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The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

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The visions of Sister Emmerich, as transcribed by a local priest in the early 1800's, are deeply moving. I became interested in reading the "Dolorous Passion" when I heard that Mel Gibson had used it as a source for "The Passion". Some observations about the book and the film:

The book actually contains far more graphic violence than the film. The brutal treatment of Our Lord's final hours is related in excruciating detail. If anything, Gibson sanitized the story somewhat by skipping over some of the action and not dwelling as much as Emmerich on the attitudes of the bloodthirsty throng.

I could find no anti-Semitism in the book. If Emmerich sees anyone as being responsible for Jesus' death, it is Satan himself. Time and time again she describes how Satan takes full possession of the angry mob and Roman soldiers as their blood lust reaches full crescendo.

In the film, Pilate (I thought) is portrayed as a somewhat noble character with a deeply troubled conscience. In the book, he is depicted as pathetically weak, duplicitous and cowardly, content to sacrifice innocent blood just to keep himself out of trouble.

The timeless quality of Our Lord's sacrifice comes across powerfully in the book. In Gesthemani, Sister Emmerich tells us how all of our sins-past, present, and future-appear before Him, as he takes them all upon Himself for our salvation. With all the meticulous detail of the twelve hours, it is easy to forget that for God, past, present and future are all one: our sins today hurt Him just as much as those committed by those who clamored for his crucifixion. That is a tough concept to get across in a film, and maybe a reason for the charges of anti-Semitism brought against it. On this topic and others, I think the book can help to clarify the message of the movie.

Keeping in mind that visions are seen by mystics in many ways, and that they are not always clear, in sequence, or well translated into words, this is a remarkable document of what this devout Agustinian nun saw for many of the 50 years of her life. Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) stated repeatedly of her visions, which were recorded for this book during a seven week period in 1823 by her friend Clement Brentano, that there were details she could not remember, or "what I have not forgotten I cannot find words to express", and in another, "I saw nothing distinctly". I think this lends credibility to what she did say, in that she did not fabricate to "fill in the holes" of her visions. Another thing to remember is that it must have been as difficult to describe events 1800 years in the past, in ancient Judea, as it would have been to go 200 years into the future; how would she have explained a television or the Los Angeles freeway system ?

Sister Emmerich's visions give tremendous insight into the last hours of Jesus, especially the agony at Gethsemane. As Oswald Chambers would point out in his writings, that Gethsemane should be viewed "in light of His earlier wilderness temptation-'...the devil...departed from Him until an opportune time' (Luke 4:13)". Here our Lord confronts Satan in the garden, and he also sees His future Church, "They had weathercocks on their roofs, and their doctrines changed with the wind" (pg.111).

Part I is a short biography of Sister Emmerich, of whom much calumny has been spread in recent months by professional hatemongers who crave the media spotlight, because these writings inspired a few scenes in Mel Gibson's film "The Passion", but one should consider the source when listening to them.
Part II is the preparation for Passover and The Last Supper, and Part III, which is the bulk of the book, The Passion. There are three final chapters that deal with the Resurrection, and an appendix on Longinus (whose lance pierced the Lord's side), and Abenadar, the centurion who was later known as St. Ctesiphon.

Sister Emmerich had many rich descriptions of the central figures connected with the Passion; of Pilate she saw him as a weak, undecided and despicable character, who would do any unjust act "provided it answered his ends"..."his sole desire was to entail no risk upon himself"; she also not only saw into the past, but into other realms, like Satan taunting Judas, and the angels ministering to Jesus, and of corrupt Christians of the "first and all succeeding ages, even to the end of the world".
I think these writings illuminate Bible study and one's walk with the Lord, and are of great value, but probably more to Christians already fairly well versed in scripture, otherwise they might create more confusion than clarity.

Some Catholic Mystics (Saints) teach us that focusing on Jesus' Passion and Death will get you to heaven. This book walks you through our Lord's agony, step by step. After I read it, I was left with the picture of a Person who was literally skinned alive through scourging, and His Head was crowned with thorns and then The Body finally nailed to a cross, you get a little idea of what HE suffered "for us" physically. There were also mental and spiritual torments in addition to His physical sufferings. This book is for those who really want to grow spiritually and can face what He went through for us. The author was a nun who received only 2 months worth of visions depicting Christ's crucifixion and suffering. This book is well worth reading and contemplating.

Faithful to the Bible story of the Passion and death of Jesus, it fills in many details and is edifying and inspiring beyond belief; plus, it is surpising and heartrendering. It will melt a heart of stone. This book is the best on the Passion we have seen. It is also wonderful on the Blessed Mother's role inour redemption. Includes a short biography of St. Emmerich. A great, great book for the whole family!

Ann Catherine Emmerich basically dictated this from her sick bed, after a painful life of her own, one full of toil and disappointment and sorrow. Does this better prepare one for mysticism? This is one of several examples of the phenomenon of the Catholic stigmatic driven to extacy and visions by a life of brutal effort and constant prayer. I leave it to the reader to judge the actual truth of their experiences.

First let me say that I do believe that the Passion occurred much as it is explained here, but then it is explained here much as it was in the Gospels, with a few variations. The interesting thing about this book is that it actually does read like an eye witness account. For instance: the house where the Last Supper occurred was (according to Emmerich) owned by Joseph of Arimathia and Nicodemus, who used it as both an office for their stone working business as well as renting the main room out for Passover meals during that season. In times past it was used as a training facility during the time of King David, and the Ark of the Covenant was stored in a basement room awaiting completion of the temple. The room is described very clearly and logically, and after a while you get a chill as though you are actually seeing the actual events take place.

But then she tips her hand, and it seems we are only dealing with someone in an advanced state of mental fatigue, suffering pleasant delusions. The chalice that was to be used, (it turns out) is a priceless heirloom left over from the original Temple, and it was never melted down and reused because it was made of - not gold - but some other, miraculous metal that couldn't be melted. It also seems that this chalice was in fact a small dinner service with 6 other smaller cups, a detachable base, a spoon that slipped into a hidden recess, all packaged in a leather carrier. Sort of a Swiss Army knife of chalices. Not only that, but it was brought with Noah on the ark to escape the flood.

So it was difficult for me to get completely lost in the narrative as it seemed clear that much of it was what psychiatrists call "confabulation", or adding one detail on top of another until things get preposterous. The scourging and crucifixion scenes are horrendous, and I don't doubt that the original event was probably something similar. But it should be borne in mind that the point of Roman crucifixion was just that...a proper public crucifixion to show the masses who was in charge. A scourging as brutal as the one described here would have killed any man, and Christ was fully man (and fully God.) He would have been unable to walk from blood loss, and would have simply passed out and died there at the pillar, with no subsequent crucifixion necessary or possible.

I do believe that people like Emmerich are special - through prayer and hardship they slowly leave the earthly plane and attain something like a middle level between earth and heaven, and it's quite possible that they can be allowed to see things the rest of us aren't worthy to see. It's also possible that weak, delusional people can be whipped into a frenzy by their "handlers" who are eagerly writing down every word they say, and the truth gets embroidered to the point that it's difficult to tell fact from fantasy. But it doesn't really matter. What matters is that books like this make us think: about Christ's Passion, about our prayer lives, about the work that WE should be doing to try to attain something like sainthood in this modern life. If it does that, the book is well worth the price.

I am currently reading this book at a break-neck speed, as it is almost impossible to put down. The meditations of this book are great for any liturgical season, but most especially for that of Lent. The book forces upon you the reality of the daily life that Jesus and the Apostles lived, as well and the details of the events told in the Bible. I am gaining a much deeper respect for all Our Lord suffered, for His inseparable relationship with Mary, and for the greatness of the Eucharist. I am sending this book to others, as I know I want my own copy to refer to frequently!

This book is at least as touching, if not moreso, than the movie "Passion of the Christ." The main thing is, the movie focuses more on the physical sufferings of Jesus. Not that that's a bad thing of course. But once you realize what Jesus suffered for you physically, it would be a good idea to look more into the mental aspect. "The Dolorous Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ" expands on all of Jesus's sufferings, physical and mental.

Besides meditations on Jesus's Passion, this book also includes a biography of Anne Catherine Emmerich. And, just a side note, I don't believe Emmerich was anti-semitic. Yes, she refers to "wicked Jews" but by that she means the group of Jews who actually shouted for Jesus's death, not all Jews for all of time. If you actually read the whole book, you'll realize this.

I am a Catholic who has learned about the sufferings of Jesus Christ in his passion - (crucifiction and death), but I had never realized the depth of his physical and mental anguish. The book is the recordings of a woman named Anne Catherine Emerich who received visitations from our Lord Jesus Christ. She was revealed great understanding of the lives of Jesus and Mary, His Blessed Mother and experienced visions of what exactly had occured during his agony, scourging, crowning, mocking and crucifiction as well as many other events in His life and the lives of the Blessed Virgin and many Biblical figures. It's especially wonderful for those who need their faith to be strengthened. I recommend it to every soul in the world - that it may awaken in them an understanding of the great love and mercy that Jesus Christ has for us all. PRAISE BE TO JESUS CHRIST - NOW AND FOREVER!!!

Why is it that is so hard to believe that there were bad Jews in history?! Just like there is bad people in every religion, ethnicitiy, race in the world? Believe or not there were Jews and Romans at that time! And there were some who good and bad, (yes there were many Romans who were good). The majority of the followers were JEWISH! Jesus was a JEW, who went against the corrupt leaders of that time, just like many Catholics are against the child abuse of today by Catholic priests and Muslims against the corrupt Extremists Muslims of today. So why is it so hard to understand that this is what happened, not only because it was written in the bible (which we forget was written by JEWISH MEN), it is and was a historical fact regarding Jesus'death. Of course there was a Jewish mob, because the majority were Jews, there was also a mob of Romans, Gentiles, because it was of that time. He died for EVERYONE and that means we are ALL to blame for his death. He died and CHOSE to die for ALL OF US! So stop twisting the meaning behind this book. Which is a beautiful book, beautifully written.

All worries, troubles and life's problems pale in comparison to the Lord's suffering FOR US. And to think, He would endure it all over again for even ONE of His children. His love is beyond measure and beyond comprehension and this book brings the knowledge of what Jesus did into a horrific yet beautiful reality. Non-catholics and Catholics alike will be overwhelmed by this book.