The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-04-28
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JDOcTRINAL. SS8esskRkg LlTURGIcAL.


Thirteenth His removal from the
Cross; the Fourteenth His placing in
the Sepulchre.
A flippant philosophy, born of the
French Revolution, was accustomed
to sheer at the Holy Places as of more
than doubtful antiquity. But this spir-
it has passed away, and it is now gen.
orally recognized that the authenticity
of Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre-
the two chief sites-rests on proof
supplied by the most eXacting and sci
entific investigation. The eyangelists
themselves were careful to specify
the exact spots of all the acts in Our
Divine Lords life, as if to engage the
interest of every worshipper of the
Son of God. They tell us that the
Mount where Jesus was crucified is
that called olgotha-outside the city
gate, but not far from the we'll. There
was, besides, in this place, a garden
with a new sepulchre, the property of
Joseph of Arimathea. Now, a great
number of the Jews who witnessed
the Passion were, or afterwards be-
ing Christianity they did not lose that
quality common to all Fasteners, but
which especially distinguishes the
race of Abraham, namely, fidelity to
tradition, profound generation for any
place that has witnessed the power
or the goodness of God Hence, till
the time of the Roman Emperor,
A h. IIo1,
chre and for Calvary was preserved
and fostered. So deeply had this
veneration penetrated the Christian
heart, and so notorious was it that
Christians from all parts looked to
these sacred places with profound
reverence, that the Emperor thought
he could end Christianity by pagan
izing the city of Jerusalem and the
great Christian sites it contained.
We read, therefore, in Eusebius and
in st Jerome, that he had vast ter
race raised on Golgotha, by piling on
the unequal ground heaps of earth
and rubbish. On this terrace, which
was 800 feet in length, he caused a
grove to be planted, dedicated to
Jupiter and Venus But this profana-
ton served rather to secure the Holy
Places. 1t saved them from injury,
from the wandering barbarians of the
desert, from the pillaging Persians
till their solemn invention in the
fourth century, under Constantine
and his mother, St. Helena.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
encloses these two sites within its
walls. 1t is certainly a most eXtraor.
binary construction. Both eXteriorily
and in it's interior it bears traces OF
every Christian age back to the time
when Constantine, the Roman EN-
peror, built the first Basilica on Mt
Calvary to honor the most marvellous
place in the world" as he wrote to
the then Bishop of Jerusalem. II
recalls to memory st. Helena; il
brings thoughts of the devastating
Persians; it shows the influences OF
the early Caliphs; it speaks eloquent
ly of the devotion of the Crusaders
and it shows, too, a contrast, in part
at least, between the delicate, grace
full taste of northern Catholic archi
tects, and the heavy, smothering
; ugly masonry of Greek designing. The
interior Of the Basilica is very Devil
dering, and withal enchanting. II
strikes one as a barbaric castle oil
magic combinations, with innumer
able caves of Aladdin It's lamps oil
silver and gold, it's glittering jewels
tic. OLE CT &c
lences and more mysterious echoes
its marvellous fabrics that shine
: softly around great pictures, it's mar
bles, bronzes, gilded ironwork, its
painted faces of saints, virgins and
: prophets, all combine to produce ar
: effect like that of magic. The visitor
: is spellbound, unable to take in at q
glance the astonishing richness and
the apparently hopeless confusion Of
this gorgeous building.
Besides Golgotha and the Holy Sep
ulchre, other venerable sites connect
ed with the Passion of Christ are
preserved within the precincts of this
building; but they cannot be said to
have the same authenticity as those
we have spoken of above. They mum
Der in all about 70, and between &c
and 80 are commemorated in specia
chapels. For instance, not far from
the entrance there is a venerable
: relic, known as "the Stone of Unc
ton" 1t is a rectangular piece Of
, polished red stone of the country
| placed almost on a level with the
ground, on which, tradition says, the
lifeless Body of Christ was laid wher
!, it was being hastily embalmed an(
| anointed with sweet spices of Nico
| demus before being laid in the
| Sepulchre Beyond this, some 40 fee
t to the left, is circular stone, sur
; mounted by an iron cage, which mark:
the place where the three Marys wit
J messed the death of Our Lord. The1
/ we go on to the Rotunda, in the cen
, ter of which rises the glorious
Sepulchre of Christ. Other vel
{ known chapels within the Basilic;
) are the Church of the Holy Cross,
which commentaries the spot where
the true Cross was found by st
Helena; the Church of Adam, tn,
Chapel of ST. Longinus, and that o
"the Division of Garments" ant