Passion The Books

After the meditations of Anne Catherine Emmerich
As Told To Clemens Brentano
Edited and with an Introduction by NOEL L. GRIESE

Mel Gibson's powerful move, The Passion of the Christ, prompted viewers to a renewed interest in the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Christus. It would probably surprise people to know the movie is actually taken from the meditations of a german nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich. This account is as told to Clemens Brentano, a German author, and the complete meditations are included in The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the 1904 English translation.

Included is an introduction to the meditations by Noel L. Griese, the meditations and the story used in Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ. If you have or have not seen the movie, it is a wonderful reiteration.

There are two schools of thought about Anne Catherine Emmerich's visions or meditations. On one hand, she is considered to be on the same plane as St. John the apostle and evangelist, reputed author of the Gospel of John...But on the other hand, the skeptics believe she is a misguided clairvoyant. I will this for your own interpretation.

Anne Catherine Emmerich suffered from poor health in her early childhood years. She is believed to have had visions and visits from Jesus and John the Baptists who appeared to also be children. She worked in the fields and was a happy child. One of her visions was seeing herself as a nun. Because of her poor health in childhood, she had an interest in helping the ill with natural plants and herbs. In her teens, she worked as a seamstress and began collecting wages for entering the convent. Most of the girls admitted to the convent during that time period were from well-to-do families and not from a poor family such as Anne Catherine's. She was accepted into the convent of Agnetenberg, Dülmen, Westphalia, because of her service to the Soentgen's family. Mr. Soentgen, father of Clara, said he would allow his daughter to become a nun only if Catherine was accepted into the convent.

While in the convent, other nuns looked at Anne Catherine Emmerich in contempt and slander and accused on baseless charges. She was unliked because of her physical ailments and poverty. This was very distressing for Anne Catherine Emmerich and she could be found in the chapel crying about it because she was never allowed to prove these misconceptions wrong. She persevered and at age 29 became a nun of the Agnetenberg Convent of the Augustinian Order on November 13, 1803.

She suffered from various illnesses and even though doctors tried to cure her, she was never able to be cured. These illnesses were viewed by other nuns as a burden on the community. The nuns were also jealous of the attention of Abbé Lambert, convent chaplain, gave to Anne Catherine Emmerich. Her reputation with her visions grew and were recorded upon the arrival of Clemens Brentano. Clemens Brentano was known in German elite literary circles for his imagination and collection of folk songs. He remained with her for six years capturing his meditations until her death in 1824.

Enjoy this interesting story of Anne Catherine Emmerich's visions and Clemens Brentano notes and writing of those visions - the intriguing story behind the story so to speak. Noel L. Griese notates `movie scenes based on The Dolorous Passion', 43 in all. Also, he explains Stations of the Cross, passion plays containing anti-Semitism and specific quotes from Anne Catherine Emmerich and goes into depth of the nine mediations of Anne Catherine Emmerich.

John Dunning is simply the best at what he writes. All of John's novels have heart, but I defy anyone to find novels with as much soul. I never want the stories to end and wait impatiently for the next. Superbly written, researched, and edited! Thursday Next: First Among Sequels

I bought this book for my young son to help explain that "Easter" is more than the bunny... Well, it has become his current favorite book and a springboard for more in depth talks about Jesus. I am already searching for the other books in the series. The illustrations are very friendly and cartoon like and the "flaps" are actually an intergral part of the story. Best use of flaps that I have seen. The Easter story of Jesus is nicely explained without the blood & gore that I feel is inappropriate at this age. The text flows nicely and is an "easy" story to read out loud to my child. I would highly recommend this story.

It would be quite impossible to overstate how utterly beautiful and very deeply moving Jan Pienkowski's modern illuminated Gospel is; how astoundingly well it works with the classical text of the Gospel of St. Luke. Mr. Pienkowski's "Easter" captures beautifully the holy events chronicled in the Gospel, yet in a way I have yet too see in any other work this side of Heaven. In summary, it is a true magnum opus of awesome brilliance.

A few years ago, I happened upon this little gem of a book in a quirky little bookstore, and bought it for my wife as an Easter gift. -- What a hit! As a matter of fact, she STILL shows it off (to lots of ooh's and ahh's) when friends and family visit from Lent to Easter.

I often wonder if Jan Pienkowski will ever create more inspirational books like "Easter" again; let's pray he will. In the meantime, if you can lay your hands on a copy, BUY IT! You will *NOT* be disappointed.

The most wonderful book full of breath-taking pictures. Designs are Tropical and colorful. I recommend this book to anyone liking tropical themes and decorating.

The prose of Irigaray unsettles the calm assuredness with which the realms of spirituality and the feminine have so often been rendered as subjects without agency, the weaker and subordinate opposite of material,tangible reality. Irigaray demonstrates how to dislodge, disrupt, and destabilize the barriers founded by certain academic standards. She dares to use words to describe the futility of words.
"...if your words have such seductive power, such a potent charge of investment, is it not because they come to fill the place of a desire deprived of words? Borrowing their strength from energy free from any declaration. A fundamental misunderstanding lies within your language: what it carries of persuasive power does not belong to speech but to what it covers in silence."(36)
Another way Irigaray problematizes the othering of the spirit world is through exploding linear, normative conceptions of time and space in her reconstruction of infinity. She speaks of the current model of time as something which holds power by relying on a timeless void as its opposite. She defies this dualistic construction, describing not an abyss which relies on fullness and definition, but a fullness so vast it has the capacity to lodge emptiness within it.
"That invisible presence bearing you, supporting you there where you set up an opposing illusion of indifference as limit to your own desire. As a stasis at each point, guarding against the risk of overflowing which would lead to your downfall. Your vanishing into the immense space where you place that void which maintains your coherence." (Passions, 20)
This book is a delightful contrast to the cold, hard and cerebral discourse most noted for contemporary theories of psychology, philosophy, feminism, and politics!

I read the whole book in 2 nights, but I'm not DONE with it by any means. It was direct, hard hitting, but with spiritual guidance on how to really reach inside ourselves, get to the root, and turn ourselves around to be the best we can be for God, as opposed to being judgmental and telling us we're all going to hell if we DON'T follow the steps. (or to do all those things so we can have material gains!) I've highlighted a lot of parts that really spoke to me, and I'm going to go back through the book and study the passages listed. I really like that the endnotes are behind each chapter.......that makes it much easier to reference.

Mr. Kalka packed a lot of meat into a very neat, concise, package. I know that I can gain a lot from the information provided when I go back and study it. It's not a book one can read, put down, and move on......it's a valuable resource for anyone who really wants go grow in God.

Lots of humor, really well-read, VERY SEXY! Loved it-made the commute go very quickly! Next time I'm going to listen on my way home, though!

The book didn't say very much regarding his mother, just that she was in alot of pain? What kind of pain??? Was she loving,good,bad,ect...
Over all it was excellent reading!
Would recomend to a friend.

Very quick read but, makes you think about yourself and other you may know. twists and turns along the way keep the pages turning. All the while reflecting on lies made in your own life and how that impacted things.