The Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich Book III

Anne Catherine Emmerich (Sept. 8, 1774–Feb. 9, 1824) lived from early childhood in almost constant inner vision of scenes of the Old and New Testaments. Her early visions were mostly of pre-Christian events, but by the time she had become (at 29) an Augustinian nun, they were concerned primarily with the life of Jesus. In November, 1812, Anne Catherine was permanently confined to bed, shortly thereafter received the stigmata, and was for the rest of her life sustained almost exclusively by water and the Eucharist. Many came to visit her, among them the poet Clemens Brentano, who was so impressed by her radiance that he moved nearby to record her visions. On July 29, 1820, Anne Catherine began to communicate to Brentano scenes of the day-to-day life of Jesus, which in due course encompassed the better part of his ministry. She was able to describe in extraordinary detail the places Jesus visited, his miracles and healings, his teaching activity in the synagogues and elsewhere, and the people around him. Anne Catherine and Brentano worked together daily until her death on February 9, 1824, except for one period of six months. Various editions of the visions have been assembled over the years, but only recently (2009) have Brentano’s complete notebooks (38 volumes) been published, and this new edition benefits greatly from this new resource, particularly in a Dramatis Personæ that provides summaries of the primary holy men and women. Anne Catherine was so attuned to the life of Jesus that her visions encompassed minute details of time and place. Along with other supplements, this edition incorporates a day-by-day chronology and — during the days of the Passion — a nearly hour-by-hour itinerary. It contains also 40 detailed maps depicting Jesus’s journeys. Many chronologies of the life of Jesus have been put forward, but the dates given in the current work differ from all previous efforts in that they derive from the application of modern chronological science (described in 5 appendices) to the whole of Anne Catherine’s visions. In addition, all 350 of the paintings of scenes from the life of Jesus executed by the French painter J. James Tissot (1836–1902), largely under the influence of Anne Catherine’s visions, are included in this edition, along with many other illustrations. Over the years many have attested to the transformative power of these visions, and Anne Catherine was beatified on Oct. 3, 2004 by Pope John Paul II. It is the editor’s hope that these visions—so engaging as an historical narrative, so illustrative of the gospel stories, so replete with inspired spiritual insight — may open a gateway, for the many who have in modern times fallen away from any connection with the life and teaching of Jesus, to the earthly garden where the Spirit bloomed, and blossoms still.