Jesus Christ, the rabbi, Jewish religion reformer and the founder of Christianity who worked miracles and was believed to be the Son of God; Jehovah, was reportedly seen by various people after his death; the resurrection from the dead, and then ascension into the Kingdom of Heaven during various time periods-ancient, medieval, and modern. We will study quite a number of such sacred sightings.
Shortly after Jesus Christ died on the cross, then was placed in a rock cut tomb that had a large boulder placed over the entrance, which occurred in Jerusalem, the capital city of Roman occupied Judea during between 30 B.C.E.(Before Common Era) and 36 B.C.E., the apostles of Jesus mentioned about seeing and hearing him speak. Their stories of their Lord and Savior, before and after his death, when he was resurrected from the dead, are recorded in the New Testament Holy Bible.
After the burial of Jesus, soon after the boulder was removed that covered the entrance to his tomb, Jesus began to appear to those individuals that were near and dear to him. He first manifested to Mary Magdalene, who initially failed to recognize him. He then showed himself to the disciples except Thomas, to all of his disciples including Thomas. Thomas was at first, skeptical; hence the name “ Doubting Thomas” arose, but after touching some of the wounds of Jesus, Thomas became a believer in the physical return of Jesus. Jesus finished with a long period of a visual incarnation in Galilee to Peter and to 6 disciples: half the number but not all the dozen disciples.
The Apostle Paul asserted that. after the resurrection, Peter, the 12 disciples, and more than 500 believers, James: Jesus’s half-brother, all the apostles and Paul, himself saw and at times heard Jesus the Christ.
Soon afterwards, the Ascension occurred, according to Christian sources, whereby Jesus ascended; floated, or levitated high into the sky and then out of sight. An ancient Christian story tells us Jesus went into the Kingdom of Heaven after it opened its gates and Jesus then sat down on a magnificent chair to the right side of God and God sat on a great golden throne.
Since a great many centuries, there have been very large numbers of people, throughout the world, who have claimed to have personal communications and personal visitations of Jesus Christ. There are even some cases where certain people purposely faked seeing and hearing Jesus. We shall relate some stories of Jesus apparitions that deal with the lives of the early Christian saints that seem sincere.
In 1205, Francis of Assissi was praying in the Church of San Damiano, just outside Assisi, Italy. He reputedly had a vision in which an image of Jesus came alive and then told him “Francis, Francis go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.” Francis then left his wealthy family, and lived a life of poverty as a Christian ascetic who founded his own order of monks known as the Franciscans. After experiencing another Christ vision in 1224, Francis developed the first documented case of stigmatism:: mysteriously receiving the crucifixion wounds, scars, and pains of Jesus Christ within the areas as the hands, wrists, and feet.
In 1208, Juliana of Liege(also called Juliana of Mount-Cornillon),in Belgium, a member of the convent of Mont Cornillon near Liege, had visions of Jesus that she kept secret for almost 20 years. In repeated visions of Jesus, she was told by Jesus to be the promoter of the Feast of Corpus Christi, (“the body of Christ”) that was first celebrated in Liege in 1246, and later adopted for the Catholic Church on August 11, 1264 by Pope Urban IV, with the publication of the papal bull “Transiturus”. Pope Urban IV died on October 2, 1264.
Catherine of Siena, Italy was a highly religious layperson-woman who dressed like a nun, but was not a nun and was a Dominican tertiary or “Third Order” member-as was common in her time-and permitted to dress the way she did. She was born on March 25, 1347. At the age of 7 she had a vision of Jesus smiling upon her, which made her desire to live a life devoted to Jesus. At the age of 13, she took a vow of perpetual virginity and joined the Catholic Church order. Shortly afterward, she had another vision of Jesus placing a ring on her finger. This matter is why today nuns will claim to be “married” to Jesus Christ. She was an important spiritual and political adviser to Pope Gregory XI.
In 1372, Julia of Norwich, England, a revered religious recluse, was on her death bed and was administered last rites by a Catholic priest. Then, she began to experience visions of a shining Jesus, followed by a sudden miraculous recovery. Almost 20 years later, she wrote about these spiritual visions, her previous almost fatal illness, and the life of Christ from the time of the thorns, his crucifixion and the resurrection, Christian philosophy, the link of Jesus with his followers and believers, and related Christian to Christ identity in a book called “Revelations of Divine Love.” The book is believed to be the first known book in the English language written by a woman because she did not know Latin. Julia of Norwich is celebrated in the Anglican Church.
On Saint Peter’s Day, June 29th, in 1559, Teresa of Avila, Spain, also known as Teresa de Jesus, had a vision of Jesus appearing to her and continued to have such visitation visions of him. She helped a lot of people come to Christian Church because of her visions, particularly regarding the Basilica of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome. From 1673 to 1675, Marguerite Marie Alacoque mentioned a series of visions in which Christ spoke to her. In December 1673, she related that Jesus permitted her to rest her head upon his heart while he told her of the wonders of his love. She then began actions that led her to establish a holy order called the “Devotion of the Sacred Heart.”
Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) was a German Augutinian nun. Bedridden in 1913 and allegedly had noticeable stigma that would reopen on a Good Friday. She reportedly, since childhood, talked with Jesus.
In 1843, Mary of Saint Peter, a Discalced Carmelite nun in Tours, France, recounted visions of conversations with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary whereby she was instructed to spread the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus and to the Holy Face of Jesus in compensation for the many insults he acquired in his Passion. These actions brought forth the Golden Arrow Prayer.
In 1866, Marie Martha Chambon told of having visions where Jesus said to her to contemplate the Five Wounds,also known as the Holy Wounds or as the 5 Holy Wounds. She claimed to have her first Christ vision at age 5. Marie was a member of the Monastery of the Visitation Order and lived in Chambery, France.The Roman Catholic Church has not yet canonized her.
A Polish nun, Faustina Kowalska, in 1931 reported visions of Jesus with conversations with him, and are recorded in her published dairy “Divine Mercy in My Soul”. Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated by the Church as the first Sunday after Easter.
Maria Pierina De Micheli, a nun born near Milan, Italy reputably had a vision of Jesus and the first Friday of Lent in 1936, who told her: “I will that My Face, which reflects the intimate pains of My Spirit, the suffering and the love of My Heart, be more honored. He who meditates on Me, consoles Me.” The feast of the Holy Face is observed by the Roman Catholic Church on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday).
From 1972 to 1978, Jesus Christ is reported by Madeleine Aumont, a mother of 5 children in Dozule, France in the presence of her parish priest Victor L’Horset and other faithful people, giving spiritual messages, including the daily prayer of Dozule.
Richard Wurmbrand, also known as Nicolai Lonescu (1909-2001) was a Romanian Evangelical Lutheran priest and a professor of Jewish descent. He was imprisoned and tortured by Romania’s Communist government for 14 years for preaching Christianity. Pastor Wurmbrand was arrested on February 29, 1948 while on his way to A Divine service. At least once, while in solitary confinement, he talked of hearing the voice of Jesus personally comforting him and instructing him for his missionary role in life that greatly inspired him and very much increased his Christian faith. Richard Wurmbrand is the author of the very popular Christian book called: “Tortured Foor Christ” which was printed into millions of editions and translated in many languages. He also wrote other best selling Christian books. Wurmbrand founded 2 organizations that are “The Voice of the Martyrs” (about helping persecuted Christians across the world) and “Release International.”
There are a great deal more reports from men and women, boys and girls,of clerical and secular people, all throughout the world, having experienced visions of Jesus Christ and sometimes with the Blessed Mother, as well.
