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| The Passing of Mary: Second Latin Form.
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Second Latin
Form.
Here Beginneth the Passing
of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1.2658
| 2658 The
otherms. has the following introductory
chapter: Melito, servant of Christ, bishop of the church of
Sardis, to the venerable brethren in the Lord appointed at Laodicea, in
peace greeting. I remember that I have often written of one
Leucius, who, having along with ourselves associated with the apostles,
turned aside through alienated feelings and a rash soul from the path
of rectitude, and inserted very many things in his books about the acts
of the apostles. Of their powers, indeed, he said many and
diverse things; but of their teaching he gave a very false account,
affirming that they taught otherwise than they did, and establishing
his own impious statements, as it were, by their words. Nor did
he think this to be enough; but he even vitiated, by his impious
writing, the assumption of the blessed ever-virgin Mary, the mother of
God, to such a degree that it would be impious not only to read it in
the church of God, but even to hear it. When you ask us,
therefore, what we heard from the Apostle John, we simply write this,
and have directed it to your brotherhood; believing, not the strange
dogmas hatched by heretics, but the Father in the Son, the Son in the
Father, while the threefold person of the Godhead and undivided
substance remains; believing not that two human natures were
created by a good God, which by the craft of the serpent was vitiated
through sin, and restored through the grace of Christ.
[Tischendorf gives this from Maxima Bibliotheca vet.
patr , ii. 2, pp. 212 sqq. (ed.
Sugdun).—R.] |
Therefore, when the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ was hanging on the tree fastened by the nails of the cross for
the life of the whole world, He saw about the cross His mother
standing, and John the evangelist, whom He peculiarly loved above the
rest of the apostles, because he alone of them was a virgin in the
body. He gave him, therefore, the charge of holy Mary, saying to
him: Behold thy mother! and saying, to her: Behold thy
son!2659
From that hour the holy mother of
God remained specially in the care of John, as long as she had her
habitation in this life. And when the apostles had divided the
world by lot for preaching, she settled in the house of his parents
near Mount Olivet.
2. In the second year, therefore, after
Christ had vanquished death, and ascended up into heaven, on a certain
day, Mary, burning with a longing for Christ, began to weep alone,
within the shelter of her abode. And, behold, an angel, shining
in a dress of great light, stood before her and gave utterance
to2660
| 2660 Lit., sprung forward
to. | the words of salutation saying:
Hail! thou blessed by the Lord, receive the salutation of Him who
commanded safety to Jacob by His prophets. Behold, said He, a
palm branch—I have brought it to thee from the paradise of the
Lord—which thou wilt cause to be carried before thy bier, when on
the third day thou shalt be taken up from the body. For, lo, thy
Son awaits thee with thrones and angels, and all the powers of
heaven. Then Mary said to the angel: I beg that all the
apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ be assembled to me. To whom the
angel said: Behold, to-day, by the power of my Lord Jesus Christ,
all the apostles will come to thee. And Mary says to him: I
ask that thou send upon me thy blessing, that no power of the lower
world may withstand me in that hour in which my soul shall go out of my
body, and that I may not see the prince of darkness. And the
angel said: No power indeed of the lower world will hurt thee;
and thy Lord God, whose servant and messenger I am, hath given thee
eternal blessing; but do not think that the privilege of not seeing the
prince of darkness is to be given thee by me, but by Him whom thou hast
carried in thy womb; for to Him belongeth power over all for ever and
ever. Thus saying, the angel departed with great splendour.
And that palm shone with exceeding great light. Then Mary,
undressing herself, put on better garments. And, taking the palm
which she had received from the hands of the angel, she went out to the
mount of Olivet, and began to pray, and say: I had not been
worthy, O Lord, to bear Thee, unless Thou hadst had compassion on me;
but nevertheless I have kept the treasure which Thou entrustedst to
me. Therefore I ask of Thee, O King of glory, that the power of
Gehenna hurt me not. For if the heavens and the angels daily
tremble before Thee, how much more man who is made from the ground, who
possesses no good thing, except as much as he has received from Thy
benignant bounty! Thou art, O Lord, God always blessed for
ever. And thus saying, she went back to her dwelling.
3. And, behold, suddenly, while St. John was
preaching in Ephesus, on the Lord’s day, at the third hour of the
day, there was a great earthquake, and a cloud raised him and took him
up from the eyes of all, and brought him before the door of the house
where Mary was. And knocking at the door, he immediately went
in. And when Mary saw him, she exulted in joy, and said: I
beg of thee, my son John, be mindful of the words of my Lord Jesus
Christ, in which He entrusted me to thee. For, behold, on the
third day, when I am to depart from the body,2661
| 2661 The
otherms. has a better reading: For,
behold, on the third day I am to depart from the body; and I have
heard, etc. |
I have heard the plans of the Jews, saying, Let us wait for the day
when she who bore that seducer shall die, and let us burn her body with
fire. She therefore called St. John, and led him into the secret
chamber of the house, and showed him the robe of her burial, and that
palm of light which she had received from the angel, instructing him that he should cause it
to be carried before her couch when she was going to her tomb.
4. And St. John said to her: How shall
I alone perform thy funeral rites, unless my brethren and
fellow-apostles of my Lord Jesus Christ come to pay honour to thy
body? And, behold, on a sudden, by the command of God, all the
apostles were snatched up, raised on a cloud, from the places in which
they were preaching the word of God, and set down before the door of
the house in which Mary dwelt. And, saluting each other, they
wondered, saying: What is the cause for which the Lord hath
assembled us here?2662
| 2662 The
otherms. here adds: And there came with
them Paul, converted from the circumcision, who had been selected along
with Barnabas for the ministry of the Gentiles. And when there
was a pious contention among them as to which of them should be the
first to pray to the Lord to show them the reason, and Peter was urging
Paul to pray first, Paul answered and said: That is thy duty, to
begin first, especially seeing that thou hast been chosen by God a
pillar (Gal. ii.
9) of the Church, and thou
hast precedence of all in the apostleship; but it is by no means mine,
for I am the least of you all, and Christ was seen by me as one born
out of due time (1 Cor. xv.
8); nor do I presume to make
myself equal to you: nevertheless by the grace of God I am what I am
(1 Cor. xv. 10). |
5. Then all the apostles, rejoicing2663
with one mind, finished their
prayer. And when they had said the Amen, behold, on a sudden,
there came the blessed John, and told them all these things. The
apostles then, having entered the house, found Mary, and saluted her,
saying: Blessed art thou by the Lord, who hath made heaven and
earth. And she said to them: Peace be with you, most
beloved brethren! How have you come hither? And they
recounted to her how they had come, each one raised on a cloud by the
Spirit of God, and set down in the same place. And she said to
them: God hath not deprived me of the sight of you. Behold,
I shall go the way of all the earth, and I doubt not that the Lord hath
now conducted you hither to bring me consolation for the anguish which
is just coming upon me. Now therefore I implore you, that without
intermission you all with one mind watch, even till that hour in which
the Lord will come, and I shall depart from the body.
6. And when they had sat down in a circle
consoling her, when they had spent three days in the praises of God,
behold, on the third day, about the third hour of the day, a deep sleep
seized upon all who were in that house, and no one was at all able to
keep awake but the apostles alone, and only the three virgins who were
there. And, behold, suddenly the Lord Jesus Christ came with a
great multitude of angels; and a great brightness came down upon that
place, and the angels were singing a hymn, and praising God
together. Then the Saviour spoke, saying: Come, most
precious pearl, within the receptacle of life eternal.
7. Then Mary prostrated herself on the
pavement, adoring God, and said: Blessed be the name of Thy
glory, O Lord my God, who hast deigned to choose me Thine handmaid, and
to entrust to me Thy hidden mystery. Be mindful of me, therefore,
O King of glory, for Thou knowest that I have loved Thee with all my
heart, and kept the treasure committed to me. Therefore receive
me, Thy servant, and free me from the power of darkness, that no onset
of Satan may oppose me, and that I may not see filthy spirits standing
in my way. And the Saviour answered her: When I, sent by my
Father for the salvation of the world, was hanging on the cross, the
prince of darkness came to me; but when he was able to find in me no
trace of his work,2664
he went off
vanquished and trodden under foot. But when thou shalt see him,
thou shalt see him indeed by the law of the human race, in accordance
with which thou hast come to the end of thy life; but he cannot hurt
thee, because I am with thee to help thee. Go in security,
because the heavenly host is waiting for thee to lead thee in to the
joys of paradise. And when the Lord had thus spoken, Mary, rising
from the pavement, reclined upon her couch, and giving thanks to God,
gave up the ghost. And the apostles saw that her soul was of such
whiteness, that no tongue of mortals can worthily utter it; for it
surpassed all the whiteness of snow, and of every metal, and of
gleaming silver, by the great brightness of its light.
8. Then the Saviour spoke, saying:
Rise, Peter, and take the body of Mary, and send it to the right hand
side of the city towards the east, and thou wilt find there a new tomb,
in which you will lay her, and wait until I come to you. And thus
saying, the Lord delivered the soul of St. Mary to Michael, who was the
ruler of paradise, and the prince of the nation of the Jews;2665
and Gabriel went with them. And
immediately the Saviour was received up into heaven along with the
angels.
9. And the three virgins, who were in the
same place, and were watching, took up the body of the blessed Mary,
that they might wash it after the manner of funeral rites. And
when they had taken off her clothes, that sacred body shone with so
much brightness, that it could be touched indeed for preparation for
burial, but the form of it could not be seen for the excessive flashing
light: except that the splendour of the Lord appeared great, and
nothing was perceived, the body, when it was washed, was perfectly
clean, and stained by no moisture of filth.2666
| 2666 This does not seem
to make very good sense. Another reading is: And the
splendour appeared great, and nothing was perceived, while the body,
perfectly clean, and unstained by any horror of filth, was being
washed. | And when they had put the
dead-clothes on her, that light was gradually obscured. And the body of
the blessed Mary was like lily flowers; and an odour of great sweetness
came forth from it, so that no sweetness could be found like it.
10. Then, accordingly, the apostles laid the
holy body on the bier, and said to each other: Who is to carry
this palm before her bier? Then John said to Peter: Thou,
who hast precedence of us in the apostleship, shouldst carry this palm
before her couch. And Peter answered him: Thou wast the
only virgin among us chosen by the Lord, and thou didst find so great
favour that thou didst recline upon His breast.2667
And He, when for our salvation He
was hanging upon the stem of the cross, entrusted her to thee with His
own mouth. Thou therefore oughtest to carry this palm, and let us
take up that body to carry it even to the place of sepulture.2668
| 2668 The
otherms. inserts: And Paul said to
him: And I, who am younger than any of you, will carry along with
thee. And when all had agreed, Peter, raising the bier at the
head, began to sing and say. | After this, Peter, raising
it, and saying, Take the body, began to sing and say:
Israel hath gone forth out of Egypt. Alleluiah. And the
other apostles along with him carried the body of the blessed Mary, and
John bore the palm of light before the bier. And the other
apostles sang with a most sweet voice.
11. And, behold, a new miracle. There
appeared above the bier a cloud exceeding great, like the great circle
which is wont to appear beside the splendour of the moon; and there was
in the clouds an army of angels sending forth a sweet song,2669
| 2669 Lit., a song of
sweetness. | and from the sound of the great
sweetness the earth resounded. Then the people, having gone forth
from the city, about fifteen thousand, wondered, saying: What is
that sound of so great sweetness? Then there stood up one who
said to them: Mary has departed from the body, and the disciples
of Jesus are singing2670
praises around
her. And looking, they saw the couch crowned with great glory,
and the apostles singing with a loud voice. And, behold, one of
them, who was chief of the priests of the Jews in his rank, filled with
fury and rage, said to the rest: Behold, the tabernacle of him
who disturbed us and all our race, what glory has it received?
And going up, he wished to overturn the bier, and throw the body down
to the ground. And immediately his hands dried up from his
elbows, and stuck to the couch. And when the apostles raised the
bier, part of him hung, and part of him adhered to the couch; and he
was vehemently tormented with pain, while the apostles were walking and
singing. And the angels who were in the clouds smote the people
with blindness.
12. Then that chief cried out, saying:
I implore thee, Saint Peter, do not despise me, I beseech thee, in so
great an extremity, because I am exceedingly tortured by great
torments. Bear in mind that when, in the prætorium, the maid
that kept the door2671
recognised
thee, and told the others to revile thee, then I spoke good words in
thy behalf. Then Peter answering, said: It is not for me to
give other to thee; but if thou believest with thy whole heart on the
Lord Jesus Christ, whom she carried in her womb, and remained a virgin
after the birth, the compassion of the Lord, which with profuse
benignity saves2672
the unworthy,
will give thee salvation.2673
To this he replied: Do we not believe?
But what shall we do? The enemy of the human race has blinded our
hearts, and confusion has covered our face, lest we should confess the
great things of God, especially when we ourselves uttered maledictions
against Christ, shouting: His blood be upon us, and upon our
children.2674
Then
Peter said: Behold, this malediction will hurt him who has
remained unfaithful to Him; but to those who turn themselves to God
mercy is not denied. And he said: I believe all that thou
sayest to me; only I implore, have mercy upon me, lest I
die.
13. Then Peter made the couch stand still,
and said to him: If thou believest with all thy heart upon the
Lord Jesus Christ, thy hands will be released from the bier. And
when he had said this2675
| 2675 The
otherms. has: And when he had said this,
“I believe.” | his hands were
immediately released from the bier, and he began to stand on his feet;
but his arms were dried up, and the torture did not go away from
him. Then Peter said to him: Go up to the body, and kiss
the couch, and say: I believe in God, and in the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, whom she bore, and I believe all whatsoever Peter the
apostle of God has said to me. And going up, he kissed the couch,
and immediately all pain went away from him, and his hands were
healed. Then he began greatly to bless God, and from the books of
Moses to render testimony to the praises of Christ, so that even the
apostles themselves wondered, and wept for joy, praising the name of
the Lord.
14. And Peter said to him: Take this palm
from the hand of our brother John, and going into the city thou wilt
find much people blinded, and declare to them the great things of God;
and whosoever shall believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, thou shalt put
this palm upon their eyes, and they shall see; but those who will not
believe shall remain blind. And when he had done so, he found
much people blinded, lamenting thus: Woe unto us, because we have
been made like the Sodomites
struck with blindness.2676
Nothing
now is left to us but to perish. But when they heard the words of
the chief who had been cured speaking, they believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ; and when he put the palm over their eyes, they recovered
sight. Five of them remaining in hardness of heart died.
And the chief of the priests going forth, carried back the palm to the
apostles, reporting all things whatsoever had been done.
15. And the apostles, carrying Mary, came to
the place of the Valley of Jehoshaphat which the Lord had showed them;
and they laid her in a new tomb, and closed the sepulchre. And
they themselves sat down at the door of the tomb, as the Lord had
commanded them; and, behold, suddenly the Lord Jesus Christ came with a
great multitude of angels, with a halo of great brightness gleaming,
and said to the apostles: Peace be with you! And they
answered and said: Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have
hoped in Thee.2677
Then
the Saviour spoke to them, saying: Before I ascended to my Father
I promised to you, saying that you who have followed me in the
regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His
majesty, will sit, you also, upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel.2678
Her,
therefore, did I choose out of the tribes of Israel by the command of
my Father, that I should dwell in her. What, therefore, do you
wish that I should do to her? Then Peter and the other apostles
said: Lord, Thou didst choose beforehand this Thine handmaid to
become a spotless chamber for Thyself, and us Thy servants to minister
unto Thee. Before the ages Thou didst foreknow all things along
with the Father, with whom to Thee and the Holy Spirit there is one
Godhead, equal and infinite power. If, therefore, it were
possible to be done in the presence of the power of Thy grace, it had
seemed to us Thy servants to be right that, just as Thou, having
vanquished death, reignest in glory, so, raising up again the body of
Thy mother, Thou shouldst take her with Thee in joy into
heaven.
16. Then the Saviour said: Let it be
according to your opinion. And He ordered the archangel Michael
to bring the soul of St. Mary. And, behold, the archangel
Michael2679
rolled back
the stone from the door of the tomb; and the Lord said: Arise, my
beloved and my nearest relation; thou who hast not put on
corruption by intercourse with man, suffer not destruction of the body
in the sepulchre. And immediately Mary rose from the tomb, and
blessed the Lord, and falling forward at the feet of the Lord, adored
Him, saying: I cannot render sufficient thanks to Thee, O Lord,
for Thy boundless benefits which Thou hast deigned to bestow upon me
Thine handmaiden. May Thy name, O Redeemer of the world, God of
Israel, be blessed for ever.
17. And kissing her, the Lord went back, and
delivered her soul to the angels, that they should carry it into
paradise. And He said to the apostles: Come up to me.
And when they had come up He kissed them, and said: Peace be to
you! as I have always been with you, so will I be even to the end of
the world. And immediately, when the Lord had said this, He was
lifted up on a cloud, and taken back into heaven, and the angels along
with Him, carrying the blessed Mary into the paradise of God. And
the apostles being taken up in the clouds, returned each into the place
allotted2680
for his
preaching, telling the great things of God, and praising our Lord Jesus
Christ, who liveth and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Spirit, in
perfect unity, and in one substance of Godhead, for ever and
ever. Amen.
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