Anne Oatherine Emmerich.
December 21st, St. 1'homas's Day.-The Pilgrim, on entering to pay his accustolued 'visit, found Sister Emmerich busily engaged with her box of relics, her church, as she playfully called it. Among them she had discovered several very ancient ones. The Pilgrim was surprised to see in what beautiful order she had arranged them during the previous night. Although in a state of contemplation, she had lined the box with silk &8 neatly as if she had been wide awake. The five relics of St. James the Less, St. Simon the Chananean, St. Joseph of Arimathea, St. Denis the Areopagite, and a disciple of St. John, whom she called Eiiud she had folded separately. "I had," she exclaimed, "a very bright night! I found out the names of all the bones by me and I sawall the journeys of St. Thomas, as also those of all the Apostles and disciples whose relics I have. I llad n vision of a great festival and of how all these relics came to Munster. 'l'hey were collected by a foreign Bishop at a very remote period, and they afterward fell into the handti of a Bi'3hop of Miinster.-I sawall with the dates and names, and I trust in God it will not be lost! ..... I received pcrlnission, also, to reveal to my confessor the name of the relic that the friend brought rne that he may note it down; but I must not tell the ,frit'lzd himself."
Thefriend, llowever, would not understand these words so indicative of Sister Emmerich's bond with the Church and the supernatural origin of her n\arvellous gift; and she, seeing his ideas still unchanged, felt a Iively desire to Inake known to him the secret name. She says most in.. genuously: "Ah !I thought, if I could only tell hilll the name of that relic! and I had the word on Iny tongue when all at once I), shining white hand was stretched forth from the closet there and laid on my lips lo prevent my
408 Life 0/
uttering it. It came 80 suddenly, 80 unexpectedly that I almost laughed out!" This scene was repeated under almost similar cirCllmstances a few days later when she was again seiz~d with desire to gratify the friend's curi08ity on the score of the relic he had given her. "I was again tempted to name the saint whose relic had caused me so much annoyance; but just as I was about to pronounce it, I heard a rapping in the closet which checked me, and I dared not, I could not say it. More than once I have had the word on Iny tongue, but I could not speal{ it, although I wanted to do so." Her confessor and the friend had likewise heard the rapping in the closet and were unable to account for it. But when the former exclairned: "The evil one shall play us no tricks! "-Sister Emmerich quietly took the" relic frOlll the closet, saying: "It is the saint the Pilgrim's friend brought."
We shall here subjoin some facts which clearly show the power of the priest over this chosen soul. On January 18, 1821, Father Limberg placed by Sister Emmerich a little sealed packa.ge, saying to the Pilgriln as he did so: " I do not k.now what it contains; but when she notices it, I shall tell her where I got it." Then, turning to the invalid he asked: "What is this' Is it good T Tell me what it is." Although interrupted in her vision, Sister Emmerich answered after a short pause : "It belongs to a pious man in the seminary at Paris. He brought it from Jerusalem and Rome. It contains various things: some hair belonging to a Pope; a particle of the body of a new saint who died in a convent in the Holy Land; a small stone from the Holy Sepulchre; Borne earth from the spot on which Our Lord's Body lay; and some hair belonging to another person." The Pilgrim remarked to Father Limberg: "You found it, I preAnne
()atherir~e Emn~erich. 409
Burne, among the Abbe Lambert's effects, for he received similar objects fron1 Paris."-" Yes," replied ~~ather Limberg. " In arranging his papers, I found the little parcel," and with these words he left the room.
" Who is that Iniserable little nun~" exclaimed the invalid. "The Father said nothing to HIC about her! lIe ought to go see her. She is much worse off than I ; she is lying in the rnidst of thorns!" Sister I~nlnlerich saw herself under this figure, because the sealed parcel contained some of her own hair which the old Abbe intended to send to his friend.
One day she recognized a relic as belonging to a holy Pupe whose naUle, however, she failed to recall. The Pilgrim begged the confessor to prescnt it to her once rnorc. He did so, and she held it but a few seconds whcn she exclairned confidently: "It is a relic of Pope 130niface I."
August 9, 1821.-Sister Emnlerich said: "I was busy all last night with the sacred bones. I sawall the saints, and I was told to say as many Our Fathers as there are relics, for tIle souls of all resting here in our cernetery."
The following fact will show in a most striking manner the powerful impression made upon Sister Emmerich by profane, as well as by holy objects. The Pilgrim records under date of May 9, 1820:
"Dr. \Vesener, whilst excavating a pagan tomb, found a vase of ashes with whieh were mingled some fragments of a human skull. 'rh~ Pilgrim placed one on Sister Emmerich's couch as she lay absorbed in ecstatic prayer; but she \\'ho was so powerfully attracted by the relics ofthe saints, as to move her head, her hands, her whole person trelnbling in every muscle after theIn, let this bOTJe lie unnoticed on the coverlet near the fingers of her left hand. The Pilgriln thought it an object of indifference to her, when she sud·
410 Life of
denly exclaimed: "What does that old Reb~cca want with me'" and when he moved the bone a little nearer, she hid her hands under the coverlet, crying out that a s,varthy old savage womar! \-vas running around the roon) followed by children naked lil{c frogs. She could not 10ol{ at her~ she was afraid; she had seen such dark, wild people in Egypt, but shc knew not what this old woman wanted \\Tith her, etc. Then catching up her box of relics, she pressed it to }ler bosom with both hands saying, though still in ecstasy: '~Now she cannot hurt me !" and she slipped under the coverlet. The Pilgrim put the bone in his pocket and stepped to the side of her bed toward which her face was turnet1 ; but instantly she c~langed her posture. He returned to the opposite siJe, and again she as quickly averted her head; at last, he removed the unholy object fronl her presence, when she exclaimed with a sigh of relief that the saints had preserved her. During this scene, her confessor held out to her his consecrated finger toward ,vhich she moved her head so quickly as to seize it with her lips and press it engerly. "What is that 1" he dClnanded. Instantly came th~ astonishing answer: "It is rnore tha'n thOlt dost c01npi.4ehend!" Then he withdrew his fiugcr and letia his hand on the foot of the bed where, teo, she tried to follow. Rigid in ecstasy and still clasping her box, she arose to a sitting posture and endeavored to reach the consecrated fingers \vith her lips. Then the Pilgrinl laid near the hand that clasped the box of relics, a fragment of the fossil remains of some aninial which the doctorhad found in the Lippe. Sister Elnmerich willingly received it, sayilJg: "Ah! this is all right' There is nothing hurtful about this. It is a good anilnal ; it never cOlnmitted sin !" Then she exhorted the Pilgrim not to meddle with heathen hones, not to bring then) to her mixed up with the bones of
411
Anne (Jatherin,e Em'fn(~rieitt~
the saints. "Go, tIlrow that old women away t Take care, she Inight hurt you!" she exclaimed earnestly at intervals. Some days after when the Pilgrim alluded fo the incidents just related, Sister Ernmerich severely represented to him how improper, how dangerous it was for him to make such experiments upon her, to mingle thus the sacred with the profane, and to expose her to unbecoming inlpressions. "Pagan bones repel mp, £11 me "\vith disgust and loathi.ng ! I cannot say that I actually felt that the woman is damned; but I perceived around her sOInething sinist~r, somethin~ that turns awa~r froln Gcrl, that spreads around darkncf,S, or rather that is darkness itself, quite contrary to the luminJus, attractive, beheficent bones of t1 1e saints. The old WOTllan glanced around furtivel}T, as if in connection with the powers of evil, as if she herself could harnl. All round ller, forest and lieath, la.y in darkness; not in the darkness of night, but in spiritual darkness, the darkness of ,vicked doctrines, in the dar~-ness of separation frorn tIl e light of the \vorld, in the covenant of darkness. I saw only the \VOlnan and h(~ children, but there were
rniserable huts of various forms scattered here and thc~e, sunk in the eartb, surolnunted, some bJT round sod roofs, other~ by square reed ones, and sorne again by eonical ones; between most of these huts ",-ere underg~'Oound passagf3~. The unholy, heathenish influence of such remains rnay produce rnuch evil if Inade use of for urJlawful superstitious practices. 'l'hey who so use theln become thereby, though unknown to the~llselves, participators in their influence; they establish a communication with them, jus+. as the veneration of holy relics imparts a share in the benediction, the sanctifying influence of what is redeemed and regenerated."
It was not onl)' in vision, but also in the naturr\l state of
412 Life cf
consciousness that Sister Ellllnerich felt the attractive influence of holy relics, saw thern shining, and knew their names; a fact to which the Pilgrim testifies in his journal of Dec. 30,1818: "Sister Neuhaus," he says, " Sister Emmerich's former Mistress ofNovices, came to see her bringing witl. her a small package. .It\s she entered the room, the invalid experienced, as she herself said, a thrill of joy and an interior conviction that the package contained relics. 'Ah!' she exclaimed, ' you bring the treasure fronl your room and you keep there the dust!' and ,vhen Sister Neuhaus laid the parcel on the table near her, so gr(~at was her eIl1otion that she feared every rnOInent she \vould be ravished in ecstasy. It was with the greatest effort that she could entertain her visitor, her attention being powerfully drawn to the relics. Sister Neuhaus asked if she ,,~ere unusually sick. ' Not perfectly well,' was the answer, and then she spoke of indifferent subjects, hoping to divert her mind froln its all-absorbing object. An interior voice seemed to be calling out to her: 'There is Ludger! There h9 is !'After the sister left, the invalid said: 'I saw the whole time over the relic a glimmering of light, white as milk and brighter than the day; and, when a particle fell on the floor, I saw, as it were, a bright spark drop under the box (1). As the Pilgrinl looked over the relics, I was almost ravished and I hearrl a voice, exclaiming: "There is Ludger ! That is his bone !" and instantly I beheld the holy Bishop with n1itre and crosier in the assembly of the saints. Then others were shown me, one by one: first,Scholastica above a troop ofnuns, and her relic on the table; then Afra surrounded by nuns, and her relic on the table; Benedict over a crowd of nlonks, and his relic on the table; WaJburga with her nuns, and her relic belo\\T by the Pilgrim. Among
(1) There I looked, poor blind filan that I am, and found it !"-Brentano.
H
413
Anne Oatherine Ern1nerlch.
the nuns one was pointed out as Emerentiana, and I heard these words: "That is Emerentiana, and there is her bone!" I was surprised, for I had never heard that name before. Then I saw a maiden with a crown of double roses round her brow, holding in one hand a lovely garland of roses, in the other a bouquet, and I heard these words: 'That is Rosalie who did so much for the poor. She now holds the flower garland as she once did her pious gifts, and there lies her relic !' Then I saw a nun in a shining troop, and I was told: '1'hat is Ludovica, and there is her relic. See, how she scatters her gifts !'-and I sa\v that she had her apron full of loaves which she distributed to the poor. Then I saw a Bishop and heard the words: 'He lived in Ludgel"'s time. They knew each other; they labored together,' and yet, I saw them far apart. And now, among other blessed maidens, I saw a very ~YC"lng secular clothed in a spiritual garment of the styIe of the ~Iiddle Ages. Her body had been found incorrupt and elltire. Her sanctity had thus been recognized, and one of Ler bones was placed among other relics. At the same time, I saw her open tomb. Then I saw a delicate )Touth of t~le earl)T ages and near him six others and a woman. The name Felicitas was pronounced and, immediately, a round place enclosed by w&lls and arches was shown me, and I was told that in the dens on one side wer~ the wild beasts, and in the prisons opposite the martyrs in chains waiting to be torn to pieces. I saw also people diggiog by night and carrying off bones, and it was said to me: 'They do this secretly. They are the martyrs' friends. In this way their relics are carried to Rome and distributed.' I saw Felicitas near seven youths."
A weelt later, the Pilgrim presented Sister Elnmerich with the rest of the relics in Sister Neuhaus's package. " I
4.14
gave her seven parcels," he says, "all of which she recognized as belonging to St. Elizabeth of Thuringia. 'I see Elizabeth,' she exclainled, 'a crown in one hand, in the other a little basket from which fall golden roses, large and snlall, on a poor beggar belo\\T.' Here she pointed to a relic, saying, 'That is Barbara! I see her ,,-ith a crown 011 her head and in her hand a chalice with the Blessed Sacranlent.' Then turning to another little paper, she saiel: , These are from the place of martyrdom in ROIne.'" With these words she fell into ecstasy and described the places she saw and the sufferings of the Inartyrs whilst, at the same time, she named the relics and presented them to the Pilgrinl to fold and label. He was atnazed at the rapidity of her speech and movements. lIe expressed his astonishment in these words: "I must ackno\\'ledge, to 01y shame, that of such things I know almost nothing! Fancy to yourself this poor peasant-girl gazing on ancient I{(dne~ describing itb rrlanners and custOlilS! She understand~ all that she sees, even the moral state of the martyrs; and yet, her inexperience is such that, for the Illost part, she knows not how to name the objects, the localitie~, the instruments that fall under her eyes !" At the close of her vision, she asked her guide how these relies had come where they were, and why they had not received tile honor due theln ~ He answered that they had been exhUlned long ago, had pas:;ed from place to place, and had at last reached l\Iiinster. Here they had been put aside to Inake ,yay for other things.
"I was in a strange, wonderful city," she says. " I stood on top of the round building enclosing the circular place. Over the entrance, rig~ht and left, ran an inside staircase to where I was. On one side were prisons opening into the enclosure; on the other, the cages of the wild beasts. Behind these were nooks into which the execu415
Anne (}atherine E'1nme1Itich.
tioners slipped when they released the animals. Facing the entrance against the wall, was a ~tone seat up to \\,hich steps led on either side. Here sat the wife of the \vic}{ed emperor with two tyr,~Ilts. ,Just baek of this seat, upon the platform, sat a Inan who appeared to superintend affairs, for he made gestures right and left as if conlmanding something. And now the door of one of the cages ,,'as thrown open, and out dashed a ;3potted aninlallik.e a huge cat. 1~he executioners stood behind the noor, slippe(l into the nook for safety, and tllen 11lounted the steps to the platfurrn. Meanwhile, tW'1 other executioners had dragged a maiden from the prison opposite and removed her white tunic. Like all the nlartyrs she shone \vith light. She stood calmly in the middle of the 3rena with raised eyes and hands crossed on her breast; she showed no sign of fear. The beast did her no harm but, crouching before her, sprang upon the slaves who were urging it on with spears and cri~s. As it would not attack her, they got it back into its cage, I know not how. The nlaiden wad then led to another place of execution around \vhich there were only railings. She was fastened to a stone by a stake, her hands bound behind her, and beheaded. I sa\\y her put her hands behind her baek herself. Her hair was brain.ed rvund her head; she was lovely, and she showed no fear. Then n. man ,vas led out into the arena; his nlantle was relTIoved, and only an under-garment left that reached to his knees. 1"hc beasts did hinl no harm, and he, too, was beheaded. He ,vas, like the rnniden, pushed fronl side to side and pricked \\'ith sharp iron rods. These grievous tortures \\'CI'C borne with such joy tbat the looker-on can but regret not sharing them. SonJetirncs the executioners themselves are f() wonderfully affected by the sublinle ~pectacle that they boldly join the Illartyrs, confess
416 Life qf
Jesus Christ, and suffer with them.-I see a martyr in the arena. A lioness pounces upon him, drags him frorn side to side, and tears hin) to pieces. I see others burned alivp, and one {rOIn \",born the flames turn away and seize upon the executioners of whonl numbers perish. A priest who secretly consoled the sufferers has his limbs cut off one by one and presented to hinl in the hope of rnal{ing him abjure his faith; but the mutilated Lod)T, full of joy, praises God until the llead is struck~ off. I went, also, into the catacombs. I sa,v men and WOlnen kneeli~lg in prayer before a table on which were lights. One priest recited prayers, and another burned incense in a vase. All seerned to offer something in a disl} placed on the table. 'fhe prayers were like a preparation for Inartyrdorn. Then I saw a noble lady with three daughters, from sixteen to twenty J'ears of age, led into the arena. The judge seated on high ,vas not the sarrle that I had last seen. Several beasts \\'ere let loose upon the Christians, but they harlned thern not; they even fawned upon the youngest. The nlartyrR were now led before the judge, and then to the other place of execution near by. The eldest \vas fir~t burned with black torches on the cheeks and breasts and under the arms, and pincers applied to her whole body; after which she was condllcted back before the judge. She noticed hinl not, however, for she ,vas intent upon her sister whom they were now torturing. 1-'he same happened to all four, and then they were beheaded. 'l'he mother was reserved for the last, her sufferings intensified by the sight ofher daughters' torluents.--I saw a holy Pope betrayed, dragged fronl the catacombs, and Inartyrcd, whilst one of the most furious of the Romans, suddenly touched with repentance, rushed among the martyrs and perished with them. I longed 80 for the sanle favor that I cried out; but
417
A.nne Oatherine Emmerich.
a voice said to me: 'Everyone goes his own way ! We Buffered martyrdorn but once, but thou art constantly martyred. We had one enemy, thou hast many!' "
On another occasion, the Pilgrim offered the invalid some relics which she took, pressed to her heart, arranged in order, again pressed to her heart, and regarded attentively. Then she gave theln back separately, relnoving one from the lot as spurious and exclaiming: "They are grand ! No words can describe their beauty!" To the question as to what she experienced from the sacred bones, she answered: 'I see, I feel the light! It is like a ray that pierces me, ravishes me. I feel its connection with the glorified spirit, with the whole world of light. I see pictures from th·e life of the saint, and his place in the Church Triumphant. There is a wonderful connection between body and soul, a connection which ceases not with death; consequently, the blessed soul can continue its influence over the faithful through particles of its earthly remains. It will be very easy for the angels to separate the good from tIle bad at the last day, for all will be either light or dark."
On July 31st, whilst rapt in contemplation, Sister Emmerich took her little box of relics and, from among more than one hundred, chose out one particle which she said belonged to St. Ignatius of Loyola. On returning to wakefulness, she began again to hunt up fragments belonging to one another, and in about five rninutes she had made up six separate piles. Of one of them she said: "I ought to have ten pieces." She counted again, but found only nine. "There ought to be ten," she repeated. At last, she found the tenth. She fell back~ exhausted, saying: "I can do no more. I can see no more! " -After a pause, she exclaimed: "I felt irresistibly drawn to look for these relics. They attracted me, and I sighed
418 Lle of
for them! It is easy to recognize then} at such tinles, for the}T shine with a different light. I see little pictures like the faces of the saints to whom they belong, toward which rays of light dart from the particles. I cannot express it! It wns a wonderful state! It is as if one felt something confined in one's breast that strives tu get free. The effnrt fatigues, exhausts." Opening a paper, she rem:d~ked : " Here is a little stone," and she picked it out from among many others precisely similar. She had no need of light for this occupation; indeed, she often performed it by night.-Tlte 'Ticar Hilgenberg, having arranged some relics very elegantly, brought theln to show the invalid. She was delighted wi~h them. She said: "I see sorne of thew surrounded by an aureola of various cfJlors. r~rhey shine \"ith light, they are perfectly transparent. On lGoking more closely, I see a tiny figure "rhich gradually increases in size until I behold the form, the clothing, dcme~l.nor, life, history, and nn-rne ,)f the saint. The nalnes are al"'''ays under the feet for men, at the right side for 'VOlne11. Only the firs t syllahIe is \vrit ~en i the rest I p~rceive interiorIy Ci). 1.-'he letters arc ::1Jrroundcd by an aureola of the sarne colors as the relic'; of the saints to WhOlll the)p belong. It scenlS as if the n:1.rnes were sornething essential, sOlnething substantial; there is ;/1 mystery in theln. \Vhen I see the r.;aints in a general way, \vithout 1 cference to Tll)t recognizing theIn, they appear to be in hierarchic:8 and choirs, clothed aecor(ling to their rank in the costume oftlle (]hurch 'J'rju~"lphant, and not in that of the time in which they lived. Popes, Bishops, kings, all tile anointed, the Inarty rs, the virgin~, etc., are ill lleavpnly ~~arlnents surround0<1 by glory. l'he sexes arc not separated. 'rbe virgins
(l) \Vlwnpv"r ~i:-4ter Emmprkh, in NH11plianCt· with Brent(lno'~ request, tried to tra('(' tht' n~lTllt'~ of Ow r.,lj('s as ~h(;wn 111'1' in vi:--ioIl, sbe invarialJly \Vfote only tho tlr~t sylIaJ,lp and toat III HIIIHhH dw,r(wU·r.",.
Anne Catherine Emmerich
have an entirely distinct, tnystical rank. l'hey were either voluntary virgins, or chaste married women, or Inartyrs to whom the executioners offered violence. I see l\Iagdalen in a high ranl{, but not among the virgins. She was tall, beautiful, and so attractive that, had she not been converted to Jesus, she would have become a female n10nster. She gained a great victory!
" Sometimes I see only the saints' heads, sometinles the whole bust radiant \vith colored light. The glory of virgins and those who have led a tranquil life, whose cornbats have been only those of patience in daily trials, in domestic troubles, is white as snow, and it is the sanle for youths ,vho01 r often see with lilies in their hands. They \vho were rnartyrcd by secret sufferings for the honor of Jesus shine \vith a pale red light. 'rhe 11lartyrs have bright red aureolas and palrns in their hanJ~. The confessors and doctors are yellow and green, lik~e a rainbow, and they bear green bran~hes. 'Ihe nlartyrs are in different colored glory, aecording to the various degrE~es of torments they endured. l\tnong tny relics I see sorne saints \vIto became Inartyrs by tbe interic\r rnartyrdolll of the soul witllout the shedding of blood.
" I sec the angels '.'rithout aureolas. rrhey appear to lne, indeerl, under a hUluan forlH with face8 and hair, but they are rnare delicate, 11101'0 noble, Inure beautiful than men. They" are irnrnatcrial, perfectly lluninous and transparent, but in different degrees. I see blessed souls surrounded by a Inaterial lightJ rather ,vhite than resplendent, and around tllem a Inany-colored glory, an aureola whose tints correspol1cl to their l{ind of purification. I see neither angel::; nor sain ts Inoving their feet, exeepting in the historic scenes of their life upon earth, as Incn among men. I never see thes8 apparitions in their real state speaking to
420
one another with the nlouth; they turn to one another, interpenetrate one another."
Anlong Sister Ernmerich's relics were two of St. Hildegarde, one small, the other larger, a piece of the hip-boue. One day she look.ed up with an aIr of surprise, as if SOlne one were approaching her: " 'I\JTho is t.hat in a long white robe ~') she asked, and then, turning to the little closet by her, she said: " 0 it is I-lildegarde! I have two relics of her, one largt~ \vhich I do not often find, and a smaller OIJe whieh is al\\'aJ'"s corning to hand. The large one is less IUlninous. It belongs to a less noble part, for bones differ in dignity. So, too, the garlnents woen by l\lagdalen before her conversion shine less than the others. The menlbers lost by a saint before his second birth are relics, since all mankind, even before the coming of Jesus, were redeerned through I-lim. The relics, the holj! bones of pure, chaste, courageous souls arc firrner, lllore solid than those of persons agitated by passions; consequently, the bones belonging to the simple old times are firrner and more attractive than those of a later period."
The I>ilgrim brought ber a little box containing about fifty fraglnents of relics .all lying together. As the invalid was at the moment perfectly conscious, in the waking state, he relnarl{ed that it ,vonid be a good time to sort and arrange thern. Sister Emrllerich assented and set to work earnestly, putting the particles of the same body by themselves, and even designating to what members they belonged. " These," she said, picking up some scraps, "were once in fire.. I now see people hunting for them in the ashes. These were in the city church, and I see how they cleaned and prepared thenl. 'Those there are very bri1iiant, these less so; and there is one," pointing to it, "that sheds around a particularly beautiful golden red light." Here she
Anne Catltert8ne Emmerich. 421
fell into ~ontemplation from which she soon returned with the words: "I see an old palsied man, lying on a bed in an open square.-A Bishop, with a crosier resting on his arm, is leaning over him, his head upon his shoulder, whilst his attendants stand arollnd with lighted torches," and she pointed out the relic with the beautiful light as connected with this scene, naming it Servulus. She also named St. Quirinus in connection with one of these relics.
The Pilgrim brought her a small package of relics belonging to the Castle of Diilmen. It contained eight scraps of old stuff which she laid aside ~'ith the words: "It was once worn by a saint. It is a piece of a stole, a vestment which touched a holy thing." When asked how she knew that, she answered that ever since the package entered her room, she had seen four saints by her clothed in this stuff. They had cut and touched it, and again they appeared to her as she was picking out the shreds. The Pilgrirn inquired if she did not see St. Thecla whose relic lay by her. ~'Yes," was the answer, " I see her, now here, now there, in a vision, as if on the watch near the prison in which St. Paul is confined. Sonletimes I see her gliding along by a wall, sometimes under an arch, like a person anxiously seeking something." Picking up a splinter of brown wood wrapped in blue, she said: " This is a piece of the wood of which the
cross ~Iary had at Ephesus ,vas nlade. It is cedar-wood,
and the scrap of blue silk belonged to a mantle that once
clothed an image ofl\fary. It is very old."
On November 6, 1821, Sister Emmerich found among
her relics a scrap of wood which she gave the Pilgrilll,
saying: "This ,vas brought from the IIoly Land long ago
by a pilgrirn. It was taken from a tree which stood in the
little garden of an Essenian. tTesus was carried up over it
by the tempter at the close of IIis forty days' fast." Then
422 Life of
she handed another package to him: 'lHere," she said, 'lis some earth from Mt. Sinai. I see the mountain by it." Taking up a bone, she said: "It belongs to a saint of July; his name begins with E. I saw him in prison with two others whom starvation forced to suck the bones ofthe dead. When led forth to martyrdom, he was, on account of his wonderful discourse on God, looked upon as a fool, and they wanted to free him. But one of the soldiers cried out: l Let us see if he can call his God down from heaven! He is as worthy of martyrdom as the others!' and the blasphemous wretch was immediately strucl~ by lightning. Then I saw the saint celebrating divine service in a church, after which he was martyred."
HISTORY OF A RELIQUARY.
November 8, 1819....--When the Pilgrim visited Sister Emmerich on this day, he brought with him in hi~ breastpocket an old cross containing relics \vhich she had never seen. As he approached her bed, she cried out: "0 here comes a whole procession!" and she extended her hand toward the cross which he had not yet removed frorn his pocket, He handed it to her. Opening it eagerly, she exclairned : " Here they all are, and one old Ulan as up .. right as the Swiss herlnit1" The Pilgrim left the cross with her, and next day she related the follo\ving history :"
.Lt\s this reliquary approached I saw in the order in which the relies lie, the saints hovering iu the air in the form of a cross. Below lay a wild, "roody C0untry ,vith a mass of dense underwood. I sa,\V also sorne people among \vhom vias one old nlan like the old S\viss hernlit. 1'hen I had a vision referring to the cross. In a woody valley al110ng mountains near the sea, I sa\v a herrrlitage of six fenlale recluses, and I beheld tlleir wbole way of life. They were all young enough to help themselyes ; they were very
AnnA)- Oa.therine Ernrnerich. 423
silent, retired, and poor, keeping by them no provisions whatever, bllt depending wholly upon alms. They lived under a superior and recited the Canonical Ifours. They wore a coarse, brown habit with a cowl. In front of their cells were neat little gardens which they cultivated themselves; each had its own entrance and contained orange trees. I-Iere I saw the recluses. I saw then) occupied also in some labor new to me. On a machine like a loom were stretched cords which they wove into various colored carpets, coarse but very neat; they also did beautiful basketwork out of fine white straw. They slept on the ground, on a plank with two coverlets and a poor pillow, and they ate scarcely anything cooked. They took their meals together off a table in which holes were hollowed out to serve for plates; on either side 8wung leaves which could be raised to cover these stationary plates. I saw them eating a brownish-Iool{ing-stew of vegetables. The greatest simplicity reigned also in the chapel. \Vhatever there was beautiful in it \vas of plaited straw. I thought: 'Here are golden prayers and straw ornaments; but we have prayers of straw and gilded ornaments!' l'he stone altar was covered with a beautiful straw matting, scalloped on either side and falling at the ends. In the centre stood a small tabernacle on which was that same cross that the Pilgrinl has. Two wooden candlesticks and a pair of wooden vases, with bouquets very symmetrically arranged in. the form of a monstrance, stood on either side. l'he little COIlvent was a square, stone building with a shingle roof. The rooms were partitioned off by a box-wood wickerwork, the openings about as large a.s one's hand, and they were of various heights. In the chapel they were higher than a man, though they did not reach the roof; but in the cells they were lower, the recluses could see over them.
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They were woven on rods fixed in the walls. The en.. trance, which faced the sea, led into the kitchen which opened into the refectory with its singular table; behind was the chapel. To the right and left were three cells before which lay the little gardens. The doors leading into them from the cells were in the form of an arch, low and narrow, and the windows were over the doors, so that the inmates could not look out. Before the windows were straw IDats that could be raised on sticks like screens. The straw stools had no backs, only a wooden handle to raise them. The chapel was covered with the coarse striped carpet which the recluses made themselves. They did not have Mass evet-y Sunday, but a hermit came , from time to time to say it for them and give them Holy Communion. They kept the Blessed Sacrament, however, in their little chapel. I saw them one evening at prayer in their chapel when they were attacked by pirates. They had short, broad swords, wore turbans on their head, and they spoke a strange tongue; they often carried off people into slavery. They were very savage, almost like beasts. Their vessel was large and lay at some distance
from the shore to which they came in a small boat. They destroyed the hermitage and dragged off the recluses, but without offering them insult. One of the religious, still young and robust, took the reliquary from the altar as a protection, fervently imploring God's assistance. Before the robbers reached the shore, they quarrelled over their prey and, during their struggle, the young girl crept into a thicket, vowing to serve God in the wilderness if He would deliver her. The pirates sought her long, but in vain. At daybreak she saw them embark. Kneeling before the cross, she thanked God. The wilderness lay in a narrow, deep valley, snow-capped mountains on either side, far
Anne (}atherinc EIILfnerich. 425
away from any road; no people, no hunters ever can1C t.here. The recluse sought long for a suitable place, and found deep in the forest a little clearing surrounded by trees and thorn-bushes. It was sufficiently large for a srnall lJou~e. The trees almost entirely hid it overhead, and tbeir roots spread over the ground. Here she resolved to serve God. far away from Inan!{ind, destitute of both spiritual an(l hUlnan assistance. She built an altar of stones, place(l upon it the cross, her only treasure, and arranged ·a little plaGe wherein to take repose. She had no fire; she needed none, for it burned in her o\vn heart. ~~or nPHrly thirty years she never saw bread. IIigh up in the Inou~ltains were anirnals lik.e goats leaping among the crags, and around the dwelling of the herlnitess were white hares and birds of the size of a chicken. .L~t last, a hunter in the service of a lord whose castle was some nliles off, came with his hounds into the neighborhood. (The castle was destroyed at a later period, only part of a moss-eovered to\ver now stand~). The hunter wore a tight gray jacket, an tIllbroidered belt as wide as one's hand, and a sinall round cap; he carried a s'pear in one hand and a cross-bow under his arm. His dogs pressed barking into the thicket in wllieh the hunter saw sornething shining as he canle up. It "ras the <.:ross. Entering the enclosure, he tBgan to call aloud but the solitary had hidden. She hoped to remain undiscovered; but finally, having no alternative, she made her appearance, bidding hiln not to be frightened at seeing one who no longer bore the semblance of a human being. As we looked at her, the hunter and I, we saw her surrounded by a bright light. She was tall, had a cincture round her waist, and her long gray hair hung over her breast and back; her feet were rough, her arms quite bro\"'n, and she \\'alked bent down by years. In spite of her
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singular exterior, there was something very noble and inlposing about her. She seemed, at first, unwilling to disclose her story; but seeing in the hunter a good, pious man, she said: 'I see that thou art a servant of God,' and then explained to him how she had come there. She refused to go with him, but begged him to return in a yealwith a' priest who would bring her the Blessed Sacrament.At the tinle specified, I saw the hunter return witha hermit, a priest, who gave her Holy Communion, after which she asked to be left alone for awhile. When they returned, she wa.s dead. They tried to bear away her body, but they could by no means move it; 80 they interred her on the spot. The hunter secretly took the cross as a memento of the affair. Later on, a chapel was erected over her grave in honor of a saint whom she particularly venerated and WhOlll slle had named; on all sides of it were doors. This virgin had Iived a life of extreme poverty and entirely hidden in God. Before the pirates' attack she had had a dream in ,vhich she saw herself dragged into the \vater. In her dream, she made a VO'Y to OUf Lady of the Herulits to keep perpetual fast in solitude, if she were saved. Then she suddenly found herselfin a canal or sewer, along which she crept until she reached the wilderness in which she afterward really lived, and where she was told she should remain" '''i''"hen she asked on what she should subsist, figs and chestnuts fell from the trees. As she gathered them, they turned to preciou3 stones, the fruits of her penance and. mortification. As she related this prophetic dream to the hunter, I saw every circumstance of it. She was a Swiss by birih, and she had been just thirty years in the wilderness when the hunter discovered her. She told hinI that she was from Switzerland, as he might find on inquiry, and she named her birthplace. She had always hs.d great
.Anne Oatherine Emmerich. 427
confidence in Our Lady of the Hermits, and from her childhood
she had heard a voice, urging her to leave her home
and serve God in solitude. To this, however, she had paid
little attention. At last, a youth appeared to her saying:
l What! still here , Not yet set out" and he led her
away. She thought it all a dream; but on awaking, she
found herself in another country, far frorn her home. She
entered the little convent of recluses Rmong whom she was
well received. The hunter kept the cross devoutly for
Borne time, and then gave it to a man who lived in a town
across the mountains. He too prized it very highly and
always prayed before it. He attributed to it his own pres· ervation and that of his property during a tempest that destroyed the whole town. At his death, it passed to his heirs and, at last, fell into the hands of a peasant who sold it with other effects; bllt misfortune followed this transaction, for the man lost all that he possessed. Then I saw the precious cross thrown aside with all sorts of things among people who thought little of the fear of God. A stranger, with no fixed principles offaith, purchased it from them not through piety, but through pure curiosity. He knew not the treasure he acquired, and yet it brought him great good."
Here the Pilgrim makes the following remark in his journal :-" This last incident refers to the Pilgrim himself who, at a time in which he lived in deplorable blindness, purchased the reliquary at Landshut from un old-clothes' dealer. Sister Emmerich l{new nothing of this by human means; therefore, if her last remark is beyond questioning, why should we hesitate to receive as authentic all that refers to this singular story T" Then, as if deeply impressed by the invalid's supernatural ]{nowledge, he exclaimed:"How wonderfully are all things preserved in the
428 Life of
treasury of God! Nothing is lost, nothing annihilated,
nothing comes to pass without design! All is eternal in
the mind of God! Now do I understand why God must
punish every idle ,vord! The thought of my sins saddens
nle. Does this evil exist eternally' Are a man's sins
visible after penance, after repentance T" And Sister Emmerich
answers: "No, Jesus Christ atones for them; they
no longer exist! I never see them, unless when they are intended to serve as an example; for instance, the sin of David.. But sins that have never been expiated, sins that a man carries around with him shut up in his heart, I clearly see. The expiated are like foot-prints in the sand, which the next step, the step of repentance, effaces. The contrite confession of sin blots out sin! "
AN INFANT-MARTYR OF SACHSENHAUSEN.…

CHAPTER VI.
SISTER EMMERICH'S GIFT OF RECOGNIZING RELICS AND
BLESSED OBJECTS.
With the gift of prophecy, Sister Emmerich had also received the power of discerning holy objects, even by the senses. Blessed bells had for her a melody all their own, a sound essentially different from every other that struck her ear; her taste detected the blessing imparted to holy water as readily as others can distinguish water from wine; her sense of smell aided her sight and touch in recognizing the relics of saints; and she had as Iively a perception of the sacerdotal benediction sent her from afar as ,,-hen given in her actual vicinity. \Vhether in ecstasy or the state of consciousness, she would involuntarily follow the consecrated fingers of a priest as if deriving from their influence strength and benediction. This keen perception of all that was holy, of virtues, of spiritual properties, ,vas not conveyed to her senses by previous l{nowledge received in vision. It was perfectly independent of the activity of the lnind and as involuntary as is the translllission of ideas to
it through the nlediulIl of the senses. This faculty ofrealizing what the senses could not perceive bad, like t he gift of prophecy, its ver)7 foundation in the grace of Baptism and infused faith. Her angel once said to her: "Thou perceivest the light frorn the bones of the saints by' the same power thou dost possess of realizing the communion of the faithful; but faith is the condition on ,vhich depends the power of receiving holy influences."
Life of An,ne Catherine Emmer·ich. 395
Sister Emmerich sawall that was holy radiant with
light.. "I sometimes see," she said, ,-when lying fully
awake, a resplendent form hovering in the air, toward
which rise thousands of brilliant rays, until the two lights
unite. If one of these rays should bappen to break, it falls
back, as it \vere, and darkness takes its place." This is
an image of the spiritual communion of the faithful by prayer
and good works. She felt the influence of this light as
of something that relieved and strengthened her, something
that filled her with joy and po\verfully attracted her
to itself; whilst, on the contrary, she turned suddenly and
involuntarily, filled with horror and disgust, from whatever
was unholJr, from whatever was tainted with sin.
"It is ver,}" difficult to explain this clearly," she once said to the Pilgrim. " I see the blessing and the blessed object endowed with a healing and helping power. I see them lurninous and radiating light; evil, crime and malediction appear before me as darkness radiating darkness and working destruction. I see light and darkness as Iiving things enlightening or obscuring. For a long time I have had a per~eption of the authenticity of relics and, as I abhor the veneration of false ones, I have buried Inany suell. l\Iy guide tells me that it is a great abuse to distribute as genuine relics objects that have only touched
-.relics. One day whilst I was baking hosts in the convent, I felt suddenly attracted toward a certain cupboard, indeed, I was violently dl~awn to it. In it I found a round Lox containing relics, and I had no peace until I gave them a nlore honorable resting-place." On July 19, 1820, she spolte as follows: "I have been told that the g-ift of recognizing relics has never been besto,ved upon anyone ill the same degree as God has giyen it to nle, and this on account of their being so sadly neglected and because their
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veneration i5 to be revived." These last words are full\' explained by Sister Emrnerich's communi~ations on the ~~east of the Ifoly Relics, 1819-1820. On the first Sunday of July, 1819, she related what follows: "I had to go with my guide into all parts of our country where lay buried the bones of the saints (1). I saw entire bodies over which buildingd had been erected and places upon which convents and churches had once stood. Here lay whole rows of bodies, anlong them those of some saints. In Diilmen, I saw sacred relics reposing between the church and the school-house, and the saints to \\'horn they belonged appeared to me, saying: 'That is one of my bones 1'-1 saw that these neglected treasures confer blessings \vherever they lie and ward off Satan's influence. I have seen certain places preserved from serious calamities by them whilst others of recent date suffered severely, because possessing nothing of the kind. I cannot say in how nlany strange, out-of-the-way places, under \valls, houses, and corners I have been where the richest treasures 0f relics lie unhonored, covered up by rubbish. I venerated them all and begged the dear saints not to withdru\v their love frolTI the poor people. I went al~o to the place of martyrdom in Ronle and sa\v the nlultitudes of saints who there snffered death. M.y Iieavenly Bridcgro01TI there appeared to me under thp [orlll in which I am so aecustolned to see RiBl; viz., in His twelfth year. The saints seelued to Inc innumerable; they were divided into choirs headed respectively by hin) ,vho had instructed and encouraged them. They wore long ,vhite n1antles ,vith crosses and caps, from either side of which hung long flaps down to the shoulders.
(1) Thjs vision appeared to me all the more remarkable," writes Brentano, "when
H
I discovered that the Feast of Holy Relics is celebrated at present In the diocese of Miin~t(lr. a fact wholly unknown to Sister Emmp,ricb. Her obligation to satisfy for the negligence coulmitted in the Church is inueed wonderful !"
Anne Oatlter'ine E!ntnerich. 397
I went with them into underground caves full of passages, chambers, round apartments like chapels, into whioh several others opened, and in the centre of ,vhich stood a pillar supporting the roof. Many of these pillars were ornarne11ted with beautiful figures. In the walls were deep, quadrangular excavations in which reposed the bones of the dead. As we passed along, sometimes one of nlY guides, sometimes another would say: 'See, here we Iived in time of persecution, here we taught and celebrated the nlJsteries of Redemption !,-They shoV\'ed me long stone altars projecting from the wall, and otllers round and beau... tifully sculptured upon which the Holy Sacrifice had been offered. ' See,' they said, 'we lived here for a time in poverty and obscurity, but the light and strength of faith were ours!' and after those ,vords, the different leaders disappeared with their choir. SOlnetilnes we came to daylight, but only again to plunge into the caves. I saw gardens, walls, and palaces overhead and I could not understand how the people up there knew nothing of what was going on below, how all these things had been brought down into the caves, how it was all done! At last, there remained with me of all the saints only one old Ulan and a youth. We entered a spacious apartment whose fornl I could not determine, as I could not see its lilnits. It was supported by numerous pillars with sculptured capitals, and beautiful statues larger than life lay around on the ground. At one end the hall converged to a point "'here, standing out from the wall, was an altar and behind it other statues. 1.'he walls were full of tombs in whieh rested bones, but they \vere not luminous. In the corners lay numberless rolls, some short and thick, others as long as one's arm, like rolls of linen. I thought they ,vere writings. When I saw everything so well preserved, the hall 80 neat and
398 Life ({
cheerful, I thought it vvould be very nice to stay' awhile, to examine and arrange things, and I wondered that the people overhead guessed not of its existence. Then I had an a~surance that all would come to light some day through a great catastrophe. Were I present at the tilue, I should try to bring it about without injuring anything. Nothing was said to me in this place; I had but to gaze. Why ~ I know not. And now the old man disappeared. lIe wore a cap like the others with lappets on the shoulders, and a long beard. Then the youth took Inc back home."
FEAST OF HOLY RELICS, 1820.
"I again visited innumerable places where lie relics under buildings buried and forgotten. I ,vent through cellars in lTIud and dust, into old church crypts, sacri~ties, torn bs, and I venerated the holy things lYIng there, scattered and unknown. I saw how they once shone with light, how they shed around a benediction, but theIr veneration ceased ,vith the decline of the Church. The churches erected over them are dark and desolate, the saints under them are no longer honored. I sa\v that their veneration and that of their relics had decreased in the sanlC Ineasure as the adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and then I was Ghown how evil a thing it is to receive the Holy Eucharist through mere habit. Grievous sufferings were imposed upon me for this contempt. In the spiritual Church I saw the value and efficacy of the holy relics now so little regarded on earth.
"I saw an octangular church arising like a lily from a stalk and surrounded by a vine. It had no altar; but in the eentre, 00 a Inany-branched candlestick, reposed the richest treasures of the Church lil{c bunches of opening Bowers. I saw the hol.y things collected and honorably
399
An11f Catlwrine Em1nerich.
placed by the saints on this candlestick, this ornamental stand, which seemed constantly to increase in size. Whilst thus engaged, the saints very often saw their own relics brought in by those who lived after them. I saw the discipIes of St. John bringing in his head and other relics of llim and the Blessed Virgin with little crystal phials of the Blood of JeSll8. In one of them the Blood was still clear and shining. All were in the costly reliquaries in ,,,hich the Church preserves them. I saw saintly men and wornen of Mary's time depositing in precious vases, holy things that once belonged to her; they were giyen the place of honor on the right. There was a crystal vase shaped like a breast in which was some of her milk, also pieces of her clothing, 3nd another vase with some of her hair. I saw a tree before the church, and I was shown how it had fallen and been fashioned into the Saviour's cross. I saw it now in the form in which I al\\"ays see it, brought in b.y a woman wearing a crown. It hovered in the air over Mary's relics. The three nails were stuck in it, the little foot-ledge was in its place, as also the inscription, and., skilfully arranged around, were the instruments of the Passion: the ladder, the lance, the sponge, the rO'ds, the whips, the crowbars, the pillar, the cords, the hammers, etc., \vhilst the Crown of Thorns hung from the centreAs the sacred objects were brought in and arranged, I had successive visions of the places in which tllese relics of the Passion were fou.nd, and I felt certain that of all I saw son1e particles are still preserved and honored. There must be
many relics of the Cro\vn of Thorns in different places.
cliscovered that my particle of tIle lance is from the haft.
I saw in all directions, on altars, in chaInbers, churches,
vaults, in walls, in rubbish, under the earth and on the
earth, portions of the relics and bones \\,hich were brought
I
400 Life 0/'
into tbe cllurclt, I\fany consecrated I-losts in chalices and cib0riu!1ls were brought thither L,y Dishops and corporals stained with the Precious Blood. rrhey were placed on high over the cross. Then came the relics of the Apostles and the early martyrs followed by those of whole bandd of martyrs, Popes, priests, confessors, hernlits, virgins, religious, etc. They were deposited at the foot of the cross, in costly vases,ornamented caskets,towers, and shrines wonderfully wrought in precious metal. A nlountain of treasures arose under the cross ,vhich gradually ascended as the rn<1und increased and, finally, rested upon \vhat might be termed a transfigured Calvary. rI'he relics were brought by those who had thelTIselves honored them and exposed them to the veneration of the faithful j they were, for the most part, holy personages whose own relics are now held in benediction. All the saints \vhose relics were present ranged in choirs, accord ing to their rank: and profession; the church became more and nlore crowded; the heavens opened and the splendor of glor}T gleamed. around. -It was like the Heavenly Jerusalem! The relics were surrounded by the aureolas of the saints to \vhom they belonged, whilst the saints themselves sent forth rays of the same colors, thus establishing a visible and marvellous connection between thelll and their remains.
"After this I saw nl ttl titudes of ,yell-dressed people thronging aroun(1 the church ,vith Inarks of deep veneration. They \vorc the various costUlllCS of their times; of the prescnt da}T, I saw but few. They ,vere people who honored the saints and their relics as they ought to be honored~ as 111cmbers of the 130dy of Jesus Christ, as holy vessels of divine grace through Jesus, in Jesus. On them I SU\V falling lik.e a celeatial dew the beneficent influence of those saints; prosperity cro,vned all their undertak.ings. I
Anne Catherine Emmerich. 401
rejoiced to see here and there, in these our days, 80me good souls (solne of whom I know) still honoring relics in all simplicity. They belong chiefly to the peasantry. They salute simply and earnestly the relics in the church as they enter. To rny great joy, I saw my brother among them. As he enters the church, he devoutly invokes the holy relics it contains. and I see that the saints give fertility to his fields. The veneration paid the saints and their relics in the present day, I saw symbolized by a ruined church in which they lay scattered, neglected, covered with dust, yes, even thrown among filth and dirt; and yet they still shed light around, still draw down a blessing. The church itself was in as pitiable a state as the relics. The faithful still frequented it, but theJ looked like grim shadows; only occasionally was a si rn pie, devout soul to be seen ,ybo ,,,as clear and luminous. The worst of all were the priests themselves ,vho seemed to be buried in mist, unable to take one step for\vard. l'hey would not have been able to find the church door were it not that, in spite of their neglect, a few fine rays fronl the forgotten relics still reached them through the mist. Then I had distinct visions of the origin of the veneration of relics. I saw altars erected over the remains of the saints which, by the blessing of God, afterward became chapels and churches, but \vhich were now in ruins owing to the neglect of their sacred treasures. I sa\v in tbe tirne in which all was misty and dark, the beautiful reliquaries broken up to make money and their contents scattered around, which latter desecration gave rise to greater evils than did even the selling of the caskets. The churches in whicll these sncrileges happened have fallen todecay,and many haveeven wholly disappeared. J have been to Rome, Cologne, and Aix-Ia-Chapelle, where I saw treasures of relics to which certain honors are paid."
4:02 Lijt· of
In consequence of the dismantling ofchurches and the 8UPprebsion of convents, innumerable sacred relics had been scattered and profaned and had finally fallen into irrQverent hands. This was a source of deep sorrow to Sister Emmerich, who sought every opportunity to revive veneration toward these holy objects. People soon discovered that they could not give the poor invalid greater pleasure than by bringing her something of the kind, or asking her advice on the subject. In this way she accumulated quite a treasure of holy things (1). More than three hundred genuine relics, with whose ,vhole history' she was perfectl)" familiar, ,vere in her possession at the time of her death. She had received them principally from Dean Overberg, Father Lirnberg, the Pilgrinl,and others, who knew of her ability to recognize such things. If she found any spurious among those presented to her, she had thenl buried in consecrated ground. The others constituted her spiritual treasure upon which she had
at various times lights lnore or less clear, as God ordained that the gift He had besto\ved upon His servant should tend to the restoration of the honor due His saints. Sister Elnnlcrich's recognition of relics was a grace whicl1, in accordance with the designs of God, was intinlatel.y connected \'1ith the lnission of her life; and it was for this reason that her angelic guide guarded it so jealousl)r against the capl'iee. vain curiosity, or love of the rnal'vellous, which might actuate those who submitted it to the test of trial.
(1) One day Clara Soentgen hroug-ht her a little packa~e of relics. Sister f:lI1iHPrkh Look it, sa.yiog; ... 0 this is a great treasure! Here are relics of St. Peter, l1i~ :-;L~~p-dau¥l1terPetronilla, Lazarus, Martha, and Magdalen. It was brought from IV)t1l(~ hug ug-o. This is the way Ole saInts' bones lie around when they pass froll1 tile CHurch into private hands. This r~liquary was nrst bequeathed as an inheritance, then gi\'l~ll away aalOng old wortllle:.;, things, and at last itfell by chance into Clara SUPlltg"PU'S pO~f'e:-;sion. I must have the r~lics honored."
()n another ()('c.l.sion~ a Jewess fonnd among some old clothing she h~d purchased a r,·jiqllitry Wllidl she forcibly opened ~ but, terrified at her own act, she hurried with the n'lil'~; tll ~b!l'l' f.lnlllPrieh who had witnessed thewbole affair in vision. ~lle could not 11dp :-'1I1iliJlf.{ :.it the woman'~ fright.
403
Anne Catherine Emmerich.
It was only at the close of those investigations which so closely scrutinized Sister Emmerich's whole life, both interior and exterior, that God provided occ~sions for the manifestation of the extraordinary gifts of His servant. He willed the perfection of her virtue to prove the reality of her supernatural gifts, rather than that the latter s~ould be Inade the touchstone of her holiness. The first trial made with false relics !lnd condemned by her angel,is thus recorded by the Pilgrirn under date of August 30, 1820 :"
The parish-priest of N-had sent to Sister Emnlerich three small packages of bones by Christian BrentaI'o, the Pilgrim's brother. At the Pilgrim's request one of them was laid by her. Th~ next day she related the following: , I saw far away dar-!\:, desolate tonlbs full of black bones, and I did not feel that they were holy. I saw the Father take SOUle of them, and then I found myself up high in a dark ehapel around which all was cold and bleal{ alld foggy. My guide left me, and I saw a stately figure approaching me with a rnost gracious air. At first I thought it was an angel, but soon I trembled with fright. I a~ked: "\Vho art thou ~"-The ans\ver came in two unknown words. I thought of them all the n1orning, but now I cannot recall them The}-signified: "Corruptor of Babylon, Sed'ltcer of Juda." Then the figure Eaid: "I am the spiiit that reared Semiramis of Ba.bylon and built up her empire! I am he who brought about thy Redemption, for I made Judas seize Hirn !"~(he nanled not Christ)-and this he said with an ilnportant air as if "rishing to impress me with the greatness of his exploits. I Blade the sign of the cross on my forehe~,d, \vhereupon he grew horrible to behold. H~ began to rage furiously against me for having once snatched a young girl from him, and then he disappeared uttering fearful threats. As
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he pronounced the first of the unknown words, I saw Semiramis as a little girl under some beautiful trees, the same spirit standing before her and offering her all kinds of fruits. The child looked up at him unshrinkingly and, although she was very beautiful, there was something repulsive about her; she seemed to be full of thorns, full of talons. The spirit nourished her, and gave her all sorts of gewgaws. The country around was lovely; it was covered with tents, green meado\vs, whole h~rds of elephants and other animals with their keepers. It was shown me also how Semiranlis raged against God's people, how she drove Melchisedech froln her realm and committed rnany other aborninations; and yet, she was almost adored!"At the second word the spirit pronounced, I had a vision of Christ on l\tIount Olivet, the treason of Judas, and the whole of the bitter Passion. I do not understand why thi~ spirit appeared to me; perhaps these are pagan bones and, consequently, the enemy has po\ver to approach me. My guide has strictly forbidden Inc ever to take such bones again. " I tell thee," he said, "in the Name of Jesus, it is a dangerous experiment! There is treachery in it. Thou nlightest be seriously injured by it. vVe must .not cast pearls before swine; that is, before the unbelieving, for pearls should be set in gold. Attend to such relics only as come to thee by the direction of God !'" "
In September followirlg, some relics were sent to her by a priest who had visited her in Diilmen. Sister Emmerich remarked: " I have had no particular vision concerning these relics. But I saw that the priest who sent them is a good man, although there are in his parish certain souls inclining to pietism not in accordance with the spirit of the Church. He cannot detect them, he thinks them very devout; bat I have seen thenl spreading darkness all around.
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Anne Catherine Elnlnerich.
They Hlake little aCCOUll t of the cerenlonies of our holy Church. They have not openly declared themselves as yet; the evil is, ho\vever, jn theill. Then I heard a voice repeating near HIe: '1'hou forgettest 111e ! Thou forgettest 111 c~, It \vas a \varlling froin the other relics, and I was again tol(l Hot to accept any 1l10re unknown relics to recognize even ifbrought 1Ile by the holiest priest in the world, for serious harnl Inight result to me from it. I must arrange what I have first."
Very little notice, h\Jwever, "ras paid to the prohibition so earnestly repeated by the poor invalid. Curiosity triulllphed over other considerations. The Pilgrim not long after pre~ented her, ,vhilst in ecstasy, a little package of relics [roIn t\VO Rhenish convents. They had been sent hinl by a friend. Sister Enl1nerich took them unsuspectingly, thinking thenl her o\vn ; but the next day she said: "J\Iy guide has severely reprimanded me fo)~ taking those relics contrary to his orders and, consequently, I have quite furgotten all that I saw. He again repeated that it is not the tilue to reeognize unknown relics and nlY too ready acceptance of thelll might entirely mislead me. The gift of recognizing such things is not a privilege to be called into play at every moment. It is a special grace. The time will soon come for me to use it, but not no\v. l\[y guide also bade me reillember the Cure N-and his pack~age, the thoughtless relnarks he had made somewhere about In}Tself and my relics, and that such remarks might do 111uch harm. I must for the future refuse such things and Ineddle with none but my own."
The same warning ,vas again repeated, and she was told that the Pilgrim's friend, an enthusiastic supporter of the theory of mesmerislTI, ,vas lnerely trying experiments on her which lnight have very serious consequences, as her
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gifts \VBre not what he thought. They were not subject to her own good pleasure, not a natural facultJ to be employed at the discretion of the curious. The Pilgrim submitted, but not so his friend, who still found excuses for testing her wunderful powers. On the i ~th of December, she again declared: "Your friend's judgment of me and of what he sees in me is fah;e ! Consequently, I have been expressly forbidden by my guide to receive even a saint's relic from him. He only wants to make experiments \\Thich 111ay prove very injurious to Ine; and besides, he speaks of thenl publicly and in a manner quite opposed to tbe renl state of the case. My gifts, lny nleallS of kno,vint" arc not what he ilnagines! J see the drift of his thoughts whc;1l he speaks with me. lIe is all ,vrong concerning Inc. I ~vas long ago warned of it in vision."
On December 16th, Sister Emlnerich said: "I have had a "'"onderfully clear vision on the subject of relics, which I Sa\v all around me an"d in many churches on the banks of the Rhine. I sa~v a coaeh attacked by robbers, and a little box of relics thro\vn from it into a field on the roadside. '!'he owner returned to seek it, but in vain; it \\Tas found by another person who kept it for some time. In it I saw the bone, brought here by thefriend, but I must not nalne it. Thcfriend must wait until his heart is cllanged. He is still surpassingly high and broad in his views.-Faith, :lIso, is high and broad; but it lnust often pass through a key-hole! Thcfi iend is obstinate in his erroneous opinion of nlC and ill)' lllission, his idetts on this point are strange and unreasonable; therefore, have I received positi\Te commands to have nothing to do ,vith relies conling from hiJn. His vie\vs are false, he publishes thenl unnecessarily, and he lllay thereby bring trouble upon me. 1\ly tilDe is not yet come."