It has been said that somewhere, buried deep in Bethlehem, is the body of an over 2,000 year-old man. Still intact and incorrupt, frozen in time.
This body is said to belong to Saint Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus.
“Only a few men followed the coffin with Jesus and Mary, but I saw it accompanied by angels and environed with light. Joseph’s remains were afterward removed by the Christians to Bethlehem and interred. I think I can still see him lying there incorrupt.”
If this is indeed true, in a world covered with dark ashes of doubt, faithlessness, and immorality, this tremendous discovery might just be our phoenix. But whence do the clues to unearthing this hidden gem come?
Herein lies the secret: in the old, forgotten visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) – a German mystic, stigmatist, and one of the greatest visionaries in the history of the Church.
Her visions on the most intimate parts of the lives of Jesus, Mary, and the Saints brought their extraordinary stories to life, like supernatural characters leaping off the page of a book.
Despite Anne’s never having visited the Holy Land in her lifetime, those who have journeyed there are often stunned by the striking resemblance between her descriptions and the actual sites and monuments.
Although Anne could not write what she had witnessed, given her poor education, she earned the respect of a distinguished German Romantic poet, Clemens Brentano, who regularly sat at her bedside to transcribe her exultant recounts.
He published her extraordinary visions on the life of Christ in one of Emmerich-Brentano’s most prized books, The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1883) – the same book that inspired Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ, because of its sheer detail on the Gospel stories.
Some know Anne’s extraordinary story, but most do not. It is only fitting that it be revived.
Emmerich was born at Flamske in Westphalia, Germany, on Sept. 8, 1774, to poor, devout parents. As a child, Emmerich could discern whether objects were consecrated or not and which saint a certain relic belonged to.
In the dark of night, she often walked barefoot on the snow, defying piercing winds, so that she could make the entire Way of the Cross to Coesfeld. She preferred to eat leftover scraps and often gave her food to the poor and sick so they would not starve. She barely slept.
When she was 29, she became a nun of the Augustinian Order at Dulmen, Westphalia.
One day, whilst praying for hours before the crucifix at St. Lambert, Coesfeld, Anne begged Jesus to let her share in His Passion. Several years later, on Dec. 29, 1812, at 3:00 p.m., whilst bedridden and extremely ill, she experienced the stigmata.
Doctors had no medical explanation for her wounds.
Pope St. John Paul II beatified Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich on Oct. 3, 2004.
He said in his homily:
“The fact that the daughter of poor peasants who sought tenaciously to be close to God became the well-known ‘Mystic of the Land of Münster’ was a work of divine grace. Her material poverty contrasted with her rich interior life.”
Some question the credibility of her writings, given Clemens Brentano’s embellishments, as well as her negative portrayal of the Jewish mobs who condemned Jesus to death.
Nevertheless, the editor of TAN Books, Dr. Paul Thigpen, said that we ought to be inspired by her unwavering holiness in the face of adversity more than by her visions.
“What the Church is focusing on is her heroic suffering, offering up that suffering to God…If she is canonized, she would be a wonderful role model for the disabled and those with chronic illness.”
Anne’s visions have already led to the discovery of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s house in Ephesus, Turkey.
So, what about Saint Joseph’s body?
In the Gospels, we barely hear a spoken word from Saint Joseph. He was a man of silence and complete humility.
Father Paul of Mill (1824-1896) once said,
“In an ecstasy, a saint has seen the body of Saint Joseph preserved intact in a tomb, the site of which is yet unknown. The more the glorious spouse of the most Blessed Virgin is honored, the sooner will the finding of his body take place, which will be a day of great joy for the Church.”
If Anne’s visions have led to such mind-blowing breakthroughs, what makes us think the incorrupt body of Saint Joseph – one of the greatest saints of all time – isn’t waiting to be found?