1 Shevat 31 AD = Saturday Julian 13 January = vision of Saturday 18 January 1823

(p. 174) Jesus taught in Juttah also and, accompanied by about ten Levites, went to the houses in the neighborhood, in which He restored many sick to health. Neither lepers, nor raging possessed, nor great sinners male or female, appeared before Him in these parts. That evening He took with the Levites a frugal meal consisting of birds, bread, honey, and fruit.

Joseph of Arimathea and several disciples were come hither in order to invite Jesus to Jerusalem, where numbers of sick were longing for Him. He could, they said, come now without fear of molestation, since Pilate and Herod were in conflict with each other on the subject of the ruined aqueduct, and the Jewish magistrates likewise had their attention fixed upon the point at issue. But Jesus would not go right away, though He promised to do so before His return to Galilee.

John’s female relatives celebrated the Sabbath at their own home. They clothed themselves in mourning garments and sat on the ground, a stand full of lights, or lamps, being placed in the center of the apartment.

(p. 175) The Essenians who dwelt near Abraham’s tomb came two by two to Jesus. They lived around a mountain in cells cut out of the rock. Upon the mountain was a garden which they owned.

All around Zachary’s house were very lovely gardens and remarkably high, thick rosebushes. Coming hither from Jerusalem, one could see it on the hill; about a quarter of an hour farther on and to the right rose a higher hill upon which were his vineyards, and at its foot gushed the spring that Mary had discovered. The Hebron of Abraham was not identical with that in which Jesus now was. The former lay to the south in ruins, separated from the latter by a vale. In Abraham’s time when it was still in existence it had broad streets and houses partly hewn out of the rock. Not far from Zachary’s house was a place called Jether. I saw Mary and Elizabeth there several times.

2 Shevat 31 AD = Sunday Julian 14 January = vision of Sunday 19 January 1823

The people of Juttah began to suspect from the words of Jesus and the mourning of the Baptist’s relatives that John was no longer among the living, and soon the report of his death was whispered around.

Before His departure from Juttah, Jesus visited Zachary’s tomb in company with His disciples and the nephews of the murdered man. It was not like ordinary tombs. It was more like the catacombs, consisting of a vault supported on pillars. It was a most honorable burial place for priests and Prophets. It had been determined that John’s body should be brought from Machaerus and here buried, therefore the vault was arranged and a funeral couch erected. It was very touching to see Jesus helping to prepare a resting place for his friend. He rendered honor to the remains of Zachary also.

Elizabeth was not buried here, but on a high mountain, in that cave in which John had sojourned when a boy in the desert.

On Jesus’ departure from Juttah, He was followed by (p. 176) an escort of men and women. The latter, after accompanying Him the distance of an hour, took leave, but not till they had knelt and received His blessing. They wanted to kiss His feet, but Jesus would not allow it. Jesus and His disciples were now journeying toward Libna, outside of which they stopped at an inn. The men of the escort now set out for home.

3 Shevat 31 AD = Monday Julian 15 January = vision of Monday 20 January 1823

Saturnin, Judas, Barsabas, and two other disciples who had gone from Galilee to Machaerus, then to Juttah, and lastly had come hither in quest of Jesus, arrived today. With many expressions of grief they related the murder of the Baptist. When Herod and his family, with a numerous escort of soldiers, removed from Machaerus to Hesebon, the news of John’s beheading was spread by some deserters. Some of the Centurion Zorobabel’s servants who had been wounded at the late disaster in Jerusalem, returning to Capharnaum had also brought the news. Zorobabel had immediately imparted the frightful occurrence to Judas Barsabas, who was in the neighborhood – upon which he, with Saturnin and two other disciples, hastened into the region of Machaerus, where they everywhere received the same account. From Machaerus they had hurried to John’s native place in order to take steps for the removal of the body. But hearing that Jesus was at the inn, they had come hither to meet Him. Soon after, accompanied by the sons of Mary Heli, Joseph of Arimathea’s nephews, those of Zachary, and the sons of Johanna Chusa and Veronica, they set out for Machaerus, taking Juttah on their route. They took with them an ass laden with all that was necessary for carrying out their design. Machaerus now, with the exception of a few soldiers, was quite deserted.

Jesus tarried awhile in these parts in order not to meet Pilate who, with his wife and a retinue of fifteen persons, was on his way from Jerusalem to Appolonia. He passed through Bethzur and Antipatris. From Appolonia he em- (p. 177) barked for Rome, to lodge a complaint against Herod.

4 Shevat 31 AD = Tuesday Julian 16 January = vision of Tuesday 21 January 1823

(p. 178) From Libna Jesus went to Bethzur, about ten hours to the north and two hours’ distance from Jerusalem. Bethzur was a fortified place. It had citadels, ramparts and moats, which had, however, somewhat fallen to ruin, though not so much as those of Bethulia. Bethzur was certainly as large as Bethoron. The side by which Jesus entered was not steep, while between it and Jerusalem lay a beautiful valley. From the high points of either city, the other could be seen. On the opposite side the ascent was steep and the city built with a view to ward off enemies. The Ark of the Covenant was once at Bethzur for a long time, as was publicly known.

Jesus was very well received at Bethzur. Lazarus and some others of His friends from Jerusalem were already there. The Bethzurites washed Jesus’ feet, as also those of the disciples, and with sincere affection offered them an abundant supply of whatever they needed. Jesus lodged at an inn near the synagogue.

The Three Kings, when journeying from Jerusalem to the Crib, passed near Bethzur, took some refreshments at a caravansary, and once more saw the star in this region.

Bethzur must not be confounded with a certain Bethsoron that lay between Bethlehem and Hebron, and near which Philip baptized the servant of Queen Candace. Sometimes this place, namely, Bethsoron, is improperly called Bethzur.

5 Shevat 31 AD = Wednesday Julian 17 January = vision of Wednesday 22 January 1823

In some houses of Bethzur, Jesus cured without disturbance several old people that were very sick, some of them dropsical. The inhabitants were very well-disposed, and the Elders of the synagogue themselves conducted Jesus to the different houses. He taught also in the school, and I saw Him blessing a great number of children, first the boys and then the girls. He greatly interested Himself with them, and performed some cures among them.

(p. 179) When Saturnin, with the disciples, reached Machaerus, they climbed the mountain on which stood Herod’s castle. They carried under their arms three strong wooden bars, about a hand in breadth, a leathern cover in two parts, leathern bottles, boxes in the form of bags, rolls of linen cloths, sponges, and other similar things. The disciples best known at the castle asked the guards to be allowed to enter, but on being refused, they retraced their steps, went around the rampart and climbed upon one another’s shoulders over three ramparts and two moats to the vicinity of John’s prison. It looked as if God helped them, so quickly did they enter, and without disturbance. After that they descended from a round opening above the interior of the dungeons. When the two soldiers on guard at the entrance to John’s cell perceived them and drew near with their torches, the disciples went boldly on to meet them, and said: “We are the disciples of the Baptist. We are going to take away the body of our master, whom Herod put to death.” The soldiers offered no opposition, but opened the prison door. They were exasperated against Herod on account of John’s murder, and were glad to have a share in this good work. Several of their comrades had taken flight during the last few days.

As they entered the prison the torches went out, and I saw the whole place filled with light. I do not know whether all present saw it, but I am inclined to think that they did, since they went about everything as quickly and as dexterously as if it were clear daylight. The disciples first hastened to John’s body and prostrated before it in tears. Besides them, I saw in the prison the apparition of a tall, shining lady. She looked very much like the Mother of God at the time of her death. I found out later that it was St. Elizabeth. At first she seemed to me so (p. 180) natural as I watched her rendering all kinds of assistance that more than once I wondered who she could be and how she had gotten in with the disciples.

The corpse was still lying covered with the hairy garment. The disciples quickly set about making the funeral preparations. They spread out cloths upon which they laid the body, and then proceeded to wash it. They had brought with them for that purpose water in leathern bottles, and the soldiers supplied them with basins of a brownish hue. Judas Barsabas, James, and Heliacim took charge of the principal part of these last kind offices to the dead, the others handing what was needed and helping when necessary. I saw the apparition taking part in everything; indeed, she appeared to be the moving spirit of all, uncovering, covering, putting here, turning there, wrapping the winding-sheets - in a word, supplying each one with whatever was wanted at the moment. Her presence seemed to facilitate dispatch and order in an incredible manner. I saw them opening the body and removing the intestines, which they put into a leathern pouch. Then they placed all kinds of aromatic herbs and spices around the corpse, and bound it firmly in linen bands. It was amazingly thin, and appeared to be quite dried up.

Meanwhile, some of the other disciples gathered up a quantity of blood that had flowed on the spot upon which the head had fallen, as well as that upon which the body had lain, and put it into the empty bags that had held the herbs and spices. They then laid the body wrapped in its winding-sheet upon the leathern covers, which they fastened on top by means of a rod made for that purpose. The two light wooden bars were run into the leathern straps of the covers, which now formed a kind of box. The bars, though thin and light, showed no signs of bending under their load. The skin that John used to wear was thrown over the whole, and two of the disciples (p. 181) bore away the sacred remains. The others followed with the blood in the leathern bottle and the intestines in the pouch. The two soldiers left Machaerus with them. They guided the disciples through narrow passages back of the ramparts and out through that subterranean way by which John had been brought into the prison. All was done rapidly and with recollection so touching that no words can describe it.

I saw them at first with rapid steps descending the mountain in the dark. Soon, however, I saw them with a torch; two walked between the poles carrying the body on their shoulders, and the others followed. I cannot say how impressive was the sight of this procession proceeding so silently and swiftly through the darkness by the glare of their one torch. They appeared to float on the surface of the ground. How they wept when at the dawn of day they ferried across the Jordan to the place where John had first baptized and they had become his followers. They went around close to the shores of the Dead Sea, always choosing lonely paths and those that led through the desert.

6 Shevat 31 AD = Thursday Julian 18 January = vision of Thursday 23 January 1823

(p. 177) Pilate had already had several encounters with the Jews, who detested him. Once he had ordered the Roman standards to be brought into the city, whereupon the Jews raised a sedition. Another time, on the occasion of a certain feast upon which the Jews were not allowed to bear arms nor to touch money, I saw Pilate’s soldiers go into the Temple, break open the box in which were the offerings, and carry off the contents. That was when John was (p. 178) still baptizing at the Jordan near On, and Jesus came out from the desert.

(p. 181) They reached the valley of the shepherds near Bethlehem. Here with the remains they lay concealed in a cave until night, when they journeyed on to Juttah.

(p. 187) From Bethzur, Jesus proceeded with Lazarus and the disciples to Bethania. They stopped at several places along their route, among them at Emmaus. Jesus taught here and there on the way among the people who were busy tying up the hedges, which were already green.

Martha, Magdalen, and a widow named Salome came to meet them at almost an hour’s distance from Bethania. Salome had long dwelt in Bethania with Martha. Through one of Joseph’s brothers and like Susanna, she was related to the Holy Family. She was later on present at Jesus’ sepulture. They, Martha, Magdalen, and Salome, had been at Lazarus’s inn in the desert, whence they returned at dusk to Bethania.

The four Apostles and several disciples whom Jesus had sent to Thabor arrived also on this evening at Bethania. Great was their grief upon hearing now for the first time the details of John’s death. Then they related what had happened to themselves. They had taught and cured, according to the instructions received from Jesus, and at one place they had been chased with stones, but without being hit by them. The last place they had visited (p. 188) was Saron near Lydda.

When all in Lazarus’s house had retired to rest, Jesus went in the darkness to the Mount of Olives and prayed in a solitary nook. The mount was covered with verdure and groves of noble trees. It was full of retired corners.

Magdalen occupied the little apartments of Mary the Silent’s dwelling. She often sat in a very narrow little room that appeared to be formed in a tower. It was a retired corner intended for penitential exercises. She still wept freely. True, she was no longer actually sick, but from contrition and penance, she had become quite pale and reduced. She looked like one crushed by sorrow.

The last two days were days of fasting. They were followed by a feast of joy, which began at the close of the Sabbath and lasted for three days. The real date had fallen earlier, but for some reason the feast had been postponed. It was a feast of thanksgiving for all graces received from the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage down to their own time. Its celebration was not confined to Jerusalem, but was observed everywhere. Numbers of the chief priests and the greatest enemies of Jesus had left Jerusalem. Since Pilate had absented himself, they had nothing to fear and a less strict guard to keep.

7 Shevat 31 AD = Friday Julian 19 January = vision of Friday 24 January 1823

Before daybreak they reached the neighborhood of Abraham’s tomb. They deposited John’s body in a cave near the cells of the Essenians, who guarded the precious remains all day.

Toward evening, about the hour when Our Lord also was anointed and laid in the tomb (it being likewise a Friday), I saw the body brought by the Essenians to the vault wherein Zachary and many of the Prophets were reposing, and which Jesus had recently caused to be prepared for its reception.

The Baptist’s relatives, male and female, were assembled in the vault with the disciples and the two soldiers who had come with the latter from Machaerus. Several of (p. 182) the Essenians also were present, among them some very aged people in long, white garments. These latter had provided John with the means of subsistence during his first sojourn in the desert. The women were clothed in white, in long mantles and veils. The men wore black mourning mantles, and around their necks hung narrow scarfs fringed at the ends. Many lamps were burning in the vault. The body was extended on a carpet, the winding-sheet removed, and, amid many tears, anointed and embalmed with myrrh and sweet spices. The headless trunk was, for all present, a heartrending sight. They deeply regretted not being able to look upon John’s features. The ardent longings of their soul evoked him to their mental gaze such as he had appeared in the past. Each one present contributed a bundle of myrrh or other aromatic herbs. Then the disciples, having reswathed the body, laid it in the compartment hewn out for it above all that of his father. The bones of the latter they had rearranged and wrapped in fresh linens.

The Essenians afterward held a kind of religious service in which they honored John not only as one of their own, but as one of the Prophets promised to them. A portable altar something like a little table was placed between the two rows that they formed on either side, and one of them, with the aid of two assistants, prepared it for the ceremony. All laid little loaves on the altar, in the center of which lay a representation of a Paschal lamb, over which they scattered all kinds of herbs and tiny branches. The altar was covered with a red undercloth and a white upper one. The figure of the lamb shone alternately with a red and white light, perhaps from lamps concealed under it whose glare, passing first through the red and then through the white cover, produced that effect. The priest read from rolls of writing, burned incense, blessed, and sprinkled with water. All sang as in choir. John’s disciples and relatives stood (p. 183) around in rows and joined in the singing. The eldest delivered a speech upon the fulfillment of the Prophecies, upon the signification of John’s career, and made several allusions touching upon Christ. I remember that he spoke of the death of the Prophets as well as that of the High Priest Zachary, who had been murdered between the Temple and the altar. He said that Zachary, the father of John, had likewise been murdered between the Temple and the altar. His death signified something still higher than that of the ancient High Priest, but John was the true witness in blood between the Temple and the altar. By these last words, he alluded to Christ’s life and death.

The ceremony of the lamb had reference to a prophetic vision that John, while still in the desert, had communicated to one of the Essenians. The vision itself referred to the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God, to Jesus, the Last Supper, to the Passion, and the consummation of the Sacrifice upon the Cross. I do not think that they perfectly understood all this. They performed the ceremonies in a prophetic, symbolical spirit, as if they had among them at that time many endowed with the gift of prophecy.

When all was over, he who conducted the service distributed among the disciples the little loaves that had lain on the altar, and to each gave one of the little branches that had been stuck on the lamb. The other relatives likewise received branches, but not from those on the lamb. The Essenians ate the bread, after which the tomb was closed.

The holy souls among the Essenians were possessed of great knowledge and prophetic insight upon the coming of the Messiah, also of the interior signification and the reference to Him of the various customs of Judaism. Four generations before the birth of the Blessed Virgin, they had ceased to offer bloody sacrifices, since they knew that the coming of the Lamb of God was near. (p. 184) Chastity and continence were among them a species of worship celebrated to honor the future Redeemer. In humanity they saw His temple to which He was coming, and they wished to do all in their power to preserve it pure and unsullied. They knew how often the Saviour’s coming had been retarded by the sins of mankind, and they sought by their own purity and chastity to satisfy for the sins of others.

All this had in some mysterious way been infused into their Order by some of the Prophets, without their having, however, in Jesus’ time, a perfectly clear consciousness of it. They were, as to what concerned their customs and religious observances, the precursors of the future Church. They had contributed much toward the spiritual training and guidance of Mary’s ancestors and other holy patriarchs. The education of John in his youth was their last great work.

Some of the most enlightened among them in Jesus’ time joined the disciples. Others later on entered the Community, in which, by their own long practice, they gave new impetus to the spirit of renunciation and a well-ordered life and laid the foundation for the Christian life, both eremitical and cloistered. But a great many among them who belonged not to the fruits of the tree, but to the dry wood, isolated themselves in their observances and degenerated into a sect. This sect was afterward imbued with all kinds of heathenish subtleties, and became the mother of many heresies in the early days of the Church.

Jesus had no particular communication with the Essenians, although there was some similarity between His customs and theirs. With a great many of them He had no more to do than with other pious and kindly disposed people. He was intimate with several of the married Essenians who were friends of the Holy Family. As this sect never disputed with Jesus, He never had cause to speak against them, and they are not mentioned in the Gospels, (p. 185) because He had nothing wherewith to censure them as He had in others. He was silent also on the great good found among them since, if He had touched upon it, the Pharisees would have immediately declared that He Himself belonged to that sect.

(p. 188) Next morning Jesus went to Jerusalem and accepted hospitality with Johanna Chusa. Neither Martha nor Magdalen was there.

Toward ten o’clock I saw Jesus in the Temple. He occupied the teacher’s chair in the women’s porch, where He was reading and expounding the Law. All were amazed at His wisdom. No one raised the least disturbance or made objections to His teaching. Some of the priests present may not have known Him, and those that did were not against Him. His bitter enemies, the Pharisees and Sadducees, were for the most part absent.

About three o’clock, Jesus went with some of the disci- (p. 189) ples to the Pool of Bethsaida. He entered from without by a door which was closed and no longer used. This was the corner into which the poorest and most abandoned creatures were pushed; and lying in the farthest part and right next the door was a man paralyzed for thirty-eight years. He had been pressed back by the crowd to the farthest extremity of the place, and now lay in a little chamber destined for men.

When Jesus knocked at the closed door, it opened of itself. Passing along through the sick, He made His way to the hall nearest the pool where invalids of all kinds were sitting and lying, and there He taught. The disciples meanwhile distributed among the poor clothes and bread, covers and kerchiefs given them by the women for that purpose. Such attention and loving services were something quite new to these poor sick who were, for the most part, either abandoned to themselves or left to the care of servants. They were greatly touched. Jesus went about them, pausing in several different places to instruct them, and then asking whether they believed that God was able to help them, whether they wished to be cured, whether they were sorry for their sins, whether they would do penance and be baptized. When He named to some of them their sins, they trembled and cried out: “Master, Thou art a Prophet! Thou art certainly John!” John’s death was not yet generally known, and in many places the report of his being set at liberty was current. Jesus replied in general terms as to who He really was, and cured several of them. He directed the blind to bathe their eyes in water from the pool with which He had previously mixed a little oil. Then He told them to go quietly home, and not say much about their cure until after the Sabbath. The disciples were at the same time curing in the other porches. All the cured were obliged to wash in the pool.

But when, on account of these cures, some excitement (p. 190) was beginning to arise, while now one, now another approached the pool to wash, Jesus went with John to that far-off place near the entrance where lay the poor man who had been sick for thirty-eight long years. He had been a gardener, and had formerly been engaged in the care of hedges and the raising of balsam trees. But now, so long sick and helpless, he was reduced to a state of starvation, and lay like a public beggar glad to eat the scraps left by the other sick. As he had been seen here for so many years, he was known to everyone as the incurable paralytic. Jesus spoke to him, and asked him whether or not he wanted to be cured. But he, not thinking that Jesus would cure him, but that He was asking only in a general way why he was lying there, answered that he had no help, no servant or friend to assist him down into the pool when the waters were moved. While he was creeping down, others got before him and occupied the places around the pool to which the steps led. Jesus spoke for a little while to the man, placed his sins before his eyes, excited his heart to sorrow, and told him that he should no longer live in impurity and no longer blaspheme against the Temple, for it was in punishment of such sins that his sickness had come upon him. Then He consoled him by telling him that God receives all and assists all that turn again to Him with contrition. The poor man, who never before had received a word of consolation, who had been allowed to lie moulding and rotting in his misery, who had often bitterly complained that no one offered him any assistance, was now deeply touched at Jesus’ words. At last, Jesus said: “Arise! Take up thy bed, and walk!” But these were only the principal words of all that He said. He commanded him to go down to the pool and wash, and then told one of the disciples, who at that moment approached, to take the man to one of the little dwellings erected for the poor by Jesus’ friends near the Cenacle on Mount Zion. Joseph of (p. 191) Arimathea had his stonecutting shops in them.

He who had been so long paralyzed, and whose face was disfigured by skin disease, gathered together his tattered couch and went off cured to wash in the pool. He was so out of himself with joy and in such a hurry that he almost forgot to take away his bed. The Sabbath had now begun, and Jesus passed out unnoticed with John by the door near the place in which the poor man had lain. The disciple who was to announce the sick man went on ahead, for the latter knew where he was to go. When therefore he issued from the buildings around the Pool of Bethsaida, he was met by some Jews who saw that he had been cured. Thinking that he owed the favor to the waters of the pool, they said to him: “Knowest thou not that it is the Sabbath day?” He answered: “He that cured me said to me: ‘Arise! Take up thy bed and walk!’” They asked him: “Who is he that said to thee: ‘Take up thy bed and walk’?” But the poor man could not say, for he did not know Jesus and had never before seen Him. Jesus had already left the place, and His disciples also.

What the Gospel relates in connection with this miracle, that this man saw Jesus in the Temple and pointed Him out as the One that had cured him; and that Jesus had in consequence a dispute with the Pharisees on the subject of healing on the Sabbath day, took place upon a subsequent feast, but was recorded by John immediately after his account of the cure. I received positive information on this point.

Through those Jews that had reproached the cured man (who had been looked upon by all as incurable) for carrying his bed on the Sabbath day, the report of the miracle was spread in Jerusalem after Jesus had left it. It created great excitement. The other sick who had been cured by Jesus and the disciples at the Pool of Bethsaida attracted little attention, for their cure was attributed to the virtue of the waters. Besides, they did not happen on (p. 192) the Sabbath, and Jesus neither at His entrance nor His departure had been seen by the custodians or superintendents of the pool. With the exception of the sick poor, who lived in the little cells formed in the walls, there were at that time but few persons around the piscine. Those in easy circumstances had already been taken home. In these latter times, in consequence of the movement of the water being rare and mostly at sunrise, only those that had servants could be carried to the pool at the right time; and again, confidence in this manner of curing had greatly decreased. Even the pool itself was neglected, for a part of the wall on one side had gone to ruins. Only people of lively faith frequented it at that time, people such as those that among us go on pilgrimages to holy shrines.

This was the pool in which Nehemias hid the sacred fire. A piece of the wood with which it was covered was afterward thrown aside, and later on was used for a part of Christ’s Cross. The pool had developed its miraculous virtue only after it had been made the depository of the sacred fire. In early times, the pious sick who were endowed with the spirit of prophecy used to see an angel descend and agitate the water. Afterward very few, if any, saw that wondrous sight, and lastly the times had become such that if any did see it, they kept it to themselves. Still at all periods, many beheld the waters agitated and bubbling. This pool, after the coming of the Holy Ghost, became the baptismal place of the Apostles. It was with its agitating angel, a mystery typical of holy baptism at the time of the Paschal lamb which, in turn, was a type of the Last Supper and the Redeemer’s death.

After this miracle, Jesus went with the disciples into a synagogue near the Temple mount, in which Nicodemus and the other friends were celebrating the Sabbath. Jesus did not teach here. He prayed and listened to the reading of the Holy Scriptures appointed for this Sabbath. They (p. 193) consisted of passages relating to the Departure from Egypt, the Journey through the Red Sea, and the Prophetess Deborah. A canticle celebrating the passage through the Red Sea was sung, and in it were recounted one after another all the benefits that God had showered on the Jews, especially what regarded their worship and Temple. Mention was made of all the priestly vestments and ornaments which God had prescribed on Sinai, also of Solomon and the Queen of Saba. This Sabbath was called Beschallah, and was immediately followed by that feast of three days whose name sounds like Ennorum. It was at one and the same time the commencement, the end, and the feast of thanksgiving for all favors and for all other feasts. In the canticle thanks were given for the innumerable favors that God had shown them from the beginning; namely, for their deliverance from Egypt and the Red Sea, for the Law, the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle, for the priestly vestments, and the Temple, and for their wise King Solomon. They demanded also in that canticle another king as wise as he. United with this feast, which had been instituted by a Prophet long before the existence of either Solomon or the Temple, was a joyous festival founded by Solomon on the occasion of the presents made him by the Queen of Saba, who was struck with admiration at his wisdom. With these gifts, he had given recreation to the priests and the people. Its remembrance was perpetuated by the holiday now going on, in which everyone freely diverted himself. Since this feast could be celebrated anywhere, all the Pharisees and officers of the Temple who could in any way escape availed themselves of the opportunity to visit their friends and recruit their strength for the approaching great feasts of Purim and the Pasch.

Abundant alms were distributed on this feast. Loaves of very fine white bread were baked and given to the poor, as a remembrance of the manna in the desert. This (p. 194) festival was like the Amen of the feasts, the feast of the beginning and the end.

After the service in the synagogue, Jesus went with some disciples into the Temple in which were only a few people. The Levites were coming and going, putting things in order, and filling the lamps with oil for next morning. Jesus penetrated into places not open to all, even into the vestibule of the Sanctuary where stood the great teacher’s chair, in order to see and speak to them. This He did upon various deep questions, and they listened for some time. Then came some of the other Levites and reproached Him with His boldness in daring to enter those unusual places and at that unseasonable time. They called Him a contemptible Galilean, etc. Jesus answered them very gravely, spoke of His rights, of the house of His Father, and then withdrew. They derided Him, although He inspired them with secret fear, Jesus stayed that night in the city.

8 Shevat 31 AD = Saturday Julian 20 January = vision of Saturday 25 January 1823

(p. 177) Before his departure from Jerusalem, Pilate had held a conference with his officers upon Jesus the Galilean who performed so great miracles and who was then in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Pilate asked: “Is He followed by a crowd? Are they armed?” “No,” was the answer. “He goes about with only a few disciples and people of no account whatever, people from the very lowest classes, and sometimes He goes alone. He teaches on the mountains and in the synagogues, cures the sick and gives alms. To hear His instructions, people gather from all quarters, often to the number of several thousands!” “Does He not speak against the Emperor?” asked Pilate. “No. His teachings are all on the improvement of morals. He inculcates the practice of mercy, and impresses upon His hearers to render to the Emperor that which belongs to him, and to God that which is His. But He often makes mention of a Kingdom that He calls His own, and says that it is near at hand.” Thereupon Pilate replied: “So long as He does not go around working His miracles with soldiers or an armed crowd, there is nothing to be feared from Him. As soon as He leaves a place in which He has performed miracles and goes to another, He will be forgotten and calumniated. Indeed I hear that the Jewish priests themselves are against Him. No danger is to be apprehended from Him. But if He is once seen going about with armed followers, His roving must come to an end!”

(p. 194) The next morning Jesus and the Apostles cured a great many sick in the side buildings of the Cenacle which, surrounded by a large court, stood upon Mount Sion. Joseph of Arimathea had rented it for his stonecutting business. The holy women of Jerusalem were busied around the sick with all the services that tender charity would inspire. It was on account of these sufferers that Joseph of Arimathea, when recently at Hebron, had invited Jesus to Jerusalem. They were for the most part good, righteous people, acquaintances of the holy women and friends of Jesus. They had been conveyed by night into the court of the Cenacle. Jesus spent the whole morning in performing cures. He taught occasionally, sometimes by this, sometimes by that group. There were lame and blind and paralyzed, others with withered and crippled hands, others with ulcers - men, women, and children. There were also some men wounded by the overthrow of the aqueduct. Some had fractured skulls; (p. 195) others, broken limbs.

They were now busy in the valley of Jerusalem clearing away the rubbish. Some walls falling in had dammed up the water, and laborers were sent into the dyke to dig through the debris. In some places whole trees and large stones were thrown in to stop the course of the waters.

After Jesus had taken a slight repast with the disciples in the Cenacle, at which those that had just been cured were entertained, He and His followers went into the Temple and to the public teacher’s chair, near which were kept the rolls of the Law. Jesus demanded the rolls and proceeded to expound the passages appropriate to the day. They referred to the journey through the Red Sea and to Deborah, and again that Psalm treating of the feast was sung. The title is: “To sing morning or eve.” All were astonished at Jesus’ doctrine, and no one dared to contradict Him. Some of the Pharisees alone made bold to ask: “Where didst Thou study? Where didst Thou receive the right to teach? How canst Thou take so great a liberty?” Jesus answered them in terms so grave and severe that they had nothing to reply. Then He left the Temple, and went to Bethania with His disciples and friends.

Jesus’ stay in Jerusalem this time was little remarked, since His chief enemies were not there. It was only when from the great teacher’s chair He closed the ceremonies of the Sabbath that they paid much attention to Him and again spoke here and there of the Galilean. All Jerusalem was at the time taken up with talk of the fallen aqueduct, the jealousy existing between Herod and Pilate, and the journey of the latter to Rome; even John’s death was now discussed but little. Unless some particular excitement arose, the people did not talk much of Jesus. It was there as in other great cities. Occasionally indeed somebody would say: “Jesus the Galilean is now in the city” and another would reply: “If He does not come with several (p. 196) thousand men, He will effect nothing.”

While in Bethania, Jesus went to the house of Simon, who no longer appeared in public, for he was sick, his leprosy having begun. A number of red blotches had broken out upon him. Wrapped in a large mantle, he kept himself concealed in a retired apartment. Jesus had an interview with him. Simon looked like one that anxious not to have his malady noticed, but soon he would be unable to ward off attention. He showed himself as little as possible.

Late that night the disciples returned from Juta, which they had left after the Sabbath. They related to Jesus the circumstances of their bringing away John’s body from Machaerus and its burial near his father. The two soldiers from Machaerus had come with the disciples. Lazarus took charge of them, kept them concealed, and provided for their wants.

When Jesus said to the disciples: “Let us retire to some solitude there to rest and mourn, not over John’s death, but over the deplorable causes that led to it,” I thought “How will He be able to rest, for the other Apostles and disciples are already gone to Mary in Capharnaum.” Crowds from all quarters, even from Syria and Basan, had flocked thither, and the whole country around Corozain was covered with the tents of those that were awaiting Jesus’ coming.

9 Shevat 31 AD = Sunday Julian 21 January = vision of Sunday 26 January 1823

Early next morning, Jesus left Bethania with the six Apostles and about twenty disciples. They shunned all (p. 197) places on the way, and journeyed without stopping eleven hours to the north, until they reached Lebona on the southern slope of Mount Gerizim. St. Joseph before his espousals with Mary had worked here as a carpenter, and he afterward kept up friendly relations with the inhabitants. On a peak of the mountain stood a lonely fortress up to which the road from Lebona led through buildings on one side and old walls on the other. It was on this road that Joseph’s workshop stood, and in it Jesus with all His disciples put up. He was, though coming unexpectedly and at a late hour, received with unusual joy and reverence. It was a Levitical family, and up further on the mountain was the synagogue.

10 Shevat 31 AD = Monday Julian 22 January = vision of Monday 27 January 1823

From Lebona Jesus and the disciples journeyed with rapid steps the whole of the following day through Samaria in a northwesterly direction toward the Jordan. They traversed Aser-Machmethat, tarried awhile in the inn at Aser, and then went on to the neighborhood of Tirzah, about one hour from the Jordan and two from Abelmahula. The country around was remarkably fine.

11 Shevat 31 AD = Tuesday Julian 23 January = vision of Tuesday 28 January 1823

Here in Tirzah, as in all other places on the way, the feast that I had seen begun in Jerusalem was right joyously commemorated. Gracefully adorned triumphal arches were erected, and public games celebrated. The actors leaped over garlands for a wager, just as our children do nowadays. Great mounds of grain and orchard fruits were heaped up in the open air for distribution among the poor.

Tirzah was built in two parts, and one quarter of the city extended to within half an hour of the Jordan. The whole region was so studded with gardens and orchards that the traveller could not see the city until just within its reach. It was so broken up by gardens and commons that the quarter furthest from the Jordan looked less like a city than like some groups of houses scattered among gardens and walls. The part nearest the Jordan was the (p. 198) better preserved and the more compact. It was built high above a valley and rested on solid piers. A highway ran under it as under a bridge. This road was charming. From it one could see through the valley with its green trees as through a cool grotto far to the other side where the road emerged into the open air.

Tirzah, situated as it was on a height of moderate elevation, commanded a most beautiful view across the Jordan and into the mountain ranges beyond. To the north could be seen Jetebatha, almost hidden by forests; on the right the view extended into Peraea; and across the smooth surface of the Dead Sea arose Machaerus and the country off to the west. Many a glimpse could be had of the Jordan, and here and there in its windings, its waters glistened like long streaks of light as it flowed along between its verdant banks. Westward from Tirzah lay a high mountain range that separated it from Dothan. Abelmahula lay two hours northwestward, in a deep dale more to the south than was that in which Joseph was sold by his brethren. On every side, Tirzah looked down upon numberless gardens and groves of fruit trees, on terraces and espaliers over which were trained balsam shrubs and paradise apples so much used by the Jews at their Feast of Tabernacles. These trees flourished only in very good and sunny positions. Besides those just mentioned, they cultivated also the sugar cane, long, yellow flax like silk, cotton, and a species of grain in whose thick stalk was stored a marrowy pith. The inhabitants were engaged in horticulture and fruit raising. Many were occupied also in preparing flax, cotton, and the sugar cane for market. The street that ran under the city was the grand military and commercial route to Tarichaea and Tiberias. In many places it took the form of a tunnel between hills, as it did here in Tirzah which, as I have said, rested on piers above the road.

In the center of the city, that is, in the center of its ancient (p. 199) surroundings, in a large, deserted-looking space, there stood on a gentle eminence a spacious edifice with massive walls, several courtyards, and round buildings like towers in whose interior were found other courts. It was the old, ruined castle of the Kings of Israel. A part had fallen to decay, but another had been fitted up as a hospital and prison. Some portions were overgrown ruins, on which were laid out gardens of all kinds. On the square before the house was a fountain whose water, by means of a wheel turned by an ass, was raised in leathern bags and poured into a great basin, from which it flowed on all sides through channels into tanks, thus supplying the city in every direction. Every quarter had its reservoir.

At this fountain five disciples from the opposite side of the Jordan joined Jesus and His followers. They were the two youths delivered from slight demoniacal possession, the two men out of whom Jesus had driven the devils into the swine, and a fifth. They had been, in accordance with Jesus’ commands, proclaiming their own deliverance and the miracle of the swine in the little cities of the country of the Gerasens and in the Decapolis. They had healed in those places and had announced the approach of the Kingdom of God. They embraced the disciples and washed one another’s feet at the fountain. Jesus had come straight from a house outside the city where, with the other disciples, He had passed the night. These five brought Him news that all His disciples whom He had sent into Upper Galilee had returned to Capharnaum, and that an immense multitude of people were encamped in the district around, awaiting His coming.

Jesus now went with the disciples into the castle, sought out the superintendent of the hospital, and requested to be introduced to their quarters. The superintendent complied with His request, and Jesus went through halls and courts until He arrived at the cells and retired corners where lay the sick suffering from diseases (p. 200) of all kinds. He went around among them instructing, healing, and consoling. Some of the disciples were with Him, helping to raise, carry, and lead the sick; others were scattered in the different corridors, performing cures and preparing the way for Jesus. In one of the courts there were several possessed in chains, who yelled and raged when Jesus entered the house. He commanded them to be silent, cured them, and drove the devils out of them. In the most distant part of the hospital were some lepers, and these too He healed. He went alone to them. The cured belonging to Tirzah itself were at once taken away by their friends, not, however, before Jesus had ordered them food and drink. To the poor among them were distributed, besides, the clothing and coverlets that the disciples had brought with them to Tirzah from the inn of Bezech.

Jesus visited also the abode of the sick women. It was a high, round tower with an inner court. In this court, as well as on the outside of the tower, a projecting flight of steps led from one story to another, for in the interior there was no little staircase such as we have. In the exterior apartments were women sick of all kinds of maladies. Jesus cured many. In the apartments nearest the court, from which they were separated by locked doors, women were imprisoned, some for their excesses, some on account of their bold speech, while many others of their number were innocent. In the same building many poor men underwent the rigors of grievous imprisonment, some for debt, others for having joined in a revolt, many also the victims of revenge and enmity, while others were confined merely to get them out of the way. Many of these poor creatures were quite abandoned, left to starve in their prison cells. Jesus heard bitter complaints on this subject from the sick whom He cured and from others. He indeed knew all about it, and it was principally on account of that general misery He had come.

Tirzah counted numerous Pharisees and Sadducees, (p. 201) and among the latter were many Herodians. The prison was guarded by Roman soldiers and had a Roman superintendent. The lodgings of the guards and overseers were outside the building. Jesus, having applied to the latter for permission, was allowed to visit the part open to strangers. He listened to the prisoners’ story of misery and sufferings, directed refreshments to be distributed to them, instructed and consoled them, and forgave the sins of many that confessed to Him. To several of those confined for debt, as well as to many others, He promised release. To others He held out hopes of relief.

From the prison Jesus went to the Roman Commander, who was not a wicked man, and spoke to him gravely and touchingly about the prisoners. He offered to discharge their debts Himself, and to go part security for their innocence and good behavior. He expressed His desire also to converse with those that had for so long a time endured a more rigorous imprisonment. The Commander listened very respectfully to Jesus, but explained to Him that as all those prisoners were Jews who had been put into prison under very particular circumstances, he would have to speak to the Pharisees and to the Jewish authorities of the place before he could grant His request to be allowed access to them. Jesus replied that after He had taught in the synagogue, He would call on him again with the Jewish authorities. Then He returned to the female prisoners, whom He consoled and advised. He received from several the avowal of their misdemeanors and promises of amendment, forgave them their sins, caused alms to be distributed among them, and promised to reconcile them with their friends.

Thus did Jesus from nine o’clock in the morning until nearly four in the afternoon labor in this abode of misery and woe, filling it with joy and consolation on a day upon which in it alone was sorrow to be found, for in the city all was jubilation. It was the first of those holidays (p. 202) that had been added by Solomon to the Feast of Ennorum, on account of the gifts presented by the Queen of Saba. Jesus had beheld the Sabbath of this first day celebrated the evening before at Bezech. Today the whole city, especially the most populous quarters, was alive with joy. There were triumphal arches, leaping, racing, and heaps of grain for distribution among the poor. But around that old castle, at once prison and hospital, all was still. Jesus alone had thought of its poor inmates, and He alone had brought them real joy. In the house outside the city, He took with the disciples a little repast, which consisted of bread, fruit, and honey. Then He sent some of His followers to the prison with all kinds of provisions and refreshments, while He with the rest repaired to the synagogue.

The report of what Jesus had done in the hospital was already spread throughout the whole city. Many of those that He had there cured were returned to the city and now went to the synagogue; others were assembled outside the sacred edifice, where Jesus and the Apostles cured many more. In the synagogue were gathered the Pharisees and Sadducees, and many secret Herodians. Among the first-named were many of the same sect from Jerusalem who had come thither for recreation. They were full of spite and envy at Jesus’ doings, which threw disgrace upon their own. In the school were present also a great many people from Bezech who had followed Jesus thither. In His instruction Jesus spoke of the feast and its signification, which was to afford an opportunity for recreation, for infusing joy into the hearts of others, and for doing good. He referred again to one of the Eight Beatitudes, “Blessed are the merciful.” He explained the parable of the Prodigal Son, which He had already related to the prisoners. Then He spoke of these, as well as of the sick and their miseries, how forgotten and abandoned they were while others enriched themselves by (p. 203) seizing upon the funds destined for their support. He inveighed vigorously against the trustees of this establishment, some of whom were among the Pharisees present. They listened in silent rage. In recounting the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus made allusion to those that had been imprisoned on account of their misdemeanors, but who were now repentant. This He did in order to reconcile the relatives here present to some of the prisoners. All were very much touched.

Here, too, Jesus related the parable of the compassionate king and the unmerciful servant. He applied it to those that allow the poor prisoner to languish on account of an insignificant debt, while God suffers their own great indebtedness to run on.

The secret Herodians had by their trickery been the cause of the imprisonment of many poor people of this place. To this fact Jesus once vaguely alluded when, in His severe denunciation of the Pharisees, He said: “There are many indeed among you who very likely know how things fell out with John.” The Pharisees railed at Jesus. They made use of expressions among themselves, such as these: “He wages war with the help of women, and goes about with them. He will get possession of no great kingdom with such warriors.”

Jesus then pressed the head men among the magistrates and Pharisees to go with Him to the Roman superintendent of the prison, and offer to ransom the most miserable and neglected of the inmates. This proposal was made in the hearing of many, consequently the Pharisees could not refuse. When Jesus and His disciples turned off toward the residence of the superintendent, a crowd followed, sounding Jesus’ praises. The superintendent was a much better man than the Pharisees, who maliciously ran up the prisoners’ debts so high that, for the release of some of them, Jesus had to pay fourfold. But because He had not the money around Him, He gave as a pledge a (p. 204) triangular coin to which hung a parchment ticket upon which He had written some words authorizing the sum to be discharged from Magdalen’s property which Lazarus was about to sell. The entire proceeds were destined by Magdalen and Lazarus for the benefit of the poor, for debtors, and the relief of sinners. Magdalum was a more valuable estate than that of Bethania. Each side of the triangular coin was about three inches long, and in the center was an inscription indicating its value. To one end hung a jointed strip of metal, like two or three links of a chain, and to this the writing was fastened.

After the transaction recorded above, the superintendent ordered the poor prisoners to be brought forth. Jesus and the disciples lent their assistance in the execution of his order. Many poor creatures in tatters, half-naked and covered with hair, were dragged forth from dark holes. The Pharisees angrily withdrew. Many of the released were quite weak and sick. They lay weeping at Jesus’ feet, while He consoled and exhorted them. He procured for them clothing, baths, food, lodgings, and saw to the formalities necessary to be observed in restoring them to liberty, for they had to remain under the jurisdiction of the prison and hospital a few days until their ransom was paid. A similar occurrence took place among the female prisoners. All were fed, Jesus and the disciples waiting on them, and the parable of the Prodigal Son was afterward related to them.

Thus was this house for once filled with joy. In it appeared to be prefigured the deliverance from Limbo of the Patriarchs to whom John, after his death, had announced the near coming of the Redeemer. Jesus and the disciples spent the night once more in the house outside of Tirzah.

It was this affair here in Tirzah which, when reported to Herod, drew his attention more particularly upon Jesus, and called forth the remark: “Is John risen from (p. 205) the grave?” From this time Herod was desirous of seeing Jesus. He had indeed previously heard of Him from general report and through John, but he had not thought much on the subject. Now, however, his uneasy conscience made him notice what before had passed unremarked. He was at this time living in Hesebon, where he had gathered all his soldiers around him, among them some mercenary Roman troops.

12 Shevat 31 AD = Wednesday Julian 24 January = vision of Wednesday 29 January 1823

(p. 185) As it had become known at Machaerus, through the domestics of Herodias, where John’s head had been thrown, Johanna Chusa, Veronica, and one of the Baptist’s relatives journeyed thither in order to make search for it. But until the vaulted sewer could be opened and drained, the head, which was resting on a stone projecting from the wall, could not be reached.

(p. 205) From Tirzah to Capharnaum, whither Jesus now proceeded with His disciples, was a journey of eighteen hours. They did not go up through the valley of the Jordan, but along the base of Mount Gelboa and across the vale of Abez, leaving Thabor on the left. They lodged at the inn on the borders of the lake near Bethulia.

13 Shevat 31 AD = Thursday Julian 25 January = vision of Thursday 30 January 1823

They journeyed next day to Damna, where Jesus found Mary and several of the holy women who had arrived there before Him. The other six Apostles and some of the disciples had also come to Damna. The two soldiers from Machaerus, whom Lazarus had sent through Samaria, joined Jesus’ followers near Azanoth.

There were at this time in Capharnaum no fewer than sixty-four Pharisees assembled from the neighboring districts. On their way thither, they had made inquiries upon the most remarkable of Jesus’ cures, and had ordered the widow of Naim with her son and witnesses from that place to be summoned to Capharnaum, as well as the son of Achias, the Centurion of Giskala. They had also closely interrogated Zorobabel and his son, the Centurion Cornelius and his servant, Jairus and his daughters, several blind and lame that had been cured - in a word, all that had in that part of the country profited by Jesus’ healing power. In every case they summoned (p. 206) witnesses, whom they questioned and whose answers they compared.

When, notwithstanding their malice, they were unable to construe what they heard into proofs against the truth of Jesus’ miracles, they became still more enraged, and again had recourse to their old story, that He had dealings with the devil. They declared that He went about with women of bad repute, excited the people to sedition, deprived the synagogues of the alms that should flow to them, and profaned the Sabbath, and they boasted that they would now put a stop to His proceedings.

Intimidated by these threats, by the ever-increasing concourse of people, and especially by the beheading of John, the relatives of Jesus were in great trouble. They entreated Him not to go to Capharnaum, but to take up His residence elsewhere, and for this they named many places, such as Naim or Hebron or the cities on the other side of the Jordan. But Jesus silenced them by declaring that He would go to Capharnaum, where He would both teach and cure, for as soon as He stood face to face with the Pharisees, they would cease their boasting.

When the disciples asked Him what they were now to do, Jesus answered that He would tell them, and that He would give to The Twelve to hold the same position to them as He Himself held to the Apostles. When evening came they separated. Jesus went with Mary, the women, and His relatives eastward through Zorobabel’s hamlet to Mary’s house in the valley of Capharnaum, and the Apostles and disciples departed by other routes. That night Jairus sought Jesus to relate to Him the persecutions he had had to endure. Jesus calmed him. He had been discharged from his office, and now belonged entirely to Jesus.

14 Shevat 31 AD = Friday Julian 26 January = vision of Friday 31 January 1823

Capharnaum was full of visitors, sick and well, Jews and Gentiles. The surrounding plains and heights were covered with encampments. In the fields and mountain (p. 207) nooks, camels and asses were grazing; even the valleys and hills on the opposite side of the lake were alive with people waiting for Jesus. There were strangers here from all sides, from Syria, Arabia, Phoenicia, and even from Cyprus.

Jesus visited Zorobabel, Cornelius, and Jairus. The family of the last-named was entirely converted, the daughter much better than formerly, and very modest and pious. Jesus went afterward to Peter’s house outside the city, and found it crowded with sick. Heathens, who had never been here before, now presented themselves. The crowd of sick was so great that the disciples had to put up a species of scaffolding in order to afford more room for them. Not only Jesus was everywhere sought for by the sick, but the Apostles and disciples also were called by them. “Art thou one of the Prophet’s disciples?” they cried. “Have pity on me! Help me! Take me to Him!” Jesus, the Apostles, and about twenty-four disciples taught and cured the whole morning. There were some possessed present, who cried after Jesus and from whom He drove the demons. No Pharisees were present, but there were among the crowd some spies and some half-disaffected.

After Jesus had performed many cures, He withdrew into a hall to preach, whither He was followed by the cured and others. Some of the Apostles went on healing while the others gathered around Jesus, who again taught on the Beatitudes and related several parables. Among other points, He touched upon prayer which, He said, they should never omit. He related and developed the similitude of the unjust judge who, in order to get rid of the widow ever returning to knock at his door, at last rendered her justice. If the unjust judge was thus forced to comply, will not the Father in Heaven be still more merciful?

Then Jesus taught the multitude how to pray, recited (p. 208) the seven petitions of the Our Father, and explained the first, “Our Father, who art in Heaven.” Already on His journeys, He had explained several of the petitions to the disciples; now, however, He took them up as He had done the Beatitudes, and made them the subject of His public instructions. Thus the prayer was all explained by degrees, repeated everywhere, and published on all sides by the disciples. Jesus continued the Eight Beatitudes at the same time. In speaking of prayer, He made use of this similitude: If a child begs his father for bread, will he give him a stone? Or if asked for a fish, will he give a serpent or scorpion?

It was now toward three o’clock. Mary, aided by her sister and other women, also by the sons of Joseph’s brethren from Dabereth, Nazareth, and the valley of Zabulon, had prepared in the front part of the house a meal for Jesus and the disciples. During several days they had had, on account of their great labors, no regular hours for meals. The dining room was separated from the hall in which Jesus was teaching near a court crowded with people, who could hear all that was said through the open porticos of the hall. Now when Jesus went on instructing, Mary, taking with her some relatives in order not to go through the crowd alone, approached with the intention of speaking to Him and begging Him to come and partake of some food. But it was impossible for her to make her way through the crowd, and so her request was passed from one to another, until it reached a man standing near Jesus. He was one of the spies of the Pharisees. As Jesus had several times made mention of His Heavenly Father, the spy, not without a secret sneer, said to Him: “Behold Thy Mother and Thy brethren stand without, seeking Thee.” But Jesus, looking at him, said: “Who is My Mother, and who are My brethren?” Then grouping The Twelve and placing the disciples near them, He extended His hand over the former with the (p. 209) words: “Behold My Mother!” and then over the latter, saying: “and these are My brethren, who hear the word of God and do it. For whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in Heaven, he is My brother, My sister, and My Mother.” Then He went on with His discourse, but sent His disciples in turn to take what food they needed.

After this, as He was going with the disciples to the synagogue, the sick who could still walk followed Him, imploring His help. He cured them. In the outer porch of the synagogue, although the Sabbath had already begun, a man stepped up to Him, showed Him his hand, crippled and withered, and begged to be helped. Jesus told him to wait awhile. At the same time, He was called by some people who were leading a deaf and dumb possessed who was raging frightfully. Jesus commanded him to lie down quietly at the entrance of the synagogue and there wait. The possessed instantly sat down cross-legged, and bowed his head on his knees, keeping a side-glance fixed on Jesus. With the exception of an occasional slight convulsive shuddering, he remained quiet during the whole instruction.

The Sabbath lesson was about Jethro giving counsel to Moses when the Israelites were encamped around Sinai, of Moses ascending the mount and receiving the Ten Commandments (Ex. 18-21), and from the Prophet Isaias, the passages that record his vision of the throne of God and the seraph’s purifying his lips with a burning coal (Is. 6:1-13). The synagogue was overflowing with people, and a great crowd was standing outside. The doors and windows were all thrown open, and many people were looking in from the adjacent buildings. Numbers of Pharisees and Herodians were present, all filled with rage and bitterness. The recently cured were in the synagogue, as well as all the disciples and relatives of Jesus. The citizens of Capharnaum and the crowds of strangers (p. 210) were full of reverence and admiration for Jesus, and so the Pharisees did not dare to attack Him without apparent reason. They had besides come to the synagogue more out of a desire to support one another in their vain boasting than to make any serious opposition to Him, though this latter they were not able to do. They no longer cared to contradict Him in public, as on such occasions His replies generally put them to shame before the people. But when Jesus withdrew, they sought by every possible means to turn the people away from Him and they set lies afloat against Him.

They knew now that the man with the withered hand was there, and they wanted to see whether Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath, that they might accuse Him. This was especially the desire of those that had just come from Jerusalem. They were anxious for something to take home with them and lay before the Sanhedrin. As they could allege nothing of importance against Him, and although they well knew His sentiments on the point, they always returned as if in ignorance to the same question, and to it Jesus with unwearied patience generally gave the same answer. Several of them now put the query: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Jesus, knowing their thoughts, called the man with the withered hand, placed him in the midst of them, and said: “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath day, or to do evil? To save life, or to destroy it?” No one answered. Then Jesus repeated the similitude of which He generally made use on such occasions: “What man shall there be among you that hath one sheep: and if the same fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not take hold on it and lift it up! How much better is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do a good deed on the Sabbath day.” He was very much troubled at the obduracy of these men, and His angry glance penetrated to the bottom of their soul. Taking the arm of the poor man in His left hand, He stroked it (p. 211) with the right, straightened out and separated the crooked fingers, and said: “Stretch out thy hand!” The man stretched out his hand and moved it. It had become as long as the other and was perfectly cured. The whole scene was the work of an instant. The man cast himself with hanks at Jesus’ feet and the people broke forth into shouts of jubilation, while the enraged Pharisees withdrew to the entrance of the synagogue to discuss what they had witnessed. Jesus next drove the devil from the possessed whom He had left waiting at the door, and instantly speech and hearing were given him. The people again shouted for joy, and the Pharisees again gave utterance to their slanderous expression: “He has a devil! He drives out one devil by the help of another!” Jesus turned toward them and said: “Who among you can convict Me of sin? If the tree is good, so too is the fruit good, if the tree is evil, so also is the fruit evil, for by the fruit the tree is known. O generation of vipers, how can you speak good things, whereas you are evil! Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

At these words, the Pharisees set up a great cry: “He shall make an end of all this! We have had enough of this!” and one of them carried his insolence so far as to call out: “Dost Thou not know that we can put Thee out?” Jesus and the disciples now left the synagogue, and hurried by different routes, some to Mary’s house, some to Peter’s near the lake. Jesus took a repast at His Mother’s, and then passed the night with The Twelve in Peter’s house. The latter, being the more distant of the two, afforded a safer retreat.

15 Shevat 31 AD = Saturday Julian 27 January = vision of Saturday 1 February 1823

The whole of the following day Jesus, the Twelve Apostles, and the disciples spent at Peter’s healing the sick. The multitude was waiting for Him and seeking Him in many places, but He remained shut up in the house.

During the day Jesus called before Him the Apostles (p. 212) and disciples, two and two, as He had sent them, and received from them an account of all that had happened to them during their mission. He solved the doubts and difficulties that had arisen in certain circumstances, and instructed them how they should act in the future. He told them again that He would soon give them a new mission. The six Apostles who had been laboring in Upper Galilee had been well received. They had found the people well disposed and had in consequence baptized many. The others, who had gone to Judea, had not baptized any, and here and there had experienced contradiction.

16 Shevat 31 AD = Sunday Julian 28 January = vision of Sunday 2 February 1823

The crowd around the house becoming greater and greater, Jesus and His followers slipped away secretly. The stars shed their light down upon the little party as they hurried along the bypaths to Peter’s barque. They ferried across the lake and landed between Matthew’s custom house and Little Corozain. From there they climbed the mountain at whose foot stood the custom house, for Jesus wanted to instruct the disciples in solitude. But the multitude had caught a glimpse of their departure, and the news soon spread through the tents of the encampment. The crowd near Bethsaida soon crossed, some over the lake, others further up over the Jordan bridge, and so Jesus and His party here on the mountain were again surrounded by the immense multitude. The disciples ranged the people in order, and Jesus began again His instructions on the Beatitudes and prayer. He again explained the first petition of the Our Father. As the hours flew by, the crowds increased. People came from all the cities around, from Julias, Corozain, and Gergesa, bringing with them the sick and possessed. Numbers were healed by Jesus and the disciples.

The instructions over, the multitude dispersed the next day at the place on which this sermon on the mount had been delivered. Jesus with the Apostles and disciples then retired higher up the mountain to a shady, solitary spot. (p. 213) Besides The Twelve, there were with Jesus seventy-two disciples. Among them were the two soldiers from Machaerus and some that had not yet been formally received as disciples and had never been on a mission. The sons of Joseph’s brother were there.

Jesus then instructed the disciples upon the work in store for them. He told them that they should take with them neither purse nor money nor bread, but only a staff and a pair of sandals; that wherever they were ungraciously received, they should shake the dust from their shoes. He gave them some general directions for their coming duties as Apostles and disciples, called them the salt of the earth, and spoke of the light that must not be placed under a bushel, and of the city seated upon a mountain. Still He did not inform them of the full measure of persecution awaiting them.

The main point, however, of this instruction was that by which Jesus drew a definitive line between the Apostles and the disciples, the former of whom were set over the latter. To them He said that they should send and call the disciples as He Himself sent and called them, namely, the Apostles. This they were empowered to do by virtue of their own mission. Among the disciples Jesus likewise formed several classes, setting the eldest and best instructed over the younger and more recently received. He arranged them in the following manner, the Apostles, two by two, headed by Peter and John. The elder disciples formed a circle around them, and back of these the younger, according to the rank He had assigned them. Then He addressed to them words of earnest and touching instruction, and imposed hands upon the Apostles as a ratification of the dignity to which He had raised them; the disciples, He merely blessed. All this was done with the greatest tranquillity. The whole scene was deeply impressive. No one offered the least resistance or showed the least sign of discontent. By this time it was evening, and (p. 214) Jesus with Andrew, John, Philip, and James the Less, plunged deeper into the mountains, and there spent the night in prayer.

17 Shevat 31 AD = Monday Julian 29 January = vision of Monday 3 February 1823

When next morning Jesus and the Apostles returned to the mount upon which He had already taught several times on the Eight Beatitudes, He found the multitude assembled. The other Apostles had arranged the sick in sheltered places. Jesus and the Apostles began to heal and to instruct. Many who in those days had now come for the first time to Capharnaum, knelt in a circle to receive Baptism. The water, which had been brought for that purpose in leathern bottles, was sprinkled over them three at a time.

The Mother of Jesus had come with the other women, and she now helped among the sick women and children. She did not exchange words with Jesus, but returned betimes to Capharnaum.

Jesus taught of the Eight Beatitudes and went as far as the sixth. The instruction on prayer begun at Capharnaum He repeated, and explained some of the petitions of the Our Father.

Teaching and healing went on till after four o’clock, and all this time the listening crowds had had nothing to eat. They had now followed from the day before, and the scanty provisions they had brought with them were exhausted. Many among them were quite weak and languishing for nourishment. The Apostles, noticing this, approached Jesus with the request that He would close the instruction in order that the people might hunt up (p. 215) lodgings for the night and procure food. Jesus replied: “They need not go away for that. Give them here something to eat!” Philip made answer: “Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?” This he said with some unwillingness, because he thought Jesus was about to lay upon them the fatigue of gathering up from the environs sufficient bread for all that crowd. Jesus answered: “See how many loaves you have!” and went on with His discourse. There was in the crowd a servant, who had been sent by his master with five loaves and two fishes as a present to the Apostles. Andrew told this to Jesus with the words: “But what is that among so many?” Jesus ordered the loaves and fishes to be brought, and when they were laid on the sod before Him, He continued the explanation of the petition for daily bread. Many of the people were fainting, and the children were crying for bread. Then Jesus, in order to try Philip, asked him: “Where shall we buy bread, that these people may eat?” and Philip answered: “Two hundred pennyworth would not be sufficient for all this crowd.” Jesus said: “Let the people be seated, the most famished by fifties, the others in groups of a hundred; and bring Me the baskets of bread that you have at hand.” The disciples set before Him a row of shallow baskets woven of broad strips of bark, such as were used for bread. Then they scattered among the people, whom they arranged in fifties and hundreds all down the terraced mountain, which was clothed with grass beautiful and long. Jesus was above, the people seated below Him on the mountainside.

Near the place upon which Jesus taught was a high, mossy bank, in which were several caves. On it Jesus directed a broad napkin to be spread, upon which were deposited the five loaves and two fishes. The loaves lay one upon the other on the napkin. They were long and narrow, about two inches in thickness. The crust was thin and yellow, and the inside, though not perfectly white, (p. 216) was close and fine. They were marked with stripes to make it more easy to break them or cut them with a knife. The fish were of a good arm’s length. Their heads were somewhat projecting, not like our fish. Cut up, roasted, and ready for eating, they lay upon large leaves. Another man had brought a couple of honeycombs, and they too were laid on the napkin.

When the disciples numbered the people and seated them in fifties and hundreds as Jesus had directed, He cut the five loaves with a bone knife, and the fish, which had been split down lengthwise, He divided into crosspieces. After that He took one of the loaves in His hands, raised it on high and prayed. He did the same with one of the fish. I do not remember whether He did the same with the honey or not. Three of the disciples were at His side. Jesus now blessed the bread, the fish, and the honey, and began to break the cross-sections into pieces, and these again into smaller portions. Every portion immediately increased to the original size of the loaf, and on its surface appeared, as before, the dividing lines. Jesus then broke the individual pieces into portions sufficiently large to satisfy a man, and gave with each a piece of fish. Saturnin, who was at His side, laid the piece of fish upon the portion of bread, and a young disciple of the Baptist, a shepherd’s son, who later on became a Bishop, laid upon each a small quantity of honey. There was no perceptible diminution in the fish, and the honeycomb appeared to increase. Thaddeus laid the portions of bread upon which were the fish and honey in the flat baskets, which were then borne away to those in most need, who sat in the fifties and were served first.

As soon as the empty baskets were brought back, they were exchanged for full ones, and so the work went on for about two hours until all had been fed. They that had a wife and children (and these were separated from the men) found their portion so large that they could abun- (p. 217) dantly share with them. The people drank of the water that had been conveyed thither in leathern bottles. Most of them used cups formed of bark folded into the shape of a cone, and others had with them hollow gourds.

The whole affair was conducted most expeditiously and with perfect order. The Apostles and disciples were, for the most part, occupied in carrying the baskets here and there and in distributing their contents. But all were silent and filled with amazement at the sight of such a multiplication. The size of the loaves was about two spans, or eighteen inches in length, and a fifth less in breadth. They were divided by ridges into twenty parts, five in length and four in breadth, so that the substance of every one of those parts increased fiftyfold, in order to feed five thousand men. The bread was a good three fingers in thickness. The fish were cut in two lengthwise. Jesus divided each half into numerous portions. It was only the two fish all the time, for it was in substance and not in number that they were most wonderfully increased.

When all had satisfied their hunger, Jesus bade the disciples to go around with the baskets and gather up the scraps, that nothing might be lost. They collected twelve baskets full. A great many of the people asked to take some of the pieces home with them as souvenirs. There were no soldiers present this time, though I was accustomed to see many at all the other great instructions. They had been called to Hesebon, where Herod was then sojourning.

When the people arose from their meal, they gathered everywhere in groups, full of wonder and admiration at this miracle of the Lord. From mouth to mouth ran the word: “This man is genuine! He is the Prophet that was to come into the world! He is the Promised One!”

It was now growing dusk, so Jesus bade the disciples go to their barques and cross before Him to Bethsaida; meanwhile He would take leave of the people and then (p. 218) follow. The disciples obeyed. Taking the baskets of bread they went down to their ships, and some of them crossed over to Bethsaida at once. The Apostles and some of the older disciples remained behind a little longer and then departed on Peter’s barque.

Jesus now dismissed the multitude, who were deeply moved. Scarcely had He left the spot upon which He had been teaching when the shout arose: “He has given us bread! He is our King! We will make Him our King!” But Jesus disappeared into the solitude, and there gave Himself up to prayer.

Peter’s barque, with the Apostles and several of the disciples, was delayed during the night by contrary winds. They rowed vigorously, but were driven to the south of the proper direction. I saw that every two hours little boats with torches were sent out from either bank. They bore belated passengers to the large ships, and served in the darkness to mark their direction. As, like sentinels, they were relieved every two hours, they were here called night watches. I saw these boats changed four times, while Peter’s ship was being driven south of its right course.

Then Jesus walked on the sea in a direction from northeast to southwest. He was shining with light. Rays darted from Him, and one could see His image reversed in the water under His feet. To walk in a direction from Bethsaida-Julias to Tiberias, almost opposite which was Peter’s ship, Jesus had to pass between the two night boats that were rowing out into the sea, one from Capharnaum and the other from the opposite bank. The people in these boats, seeing Him walking, raised a long cry of fear and sounded a horn, for they took Him for a phantom. The Apostles on Peter’s ship which, in order to (p. 219) find the true course, was guiding itself by the light from one of those boats, glanced in the direction of the sound, and saw Him coming toward them. He appeared to be gliding along more rapidly than in ordinary walking, and wherever He approached, the sea became calm. But a fog rested upon the water, so that He could be seen only at a certain distance. Although they had once before seen Him thus walking, still the unusual and specter-like sight filled them with terror, and they uttered a great cry.

But suddenly they recalled the circumstance of Jesus’ first walking on the water, and Peter, once more desirous of showing his faith, cried out again in his ardor: “Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come to Thee!” Jesus replied: “Come!” This time Peter ran a greater distance toward Jesus, but his faith did not yet suffice. He was already close to Him when he again thought of his danger, and on the instant began to sink. He stretched out his hand and cried: “Lord, save me!” He did not, however, sink to so great a depth as the first time. Jesus again addressed to him the words: “O thou of little faith, why dost thou doubt?” When Jesus mounted the ship, all ran to cast themselves at His feet, crying: “Truly, Thou art the Son of God!” Jesus reproved them for their fear and little faith, gave them a severe reprimand, and then instructed them upon the Our Father. He ordered them to steer more to the south. They now had a favorable wind and made the journey quickly, taking meanwhile a little rest in the cabin under the rower’s stand around the mast. The storm on this occasion was not so violent as that of the preceding, but they had got into the current of the lake, which in the middle was very strong, and they could not get out of it.

Jesus allowed Peter to come to Him on the water in order to humble him, for He knew very well that he was going to sink. Peter was very fiery and strong in believing, and in his zeal he wanted to give a testimony of his (p. 220) faith to Jesus and the disciples. By his sinking, he was preserved from pride. The others had not sufficient confidence to wish to follow his example and, while wondering at Peter’s faith, they could see that although it excelled their own it was not yet what it ought to be.

18 Shevat 31 AD = Tuesday Julian 30 January = vision of Tuesday 4 February 1823

At sunrise Peter’s ship put to on the east side of the lake at a little hamlet consisting of only a couple of rows of houses between Magdala and Dalmanutha. The hamlet belonged to the latter. It is this place that is meant when the Gospel says, “into the parts of Dalmanutha.”

As soon as they perceived the approach of the ship, the inhabitants began to get all their sick ready, and they came to meet Jesus on the shore. He and the disciples healed in the streets. After that He went to a hill at a short distance beyond Dalmanutha, where all the inhabitants, Jews and pagans, assembled around Him. There He taught upon the Eight Beatitudes and the Our Father. He also healed the sick whom they had brought with them.

This little place was near the ferry, and in it the toll was paid. The people in general were occupied with the transportation of iron from the iron city of Ephron unto Basan. This was the point from which they shipped iron to all the other seaports of Galilee. From the mountains they could see over into Ephron.

From this place Jesus embarked with the Apostles for Tarichaea, which was situated from three to four hours south of Tiberias. The city was built on a height, a quarter of an hour from the seashore, down to which, however, were houses scattered here and there. The shore from this point to the efflux of the Jordan was bordered with a wall strong and black, upon which a road extended. It was a recently built city, very beautiful and of pagan architecture, with colonnades in front of the houses. In the marketplace was a beautiful fountain protected by a pillared roof.

(p. 211) Jesus went at once to this fountain and thither flocked the people with their sick, whom He healed. Numbers of women stood veiled with their children at some distance behind the men. Pharisees and Sadducees were standing around Jesus, among them some Herodians, while He discoursed upon the Eight Beatitudes and the Our Father. The Pharisees were not slow in bringing forward their accusations which, as ever, turned upon the same points, namely, that He frequented the society of publicans and sinners, that He attracted after Him women of bad repute, that His disciples did not wash their hands before meals, that He cured upon the Sabbath, etc. Jesus cut them short, and called the children to Him. After curing, instructing, and blessing them, He presented them to the Pharisees with the words: “Ye must become like unto these.”

Tarichaea was less elevated than Tiberias. Quantities of fish were here salted and dried. Before entering the city, the traveller met large wooden frames upon which the fish lay drying.

The country in these parts was uncommonly fertile. The heights around the city were covered with terraces full of vineyards and every variety of fruit trees. The whole region as far as Thabor and the Baths of Bethulia was, beyond all conception, blooming, teeming with abundance. It was most generally known as the Land of Genesareth.

Toward evening Jesus left Tarichaea and sailed with the disciples across the lake in a northeasterly direction. He taught while on the ship, but only of the Our Father, and this time of the fourth petition. When alone with them, Jesus always prepared His disciples for His public, more elevated teachings.

19 Shevat 31 AD = Wednesday Julian 31 January = vision of Wednesday 5 February 1823

(p. 222) Jesus spent the night on the ship, which was anchored on the shore between Matthew’s custom office and Bethsaida-Julias. Next morning He discoursed upon the Our Father before about a hundred people, and toward midday sailed with the disciples to the region of Capharnaum, where they landed unnoticed and went at once to Peter’s. Here Jesus met Lazarus, who had come hither with Veronica’s son and some people from Hebron.

When Jesus ascended the height behind Peter’s house over which ran the shortest route from Capharnaum to Bethsaida, the multitude encamped around it followed Him. Several of those present the day before at the multiplication of the loaves, and who had been seeking Him ever since, asked Him: “Rabbi, when camest Thou hither? We have been seeking Thee on both sides of the lake.” Jesus, at the same time beginning His sermon answered them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labor not for the meat which perisheth but for that which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of Man will give you. For Him hath God the Father sealed.” These words stand thus in the Gospel, but they are only the principal points of those that Jesus pronounced on this occasion, for He dwelt largely on the subject. The people whispered to one another: “What does He mean by the Son of Man? We are all children of man!” When upon His admonition that they should do the works of God, they asked what they should do to fulfill those works, He answered: “Believe in Him whom He hath sent!” And then He gave them an instruction upon faith. They asked again what kind of a miracle He would perform that they might believe. Moses gave their fathers bread from Heaven that they might (p. 223) believe in him, namely, the manna. What, they now asked, was Jesus going to give them. To this Jesus answered: “I say to you, Moses gave you not bread from Heaven, but My Father giveth you the true bread from Heaven. For the bread of God is that which cometh down from Heaven and giveth life to the world.”

Of this bread Jesus taught in detail, and some of them said to Him: “Lord, give us always this bread!” But others objected: “His Father gives us bread from Heaven! How can that be? His father Joseph is already dead!” Jesus continued to teach on the same subject, dwelling upon it at great length, developing it and explaining in most precise terms. But only a few understood Him. The others fancied themselves wise; they thought they knew all things.

20 Shevat 31 AD = Thursday Julian 1 February = vision of Thursday 6 February 1823

On the following day Jesus, from the hill behind Peter’s house, continued the subject of yesterday’s discourse. There were about two thousand people present, who exchanged places by turns, some coming forward, others withdrawing, that all might get a chance to hear better. Jesus also changed His position from time to time. He went from one place to another, lovingly and patiently repeating His words of instruction and refuting the same objections. Apart from the crowd were many women, veiled. The Pharisees kept moving to and fro, questioning and whispering their doubts among the people.

Today Jesus spoke out in plain words. He said: “I am the Bread of Life. He that cometh to He shall not hunger, and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst. All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh to Me, I will not cast out. Because I came down from Heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. Now this is the will of the Father, who sent Me: that of all that He hath given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again in the last day. And (p. 224) this is the will of My Father that sent Me: that every one who seeth the Son and believeth in Him, may have life everlasting, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

But there were many who did not understand Him, and they said: “How can He say that He has come down from Heaven? He is truly the son of the carpenter Joseph, His Mother and relatives are among us, and we know even the parents of His father Joseph! He has said today that God is His Father, and then He said again that He is the Son of Man!” and they murmured. Jesus said to them: “Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to Me, except the Father, who bath sent Me, draw him.” Again they failed to grasp His meaning, and they asked what the words: “The Father draw him,” signified. They took them quite literally. Jesus answered: “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone that hath heard and learned it of the Father cometh to Me!”

Thereupon many of them asked: “Are we not with Him? And have we not yet heard of the Father, learned of the Father?” To which Jesus made answer: “No one hath seen the Father, but He who is of God. He that believeth in Me, hath everlasting life. I am the Bread that cometh down from Heaven, the Bread of Life.”

Then they said again among themselves that they knew of no bread that came down from Heaven, excepting the manna. Jesus explained that the manna was not the Bread of Life, for their fathers who had eaten it were dead. But whosoever ate of the Bread that came down from Heaven, should not die. He said that He was the living Bread, and that he who ate thereof should live forever.

All these instructions were accompanied by full explanations and quotations from the Law and the Prophets. But most of the Jews would not comprehend them. They took all literally according to the common, (p. 225) human acceptation, and again asked: “What meaneth these words, that we should eat Him, and eternal life? Who then, has eternal life, and who can eat of Him? Henoch and Elias have been taken away from the earth, and they say that they are not dead; nor does anyone know whither Malachias has gone, for no one knows of his death. But apart from these, all other men must die.” Jesus replied by asking them whether they knew where Henoch and Elias were and where Malachias was. As for Himself, this knowledge was not concealed from Him. But did they know what Henoch believed, what Elias and Malachias prophesied? And He explained several of their prophecies.

Jesus taught no more that day. The people were in an extraordinary state of excitement; they reflected on His words and disputed their meaning among themselves. Many of the new disciples even, especially those lately received from among John’s, doubted and wavered. They had swelled the number of the disciples to seventy, for up to this period Jesus had only thirty-six. The women were now about thirty-four, though the number engaged in the service of the Community at last amounted to seventy. It was increased by all the stewardesses, maidservants, and directresses of the inns.

21 Shevat 31 AD = Friday Julian 2 February = vision of Friday 7 February 1823

Jesus again taught the people on the hill outside the city. He said nothing more of the Bread of Life, however, but confined Himself to the Beatitudes and the Our Father. The crowd was very great, but because most of the sick were already cured, the thronging and hurrying were less than usual. The carrying of the sick to the scene of action and their subsequent departure always gave rise to much confusion and disturbance, since everyone wanted to be first both in coming and going. All, and especially many of John’s disciples, were in great expectation, eager to hear the end of the instruction begun on the previous day.

(p. 226) That evening as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue upon the lesson of the Sabbath, some of His hearers interrupted Him with the question: “How canst Thou call Thyself the Bread of Life come down from Heaven, since everyone knows whence Thou art?” To which Jesus answered by repeating all that He had already said on that subject.

The Pharisees again offered the same objections, and when they appealed to their father Abraham and to Moses, asking how He could call God His Father, Jesus put to them the question: “How can ye call Abraham your father and Moses your Law-giver, since ye do not follow the commandments or the example of either Abraham or Moses?” Then He placed clearly before them their perverse actions and their wicked, hypocritical life. They became confused and enraged.

Now Jesus resumed and continued His instructions on the Bread of Life. He said, “The bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the world.” At these words, murmurs and whispers ran through the crowd: “How can He give us His flesh to eat?” Jesus continued and taught at length as the Gospel records: “Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. But he that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise Him up in the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed: and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me and I in him. As the living Father had sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, the same also shall live by Me. This is the bread that came down from Heaven. It is not bread like the manna, of which your fathers did eat, and yet died! He that eateth this bread, shall live forever.” Jesus then explained many passages from the Prophets, especially from Malachias, and showed their accomplishment in John the Baptist, of whom He spoke at length. They asked when (p. 227) He would give them that food of which He spoke. He answered distinctly: “In its own time,” and then, with a peculiar expression, signified a certain period in weeks. I counted as He spoke, and got: one year, six weeks, and some days. The people were very greatly agitated, and the Pharisees took care to incite them still more.

22 Shevat 31 AD = Saturday Julian 3 February = vision of Saturday 8 February 1823

After that Jesus again taught in the synagogue. He explained the sixth and the seventh petitions of the Our Father, also the Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” He said that they who are learned ought not to be conscious of it, just as the rich ought not to know that they possess riches. Then the Jews murmured again and said: “of what use would such knowledge or such riches be, if the owner did not know that he possessed either the one or the other?” Jesus answered: “Blessed are the poor in spirit!” adding that they should feel themselves poor and humble before God, from whom all wisdom comes, and apart from whom all wisdom is an abomination.

When the Jews questioned him again upon His discourse of the preceding day, that on the Bread of Life, on the eating of His flesh and the drinking of His blood, He repeated His former instruction in strong and precise terms. Many of His disciples murmured and said: “This saying is hard, and who can bear it?” Jesus replied that they should not be scandalized, they would witness things still more wonderful, and He predicted to them clearly that they would persecute Him, that even the most faithful among them would abandon Him and take to flight, and that He would fall into the arms of His enemies, who would put Him to death. But, He said, He would not abandon His unfaithful disciples; His Spirit would hover near them. The words, “He would run into the arms of His enemy,” were not exactly those used by Jesus. It was rather that He would embrace His enemy, or be embraced by him, but I no longer remember which. It referred to the kiss and perfidy of Judas.

(p. 228) As the Jews were now still more scandalized, Jesus said: “If then you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some among you that believe not, therefore did I say to you: No man can come to Me, unless it be given Him by My Father.”

These words of Jesus were greeted by jeers and murmurs throughout the synagogue. About thirty of the new disciples, principally the narrow-minded followers of John, went over to the Pharisees and began to whisper with them and express their dissatisfaction, but the Apostles and the older disciples gathered more closely around Jesus. He continued to teach, and said aloud: “It is well that those men showed of whose spirit they are the children before they occasioned greater mischief.”

As He was leaving the synagogue, the Pharisees and the disloyal disciples who had colleagued with them wanted to detain Him in order to argue with Him and demand explanations on many points. But the Apostles, His disciples, and other friends surrounded Him, so that He escaped their importunities, though amid shouts and confusion. Their speech was such as might be heard from the men of our own day: “Now we have it! Now we need nothing more! He has doubtless proved to every sensible man that He is Himself bereft of reason. We must eat His flesh! We must drink His blood! He is from Heaven! He will ascend into Heaven!”

Jesus went with His followers, though by different routes, to the hill and valley north of the city near the dwellings of Zorobabel and Cornelius. When they reached a certain place, He began to instruct His disciples, and then it was that He asked The Twelve whether they too were going to leave Him. Peter answered for all: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have known that (p. 229) Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Jesus answered among other things: “I also have chosen you twelve, and yet one among you is a devil!”

Mary was present with other women at that last discourse of Jesus on the mountain, as well as that delivered in the synagogue of all the mysteries propounded in these discourses, she had long had the interior consciousness; only, just as the Second Person of the Godhead, having taken flesh in her, became Man and her Child, so too was this knowledge hidden, enveloped as it were in the most humble, the most reverential love of her mother-heart for Jesus. Since Jesus had now taught more plainly of these mysteries than ever before, to the scandal of those that willfully shut their eyes to the light, the meditations of Mary were directed to them. I saw her in her chamber that night praying. She had a vision, an interior contemplation of the Angelical Salutation, the Birth, and the Childhood of Jesus, of her own maternity, and of His Sonship. She contemplated her Child as the Son of God, and was so overcome by humility and reverence that she melted into tears. But all these contemplations were again absorbed in the feeling of maternal love for her Divine Son, just as the appearance of bread hides the Living God in the Sacrament.

At the separation of the disciples from Jesus, I saw in two circles the Kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan. I saw the city of Satan and the Babylonian harlot with its prophets and prophetesses, its wonder-workers and apostles, all in great magnificence, more brilliant, richer, and more numerous than was the Kingdom of Jesus. Kings, emperors, and even priests coursed therein with horse and chariot, and for Satan was set a magnificent throne.

But the Kingdom of Christ upon earth I saw poor and insignificant, full of misery and suffering. I saw Mary as the Church, and Christ on the Cross. He, too, was like (p. 230) the Church, the entrance to which was through the Wound of His Side.

23 Shevat 31 AD = Sunday Julian 4 February = vision of Sunday 9 February 1823

Jesus with the Apostles and disciples was making the journey from Capharnaum to Cana and Cydessa.

24 Shevat 31 AD = Monday Julian 5 February = vision of Monday 10 February 1823

I saw Him in the region of Giskala placing The Twelve in three separate rows and revealing to each his own peculiar disposition and character. Peter, Andrew, John, James the Greater, and Matthew stood in the first row; Thaddeus, Bartholomew, James the Less, and the disciple Barsabas, in the second; Thomas, Simon, Philip, and Judas Iscariot, in the third. Each heard his own thoughts and hopes revealed to him by Jesus, and all were strongly affected. Jesus delivered at the same time a lengthy discourse upon the hardships and sufferings that awaited them, and on this occasion He again made use of the expression: “Among you there is a devil.”

The three different rows established no subordination among the Apostles, one to another. The Twelve were classed merely according to their disposition and character. Joses Barsabas stood foremost in the row of the disciples, and nearest to The Twelve; consequently, Jesus placed him also in the second row with the Apostles, and revealed to him his hopes and fears.

25 Shevat 31 AD = Tuesday Julian 6 February = vision of Tuesday 11 February 1823

(Christ goes to Cydessa.)

26 Shevat 31 AD = Wednesday Julian 7 February = vision of Wednesday 12 February 1823

(Christ heals in Cydessa, teaches in the synagogue, and goes northward.)

27 Shevat 31 AD = Thursday Julian 8 February = vision of Thursday 13 February 1823

On this journey Jesus further instructed The Twelve and the disciples exactly how to proceed in the future when healing the sick and exorcising the possessed, as He Himself did in such cases. He imparted to them the power and the courage always to effect, by imposition of hands and anointing with oil, what He Himself could do. This communication of power took place without the imposition of hands, though not without a substantial transmission. They stood around Jesus, and I saw rays darting toward them of different colors, according to the nature of the (p. 231) gifts received and the peculiar disposition of each recipient. They exclaimed: “Lord, we feel ourselves endued with strength! Thy words are truth and life!” And now each knew just what he had to do in every case in order to effect a cure. There was no room left for either choice or reflection.

28 Shevat 31 AD = Friday Julian 9 February = vision of Friday 14 February 1823

After that Jesus with all His disciples arrived at Elcese, a place distant from Capharnaum one hour and a half. There in the synagogue He delivered the sermon of the Sabbath, in which reference was made to the building of Solomon’s Temple. I remember that He addressed the Apostles and disciples as the workmen who were to fell the cedars on the mountain and prepare them for the building. He spoke also of the interior adornment of the Temple. The services over, at which many Pharisees were in attendance, Jesus was invited to dine. The meal was taken at a house of public entertainment. Many people stood around during it, to bear what Jesus was saying, and numbers of the poor were fed. The Pharisees, having remarked that the disciples had not washed their hands before coming to table, asked Jesus why His disciples did not respect the prescriptions of their forefathers, and why they did not observe the customary purifications. Jesus responded to their question by asking why they themselves did not keep the Commandments, why with all their traditions they did not honor their father and mother, and He reproached them with their hypocrisy and their vain adherence to external purification. During this dispute the meal came to an end. Jesus, however, continued to address the crowd that pressed around Him: “Hear ye and understand! Not that which goeth into the mouth defiled a man; but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. He that has ears to hear, let him hear!” The disciples who had remained behind in the entertainment hall told Jesus that these words of His had greatly scandalized the Pharisees. To (p. 232) which He responded: “Every plant that My Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up! Let them alone! They are blind and leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit.”

29 Shevat 31 AD = Saturday Julian 10 February = vision of Saturday 15 February 1823

When on the following evening Jesus was closing the Sabbath instruction, the Pharisees again reproached Him on account of the irregular mode of the disciples’ fasting. But Jesus retorted by charging them with their avarice and want of mercy. Among other things, He said: “The disciples eat after long labor, and then only if others are supplied. But if these latter are hungry, they give them what they have, and God blesses it.” Here Jesus recalled the multiplication of the loaves, on which occasion the disciples had given their bread and fish to the hungry multitude, and He asked the Pharisees whether they would have done the same.

From Elcese, Jesus went with the Apostles and disciples through Cedes-Nephtali to Dan, called also Lais, or Leschem. Cedes Nephtali was a stronghold and Levitical city built of black, shining stone. On the way Jesus instructed His followers, His subject always being prayer. He explained the Our Father. He told them that in the past they had not prayed worthily, but like Esau had asked for the fat of the earth; but now, like Jacob, they should petition for the dew of Heaven, for spiritual gifts, for the blessing of spiritual illumination, for the Kingdom according to the will of God, and not for one in accordance with their own ideas. He reminded them that even the heathens themselves did not petition for temporal goods alone, but also for those of a spiritual nature.

30 Shevat 31 AD = Sunday Julian 11 February = vision of Sunday 16 February 1823

The city of Dan, situated at the base of a high mountain range, covered a wide extent owing to the fact that every one of its houses was surrounded by a garden. All the inhabitants were engaged in garden tillage. They raised fruits and aromatic plants of all kinds, also calamus, myrrh, balsam, cotton, and many sweet-scented (p. 233) herbs, which formed the staple of their trade with Tyre and Sidon. The pagans of Dan were more mixed up with the Jews than in other cities. Although this region was so delightful and fertile, yet there were many sick in it.

            Jesus put up with the disciples at one of His own inns situated in the heart of the city. The Apostles and disciples had established it when on their last mission here. Counting the Apostles, the disciples with Jesus at this time amounted to thirty.