Chapter XVII:  THE FOUNDATION OF THE ORDER OF MOUNT CARMEL.  ITS MISSION AS PRECURSOR.  OTHER ASPECTS.

                        1.  After a laborious study interpreting the Sacred Texts, as well as mystical-prophetical revelations, having consulted various works of history, we have reached the conclusion that the Order of Mount Carmel, founded by the Holy Prophet Elias, is given certain peculiar names in the various texts referred to.  For that reason, this Holy Council declares and defines that the expressions "Sons of the Prophets", "Faithful remnant of Israel", "Assidean-s" and "Machabees", found in the Sacred Texts, as well as the name "Essenes" mentioned in mystical-prophetical revelations and in works of history, indicate the members of one and the same body, that is, the first religious order, that of the Carmelites.

                        2.  Comparing the primitive Carmelite Order with that of the last times, the Carmelites of the Holy Face, which is the re-newal and culmination of the true Order of Mount Carmel, we find a sur-prising similarity in regard to their various aspects and the meaning of their various titles and missions.

                        3.  Both foundations owe their origin to a sublime ap-parition and intervention of the Most Holy Virgin Mary in two similar places, alike in that the first was on Mount Carmel and the second on the Mount of Christ the King of El Palmar de Troya.  The former has as Father and Founder the Great and Holy Prophet Elias, and the latter the present Great Prophet His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII.  Regarding the members, the name "Sons of the Prophets" is peculiar to both founda-tions, given their spiritual sonship with the founders.  The Carmelites of the Old Testament, in their different branches, formed the "faith-ful remnant" of God's People, safeguard of the true Church.  The Carme-lites of the Holy Face, also in all its branches, form the "faithful remnant" of the true Church of Christ in these last times.  Both have, as principal end, to keep alive the purity and integrity of faith and doctrine, as well as the observance of the Law.  Both have, besides, the same special mission demanded by the circumstances of two quite similar moments of history.  The former prepared the Coming of Christ in the humility of mortal flesh.  The latter prepares the Coming of Christ in the Majesty of His Glory.

                        4.  Another common feature of both founda-tions is the heroic asceticism imposed necessarily on their members, given the re-spective times of general apostasy in the two epochs.  Thus the primi-tive Carmelite Order was also called "The Essenes", whose etymological meaning is "holy men" or "religious men".  The Carmelites of the Holy Face in turn, are men who ardently aspire to the perfection of holi-ness.  Furthermore, many of its members in the future will be confirm-ed in grace.

                        5.  We conclude this comparative study of the two most glorious moments of the Carmelite Order with an examina-tion of the mi-litary character common to both foundations.  The Sacred Texts relate the deeds of several intrepid Carmelite captains, who we affirm, be-longed to the Essenes, as given in the revelations of the Holy Doctor Saint Catherine Emmerick, - and who fought bravely in defense of God and His Law.  These were the Machabees, who, like Elias, were devoured by zeal for the Lord;  "Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum": "With zeal I am zealous for the Lord God of Hosts" (3 Kings XIX: 10).  The time in which they lived was one of great apostasy, amongst the greatest of the Old Testament, when impiety, idolatry and paganization of customs threatened to extinguish the worship of the true God and the observance of the Law.  For that reason the Divine Spirit inspired the Holy Carmelite Crusade, captained by the Machabees and initiated by Mathathias, zealous Priest and hardened soldier, who, raising his powerful voice, cried out: "Every one that hath zeal for the Law, and keepeth firm the testament, let him follow me" (1 Mach. II: 27).  Responding to this sacred call to battle, there gathered the Assideans, that is, the military members of the Carmelite Order, or combat branch of the Essenes, as we interpret from this Sacred text: "Then was assembled to them the synagogue of the Assideans, the stoutest of Israel, every one zealous for the Law" (1 Mach. II: 42).  We declare that in this case the word "synagogue" has the same meaning as assembly or military organiza-tion.

                        6.  We turn now to consider the meaning and extension of the name Crossbearers, who are also called the Carmelit-es of the Holy Face.  And here we find a perfect correspondence with that of the Mach-abees, whose name means "hammer".  Like those valiant heroes, the Cross-bearers of the last times will wield their invincible sword in defense of God and His Church, until is formed a great empire for Christ and Mary, captained by their Founder and Leader, Pope Gregory XVII, direct-ly elected by God as Supreme Pontiff.

                        7.  Having studied profoundly the books of Machab-ees, we affirm and define that the Holy Priest Mathathias, to whom the Le-vitical High Priesthood did not pertain by right, was raised directly by God to that high office, which, at the time, was vacant.  This is contained implicitly in the Sacred Text of the Machabees, where it is seen that Mathathias was the spiritual and temporal leader of the Jew-ish People.  Besides, his sons, the Holy Captains Judas Machabeus, Jonathan and Simon, were High Priests with that twofold authority, like their father, whom they succeeded in the same authority.  At the death of Simon, his son John Hircanus inherited that authorit-y, and, besides being High Priest and Holy Captain, he was esteem-ed by the people as a prophet.  The name of the Machabees has also been honoured with glorious and holy martyrs, as, for example, the aged Eleazar and the Machabean mother with her seven sons, ad-mirable examples not only for the Jews but also for Christians.

                        8.  Another decisive moment in the history of Carmel  occurs in the Reform of the Order by the Mystical Doctor, Saint Teresa of Avila, who, inspired by God and possessed of the spirit and zeal of Elias, organized a new Crusade, the Carmelite Reform.  The time in which Saint Teresa of Jesus lived was also one of great apostasy and relaxed customs, aggravated besides by the Lutheran reform, which shook the foundations of the Church and greatly weakened monastic and religious life in general.  Thanks to that valiant fighting woman, the Carmelite Order was saved and religious life was restored on Mount Carmel with the old observan-ce, a mission accomplished by another Spaniard, Father Prosper of the Holy Ghost.

                        9.  The Order of Mount Carmel took long in developing its organization.  It was already formed in ancient times by members who lived in community, which is religious life in its proper sense, -- and by lay members, in the manner of our third order, while others lived as hermits.  The Sacred Texts give us two principal moments in the Foundation of the Order.  The first is the religious vocation of the Prophet Elias, found in the third Book of Kings in chapter XVII.  The second is the apparition of the Virgin on Mount Carmel.  Let us see the text mentioned: "And the word of the Lord came to him, saying:Get thee hence, and go towards the east and hide thyself by the tor-rent of Carith, which is over against the Jordan...  So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord: and having withdrawn, he dwelt by the torrent Carith, which is over against the Jordan" (3 Kings XVII: 2-3, 5).  At the call of God, the Holy Prophet Elias abandons all, including his own will, in order to live by divine providence in the service of God.  Like Elias, the other Founders of the various religious orders have passed by this initial phase of abandonment to God, each with his own characteristics and in the manner corresponding to a par-ticular moment of history.

                        10.  Elias remained for nine months in his desert solitude, according to the explicit account of Saint Catherine Emmerick.  There, according to our  interpretation, he prepared himself with great austerity for his enormous mission.  He was fed with "bread and flesh" brought by the ravens, as the Bible relates.  (3 Kings XVII: 6).  When this period ends, the Lord again puts the obedie-nce of Elias to the test.  The Sacred Book of Kings tells us that God ordered him to Sarephta, to live at the home of a widow, mother of the Prophet Jonas, and to live at her expense.  There he accomplished a special mission; where, according to the Holy Doctor Saint Catherine Emmerick, the Prophet re-mained for two years and three months.

                        11.  This Holy Council affirms the truth of these facts, basing itself on the interpretation of the Sacred Texts, given that chapter XVIII, verse 1 of the third Book of Kings states that the two episodes mentioned above in the life of the Prophet took place within a period of three years.  At the end of which, Elias is ordered by God to undertake the riskful mission of confronting the impious king Achab and the 450  priests and prophets of Baal.

                        12.  The Sacred Texts give us to understand that, of the many prophets of the Lord who lived at the time of Elias during Achab's reign and the persecution of Jezabel, some were martyred and others apostatized.  Of the former Elias speaks in verse 14 of chapter XIX of the third Book of Kings, saying: "They have put thy prophets to the sword".  Jeremias in chapter II verse 8 of his Book shows us the apostasy of many of the Lord's prophets: "And the prophets prophesied in Baal and followed idols".  Both facts are understood from verse 22 of chapter XVIII of the third Book of Kings: "And Elias said again to the people: I alone remain a prophet of the Lord, but the prophets of Baal are 450 men".  From which is deduced that, if the prophets who apos-tatized had remained faithful, they would have joined Elias in de-fense of the truth and so would have merited to be among the first members of the Order of Mount Carmel, which the Holy Prophet Elias founded shortly afterwards by order of the Most Holy Virgin Mary in Her exalted apparition, of which we shall speak later on.

                        13.  Recently, in these apocalyptic times, there has been a repetition of that ancient historical moment of defection and paganism in the massive apostasy of the Roman Church and the deviations of the majority of the prophets and seers, only to offer their worship to Baal, personified in the two antipopes, John Paul I and John Paul II.  Like Elias, the present Pope Gregory XVII, the great Prophet of the last times, stood his ground and asserted the truth of his prophecies before the apostate Bishops and Priests of the Roman Church, which la-ter, as Supreme Pontiff, he anathematized.

                        14.  An event of transcendental significance in the life of the Holy Prophet Elias is the sacrifice he offered on Mount Carmel to prove that the God he invoked is the true God, and to unmask, for the people, the falseness of the god Baal and the idolatry of the 450 prophets who invoked him, who were slain by Elias at the torrent Cison.  Very impressive is the preparation by Elias of the altar of sa-crifice, his complete confidence in God's assistance and divine intervention.  For the Fire of the Lord came down  from heaven and devoured the holocaust, the wood and the altar in the presence of all the people (3 Kings XVIII).

                        15.  This mission terminated, the Prophet Elias "went up to the top of Carmel and casting himself down upon the earth, put his face between his knees" (3 Kings XVIII: 42).  We interpret and define that this was the moment when the Most Holy Virgin Mary appeared to him and gave him instructions about the Foundation of the Order of Mount Carmel.  In the course of this sublime vision, Elias orders his servant to go up to a higher point of the Mountain and look toward the sea.  Thus seven times.  With which, we interpret, that Elias wished to give him proof of the super-natural quality of the event, showing him a little cloud.  In effect the servant of the Prophet  "saw a little cloud like a man's footprint, that rose out of the sea"  (3 Kings XVIII: 43-44).  We declare that at this moment above the cloud, the Divine Lady rises heavenwards and disappears.  Continuing our interpretation of the Sacred Text of the third Book of Kings, we affirm that the two final verses of chapter XVIII show us that in the same instant the Virgin went up (verse 45) there fell a great rain, symbolizing the superabundant graces and bless-ings which the Most Holy Virgin would pour out over mankind through the Carmelite Order.  Verse 46 expresses the vehement joy that overwhelmed the soul of the Holy Prophet Elias at the vision of the Exalted Lady.

                        16.  His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII, in Document 44, also speaks of the little cloud mentioned in the Sacred Text, upon which stood the figure of the Virgin Mary in white tunic and blue mantle.

                        17.  This Holy Council affirms and defines that the ma-jestic apparition of the Mother of God to the Holy Prophet Elias on Mount Carmel, was Her Divine and Most Holy Soul manifesting the glory of Her future bodily nature.

                        18.  The Holy Doctor Catherine Emmerick gives us a very beautiful account of that event, and speaks of the great mysteries that were revealed to the Holy Prophet Elias concerning the privileges of our Divine Lady and those of the Carmelite Order, from which Order She would be born, and, consequently, Our Lord Jesus Christ, since their forefathers belonged to that religious family.

                        19.  Before the founding of the Carmelite Order, there were already men living on Mount Carmel dedicated to prayer and pen-ance, followers of the Prophet Elias, who often frequented the Holy Mountain.  Later on others came to follow him on account of the prestige the Prophet acquired through his triumph over the 450 pro-phets of Baal, these latter called in the Greek text, "prophets of shame" for the depravity of their customs and rites.  The Sacred Text refers to the followers of Elias in speaking of "seven thousand men who have not bent their knees before Baal" (3 Kings XIX: 18).

                        20.  After the apparition of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the Prophet Elias, Father and Founder of the Order, imposed the first rules for religious life upon the first community of Carmelites, whose members lived as hermits, imbuing them with "his spirit of prayer, penance and devotion to the Virgin Mother of God to come" (Palmarian Creed).

                        21.  Following the chronological order in the Holy Bible, we proceed now to treat and interpret the journey of the Holy Prophet to Mount Sinai.  We shall emphasize the profound symbolism and importance of the various aspects and supernatural occurrences found in chapter XIX of the third Book of Kings.  Verse 4 shows us the bitter-ness and desolation of Elias at the cruel persecution of the impious Jezabel, and besides, according to our interpretation, at the hard-ness of heart of the greater  part of his people, who did not respond to grace despite the great signs and wonders that God dis-played through the Prophet at the sacrifice against the priests of Baal.  The Sacred Text tells us that Elias fell deeply asleep and that an Angel of the Lord twice wakened him and ordered him to eat and drink.  Stren-gth regained, he walked forty days and forty nights to Mount Horeb, called Sinai by the Egyptians, and abode in the same cave where God appeared to Moses.  Verses 11 and 12 of the text mentioned give us a likeness, though with less richness of description, of the marvels that occurred on the Mountain during the promulga-tion of the Law in the days of Moses.  Let us see the words the Lord speaks to Elias: "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before the Lord over-throwing the moun-tains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: the Lord is not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake: the Lord is not in the earth-quake.  And after the earthquake a fire:the Lord is not in the fire, and after the fire the rustle of a gentle breeze" (3 Kings XIX, 11-12).  Reflecting on the meaning of these expressive words, we find mysteri-ously symbolized important aspects of the mission of the Carmelite Order, as also the austere spirit and the Marianism that always have been characteristic of it.  Both verses present a general view of the precursory mission of the Order of Mount Carmel, which, in the Old Testament, prepared the Coming of the Messias; and now, in these last times, the Second Coming of Christ, mission entrusted to the Carmelites of the Holy Face.

                        22.  This Holy Council interprets and defines the meaning of those various manifestations.  The "great and strong wind overthrowing the mountains and breaking the stones in pieces" symbo-lizes the spirit of austerity, penance and prayer which has always in great measure distinguished the Carmelite Order and which attained its greatest intensity in the two precur-sory periods.  Comparing this text with that of Isaias, referring to the precursory mission of Saint John the Baptist, one finds the same meaning: "Every valley shall be exalt-ed, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight" (Is. XL: 4).  The expression "earthquake" means, in general, the implacable zeal of the Carmelite Order in defence of the rights of God, of doctrinal integrity, of the observance of the law and, in a particular manner, the manifestation of the Righteous Wrath of God through the great Carmelite personages like Saint Elias, Saint Eliseus, Saint John the Baptist and His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII.  In a certain sense the expression refers as well to the great reformer of Carmel, Saint Teresa of Avila, who, like the former, was full of the "Spirit of Elias".  The word "fire" symbolizes the living flame of divine love, the ecstatic vehemence of the Carmelite mystic, Teresa, unrivalled in grandeur and exquisite sensibility.

                        23.  We end our examination of the passage with the inter-pretation of the final phrase of verse 12 of chapter XIX of  the third Book of Kings: "And after the fire the rustle of a gentle breeze.", which indicates the Most Holy Virgin Mary, and of which we proceed to expose the various meanings.  In general the phrase symbolizes the pre-cursory mission of the Mother of God through the Order of Carmel, and the very special protec-tion and predilection for the Order as well as the singularly eminent Marian spirit that has always distinguished it.  In regard to the Coming of the Messias, it signifies the exquisite aro-ma of the sublime virtues of Mary, who was prepared and enriched by the Most High to be the worthy Mother of God.  If we contrast this quality of Mary with the manifestations of "wind", "earthquake" and "fire", in-terpreted above, and concerning which the Sacred Text tells us that the Lord comes after them and not in them, we clearly see that the ex-pression "the rustle of a gentle breeze" does not imply the same, but rather gives us to understand that the Lord dwells in this final mys-terious symbol; which signifies the Incarnation of the Word in the Most Pure Womb of the Virgin Mary.  Also, in regard to the Second Com-ing of Christ, the phrase proclaims the grandiose apparition of the Most Holy Virgin Mary at El Palmar de Troya as Celestial Precursora of the Return of Her Divine Son.  Another sublime meaning enclosed in the phrase, "the rustle of a gentle breeze", is the activity of the Divine Soul of Mary, Temple and Sanctuary of the Most Holy Trinity, through-out the whole of the Old Testament.

                        24.  Let us fix our attention on verse 13 of the bib-lical passage mentioned: "And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle".  On other occasions, the Sacred Texts also mention the mantle which the man of God wore, and with which he covered Eliseus when he anointed him Prophet (3 Kings XIX: 19) and left it with him as distinctive mark and protection when he was translated to the Planet of Mary.  Both Prophets performed great miracles with the mantle.  This Holy Council affirms and defines, in the light of the Holy Ghost, that the mantle of Elias, of which the Sacred Texts speak, he received from the hands of the Most Holy Virgin Nary at Her exalted apparition on Mount Carmel; for Our Divine Lady, when She took leave, let it fall upon the Holy Founder, signifying thus Her protection of the Order of Her predilection and its permanent fidelity until the Return of Christ.  In accord with Carmelite tradition, we affirm that the Sacred Mantle was cream coloured, and that it was the first garment that distinguish-ed the religious of Mount Carmel.  Imitat-ing the Virgin Mary, the Foun-der of the Order let the Mantle fall on the Prophet Eliseus from the chariot that carried him on high.

                        25.  In the following we shall take up the theme of the special rites practiced by the Essenes or religious of Mount Carmel.  After a profound study of the various sources mentioned in the begin-ning of this chapter, we find certain facts that show the existence of those special rites.  The Sacred Scriptures mentions the episode where Elias is fed with bread and drink and is filled with extraordinary strength.  Also the episode where Eliseus is presented bread which he orders to be  distributed for the people to eat, and which is mira-culously multiplied.  The Holy Doctor Catherine Emmerick mentions that in the Essenian rites there were no bloody sacrifices.  And, besides, she presents us a rite or sacrifice offered by Saint John the Baptist, when that Holy Prophet presided at a general assembly of the Essenes.  Historical works tell us of the "Essenian banquets of bread and wine", informa-tion based on the findings at Qumran near the Dead Sea, where very ancient manuscripts pertaining to the Essenes have been found.

                        26.  His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII, in Document 44, says that Elias offered sacrifices on Mount Carmel, Duly interpreting, we affirm that those sacrifices were not bloody, since the law of Mo-ses prohibited them outside the place appointed for them, which, at the time of Elias, was the Temple of Jerusalem, and, before the con-struction of the Temple, in the place where was found the Sanctuary with the Ark of the Covenant.  For particular reasons, there were a few exceptions, as in the case of Manue, of Samuel, of David, etc., always as commanded or inspired by God.  One of these is the sacrifice of Elias against the priests of Baal, whose purpose was to reveal, in an extraordinary perceptible manner, their deceit.  Besides the case mentioned, the holy Prophet did not offer any bloody sacrifice, as he was zealous in fulfilling the law.  We declare also that the slaughter-ing of the yoke of oxen by the Prophet Elseus was not for a sacrifice but for a banquet of farewell to the people.  (3 Kings XIX: 21).  We take the occasion to define the presanctification of Eliseus in his mother's womb in the eighth month of his conception.

                        27.  Having examined all the texts mentioned, we de-duce that there existed among the Carmelite religious, or Essenes, a form of priesthood conferred upon the superiors and other members of the various communities found throughout the Holy Land and abroad as well.  The Superior General had his seat on Mount Carmel.  This Priest-hood, proper and exclusive to the Carmelite communities, performed as worship certain peculiar rites consisting of sacrifices of bread and wine.  Those participating in these rites ate the blessed bread and re-ceived special grace and benediction.  Only the Priest was authorized, besides eating the bread, to drink the wine.  The reason for this pri-vilege granted the Carmelite communities, is based on the precursory mission entrusted to them, which, as previously mentioned, was to pre-pare for the Birth of the Messias.  In this manner they prefigured the Priesthood and the unbloody Sacrifice of the New Law, while the Levi-tical sacrifice prefigured the bloody Sacrifice of Calvary.

                        28.  In the light of the Holy Ghost this Holy Council declares and defines that the Priesthood proper to the Essenes did not have internal character like the the true Priesthood according to the or-der of Melchisedech.  It bore no relationship to the Levitical priest-hood, although there was this similarity, that in their essence, there was the same prefigurative value, limitation in grace, and extinction in the  Priest's death.  The Essenian Priesthood was superior to the Le-vitical for reason of its prodigious institution and the sublimity of celibacy as well as for the dignity of the sacrifice and its matter.  This form of priesthood, with corresponding sacrifice, was abolished at the Last Supper of the Lord when He instituted the Sacrifice and Priesthood of the New Law.

                        29.  We also affirm and define that the Holy Prophet Elias received his Priesthood through the Divine Virgin Mary at Her apparition on Mount Carmel, and that he later trans-mitted it to his disciple and successor, the Holy Prophet Eliseus.  It then passed in succession to the superiors of the Essenes and other religious mem-bers.  This Holy Council calls the priestly ministry proper to the Essenes by the name, Elian Priesthood.

                        30.  The Prophet Eliseus received from his Master and Founder this special priesthood at the moment when Elias was carried away in the chariot of fire.  We affirm and define that Eliseus' peti-tion to the Master to grant him his double spirit before departing, refers to the priesthood, since he already had the prophetic spirit since being anointed prophet.  We fix our attention on the condition that Elias placed for Eliseus to receive priestly dignity.  That con-dition was for Eliseus to be present at the moment of Elias' elevation, and also to see him go up.  From which we conclude and affirm that the transmission of the Elian Priesthood required the special ceremony of investing the candidate with the Mantle of Elias.  Later on, the Holy Prophet Elias recovered the Mantle shortly before being ordained Priest and consecrated Bishop according to the Order of Melchised-ech by Saint Peter at the Cenacle, and he took it with him to the Planet of Mary.

                        31.  We proceed now to interpret verses 7 and 8 of chapter XIX of the third Book of Kings, where, implicitly, there ap-pears the first sacrifice of bread and wine offered by Elias as com-manded by the Most Divine Soul of Christ, who is the Angel of the Lord mentioned in the Sacred Text: "And the Angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eat:for thou hast yet a great way to go.  (v. 7)  And he arose, and ate, and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb" (v. 8).  We interpret that what Elias drank, according to v.  8, was wine.  The expression, "in the strength of that food", indi-cates the virtue or special grace of the bread and wine blessed in the Essenian Sacrifice, striking figures of the Eucha-rist.  We make clear that the extraordinary strength Elias received in order to walk forty days and forty nights, was a most particular grace granted exclusively to him for that mission, besides representing and manifesting the ordinary virtue or grace of the blessed bread and wine.  The meaning is quite different in verses 5 and 6 of the same chapter of the third Book of Kings, which we transcribe for greater comprehen-sion: "And he cast himself down, and he slept in the shadow of the ju-niper tree:and behold an Angel of the Lord touched him,  and said to him:Arise, eat (v. 5).  He looked, and behold there was at his head a bread baked in the hearth, and a vessel of water:and he ate and drank, and he fell asleep again (v. 6)".  Given our interpretation we see clearly that this was an ordinary meal, consisting of bread and a vessel of water, which only served that occasion.  The expression, "he fell asleep again", shows and proves that the first meal did not give strength as did the second.  Besides, reflecting on the distinctive details of the verses under consideration, 5, 6, 7 and 8, we perceive the contrast of posture in the first meal with that of the second.  Verse 6, duly interpreted, does not say that the Prophet Elias rose in order to eat, though he had been told to do so according to verse 5, but he rather ate and drank half reclining.  This is shown also by the place at his head of the hearth cake and the vessel of water.  Thus he could take the food by adjusting slight-ly his position.  But verse 8 says literally that the Prophet rose, ate and drank, which, in the light of our in-terpretation, shows that something extraordinary in relation to his first Essenian sacrifice was seen and heard by the Prophet.  We make clear why according to verse 6, the Lord gave him a vessel of water, not of wine.  He thus showed Elias the obligation of fulfilling the precept imposed on the Levitical priest not to drink wine during a certain time before sacrificing.  For that reason, the precept of the Mosaic Law was also binding for the Essenian Priests.  In the light of the Holy Ghost, we declare and define the truth of what is here pre-sented through our interpreta-tion of the verses mentioned.

                        32.  Profoundly symbolic is the pilgrimage of Elias to Mount Horeb, expressing the complete subordination of the Elian Priest-hood to the Mosaic Law, though with the express prohibition of offering bloody sacrifice, that being the exclusive right of the Levitical Priesthood.  We mention besides that both Priesthoods were mutually in-compatible in one and the same person, since each had its proper sacri-fice.  The Levitical Priests, with their bloody sacrifices, had to offer in the temple other matter as well, bread, wine, libations, etc., but these rites had nothing to do with the Essenian rite.

                        33.  The office of Superior General of the Essenes or religious of Mount Carmel, besides the priesthood, required the dignity of prophet.  For that reason, Eliseus, who was already a prophet, peti-tioned Elias for the Priesthood, since that pertained to him as Elias' successor, office he assumed as appears in the second chapter of the fourth Book of Kings (v. 15).  After a profound biblical study and due interpretation, we conclude by affirming that, at the death of the Pro-phet Eliseus, there succeeded him in the office the Prophet Abdias, who previously was steward in the house of the king Achab and had direct contact with Elias.  Besides he greatly favoured the Prophets of the Lord, who were persecuted by Jezabel, figure of the Antimary.  At the death of the Prophet Abdias, there succeeded him the Prophet Jonas, whom, as a child, Elias had  raised from the dead when Elias lived in the widow's house in Sarepta for two years and three months.  The of-fice was also held by Isaias and Jeremias, who, according to Saint Catherine Emmeric-k, enriched Carmelite religious life with the addi-tion of certain rules.  In respect to Isaias, he held the office when he already was a widower.  The same Holy Doctor also mentions that at the time of the grandpar-ents of Saint Anne, Mother of the Virgin Mary, the Superior General of the Essenian religious was the Holy Prophet Archos, who held the office for ninety years.  From the same revelations we deduce that the Prophet Saint John the Baptist was the last Superior General of the Essenians of the Old Testa-ment.  This we affirm and define.

                        34.  This Holy Council affirms that the four Major Pro-phets and the twelve Minor Prophets belonged to Mount Carmel and that some of them occupied the office of superior.  We define also that the Superior Generals of the Essenes were not subject to the authority of the Levitical High Priest, but, given their dignity of Prophet, they were superior to him.  The authori-ty of the Levitical High Priest was limited to the Temple and, besides, was exercised over the Levitical Priests assigned to the performance of official rites.  The dignity of Prophet implied authority over all, given the character of mediator between God and His people.  Sacred Scripture shows us the Prophet Moses superior to the High Priest Aaron, - also true in the case of Josue.  The Priests of Aaron could belong to the Order of Mount Carmel, how-ever without authority to exercise there their sacerdo-tal ministery, since they could only minister in the Temple.

                        35.  With respect to the Machabees, we affirm and de-fine that their Holy Captains were taken from among the Essenes by di-vine inspira-tion, without their ceasing to belong to them, in order to fill the high offices of temporal chiefs and Levitical High Priests, in order thus to exterminate paganism, idolatry and the corrupted cus-toms of God's people, given the great apostasy of the time.

                        36.  The members of the Carmelite Order were distin-guished for fidelity in observing the Mosaic Law, as well as for love and respect for the Temple of Jerusalem.  The Holy Doctor Catheri-ne Em-merick in her revelations mentions the scrupulous preparation of the Essenes when they were to go to the Temple: "Before leaving for the Temple, they prepared with prayer, strict fast, dis-ciplines and other penances".  The Holy Doctor tells us that they went to the Temple three times a year, that they brought with them valuable presents and that they also had there a place reserved for them.

                        37.  We mention the nomad tribes called Rechabites of whom the Bible speaks (Jer. XXXV), to say, that, although they followed certain rules of religious type, they had nothing to do with the Essenes since they lacked the character of a religious Order.  Besides, they be-longed all to a single family by blood,  without which requirement one could not belong to their tribe.  With regard to the Nazarites, although these were consecrated to God, some living in common, they lacked the essen-tial of religious life, for example, permanence, since the Naza-rite vow was temporary and when the time ended the vow ceased, and be-sides celibacy was not required.  Once we have given the doctri-ne that there were various communities independent of the Essenes, we affirm that some members of those groups joined the Order of Mount Carmel in one or other of its branches.

                        38.  The mystical Doctor Saint Catherine Emmerick in her revelations, gives us some highly interesting details of the life of the Essenes, which illustrate our doctrine.  Here is a beautiful pas-sage: "Those who remained celibate formed a group apart, a spiritual order, and were tested for several years before being admitted.  The celibate Essenes were of an in-describable purity and piety.  They wore long white garments, which they kept perfectly clean".  In another pas-sage she speaks of the austerity and poverty of the religious habit of the Essene-s.  Referring to those who were married, she says: "The Essen-es who lived in matrimony observed great strictness, they, their wives and children.  These had the same relation to the religious Essenes that tertiaries have to their Order".

                        39.  Regarding the location of the various Essene com-munities, the Sacred Books of Kings mention the prompt expan-sion of the Carmelite Order, which, with permanent seat on Mount Carmel, set up communities in various places.  Chapter II of the fourth Book of Kings, gives us inequivocal proof of this.  Verse 3 says: "The sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him:Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he answered:I also know it:hold your peace".  Which proves that there was a resident community at Bethel.  Verse 5 offers proof of an Essenian community at Jericho: "The sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Eliseus, and said to him:Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he said:I also know it:hold your peace".  Verses 6 and 7 mention howbeit implicitly, the existence of another community on the banks of the ri-ver Jordan.  This we affirm on the basis of the revelation of Saint Catherine Emmerick, who speaks as well of other communities in Egypt and Cyprus.  The fourth Book of Kings also shows the existence of other communities in Galgal: "And Eliseus returned to Galgal, and there was a famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets dwelt with him.  And he said to one of his servants:Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets" (4 Kings IV: 38).

                        40.  After examining other parts of the revelations of the Holy Doctor Catherine Emmerick, we affirm and define that, before the destruc-tion of the Temple, at the beginn-ing of the Babylonian cap-tivity, the Most Holy Prophet Malachias transferred the Sacrament, or Triple Benediction to the Cave of Elias on Mount Carmel.  There it re-mained until the Temple of Jerusalem had been rebuilt, when it was a-gain brought to the Temple by the Holy Prophet Aggeus, Levitical Priest, but, like  all the Prophets, member of the Essenes.  In the light of the Holy Ghost we affirm that Aggeus put the Holy Mystery in the hands of the High Priest Josue, who thus was sanctified.  Josue placed the Tri-ple Benediction in the New Ark of the Covenant, which occupied the central place of the Holy of Hollies in the Temple.

                        41.  We mention the error in the revelation of the same Holy Doctor where she places on Mount Horeb the wonders of Mount Carmel.  One is to understand that when she speaks of Mount Horeb, mak-ing it the seat of the Essenes, the place of the Cave of Elias and of the deposition of the Triple Benediction, she is actually speaking of Mount Carmel.  Besides her description of the landscape is proper to that of Mount Carmel and not to that of Mount Horeb.  The latter, since remote antiquity is pure desert, rocky and with hardly any vegetation.

                        42.  As the same Holy Doctor relates, the Holy Family frequently visited the Cave of Elias on Mount Carmel in order to pray there, and this we affirm and define.  We conclude this chapter by af-firming that many ancestors of the Lord's family belonged to the Essenes.

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