The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus ChristEmmerich, Anna Katharina
Religion
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Emmerich, Anna Katharina
Jesus Christ -- Passion -- Devotional literature
On the 22nd of July 1813, Overberg came to see her, with Count de
Stolberg and his family. They remained two days with her, and Stolberg,
in a letter which has been several times printed, bore witness to the
reality of the phenomena observed in Anne Catherine, and gave
expression to his intense veneration for her. He remained her friend as
long as he lived, and the members of his family never ceased
recommending themselves to her prayers. On the 29th of September 1813,
Overberg took the daughter of the Princess Galitzin (who died in 1806)
to visit her, and they saw with their own eyes blood flow copiously
from her stigmas. This distinguished lady repeated her visit, and,
after becoming Princess of Salm, never varied in her sentiments, but,
together with her family, remained in constant communion of prayer with
Anne Catherine. Many other persons in all ranks of life were, in like
manner, consoled and edified by visiting her bed of suffering. On the
23rd of October 1813, she was carried to another lodging, the window of
which looked out upon a garden. The condition of the saintly nun became
day by day more painful. Her stigmas were a source of indescribable
suffering to her, down to the moment of her death. Instead of allowing
her thoughts to dwell upon those graces to the interior presence of
which they bore such miraculous outward testimony, she learned from
them lessons of humility, by considering them as a heavy cross laid
upon her for her sins. Her suffering body itself was to preach Jesus
crucified. It was difficult indeed to be an enigma to all persons, an
object of suspicion to the greatest number, and of respect mingled with
fear to some few, without yielding to sentiments of impatience,
irritability, or pride. Willingly would she have lived in entire
seclusion from the world, but obedience soon compelled her to allow
herself to be examined and to have judgment passed upon her by a vast
number of curious persons. Suffering, as she was, the most excruciating
pains, she was not even allowed to be her own mistress, but was
regarded as something which everyone fancied he had a right to look at
and to pass judgment upon,--often with no good results to anyone, but
greatly to the prejudice of her soul and body, because she was thus
deprived of so much rest and recollection of spirit. There seemed to be
no bounds to what was expected of her, and one fat man, who had some
difficulty in ascending her narrow winding staircase, was heard to
complain that a person like Anne Catherine, who ought to be exposed on
the public road, where everyone could see her, should remained in a
lodging so difficult to reach. In former ages, persons in her state
underwent in private the examination of the spiritual authorities, and
carried out their painful vocation beneath the protecting shadow of
hallowed walls; but our suffering heroine had been cast forth from the
cloister into the world at a time when pride, coldness of heart, and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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