Key Points to Understand: Blessed Emmerich & Her Visions
An Introduction
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich was a German Augustinian nun born September 8, 1774 (sharing a birthday with our Mother Mary!); a very humble and self-sacrificing person who received visions throughout childhood and her adult life. Among the most notable are the visions of our Lord Jesus Christ during the Passion, as well as visions of Old/New Testament events, the lives of the Saints, Heaven and hell. Of note, her beatification process has not relied on the availability of her visions as a factor for her beatification (more on this later). Rather, her beatification is based on testaments to her piety and love of God.
For myself, I have found a beauty and a wisdom contained across the transcriptions of her visions that have helped my reflections, love God more, be more appreciative of all that’s been done for me, and helped me to feel closer to Him. That said, the reader of her visions should be aware that Blessed Emmerich was not able to write down the visions herself. Due to her illness in her final years, she relayed her visions to multiple people (primarily Clemens Brentano). Mr. Brentano then had to transcribe them into a different dialect of German, who may have had shorter or longer periods of time before being able to write everything down, and who took years to assimilate everything together (I don’t think ever quite finished). This material was then transcribed into different languages, and eventually into English where it was likely edited further.
Given that many still use Wikipedia for background information, I felt it important to address potential shortcomings here so you have additional information and can make your own decision as to the benefits of this resource. The Wikipedia entry on her is sparse and largely paints the writings of her visions by Clemens Brentano in a very limited, sometimes negative view – arguing that the transcriptions from him are largely fanciful embellishments (Anne Catherine Emmerich - Wikipedia). However, another article which I believe shares a more accurate view (as it is based on a review of the proceedings in Germany for her beatification which runs counter to her treatment by Wikipedia) and addresses a number of the issues brought up can be found here: Library : Some Further Perspectives on Anne Catherine Emmerich. I have since gained access to additional works from those who have studied the original diary notes which help to document the integrity of the process used by Brentano to record the visions.
Guidance on Visionaries / Mystics in the Catholic Church
So, given the potential challenges of (mis)interpreting, (mis)translating visions in general and the specific circumstances and discussions surrounding Blessed Emmerich, why use these transcriptions for personal reflection and consideration of Christ?
There is a particularly useful work from Father Poulain The Graces of Interior Prayer, a Treatise on Mystical Theology which discourses on the subject of private revelation (referenced in a book on the Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics compiled by Raphael Brown). The following material in [] is taken from Father Poulain’s work and referenced in the Brown book.
[First and most important of all, we must always make a very sharp distinction between: (1) the divinely guaranteed, universal public Revelation which is contained in the Bible and the Apostolic Tradition of the Church, and (2) the numerous private or special revelations of saintly Christian men and women. The first came to an end with the preaching of the Apostles and is a matter of faith for all Catholics, whereas the second have occurred throughout the history of the Church and do not require belief, even when approved… they are not to be used as deciding questions of history… philosophy, or theology…
When visions represent historic scenes… they often have an approximate and probable likeness only.. It is a mistake to attribute an absolute accuracy to them… Many saints have, in fact, believed that the event took place exactly as they saw it. But God does not deceive us when He modifies certain details. If He tied Himself down to absolute accuracy in these matters, we should soon be seeking to satisfy in visions an idle desire for erudition in history or archaeology. He has a nobler aim, that of the soul’s sanctification and to arouse in her a love of Jesus suffering. He is like a painter who, in order to excite our piety, is content to paint scenes in his own manner, but without departing too far from the truth. (This argument cannot be applied to the historical books of the Bible). God has another reason for modifying certain details. Sometimes He adds them to a historical scene in order to bring out the secret meaning of the mystery. The actual spectators saw nothing similar… We see, therefore, that it is imprudent to seek to remake history by the help of the saints’ revelations]
Blessed Emmerich herself shared that, to her, the visions were only like a picture book that she experienced her whole life – something sometimes fanciful, sometimes horrible, sometimes joyful. However, they were never to be taken as anything that would supplant or in any way change the teachings of the Church which she loved and served. With that in mind, conflicts that may derive from potential errors of translation / interpretation or potential embellishment should always be viewed with Church teaching as the sole authority.
With this in mind, Blessed Emmerich’s visions will often add what may appear to be minor details to our perception of past events (e.g. how people reacted to Mary when she visited Elizabeth, what Mary wore during the birth of Christ). Other times, the addition of just a few lines may have a much larger impact on our perception of these events. While I have not found any passages which directly contradict Church teachings, there are multiple times in the visions where Blessed Emmerich adds something new to an event that we may have never contemplated before. For myself, I think of the visions as a form of helpful illumination of the Church’s teachings. I’ve never run across anything that runs counter to its teaching; rather, the fruits of all that I have read have brought me closer to God because they have helped me to better understand the potential significance of events and see them in a fresh light. Bringing with it abundant amounts of joy and peace. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received from a priest was to look at the fruits of the gift. Did the gift bring us closer to God? Did it bring joy and peace? Or did it spark fear, worry, or anger?
Some Fruits of Blessed Emmerich’s Visions
Besides the benefits I have experienced, there are other good fruits from these visions….You may have already come across some of the impact of her work –
- Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, was heavily based on Blessed Emmerich’s visions (https://www.amazon.com/Passion-Christ-Jim-Caviezel/dp/B08BC1V9VR/)
- Blessed Emmerich’s visionary description of Mary and Joseph’s wedding ring as well as visions of the church where it came to be housed centuries later very closely match a ring that is venerated in Perugia, Italy by pilgrims who touch their wedding rings to it (the ring is referred to as the Santo Anello) - https://www.ncregister.com/features/holy-ring-the-wedding-band-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary
- The detail provided in her visions led to the discovery of what many believe to be Mary’s house in Ephesus after Christ’s crucifixion (some more detail here: House of the Virgin Mary - Wikipedia) - [house shown to the left]
If you feel called to review some of the writings, I would recommend this written section of the visions which focuses only on the Passion of our Lord (The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ: From the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich: Anne Catherine Emmerich, Abbe De Cazales: 9780895552105: Amazon.com: Books). This material provides a more detailed biography of Blessed Emmerich along with the transcription of the visions pertaining to the Passion. This also has received an Imprimatur review from the Church for this particular work (meaning it is approved for printing as it does not run counter to the teachings of the church).
Outside of the Dolorous Passions work, the full transcription of the visions covers much more material beyond the Passion. Because of the impact its had on me, I am working on making large amounts of this available as a podcast to anyone who feels called to listen. It’s slow progress, but I’ve got a number of episodes already posted online and am generally updating 2 per week. The first part includes the biography from the Dolorous Passions book. If you’d like to check them out, you can find them here: https://emmerich.buzzsprout.com. If you'd like to subscribe to the RSS feed, its: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2071445.rss