A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion/II. History of Christ,
HISTORY OF CHRIST.
21. [1]The world was at peace; Augustus was Emperor of Rome, and Herod, the Idumean, King of Judea (8), when the promise of God and the predictions of the prophets were accomplished. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Redeemer of the world, was born, in a stable at Bethlehem, of Mary, a virgin, descended from the royal family of David. His birth was announced by angels to the shepherds at Bethlehem, and by a star to the Wise Men in the East. The cruel Herod made every effort to discover the Divine Infant, that he might put Him to death; but by the Lord's command, Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, fled with Him and His mother to Egypt, and did not return till after the death of Herod. Jesus ,then led a retired life at Nazareth in Galilee, was subject to His parents, and 'advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men' (Luke ii. 52). When He was twelve years old. He went with His parents to Jerusalem to celebrate the Pasch, or Passover, and remained there three days in the temple, astonishing even the Scribes, or doctors of the law, by His wise questions and answers. At the age of thirty He went to the river Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. When He came out of the water, the Holy Ghost descended upon Him in the shape of a dove, and a voice came from Heaven, saying: ' This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am. well pleased ' (Matt. iii. 17).
22. [2]Jesus then retired into the desert, and after having fasted and prayed there forty days and forty nights, He began to preach the Gospel — that is, the good tidings of the kingdom of God on earth; He travelled about the towns and villages, and proved His Divine mission and the truth of His doctrine by His holy life, by miracles and prophecies. Those who heard Him were filled with wonder and amazement. Multitudes of people followed Him, praised and extolled Him as the true Messias, and said, 'Never did man speak like this man' (John vii. 46). Jesus selected from His followers twelve men whom He called His Apostles or messengers. They were to be witnesses of His doctrine and works, that, after His ascension into Heaven, they might preach what they had seen and heard of Him to all nations. These are the names of the twelve Apostles: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James (the elder), the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew; James (the Less), the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, his brother, sometimes called Jude; Simon, the Chanaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who afterwards betrayed Him. Moreover, He chose seventy-two disciples, 'and He sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself was to come' (Luke x. 1). The twelve Apostles, the seventy-two disciples, and the others who adhered to Jesus, formed the beginning of that society of all the faithful which we call the Church of Christ. He appointed Peter to be the visible Head of His Church on earth, called him the Rock upon which He said He would build His Church, against which the gates of hell should never prevail, and promised him the keys of the kingdom of Heaven (Matt. xvi. 18, 19).
23. [3]Jesus bestowed favors upon the Jews such as no one had ever witnessed before: He made the blind to see and the lame to walk; He restored the sick to health, and raised the dead to life; in a word, He relieved every kind of suffering and misery. Nevertheless, He had many enemies, especially among the Scribes and Pharisees, who hated Him because He reprimanded them for their sins and vices, and also because He would not establish a temporal kingdom and elevate them to high dignities. They watched all His words and actions; but they could not convict Him of any sin. In the third year of His public teaching, and shortly before the Pasch or Easter, Jesus raised Lazarus to life after he had lain four days in the grave. The people, hearing of this miracle, greatly rejoiced; and when Jesus went to Jerusalem, they came forth in crowds to meet Him, with branches of palms and olives in their hands, spread their garments in the way, and cried, saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest' (Matt. xxi. 9). This triumphant entry of Jesus exasperated his enemies still more, and from that day they sought to put Him to death.
24. [4]Jesus knew that the time of His bitter Passion was at hand. Resigned to the will of His Heavenly Father, He prepared to pass out of this world. Whilst, in conformity with the Jewish law. He was eating the Paschal Lamb with His Apostles, He took bread into His holy and venerable hands, lifted up His eyes toward Heaven, to God His Almighty Father, gave thanks, blessed and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, ' Take ye, and eat; this is my Body which shall he delivered for you.' After that. He took the chalice with wine in it, again gave thanks, blessed and gave it to His disciples, saying, ' Drink ye all of this; this is my Blood of the New Testament, which shall he shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins. As often as you do this, do it for the commemoration of me. Thus Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, wherein, under the appearance of bread and wine. He gives Himself truly to us for the nourishment of our souls. After the Last Supper, Jesus continued speaking for some time to His Apostles in the most affectionate manner, and promised to send them, for their Comforter, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, who should teach them all things, and abide with them for ever. After this. He went into the garden of Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives, to pray.
25. [5]There all His coming sufferings were most sensibly displayed before His soul. A violent agony came over Him, and His sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground. ' My Father,' said He, ' if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt' (Matt. xxvi. 39). In the meanwhile, Judas, who was about to betray Him, approached with a band of armed men; and Jesus suffered Himself to be taken, bound, and led before the Chief Council, where He was mocked, spat upon, and buffeted. The chief priests then delivered Him up as guilty of death to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, who, on his part, sent Him to King Herod; but neither of them could find any evil in Him. Nevertheless, He was scourged and crowned with thorns; and at last, in compliance with the clamorous and threatening demands of the chief priests and the Jewish rabble, who preferred the murderer Barabbas before Him, Pilate delivered Him unto them to be crucified.
26. [6]Jesus, like one of the greatest criminals, was loaded with a heavy cross, and conducted to Mount Calvary, a place of execution, where He was crucified between two thieves. As the prophets had foretold, so it was now accomplished: His hands and feet were pierced with nails; the soldiers divided His garments among them, and upon His vesture they cast lots. When tormented with burning thirst, they gave Him vinegar and gall to drink. Even the chief priests and ancients scoffed at Him; but Jesus suffered all these cruelties with the most wonderful patience and meekness. Nay, He even prayed for His enemies, saying: ' Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' For three hours Jesus was hanging upon the cross suffering the most dreadful pains. The sun was darkened, and all nature mourned. At last, with a loud voice He exclaimed, ' It is consummated; Father, into Thy hands I commend my Spirit'; and bowing His head. He gave up the ghost. The moment He expired the earth quaked, the rocks split asunder, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom, the graves were opened, and many bodies of the Saints that had slept arose and appeared in Jerusalem. The centurion or captain and the soldiers, who stood near the cross, were struck with awe, and said, ' Indeed this was the Son of God.' Thus Jesus became 'the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world' (1 John ii. 2).
27. [7]It was on Good Friday, about three o'clock in the afternoon, that Jesus expired. In order to assure themselves that He was dead, one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water. His body was taken down from the cross, and laid in a new sepulchre hewn out in a rock. The Jews sealed it and set a guard before it. But early on the third day, before sunrise, there was a great earthquake, and Christ crucified arose glorious from the sepulchre. During forty days afterwards He often appeared to His Disciples, instructed them concerning the kingdom of God — that is, the Church — gave them power to forgive sins, and installed Peter Head of the Church, with these words: 'Feed my lambs; feed my sheep ' (John xxi. 15, 17). When He appeared for the last time in the midst of the eleven. He commanded them to go into the whole world, to preach the Gospel to all nations, and to baptize them ' in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' For that purpose He gave them the same power which He had received from His Heavenly Father, and promised to be with them all days, even to the consummation of the world. Finally, on the fortieth day after His Resurrection. He led His Disciples to the Mount of Olives, where He lifted up His hands over them, and, whilst He blessed them, ascended in their sight up to Heaven.
- ↑ Under what emperor and what king was the Redeemer born? Where, and of whom, was He born? Who was first told of His birth, and by whom? What did King Herod try to discover, and why? What did St. Joseph do? Where did Jesus spend His childhood after His return from Egypt? How did He live there? What did He do when He was twelve years old? What did He do when He was thirty? What happened at His baptism?
- ↑ What did Jesus do after His baptism? What does the word Gospel mean? How did Jesus prove His Divine mission? What impression did He make upon the people? How many Apostles did He choose? What does the word Apostle signify? Why did He choose them? What are their names? How many other disciples did He elect, and for what purpose? Who formed the beginning of the Christian Church? What did Jesus promise to His Church? Whom did He appoint to be her visible Head on earth? By what expressions did He intimate this? What did He promise to give him?
- ↑ What sort of favors did Jesus confer upon the Jews? How did the Jews behave towards Him? Why did the Scribes and Pharisees especially hate Him? Why did they watch all His words and actions? Could they convict Him of any sin? What special miracle did Jesus perform in the third year of His teaching? What impression did this make on the people? In what words did they express their feelings? What effect did this reception of Jesus produce on His enemies?
- ↑ How did Jesus meet His approaching Passion? How did He celebrate the Last Supper with His Apostles? What commandment did He give them at the end of it? What sacrament did He institute by this? What did He promise to His Apostles' after the Last Supper? Whither did He go afterwards?
- ↑ What did Christ suffer in the garden of Gethsemane? What memorable prayer did He say there? By whom was He then betrayed? And how was He apprehended? Whither did they lead Him then? How was He treated before the Chief Council? To whom did the chief priests, and to whom did Pilate, deliver Him up? What did Pilate and Herod think of Him? What else had Christ to suffer?
- ↑ What did they make Jesus carry? Where, and between whom, was He crucified? How were then the prophecies fulfilled in Him? When hanging on the cross, how did He suffer, and for whom did He pray? How long did He hang on the cross? What great miracle happened during that time? How did our Lord expire? What miracles illustrated His death? What benefit did Jesus confer by His death on us and on the whole world?
- ↑ On what day, and at what hour, did Jesus expire? How did they assure themselves of His death? And what resulted from this? What was done with His sacred body? What did His enemies then do? When, and how, did Christ rise to life? How long did He yet remain on earth? What did He do during that time? What did He command His Apostles to do when He appeared the last time among them? What power, and what promise, did He give them? When, where, and how did He ascend into Heaven?