b) Joseph Most Holy: after his presanctification in the matemal womb, he on earth enjoyed the beatific vision permanently, but in the degree that corresponded to him as wayfarer. At death he received the increase of beatific vision that corresponded to the Limbo of the Just or Bosom of Abraham in keeping with his countless merits acquired on earth. And, in harmony with those merits, when Christ expired on the Cross he received another increase of beatific vision, corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven. At the moment of his gentle dormition or glorious Transit to Heaven, he received a further increase of beatific vision, also in keeping with his merits on earth.
c) The other members of the Limbo of the Just or Bosom of Abraham: 1) Those who possessed Sanctifying Grace enjoyed the beatific vision corresponding to that state of expectation, in accordance with merits acquired on earth and at the Particular Judgement. In keeping with those merits, when Christ expired on the Cross, they received the increase of beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven. 2) Those bereft of Sanctifying Grace received It when Christ expired on the Cross, enjoying from then on the beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven, in accordance with the merits acquired by each on earth and at the Particular Judgement.
d) The Holy Souls of Purgatory who left that state of purification when Christ expired, received at that moment the beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven, in accordance with the merits acquired by each on earth and at the Particular Judgement.
e) Joseph Most Holy, the Angels and all the other Blessed of Heaven who already enjoy the beatific vision will receive, in keeping with the merits already acquired by each, two increases of beatific vision: one, when the Messianic Kingdom arrives; and another, at the Nuptials of the Lamb, which will be the final and definitive increase.
f) The Holy Souls of Purgatory: 1) Those who leave that state of purification before the Messianic Kingdom arrives will receive the beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven, in keeping with the merits acquired by each on earth and at the Particular Judgement. Also, in keeping with those merits, they will receive two increases of beatific vision: one, when the Messianic Kingdom arrives; and another, at the Nuptials of the Lamb, which will be the final and definitive increase. 2) Those who leave Purgatory at the very instant the Messianic Kingdom is established will receive, in accordance with their merits on earth and at the Particular Judgement, the beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven, in harmony with the economy of grace corresponding to that state during the Messianic Kingdom. Also, in keeping with their merits on earth and at the Particular Judgement, they will receive at the Nuptials of the Lamb the sole and definitive increase of beatific vision.
g) The Children of Limbo: Shortly before the arrival of the Messianic Kingdom they will receive, at the Particular Judgement, Mary’s Drop of Blood; and following the salvific sentence of that Judgement will enjoy the beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven. An instant later, at the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom, they will receive the corresponding increase of beatific vision, in keeping with the merits acquired by each in Limbo and at the Particular Judgement; and, in accordance with those merits, at the Nuptials of the Lamb they will receive the final and definitive increase of beatific vision.
h) The inhabitants of Mary’s Planet: they enjoy the beatific vision corresponding to the economy of grace of that Planet, where they continue to merit. They will also merit when, temporarily deprived of the beatific vision, they come to earth to battle against the Antichrist and crown their lives with martyrdom. At death, and after the salvific sentence of the Particular Judgement, they will recover the beatific vision, with the increase corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven, in accordance with the merits acquired until that moment. Also, in keeping with those merits, they will receive two further increases of beatific vision: one, when the Messianic Kingdom arrives; and another, at the Nuptials of the Lamb, which will be the final and definitive increase.
i) All the other faithful of the Church who die as martyrs under the persecution of the Antichrist will rise on the third day with the last Pope and will receive, after the saivific sentence of the Particular Judgement, the beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven, in keeping with merits acquired until that moment. Also, in accordance with those merits, they will receive two increases of beatific vision: one, when the Messianic Kingdom arrives; and another, at the nuptials of the Lamb, which will be the final and definitive increase.
j) All the wayfarers of this world who die before the Messianic Kingdom arrives, and who are saved and do not pass through Purgatory, receive, at the moment of the salvific sentence of the Particular Judgement, the beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven, in accordance with the merits acquired by each on earth and at the Particular Judgement. Also, in keeping with those merits they will receive two increases of beatific vision: one, when the Messianic Kingdom arrives; and another, at the Nuptials of the Lamb, which will be the final and definitive increase.
k) All surviving humans who go on to live in the Messianic Kingdom will receive, at the instant of its establishment on earth, the beatific vision corresponding to them as wayfarers of that Kingdom, in which they will be able to continue to merit. When the moment of their dormition or transit to Heaven arrives, they will receive the increase of beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven, in keeping with all the merits they have acquired until that moment; and in accordance with those merits, at the Nuptials of the Lamb they will receive the second and definitive increase of beatific vision.
l) All human beings born in the Messianic Kingdom, from the moment of their conception will enjoy the beatific vision corresponding to them as wayfarers of that Kingdom, in which they will continue to merit. When the moment of their dormition or transit to Heaven arrives, they will receive the increase of beatific vision corresponding to the state of Blessed of Heaven, in keeping with all the merits they have acquired until that moment; and in accordance with those merits, at the Nuptials of the Lamb they will receive the second and definitive increase of beatific vision.
98. We now continue our interpretation of the sacred text of the Acts of the Apostles written by Saint Luke. In our previous narrative we left the Apostle Paul in the Cenacle of Jerusalem on the 25th of May of the year 57, where as we know he had arrived the day before in the company of Aristarchus, Luke, Timothy, Sopater, Secundus, Gaius, Tychicus and Trophimus. Mnason of Cyprus had also accompanied the Apostle from Caesarea Maritime but had stayed in his diocese of Antipatris, where Paul and the others had passed the night. When the Apostle of the Gentiles arrived at the Cenacle the Most Holy Virgin Mary was not there; for since the exalted Lady knew that Paul had come to Jerusalem against divine Will, manifested through various prophets to whom he had turned a deaf ear, She preferred to withdraw to the convent at Bethany in the company of Her sisters and the Apostle John, and thus for the time being avoid contact with Paul, whom She could not receive with motherly joy since he deserved her severe reprimand. Nevertheless Paul’s return to Jerusalem was deemed a great event by many of the Christian community there, due not only to widespread gladness at seeing him again, but also to the expectation that Paul always aroused. As we interpret from the sacred text, on that same 25th of May ‘all theancients’ (Acts XXI, 18) assembled at the Cenacle; that is to say that as well as James the Less, among others there came together the other bishops and priests resident in the convents of Jerusalem, to greet Paul and hear his words. Thus the sacred text goes on to say that Paul, «when he had saluted them, related one by one everything God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry»; and that «they, hearing it, glorified God...» (Acts XXI, 19-20a). After Paul had given an account of the fruits of his apostolate, James the Less informed him of the numerous conversions of Jews in Jerusalem to the Christian Faith, which aroused in the Apostle’s heart the fervent desire to address all of them. Though James the Less expressed his agreement, he also allowed his deep concern to be glimpsed. That is why he said: «You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are that have believed: and all are zealous for the Law» (Acts XXI, 20b); thereby seeking to forewarn Paul as well of the not few difficulties that his personal contact with those converts would entail, who were still not freed from their attachment to certain levitical rites and traditions. Therefore, it did not seem opportune to him that Paul should speak against those Jewish traditions; for as we know, though James the Less zealously taught everyone that the Law of the Gospel was the only necessary one for salvation and that levitical rites and worship served no purpose, nevertheless he continued to respect the practice of circumcision and other rites by Christians of Jewish origin on civil and social grounds, believing that in this way their perseverance and the conversion of other Jews was made easier, all of which implied certain laxity in not a few religious and faithful of the Christian Church in Jerusalem. James the Less’ fear of the unfavourable consequences that could result from Paul’s stay in the diocese are expressed in his following words to the Apostle: «Now they have heard of you that you teach the Jews who are amongst the Gentiles to depart from Moses: saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, nor follow the rites. What then is to be done? The multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that you are come» (Acts XXI, 21-22). Hence what James the Less feared was that Paul, with his customary fire, should seek to uproot those unwholesome judaizing tendencies in not a few Christians of Jewish origin who, though not acting out of disobedience to the Church, did indeed act out of pride of race, and who in the face of intransigence from the Apostle might even separate from the true fold. To avoid all of this James the Less, with the support of other judaizing bishops, though aware that he sinned most grievously, counselled Paul even to manifest in public his fidelity to the Law of Moses, as seen in these words: «Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who have a vow on them. Take them with you and sanctify yourself with them and pay their charges, that they may have their heads shaved. And all will know that the things they have heard of you are false, and on the contrary you continue to keep the Law» (Acts XXI, 23-24). According to our interpretation of the sacred text, there were four Christian laymen who had for some time been observing the Nazarite vow, and what James the Less advised Paul to do was that he should go with the four to the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem, feign that he too was observing the vow - which was easy, since at the time Paul had his hair long - buy for the five the animals and other offerings required by Moses, purify himself with them in the Temple and then present himself before the levitical priest for the rites, offering and shaving of his head as the Law ordained, and by this pretence give publicly to understand that he was not opposed to Jewish traditions. As Paul was somewhat surprised at this counsel, James the Less made him see the erroneous advisability of agreeing to it, since his relations with Jews converted to Christianity, and with other Jews, would thus be made easier. To support his arguments the more, James the Less reminded Paul of how the Gentiles had been commanded by the Second Council of Jerusalem, in accord with what was prescribed in the Law of Moses, to abstain from eating strangled flesh and blood, in order to facilitate peaceful relations between Christians of Jewish and Gentile origin (Acts XXI, 25). As Paul’s soul was greatly weakened and without light on account of his disobedicnce to God’s voice given through several prophets, as we have already stated, for which reason he was in Jerusalem against the express wish of the Holy Ghost, he readily followed the bad advice of the other Apostle though aware that in so doing he too committed a most grievous sin; as is interpreted in the following verse: «Then Paul took the men, and once purified with them, the next day he entered into the Temple, giving notice of the fulfilment of the days of purification, till the offering should be made for each one of them» (Acts XXI, 26). As we interpret from this verse, Paul and his four companions lived for seven days in the Temple quarters set apart for purification, thus feigning as well that they did so because they were legally impure - among other reasons - for their dealings with the Gentiles. After the purifications, on the eighth day the five entered the Court of the Israelites, a place in the Temple for the rite once the Nazarite vow had been fulfilled; and there they publicly handed over to the levitical priest five lambs, five sheep, five rams, the unleavened breads and other elements in order that he might offer them; the priest then shaved their heads and proceeded to the other levitical ceremonies. We teach that it was on the 26th of May, that is, two days after his arrival in Jerusalem, that Paul and the other four went to the Temple to begin their pretended purifications. Concerning that lamentable event His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches: «In the polemical matter of the simulation of the Apostle Saint Paul in the Temple of Jerusalem, the Holy Apostles Paul and James the Less sinned most grievously and gave public scandal to Christians come from heathendom and to not a few Christians come from Judaism. Therefore, the concealment of such a grave sin might lead to the unwholesome doctrine that the end justifies the means, which is very different from the doctrine that God draws good out of evil.» Nevertheless, we teach that the two Apostles did not fall into apostasy, since the Christian faithful were as yet not expressly forbidden to observe Jewish rites, as long as they did not believe that they were valid and necessary for salvation. But let us examine the disastrous consequences of Paul’s lamentable action. Saint Luke goes on to say: «But when the seven days were at an end, those Jews there that were from Asia, when they saw him in the Temple, stirred up all the people and laid hands upon him» (Acts XXI, 27). That is to say that on the 2nd of June 57, when Paul and his four companions had complied with all the levitical ceremonies relating to the vow, some Jews come from the province of Asia, particularly from the city of Ephesus where some time ago Paul had suffered persecution, stirred up the many who were still in Jerusalem on account of the Jewish Pentecost, and denounced Paul with cries of. «Men of Israel help us! This is the man that teaches all men everywhere against the people and against the Law and against this place; and has moreover brought Gentiles into the Temple and violated this holy place» (Acts XXI, 28), because, as seen in verse 29 of the same chapter, they had seen Paul in Jerusalem accompanied by Trophimus of Ephesus, and they believed that the latter with Paul had entered into the Temple court reserved for the Jews, when those from Ephesus knew Trophimus to be a Gentile, since although he was born in Cyprus, he had been in that city as missionary bishop. However, this was the pretext they used for rioting against Paul. We see then that with these and other accusations the Jews called attention to the contradictory conduct of the Apostle of the Gentiles, since while they had often heard him preaching that the Temple of Jerusalem was no longer a place pleasing to God and that Jewish rites and ceremonies were inefficacious, now with his pretence of a Nazarite vow he sought to pass himself off as a man observant of those same levitical traditions, when in reality he was against them. As seen in verses 30-40 of chapter XXI of the Acts of the Apostles, a great multitude of Jews in Jerusalem, instigated by those from Ephesus, rioted and dragged Paul from the Temple with the desire to kill him; which they did not manage to do because of the effective intervention of Roman soldiers at the orders of a tribune, who arrested Paul, bound him with chains and questioned him as to what he had done. As the danger to Paul was very great, the tribune commanded him to be taken to the fortress Antonia, for the multitude followed behind them clamouring for his death. But when they were about to shut him in there, Paul requested the tribune permission to speak to the crowd, which was granted. Wherefore, from a step of the entrance stairway to the Praetorium known as the ‘Scala Sancta’, once the people had become silent he addressed them in the words given in verses 1-21 of chapter XXII of Saint Luke’s text, in which Paul gives some details of his race, birth, studies in Jerusalem, his persecution of the Christians, conversion on the road to Damascus, and the mission entrusted to him by Christ. Far from pacifying the crowd, Paul’s discourse caused it to break out in fresh cries and threatening gestures against him, and to insist that he be killed. The tribune therefore commanded him to be taken to the fortress barracks to be scourged and tortured, in order thus to find out the reason they clamoured against him. This was not carried out because Paul declared that he was a Roman citizen (Acts XXII, 22-29); and for that reason, according to the law of the Empire, he could not be scourged.
99. Saint Luke goes on to relate Paul’s appearance before the members of the Sanhedrin, as seen in verse 30 of chapter XXII of the Acts of the Apostles. As we interpret from the sacred text, on the 3rd of June of the year 57, that is, the day after Paul had addressed the crowd, the Roman tribune assembled the Council of the Sanhedrin, presided over by the levitical High Priest Ananias, before the Fortress Antonia at the very spot where Christ had been judged by Pilate. The Apostle’s bearing is recounted in verses 1-9 of chapter XXIII of the Acts of the Apostles. As we see in the sacred text, he first manifested to all that he had ever acted with an upright conscience, for which reason they had no grounds for accusing him of profaning the temple because of the Nazarite vow; whereby, we teach, Paul publicly lied, since as we have observed he knew perfectly well that he had acted very badly in observing those Mosaic rites. Paul’s self-defence so irritated the iniquitous Ananias that he commanded him to be struck on the mouth. For such a humiliation Paul cursed the High Priest thus: «God shall strike you, whited wall. For are you seated to judge me according to the Law and contrary to the Law, command me to be struck?» (Acts XXIII, 3); that is,`do you, who arrogates to yourself authority to judge me according to the Law of Moses, against that Law command me to be struck?’ And since those that were there said to Paul: «Do you revile the High Priest of God?», the Apostle said: «I knew not brethren, that he is the High Priest, for it is written: You shall not speak evil of the prince of your people» (Acts XXIII, 4-5). As we interpret from the sacred text, Paul’s conduct before the Sanhedrin was replete with ambiguity and dissimulation; for though the Apostle, owing to his natural impetuosity, cursed Ananias and called him a hypocrite after having being buffeted, he, to safeguard himself against possible harm from the Sanhedrin, not only pretends then not to have known the levitical High Priest, but in addition appears to rectify the curse he had hurled at him, which could be construed by those present as acknowledgement on his part that the impious Ananias was the High Priest of the Most High; and Paul well knew him to be a false authority. Hence we see how the Apostle, who confiding in himself had come to Jerusalem prepared to die for Christ, even resorted to lying when the moment of truth arrived in order cowardly to save his life, when it was the moment to confess before that Church of Satan, ruled by the wicked Ananias, that the true Church was that founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ and ruled by His Vicar Pope Peter. As Paul saw that by his ambiguity and dissimulation he still had not managed to pacify the antagonism of Ananias and the Sanhedritic Council towards him, he resorted for that purpose to another artifice unworthy of his condition as Christ’s Apostle. Thus the sacred text says: «Paul, knowing that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, cried out in the Council: Men, brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees: concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead am I on trial» (Acts XXIII, 6). In this way he brought the Pharisees into conflict with the Sadducees, since the former believed in the resurrection of the dead while the latter did not; to the point where, after a great uproar between both parties, there were Pharisees that defended Paul saying: «We find no evil in this man. What if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?» (Acts XXIII, 9). That is to say that the Pharisees, the more to oppose the Sadducees, pleaded for Paul and even appeared to admit as true what he had related the day before about his heavenly visions, such as the one on the way to Damascus. Thus the Pharisees told the Sadducees that a spirit or an angel could have spoken to him, here referring to a blessed soul or to an angelic spirit; for as we know the Sadducees admitted no life other than the earthly one. As we interpret from the sacred text, once again Paul, to free himself cowardly from the clutches of the Sanhedrin, pretended to belong to the sect of the Pharisees; for though it is true that he had belonged to it before his conversion, he now had nothing more to do with that abominable sect. Nevertheless we make clear that although Paul sinned grievously by his lies, ambiguities and vacillations, he did not fall into any apostasy, since there was as yet no express ecclesiastical law anathematizing and expelling from the Church those Christians that feigned to be Pharisees. Besides, Paul had no intention of denying Christ or His Church. Despite the division of opinion within the Sanhedrin, «because of the great dissension that arose the tribune fearing lest Paul should be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to come and take him from among them and to bring him into the Fortress» (Acts XXIII, 10). When Paul was in the Fortress Antonia, on that same 3rd of June in the evening, the Lord appeared to him and said: «Be constant; for as you have testified to Me in Jerusalem, so must you bear witness also at Rome» (Acts XXIII, 11). In these words Christ, at the same time as He reproached the Apostle’s cowardice and lack of integrity before the Sanhedrin - wherefore He exhorted him to be constant in always confessing the truth - He also praised him for having rendered testimony of Him before the multitude of Jews the previous day. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly defines that «the Apostle Saint Paul, before the Council of the Sanhedrin, feigned not to know the dignity of its president, and also had some moments of vacillations and voluntary omissions, as for example not availing himself of the opportunity to tender testimony to Christ. For all of which Christ later reprimanded him and urged him to be constant.» As seen in verses 12-22 of chapter XXIII of the Acts of the Apostles, the Jews desisted not in their frenzy against Paul, to the point that on the 4th of June, when it was day, 40 of them conspired and bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. To achieve their aim they incited the Sanhedrin to request the Roman tribune for Paul’s appearance again before the Council for further investigations - a pretext, since their aim was to kill him. But as we see in the sacred text `Paul’s sister’s son’ (Acts XXIII, 16) learned of the conspiracy againstthe Apostle and secretly warned the tribune; he, therefore, fearing that the Jews would seize and kill Paul and then calumniate him by saying that, bribed with money, he had been an accomplice in his death, decided to send the Apostle duly guarded to Caesarea Maritime. Wherefore he summoned two centurions and said to them: «Make ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea: and seventy horsemen and two hundred lancers, for the third hour of the night. And get mounts ready to take Paul on horseback safe to Felix the Governor» (Acts XXIII, 23-24). Moreover the tribune, Claudius Lysias by name, wrote a letter to the Procurator informing him of the Jews’ plots against Paul without his having committed any crime; and that he was sending him in order that he, as Procurator, might judge the matter; concerning which he had notified Paul’s accusers, that is, the members of the Sanhedrin, in order that they should go to Caesarea Maritime and present their accusations against Paul. On the 4th of June of that year, 57, at about 9.00 p.m. the soldiers took Paul from the Fortress Antonia and took him to the city of Antipatris. On the 5th of June they conducted him towards Caesarea Maritime, which they reached the following day. There they presented him to the Procurator Felix and delivered him the letter from the Tribune of Jerusalem (Acts XXIII, 25-33). As we see in verses 34 and 35, the Procurator did not wish to hear Paul’s allegations in his own favour until his accusers were come to Caesarea, and gave orders that he be guarded in Herod’s Praetorium, that is, be remanded in custody, for no crime had as yet been imputed to him, and he was in grave danger, besides, without the vigilance of the Roman authorities.
100. Verses 1-22 of chapter XXIV of the Acts of the Apostles recount Paul’s appearance before the tribunal of the Procurator Felix in Caesarea Maritime. Saint Luke says: «And after five days, the High Priest Ananias came down with some of the ancients and one Tertullus, an orator, and came before the Governor against Paul» (Acts XXIV, 1). We teach that on the 1Oth of June 57 the perfidious High Priest Ananias and some members of the Sanhedrin, accompanied by a lawyer named Tertullus, having arrived at Caesarea Maritime, presented their accusations against Paul before the Procurator Felix. As we see in the sacred text, once Paul had come before the Roman civil tribunal, Tertullus accused him of corruption, sedition, of being head of the seditious sect of the Nazarenes and of profaning the Temple. But following these accusations Paul spoke in his own defence, as seen in verses 10-21 inclusive, stating before the Procurator Felix, among other things, the following: «For you may understand that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to adore in Jerusalem. And neither in the Temple did they find me disputing with any man or causing any concourse of the people; neither in the synagogues, nor in the city. Neither can they prove to you the things whereof they now accuse me. But this I confess to you that, according to the way which they call heresy, so do I serve the Father and my God, believing all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets; having hope in God, which also they themselves look for, that there shall be a resurrection of the just and the unjust. And herein do I endeavour always to have my conscience without offence, before God and before men. Now after many years, I came to bring alms to my nation and offerings and vows. In which I was found purified in the Temple: neither with multitude nor with tumult» (Acts XXIV, 11-18). We teach that Paul made it clear in the first place that since his arrival in Jerusalem he had only been twelve - incomplete - days in the city. Two of those days, as we know, were spent residing in the Carmelite convents, seven in the Jewish Temple purifying himself and three in the hands of the Roman authorities. Paul thereby wished to demonstrate that he had had no time to set in motion the seditions of which he was accused. According as we interpret from the sacred text, Paul’s declarations before the Procurator Felix are replete with ambiguities, simulations and omissions, all of which prove the Apostle’s cowardice when faced with danger of death; for by his manner of expression those listening to his declarations could be given to understand that he had come to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to adore God in the Temple on the occasion of the Jewish Pentecost, which as we know had been on the 25th of May. Although interiorly the Apostle was alluding to the Christian Cenacle, by cowardly keeping quiet about it he gave the impression that he had come to the Jewish Temple for ceremonial and pious ends. Besides, according to verse 21, by repeating the same words he had uttered some days previously before the Sanhedritic commission in Jerusalem,- «Concerning the resurrection of the dead am I judged this day by you» (Acts XXIV, 21), Paul once again expresses himself as if he were still a member of the sect of Pharisees, and for that reason was being persecuted and brought to trial, since the iniquitous High Priest Ananias and others of the Sanhedrin who there accused him were in their majority Sadducees, and these denied the resurrection of the dead. Hence we see that Paul did not make a clear and determinant confession of his faith in the Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, but rather by his form of expression presented himself after the manner of an observant Jew, in spite of his saying, in reference to Christianity, that according to the «way which they call heresy, so do I serve the Father and my God», given that he remains silent about the name of Christ and His Gospel; and, on the contrary, limits himself to mentioning God, the Law and the Prophets, the same as would have been done by one that professed Judaism, an ideology to which he seems to identify the Christian Faith when he says as well, as we interpret, that he the same as `they’, that is the Jews, hope in God and in the resurrection of the just and the unjust. By his ambiguous form of expression, Paul also presents himself as if he were a zealous observer of Jewish law when he speaks of the offerings and vows he made in the Temple as though this had been his motive for coming to Jerusalem. Nonetheless we know that Paul acted thus out of cowardice, without any intention of denying the Faith of Christ or the Church He founded; but we cannot on that account silently pass over his great weakness, for he had the obligation publicly to confess the truth of the Gospel, and he did not; particularly since he had presumed to come to Jerusalem willing to die for that cause. As is seen in verse 22, the Procurator Felix «having most certain knowledge of this way» (Acts XXIV, 22a), that is, knowing that the Jews’ plots against Paul were on account of his faith in Christ - though they also falsely imputed to him crimes of corruption and sedition, of which the Procurator knew Paul to be innocent - preferred not to give any judgement and deferred the matter saying: «When Lysias the tribune shall come down, I will hear you» (Acts XXIV, 22b). As we interpret from verse 23, he retained the Apostle in the Praetorium of Caesarea Maritime, duly guarded so that nothing should happen to him; and he permitted the Christians to visit Paul, whom he even allowed to go out on some occasions, though always under guard for his greater protection. After narrating the episode of Paul’s appearance before Procurator Felix, Saint Luke goes on to say that «after some days, Felix, coming with Drusilla his wife who was a Jewess, sent for Paul and heard of him the faith that is in Christ Jesus. And as he treated of justice and chastity and of the judgement to come, Felix, being terrified, answered: For this time, go thy way; but when I have a convenient time, I will send for thee. Hoping also withal that money would be given him by Paul: for which cause also oftentimes sending for him, he spoke with him» (Acts XXIV, 24-26). We teach that the above encounter in which Paul spoke to Felix about the Christian Faith took place on the 17th of June 57, from the teachings of which neither he, Felix, nor his concubine reaped any benefit. Felix even tried to procure money from the Apostle in exchange for a certain leniency towards him, since as we have said he did not forbid the Christian faithful to visit Paul, and also allowed him to leave the Praetorium.
101. We leave Paul in the fortress or Herodian palace of Caesarea Maritime, where for two years he was to be under the vigilance of the Roman authorities, in order to speak now of the return to Jerusalem of the other nine missionary Apostles, who wished to be present at the mystery of the Gentle Dormition and Assumption of the Divine Mary, and at the Third Council of Jerusalem. We teach that when Paul had been taken to Caesarea Maritime by the soldiers of the Roman tribune, the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Who as we know was staying at one of the convents in Bethany, returned to Jerusalem accompanied by Her sisters Mary Cleophas and Mary Salome and by the Apostle John. When the Apostle James the Less informed Her of the recent lamentable happenings, She maternally reprimanded him for the scandal that both he and Paul had given by the purifications, vows and offerings in the Jewish Temple which we have related. James the Less begged the exalted Mistress’ forgiveness for his mistaken counsel to Paul in the observance of the said Jewish rites, and acknowledged, besides, that if he had asked Her for guidance beforehand, he would have had light to act more correctly. As the Most Holy Virgin Mary ardently longed that the other Apostles should be in Jerusalem for the 16th of July that year, 57, She appeared to each of them, beginning with Peter, in order to make known Her will. They all received great consolation from those apparitions, especially the Apostle Paul who now, in the solitude of his forced reclusion, further reflected on the gravity of his past simulations and judaizing conduct, and bitterly wept over them. On his return journey to Jerusalem after his apostolate in Palestine, Antioch and other parts of Syria, Pope Peter passed through Caesarea Maritime to visit in prison the Apostle Paul, who directly informed the Pope of all his conflicts with the Sanhedrin and other Jews. Peter comforted him in his tribulations and exhorted him to be far more firm and prudent in the future. After this paternal visit the first Pope continued his journey to Jerusalem, where as we know he arrived on the 30th of June that year, 57. The rest of the Apostles: Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, Judas Thaddaeus, Simon Cananaeus and Matthias arrived successively in the city during the first fifteen days of July. So on the 16th of that month, the feast of Carmel, with the sole exception of Paul all were at the Cenacle. Although the Apostles undertook their respective journeys by using the normal means available to them, God exercised a special providence over each of them, according to their needs, in order to make their travel easier. As for Paul, it behoves us to add that while it is true that through the payment of bail the Procurator Felix would have allowed the Apostle to go to Jerusalem with the required precautions, nevertheless in Her apparition the Most Holy Virgin Mary, after maternally reproaching Paul for his past errors, counselled him not to leave Caesarea for the time being. We state that each Apostle arrived at Jerusalem with his respective entourage; and moreover that many other disciples came from the different missions, given that they also were notified in diverse ways of the Divine Lady’s desire.
102. We here include, in accord with our interpretation and chronology, a beautiful passage from the revelations of Saint Mary of Jesus of Agreda, who, referring to the arrival of the Apostles at the Cenacle for the feast of the 16th of July 57, says that Pope Peter, as Head of the Church, gathered them all together to tell them the cause of their coming. Being thus assembled, he said to them: «My dearest children and brethren, the Lord has called us and brought us to Jerusalem from remote regions not without great cause, and most sorrowful to us. The Most High now wishes to raise up to the throne of eternal glory His Most Blessed Mother, our Mistress, our consolation and protection. His divine disposition wills that we all be present at Her most happy and glorious Transit». We add that although they all knew from the lips of the Divine Mary that one of the reasons for gathering them together in Jerusalem was Her approaching departure from this world, nevertheless when they heard Peter’s words they were seized by grief and shed abundant tears. During the four weeks preceding that exalted mystery, Mary Most Holy devoted Herself to giving Her last maternal teachings and wise counsels to the Apostles and other religious of the Carmelite Order present at Jerusalem. She organized all things in order that they might prepare themselves with special prayers, penances and Her own instructions, for She desired them to be greatly strengthened for when they would be without Her. She also exhorted them to prudence, since on account of Paul’s recent conflicts with the Sanhedrin and other Jews of Jerusalem, these enemies were somewhat aggressive towards the Church of Christ. Hence it was necessary that they all should be recollected, and thus also prepare matters to be dealt with at the Third Ecumenical Council of Jerusalem, which would be held some days after Mary’s Glorious Assumption. During that preparatory phase of the III Council, the Most Blessed Mistress gave the Apostles and disciples guidance on the most urgent doctrinal needs. We teach that the word `transit’ can be used to express both Mary’s Gentle Dormition as well as Her Glorious Assumption into Heaven.
103. The Gentle Dormition of the Most Holy Virgin Mary occurred on Friday the 13th of August of the year 57, as His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII teaches. The mystery took place in the oratory-cell She occupied at the convent of women religious in Jerusalem, that as we know formed part of the Cenacle buildings. The place of Mary’s Dormition is presently within the so-called Sanctuary of the Dormition, separated by a street from the other building containing the Cenacle hall in which Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist. Though at Her Gentle Dormition the Divine Mary was 74 years of age, - 26 days short of Her 75th birthday, Her Immaculate Body, nevertheless, had not aged. With regard to this matter we here include what the Doctor of Agreda very correctly says of the Most Holy Virgin Mary: «The natural condition of Her sacred and virginal Body and Countenance was the same as at Her thirty-third year, since from that age Her natural state never altered; neither did She feel the effects of the years nor of senility or agedness; neither had She wrinkles in Face or Body, nor did She weaken, lose weight and waste away, as happens with the rest of Adam’s children, who in old age fail and are disfigured from what they were in their youth or perfect age.» As we know, the indescribable beauty and formation of the Divine Mary’s accidental Body were ever most perfect from the very instant of Her Immaculate Conception, but since according to the divine plan She was subject to natural bodily growth, these exceptional qualities of Her Body manifested themselves in conformity with Her age, remaining stable at 33 years; so that from then on Mary’s Immaculate Body remained ever changeless and most perfect as if 33 years of age. Let us, then, penetrate into the sublime mystery of Mary’s Dormition, bearing in mind Palmarian doctrine and the revelations of Saint Mary of Jesus of Agreda. Since the exalted Mother of the Church desired that all Her children there should share in the most sublime event of Her glorious Dormition, on Friday the 13th of August 57 She directed Pope Peter to celebrate Holy Mass in the oratory-cell She inhabited in the convent of the Cenacle. The layout of the Divine Mary’s private chamber, in addition to holding a certain number of persons, permitted that by opening windows and doors the interior could be seen from other quarters. At exactly 12 o’clock midday on that memorable day, the 13th of August 57, Pope Peter celebrated Holy Mass at the altar of the exalted Mother of God’s private oratory, there being present at the ceremony all the other Apostles, namely Paul, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the Less, Judas Thaddaeus, Simon Cananaeus and Matthias; for as His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches, «the Archangel Saint Cediel took Saint Paul briefly from prison without anyone noticing his absence, to enable him to be present at the most Gentle Dormition and the Burial of the Most Holy Virgin Mary.» The missionary disciples come from their territories, as likewise the other religious both men and women from the convents of Jerusalem and Bethany, and as well some tertiary faithful, also assisted at the Eucharistic Sacrifice celebrated by Peter. It is well to mention that Mary Cleophas and Mary Salome were among those gathered there, as likewise Martha and Mary Magdalen and their brother Lazarus, as also the bishops Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and Gamaliel. Nor were the three interplanetary Apostles Elias, Henoch and Moses missing. During Holy Mass Peter gave Holy Communion to the Divine Mary and to all the others present, and at the conclusion solemnly imparted the apostolic blessing. From the revelations of the Mystical Doctor of Agreda we take the following words, which according to our interpretation the Most Holy Virgin Mary addressed to all present once the Mass was over: «Most dearly beloved children and My masters, always have I had you in My Soul and written on My Heart, where I have loved you tenderly with that charity and love given Me by My Most Holy Son, Whom I have ever seen in you as in His chosen friends. According to His holy and eternal will, I go to the heavenly mansions, where I promise you as Mother to hold you present in the clearest light of the Divinity. I commend to you the Church with the exaltation of the Holy Name of the Most High, the spread of His Evangelical Law, the esteem and appreciation for the words of My Most Holy Son, the memory of His Life and Death and the practice of all His doctrine. Love, My children, Holy Church, and with all your heart love one another with that bond of charity and peace which your Master always taught you. And to thee Peter, Holy Pontiff, I commend My son John and also all the rest.» The Mystic of Agreda goes on to say that the most wise Mistress’ words penetrated like arrows of divine fire and moved the hearts of all the Apostles and of the others present, and that all, dissolving in streams of tears and of grief, cast themselves upon the ground. With them also wept the most sweet Mother, Who did not wish to stay aloof from the rightful and grievous laments of Her children. Afterwards, on the prompting of the exalted Mistress, all prayed in silence. In this quietude and calm the Divine Word made Man descended from Heaven on a throne of ineffable glory, accompanied by the Blessed and the Angelic Choirs, and the house of the Cenacle was filled with glory. Mary Most Holy adored the Lord and kissed His feet with most profound humility. Her Most Holy Son gave Her His blessing, and in the presence of all said to Her: «My dearest Mother, the hour is now come in which You are to pass from this life to the glory of My Father and of Mine, where the place at My right hand is prepared for You to enjoy for all eternity.» After this teaching of Saint Mary of Jesus of Agreda we add that the Eternal Father, the Holy Ghost and Most Holy Joseph also appeared there; and besides that shortly before Her Dormition, Mary Most Holy Who was kneeling before the throne of Her Divine Son, rested Her most pure and Immaculate Head in Jesus’ divine lap and, rapt in the flame of divine love, became immersed in Gentle Domiition, at exactly 3 p.m. that Friday August the 13th of the year 57. The Queen of Heaven and Earth remained in Her Divine Son’s lap for the space of seven minutes. After that short time twelve Angels placed the sleeping sacred Body of Mary upon Her own bed, which they had mysteriously embellished. The Most Holy Trinity, the Blessed, the Angelic Choirs and the three interplanetary Apostles Elias, Henoch and Moses then disappeared. From the sleeping Immaculate Body of the Divine Mary, gloriously transfigured, there emanated heavenly splendour and indescribable fragrance that filled the precincts. All present, though in varying degrees of clarity and intensity of vision, were graced with that manifest presence of the Most Holy Trinity, of the Blessed, of the Angelic Choirs and of the three interplanetary Apostles; and all heard the jubilant canticles of the heavenly spirits that praised God and exalted the grandeurs of Mary.
104. We teach that during the time of the Divine Mary’s Gentle Dormition, the three elements of Her most pure Person - Her Soul, Her essential Body and Her accidental Body - remained united, since none of the three were ever separated. Besides, from the very instant of Mary’s Gentle Dormition, Her Divine Soul was freed forever from the passible state; Her Immaculate essential Body continued to share the beatific joy of Her Soul; and in turn Her Soul continued to animate Her Immaculate accidental Body, communicating natural life thereto, though the Body was unconscious and bereft of all physical activity and did not share the beatific joy of Her Soul. Although from the very instant of Her Gentle Dormition Mary’s accidental Body was freed forever from the passible state, and therefore its only state was the glorious, nevertheless, that same Immaculate accidental Body outwardly seemed to possess certain passible qualities, as for example weight, since it was appropriate that the Divine Mary appear thus before the Apostles and other members of the Church, until She was assumed into Heaven. The Most Holy Virgin Mary’s Gentle Dormition redounded in unspeakable joy for all the universe in different ways. Our star the sun, full of luminosity, with indescribable beauty and agility suddenly began to spin round in the firmament, causing astonishment to those watching the prodigy. As the sublime light and fragrance issuing from the Divine Mary’s sleeping Body spread abroad beyond the Cenacle building, quite a few of Jerusalem’s inhabitants, with wonder and surprise, gathered at the building. The Dormition of the Divine Co-Reparatrix and Co-Redemptrix was the cause of a fair number of conversions, both in Jerusalem and in other places. We teach that Peter, the other eleven Apostles, Mary Cleophas, Mary Salome and all the others present in the Cenacle, unaware of Mary Most Holy’s state of Gentle Dormition, believed Her to be truly dead, and therefore proceeded with her burial, after obtaining the necessary civil licence. We make very clear that the Divine Mary ceased to be a wayfarer from the very moment She entered Her Gentle Dormition.
105. At exactly 4 p.m. on that Friday afternoon, the 13th of August 57, Mary’s most pure accidental Body asleep, united to Her Soul and to Her essential Body, was removed from the Cenacle of Jerusalem and taken to the Garden of Olives to be buried in the family tomb. The funeral procession was organized as follows: first went the men tertiary faithful, who were followed by the women tertiaries and then the women religious; next came twelve disciples, who, on their shoulders bore Mary Most Holy asleep on Her wooden couch, and then Pope Peter with the Apostle Paul at his right and the Apostle John at his left; and behind the other nine Apostles and other men religious of the Carmelite Order. Along the way the cortege was joined by quite a few from Jerusalem: some moved by a mysterious force and others out of irresistible curiosity. The route they followed was to pass through the district of Ophel; then through the walls at the Gate of the Fountain down to the Cedron Valley, and to continue next along the road running from south to north between the Brook and the city walls. And close to the present Gate of Saint Stephen they crossed the small bridge over the Cedron and thus arrived at the family vault now known as the tomb of the Virgin. Countless were the miracles noticed during the passage of the Divine Mary in Her state of Gentle Dormition, for many sick were cured, and not a few Jews and Gentiles were enlightened in the Faith of Christ, and acknowledged their errors and begged pardon for their sins. Moreover, as indescribable light and fragrance issued from the most pure accidental Body of Mary, the gathering of people making up the procession and those watching it pass expressed astonishment and admiration. God so marvellously arranged things that the Jews most obstinate in perversity and aggression against Christians were as though paralyzed in their odium for the Church of Christ, without strength or resolve to hinder the ceremonies of the majestic interment; since, we teach, the devils meantime found their power to tempt on earth greatly diminished, and besides Lucifer found himself completely impotent in his malignant doings. Many more were the prodigious signs in Heaven and on earth which it pleased the Most High to manifest during the translation of the Divine Mary from the Cenacle to the tomb; and not a few from Jerusalem could behold a multitude of Angels that, appearing on high, chanted the grandeurs of Mary.
106. At 5.30 that afternoon, Friday the 13th of August 57, the funeral cortege conveying the Divine Mary in sublime Dormition arrived at the family vault. As we know, that tomb - now known as that of the Virgin - was in the Valley of Josaphat, by the Garden of Olives. The twelve Apostles set the sleeping Immaculate Body of Mary into the grotto, and at 5.45 p.m. placed It on the funeral stone prepared for the purpose. Many from the cortege witnessed the very moving scene, and in preferential places were Mary Cleophas, Mary Salome, Martha, Mary Magdalen, Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Gamaliel, Agabus and Seraphia. While the Angelic choirs chanted Mary’s glories without cease, all those present, before leaving the tomb, with holy emotion and abundant tears paid reverence to the Divine Lady in Her state of Dormition, though as we know they believed She was dead. The hearts of all were flooded with indescribable joy, mingled with the inevitable sadness of feeling like orphans. The deeply moving ceremony ended at 6 p.m. when the grotto of the tomb was closed and sealed. Shortly afterwards the Apostle Saint Paul was taken back to the prison of Caesarea Maritime by ministry of the Archangel Saint Cediel. At the sublime Dormition of Mary, the members of the Church felt themselves more intimately united to Pope Peter, Vicar of Christ, and also Vicar of Mary since his papal paternity embraces both the Paternity of the Most Divine Founder of the Church and the Maternity of the Divine Co-Foundress. Through an instruction given by Pope Peter, turns of watch were arranged in order that there should be continuous prayer before the tomb, and honour thus given to the Divine Mary there deposited. At 6.15 p.m. the eleven Apostles, a number of the disciples, as likewise a good number of the faithful returned to their different occupations in Jerusalem. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII defines infallibly that «the Apostle Thomas, after attending the ceremony of the burial of the Divine Mary, set to reflecting on the event and suddenly felt grieved and disturbed, for he said to himself: `It is not possible that death have dominion over Her.’ As a consequence of which he, availing himself of an opportune occasion, fled from Jerusalem pensive and downcast.» We teach that when the Apostles arrived at the Cenacle, Thomas gave free reign to his customary passion for analysis; so much so that, holding to his own criteria and without the aid of prayer, he sought to reconcile the Divine Mary’s grandeur and excellence with the belief that She was dead, when he should have humbly left the clarification of so sublime a mystery in God’s hands, as did Pope Peter and all the rest. Such confusion did the demon sow in his mind that Thomas, plunged into profound desolation, profited by an opportunity when nobody saw him to abandon the Cenacle, at 7.15 p.m. that Friday the 13th of August of the year 57, and then to leave Jerusalem without anyone knowing of him till after the Assumption of the Virgin. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII infallibly teaches that «although it is true that the Apostle Saint Thomas was present at the most Gentle Dormition and Burial of the Divine Mary, it is no less true that the Apostle Saint Thomas was absent at the glorious Assumption of the Most Holy Virgin Mary into Heaven in Body and Soul.»
