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HERE WE TELL HOW THE MOST HOLY VIRGIN APPEARED TO THE ARCHBISHOP THEOPHILUS, AND INSTRUCTED HIM CONCERNING THE JOURNEY THAT SHE TOOK INTO EGYPT WITH HER SON
THEOPHILUS the Archbishop, a good and pious man, was Patriarch of Alexandria in the days wherein our holy fathers, Saint Augustine, Saint Ambrose, and Saint John Chrysostom ruled in the Church of God. And he, being thus set over the Egyptian Church, wondered oft concerning it, in what manner it had been stablished, and whence had come the grace that dwelt therein. For it is the tradition of the saints that this church is the first in all the world, being founded by our Saviour Jesu, when He fled, a little Child, into Egypt in His Mother's arms; and resting in the place that is called Heliopolis, where a great church now is, did bless it and consecrate it for ever to His service, and that of His Father, Almighty God. But others there be that utterly deny the matter, and say not that Christ Himself brought His Church into this land.
Now Theophilus the Archbishop, pondering
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these things, was greatly perplexed; and he most ardently desired to know the truth of it. And on one Sunday night, standing in the church of Heliopolis after that the Evening Office had been said, and the bishop and the elders had betaken them to sleep, he, being filled with exceeding longing for this knowledge, did go up to that high place where abideth the picture of our holy Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God; and standing before her, he stretched out his hands in holy supplication, saying:
"Hear me, oh my Lord and Saviour, Jesu Christ, Who didst hearken unto them that were gathered together in the council of Nicaea, so that they did stablish the Creed of God, and didst enlighten Athanasius Thy servant, and bring him out of great tribulation to much honour and peace! Behold, I, Thy poor minister Theophilus, am sore perplexed; and therefore I beseech Thee that Thou wilt show me how Thou didst come and dwell in this house in the wilderness, and establish Thy Holy Church therein, that thereby I may gather strength the better to build up this house, that it may become a mighty church for the cherishing of Thy children and the honour of Thy Name."
And when he had so prayed, behold! a great light appeared to him, so that he thought the sun had risen, for midnight was long past and it was very dark within the church: and within this holy light he saw with great awe and thanksgiving the Queen of Women, even Our
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Blessed Lady that gave birth to God. Exceeding splendour of great radiance was about her, and with her were Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel and great company of angels that worshipped and rejoiced. When this he saw, Theophilus was full of dread, and he fell down upon the ground as one that swoons; but Saint Michael raised him up right courteously, and the glorious Virgin spoke to him and said:
"Fear not, Theophilus! for I am come in answer to thy prayer. Salutation unto thee, thou strong corner-stone of the Church of God. Behold, I am Mary, the daughter of Anna and Joachim, of the tribe of Juda, of the seed of David; and I am come to thee at the desire of my beloved Son, that I may show thee concerning the manner of His journey into this land."
Then did Theophilus the Archbishop give thanks with exceeding devotion; and when he had so done, Our Lady saith to him:
"Now will I reveal to you how that the Holy One did come to Egypt, and the wonders that He did therein, the grace of the which miracles doth still endure. And think not that He came with earthly majesty, rather was it a bitter pilgrimage and perilous: for we came on foot, because our estate was very lowly, for He that rideth on the clouds of Heaven desireth not the chariots of men.
"Now when Gabriel the Archangel warned us concerning those things that Herod would do;
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how that he would kill every male child, that amongst them he might take my little Son, we rose up, and came into this country as quickly as we might; and Joseph was with me, and also Salome. And I was full of fear, in that being a virgin, very ignorant and young, the only child of my mother, I had no knowledge of the manner in which little children should be cherished. But I carried my Child as well as I could, sometimes on my shoulders, sometimes on my back, and sometimes in my arms ; and ofttimes I was very weary because of the length of the way, for I was a little woman, and weak. Then would Salome carry Him for me in turn; and sometimes I would set Him on the ground that He might follow me, as the women of my country do when they teach their little ones to walk. And my Baby would walk a little way, holding to the hem of my skirt; and then, as other children will, He would cry to me to carry Him again.
Inasfar as this reflects existing oral traditions, this would have the journey into Egypt occurring some months after Jesus birth - ie, he is at the stage where he is beginning to walk, and able to be carried on Mary's shoulders. In Matthew, the wise men visit Mary and Joseph in their house, then leave without returning to Herod, and almost immediately, the angel appears to Joseph warning him to depart.
Note that later in the story, Jesus is able to converse intelligently with his mother, and later still, admonishes a fearful and ineffectual Joseph for making decisions on his behalf and reminds him that he has no rights as "father" of Jesus. DCW |
"And so soon as He desired it I would pick Him up right swiftly and embrace Him, and rejoice in His walking, as is the manner of women with their first-born sons.
"Now when that we had been many days upon our journey, and were full heartsick because we could find no place wherein to tarry, for we were very footsore and the Child needed rest, we came near to a certain city; and without the gates of it we fell in with two thieves, an Hebrew and an Egyptian, that went in company. Then, when they saw us, the Hebrew saith to his companion
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"'Do you see this Woman and her Son, whose apparel shines like royal raiment? Let us wait a little and watch them, that we may see whether it be possible to take it from them; for very surely it is of much price, and I desire it greatly. Here we are too near the city, but if we might meet them in the desert we could despoil them as we chose, for little could this old man do in their defence.'
| Here we see that tradition that has Joseph much older than Mary. DCW |
"Saith the Egyptian: 'Let be, and do not molest this woman and her little one, for these are no common folk though they go on foot. Verily, I have not seen so wonderful a Child since the day that I was born, and I think that He must be a king's son.'
"Then those thieves went their way; and when they were gone, Joseph and Salome sat them down to rest beside the road. But I, because I needed water for the Child, took Him in my arms and entered into the city, for I thought that some woman would give it me for the Baby's sake. But though I asked it of many, none would give it me, for the people of that place were hard of heart. And behold ! as I went with my Son through the market place, the idols that were set therein fell down with a great sound, and were broken; for the which cause the citizens were much afraid, for they thought that some sorcerer was come into the town. Then, because I could not have what I needed, I came out, and said to Joseph and Salome:
"'Rise up, let us depart from this city ; for
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the people thereof have no mercy, and I cannot get water for the Child.' And being sorely wearied I wept, for I knew not what to do.
"And when that my Baby saw me weeping, He sought to wipe away my tears with His little fingers, and He said: 'Grieve not, dear Mother, for we shall have all things that we need.'
"And laying His hand upon the ground, that was much parched by the drought there was in all the land, at once a spring of water welled up from beneath it, that was sweet as honey and white as milk; and we drank of it and were refreshed thereby.
"Then, when our thirst was quenched, my little Child made the sign of Holy Cross
| The sign of the Holy Cross, already... DCW |
above that spring of water, and He blessed it, saying, 'Let this water be for the healing and refreshment of all that shall drink therefrom: save only the people of this city, that have harshly entreated My Mother and caused her to weep.' And we rose up and went on our way; but now the day was near spent, and the road was wearisome and very hard to find. Now we journeyed toward this mountain whereon now I stand, for we hoped to find shelter therein; and Joseph was much vexed, for he thought it were better that we had rested near the city than that we should be alone in the desert when night fell, in that it was greatly solitary, and no defence should we have if any set on us to do us hurt. But I would not stay under the shadow of that place where they had refused water to my Son.
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"And behold! at the hour of sunset, as we went by the side of this mountain, a difficult way and perilous, those two thieves that we had aforetime met outside the city came and followed in our steps; and when we saw them we were full of fear, for we knew not what to do. And the Child was asleep in my arms, for He was very tired. Then, when they saw how that they were discovered, those two thieves rushed on us with drawn swords, saying:
"'Many days have we followed you and found you not, oh strange woman that goes on foot in royal raiment; and now, behold! you are delivered into our hands where none can give you help.'
"Then did they snatch my sweet Son from out my arms, and took off His raiment and left Him naked upon the earth; and my apparel they took also, even to the veil wherewith I covered my head. Now these were those garments of wine-coloured stuff that I had from out my mother's house in the days of my betrothal. And from Joseph, that stood there like an innocent sheep,
Oh dear! He might at least have said, "I told you so".
DCW |
knowing not what he should do, they took clothing also; and Salome, seeing these things, cast down her garments before them lest she be evilly used. Then, gathering all up, those thieves left us where we stood, and went apart and conversed together: and I was full of dread, seeing that they took counsel, for I said in my heart, 'They will take me, and make of me their bondwoman, and my little Child they will surely kill.'
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"And being greatly sorrowful I lifted Him up in my arms, all naked as they had left Him, and wept and laid my face to His face, so that my tears ran down upon His head. And I mourned, saying: 'Woe is me, woe is me, oh, my sweet Son! Whither shall I escape, and where can I bestow You safely, for that all men seek Your destruction wheresoever we go? I fled from Jerusalem lest Herod should take You; and lo! wicked men pursue You even into this wilderness. Ah, my little Child! how greatly unfortunate I am, that, being a young maiden, I have no wisdom to know what I should do. Whom do I know in this country who would cherish the Light of my eyes? Where can I go? Verily, all women that have borne children would weep for pity could they see me now! Ah! dearest Baby, how shall I endure it if they kill You? How shall I live without the sweet and heavenly words that You speak to me each day? I would that those mothers whose children Herod slew could weep with me this night!'
"And whilst I lamented thus, weeping in great anguish, so that my tears streamed down upon the body of the Child, that thief that was an Egyptian saw it; and being filled with compassion because of my grief, his heart was moved toward us by God's grace. Then he said to the Hebrew his partner:
"'My brother, it were well not to take the raiment of these travellers, for I am sure that if we do so ill will come of it. For I see on
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their faces a light greater than that which shines on other folk, and this Child that we have stripped is like unto a king's son, so great a beauty hath He got.'
"But that thief that was a Jew replied to him very sourly, saying: 'Hold your peace, for I will in no wise give back the apparel we have taken from these wanderers; for it is exceeding rich and fair, and merchants will give us much gold for it. And nothing can they do to hurt us, in that here they are helpless in the wilderness; wherefore it would be folly to leave them undespoiled.'
"Saith the Egyptian: 'I will not consent to it, for my heart is moved with pity towards this little Child. Take therefore my portion of that spoil which we did take yesterday in the city, and give me in exchange the raiment of the Child and His Mother that I may give it back to them. Verily, I cannot endure to see this little one lying naked in His Mother's arms, as do the children of the poor.'
"Answered the Hebrew : 'Take, if you will.' Then did the merciful thief take and give it back to us, and I dressed my Son full joyfully and put on my cloak and veil again.
"Now when my dear Baby saw this courtesy that the Egyptian did to us, He made a sign like unto a seal over him with His little fingers very sweetly; then did those two thieves depart from us, and we gave thanks for our deliverance to Almighty God. And when this we had done, Jesu saith to me:
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"'Mother, forget not these two thieves, but keep their likeness ever in your heart; for I say unto you that in the day of My Passion they shall be crucified with Me, one on the right hand and one on the left, in Jerusalem by the Jews. And that thief the Egyptian, whom My Father in Heaven hath moved to show Me mercy this day, the same is he that shall believe on Me when I hang upon the tree of the Cross to suffer for the sins of men, and he shall enter into the Garden of Paradise, being the first fruits of My Saints. But the Jew shall not believe. And as for this place wherein they have stripped Me naked, and you have washed My body with the sweet tears of your eyes, behold, a fountain shall here spring forth that shall be for the healing of every sick person that washeth therein. For the tears that you shed for love of Me shall refresh the world and give it life.'
"But whiles my little Child spake thus, the night was come upon us very dark, and Joseph admonished me, for he was greatly impatient, saying: 'Come, tarry not, let us be gone, that we may reach the city as quickly as may be. For because you would not listen to me, that would have stayed in safety near the town, behold! we are here in the midst of the desert, where no shelter is nor help against wild beasts, and darkness is come. Verily, were it not for the goodness of God, already we had been killed by these thieves; and it
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may well be that they will return and set upon us anew.' Then my Baby looked into Joseph's face and said: 'Speak not thus to My Mother, oh, father, for it is My will that you entreat her with courtesy. Behold! it was not by your will, but rather by the will of My Father that is in Heaven, that I was made man; therefore He hath not put it into your power to rule over Me, for it is I that do rule the world. Nevertheless, I will go where you wish and do in all things as you desire.'
"And we set forth, and ascended into the mountain whereto we had journeyed; and there we found this house where now I am, that was a temple of false gods. And because we were very weary we entered into it full gladly, and I stood in the midst of it and set my Son upon the ground. Then He, having His holy feet set upon this earth that is before your eyes, lifted up His hands, and straitway the house was altogether filled with light divine; and I saw angels, that came and fed the Child, and the hosts of Heaven here worshipped at His feet. Then did I give thanks to God, Who had delivered us from evil men and brought us to this resting-place; and we abode here a long while, blessing and praising Him. And we had all things whereof we stood in need, for without the temple there was a cistern of stone, where the well of water now is, and my Child laying His hands upon it, it was filled even to the brim; and Salome, finding a basin and a
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pitcher in the temple, we washed Him therein, and laid Him to rest. And this shall be for a sign how that the Son of God here rested on His journey; wherefore this place is very holy, for it is the first in all the land of Egypt where my Child did rest and was at peace.
"And thus said, the holy Virgin went out from the church of Heliopolis, and with her Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel and all the angels of her host; and the Patriarch Theophilus was alone.
HOC OPUS EXPLETUR DEITATI GRATIA DETUR ET MATRI DOMINI QUAE NOSTRA SIT PIA FINI
AMEN.
