Fr. Sertillanges - 33 Years in the Holy Land : What Jesus Saw from Bethlehem to Golgotha

A. G . SERTILLANGES

33 YEARS

IN THE

HOLY LAND

What Jesus Saw
from Bethlehem
to Golgotha

Translated by L. M. Ward

SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS
Manchester, New Hampshire

Copyright 2019 by Sophia Institute Press

33 Years in the Holy Land was formerly published under the title Christ among Men (London: R. and T. Washbourne, Ltd., 1908). For this 2019 edition by Sophia Institute Press, the first chapter of the original edition has been omitted, and minor editorial revisions have been included.

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Cover by David Ferris Design.

Cover image: The Entry into Jerusalem , Master of the Thuizon Altarpiece, fifteenth century, Bridgeman Images (TRK2961968).

Scripture citations are taken from the Douay-Rheims Version of the Bible. Where appropriate, quotations have been cross-referenced with the differing names and enumeration in the Revised Standard Version.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Nihil obstat : J. P. Arendzen, Censor Deputatus
Imprimatur : Gulielmus, Episcopus Arindelensis, Vicarius Generalis
Wesmonasterii, April 11, 1908

Sophia Institute Press
Box 5284, Manchester, NH 03108
1-800-888-9344

www.SophiaInstitute.com

Sophia Institute Press is a registered trademark of Sophia Institute.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Sertillanges, A.-D., 1863-1948, author. | Ward, L. M. (Lilian M.),

translator.

Title: 33 years in the Holy Land : what Jesus saw from Bethlehem to Golgotha

/ A.G. Sertillanges ; translated by L.M. Ward.

Other titles: Jsus. English

Description: Manchester, New Hampshire : Sophia Institute Press, [2019] | 33

Years in the Holy Land was formerly published under the title Christ among

Men (London: R. and T. Washbourne, Ltd., 1908).

Identifiers: LCCN 2019002453 | ISBN 9781622826605 (pbk. : alk. paper) ePub ISBN 9781622826612

Subjects: LCSH: Jesus Christ Biography. | Palestine Description and travel.

Classification: LCC BT301.3 .S4713 2019 | DDC 232.9/01 dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019002453

Contents

Authors Preface

In the following pages we submit to our readers a few thoughts about Jesus.

On returning from a voyage to the country of the Gospels, our heart filled to overflowing with memories of His earthly life, we cannot resist the impulse that was born of our admiration, our reverence, and our love, and in this spirit we have written this little book. At the present day, men speak much about Christ men who know Him little and men who secretly hate Him. Indeed, we may truly say it is not always in a right or honorable spirit that they refer to this sacred subject. Some there are who, not being convinced as to the divinity of Jesus, extol, if we may so speak, to excess the splendors of His humanity. God knows we do not wish to question the sincerity of these men, but, on the other hand, there are some who glorify His humanity only in order to stifle and smother His divinity beneath the weight of His human perfections. We pity these poor deluded men, and we must do our utmost to undo the evil they do. We, however, must not ignore the beauty of the humanity of Jesus, just because other men write falsely about it. In Jesus, all is admirable and sweet, beautiful and instructive, reflecting the transcendent glory of the Soul from which it emanates.

One thing we must ever remember: that the Man was made only to give us the God, that the exterior beauty of His human life was only the reflection of His divine existence, so that, in a word, He was, in His human nature and in His human acts, as the nave of the Temple, which leads us to the altar of His Godhead.

Preface to the English Edition

The work that is here presented to the public is intended to promote the science of the saints as taught by the words and example of our Divine Savior during His life upon earth. It is a translation of a French work written by the Abb A. G. Sertillanges after a visit to the Holy Land.

It has been the endeavor of the translator to give the exact teaching of the author, and his descriptions of localities and of customs, in a style suitable to the taste of English readers. The subject treated is the most sacred and important that can interest and benefit the pious reader namely, Christ among men, or characteristics of Jesus as seen in the Gospel.

In reading the Old Testament, we find the majesty and greatness of God presented before us, and our souls are impressed with reverence and the fear of His Name and of His judgments. Therein we are forcibly reminded of the following truths:

The Lord is terrible and exceeding great, and His power is admirable. (Ecclus. 43:31 [Sir. 43:29])

He hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away. (Ps. 148:6 [149:5])

Great is the Lord, and great is His power: and of His wisdom there is no number. (Ps. 146:5 [147:5])

O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is Thy Name in the whole earth, for Thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens. (Ps. 8:2 [8:12]).

The New Testament reveals to us the charity and tenderness of God, in order that our souls may be moved to correspond to His grace and to return love for love. It is from the Gospel that we learn how much God has loved, and how He has proved His love by becoming man, by living our life, and by giving His precious blood for our redemption. In the Gospel, we are told of the poverty of Christ, of His work, of His teaching, and of His death upon the Cross, and we are taught that all this is the effect of divine love. For God so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting (John 3:16).

The more we study the Gospel and meditate upon it, the better shall we learn the lesson of the love of God, as that is revealed in its every page, by the words and actions of our Savior. It contains the history of the Son of God upon earth and tells us what our souls desire to know: What does the Son of God wish? What does He seek upon earth? Why did He come into this world in poverty and lowliness? Why did He pray and preach? Why did He work and perform miracles? Why did He suffer and die for us?

It was because, as the psalmist says, He hath set His tabernacle in the sun, and He came as a bridegroom (Ps. 18:6 [19:45]). His love astonished earth and Heaven. He became man through love, and in wonder we can think of God poor through love, despised and neglected for the sake of love; reduced through love to the extremities of dereliction and cold indifference, signified by His own words: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head (Matt. 8:20). He came and dwelt among us to give an example of virtue and sanctity, to teach us how to live as the children of God in every stage of life, from the cradle to the grave: I have given you an example, that as I have done, so you do also (John 13:15); Be ye therefore perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48); Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart; and you shall find rest to your souls (Matt. 11:29).

He knew that men could not imitate God as He is in the throne of His glory, and as revealed in His incommunicable attributes, and therefore He would teach us how to imitate Him in humility and patience, in poverty and suffering, in prayer and communion with Him, in our dealings with our fellow beings, and in our estimate of nature and of grace of the natural and the supernatural order of things that in our being, both here and hereafter, the words and predictions of John may be verified: Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God: and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).