Wednesday, December 25, 2013

A MEDJUGORJE CHRISTMAS


 
A Blessed Christmas !

 


December 25, 2013 Message to Marija
"Dear children! I am carrying to you the King of Peace that He may give you His peace. You, little children, pray, pray, pray. The fruit of prayer will be seen on the faces of the people who have decided for God and His Kingdom. I, with my Son Jesus, bless you all with a blessing of peace. Thank you for having responded to my call."
 
Annual Apparition to Jakov, December 25, 2013
  
At the last daily apparition to Jakov Colo on September 12th, 1998, Our Lady told him that henceforth he would have one apparition a year, every December 25th, on Christmas Day. This is also how it was this year. The apparition began at 3:07 pm and lasted 8 minutes. Afterwards Jakov transmitted the message:
"Little children, today in a special way, Jesus desires to come to dwell in each of your hearts and to share with you your every joy and pain. Therefore, little children, today in a special way, peer into your hearts and ask yourselves if the peace and joy of the birth of Jesus have truly taken hold of your hearts. Little children, do not live in darkness, aspire towards the light and towards God’s salvation. Children, decide for Jesus and give Him your life and your hearts, because only in this way will the Most High be able to work in you and through you."  OFFICIAL MEDJUGORJE WEBSITE
 
 
Jakov Colo, Seer of Medjugorje since 1981
when he was just 10 years old.
 
Born on March 6th 1971 Jakov Colo is the youngest visionary. He was only ten years old when the Virgin Mary first appeared to him in 1981. During the early years of the apparitions, many investigators and spectators took his presence among the visionaries to be a sign of the authenticity of the apparitions. They found it unlikely that such a small boy, fond of playing football and being with his friends, would pray and go to church for up to three hours a day, had something unusual not taken place in his life.  
 

Jakov and Vicka during an apparition in 1984.
The Virgin asked Vicka to stay in Medjugorje
and take care of Jakov who was an orphan at
age 12

Jakov’s daily apparitions went on for little more than 17 years – until September 12th 1998 when the Virgin Mary confided the tenth and last secret to him during an apparition in Miami, Florida. As with Mirjana and Ivanka before him Jakov had a hard time coping with the fact his daily encounters with the Virgin were over. Today he tells the pilgrims that he has come to realize that the most important thing is not seeing the Virgin but having her in one’s heart, something everyone can achieve through prayer, first of all.

Since his daily apparitions ceased, Jakov has had an apparition every year on Christmas Day, December 25th. 

 
Jakov’s childhood was hard. His father left the family and his mother died when he was 12. But he recovered and today he has his own family with his Italian-born wife Annalisa whom he married in 1993. The couple have two sons and a daughter.

Like his fellow visionaries Ivan and Ivanka, Jakov used to feel uncomfortable with being at the centre of attention. But he found his own way of bearing witness to the apparitions, oftentimes making use of humour like his neighbour Mirjana also does. A double lecture from Mirjana and Jakov is often full of fun and mutual teasing between the two visionaries.

His special prayer mission, entrusted to him by the Virgin, is to pray for the sick. He shares this mission with Vicka. MEDJUGORJE TODAY


Love, Jeanne

Saturday, December 21, 2013

PROPHECIES OF VENERABLE HOLZHAUSER (17TH CENTURY), I


Bartholomew Holzhauser's Life, Visions and Commentary on St. John's Revelations



Part I

Introduction to Venerable Holzhauser

by Thomas Beykirch (p. 121 - 130)

It would seem to be an instinct of our nature to anticipate the future. The sorrows and miseries, to which we have been doomed in consequence of the original transgression, render us impatient of the present, and ever anxious to read our coming destiny. Hence this irresistible inclination to pry into futurity is a proof at once of our immortality, and of the misery of our present condition. It is not surprising, therefore, that in all periods marked by great misfortunes or convulsions, prophecies should abound; and that man, bewildered by the contemplation, or suffering under the pressure of present evils, should seek in the unknown future a refuge and consolation. This was so in the heathen time. And under the Christian dispensation, this sentiment must be more lively, as the Gospel fixes our attention so strongly on the future, and hope purified and directed by divine grace, is exalted by Christianity into a virtue. Accordingly, in all ages of the Church, the Holy Spirit has raised up godly men to warn their contemporaries of the evils that were to come, or solace them with the hope of brighter days. It was only natural to suppose that such prodigious catastrophes as the Reformation of the sixteenth century, and the French Revolution of 1789, with all their ulterior consequences, that have so convulsed the Church and civil society, should have been foretold by holy seers. And so it is piously believed to have been. St. Bridget, St. Hildegard, John of Liliendael, an Augustinian Prior of the fourteenth century, the monk Hermann, of Lehnin, who flourished in the thirteenth century, Cardinal D’Ailly, (1414,) and John Muller, Bishop of Ratisbon, (1476,) severally predicted, with more or less clearness, the great revolutions of the 16th, 18thand 19th centuries. And without implicitly adopting these prophecies, or any one of them, in its integrity, it will be admitted, that the singular fulfillment of some of their predictions in relation to past events, or such as we are now witnessing, is a warrant for their truthfulness in respect to the future, or at least entitles them to the greatest respect.

A Catholic clergyman of Westphalia, Thomas Beykirch, has published a collection of Prophecies touching the condition of the Church in the present age, and in the times to come. The work, as may be supposed, has exited the greatest interest in Germany, and in less than a year has reached the third edition. Nothing can be (Beykirch, p. 122) more praiseworthy than the motives which have suggested this collection;  in the first place, to counteract the many spurious prophecies now enjoying circulation in Germany, which, dictated as they were by fanaticism or cupidity, are designed to gratify only the passions or the curiosity of the populace; and secondly, to awaken and keep alive in the hearts of his countrymen, a hope for the future religious union and political unity of Germany.

Some of the prophecies are doubtless of great interest and importance from the matters they relate to, as well as from the character of their authors, and the notes of intrinsic credibility which they bear. Others again are of a much inferior stamp, coming from persons little known, being either local in their scope and object, or vague and obscure in their purport.

The nature and bearing of them all, as well as the weight which they are entitled to, it will be well to hear from the author himself.

“Non-scriptural Prophecies constitute no articles of faith. Let us on that account not believe all things, nor all men, but let us at the same time not reject all things. The best counsel in this matter is given by the Apostle Paul: ‘Despise not Prophecies. But prove all things; hold that which is good.’

“In order to facilitate such examination, we subjoin for the use of such persons as are unfamiliar with the subject, the following notes of genuine prophecy:

“1. Genuine Prophecies comprise nothing against religion and the Church, nothing against faith and good morals; they agree with Holy Writ, and must not be rejected by the Church.

“2. Genuine Prophecies have a prophetic form. They are set forth in marvelous images, in dark mysterious words; they often bring together totally dissimilar events, invert occasionally the order of time; while their authors, overpowered with the general impression of their visions, employ exaggerated language. For instance, ‘the blood will mount even to the horses’ bridles.’ From these peculiarities we see that a certain obscurity attaches to prophecies. But this very quality bespeaks their divine origin, as hereby they seem to bear a certain conformity to the other works of God. In nature and history, too, God conceals himself, in order that these only, who seek him in faith, may find Him.

“3. Every genuine Prophecy must either bear the name of a man worthy of credit at its head, and it must be certain that it proceeded from him, or it must have been in part fulfilled, and proved to be of very great antiquity. Hence let us beware of all (Beykirch, p. 123) such predictions, as go under the title of ‘Cardinal Laroche,’ ‘Lenermand,’ ‘Nostradamus,’ ‘Sybilla,’ ‘the Millennial Kingdom,’ ‘the year 1850, by Paolo,’ ‘Remarkable Prophecy of a Clairvoyant,’ or a‘Female Somnambulist,’ ‘Oracles,’ etc. They contradict each other, and either predict things which every man of sense can foresee, or prophecy according to men’s wishes; and the wilder they are, the more easily are they credited.

“4. True Prophecies have a good object in view. They aim not at the satisfaction of curiosity, but are designed to instruct, solace, and warn. A corrupt age must see written on the wall its ‘Mane, Thecel, Phares,’ and humanity must be made to perceive that apostasy from the true faith and the Church, is the cause of all the misfortunes, distresses, and afflictions of our time. Christians must thereby be awakened from a dead to a living faith.

“5. A chief characteristic of the Prophecies of our time is that they all, in a remarkable way, coincide in four points. 1. That God will visit with severe judgments this unbelieving and immoral age, because of the overflowing measure of its sins. 2. That the religious schism will cease, and all Christian communions be united in one fold, and under one shepherd. 3. That Germany will attain to union under a POWERFUL MONARCH. 4. That prosperous and happy times will follow the days of contest.” (Thomas Beykirch, collection of prophecies, 1849, pp. 6– 8.)

Some of these Prophecies are taken from printed works of acknowledged repute; other from manuscripts; and a few which were current among the people, have been derived from word of mouth. A great number have been taken from an old book entitled, “Liber Mirabilis,” which was compiled by an ecclesiastic of the diocese of Munster, from the year 1800 to 1808. But by far the most important of these Prophecies are taken from the “Visions,” and the “Commentaries on the Apocalypse,” by the Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser: a work which stands second on our list. As this very important work serves to illustrate and confirm the minor prophecies contained in M. Beykirch’s book, and moreover possesses on some points a peculiar interest for the English reader, we shall give a more detailed analysis of its contents, prefixing a biographical sketch of the venerable author. We shall afterwards revert to the “Prophetic Voices” of M. Beykirch.

M. Clarus, well known for a much esteemed History of Spanish Literature, has recently translated from the Latin the Visions of Holzhauser, as well as his Commentary (Beykirch, p. 124) on the Apocalypse. The translations are well executed. The author has prefixed an able philosophical Introduction, in which he investigates the different species of Prophetic Visions, the genuineness of Holzhauser’s, their symbolic character, and the psychological incidents connected with such phenomena. He has also added a Commentary on these obscure Visions, which, though laboring under the fault of prolixity, yet abounds with many solid and ingenious remarks. He has likewise translated a Biography of the Author, composed in Latin about sixty years ago, and which supplies much useful and edifying information respecting the holy man of whom it treats.


From this biography, which is, however, too diffuse, we shall now proceed to draw up a sketch of Holzhauser’s Life. 
Biography of Bartholomew Holzhauser
Bartholomew Holzhauser was born in the year 1613, of poor parents at Langua, a Swabian village not far from Augsburg. In his childhood he was distinguished for his piety, innocence, and love of reading. In his eleventh year, he was favored, according to his biographer, with a vision of our Saviour and the Blessed Virgin, accompanied by a luminous cross in the heavens; and that cross he afterwards took to be an omen of the many trials and afflictions, which he was to encounter in life. At his earnest request, his parents sent him to the Latin school; but here he was compelled to live by alms. Here he was cured in a wonderful way of the pestilence; but he was compelled shortly afterwards to return home, where he was put to his father’s business, which was shoe-making. His insatiable desire for learning, however, making this occupation extremely irksome, his parents yielded to his urgent entreaty to allow him to go to college. Provided a few pence from his father, and a rosary from his mother, and a blessing from both, young Holzhauser went on his way to find out a foundation for himself. He was not successful in the episcopal city of Eichstadt; but hearing that at Neuburg on the Danube, there was a college directed by Jesuits, where all poor students, who could sing in choir, and possessed some acquaintance with music, were boarded, lodged, and educated gratuitously, he resolved to try his fortune there. Having presented himself to the Superior of the house, and humbly stated his request, he was asked whether he was acquainted with music. To this question he replied, (Beykirch, p. 125) that he had learned the elements at school; but on the Professor’s bringing him a difficult trio, he executed it with such surprising skill, that he was much applauded by the Prefect of the Choir, and immediately admitted into the establishment. In this effort, however, he was evidently assisted from above; for a few days after, he was unable to sing a piece of music set before him. The Prefect in his indignation would have turned him out of the house; but the great meekness and piety evinced by the boy, during his few days’ stay in the College, quite disarmed his wrath, and induced the Superior to allow him to remain. He was however, sent down from the first table, where he had been placed, to the lowest, where sat the students who were totally ignorant of music; but the place he had lost, he soon rewon by his great application to music. During the five years Holzhauser remained at Neuburg, he was a model of piety, virtue, and diligence in his studies. In the year 1633, after having completed his course of Humanities at Neuburg, he repaired to the University of Ingolstadt, to prosecute the study of Philosophy. Here, at first, it was only by begging alms he could procure a subsistence, till a benevolent citizen admitted him into his house, and at a later period he was allowed to take his meals at a Jesuit College in that city.  This excellent custom is still retained in Germany, where not only the secular and regular clergy, but the charitable laity, make it a point to provide a daily repast for one or several poor students, according to their means.

During his abode at the University, Holzhauser was remarkable for his love of prayer and contemplation, his humility, meekness, and resignation, and his great charity towards the sick and poor, with whom he after divided the scanty alms he had collected. After three years’ study of philosophy, he took the degree of Doctor, and then studied theology under the Jesuit Fathers of Ingolstadt. Much as his time was taken with up with prayer, meditation, visiting of the sick, and catechetical instruction of children; yet he found time punctually to go through all the prescribed studies; and though his abilities were not above the average standard, still when he spoke of divine things, he evinced a rare sagacity and penetration of mind. Hence his fellow-students ascribed much of his knowledge on sacred subjects, to an internal illumination of the Holy (Beykirch, p. 126) Spirit. During his years of studentship, Holzhauser conceived the plan of an Institute for the introduction of a life of community among the secular clergy—a plan which he lived to accomplish, and which has been productive of the greatest blessings to the Church in Southern Germany. At the same period he wrote one or two ascetical books, and was favored with celestial visions.

On receiving Holy Orders, Holzhauser obtained a benefice in the diocese of Salzburg, where he first founded his Institute. A few years afterwards, he was appointed to the rural deanery of Leoggenthal in the Tyrol, where his Institute spread, and he was allowed to bind its members by an oath. In the exercise of his pastoral duties, he was a model of piety and zeal—so fervent in the oblation of the Holy Sacrifice—so persuasive in the pulpit—so enlightened in the Confessional—so charitable to the poor—so soothing in attentions to the sick and dying. Even as a student he had practiced severe mortifications, and had been remarked for his love of prayer, and his gift of tears. Nothing could exceed his resignation under sickness, want, and privations of every kind, nor his admirable patience under the contradictions and opposition of men. Much misrepresentation and obloquy had to endure from lax and worldly-minded ecclesiastics, adverse as they were to the spread of his Institute. The Almighty was pleased to work several miraculous cures through the hands of His faithful servant; and his wonderful faith and humility gave him extraordinary power over evil spirits, whom, in two cases of very obstinate possession, he was enabled to cast out.  One of his most remarkable cures was that of a boy lame in both feet, whom after anointing with oil taken from a lamp that burned before the altar of St. John the Baptist, he instantaneously cured. (See his Biography, p. 108, ed. Clarus. Also see p. 100 – 112, where the two cases are stated at length. Also see many examples cited in S. 5, p. 117, of his Life.)

But it was with the gift of prophecy this holy man was pre-eminently endowed. Various predictions uttered by him relative to matters purely contingent, were realized by the event. For these, we must refer the reader to the pages of his biographer. But there are ten remarkable (Beykirch, p. 127) Visions with which Holzhauser was favored, and to which we shall soon have occasion to call the reader’s attention. At the request of his assistant priests, and with the special permission of the venerable Bishop of Chiemsee, he wrote down those Visions towards the end of January, 1646, and collected them into a volume. They have reference to the errors and vices prevalent in the seventeenth century and the following ages; to the religious and political destinies of the German empire; and to the return of our own dear country, England, to the Catholic faith. As soon as he had compiled these Visions, Holzhauser, urged by the Spirit, hastened to the city of Linz, to present the same to the Emperor, Ferdinand III., and immediately afterwards hurried to Munich, to offer another copy to the Elector, Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria.

It will be well now to hear the opinion, which the learned theologians of the University of Ingolstadt, the friends and teachers of Holzhauser, entertained of these Visions. After the Author’s death, the learned Jesuit, Father Lyprand, wrote as follows respecting them:

“In regard to the prophecies of Bartholomew Holzhauser, different opinions were commonly entertained; some rejecting them as of no importance, other, but only a few approving them. Father Simon, once the most distinguished theologian of that country, and my colleague at the University of Ingolstadt, and who had been for a year Bartholomew’s teacher, and was a man of acute judgment, said, after reading his prophecies, that their style was truly prophetic, and that from his knowledge of Bartholomew’s parts and capacity, they could not be the product of his invention. A like judgment was pronounced by Father Peter Breier, who was also Bartholomew’s teacher, and my colleague in theology. The three first visions respecting the country of the Lech, the city of Ingolstadt, and the kingdom of England, I immediately understood and examined; but as I knew that in such matters it was easy to be deceived, and that often deception has occurred, and still occurs in divers things of this kind, I attached not much importance to the first two prophecies. But after Holzhauser had explained to me more fully the prophecy respecting England, and how that country would fall into extreme misery, and the issue of the whole would be that the king would be slain, and that then peace would ensue, and afterwards the kingdom of England would return to the Roman Catholic faith, and the English achieve more for the Church than on their first conversion to Christianity. I was then apprehensive that the evils which he had foretold respecting the Lech and Ingolstadt, might come to pass. This apprehension was the more lively, as among the prophecies, (Beykirch, p. 128) which Father Kollnag was obliged to write down in obedience to his superiors, there was a similar one respecting England. These prophecies of Kollnag, which I have read in the Italian language, he holds for divine inspirations. They were about the year nineteen of this century, communicated to me by Father Rupertus Randell, my then confessor, a man of talent and discernment; but in these there is no mention of the execution of the King of England, nor of the storm, whereof Bartholomew speaks. When some years afterwards the said Bartholomew returned to Ingolstadt, the visit his young people studying here, I took occasion, as a report had been for some time current that King Charles of England (Charles I) was disposed to embrace the Catholic faith, I took occasion, I say, to tell Bartholomew, that such a report squared not with his prophecy about the kingdom of England. Thereupon he replied in a very confident manner: ‘King Charles of England is neither now a Catholic, nor will he ever become a Catholic.’ The event proved the truth of his words. At the same time he informed me, he knew from God, the Swede would never have a footing in the German empire, and that the Rhine would return to its ancient master.

“To speak now in general as to Bartholomew’s prophecies, I have always been of opinion, that he went to work without any guile, and that his natural parts were inadequate to their fabrication.......

“Although I hold it to be probable enough, nay, as extremely probable, that Holzhauser had received from God the gift of prophecy, yet I would not venture to assert that he had always rightly understood the prophecies communicated to him; for it is agreed among theologians, that the first gift may exist without the second.” [Life of Holzhauser, pp. 114 – 116.]

It was also during his abode at Leoggenthal, Holzhauser wrote his great work—the Commentary on the Apocalypse of St. John, that wonderful book, in which, according to St. Jerome, there are as many mysteries as words. This Commentary extends only to the fifth verse of the fifteenth chapter. Holzhauser, according to his biographer, wrote it under the pressure of great tribulations. During this time he gave himself up to continual prayer, and passed whole days without eating or drinking, wholly removed from the society of men. Having been asked, what we the state of his soul, when he wrote this work, he burst into tears, and replied: “I was like a child, whose hand was led, while I wrote.”

After passing ten devoted years of the ministry at Leoggenthal, where he had achieved immense good, Holzhauser received an invitation from the Elector, John (Beykirch, p. 129) Philip von Schonborn, Archbishop of Mayence, to settle in his dominions. The latter bestowed on him the rectory of Bingen, while the priests of “the Institute” were entrusted with the direction of the seminary of Wurzburg. Holzhauser won the esteem and confidence of the Elector to such a degree, that the latter took the greatest pleasure in his society, and consulted him on matters of the greatest secrecy and importance. Shortly after his arrival at Bingen, Holzhauser had an interview with our King, Charles II., then an exile, but hoping speedily to be recalled to the throne of his ancestors. Let us hear the account given of this interview by German biographer.

“This favourable opinion of Holzhauser, the Elector evinced by a continual praise of his conduct and virtues. As on one occasion, Charles II., King of England, who was still in banishment, but entertained the hope of speedily returning to England, descended the Rhine in company of the Elector, as far a Geisenheim in the Rheingau, and there passed the night with his guest, the latter took occasion to mention the name of Holzhauser. The King took occasion to mention the name of Holzhauser. The King learned from the Elector, that a priest was living in the neighborhood, who a long time ago had foretold wonderful things of the English kingdom and English king. The King expressed so much desire to see this priest immediately, that he was fetched from Bingen late in the evening, and after incurring no little danger from a storm which had suddenly arisen while he was on the Rhine, he arrived at Geisenheim at about twelve o’clock at night. Having been introduced to Charles II., and questioned about his vision in regard to the kingdom of England, and the destinies which had befallen her king, Holzhauser replied on these several points to the monarch. He recommended to his Majesty’s protection the Catholic religion, and the priests who were laboring in England in its behalf. The monarch gave him his hand, and promised to be mindful of his request.

“It is astonishing with what a burning zeal Holzhauser labored to bring about the conversion of England. This was the marrow of his thoughts—the subject of his conversation—the sum of all his desires; with his blood would he fain have washed away, had he been so permitted, all the errors of heresy. no resolution was so fixedly implanted in him, as to go to England and there, utterly regardless of any risk he might run for his life, make a beginning towards a restoration of the Catholic faith. He awaited only the Elector’s permission to prosecute this voyage. This permission he would have sought with earnest prayers, had he not been overcome by the still more urgent solicitations of his friends, Gundel and Vogt, and been induced to defer for one or several years the execution of a project, which he never would entirely give up, in order (Beykirch, p. 130) in the first place by his presence to consolidate his rising Institute, until such time as his presence might be mere easily dispensed with. It was with difficulty he could be held back from this project.”  [Holzhauser’s Life, p. 69.]
But this holy man, so burning with love for the kingdom of heaven, it now pleased the Almighty to call to Himself. At the moment when new prospects seemed to open to his indefatigable zeal, and his Institute [This institute was approved by the Holy See.] was taking root and spreading in new dioceses, he was summoned to receive the reward of his many virtues. On his dying bed he recommended to his brethren zeal for the glory of God, humility, patience, resignation, and attachment to the Institute which they had embraced: and having been provided with the last sacraments of the Church, he breathed out his pure soul on the 20thMay, 1658, and in the 45th year of his age.


Bartholomäus Holzhauser’s Lebensgeschichte, und Geschte, Nebst dessen Erklärung der Offenbarung des heiligen Johannes.[Bartholomew Holzhauser’s Life, Visions, and Commentary on St. John’s Revelations.] Translated from the Latin, and accompanied with Introductory and Explanatory Remarks, By LEWIS CLARUS, Two volumes, Ratisbon: 1849. Prophetenstimmen mit Erklärungen.Sammlung von Prophezeiungen.[Prophetic Voices with Explanations.A Collection of Prophecies.] By THOMAS BEYKIRCH, Licentiate of Divinity, and Curate at Dortmund.Paderborn:1849, September, 1850, page 121 – 148,German Prophecies on the State of the Church, published in the Dublin ReviewVol. XXIX, 1850.
Transcribed for you from PDF (CatholicProphecy_Bartholomew Holzhauser.pdf) by Cousin Jeanne. Obtained from www.TodaysCatholicWorld.com

 


Love, Jeanne

VENERABLE HOLZHAUSER'S VISIONS & PROPHECIES, II


Visions of Bartholomew Holzhauser
Recorded by himself
(translated by Clarus, published with comments by Beykirch)

We shall now proceed to the visions and prophecies of this favored servant of God. From his great orthodoxy and holiness—the blessings which attended his pastoral ministry—the miracles which he wrought—and the visions which he was early favored with, we might argue an antecedent probability that his prophetic enunciations are truthful and genuine. Moreover, when it is recollected, that learned theologians declare that these prophecies contain nothing contrary to Scripture and ecclesiastical tradition;--when we note, too, their style, and compare their sublime bearing and import with the admitted mediocrity of the author’s talents;--when we remember, also the strict fulfillment which many of his written, as well as oral predictions have already received, and that the unfulfilled ones are borne out by like prophecies of other holy men, the probability will, to some minds, acquire almost the form of conviction.

It is remarked by the editor, M. Clarus, that the prophecies of the Old Testament are distinguished for a comparative plainness and distinctness of language; while those of the New are remarkable for their allegorical diction and profusion of symbols. And the reason for this difference is clear. The former prophecies, as they were designed to prepare the Jews for the Messiah and His kingdom, and to attest the truth of His divine mission, (Beykirch, p. 131) must needs be freer from obscurities than those addressed to a people who possess the Incarnate Truth ever present, though invisible, among them, and to whom the future can be, comparatively speaking, little more than a matter of edifying curiosity.

Holzhauser furnishes a key to most of the symbols and allegories in his own visions, as well as to those of the Apocalypse of St. John, in his Commentary upon that book. The ten visions, which as has been stated, this man of God, in obedience to the Bishop of Chiemsee, committed to writing, he accompanied with a Commentary; but as the learned editor, M. Clarus, has observed, the full bearing of these prophecies Holzhauser seems not always himself to have understood.

It is indeed a proof of the divine origin of a genuine prophecy, that the mind of the prophet should be in a passive state, and should not always fully comprehend the import of the vision brought before him.

To the first four visions out of the ten, Holzhauser appends no explanation; but the editor has, as has been above mentioned, subjoined some judicious, though too diffuse remarks, which will serve as a guide in the analysis.

IN THE FIRST VISION the prophet sees seven most unclean and hideous beasts, that with all their young ones come before, and insult, and blaspheme the throne of the Eternal. THE FIRST BEAST is a toad, accompanied with a countless brood of young ones, which have parrot voices. This beast, according to the editor, represents false inflated science. THE SECOND [BEAST] most heavily laden camel, and is overburdened with the price of the blood of Christ. This beast, typifies those “in whose hands is mischief, and whose right hand is full of bribes.” Psalm 26:10. THE THIRD BEAST is a neighing stallion, and is the emblem of impurity. THE FOURTH BEAST is an immense terrific serpent, symbolizing infidelity, and is in close connection with the other beasts, and derives aid and support from them. THE FIFTH BEAST is like unto a hog wallowing in its slough, and is the fitting emblem of gluttony and every species of intemperance. THE SIXTH BEAST is a furious wild boar, and is the symbol of heresy in its violent assaults against the Church. This boar fixes its tusks in the tree of life, and the blood of Christ, which is the sap of that tree, flows copiously down. THE SEVENTH BEAST was dead, and had no name. What it signified, Holzhauser declares himself he (Beykirch, p. 132) knew not. But as in the same vision he saw a land, called Priests’land, wherein was a tree watered by rivulets, but which even in summer bore no leaves nor fruits, the editor not improbably concludes, that “the dead beast, which had no name” typifies the unworthy degenerate members of the Catholic priesthood, whose works are dead. Of these visions we have only room for a few extracts.

There is a truly apocalyptic grandeur in the following vision, wherein the anti-Christian satanic philosophy of the last and present centuries is symbolized.

“THE FOURTH BEAST was like unto a snake, full of venom and gall, and bitterness, and envy. The serpent was very vast and terrible. It lifted up its head against Him who sat upon the throne, gnashed its teeth at the children of God, and bit and devoured itself out of envy, and the swelling of its venom. And I saw how the beast ruled in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; how it gnawed the grass, and the flowers of the earth, and darkened the stars of heaven. Most fearful were its tail, and tongue, and teeth. This beast there was most terrible; I shuddered at its aspect; I was afraid, and was amazed exceedingly. its name I knew not. And from the throne of Majesty came forth a voice, which spoke, This is the Murderer of souls. And I heard a voice which spoke with another, and cried out; ‘Salvation and jubilee to our God, and the Lamb upon the throne of judgment, and punishment, and recompense; for He is terrible, and almighty, and can avenge their wickedness on the inhabitants of earth. Avenge the image of Thy face, great and righteous Judge! by hail, and sulphur, and pitch, by the fire and the burning of eternity, and in the earthquakes of Thine Almightiness!’ And I heard the voice of thousands and tens of thousands, who cried ‘So be it, so be it.’” (Vol I. pp. 175-176)

THE TWO NEXT VISIONS [VISIONS 2 & 3] though vague and obscure, have clearly reference to the future triumphs, which the Church, after the tribulations and anguish she has had to endure for the last three centuries, is yet destined, according to ancient prophecy and tradition, to celebrate on earth. This subject we shall have occasion to recur to, when we come to speak of Holzhauser’s prophetic comments on the Apocalypse.

We pass on to the FOURTH VISION, to which the venerable author has himself furnished us with a key, and which, (Beykirch, p. 133) remarkable as it is for its clearness and vivid beauty, possesses a surpassing interest for the English reader.

“I stood in the year 1635 by the Danube, giving alms to the banished, and offering up prayers for the whole earth. I stood towards the north and the west, and my heart poured itself out in many lamentations before God, saying; ‘How long will the adversary hold this kingdom in bondage, which swims with the blood of martyrs, spilled by that accursed woman, Jezebel, as she wished to reign in the Church of God?’ And I heard at the same time that the lawful sacrifice would be intermitted for one hundred and twenty years; and on the other side of the sea I saw immense lands, and how peoples and tongues thronged together, and how the land was inwardly shaken by armies, as by an earthquake. The prodigious multitude I saw divided, and I beheld the king standing in the midst. And it was told me, ‘All rests with the king, and the king is, as it were, sold.’

“And towards the west the heavens were opened, and the land trembled as with an earthquake, and the nations were shaken, and terror came over the whole kingdom; and it was told me: ‘On the king depended the salvation of the people! And it seemed to me as if he refused; and I heard: ‘If the king will not, then will he be smitten.’ And the heavens again opened towards the west; and large fiery ball came down, flew oblique, and smote the king. And now his kingdom rested in peace, and the land was illuminated.

“And lo! I saw a ship sailing on the sea, and arrive in port, and righteous and holy men, who were in the ship, landed and they began to preach the Gospel in those countries. They prospered in their undertaking; and that land returned to peace and the sanctification of Jesus Christ.”—Vol. 1. p. 215.

Holzhauser, as we have seen above, told the Jesuit Father Lyprand, that this vision had reference to England, and to her religious and political destinies. In brief but graphic lines were here shadowed out to the prophet’s eye many leading events in the history of our Church and State for the last three hundred years. The bloody persecution of the British Catholics by the Jezebel—Queen Elizabeth—the political feuds of the British nation—the colonization of the English America—the Great Rebellion—the sale of King Charles I. by the Scotch—his unwillingness to embrace the Catholic faith—his tragic execution—the suspension of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the (Beykirch, p. 134) space of one hundred and twenty years, namely, from the year 1658, when saying Mass was prohibited under penalty of death, down to the year 1778, when the penal laws were relaxed [It is remarkable that in British America also, the same penalty against saying mass was in force from the year 1663 down to the year 1783, when it was abrogated, making exactly a period of one hundred and twenty years, during which the Holy Sacrifice was intermitted, at least in public.] --the gradual return of England to the Catholic faith, whereof many learned men now see the beginnings [Holzhauser expressly states that the conversion of England will be gradual.] --the holy foreign missionaries that have or are now preaching the faith in England, such as the French emigrant priests fifty years ago—and the Italian Passionists [The reader may perhaps remember, that the venerable Founder of the Order of Passionists, Father Paul of the Cross, once beheld in a vision, after celebrating mass, his own Religious preaching the faith in England. This vision occurred about eighty years ago.] and Rosminians, the Belgian Liguorians, and the French Conceptionists of our own day—all are here either announced or indicated. The full accomplishment of this prophecy is reserved for the future, and in our humble opinion, not very remote future. M. Beykirch, M. Clarus, and the learned reviewer of Holzhauser’s Commentary on the Apocalypse in the Historish-politische Blatter—all agree that none of his published prophecies have as yet received so exact a fulfillment as this respecting England. 
Bartholomew Holzhauser (left),
 together with Archbishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn (centre)
 and King Charles II of England (right).
 

We have now only space to notice, and that briefly, one more vision. THE SEVENTH [VISION] refers to the destinies of Church and State in Germany, and more remotely in Europe. We can give but a portion of it.

“After this I saw a countless multitude of worms, gathered together against a great worm. And they fell upon it, and bit it, and there was no one to free it from their bites.

“There was a hot contest: the great worm came into sore straits; but Cattus fell upon the little worms many times, how often I cannot say, and put them to flight. And I saw how Cattus obtained the victory, and rescued the great worm from the hands of its foes. I approached nearer, and saw the great worm covered with many wounds, almost dead. And while this was going on, I saw everywhere on the earth men and cattle slain. A great wound was (Beykirch, p.  135) stricken on the earth, and it overflowed with blood. I was amazed exceedingly, and fear fell upon me.”

Holzhauser has himself given the key to this vision.

“The following,” says he, “is the interpretation. The many worms are the foes of the emperor and the empire. The latter is signified by the great worm. After their defeat at Nordlingen, and our expedition against France, the foes of the emperor assembled under the French King, and inflicted much injury on the emperor. [At Nordlingen in 1634, the Imperialists gained a great victory over the Swedes.] No one was there to deliver him from their bites; abandoned by all, he fell into sore straits. Cattus, whom thou hast seen, is the true general, whose prudence God will make use of, to administer aid, and to evince fidelity, even in extremist distress.”

Then Holzhauser adds:

“If thou hast observed how everywhere on the earth men and cattle are slain, and a great wound has been stricken, and everywhere the earth overflows with blood, the following is the import thereof. In the world there will be wars and the Lord, in consequence of the frightful sins described in the first vision, under the signs of seven beasts, will exercise in other parts of the earth His predetermined wrath. Few will be left on the earth; kingdoms will fall into confusion; principalities will be overturned; dynasties will be brought low; states will perish, and almost all men will come to beggary. The blood-hound will worry the Church, and on the earth there will prevail the greatest tribulation, and all manner of confusion.”—Vol. 1. pp.244-245.


The concluding passage of this“Interpretation” evidently shows that, as frequently happens, the vision of the seer was gradually extended, and that the Thirty Years’ War formed only the foreground of that mighty picture, which Omnipotence by degrees unrolled to his eye. What more graphic portraiture could be traced of the religious and political condition of Europe for the last eighty years, than in the words underlined, written upwards of two centuries ago? Their truth is too palpable to need a comment. We need only point out that general pauperism, which is one of the most salient characteristics of our time. “Depauperabuntur quasi omnes.” This general poverty announced by Holzhauser is the fruit of infidelity, that has dried up the springs of fraternal charity, and of revolutions that have confiscated the property of the clergy and of large (Beykirch, p. 136) proprietors, put down religious orders and lay confraternities, despoiled so many charitable foundations, and convulsed all the relations of trade and industry. It is the child, too, of that false political economy, which made the increase of population the first care of the government, gave such undue extension to the manufacturing system, and instead of reforming abuses in the ancient guilds, totally suppressed them, and thus abandoned the honest tradesman to a ruinous competition, left the artisan without resource in the hour of sickness and want, and the public without protection against unskillfulness and fraud.

Bartholomäus Holzhauser’s Lebensgeschichte, und Geschte, Nebst dessen Erklärung der Offenbarung des heiligen Johannes.[Bartholomew Holzhauser’s Life, Visions, and Commentary on St. John’s Revelations.] Translated from the Latin, and accompanied with Introductory and Explanatory Remarks, By LEWIS CLARUS, Two volumes, Ratisbon: 1849. Prophetenstimmen mit Erklärungen.Sammlung von Prophezeiungen.[Prophetic Voices with Explanations.A Collection of Prophecies.] By THOMAS BEYKIRCH, Licentiate of Divinity, and Curate at Dortmund.Paderborn:1849, September, 1850, page 121 – 148,German Prophecies on the State of the Church, published in the Dublin ReviewVol. XXIX, 1850.
Transcribed for you from PDF (CatholicProphecy_Bartholomew Holzhauser.pdf) by Cousin Jeanne. Obtained from www.TodaysCatholicWorld.com

Love, Jeanne

VENERABLE HOLZHAUSER'S VISIONS & PROPHECIES, III


Venerable Holzhauser's Commentary on the Apocalypse

(Recorded by Himself, translated by Clarus, published with comments by Beykirch)

We must now pass to Holzhauser’s Commentary on the Apocalypse. This Commentary, written in Latin, and which remained in manuscript for a century and a half, was first printed at Bamberg and at Wurzburg in the year 1784. An able review of the Latin original two years ago, in the Historisch-politische Blatter, first called the attention of the German public to this most remarkable work; and the sensation thereby created, induced M. Clarus to publish a German translation of the Commentary the following year. It is from this translation we shall speak of the book.

A learned theologian, after perusing this Commentary, candidly declared, that “after Holzhauser all commentators on the Apocalypse appeared to him to have written like children.” And in truth there is an earnestness, an unction, a fullness and depth of remark, a certain luminous minuteness of explanation, which forcibly convince the reader that Holzhauser wrote according to an internal light, and that the same Spirit which dictated St. John’s mysterious book, had deigned to unseal it to his commentator.

“Even in leaving out of consideration,” says the German critic above referred to, “the predictions as to the Future contained in Holzhauser’s Commentary, we cannot but be surprised at the manner in which it appreciates the Past. The book is written in a simple and artless style; but we there find a great depth of thought and a knowledge of history, which is quite beyond the author’s times, and is the more striking, as this holy priest was neither a scholar nor a philosopher, nor were his intellectual qualities above (Beykirch, p. 137) the average standard. [See Historisch-politische Blatter, Vol. XXI.] The following is the fundamental idea of his commentary upon the Apocalypse.

The seven stars and the seven golden candlesticks which St. John saw, when he was ravished in spirit, represent the seven epochs in the church’s history from her foundation to the last judgment. To those periods correspond again the seven churches of Asia Minor, to which the word of the Lord in the vision is addressed, as well as the seven days of creation, the seven ages of the world before Jesus Christ, and the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. Obliged to confine ourselves to a very short analysis, we will merely point out the heads of Holzhauser’s Prophesies, and we will leave the appreciation of their correctness to those who have meditated on the historic development of Christianity.

THE FIRST EPOCH, which he calls that of “SEED-TIME,” (status seminationis), comprehends the period that elapsed from the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles, down to the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul under Nero. [67, 68 AD] THE SECOND EPOCH, called the period of “IRRIGATION,” (status irrigationis), is that of the persecutions, which lasted until Constantine. [68 – 337 AD] THE THIRD [EPOCH], which extends from that emperor down to Charlemagne, is the period of “ILLUMINATION,” (status illuminationis.) [338 – 800 AD] THE FOURTH [EPOCH], which dates from the re-establishment of the western empire under Charlemagne, and terminates with the age of Charles V. and Leo X., is the time of “PEACE,” (the status pacificus.) [800 – cir. 1520 AD] THE FIFTH EPOCH, which commences with the birth of Protestantism, and wherein we still live, is the state of“TRIBULATION,” (status afflictionis.) [The Protestant movement... is popularly considered to have begun in 1517 when Luther published The Ninety-Five Theses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism]

“This,” says Holzhauser, “is a state of trouble, desolation, humiliation, and poverty for the church. We may with just reason call it a state of purification, in which the Lord Jesus Christ has sifted His wheat, and will sift it again by wars, by seditions, by famines, by epidemics, and other scourges, by the tribulation and the poverty which He will suffer to weigh on the Latin church, by means of heretics and bad Christians, who will take from her the greater part of her bishoprics and countless monasteries, especially the wealthier ones. She is oppressed even by Catholic princes, and despoiled by means of taxes, imposts, and other extortions; so that we may say, in groaning with the prophet Jeremiah, ‘The queen of nations hath been placed under the yoke.’ The church is (Beykirch, p. 138) become poor and miserable, because she hath been calumniated by heretics, because her ministers are despised by bad Christians, who render them neither honor nor respect. By all these means God will sift His wheat; He will cast the chaff away to be burnt, and will gather the wheat into His barns. This fifth state of the church is the state of tribulation, the state of apostasy, full of miseries of every kind. Few will be spared by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. We shall see kingdom rise against kingdom; empires will be divided in themselves, and brought to desolation; principalities and monarchies will be overturned, and almost the whole world will sink into poverty. The greatest desolation will reign over the earth. All this hath in part been already accomplished (1656 AD); a part remains yet to be accomplished. These things will come to pass by the very just judgment of God, because of the accumulated mass of our iniquities, whereof our fathers and ourselves have filled up the measure, at the moment when the mercy of Almighty God awaited our doing penance. The fifth day of creation, on which the earth brought forth birds, fishes, and beasts of the field, is a type of this epoch, wherein men, like to the birds of the air and the fishes of the water, give themselves up to license, sink to the level of the brute, and wallow in lust. In this lamentable state of the church divine and human laws are without force, and made of light account; the doctrines and precepts of the church are despised; ecclesiastical discipline is not better observed by the priests, than political order is maintained by the people. Every one, like the beasts of the field, believes what he pleases, and doth what he wills.

“The correspondence of this period with the fifth age of the ancient world, from Solomon down to the Babylonian captivity, is extremely striking. Then Israel fell into idolatry, and Judah and Benjamin were alone true to the covenant. So in the times we speak of, a large portion of the Catholic population has fallen away from the true church; while a small number only of good Christians has survived. The Jewish state was then ruined, and was harassed and oppressed by heathens; so also has the holy Roman empire of Germany been ravaged and dismembered by the neighboring nations.

“To this [fifth] age has been accorded the [SPIRITUAL] GIFT OF COUNSEL; for counsel did the church need in order to counteract such fearful calamities, and to uphold the Catholic faith. This gift of counsel was revealed in the Council of Trent, in the institution of the Society of Jesus, by whose exertions, learning, and sanctity, the Catholic faith and the church throughout Europe, were rescued from destruction.

“A type of this epoch is the Church of Sardis—a word that signifies the beginning of beauty; for the calamities of this period will be the beginning of a better time. Divine providence hath wisely ordained that the church which He will cause to endure unto the end of the world, should be moistened from time to time (Beykirch, p. 139) with the waters of tribulation, as the gardener watered his garden in the time of drought.”(Beykirch, pp. 21-23).

In the next passage we leave what the Indians call the Caliyuga, or present age of misery and perturbation, and soar with the prophet into those pure serene times, which will witness the complete and glorious triumph of Christ’s Church upon earth. As these different epochs are not separated one from the other by any harsh dissonance; but the concluding tones of the succeeding period; so the conclusion of the fifth age will be marked by great conquests of the church. And of these conquests we think we already discern the beginning.

“THE SIXTH PERIOD of the church the (status consolationis)—time of “CONSOLATION” begins with the HOLY POPE and the POWERFUL EMPEROR, and terminates with the birth of Anti-christ. (Revelations, 3: 7, 10.)

“This will be an age of solace, wherein God will console His church after the many mortifications and afflictions she had endured in the fifth period. For all nations will be brought to the unity of the true Catholic faith.

“A type of this period was the sixth age of the old world, from the deliverance of the Israelites out of the Babylonian captivity, and the rebuilding of the city and of the temple of Jerusalem, down to the coming of Christ. As God gladdened His people by the rebuilding of the temple and of the holy city; as all kingdoms and nations were subjected to the Roman empire; and Caesar August, the most powerful and excellent monarch, after vanquishing all his enemies, gave for fifty-six years, peace to the world; so will God pour out upon His church, that witnessed in the fifth period nought be affliction, the most abundant consolations. But this happy age will be ushered in under the following circumstances. When all is desolated with war; when the church and the priests must pay taxes; when Catholics are oppressed by heretics, and their faithless fellow-religionists; when monarchs are murdered; subjects oppressed; when riches are extirpated; when every thing concurs to bring about the establishment of Republics; then will the hand of the Almighty produce a marvelous change, according to human notions seemingly impossible. For that STRONG MONARCH, (whose name is to be “the help of God,”) will as the envoy of the Almighty, root up these Republics. He will subject all things to him self, and will zealously assist the true Church of Christ. All heresies will be banished into hell; the Turkish empire will be overthrown to its foundations, and his dominion will extend from east to west. All nations will come, and will worship the Lord in the one true Catholic Faith. Many righteous men will (Beykirch, p. 140) flourish, and many learned men will arise. Men will love justice and righteousness, and peace will dwell on the whole earth. For the Omnipotent will bind Satan for many years, until the advent of him who is to come,--the son of perdition.

“In respect to perfection, this period corresponds to the sixth day of creation, on which God created man after His own image, and subjected to him, as lord of creation, all creatures of the earth. So will man be now a true image of God, (in righteousness and holiness), and the STRONG MONARCH will rule over all nations.

“The sixth gift of the SPIRIT, THE FEAR OF THE LORD, will in this period be poured out upon the church; for men will fear the Lord their God, keep His commandments, and serve him with their whole heart. The scriptures will be understood after one uniform fashion, without contradiction and error, so that all will marvel they had so long misunderstood the clear sense of holy writ. The sciences will be multiplied and completed, and men will receive extraordinary illumination in natural, as well as divine knowledge.” (Beykirch, p. 27 – 29).

Bartholomew Holzhauser
(1613 - 1658)



The tenth chapter of the Apocalypse comprises, according to Holzhauser, special revelations respecting the MIGHTY MONARCH and the ENLIGHTENED POPE, as we may reasonably assume, that God would not leave the world without some indication as to these great Renovators of an age apparently not very remote.


Revelations (Apocalypse) 10: 1-7 “And I saw, another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was on his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.And he had in his hand a little book open; and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth; and he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars... And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand, and swore by Him who created all things, that time shall be no longer; but that the mystery of God shall be finished, as He hath declared by His servants the prophets.”


[Holzhauser writes] “This is the lofty description of that MIGHTY MONARCH sent by God.He is a mighty angel, for no one can resist him, the envoy of God. He will come down from heaven; that is to say, he will be born in the bosom of the Catholic church.The cloud with which he is clothed signifies humility, with which, from youth upward, and without any great parade, he walks in the simplicity of his heart.The protection of God is also thereby indicated, that, on account of his humility, will encompass him.The rainbow about his head denotes, that he will bring peace to the whole earth.The solar luster of his brow signifies the splendor of his glory, his honor, his holiness, his talents, so that all princes will follow (Beykirch, p. 141) his example.The fiery pillars symbolize the vast extent of his power, and the fire of his religious zeal...

“The spread of the church over all countries will take place by the instrumentality of this STRONG MONARCH, and before the destruction of the world, Christianity will be preached to all nations of the earth; as this is foretold in Matthew 24: 4; in Isaiah 2: 2; and in Micheas (Micah) 4: 2. To this wide diffusion of Christianity allusion is made, when John is obliged to measure the temple of God.(Apocalypse 11: 1).

“And John saw one sitting upon a cloud, a son of man, with a golden crown upon his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.(Apocalypse 14: 14)

[Holzhauser continues] "This is the second vision respecting the MIGHTY MONARCH; the crown is that of the holy Roman empire;the sickle in his hand, his unconquerable army, with which, without sustaining a defeat, he will vanquish all the enemies of God and His church.

“And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat upon the cloud, ‘Thrust in thy sickle, and reap, because the hour is come to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ (Apocalypse 14: 15).

[Holzhauser explains] “This angel of the Lord is that GREAT AND HOLY POPE, who, moved by God, will cry out of the sanctuary of the church to that MIGHTY MONARCH, to root out the tares of wickedness, for the harvest is over-ripe; the measure of sins and abominations is overflowing. Instructed by a divine revelation, the HOLY POPE will, by communicating the same, stir up the hearts of princes to a common war; and God will touch the hearts of the soldiers, that, animated with one spirit, they all will adhere to the MIGHTY MONARCH.” (Beykirch, pp. 30 – 32).



Bartholomäus Holzhauser’s Lebensgeschichte, und Geschte, Nebst dessen Erklärung der Offenbarung des heiligen Johannes.[Bartholomew Holzhauser’s Life, Visions, and Commentary on St. John’s Revelations.] Translated from the Latin, and accompanied with Introductory and Explanatory Remarks, By LEWIS CLARUS, Two volumes, Ratisbon: 1849. Prophetenstimmen mit Erklärungen.Sammlung von Prophezeiungen.[Prophetic Voices with Explanations.A Collection of Prophecies.] By THOMAS BEYKIRCH, Licentiate of Divinity, and Curate at Dortmund.Paderborn:1849, September, 1850, page 121 – 148,German Prophecies on the State of the Church, published in the Dublin ReviewVol. XXIX, 1850.
Transcribed for you from PDF (CatholicProphecy_Bartholomew Holzhauser.pdf) by Cousin Jeanne. Obtained from www.TodaysCatholicWorld.com


TO READ ALL III PARTS ......



Love, Jeanne