T H E B L E S S I N G
In blue print you have the Emmerich excerpts and in black my in line comments.
Pdf 40 [creation Adam and Eve]
The hill opened, and at Adam's side arose a crystalline
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The blessing of a pure and holy multiplying out of God
and by God, which Adam had received after the creation of Eve was, in
consequence of that indulgence, withdrawn from him; for I saw that the instant
Adam left his hill to go to Eve, the Lord grasped him in the back and took
something from him. From that
something,
I felt that the world's salvation would come.
Once on the Feast of the Holy and Immaculate Conception, God gave me a vision of
that mystery. I saw enclosed in Adam and Eve the corporal and spiritual life of
all mankind. I saw that by the Fall it became corrupted, mixed up with evil, and
that the bad angels had acquired power over it. I saw the Second Person of the
Godhead come down and, with something like a crooked blade, take the Blessing
from Adam before he had sinned. At the
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I saw Adam's glittering rock of precious stones arise before the throne of God,
as if borne up by angels. It had steps cut in it, it increased in size, it
became a throne, a tower, and it extended on all sides until it embraced all
things. I saw the nine choirs of angels around it, and above the angels in
Heaven, I saw the image of the Virgin. It was not Mary in time; it was Mary in
eternity, Mary in God. The Virgin entered the tower, which opened to receive
her, and she appeared to become one with it. Then I saw issuing from the Most
Holy Trinity an apparition
Among the angels, I noticed a kind of ostensorium at which all were working. It
was in shape like a tower, and on it were all kinds of mysterious carving. Near
it on either side stood two figures, their joined hands embracing it. At every
instant it became larger and more magnificent. I saw something from God passing
through the angelic choirs and going into the ostensorium. It was a shining Holy
Thing, and it became more clearly defined the nearer it drew to the ostensorium.
It appeared to me to be the germ of the divine Blessing for a pure offspring
which had been given to Adam, but withdrawn when he was on the point of
hearkening to Eve and consenting to eat the
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I saw Noe and his sacrifice at the time in which he received from God the
Blessing. Then I had visions of Ahraham, of his Blessing, and of the promise of
a son Isaac. I saw the Blessing descending from firstborn to firstborn, and
always transmitted with a sacramental action. I saw Moses on the night of
Israel's departure from Egypt getting possession of the Mystery, the Holy Thing,
of which none other knew save Aaron. I saw It afterward
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I saw the cursing of Cham. But
Sem and Japhet
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I saw that in a vision he received from God the order to depart from his own
country. God showed him another land, and Abraham next morning, without asking
any questions, led forth all his people and departed. I afterward saw him
pitching his tent in a region of Palestine which seemed to me to lie around the
place where Nazareth subsequently stood. Abraham himself erected here an oblong
altar of stone with a tent over it. Once when kneeling before the altar, a light
descended from Heaven upon him. An angel, a messenger from God. appeared, said
something to him, and presented LO him a shining, transparent gift. The angel
spoke with Abraham, and the latter received the mysterious Blessing, the Holy
Thing from Heaven; he opened his garment and laid it upon his breast. I was told
that this was the Sacrament of the Old Testament. Abraham, as yet, knew not what
it contained. It was hidden from him, as from us is concealed
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14. ABRAHAM RECEIVES THE SACRAMENT OF THE OLD COVENANT
Abraham sat in front of his tent under a large tree by the roadside. He was in
prayer. He often sat thus waiting to show hospitality to travellers. As he
prayed, he raised his eyes to Heaven and saw, as in a sunbeam, an apparition
from God that announced to him the coming of the three white men. He arose and
sacrificed a lamb on the altar, before which I saw him kneeling in ecstasy
begging for the Redemption of mankind. The altar stood to the right of the large
tree in a tent open at top. Further on was a second tent in which the vessels
and other utensils for sacrifice were kept. It was to this last that Abraham
generally retired when superintending the shepherds who
The second angel told Abraham that he should before his death impart the Mystery
of this Blessing to Sara's firstborn, in the same way that he had himself
received it. He informed him also that his future grandson, Jacob, would be the
father of twelve sons from whom twelve tribes should spring. The angel told him
also that this Blessing would be withdrawn from Jacob; but that after Jacob had
become a nation, it should be again restored
All this was made known to Abraham in vision, and he saw the Virgin appear in
the heavens, an angel hovering at her right and touching her lips with a branch.
From the mantle of the Virgin issued the Church.
The third angel foretold to Abraham the birth of Isaac.
When Abraham awoke from ecstasy, he led the angels under the tree and placed
stools around it. The angels sat down, and he washed their feet. Then Abraham
hurried to Sara's tent to tell her to prepare a meal for his guests. This she
did and, veiling herself, she carried it halfway to them. The meal over, Abraham
accompanied the angels a short distance on their journey. It was then that Sara
heard them speak to him of the birth of a son. She had approached them behind
the enclosure of the tent. She
Abraham at his departure from Chaldea had already received the Mystery of the
Blessing from an angel, but it was given to him in a veiled manner, and was more
like a pledge of fulfillment of the promise that he should be the father of an
innumerable people. Now, however, the Mystery was resuscitated in him by the
angels, and he was enlightened upon it.
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15. JACOB
Rebecca knew that Esau had no share in the Divine Mystery. Esau was dull, rough,
and slothful; Jacob was very active and shrewd, more like his mother. Isaac,
however, was more partial to Esau as his firstborn. Esau was often away from
home hunting. Rebecca often pondered how she could procure the birthright, the
Blessing, for Jacob, and she taught him how to go about buying it. The mess of
pottage for which Esau sold it was composed of vegetables, meat, and green
leaves like lettuce. Esau came home tired from the chase. Jacob coaxed him, and
received the surrender of the birthright.
Isaac was at this time very old and blind. He feared he would soon die, and
consequently he was anxious to give his Blessing over to Esau. Rebecca, who knew
that Jacob should and must have it, could not persuade Isaac to give it to him.
She was on that account very much afflicted, and went around quite anxious. When
she found that Isaac would no longer be withheld from imparting the Blessing,
and that he called to him Esau who was in the
neighborhood, she laid her plans. She told Jacob to hide when his brother came
in that he might not be seen. Isaac ordered Esau to go bring him something of
his hunting. Then Rebecca sent Jacob to get a kid from the flock, and hardly was
Esau gone when the dish for Isaac was prepared.
Esau's best clothes, which Rebecca now put upon Jacob, consisted of a jacket
very like Jacob's own, only stiffer and embroidered on the breast in colors.
Esau's arms and breast were covered with thick, black hair like wool, his skin
being like the skin of an animal; therefore Rebecca wrapped a part of the kid's
skin around Jacob's arms and put a piece upon his breast where the jacket lay
open. This jacket differed from the one usually worn only by the amount of work
upon it. It was slit at the sides, and passed over the head by a hole which was
bound with soft, brownish leather. The side slits were fastened together with
leather strings, and when a girdle was worn over it, the fullness around the
breast served as a pocket. No garment was worn under this jacket, which was
sleeveless and left the breast bare. The headgear and apron worn with the jacket
were brownish, or gray.
I saw Isaac feeling Jacob's breast and hands where Esau was full of hair. I saw
that he wavered a little, he was troubled and doubting. But then came the
thought that, notwithstanding his doubts, it was certainly Esau and that God
willed him to have the Blessing. And so he made over to Jacob that Blessing
which he had received from Abraham, and Abraham from the angel. He had, with
Rebecca's assistance, previously prepared something
The other children of the Patriarchs knew not of it. Only the one that received
the Blessing knew of the Mystery which, however, still remained to him, as to us
the Blessed Sacrament, a mystery. The cup was rather flat on one side. It was
transparent and shone like mother of pearl. It was filled with something red,
something like blood, and I felt that it was Isaac's blood. Rebecca had helped
to prepare it.
When Isaac blessed Jacob, they were alone. Jacob bared his breast and stood
before his father. Isaac drew the hand with which he gave the Blessing from
Jacob's forehead straight down to the abdomen, from the right shoulder to the
same point, and the same from the left shoulder. Then he laid his right hand on
Jacob's head and his left upon the pit of his stomach, and Jacob drank the
contents of the little cup. And now it seemed as if Isaac delivered to him all
things, all power, all strength, while with both hands he took, as it were,
something out of his
When the imparting of the Blessing had been accomplished, I saw Isaac swooning, either from exertion or from having actually given over and parted with his strength. But Jacob was radiant, quickened, full of life and strength. And now came Esau from the hunt. When Isaac discovered that the Blessing had been
transferred to the wrong one, he had no regret, he recognized
I saw Jacob, on his journey to Mesopotamia, lying asleep on the spot where Bethel afterward stood. The sun had set. Jacob lay stretched on his back, a stone under his head, his staff resting on his arm. Then I saw the ladder that Jacob beheld in his dream, and which in the Bible is described as "standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven." I saw this ladder rising up to heaven from Jacob where he lay upon the earth. It was like a living genealogical tree of his posterity. I saw below on the earth, just as those genealogical trees are represented, a green trunk as if growing out of the sleeping Jacob. It divided into three branches which arose in the form of a triangular pyramid whose apex reached the heavens. The three branches were connected by other smaller ones that formed a three sided pyramidal ladder. I saw this ladder surrounded by numerous apparitions. I saw on it Jacob's descendants, one above another; they formed the ancestry of Jesus according to the f1esh. They often crossed over from side to side, stepping past and even before one another. Some stood back and others from the opposite side stepped before them, according as the germ of the Sacred Humanity was clouded by sin and then again purified by continence until at last the pure flower, the Holy Virgin in whom God willed to become Man appeared on the highest point of the ladder touching the heavens. I saw Heaven open above her and disclose the splendor of God. God spoke thence to Jacob. I saw Jacob awake the next morning. First, he built a round foundation of stone on which he laid a flat stone, then he raised upon this the stone which he had placed under his head the preceding night. Lastly he made a fire and offered something in sacrifice; he also poured something into the fire on the stone. He knelt while praying, and I think he kindled the fire as the Three Kings did, that is, by friction.
I saw Jacob in many other places also, at Bethel for instance,
Then I saw him going further eastward, along the south side of the river Jabok,
and passing a night on the spot where he afterward wrestled with the angel. Here
too, he had a vision.
On Jacob's return from Mesopotamia, his encampment lay east of the encampment of
the subsequent Jabesh Gilead. I saw Laban, his father-in-law, following him in
pursuit of his lost idols. He overtook him, and words ran high between them on
the score of the idols, for Jacob did not know that Rachel had secretly brought
them with her. When Rachel saw that her father, who had been searching the whole
encampment for his lost treasures, would soon reach her tent, she took the
stolen idols and hid them under a heap of fodder not far from her own tent. The
idols were metal dolls, about two and a half arms long in
swaddling clothes. The heaps of fodder were on a slope of
Jacob had sent messengers to Esau, of whom he was in dread. They returned with the news that Esau was at hand with four hundred men. Then Jacob divided his whole train into two bands. His best flocks he divided into several and sent them on to Esau. He led his followers to Mahanaim where he had for the second time the vision which he had seen on his setting out; viz., the vision of the angelic armies. He said: "With my staff did I set out, but I am now richer by two armies." He now understood the signification of that first vision.
When his whole train had crossed the Jabok, Jacob sent his wives and children
over by night, and remained alone. Then he ordered his tent to be erected on the
spot where, on his journey from Palestine, he had seen the face of God. He
wanted to pray there by night. He ordered his tent to be closed on all sides,
and bade his servants retire to some distance. Then I saw him crying with his
whole heart to God. He laid all things before Him, especially his great anxiety
with regard to Esau. The tent was open above, that he might better send forth
his sighs to Heaven.
Then I saw him wrestling with the angel. It took place in a vision. Jacob arose
and prayed. Then there descended from above a light in which was a great
luminous figure, which began to wrestle with Jacob, as if wanting to push him
out of the tent. They wrestled here and there, up and down, in all directions
through the tent. The apparition acted as if wanting to draw Jacob toward all
the cardinal points, but Jacob always faced about to the center of the tent.
This struggle prefigured the fact that Israel, though pressed on all sides,
should not be forced from Palestine.
But when Jacob once again faced to the middle of the tent, the angel grasped him
by the hip. I saw this took place when Jacob, who was wrestling in vision,
wanted to cast himself upon his couch, or sink back upon it. When the angel
touched Jacob's hip and at the same time did what he wanted to do, he said to
the latter who was holding him fast: "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!" Then
Jacob ceased struggling and awoke from his vision. Seeing the angel of God still
standing before him, he cried: "No, I will not let thee go until thou bless me!"
He felt the need of God's blessing, for he knew that strength had departed from
him and that Esau was at hand. Then spoke the
When Esau turned off, Jacob went with all his family, his servants, and his
herds, to Mahanaim and took possession of the country from Socoth to the hill
Ainon. He dwelt ten years at Ainon. He afterward extended his settlement
westward from Ainon and over the Jordan to Salem. His tents reached to where
Sichem dwelt, for there he bought a field.
I saw Dina walking around there with her maids, and conversing out of curiosity
with the Sichemites. I saw Sichem caressing her, for which reason her maids went
away, and he took her with him into the city. This was the cause of great sorrow
to Dina while bloodshed and slaughter accrued from it to the Sichemites. Sichar
at that time was not yet a great city. It was built of large, square stones and
had only one gate.
The Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had more strength in their right side
than in their left; it was not, however, noticeable, for their garments were
wide and full. There was in their right side a certain fullness like a swelling.
It was the Holy Thing, the Blessing, the Mystery. It was luminous, in shape like
a bean, and it contained a germ. The firstborn received it from the father,
hence the prerogatives of primogeniture. Jacob received it instead of Esau,
because Rebecca knew that he was the one destined for it. In his struggle with
the angel, it had
16. JOSEPH AND ASENETH
Joseph was sixteen years old when he was sold into Egypt. He was of middle
height, very slender and agile, active both in body and mind. He was indeed very
different from his brothers, and all felt drawn to love him.
Were it not for the marked preference shown him by his father, his brothers also
would have loved him. Reuben was of a more lively disposition than the others.
Benjamin was a large, ungainly man, but very good-natured, easily led. Joseph
wore his hair divided into three, one part on either side of his head, the third
falling down behind in long curls. When ruler over Egypt, he wore it short, but
afterward allowed it again to grow.
When Jacob bestowed the many-colored coat upon Joseph, he gave over to him also
some of the bones of Adam, without telling him, however, what they were. Jacob
gave them to Joseph as a precious talisman, for he knew well that his brothers
did not love him. Joseph carried the bones on his breast in a little leathern
bag
The colored coat was white with broad red stripes. It had on the breast three
rows of black cord crossing one another, in the center of which were yellow
ornaments. It was full around the breast. When bound at the waist, the fullness
served as a pocket. It was narrower toward the lower part of the skirt and had
slits at the side, to render motion easier. It fell below the knee, was somewhat
longer in the back and open in front. Joseph's ordinary dress did not reach to
the knees.
Joseph was known to Pharao and his wife before his imprisonment. Putiphar's
affairs were so flourishing under Joseph's management, Putiphar himself was so
blessed during Joseph's stay under his roof, since he conducted all things so
well for Pharao, that the latter was eager to see the faithful servant. Pharao's
wife, who was religiously inclined and very desirous of salvation and who had,
at the same time, like all the Egyptians, a great hankering after new gods, was
so astounded at the wise, intelligent, extraordinary young stranger, that she
honored him interiorly as a divinity. She said repeatedly to Pharao: "This
Pharao's wife sincerely deplored his conviction as a malefactor, and thought
that she had been mistaken in him. But when he was liberated and again appeared
at court, she treated him with great distinction. The cup that Joseph ordered to
be placed in Benjamin's sack was the first present the queen had made to him. I
know it well; it had two handles, but no foot. It seemed to have been cut out of
one precious stone or one solid transparent mass, I know not which, and was in
shape exactly like the upper
Joseph was seven years in prison. During his greatest affliction, he received
the mysterious Blessing of Jacob in the same manner as the Patriarchs had done.
He had a vision also of a numerous posterity.
I know all about Putiphar's wife. I saw how desirous she was to pervert Joseph,
but after his elevation, she did penance and became chaste and devout. She was a
tall, powerful woman, her skin of a yellowish brown and shining like silk. She
wore a colored robe over which was one of figured gauze. The lower one shone
through it as if through lace. Joseph was thrown much with her, since his
master's affairs were all entrusted to him. But when he became aware of the fact
that she had grown more
She often intruded herself upon him when he was busy at his writing. Once I saw
her enter his presence in immodest attire. He was standing writing in one corner
of a hall. (In those days, they used to write upon rolls of parchment which hung
on the wall. The writer either sat or stood before them). She addressed him and
he replied. Then she grew bolder, seeing which he turned hurriedly away. She
grasped his mantle, but he fled leaving it in her hand.
I saw Joseph with Putiphar's pagan priests at Heliopolis. Aseneth, the daughter
of Dina and the Sichemite, lived with them as a prophetess and a decorator of
the idols. Seven other maidens were her companions.
Putiphar had bought her from her nurse in her fifth year. This nurse had fled
with her to the Red Sea by order of Jacob, that the child might not be murdered
by his sons. Aseneth possessed the spirit of prophecy, and was esteemed by
Putiphar as a prophetess. Joseph knew her, but he knew not that she was his
niece. She was of a very earnest character, she sought seclusion, and in spite
of her great beauty, she abhorred the society of men. She was favored with
significant visions, was familiar with the Egyptian star worship, and had a
secret presentiment of the religion of the Patriarchs. I saw no witchcraft
connected with her. She saw in vision the whole mystery of life, the
transplanting, the coming to, and the departure of Israel from Egypt, even the
long journey through the wilderness. She wrote many rolls on the leaves of a
waterplant or on skin. The letters were strange looking, they
I saw that the misconception of Aseneth's visions and writings led to her being
worshipped under the name of Isis, and Joseph under that of Osiris. This perhaps
was the cause of her abundant tears. She also wrote against their erroneous
conception of her visions which had led to their proclaiming her the mother of
all the gods.
When Putiphar offered sacrifice, Aseneth ascended a tower upon which she seemed
to be, as it were, in a little garden. Here she gazed upon the stars by
moonlight. She fell into ecstasy, and read all things clearly in the stars.
The truth was shown her in pictures, because she was chosen of God. I have seen
the pagan priests introduced into strange, diabolical worlds where they beheld
the most abominable things. By such diabolical visions were the secret
communications of Aseneth disfigured and made to contribute to the abominations
of idolatry.
Aseneth introduced many useful arts and domestic animals into Egypt, among the
latter, for instance, the cow. She taught the art of making cheese, that of
weaving, and many others hitherto unknown to the inhabitants. She also healed
many diseases. The plow was introduced by Joseph, who was himself skilled in its
use. There was one thing that seemed truly wonderful to me. Aseneth ordered the
flesh of the numerous animals slaughtered for sacrifice to be boiled down until
it became a gelatinous mass, which served for food for campaigns and in times of
scarcity.
The operation was carried on in the open air and in caldrons in the earth. The
Egyptians were rejoiced and amazed at this new mode of procuring food.
When Joseph met Aseneth at the pagan priest's dwelling, she approached to
embrace him. This she did not through boldness, but impelled by the Spirit. It
was in her a kind of prophetic action, and took place in presence of the pagan
priest. Aseneth was looked upon as holy. But I saw Joseph keep her off with
outstretched hand and address earnest words to her. Then Aseneth, deeply
agitated, retired to her own room where she remained in tears and penance.
I saw her in her chamber. She stood concealed by a curtain, her wealth of long
and beautiful hair falling around her and curling at the ends. There was
impressed on the skin of the pit of her stomach a wonderful sign. In a figure
like a heart shaped shell stood a child with outstretched arms, holding in one
hand a small dish, in the other a cup, or chalice. In the dish, were three young
ears of corn that appeared to be just breaking out of the husk, and the figure
of a dove which seemed to peck after the grapes in the cup held by the child.
Jacob knew of this sign; but notwithstanding, he had to send the child away
Now I saw an angel appear in resplendent raiment, holding a lotus in his hand.
He saluted Aseneth. She glanced at him and drew her veil around her. He
commanded her to dry her tears, to adorn herself in festal robes, and he also
requested her to bring him food. She left the room and returned adorned as
directed, bringing with her a low table, small and light, upon which were wine
and little flat loaves that had been baked in ashes.
Aseneth evinced no fear. She was not shy, but simple and humble, just like
Abraham and the other Patriarchs when treating with apparitions. When the angel
now spoke to her, she unveiled. He asked her for some honey, but she replied
that, unlike other maidens who are fond of it, she had none. Thereupon the angel
told her that she would find some among the idols that stood in the chamber.
These idols were of various forms; they had heads of animals and for bodies
serpents coiled downward.
Aseneth looked, and found a beautiful, coarse celled honeycomb, white as the
Host of our altars. She set it before the angel, who bade her eat of it. He
blessed it, and I saw it shining and flashing between them. I cannot now express
the signification of this heavenly honey; for when one sees such things, it is
just as they actually are, one knows all. But now, when I try to recall it, the
honey appears to be what is called honey, yet I know not what the flowers, the
bees, and the honey properly signified. I can only say this much: Aseneth really
possessed in herself only bread and wine (or that which is typified by bread and
wine), but she had no honey. By the reception of this honey, she issued from
idolatry into the light of Israel, into salvation through the Old Law. It
signified also that she should aid many souls, that many like bees should build
around her. I heard her say that she would drink no more wine, for that now she
was more in need of honey. I saw numbers of bees and vast stores of honey in
Midian near Jethro.
In blessing the honeycomb, the angel directed his finger
The angel told her that she was destined to be united with Joseph, that she
should be his bride, and he blessed her as Isaac had blessed Jacob and as the
angel had blessed Abraham. The three lines that constituted the formula of the
blessing, were drawn upon her twice, once to the pit of the stomach and once to
the abdomen.
After this, I saw in vision Joseph going to Putiphar to demand Aseneth for his
wife; but I can only remember that, like the angel, he carried a lotus in his
hand. Joseph knew of Aseneth's wonderful wisdom, but their mutual relationship
was hidden from both.
I saw that Pharao's son likewise was in love with Aseneth, on which account she
had to remain secluded.
He had persuaded Dan and Gad to espouse his cause, and all three lay in ambush
to slay Joseph. But Juda (obeying a divine inspiration, I think) warned Joseph
to take another route. Benjamin also conducted himself nobly in this affair, and
defended Aseneth. Dan and Gad were punished by the death of their children; for
even before it was known to anyone, they had been warned not to enlist in the
murderous design.
When Joseph and Aseneth appeared in public, like the pagan priests of Putiphar,
they bore in their hand a sign regarded as sacred and emblematic of the highest
authority. The upper part was a ring; the lower a Latin cross, a T. It served as
a seal, and when grain was measured and divided the heaps were marked with it.
It was used in the same way for the building of granaries and canals, also for
the rising and falling of the Nile.
Writings were sealed with it after they had first been marked with a red
vegetable juice. When Joseph discharged any official duty, this symbol of
authority, the cross being clasped in the ring, lay on a cushion at his side. It
seemed to me also like a distinctive sign of the mystery of the Ark of the
Covenant still enclosed in Joseph.
Aseneth also had an instrument like a wand. When in vision, she followed
wherever it led. Where it quivered she struck the earth, and so discovered
springs and water.
It was made under the influence of the stars.
In the processions of high festivals, Joseph and Aseneth
shield which enclosed the whole person from below the arms. On it were numerous
signs and figures. Her dress reached to her knees, below which the limbs were
tightly laced. A wide mantle fell over the back, the sides of which were clasped
together over the knees. The toes of her shoes were turned up like skates, and
her headdress of colored feathers and pearls was shaped like a helmet.
Joseph wore a tight fitting coat with sleeves, and over it a golden breastplate
covered with figures. Straps with golden knots were crossed around the hips, and
from his shoulders fell a mantle. His head ornament was of feathers and precious
stones.
When Joseph went to Egypt, New Memphis was being built about seven leagues north
of Old Memphis. Between the two cities, built on a dyke, was a highway with
walks.
Scattered among the trees were idols with grave, sad female faces and bodies of
dogs. They sat upon stone slabs. There were as yet no beautiful buildings, only
great, long ramparts and artificial stone mountains (pyramids) full of vaults
and chambers. The dwellings were slight with a superstructure of wood. There
were still great forests and morasses all around. At the flight of Mary into
Egypt, the Nile had already changed its course.
The Egyptians worshipped all kinds of animals, toads, serpents, crocodiles. They
looked on quite coolly while a person was being devoured by a crocodile. At
Joseph's coming, the worship of the bull had not yet come into practice. It was
introduced in consequence of Pharao's dream of the seven fat and the seven lean
cows. They had numerous kinds of idols; some like swaddled children, others like
coiled serpents, some of which could be made longer or shorter at pleasure. A
great many of the idols
These shields were made in accordance with the pictures which the pagan priests
traced in the stars, and after whose plan they built cities and canals. New
Memphis was founded in this way.
The evil spirits at that time must have possessed a different, a more material
power, for I saw that Egyptian sorcery came out of the earth, out of the abyss.
When a pagan priest began his enchantments, I saw figures of all kinds of ugly
animals arise out of the ground around the sorcerer and enter his mouth in a
current of black vapor.
He became thereby entranced and clear sighted. It was as if, at the entrance of
each spirit, a world hitherto closed was opened up to him and he saw things far
and near, the abysses of the earth, countries, human beings, in fine, all things
over which each particular spirit exerted an influence.
Modern witchcraft always appears to me to be more under the influence of the
spirits of the air. What the wizard saw by the aid of these spirits appeared
like a delusion, a mirage, which they conjured up before him. I could see far
beyond these pictures, for they were like shadows. It was as if one looked
behind a curtain.
When the Egyptian pagan priests intended to read the stars, they fasted as a
preparation, performed certain purifications, clothed themselves in sackcloth,
and sprinkled themselves with ashes. While they gazed upon the stars from their
tower, sacrifices were offered. The pagans of those times had a confused
knowledge of the religious mysteries of the true God which had been handed down
from Seth, Henoch, Noe, and the Patriarchs to the chosen people, therefore were
there so many
The women of Egypt in Joseph's time were still clothed like Semiramis.
When Jacob went into Egypt to Joseph, he pursued the same route through the
wilderness by which later on Moses journeyed to the Promised Land. Jacob knew
that he would see Joseph again; he always had a presentiment of this in his
heart. He had even on this journey to Mesopotamia at the place upon which he
erected the altar (not where he saw the ladder) a vision of his future sons.
One he saw, in the region where Joseph was sold, sink from sight and like a star
rise again in the south. He exclaimed therefore when they brought him the
bloodstained coat, the foregoing circumstance almost forgotten recurring to him:
"I shall weep for Joseph until I find him again."
Jacob had, through Reuben, made many inquiries as to whom Joseph had married,
but had not yet been entirely enlightened on the point that Joseph's wife was
his own niece. Rueben and Potiphar were old acquaintances.
Owing to the influence of the former, the latter received
Jacob dwelt about a day's journey distant from Joseph. When he fell sick, Joseph
drove in a chariot to see him. Jacob questioned him closely about Aseneth and,
when he heard of the sign on her person, he exclaimed: "She is flesh of thy
flesh. She is bone of thy bone!" and he revealed to Joseph who she was. Joseph
was so deeply affected that he almost lost consciousness. On his return home, he
told his wife and both shed tears to their heart's content over the news.
Some time after, Jacob grew worse, and Joseph was again by his side. Jacob put
his feet from the couch to the floor, and Joseph had to lay his hand under his
father's hip, and swear to bury him in Canaan. While Joseph swore, Jacob adored
the Blessing hidden in him, for he knew that Joseph had received from an angel
the Blessing that had been withdrawn from himself. Joseph bore this Blessing in
his right side until death. Even after death, it lay enclosed in his body until
the night before the departure of the Israelites, when Moses took possession of
it
Three months after his visit, Jacob died. Both Jews and
Aseneth bore to Joseph first Manasses and Ephraim, then other children, in all
eighteen, among them several twins. She died three years before Joseph, and was
embalmed by Jewish women. As long as Joseph lived, her body stood in his own
monument. But the ancients of the people had taken some part of her intestines
which they preserved in a little golden figure; and as the Egyptians also
aspired to its possession, it was entrusted to the Jewish midwives. One of these
women placed it in a reed box smeared with pitch and concealed it in the
bulrushes near the canal. On the night of the Departure, a nurse of the tribe of
Aser brought this secret thing to Moses. The woman's name was Sara.
Joseph, at his death, was embalmed by the Jews in presence of the Egyptians.
Then were placed together the remains of Joseph and Aseneth in compliance with
the notes that the latter had made from her visions and had left to the Jews.
The Egyptian priests and astrologers had placed Joseph and Aseneth among their
own divinities. They had some inkling of the notes left by Aseneth and a
presentiment of the high influence, the blessing that she and Joseph would be
for Israel. But that blessing they coveted for themselves, and therefore, they
sought to oppress
When he murdered the Egyptian, God ordained that as a fugitive he should go to
Jethro, since the latter by his connection with Syble Segola would be able to
help him to discover the purloined Mystery. Moses had, also, at the command of
God, married Sephora in order to incorporate that family into the house of
Israel.
Segola was the natural daughter of Pharao by a Jewish mother. Although reared in
the Egyptian star worship, she was very fond of the Jews. It was she that had
divulged to Moses while still at court that he was not a son of Pharao.
Aaron, after the death of his first wife, had to marry a daughter of this
Segola, in order that the mother's influence with the Israelites might be
increased. The children of this marriage went with the Israelites at their
departure from Egypt. But Aaron was obliged to separate from his wife that the
Aaronic priesthood might spring from a purely Jewish stock. Segola's daughter,
after her separation from Aaron, married again. Her descendants, at the time of
the Saviour, dwelt at Abila whither her mummy had been brought by them. Segola
was very enlightened and possessed great influence over Pharao. She had on her
forehead a bump such as many of the Prophets had in olden times. She was led by
the Spirit to procure numerous favors and gifts for the Israelites.
On the night upon which the angel of the Lord struck the firstborn of the
Egyptians, Segola wrapped in her veil accompanied Moses, Aaron, and three other
Israelites to two sepulchral mounds which were separated by a canal over which
lay a bridge. The canal flowed between Memphis and Gosen into the Nile. The
entrance into the mounds was under the bridge and below the surface of the
water. Steps led from the bridge down to it. Segola descended alone with Moses.
She cast into the water a scrap of paper upon which was inscribed the name of
God. The water retreated and left the entrance to the monument free. They struck
on the stone door and it opened inward.
Then they called to the others to come down. When they did so, Moses bound their
hands together with his stole and made them swear to protect the Mystery. After
the oath, he loosed their hands, and all entered the vault where they struck a
light, which showed all kinds of passages with images of the dead standing
therein.
Joseph's body, with the remains of Aseneth, lay in an
The remaining bones were placed together upon a stone, wrapped in cloths, and
carried away by the men. Now that they had gained possession of the Sacred
Thing, Israel could depart from the country. Segola wept, but Israel was full of
joy.
Moses concealed a relic of Joseph's body in the top of his staff. This top was
in form like a medlar, or persimmon; it was yellowish and surrounded by leaves.
It was different from the shepherd's staff that Moses was commanded to cast on
the ground before God and which was there changed to a serpent. It was a reed,
the upper and the lower end could be pushed in and drawn out. With the lower
point, which appeared to me to be of metal and which was in form like a sharp
pencil, Moses touched the rock as if tracing words upon it. The rock opened
under the point, and water gushed forth. Water flowed also from the sand
wherever Moses made signs upon it with this staff. The upper part of the reed
staff, in shape like a medlar, could be pushed in and drawn out; before it the
Red Sea divided.
From Joseph's death to the departure of Israel from Egypt, there were about one
hundred and seventy years according to our manner of reckoning. But they had at
that time another way of reckoning, other weeks and years. This was often
explained to me, but I cannot now recall it.
While the Israelites lived in Egypt, they had no temple, but only tents. They
piled up stones, poured oil over them, sacrificed grain and lambs, sang, and
prayed.
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17. THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
On the same night that Moses took possession of the Holy Thing, a golden casket
shaped like a coffin was prepared, in which at their departure the Israelites
took it with them. It must have been large enough for a man to rest in it, for
it was to become a church, a body. This was the night upon which the doorposts
were signed with blood. As I witnessed the rapid working at the chest, I thought
of the Holy Cross which, too, was hurriedly put together on the night before the
death of Jesus. The chest was of gold plate and shaped like an Egyptian
mummiform coffin, broad above and narrow below. On the upper part was a picture
of a face surrounded by beams. On the sides were marked the length of the arms
and the position of the ribs. In the center of this coffin like chest, was
placed a little golden casket wherein was contained the Holy Thing which Segola
had taken out of the sepulchral vault. In the lower part of the chest were
sacred vessels, among them the chalice and cups of the Patriarchs which Abraham
had received from Melchisedech and which with the Blessing had been entailed
upon the firstborn. This was the first form of the Ark of the Covenant, and
these were its first contents. It had two covers, the lower one red, the upper
one white.
Only afterward on Mount Sinai, was made the chest inlaid with gold inside and
outside, and in it the golden mummiform coffin with the Holy Thing was placed.
The coffin did not fill the chest. It reached only about halfway up the chest
and it was not so long; for at the head and foot there was still room for two
small compartments in which were placed relics of Jacob's and Joseph's family
and later on the rod of Aaron. When the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the
Temple upon Sion, its interior had undergone a change. The golden mummiform
coffin had been removed, and in its place was a little mass of whitish substance
shaped like the coffin. Even when a child, I often saw the Ark of the Covenant.
I saw it inside and outside, and I knew of all that was put into it from time to
time. All the precious holy things that the Israelites preserved were kept in
it, but it could not have been heavy, since it was easily carried. The chest was
longer than broad, its height being equal to its width. It had below a
projecting ledge. The top was wrought skillfully in gold for about half an ell
in breadth: flowers, scrolls, faces, suns, and stars, all in different colors.
All was magnificent, although the ornamentation was not very much raised. The
apex and leaves arose only a little above the top of the chest. At the corners
below this border, at either end, were the two rings through which ran the bars
for carrying it. The whole chest was of setim wood covered with gold and
beautifully inlaid with figures of different colors.
In the middle of the Ark was a small but unnoticeable door, by which the High
Priest, when alone in the Most Holy, could take out the Holy Thing for blessing
or for prophesying. It opened in two parts toward the interior right and left,
and was large enough to admit of the High Priest's reaching in easily. Where the
bars for carrying it extended over these doors, they were slightly curved. When
the doors were opened, the golden casket, in which was preserved the Holy Thing
in its precious coverings, also opened like a book. Above the top of the Ark
arose the Throne of Grace. It consisted of a hollow table covered with gold
plate, and in it lay holy bones. It was as large as the roof of the Ark, but
only deep enough to rise a little above it. It was fastened to the Ark by eight
setim wood screws, four at either end. It did not rest exactly on the Ark; there
was space enough between them to afford a sight from side to side. The heads of
the screws were of gold and shaped like fruit. The four outer ones fastened the
table to the four corners of the Ark, the four inner ones ran into the interior.
Each end of the Throne of Grace was concave, and in each cavity was securely
fastened a golden cherub about the size of a boy. In the center of the Throne
was a round opening by which a tube ran through the roof of the Ark. One could
see it in the space between the roof and the hollow table. This basket shaped
opening was surrounded by a golden crown. Four transverse pieces fastened the
crown to the rod, which from the Holy Thing in the Ark arose through the tube
and the crown and, like the petals of a flower, spread out into seven points.
The right hand of one of the cherubs and the left of the other clasped the rod,
while their outspread wings, the right of the one and the left of the other, met
behind it. The two other wings, only slightly expanded did not meet, but left
the sight of the crown from the front of the Ark free. Under these wings, the
cherubs extended their arms with warning hands. One knee only of each cherub
touched the Ark; the other limb was in a hovering attitude. The cherubs turned
their face a little to one side with a slightly agitated expression, as if they
felt a holy awe before the radiant crown. They were clothed around the middle
portions of the body only. On long journeys, they were removed and carried
separately. I saw on the petal like points of the rod, flames burning which had
been enkindled by the priests. The substance used for these lights was brown. I
think it was a sacred resin. They kept it in boxes. But I have often seen great
streams of light shooting up out of the crown, and similar streams descending
from Heaven into it, also oblique currents breaking out of it in fine rays.
These last signified the route by which the people should journey.
On the lower end of the rod inside the Ark, were hooks from which hung the two
Tables of the Law and below them the Holy Thing. Below the latter, though not
resting on the floor of the Ark, was a ribbed vessel of gold containing manna.
When I looked sidewise into the Ark, I could not see the altar, nor the Holy
Thing. I always regarded the Ark of the Covenant as a church, the Holy Thing as
the altar with the Most Blessed Sacrament, and the vessel of manna as the lamp
before the altar. When I entered a church in my childhood, I used to associate
its different parts with the corresponding parts of the Ark of the Covenant. The
Mystery, the Holy Thing of the Ark, was to me what the Blessed Sacrament is to
us, only not so full of grace, although it was something full of strength and
reality. It made upon me a more obscure, a more Awe inspiring impression, but
still one very sacred and full of mystery. It always seemed to me that all in
the Ark of the Covenant was holy, that all our salvation was in it as if rolled
up in a ball, as if in a germ. The Holy Thing of the Ark was more mysterious
than the Most Blessed Sacrament. The former seemed to be the germ of the latter;
the latter, the fulfillment of the former. I cannot express it. The Holy Thing
of the Ark was a mystery as hidden as is Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament to us.
I felt that only a few of the High Priests knew what it was, that only the pious
among them knew it by divine enlightenment and made use of it. To many it was
unknown and they profited not by it, just as with us so many graces and wonders
of the Church pass unheeded. They are lost as all salvation would be, were it
founded on human will and intellect, instead of upon a rock.
I could weep over the sad state, the blindness of the Jews. They once possessed
all in the germ; but the fruit, they would not recognize. First, they had the
Mystery, the Holy Thing; it was the pledge, the promise. Then came the Law and
afterward the grace. When I saw the Lord teaching in Sichar, the people
questioned Him as to what had become of the Holy Thing of the Ark of the
Covenant.
He answered them that mankind had already received a great deal of it, that it
was even then among them. The fact of their no longer possessing it as they once
did, was a proof that the Messiah was born.
I saw the Mystery, the Holy Thing, in a form, in a kind of veil, as a substance,
as an essence, as strength. It was bread and wine, flesh and blood; it was the
germ of the Blessing before the Fall. It was the sacramental presence of that
holy propagation of man before he fell. It was preserved to man by religion. It
was possible for it to be ever more and more realized in subsequent generations
by a continuous purification through piety, which purification was perfected in
Mary thus rendering her fit to receive through the Holy Spirit the long looked
for Messiah. Noe, in planting the vineyard, had made the preparation; but here
in the Holy Thing were contained already the reconciliation and protection.
Abraham had received it in that blessing which I saw bestowed upon him as
something tangible, as a substance. It was a Mystery entrusted to one family,
therefore the great prerogative of the firstborn.
Before the Departure from Egypt, Moses took possession of the Holy Thing. As
before this it had been the religious Mystery of one family, so now it became
the Mystery of the whole nation. It was placed in the Ark of the Covenant as the
Most Holy Sacrament in the tabernacle and in the ostensorium.
When the children of Israel worshipped the golden calf and fell into gross
errors, Moses doubted the power of the Holy Thing. For this he was punished by
not being allowed to enter into the Promised Land. When the Ark fell into the
hands of the enemy, the Holy Thing, the bond of union among the Israelites, was
removed by the High Priest, as was always done when danger threatened. And yet
was the Ark still so sacred that the enemy under the pressure of God's
chastising anger were forced to restore it. Few comprehended the Holy Thing or
the influence it exerted. It often happened that one man by his sins could
interrupt the stream of grace, could break the direct genealogical line that was
to end in the Saviour, or rather in that pure vessel that was to receive Him
from God. In this way, the Redemption of the human race was long delayed. But
penance could again restore continuity to that line. I do not know for certain
whether this Sacrament were in itself divine, whether it came forth simply and
purely what it was, directly from God, or whether it owed its sacred character
to a kind of priestly, supernatural consecration. I think, however, that the
first proposition is the true one, for I know for certain that priests often
opposed its action and thus retarded Redemption. But they were heavily punished
for it, yes, oftentimes even with death itself. When the Holy Thing operated,
when prayer was heard, it became bright and increased in size, shining through
the cover with a reddish glow. The blessing proceeding from it increased and
diminished at different times according to the purity and piety of mankind. By
prayer, sacrifice, and penance, it appeared to grow larger.
I saw Moses expose it before the people only twice: at the passage through the
Red Sea and at the worshipping of the golden calf, but even then it was covered.
It was removed from the golden casket and veiled as the Blessed Sacrament is on
Good Friday. Like It, it was carried before the breast, or raised up for a
blessing or a malediction, as if exerting its influence even at a distance. By
it, Moses restrained many of the Israelites from idolatry and saved them from
death.
I often saw the High Priest making use of it when he was alone in the Holy of
Holies. He turned it in a certain direction, as if to strengthen, to protect, to
shield, sometimes to shower a blessing, to grant a petition, sometimes even to
punish. He never touched it with uncovered hands.
The Holy Thing was also plunged by him into water. This he did with a religious
intention and the water was given as a sacred draught. Deborah, the Prophetess,
Anna the mother of Samuel in Silo, and Emerentia, the mother of St. Anne, drank
of this water. By this holy drink, Emerentia was prepared for the conception of
St. Anne. St. Anne drank not of this water, since the Blessing was in her.
Joachim, through an angel, received the Holy Thing out of the Ark of the
Covenant, and Mary was conceived under the Golden Gate of the Temple. At her
birth, she herself became the Ark of the Holy Thing which then reached its
destination, and the wooden Ark in the Temple was deprived of its presence.
When Joachim and Anne met under the Golden Gate, they were surrounded by
dazzling light, and the Blessed Virgin was conceived without original sin. A
wonderful sound was heard; it was like a voice from God.
Men cannot comprehend this mystery of Mary's sinless conception in Anne,
therefore is it hidden from them. The ancestors of Jesus received the germ of
the Blessing for the Incarnation of God; but Jesus Christ Himself is the
Sacrament of the New Covenant, the Fruit, the Fulfillment of that Blessing, to
unite men again to God.
When Jeremias at the time of the Babylonian Captivity hid the Ark of the
Covenant and other precious objects on Mount Sinai, the Mystery, the Holy Thing,
was no longer in it; only its coverings were buried by him with the Ark. He
knew, however, what it had contained and how holy it was. He wanted, therefore,
to speak of it publicly and of the abomination of treating it irreverently. But
Malachias restrained him, and took charge of the Holy Thing himself. Through him
it fell into the hands of the Essenians, and afterward was placed by a priest in
the second Ark of the Covenant. Malachias was like Melchisedech an angel, one
sent by God. I saw him not as an ordinary man. Like
Melchisedech, he had the appearance of a man, differing from him only inasmuch
as was suited to his time.
Shortly after Daniel's being led to Babylon, I saw Malachias as a boy of seven
years, wearing a reddish garment, and wandering around with a staff in his hand.
He seemed to have lost his way, and he took shelter with a pious couple at Sapha
of the tribe of Zabulon. They thought him a lost child of one of the captive
Israelites, and they kept him with them. He was very amiable, and so
extraordinarily patient and meek that everyone loved
him; he could therefore teach and do what he pleased without molestation. He had
much intercourse with Jeremias, whom he assisted with advice when in the
greatest perils. It was through him also that Jeremias was freed from prison in
Jerusalem. The ancient Ark of the Covenant, hidden by Jeremias on Mount Sinai,
was never again discovered.
The second one was not so beautiful as the first, and it did not contain so many
precious things. Aaron's rod was in possession of the Essenians on Horeb, where
also a part of the Holy Thing was preserved. The family that Moses appointed as
the immediate protectors of the Ark of the Covenant, existed till the time of
Herod.
All will come to light on the last day. Then will the Mystery become clear, to
the terror of all that have made a bad use of it.
Pdf 165 The Immaculate Conception
When Anne had long besought God not to separate her
pleased to deprive her of children, an angel appeared
to
her heart at rest, for the Lord had heard her prayer;
that
maid servants to the Temple of Jerusalem; that there
of Josaphat, she should meet Joachim, who was even now
Anne to take some doves with her as an offering, and
should be made known to her.
When, after her lengthy prayer, she lay on her couch
yes, even penetrated her. I saw her, upon an interior
perception,
the right, she saw a luminous figure writing on the
wall in
the writing word for word. It was to this effect: that
she
altogether special, and that the Blessing received by
Anne's anxiety as to how she should communicate all
that
Joachim's vision. I received then a clear explanation
of
the Covenant, a sacrament of the Incarnation, of the
Immaculate
fallen humanity was contained. I saw Anne, with
surprise
luminous writing. Her gladness increased to such a
degree
far younger than before. I saw on Anne's person at the
instant
a shining vessel. I cannot better describe it than by
saying
I saw, too, the apparition of the angel to Joachim. The
promised that his prayer should be heard, and told
announcement, Joachim was troubled. He felt very timid
him that the priests had already been enlightened with
Joachim and his shepherds had already erected their
Joachim reached Jerusalem on the fourth day of the
feast,
also on the fourth day of the feast. She stopped with
the
for the first time only at the end of the feast.
When Joachim approached the Temple, two of the
He remained shut up in the Temple all night, praying
with
luminous figure appeared to him in the same manner as
to
it were the three names: Helia, Hanna, Mirjam, and near
a tabernacle. Joachim laid the roll on his breast under
his
his sterility which was not a disgrace to him, but a
glory,
from him but through him, a fruit from God, the
before the Holy of Holies. The space between the
curtain
And in this way I saw innumerable pictures all bearing
The angel now removed something from the Ark of the
I understood that the angel forbade Joachim to reveal
why Zacharias, the father of the Baptist, was struck
the Ark by the priests. Then were they at first
confounded;
now led Joachim out of the Holy of Holies and vanished.
Joachim lay on the ground like one stupefied.
set aside for special purposes. Under certain
circumstances,
reconciliation, and absolution. The priests parted from
gradually widening, and almost imperceptibly descending
from above. Joachim had accomplished a third part of
the
directly under the Golden Gate, where stood a pillar
like a
conducted into the subterranean passage through an
her. She was also accompanied by some women, among
I saw Joachim and Anne embrace each other in ecstasy.
After this, Joachim and Anne, praising God, turned
The Temple was all thrown open and decorated with
garlands
Joachim and Anne went for awhile to one of the priests'
Upon their arrival home, the holy couple published the
influence exerted upon children by the purity, the
continence, and the mortification of parents.
Four and one
half months, less three days after St. Anne
Mary, formed by the Most Holy Trinity, in movement. I
became a great shining mountain, and still like the
figure
Divine Persons rising toward the mouth and issuing from
of God and assumed a human shape, or rather it was
by the command of God, most beautifully fashioned. I
saw
from it they experienced unspeakable joy.
I saw that soul united to the living body of Mary in
womb.
Anne arose and announced to Joachim what had taken
Pdf 194
At last. Mary was blessed by the priests. I saw her
radiant with light as she stood on the little altar throne. Two priests on
either side of her and one opposite. They held rolls of writing, and prayed over
the child, their hands outstretched above her. At that moment, I saw a wonderful
vision in the child Mary. She seemed, by virtue of the blessing, to become
transparent. In her was a glory, a halo of unspeakable splendor, and in that
halo appeared the Mystery of the Ark of the Covenant, as if in a glittering
crystal vessel. I saw Mary's heart open like the doors of a temple, and the Holy
Thing of the Ark of the Covenant, around which a tabernacle of precious stones
of
Pdf 206
The priest now at the incense
I saw above the heart of Mary the glory and the Mystery
From her shoulders, right and left, stretched an olive
In the intervening spaces of this verdant cross,
appeared
Ah, who can express it! Infinite variety, unceasing
The whole Temple disappeared, for Mary and her
the priest at the altar appeared to prophesy, and to
call
Pdf 207
There were still in the Temple some devout
remember, though not distinctly, that Anne had dropped
Pdf 234
Mary and
Pdf 400
12. JESUS DISCOURSES WITH ELIUD, THE
Jesus passed the whole day in most confidential
intercourse
I learned from this conference many details concerning
or whenever there was fear of its falling into
enemies'
I saw in pictures very many things, which Jesus
explained
Jesus spoke much to Eliud also of the sanctity of Anne
under the Golden Gate. He told him that not by Joseph
flesh; that she had been conceived, of that pure
Blessing
Pdf 644
As they still came crowding in, Jesus bade the
Vol 4
P 345 It was there that
she had been reared, there she had adored the Holy Mystery, until she herself
bore in her womb that same Holy Mystery, that Holy One who, as the true Paschal
Lamb, had been so
barbarously immolated the day before.
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Jesus spoke too of the Mystery contained in the Ark of
the Covenant. He said that
that Mystery was now His
Body and Blood, which He
gave to them forever in the
Sacrament.