
will give you that which is your own?" (Luke XVI, 12). In this Gospel
passage we consider "another's" those works done outside the
life of grace which involve a purely human goodness, dictated by Natural
Law. Such good works, though lacking supernatural merit, dispose God more
readily to pity the sinner, since by their means he can become worthy of
very special graces that lead him to conversion and, consequently, to
eternal happiness. The words "that which is your own" here
signify the life of grace, since man was created to serve God and
afterwards to enjoy Him eternally, which is impossible without accepting
the Blood shed by Christ on the Cross. In short, how is one to attain
supernatural virtue if one is not concemed with the practice of even
purely human virtue? Jesus also warned of the danger of riches: "No
servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one love the
other: or he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
God and mammon" (Luke XVI, 13). Be it understood that reference is
made here to attachment not only to material wealth, but also to other
worldly pleasures, all of which man is obliged to use to his spiritual
advantage. If not, by thus opposing God's plan he becomes their slave and
risks his own salvation. The Gospel says that "the pharisees, who
were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided Him" (Luke
XVI, 14), and that Jesus said to them: "You are they who justify
yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is high
to men is an abomination before God" (Luke XVI, 15). Let us consider
what this means. The pharisees boasted that they were just also because of
the material goods they possessed, for they applied in their favour some
biblical texts (Lev. XXVI, 3ff) in which God promised unfailing prosperity
to those who were faithful to Him. Therefore their traditionally erroneous
idea was that poverty and misery were signs of divine malediction and that
abundance, on the contrary, was a sign of benediction, an idea they
instilled into the minds of the people to the benefit of their own
excellence. But Jesus, Who knew the perversity of their hearts, said they
were abominable in God's eyes. He went on to say to them that "the
Law and the Prophets were until John. From that time the Kingdom of God is
preached: and every one useth violence towards it. And it is easier for
Heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the Law to fall" (Luke
XVI, 16-17), a teaching already discussed in other parts of this Treatise.
103.
In the sermon at Bethbara of Peraea Jesus also treated of matrimony,
giving all to understand that He had re- established the primitive rigour
of the indissolubility of the bond when He raised it to the dignity of a
Sacrament at the Marriage Feast at Cana. Thus did He answer the question
put to Him by the pharisees in order to tempt Him, regarding the
lawfulness of a husband's repudiation of his wife, as Saint Matthew (XIX,
3-9), Saint Mark (X, 2-9) and in part also Saint Luke (XVI, 18) relate.
When Jesus reestablished the strict indissolubility of marriage He also
condemned implicitly the custom of polygamy, for it contradicts the unity
of marriage, in virtue of which man and wife are two in one flesh.
104.
We clarify some aspects of matrimony during the periods of the Natural Law
and the Law of Moses. Genesis presents us two passages concerning the
creation of Adam and Eve, of which we select, duly arranged and
interpreted, the following: God formed the first man of the clay of the
earth and infused into him a soul (Gen. II, 7). Then, from his rib He
formed the first woman, also infusing into her a soul (Gen. II, 21--22).
Having created Eve, He presented her to Adam (Gen. II, 22). And though it
is not recorded in Genesis, both mutually accepted each other as spouses.
God confirmed that union as we see in Genesis: "And God blessed them"
(I, 28). Matrimony now established, Adam, inspired by the Holy Ghost,
proclaimed the indissoluble conjugal bond in these words concerning Eve:
"This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh... Wherefore a
man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they
shall be two in one flesh" (Gen. II, 23-24), the monogamous character
of matrimony thus being established as well. The Most High, moreover,
determined the principal end of marriage when He said to our first parents:
"Increase and multiply, and fill the earth" (Gen. I, 28),
although they, inspired by God, did not consummate their marriage until
after the sin. The matrimony of our first parents in Paradise enjoyed, by
virtue of original justice, a supernatural dignity even more exalted than
that of the very Sacrament of Matrimony to be instituted later by Christ.
After the first sin the bond between Adam and Eve was reduced to a mere
natural contract, though it retained its indissoluble and monogamous
character, strict observance of which God required until the universal
Flood. Previous to that, however, Genesis (IV, 19, 23-24) presents us the
deplorable case of the two wives of Lamech, descendant of Cain, whom he
slew, for which he was cursed seven times by God. Lamech's sin of bigamy
is a woeful example of the prevalent corruption of that epoch, which
brought on the Flood. After
that universal punishment God established a new pact with Noe and said,
besides, to him and his children: "But increase you and multiply: and
go upon the earth, and fill it" (Gen. IX, 7). With these words He
again reminded men of the principal end of matrimony, and at the same time
recorded for them its monogamous and indissoluble character, which He
desired to be respected, as can be seen in the marriages of Noe and his
three sons. Despite God's indications in favour of the integrity of
matrimony, we see in the sacred texts, nevertheless, how Abraham already
had several wives at the same time: Sara, who was the principal; Agar, her
servant, as secondary spouse or concubine as it was then called; and after
she was repudiated, Cetura, who, at the death of Sara, became the
principal wife. This proves how men, with great vehemence, interiorly felt
the sacred duty to multiply, because of which, in quite good faith, they
concerned themselves more with procreation than with giving due importance
to the monogamous and indissoluble character of matrimony, permitted by
God to the benefit of the propagation of the human species. Therefore,
apart from exceptions, the majority of those who married did so with the
conviction, at least implicit, of the lawfulness of repudiation and of
polygamy, wherefore those marriages were not indissoluble. We explain this
doctrine further: In matrimony there must be considered both the marriage
contract or mutual consent by which the spouses surrender to and accept
each other, and the indissoluble bond which arises from that lawful
marriage contract. The two constitute the very essence of matrimony
exactly as God established it in Paradise. After the Flood, God tacitly
dispensed men from the second aspect of the essence of matrimony, the
indissoluble bond, in favour of greater procreation. Therefore those
marriages, though legitimate, were imperfect, and their union was not
binding, being of an external character, that is, capable of being
dissolved. Consequently, repudiation and polygamy directly oppose the
indissolubility of the marriage bond, for the latter implies that man and
wife are two in one flesh. We also teach that when the human race had
multiplied and extended itself over the face of the earth, it was the
divine will, during the Israelites' time in the desert, to re-establish
matrimony in its primitive rigour. However, as polygamy and repudiation
had then taken such deep root among men, God found it expedient to leave
them in good faith with their customs - given the hardness of heart of
many - in order thereby to avoid serious sin. Therefore He restricted
Himself to establishing, through Moses, certain prescriptions that limited
polygamy and repudiation, such as those mentioned in Deuteronomy when
speaking of the qualities that should adorn a king: "He shall not
have many wives, that may allure his mind" (Deut. XVII, 17); and
those which refer to the bill of divorce: "If a man take a wife, and
have her, and she find not favour in his eyes, for some uncleanness: he
shall write a bill of divorce, and shall give it in her hand, and send her
out of his house" (Deut. XXIV, 1). From this one interprets that for
repudiation a just and sufficiently grave cause was required, as for
example serious moral or physical defects in the wife that made her
repugnant to the husband, thereby to avoid his acting for insignificant or
unimportant reasons. Besides, the formality of the bill itself had the
advantage, among others, of the husband's being able to think twice before
making a decision, which thus prevented him from acting many times out of
mere passion or rage, and also gave him the opportunity of seeking counsel
beforehand. Repudiation implied the dissolution of the marriage bond, for
it is written in Deuteronomy (XXIV, 2) that the divorced wife could
remarry, Nevertheless, there were those who refused to accept either
divorce or polygamy when married. Those marriages, therefore, were
indissoluble, as recorded in the Bible, according to our interpretation.
For example, those of Job, Isaac, Joseph of Egypt, Moses and so forth. The
Essenes, too, considered it a sacred obligation to accept neither
repudiation nor polygamy, wherefore their marriages were also indissoluble.
Those two groups had an influence on society so that many followed their
example, and it is recorded in history that after the Babylonian captivity
monogamy was almost universal, though repudiation still persisted. We
conclude by saying that although matrimony is by Divine Law monogamous and
indissoluble, nevertheless from the universal Flood until the Evangelical
Law it was not so in practice, by divine dispensation, for the benefit of
greater procreation and to avoid sins due to the hardness of mens' hearts.
When Christ raised matrimony to the dignity of a Sacrament, He re-established
it in its primitive rigour, and consequently He made binding in perpetuity
its monogamous and indissoluble character, including for the mere natural
contract.
105.
Jesus ended His sermon of the 12th of December of the year 33 in Bethabara
of Peraea by teaching the parable of the rich gourmet and the poor Lazarus
(Luke XVI, 19-31); the former a prototype of vice, and the latter of
virtue. This parable is of notorious historical fact, which occurred in
Galilee during the infancy of Jesus, Who, when presenting it, combined
fact with parabolic fiction such as the dialogue between Abraham and the
gourmet, in order to record the state of eternal disgrace of the condemned.
We teach that in the parable Jesus reproached the pharisees for their
material greed and their unbridled ambition and craving for pleasure.
106.
When the teachings and miracles of Jesus during those days on the banks of
the Jordan came to the knowledge of the Sanhedrin, they sent a commission
of pharisees, scribes and doctors of the Law to that place in order to sow
confusion among the many who had gone to hear the divine word, and at the
same time to forward information of all that took place there. Jesus,
however, to outwit His enemies, withdrew from Bethabara of Peraea before
dawn on the 14th of December, and reached the convent in Bethany with His
Apostles and disciples late in the evening of that same day, when there
took place what Saint Mark relates: "And in the house again His
disciples asked Him concerning the same thing" (Mark X, 10),
referring to the indissolubility of matrimony. Jesus explained to them
anew the doctrine He had taught in Bethabara, as is clear from His
conclusions about it which Saint Mark cites for us: "Whosoever shall
put away his wife and marry another committeth adultery against her. And
if the wife shall put away her husband and be married to another, she
committeth adultery" (Mark X, 11-12). Saint Matthew, who also
furnishes some details of the event at the conventual house, relates that
the disciples, knowing how common was the use of the bill of divorce
granted by Moses, and seeing now the new moral requirement of matrimony
and the difficulty which many would have of putting it into practice, said
to Christ: "If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not
expedient to marry" (Matthew XIX, 10), to which Jesus replied: "All
men take not this word, but they to whom it is given. For there are
eunuchs who were born so from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs
who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs who have made themselves
eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. He that can take, let him take it"
(Matthew XIX, 11-12). In the present chapter we have already considered
and interpreted part of these two verses of Saint Matthew, insofar as they
relate to priestly celibacy and to religious celibacy in general. The same
teaching must be applied also to the celibate who is not a religious but
who remains celibate for the greater glory of God. There remains for us to
clarify that eunuchs born so from their mother's womb are those who, due
to some incurable psychical or bodily abnormality, come into the world
completely unfit for marriage. And those "who were made so by men"
are those rendered incapable of marriage for multiple reasons.
107.
The following morning, Wednesday the 15th of December, there took place in
the conventual house in Bethany what is related by Saint Matthew (XIX,
13-15), Saint Mark (X, 13- 16) and Saint Luke (XVIII, 15-17), when some
presented their children for Jesus to put His hands on them and pray,
which He did with pleasure. Saint Matthew says: "And when He had
imposed hands upon them, He departed from thence" (Matthew XIX, 15),
thereby referring to how Jesus, a little after giving the children His
attention, left Bethany for the Jordan on the morning of the 15th
accompanied by His Apostles and some of His disciples.
108.
Saint Mark relates that Jesus, "when He was gone forth into the way,
a certain man, running up and kneeling before Him, asked Him: Good Master,
what shall I do that I may receive life everlasting?" (Mark X, 17).
Saint Matthew (XIX, 16) and Saint Luke (XVIII, 18) recount it as well. We
teach that this episode, known as that of the "rich young man",
narrated by the first three Evangelists (Matthew XIX, 16--30; Mark X,
17-31; Luke XVIII, 18-30), took place on the outskirts of Bethany on the
15th of December of the year 33, when Jesus took the road for Bethabara of
Peraea. That "young man", as he is called in the Gospel (Matthew
XIX, 20), between twenty-one and twenty-five years of age, was occupied in
the administration of his lucrative estate, having zealously kept the
Commandments of God's Law since childhood. He had known Lazarus of Bethany
for some time, and on some occasions had heard Jesus' sermons, which had
led him to believe in Him and to be baptized.
However, attracted by the life of perfection led by the communities
of religious in the new convents at Bethany, grace moved him to wish to
imitate them, without his being aware of the renunciation that entailed.
We teach that he, to fulfil his desire, during his conversation with the
Master manifested his vehement desire to follow Him. Jesus, pleased,
explained to him the necessary conditions, among which that of forsaking
all he possessed in order to be perfect, thus confirming the vocation that
inflamed the heart of the young man, who, as we see in the Gospel, went
away sorrowful, because he was unwilling to forsake his riches, hence
wasting the grace of a vocation to the religious life.
109.
In the presence of His Apostles and disciples, Jesus then lamented over
those who, because of their failure to renounce earthly trammels, fail to
appreciate the very singular grace of a religious vocation. For them
better to understand the grave spiritual harm entailed, He made the
following proverbial comparison: "It is easier for a camel to pass
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom
of Heaven" (Matthew XIX, 24), a hyperbolic expression used to
emphasize the difficulty of something, and which is related to the Gate of
Jerusalem known as the <
110.
After the episode of the "rich young man", Jesus continued His
journey to the Jordan, preaching along the way, and reached Bethabara on
the 18th of December. Seeing that many had come to hear His divine word,
He spoke to them again that same day of the Kingdom of God, and presented,
among others, the parable of the workers in the vineyard, as Saint Matthew
relates (XX, 1-16).
111.
We must now relate and interpret the miracle of Lazarus' resurrection,
which is narrated by Saint John (XI, 1- 46). On the 19th of December of
the year 33, while Jesus was in Bethabara of Peraea with His Apostles and
disciples, it came to pass that Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, fell
seriously ill in Bethany. The sisters, greatly afflicted at their
brother's suffering, besought of the Divine Mary, Who was at the
conventual house, to intercede before Jesus so that He cure the sickness.
The Divine Mother, accompanied by some holy women, set out hurriedly in
search of Her Divine Son. Once in Bethabara of Peraea, in the afternoon of
the 20th, alone with Him She tearfully said: "Lord, behold, he whom
Thou lovest is sick" (John XI, 3). Jesus, also moved to pity,
consoled His Mother with the following words, for Her to convey to Martha
and Mary: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God:
that the Son of God may be glorified by it" (John XI, 4). The Divine
Mary left at once for Bethany, and arrived on the 22nd of December,
Lazarus having died very early the previous morning, the 21st, and been
buried late in the evening that same day. In that incident the Divine
Mary's infused knowledge was veiled in order for Her to exercise faith in
Lazarus' resurrection, for Her Divine Son had told Her that this sickness
was not unto death. Nevertheless, when She returned to Bethany with the
message, Lazarus was already buried. Jesus, Who knew the divine plan with
regard to Lazarus, purposely delayed in Bethabara until the 23rd of
December, when He communicated to His Apostles His wish once more to enter
Judea. As they tried to dissuade Him, because of danger from the Jews, He,
having recourse to parabolic language, replied: "Are there not twelve
hours of the day?" (John XI, 9), by which He indicated that until His
public ministry was ended, no obstacle could impede His work. That is also
clear from the following: "If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not,
because he seeth the light of the world" (John XI, 9), and adds:
"But if he walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not
in him" (John XI, 10). That is, when the time came for Him to suffer
and die, according to the decree of His Father, then, apparently abandoned
by Him - which is the meaning of "the light is not" - He would
let Himself be seized by His enemies. He went on to say to them: "Lazarus
our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep" (John
XI, 11), alluding to his death, as is later seen from His own words:
"Lazarus is dead" (John XI, 14). We teach that in this instance
also, Jesus used the term "sleep", identifying it with death,
and thereby placed on record that his death was clinical death, from which
it was possible to return to earthly life by a miracle. That is why He
also said to His Apostles and disciples: "And I am glad, for your
sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe" (John XI, 15),
since the resurrection of Lazarus would strengthen their faith even more.
Jesus then told them to depart with Him to where Lazarus was, saying:
"But, let us go to him". That is when the Apostle Thomas,
strengthened by the Holy Ghost, encouraged the other Apostles and
disciples, saying: "Let us also go, that we may die with Him" (John
XI, 16).
112.
Jesus left Bethabara very early on the 23rd of December and reached
Bethany in the afternoon of the 25th of the same month. Lazarus was
already four days in the tomb, and the home of Martha and Mary was crowded
with people, among them many Jews from Jerusalem - some opposed to the
Master - who had come to console them. Saint John gives a number of
details about Lazarus' resurrection, of which we explain several: The
place where Martha - and later her sister Mary to whom she had sent word -
went to meet Jesus was the village of Bethphage. From there He, together
with His Apostles, disciples, the two sisters and others, set out for
Bethany, since the sepulchre was in one of the gardens of the deceased
man's home. There the Divine Mary, the holy women and many others awaited
Him. The resurrection of Lazarus took place at 3 o'clock in the afternoon
on the 25th of December of the year 33. It is fitting to make clear that,
although the Gospel records that Martha, referring to the deceased man,
said: "Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days"
(John XI, 39), she said it because it was the normal thing to happen,
given the time elapsed since his death, and not because he stank. For,
besides her having said this even before the stone was removed from the
sepulchre, Jesus had not permitted the body to enter corruption. When He
cried out aloud "Lazarus, come forth" (John XI, 43), at that
same instant Lazarus arose. His body now alive, "bound feet and hands
with winding bands. And his face...bound about with a napkin" (John
XI, 44), was miraculously moved from the depths of the sepulchre to the
outside, a distance of some meters. When Lazarus had been freed of his
bandages the Divine Master gave thanks to the Father once more, and all
the others with Him. Thereupon Lazarus, who at his resurrection had been
freed of the sickness that caused his death, invited his closest friends
to a great banquet to celebrate the anniversary of Jesus' Nativity and the
miracle He had just performed. Many who on that occasion believed were
baptized on that day. However, as regards the Jews who, according the
Gospel, had gone to inform thee pharisees of the miracle they had
witnessed, it is easy to interpret that they did so not only to relate
what had happened, but also to denounce Jesus for having broken the Law,
since the miracle took place on the Sabbath, as Saint John indicates in
the following text: "Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen
furlongs off" (John XI, 18), which was within the distance the Jews
were allowed to walk on that day.
113.
Saint John then relates the Sanhedrin's reaction to the portentous miracle
of the resurrection of Lazarus. This Council, we teach, assembled on the
15th of January of the year 34: "The chief priests, therefore, and
the pharisees gathered a council and said: What do we, for this Man doth
many miracles? If we let Him alone so, all will believe in Him; and the
Romans will come, and take away our place and nation"(John XI,
47-48). As is clear from the Gospel text, the members of the Council
fabricated false arguments and accusations with which to condemn Jesus. We
teach that Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and Gamaliel opposed this openly,
because of which the High Priest Caiphas, who presided over the session,
enraged, confronted the three secret disciples and said to them: "You
know nothing. Neither do you consider that it is expedient for you that
one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not"
(John XI, 49-50). When he had thus ratified the will of the Council to
kill Jesus the three holy men, protesting against the decision, departed.
Saint John makes the following comment on those words of Caiphas: "And
this he spoke not of himself: but being the High Priest of that year, he
prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation. And not only for the
nation, but to gather together in one the children of God that were
dispersed" (John XI, 51--52). That is to say that, through the mouth
of Caiphas, the Holy Ghost manifested to the Sanhedrin that Jesus had to
die, not only for the Jewish People, who would be converted en masse at
the end of time, but also for the Gentiles who, through the preaching of
the Apostles, would enter the true Church. Saint John then says: "From
that day therefore they devised to put Him to death" (John XI, 53).
As a result of the unjust conduct of the Sanhedrin, Gamaliel, angered,
presented his resignation, and ceased to be a member of that Council that
very day.
114.
The day after the meeting of the Sanhedrin the three secret disciples
informed Jesus of its decision, wherefore He and His Apostles and some of
His disciples departed that day, the 16th of January, for a town near the
desert of Judea called Ephraim, also known as Ophra, mentioned in the
Gospel as Ephrem, which today is known as Taybeh, a town of Judea some
twenty kilometers north of Jerusalem. Saint John refers to it when he says:
"Wherefore Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews: but He went
into a country near the desert, unto a city that is called Ephrem. And
there He abode with His disciples" (John XI, 54). But as Jesus was
aware that in His seclusion at Ephrem the Sanhedrin continued to keep
watch on Him by means of emissaries, in the afternoon of the 5th of
February He set out for the Mount of the Quarantine, some fifteen
kilometers away in the direction of Jericho, where He had been prior to
the beginning of His Public Life. There He sojourned with His Apostles and
disciples, in suchwise that no one knew His whereabouts.
115. Following several investigations the Sanhedrin learned that
Jesus had concealed Himself, and full of satanic fury issued an edict on
the 28th of February of the year 34 ordering the capture of the Divine
Master. Although the territory of Judea was under the authority of the
Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, nevertheless the Sanhedrin had ordinary
religious and civil judicial power in cases related to Jewish Law, with
the exception of the death penalty which, though they could impose it in a
sentence, could not be carried into effect without the approval of the
governor. Saint John refers to that edict in chapter XI, at the end of
verse 56: "...and the chief priests and pharisees had given a
commandment that, if any man knew where He was, he should tell, that they
might apprehend Him."
116.
Jesus was secluded on the Mount of Temptation another forty days and forty
nights, since He arrived at dawn on Sunday the 6th of February, and
departed on the 18th of March of that year 34, which was not a leap year.
Jesus devoted that time in a special way to prayer and rigorous fasting,
in view of His approaching Passion and Death; and among other things, to
teaching His Apostles and disciples how they ought to prepare themselves
for future events. At the same time He instructed them in the mysteries of
the Redemption, now foretelling the Pentecost that would descend upon them
after His Ascension. They were greatly consoled and benefited spiritually
from all that, and were further strengthened in the Faith, which was
necessary for them to be able to overcome the very hard trial which the
Passion and Death of their dearly beloved Master would entail. During this
second forty days and nights Jesus fasted with the same rigour as during
the first, and His companions imitated Him, each according to his spirit
of sacrifice, with the exception of Judas Iscariot, who spurned also those
graces offered him by Jesus, and left the place even more hardened in
wickedness, firmly resolved to betray Him to the Sanhedrin, in order to
profit by that treason and at the same time rid himself of the Master. It
remains for us to say that the angels provided the Apostles and disciples
with the food they needed during their sojourn on the Mount of the
Quarantine, since they did not fast continually. While Jesus was hidden
there, at Bethany Mary Most Holy imitated Him in His penances, for as we
know She always maintained a mysterious communication with Him.
117.
It is opportune to cite here the following text of the Evangelist Saint
John: "And the Pasch of the Jews was at hand: and many from the
country went up to Jerusalem, before the Pasch, to purify themselves. They
sought therefore for Jesus; and they discoursed one with another, standing
in the Temple: What think you that He is not come to the festival day?"
(John XI, 55-56a). We teach that many from Judea had gone up to Jerusalem
several days prior to the feast to prepare for it. Since they expected
Jesus to be there already, they searched for Him and were surprised not to
find Him, wherefore not a few believed that His absence was due to the
edict issued by the Sanhedrin for His capture.
118.
On Friday the 18th of March, after His retreat on the Mount of the
Quarantine, Jesus and His Apostles and disciples left for Jerusalem, first
passing through Jericho, as we interpret Saint Mark: "And they came
to Jericho" (Mark X, 46). Before reaching the town, for a third time
He foretold His Passion, Death and Resurrection, as we interpret the texts
of the three Evangelists who narrate the episode (Matthew XX, 17-19; Mark
X, 32-34; Luke XVIII, 31-34). We cite here Saint Matthew's: "Behold
we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed to the chief
priests and the scribes: and they shall condemn Him to death. And shall
deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified: and
the third day He shall rise again" (Matthew XX, 18-19). Saint Mark,
moreover, says: "And Jesus went before them. And they were astonished
and following were afraid" (Mark X, 32), from which it follows that
the Apostles, while admiring Jesus' courage, trembled at the danger they
would meet in Jerusalem. Saint Luke adds for his part: "And they
understood not the things that were said" (Luke XVIII, 34), by which
he also refers to the surprise and contradiction that Jesus' referring
again to His Passion and Death meant for the Apostles. The three
Evangelists say that Jesus took the Twelve to one side. which proves that
disciples accompanied Him as well.
119.
When Jesus reached Jericho very early in the morning of the 18th of March,
there was a great bustle in the streets because of the closeness of the
Passover, given that, as it was for many the necessary route to Jerusalem,
pilgrims were passing through the town. Saint Luke recounts: "Now it
came to pass, when He drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat
by the wayside, begging" (Luke XVIII, 35). This verse has been the
object of great disagreement among Bible scholars, because the Evangelist
goes on to relate the healing of one of the blind men, when in fact the
miracle did not occur as Jesus entered the town but when He left, as Saint
Mark says referring to the same miracle, as does Saint Matthew, who
includes the healing of the other blind man as well. In other words, the
two miracles took place at the same time. Therefore this controversial
passage of Saint Luke must be interpreted as follows: When Jesus
approached Jericho, along the route and near the town one of the two blind
men was sitting and begging alms. The Master passed him by without drawing
attention to His presence, and therefore did not then cure him, for He
intended to do so afterwards, in the presence of many, when the news of
His arrival in Jericho had spread, as we shall see later on.
120.
On Friday the 18th of March there also took place the conversion of
Zacheus, a rich and prominent man among the publicans of Jericho, who,
desiring to see the Master and owing to his low stature, climbed a
sycamore tree that stood in one of the streets of the town, where large
numbers surrounded Christ. Saint Luke, who narrates the event (Luke XIX,
1-10), goes on to say: "And when Jesus was come to the place, looking
up, He saw him and said to him: Zacheus, make haste and come down: for
this day I must abide in thy house. And he made haste and came down and
received Him with joy" (Luke XIX, 5-6). To this we add that he
honoured the Master with a banquet, which was attended by His Apostles and
disciples, Zacheus' wife and children and other prominent persons of
Jericho. Saint Luke says that "when all saw it, they murmured, saying,
that He was gone to be a guest with a man that was a sinner" (Luke
XIX, 7). In regard to this we teach that the pharisee, seeing, Jesus enter
Zacheus' house, denounced Him throughout the town, because Zacheus was a
publican. During the meal Zacheus arose and made a public apology for his
faults, firmly resolving to reform his life thenceforth, as we see in
these words: "Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I
have wronged any man of anything, I restore him fourfold" (Luke XIX,
8). Jesus, overflowing with joy, addressed Zacheus and all present, saying:
"This day is salvation come to this house, because he also is a son
of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was
lost" (Luke XIX, 9- 10). He thus showed that to Zacheus, though a
publican by profession, the call to salvation belonged preferably because
he was also a Jew. We teach that after the banquet Zacheus and his family
were baptized at his home, and that with the passing of time his wife came
to join the holy women, and he the disciples, eventually to occupy the
episcopal See of Ceasarea Maritime as successor to its first bishop,
Cornelius.
121.
In the afternoon of the 18th of March, Jesus, accompanied by His Apostles,
disciples and by Zacheus, went from the latter's home to the synagogue,
where a good number of pharisees were among those present. Before
preaching He informed all of the recent conversion of the rich publican,
whom He praised for his generous response. Saint Luke adds: "As they
were hearing these things, He added and spoke a parable, because He was
nigh to Jerusalem and because they thought that the Kingdom of God should
immediately be manifested" (Luke XIX, 11), that is, because the hour
was approaching when He was to leave the world and return to the Father,
and because the pharisees thought that the Kingdom of God would be
manifested in a manner different from that preached by Jesus. The
Evangelist then proceeds to narrate the parable of the ten pounds (Luke
XIX, 12- 27), in which Jesus expressed His righteous anger with the
Sanhedrin and the majority of the Jewish People for their rejection not
only of the King, Who was the Messias, but also of the Kingdom He preached,
which already existed in many souls such as that of Zacheus, as opposed to
the Jewish belief that it would be an earthly kingdom. Besides, with this
parable Jesus made them see how severe He would be with them at judgement
because of their contempt for the gifts of God, which would be given to
others. According to our interpretation, Saint Luke also alludes to that
episode in the synagogue of Jericho when he says: "And being asked by
the pharisees when the Kingdom of God should come, He answered them and
said: The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they
say: Behold here, or behold there. For lo, the Kingdom of God is within
you" (Luke XVII, 20- 21). The meaning of which is that the Kingdom of
God dwells in souls by virtue of Sanctifying Grace, and that no one - as
with those pharisees - could partake thereof without the Faith and Baptism.
122.
After the parable of the ten pounds Jesus also presented in the synagogue
of Jericho that of the unjust judge (Luke XVIII, 1-8), to teach us the
importance of continual and confident prayer so as not to falter in the
face of the tribulations of the world and to persevere in faith, hope and
charity. Ending the parable. He also said: "And will not God revenge
His elect who cry to Him day and night? And will He have patience in their
regard? I say to you that He will quickly revenge them" (Luke XVIII,
7-8a). This teaches us that He does not leave His elect in affliction for
much time, for He quickly does them justice in the Particular Judgement
when they crush Satan's head once and for all, and later, at the Final
Judgement, when filled with happiness and glory they will be judges of the
reprobate. Jesus at once added: "But yet the Son of Man, when He
cometh, shall He find, think you, faith on earth?" (Luke XVIII, 8b),
thereby making reference, principally, to the two general apostasies of
the last times - that of the Roman Church, and above all, that to occur
when the Man of Iniquity be revealed - in order to warn us how easy it to
waver without the support of continual prayer.
123.
In the synagogue of Jericho there had assembled to hear Jesus, as we know,
not only publicans, but also a good number of pharisees. He used the
occasion to reproach the latter's boastfulness and contempt for others,
whom they considered sinners, and He presented the parable of the pharisee
and the publican (Luke XVIII, 9-14), in which the publican returned home
justified because of his humble and sincere repentance, but not so the
pharisee, who was filled with hypocrisy and arrogance. Be it understood
that Jesus said that the publican returned justified because, through
perfect contrition, his sins were forgiven.
124.
Saint Matthew recounts: "When Jesus had finished these parables, He
passed from thence" (Matthew XIII, 53). That is to say when He had
ended His sermon in the synagogue, Jesus left with His Apostles and
disciples for the outskirts of the town, followed by many people. As He
departed the town there took place the healing of the two blind men of the
Gospel, as Saint Matthew (XX, 29-34) narrates. Saint Mark (X, 46-52), who
relates the cure of only one of them, Bartimeus by name, also says that it
occurred as Jesus left the town. Saint Luke (XVIII, 36-43), according to
our interpretation, tells of the curing of that blind man, though without
giving the moment, as we have already seen. From the Gospel it is clear
that the two blind men followed Jesus after they were healed; and we add
that they became prominent disciples. Immediately following those miracles,
in the afternoon of the 18th of March, the Divine Master continued His
journey, to which Saint Luke refers: "And having said these things,
He went before, going up to Jerusalem" (Luke XIX, 28).
125.
After leaving Jericho, Jesus first went to Bethany, where He arrived on
the morning of Saturday the 19th of March, as we interpret Saint John when
he says: "Jesus therefore, six days before the Pasch, came to
Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life" (John
XII, 1). In that town there occurred the episode in which Mary Magdalen
anointed the Deific Body with a balsam of pure spikenard of great price,
as Saint Matthew (XXVI, 6-13), Saint Mark (XIV, 3-9) and Saint John (XII,
2-8) relate. Harmonizing and interpreting these texts we teach that the
Divine Mary prepared a warm reception for Her Divine Son, Who had come
from the Mount of the Quarantine to celebrate His proximate departure from
this world and the anniversary of the death of Most Holy Joseph. She
therefore prepared a very special supper in the conventual house of the
women religious, previously the home of Simon the Leper. That is why the
Gospel says it was held in the home of Simon the Leper. The celebration
began after sunset on the 19th of March, with the following arrangement:
One of the halls of the spacious house was reserved for Jesus, His Most
Holy Mother and Her sisters, the twelve Apostles, the disciple Simon the
Leper, Lazarus, Martha and Mary. The other male religious, presided over
by Agabus, dined in an adjacent hall, and in another, the other female
religious, presided over by Seraphia. The three halls were
intercommunicating, but the diners kept to their own halls and maintained
perfect order. Jesus and those at table with Him were served by the
sisters Martha and Mary. It was at the end of the supper when the latter
anointed the Master with an exquisite balsam, first His Head, and then His
feet. This was badly regarded by the avaricious Judas Iscariot, who
hypocritically manifested his disapproval, deeming it a waste and claiming
it ought to be used to assist the poor. He thus influenced the other
Apostles, who made similar comments, though not with the perverse
intention of the traitor. The Evangelist goes on to say that Jesus praised
Mary Magdalen for her display of generosity and love, and reproached the
Apostles in the following words, among others, recorded by the three
Evangelists. Saint Matthew says: "For she in pouring this ointment
upon My Body hath done it for My burial" (Matthew XXVI, 12). And
Saint Mark: "She is come beforehand to anoint My Body for the burial"
(Mark XIV, 8). And Saint John: "Let her alone, that she may keep it
against the day of My burial" (John XII, 7). We teach that by divine
inspiration Mary Magdalen knew the Death of Jesus was imminent, because of
which, in a most characteristic impulse of her vehement love, she anointed
the Deific Body of her adorable Master so that she, before any other,
thereby leave it prepared for burial. Through this admirable act of the
Magdalen, Jesus teaches us that for divine worship we ought to make use of
the greatest splendour our means allow. The supper ended at about nine
o'clock at night on that 19th of March, and all returned to their
respective homes. Jesus, however, together with His Divine Mother and Her
sisters, retired to a solitary place on the Mount of Olives to pray. The
place was near the village of Bethphage, located on the eastern slope of
the Mount, almost a kilometre from Bethany.
126.
While Jesus was praying in solitude there took place in Bethany, according
to our interpretation, what Saint John relates: "A great multitude
therefore of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for
Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from
the dead" (John XII, 9). We teach that the news of Jesus' return to
Bethany spread quickly, wherefore great numbers of Jews assembled at
Lazarus' home on that Saturday night, the 19th of March. Among them were
some pharisees sent by the Sanhedrin, principally to ascertain whether
Jesus was indeed there, since for some time now they had been ignorant of
His whereabouts. Although unable to see Him, since He had retired to the
Mount of Olives, the pharisees returned to Jerusalem that evening to
inform the Sanhedrin that Jesus had been with Lazarus that day, and that
many of those who visited the latter, due to the miracle of his
resurrection were joining the Master and breaking with the levitical
authority. Greatly alarmed, the Sanhedrist enemies of Jesus gathered in
Council before dawn the following day, the 20th of March, and resolved to
kill Lazarus, and with his death extinguish the enthusiasm of the people.
In order to justify themselves before the people, they rested their
decision on the fact that Lazarus, having been with Jesus, had not
informed the Sanhedrin, which signified an open transgression of the edict
decreed by that Council some weeks before, in which as we know, all were
ordered to denounce the Master's whereabouts so that He be seized.
However, we see in Saint John the true motive of that criminal agreement:
"But the chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also: Because many of
the Jews, by reason of him, went away and believed in Jesus" (John
XII, 10-11). This resolution was suspended because of the transcendental
event of Palm Sunday, as we shall see presently.
127.
The triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is related by Saint Matthew
(XXI, 1-11), Saint Mark (XI, 1-10), Saint Luke (XIX, 29-40), and by Saint
John (XII, 12-19) who tells us that it was the day after the anointing in
Bethany. This Holy Council teaches that after dawn on Sunday the 20th of
March of the year 34, while Jesus continued to pray near Bethphage, Mary
Most Holy and Her two sisters returned to Bethany to pass on to the
Apostles and disciples the Master's wish that they all go to where He was.
They, therefore, rejoined Him a little later, while the Divine Mary and
the pious women remained in Bethany. Co-ordinating and interpreting the
Gospel texts we teach that from the Mount of Olives, close to Bethphage,
Jesus sent the Apostles Peter and John to that village, which was opposite
the place where they were, and told them they would see an ass and a colt
tied to the door of one of the houses, and that they should take them; and
if any one challenged them they should answer that the Lord had need of
them, and they would be allowed to take them. The house and the animals
belonged to a most faithful follower of Jesus called Obed, husband of Mary
- parents of the future Evangelist Mark. That is why, with great
satisfaction, the owner gave both animals to the two envoys. Late in the
morning Jesus, helped by the Apostles, mounted first the ass which they
had saddled with their cloaks and, in their midst, began the ascent of the
Mount of Olives in the direction of the Eleona Grotto, where He had taught
the Our Father for the first time. From there they set out for a place on
the Mount which commanded a marvellous view of Jerusalem, and which is
known today as the Dominus Flevit, where Jesus tarried briefly. There, as
Saint Luke also relates "seeing the city, He wept over it, saying: If
thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to
thy peace: but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come
upon thee: and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee
round and straiten thee on every side, and beat thee flat to the ground,
and thy children who are in thee. And they shall not leave in thee a stone
upon a stone: because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation"
(Luke XIX, 41-44). He thus foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, which
took place on the 15th of August of the year 71 of the Christian era,
after a bloody siege by Roman troops in which countless Jews perished, and
this because of their rejection of the Saviour of the world. We teach that
the Evangelist, in order not to interrupt the narrative of Jesus'
triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, mentions later the episode of the weeping
over the city, which in fact took place before. From the Dominus Flevit
Jesus continued the descent of the Mount towards the Garden of Gethsemani,
then making His way to the tomb of Saint Joseph, known today as the
Sepulchre of the Virgin, in the Valley of Josaphat, also called the Cedron
Valley. However, before we continue our account, it is necessary to make
clear that the gate called Golden Gate mentioned in this Treatise, which
we affirm had the form of a large tower, was at the same time Gate of
Jerusalem and Gate of the Temple; and through it the sacred edifice could
entered directly with access also to the city without the need to enter
it. Furthermore, beneath the Golden Gate there was an underground passage
by means of which one also entered the outbuildings of the Temple.
128.
This Holy Council teaches that when Jesus prepared to cross the Valley of
Cedron towards the Golden Gate of the Temple, the Archangel Michael
appeared on high to many, among them pilgrims come for the Passover, and
announced Jesus' triumphal Entry into Jerusalem in the following words:
"Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy King cometh to thee, meek,
and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of her that is used to the
yoke" (that is, of the ass) (Matthew XXI, 5; Isaias LXIII, 11; Zac.
IX, 9). And also, as Saint John relates: "Fear not, daughter of Sion:
behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt" (John XII, 15;
Zac. IX, 9). After this a multitude of angelic choirs appeared in the
Heavens, glorifying Jesus with praises such as those recounted by the four
Evangelists, of which we select: "Hosanna to the Son of David:
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matthew XXI, 9);
"Peace in Heaven and glory on high!" (Luke XIX, 38);
"Hosanna...the King of Israel" (John XII, 13). When the Apostles
and disciples, who as we have already mentioned had gone to Jerusalem
fearing the danger they ran, now saw those celestial wonders, they
overcame their fear and glorified their Divine Master with the same
praises they had heard from the angels, as we interpret from Saint Luke,
who says: "And when He was now coming near the descent of Mount
Olivet, the whole multitude of His disciples began with joy to praise God
with a loud voice, for all the mighty works they had seen" (Luke XIX,
37). Furthermore, although the Gospel only mentions it of the crowds, we
teach that the Apostles and disciples were the first to spread their
cloaks, as well as leaves and branches of trees, in the Master's path, at
the same time cutting branches of palms and olive trees for the
embellishment of the royal procession. The immense throng, fervently
enthusiastic, went to meet Jesus and joined the Apostles in their
acclamations and other signs of homage, since within and without Jerusalem
the marvels that many had seen in the heavens were quickly broadcast. This
also moved the people to reflect on the miracles Jesus had performed,
particularly that of the resurrection of Lazarus, its' being one of the
most recent and well-known. When close to the Golden Gate Jesus dismounted
the ass and then mounted the colt. In this way, without passing through
the Temple, He made His triumphal Entry into the city of Jerusalem, amid
the acclamations of the multitudes. The exasperated pharisees, after
vainly attempting to silence the Apostles, cried out to Jesus saying:
"Master, rebuke Thy disciples" (Luke XIX, 39), for they, with
most ardent zeal, enthused the multitudes. He, however, severe and
majestic, replied to His enemies: "I say to you that if these shall
hold their peace, the stones will cry out" (Luke XIX, 40). That is to
say, nobody could impede the enthusiasm of the Apostles and disciples, nor
that of the crowds, since they were thus impelled by the Holy Ghost
because that public testimony in favour of Jesus was necessary before His
People deliver Him up to death. Thus their apostasy would be more clearly
manifested.
129.
Saint Matthew says that "when He was come into Jerusalem, the whole
city was moved, saying: Who is this? And the people said: This is Jesus,
the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee" (Matthew XXI, 10-11). Thus the
Evangelist relates how those who were in Jerusalem gazed at Jesus - now
full of unwonted majesty - in astonishment, since His Body had a certain
glorious radiance that lent a mysterious majesty to His appearance. For
that reason, when the Evangelist says that they exclaimed "Who is
this?" (Matthew XXI, 10), it was in the sense of <
130.
We now cite here the following teaching of Saint Mary of Jesus of Agreda,
interpreted by us, for we consider it admirable and true: She says that
during the triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the Archangel Saint
Michael went to the Limbo of the Just to give the news to its inhabitants,
who mysteriously beheld the triumph of Christ and adored Him; and that he
also announced it, not only to many of the inhabitants of Palestine and
its confines, but also of Egypt and of other kingdoms, who were inspired
to adore their Redeemer in spirit. The Holy Doctor also says that to
commemorate Jesus' triumphal Entry into Jerusalem the Most High did not
permit any one to die on that day; and, moreover, during the triumphal
procession not a single demon remained on earth, since they were hurled by
Christ's right hand into Hell. That is to say, during that time they were
forbidden to tempt men, on account of which the infernal spirits with
greater reason suspected Him to be the Messias. She also relates that from
Bethany Mary Most Holy witnessed jubilantly Jesus' triumph on that day.
131.
After His triumphal procession through the streets of Jerusalem, Jesus
went to the Temple. Accompanied by His Apostles and disciples, He
inspected the entire sacred enclosure on foot, including the Holy of
Holies, as we gather from the following text of Saint Mark: "And He
entered into Jerusalem, into the Temple: and having viewed all things
round about, when now the eventide was come, He went out to Bethania with
the Twelve" (Mark XI, 11). We teach that Jesus, on the occasion of
that visit to the Temple, manifested His authority as Eternal High Priest
with extraordinary signs, in suchwise that some Sanhedrists there dared
not stand in the way of His mission, even though He publicly reproached
them for their contempt of sacred things and warned them of terrible
punishments if they did not amend. Jesus' anger reached its peak when, on
passing through the porch of the Temple known as that of the Gentiles, He
saw it once again converted into a den for the buying and selling of
merchandise. However, since those most to blame for that sacrilege were
the priests, before unleashing again His just Wrath against the merchants,
He tried to make them see how offensive to God was that commerce within
the Temple, and that they should consequently remove it from there
immediately. Whilst He meticulously inspected the sacred place the crowds
dispersed, since it was late in the evening. It was therefore easy for
Jesus to return to the convent at Bethany with His Apostles and disciples
without being harassed by the multitudes.
132.
On the way from Jerusalem to Bethany that evening, Sunday the 20th of
March, there occurred what Saint Mark relates: "And James and John,
the sons of Zebedee, come to Him, saying: Master, we desire that
whatsoever we shall ask, Thou wouldst do it for us. But He said to them:
What would you that I should do for you? And they said: Grant to us that
we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy
glory" (Mark X, 35-37). We teach that along the way the Apostles and
disciples, full of joy at Jesus' triumphant welcome in Jerusalem,
commented on the details of the event among themselves. That induced James
and John to approach Jesus and ask Him privately for the grace to be
placed on His right hand and on His left when He was in the glory of the
Father. As they had acted without understanding the transcendence of their
ambitious and candid petition, the Master gave them no answer for the time
being. However, once at Bethany, still the 20th of March, the two brothers
had recourse to their mother, Mary Salome, for her to intercede before
Jesus and obtain what they desired. She, as we interpret Saint Matthew
(XX, 20), desiring the spiritual well-being of her son, went to Jesus and
adoring Him said: "Say that these my two sons may sit, the one on Thy
right hand, and the other on Thy left, in Thy Kingdom" (Matthew XX,
21). With this she sought neither their fame nor their personal honour,
but the glory of God, since what she really asked for her sons was
sufficient grace for them to attain so great a sanctity as to allow them
to be very close to Jesus in Heaven. The first two Evangelists(Matthew XX,
22-28; Mark X, 38- 45) then relate Jesus' reply to James and John after
their mother's intervention, and we here quote that given by Saint Mark;
"And Jesus said to them: You know not what you ask. Can you drink of
the chalice that I drink of or be baptized with the baptism wherewith I am
baptized? But they said to Him: We can. And Jesus saith to them: You shall
indeed drink of the chalice that I drink of; and with the baptism
wherewith I am baptized you shall be baptized. But to sit on My right hand
or on My left is not Mine to give to you, but to them for whom it is
prepared " (Mark X, 38-40). With this Jesus let Mary Salome know that
He had paid loving heed to her petition on her sons' behalf, and that they
would attain a high degree of sanctity. We teach that the conduct of James
and John, because they had wished to be the first, caused an argument
among the twelve Apostles. For that reason Saint Matthew (XX, 24-28) and
Saint Mark (X, 41-45) speak of the indignation of the other ten at the two
brothers, on learning of what they had asked through their mother; and of
how Jesus, calling all of them, then presented Himself as example of a
servant to teach them humility.
133.
We now treat the second expulsion of the merchants from the Temple, which
according to our interpretation is recounted by Saint Matthew (XXI,
12-13), Saint Mark (XI, 15- 17) and Saint Luke (XIX, 45-46). Beforehand,
however we teach that those traders, ever since Jesus had expelled them
from the sacred enclosure the first time at the beginning of His Public
Life, had not dared to trade within that enclosure. For apart from the
painful memory they had retained of that first expulsion, the two virtuous
men Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had asserted their authority and
prestige before the Sanhedrin, to maintain due order in the Temple. This
was no longer possible for them to do after that Council, on the 28th of
February of the present year 34, had decreed the capture of Jesus, because
the two had not given their consent. The priests had then encouraged again
that sacrilegious commerce because of the substantial revenue it brought
them. Moreover, many of them did not consider Jesus' return to the Temple
very probable due to His capture having been decreed, although they
rejoiced at the thought of His once more expelling the merchants - when He
would again display His anger at them - because of the opportunity it
would afford to seize Him, now with the approval of many. On Monday
morning, the 21st of March, Jesus, accompanied by His Apostles and
disciples, went to the Temple and saw how the merchants continued their
trading, despite His telling them the previous day not to do so.
Whereupon, filled with holy Wrath, He alone cast them out again, before
the expectation of the priests and the people, though no one dared to
seize Him on that account. Many who witnessed the act praised Him for His
zeal for the House of God.
134.
Immediately after the expulsion of the merchants, there took place what
Saint Matthew relates: "And there came to Him the blind and the lame
in the Temple: and He healed them" (Matthew XXI, 14). Furthermore, we
teach that due to the closeness of the Passover there then happened to be
in the Temple a group of school children, brought to be formed in the
spirit of the feast, who had witnessed the miracles mentioned. As Jesus
passed among them, they, inspired by the Holy Ghost, acknowledged Him as
the Son of God, and filled with enthusiasm, acclaimed Him with the same
praises the crowds had uttered the day before. Saint Matthew says:
"And the chief priests and scribes, seeing the wonderful things that
He did and the children crying in the Temple and saying: Hosanna to the
Son of David, were moved with indignation. And said to Him: Hearest Thou
what these say? And Jesus said to them: - Yea, have you never read: Out of
the mouth of infants and of sucklings Thou hast perfected praise"
(Matthew XXI, 15-16). With these words of the Psalm (VIII, 3), He
reproached their wickedness. For, not content with denying Him every
praise for the miracles He had performed a short while ago, they were even
irritated that the children should do so. What is more, they also tried to
erase from the minds of the people the memory of the triumphal Entry into
Jerusalem, and to prevent any homage to Him whatsoever, even the slightest
remark in His favour. Saint Mark says of Jesus that "when evening was
come, He went forth out of the city" (Mark XI, 19). And Saint
Matthew: and leaving them, He went out of the city into Bethania and
remained there" (Matthew XXI, 17).
135.
Saint Mark (XI, 18) and Saint Luke (XIX, 47-48) give us a general view of
the resolutely deicide posture of the religious authorities against the
Messias in the days immediately preceding His seizure in Gethsemani. The
former, referring principally to the expulsion of the merchants from the
Temple, says: "Which when the chief priests and the scribes had
heard, they sought how they might destroy Him. For they feared Him,
because the whole multitude was in admiration at His doctrine" (Mark
XI, 18). Saint Luke says: "And He was teaching daily in the Temple.
And the chief priests and the scribes and the rulers of the people sought
to destroy Him. And they found not what to do to Him: for all the people
were very attentive to hear Him" (Luke XIX, 47-48). The expression
"rulers of the people" denotes the important non-ecclesiastical
persons who were in perfect agreement with the Sanhedrin.
136.
On Tuesday morning, the 22nd of March, when Jesus was leaving Bethany for
Jerusalem, there took place the episode of the cursing of the fig tree,
which Saint Matthew (XXI, 18-20) and Saint Mark (XI, 12-14) relate. The
latter says that Jesus, "when He had seen afar off a fig tree having
leaves, He came, if perhaps He might find anything on it. And when He was
come to it, He found nothing but leaves. For it was not the time for figs.
And answering He said to it: May no man hereafter eat fruit of thee any
more for ever! And His disciples heard it" (Mark XI, 13-14). Saint
Matthew adds: "And immediately the fig tree withered away. And the
disciples seeing it wondered, saying: How is it presently withered
away?" (Matthew XXI, 19--20), from which text it is clear that they
saw the branches and leaves dry up instantly. However, Jesus continued on
His way in silence. It is fitting here to interpret the following words of
Saint Mark: "...when He was come to it, He found nothing but leaves.
For it was not the time for figs" (Mark XI, 13). In that expressive
sign He teaches us that, whereas the fig tree could not of course have
borne fruit at that time of the year, nevertheless men are always and at
all times obliged to bear fruits of virtue under pain of receiving the
same punishment as the fig tree, as came to pass with the Jewish People,
to whom Jesus first applied that symbolic act, as like wise with the Roman
Church at its apostasy, as well as with many others. Moreover, He desires
that it serve as warning to each man in particular.
137.
On the same morning of the 22nd of March, after Jesus had reached the
Temple, there occurred the episode related by Saint John (XII, 20-36) in
which some Gentiles there for the feast wished to see the Master. We
affirm, first, that those Gentiles, as they are called in the Vulgate, are
called Greeks in the Greek version of the Bible because they spoke the
language, although they had come from several countries; and, moreover,
that they were persons disappointed with the absurd mythology, which was
the reason that moved them to accept faith in the true God and to
sympathize with the Jewish religion, though remaining uncircumcised.
Studying in depth this Gospel text we teach the following: When Andrew and
Philip informed Jesus that the "Gentiles" wished to see Him, He
went with His Apostles and disciples to the porch of that name, where
there were many of them, to whom He revealed Himself as the Messias
promised in Scripture, also exhorting them to believe in His word. Those
Gentiles, surprised that Jesus' preaching had not yet reached them, told
Him so, and He answered: "The hour is come that the Son of Man should
be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling
into the ground die, itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth
forth much fruit" (John XII, 23-25a). He thus manifested that
following His Death and glorification the official evangelization of the
Gentile world would be carried out. Jesus then invited them to follow Him,
saying: "He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth
his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal. If any man minister
to Me, let him follow Me: and where I am, there also shall My minister be.
If any man minister to Me, him will My Father honour" (John XII,
25b-26). Next, the Master said to them: "Now is My Soul troubled. And
what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour. But for this cause I
came unto this hour" (John XII, 27). He thus made them confidants of
the bitterness which then afflicted His Soul at the closeness of His
ignominious Death, above all because it would be fruitless for many, who
would not avail themselves of the Blood He shed, as would occur with the
greater part of the Jewish People, thereby intimating to the Gentiles that
He hoped for loyalty from them. Continuing, He added: "Father,
glorify Thy name" (John XII, 28). The Evangelist tells that "a
voice therefore came from Heaven: I have both glorified it and will
glorify it again" (John XII, 28), and that "the multitude
therefore that stood and heard said that it thundered. Others said: An
angel spoke to Him" (John XII, 29). We teach that when the voice -
which was that of the Father - was heard, the same prodigy now took place
for the Gentiles that had occurred at the Jordan for the Jews, the heavens
opening once more and the Holy Ghost, in the form of a dove and visible to
all, resting on the Head of Jesus, accompanied by the following testimony
of the Father: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well
pleased", words also heard by the Apostles and disciples and by many
of the Gentiles present. Jesus then told them that this testimony in His
favour was principally for them to recognize Him as His Father's Envoy,
which is the meaning of the following text of Saint John: "This voice
came not because of Me, but for your sakes" (John XII, 30). The
Evangelist (John XII, 31-33) goes on to say, according to our
interpretation, that Jesus announced by what manner He would die, and that
through His Death the human race would be redeemed, Satan shackled and the
Gospel preached throughout the world. They answered: "We have heard
out of the Law that Christ abideth forever. And how sayest Thou: The Son
of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" (John XII, 34).
They thus expressed their surprise that Christ, being the Son of God,
should at the same time be Son of Man; and still more, that He should die,
when the Scriptures said that the Christ would remain forever. This they
said because of their ignorance of His dual nature and of the future
resurrection of His Deific Body. Jesus revealed these mysteries to them,
many of whom believed that He was the Messias. Finally He told them:
"Yet a little while, the Light is among you. Walk whilst you have the
Light, that the darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness
knoweth not whither he goeth. Whilst you have the Light, believe in the
Light , that you may be the children of Light" (John XII, 35-36).
Thus He announced that He would soon depart from this world, and at the
same time exhorted them to continue firm in the Faith as catechumens, in
order one day to become children of the Light through Baptism, a Sacrament
many received at the prodigious Pentecost at Jerusalem. The Evangelist
says that "He went away" (John XII, 36), that is, that He left
the Porch of the Gentiles and departed immediately with His Apostles and
disciples for the Garden of Olives. After praying there He went on to
Bethany. Moreover, he adds: "and hid Himself from them" (John
XII, 36), giving us to understand that Jesus now had no further contact
with those Gentiles, for it was still not the hour to call them
officially.
138.
We consider very opportune here to insert the following text of Saint
Luke; "And in the daytime, He was teaching in the Temple: but at
night, going out, He abode in the Mount that is called Olivet. And all the
people came early in the morning to Him in the Temple, to hear Him"
(Luke XXI, 37-38). As we gather from these verses, Jesus, praying on the
Mount by night and teaching in the Temple by day, set us example in prayer
and apostolate, both of which are essential in Christian - and
particularly in religious - life. He was accustomed to act in this way
whenever He came to Jerusalem during His Public Life, and with greater
intensity on the final days preceding His Death.
139.
Very early in the morning, Wednesday the 23rd of March, with His Apostles
and disciples, Jesus left Bethany for the Garden of Olives and
intentionally passed by the place where the fig tree had withered the
previous day, as we interpret Saint Mark, since he says: "And when
they passed by in the morning they saw the fig tree dried up from the
roots." (Mark XI, 20). He goes on to say that "Peter
remembering, said to Him: Rahbi, behold the fig tree which Thou didst
curse is withered away" (Mark XI, 21), again displaying his
admiration at the prodigy he had seen the previous day, which he now
verified anew. Jesus, Who had performed so many miracles in the presence
of His Apostles, expressed His amazement that this one of the fig tree
should surprise them so much. Wherefore, as Saint Matthew recounts, He
said to them: "Amen, I say to you, if you shall have faith and
stagger not, not only this of the fig tree shall you do, but also if you
shall say to this mountain, Take up and cast thyself into the sea, it
shall be done" (Matthew XXI, 21). Saint Mark (XI, 22-23) gives it in
the same sense. With this He revealed to them that they, too, could do
still more astonishing things, provided they asked it of God with faith.
He also reminded them, as we interpret both Evangelists(Matthew XXI, 22;
Mark XI, 24), of what He had taught them on other occasions about the
efficacy of perseverant and confident prayer, and of how, as follows from
the text of Saint Mark (XI, 25-26), they ought to practice the content of
the Our Father regarding the forgiveness of sin in order that the Father
forgive them also and accept their petition.
140.
We teach that Jesus, availing Himself of the odd impression that the
cursed and withered fig tree had made on the Apostles and disciples,
explained to them the meaning of that sign and stressed how much God had
favoured the Jewish People, particularly with the Coming of the Messias.
By means of His most profound teaching, His infinite virtues and
prodigious miracles, He had given unequivocal proof of His mission on
earth as Son of God and Desired of the nations. Nonetheless, seeing the
signs, the Jews rejected Him with refined obstinacy, and so, like the
sterile fig tree, that ungrateful People would be cursed and be barren of
all spiritual fruit until it acknowledged the Son of God - to be realized
shortly before the Second Coming of Christ. We have seen that teaching of
Jesus come true in the course of history. For Jewish sectaries,
consummating their apostasy with abominable deicide, hardened their hearts
to such a degree that they have become the fiercest enemies of Holy Mother
Church and promoters of the principal heresies and disorders of the world.
As can readily be verified, after the Death of Christ the Jewish sect or
Zionism was definitively consolidated, and through malicious
interpretations of Sacred Scripture, collected in the cursed Cabala,
determined the perverse doctrine of the tyrannical domination that the
deicide Jewish People ought to inflict on all other peoples and their
wealth. This they have recorded in writing in the voluminous Talmud, a
book which clearly shows that the unconverted Jews are the eldest children
of Satan and therefore the foundations and pillars of Masonry, mother of
all revolutions against Christ and His Church, and of all the persecutions
suffered by her in the course of history, such as those of the Romans, of
the Mahommedans, of the Communists, and many others. The unconverted Jews
have always fought Holy Mother Church with all the perverse means at their
disposal, particularly lies, calumny and crime, as their conduct against
the Apostles and early Christians well shows. The perverse Jewish
Zionists, down through the centuries, have shrewdly infiltrated the clergy
and governments of Catholic nations, in order to destroy from within the
Church founded by Christ. This is well proven not only by some texts of
the New Testament, correctly interpreted (Tit. I, 10 and ff), but also by
the very facts of history, as well as by ecclesiastical and civil
documents, particularly the archives of the Holy Inquisition, an
institution most worthy of praise for its centuries - long struggle
against that infiltration. Moreover, Zionism has succeeded in placing some
of its members on the throne of Saint Peter, as in the case of the
antipope Anacletus II, who furiously persecuted the true Pope, Innocent
II. And recently two antipopes: John Paul I, who was destroyed a few days
after his election by Saint Michael the Archangel; and John Paul II, the
voracious beast, who at present endeavors to eclipse the radiant light of
Pope Gregory XVII. This Holy Council here quotes the following text of the
cursed Talmud, in which we see the fearful diabolical rage of the Jewish
sect against Christ and the faithful of His Church: <
141.
After this commentary we return to our narrative of the Gospel. That same
morning of the 23rd of March of the year 34, Jesus and His Apostles and
disciples reached the Garden of Olives, also called Gethsemani because in
former times there had been an oil-press on the site. When all had knelt,
their arms in the form of a cross, as on many occasions, Jesus had them
repeat the Our Father several times in order for them never to forget the
importance and efficacy of this prayer He had taught them. At about nine
o'clock in the morning on the same 23rd of March they made for Jerusalem.
That is why Saint Mark says: "And they come again to Jerusalem"
(Mark XI, 27). When Jesus was teaching in the Temple, there took place
what is related by Saint Matthew (XXI, 23-27), Saint Mark (XI, 27-33) and
Saint Luke (XX, 1-8), duly interpreted, when the entire Sanhedrin, sent by
the High Priest, openly confronted Him in order to denounce and also to
discredit Him before the people. They said to Him: "By what authority
dost Thou these things? And who hath given Thee this authority that Thou
shouldst do these things?" (Mark XI, 28). Jesus, in turn, asked them:
"The baptism of John, whence was it? From Heaven or from men?"
(Matthew XXI, 25; Mark XI, 30; Luke XX, 4). As they untruthfully replied
that they did not know, so as to avoid being put in an awkward situation,
Jesus said to them: "Neither do I tell you by what authority I do
these things" (Matthew XXI, 27), thereby disarming those enemies of
His. The Sanhedrists Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were of course not
there, nor was Gamaliel, who no longer belonged to the Sanhedrin.
