Apostle Saint John

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From Enrique Ortiz's Spanish posting:

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Following Nero's persecution of the Christians, the Church was blessed with a few years of peace. Then came Domitian, the emperor who was at first gentle and conciliatory to Christians. Then he turned suspicious and even violent. He had memebers of his family executed, and also other Patricians of Rome. In 95 A.D. his persecution of the Church was started and reached as far as Asia Minor.

Here in Ephesus the holy Apostle Saint John had been settled, and his age was nearly one hundred by now. John was the personal chaplain and protector of the Blessed Virgin; and from this place continued to illumine all of Christianity, being as Saint John Chrysostom, a Pilla r of the Universal Church. From Ephesus he communicated with the seven churches of Asia Minor, and poured the light of faith upon all the east.

John had almost abandoned hope of becoming a holy martyr. During many persecutions all his brother apostles, many mor disciples and others had given their lives for Jesus Christ. God seemed to withhold from John the holy palm of martyrdom he so desired. Weren't the words of Jesus to Peter: ''If I wish that he live on, what is it to you?''

The new persecutions now reached Ephesus in the reign of Domitian; Tertullian writing of these as Instituum Neroniaum. The venerable elder Saint John went on hoping, now with a deeper understanding of the sacrifices made by all the martyrs being called by Jesus Christ. He was prepared for the holocaust; his own immolation at last. They came for him, and took him prisoner to Rome. The Emperor wanted personally to judge him; and ordered him cast into a vat of boiling oil; as was done in the year 95, the 6th of May. This was outside the Latin Gate which led to Latium. However his body was not harmed by the boiling oil, and he stepped out of this cauldron as untouched, and even rejuvenated.

He was deported then to a Greek Isle called Patmos; where slaves worked the mines. In Nerva (the month?) 96 A.D., John, the Eagle of Patmos, heard a voice that told him: ''What thou seest write in a book, and send to the seven churches--''

Jesus Christ here revealed to John all the present and the future; who wrote it in the Book of the Apocalypse, each word of which Saint Jerome said, is ''Itself a mystery.'' After this work, john returned to Ephesus.

I hope I've done justice to Mr. Ortiz's fine Spanish version; even if I've had to resort some places to a paraphrasing. If I've made any substantial mistakes, I want him to correct them promptly, and help us to understand his sense of these words. They are ertainly inspiring to Christians of our era. Thanks, Enrique!

-- eugene c. chavez` (chavezec@pacbell.net), August 26, 2001

Answers

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-- eugene c. chavez (chavezec@pacbell.net), August 26, 2001.

It's too bad that now I see a number of omissions and some typos; making the text of this translation a bit patchy. But my PC is crashing frequently the last few days. Twice I was half-done with this writing, only to have a crash, and lose it all. Then I started back up the best I could. It was worth it to me. God bless you all who read it!

-- eugene c, chavez (Chavezec@pacbell.net), August 26, 2001.

Jmj

Gene, I am very grateful for your willingness to make that translation of Enrique's passage -- certainly a better job (and sooner) than I could have done.

I have just one correction to offer. I think that you accidentally combined two sentences near the end. The Spanish was: "Allí vive Juan hasta el advenimiento de Nerva el año 96. Allí un día "el águila de Patmos" oye una voz que le dice ..." This came out as: "In Nerva (the month?) 96 A.D., John, the Eagle of Patmos, heard a voice that told him ..."
I think that the Spanish means: "There [on Patmos] John lived until the accession of [the Roman emperor] Nerva in the year 96. There one day 'the Eagle of Patmos' heard a voice that told him ..."

I'm sorry to hear that your computer is crashing. By this do you mean that the whole machine is "locking up" -- or do you mean that you are losing your Internet connection? Maybe you need a repair (or replacement)?

Even before taking drastic/expensive action, though, I have a suggestion that you can use right now to help you not to lose your hard work and suffer so much frustration. Do not compose your replies in the forum's "Answer" box of your Internet "window," but rather in a Notepad "window." By using a Notepad file, you can use "SAVE" frequently, storing your message in a .TXT file on your hard disk. Then if you crash, you can simply re-open your .TXT file and pick up where you left off at your last SAVE. I compose almost all my medium to long messages in a .TXT file, and it has given me great peace of mind.

St. James, pray for us.
God bless you.
John

-- (jgecik@amdg.ihs), August 26, 2001.


I see, John; thanks for the tip. My computer is crashing frequently these days. I have a suspicion it's because I admitted the ''red worm'' virus some time back. It freezes altogether, so I can't even operate the on-off switch. I have to cut power to re-boot.

Yes, now I recall that name, Nerva-- I'm only superficially up on the subject of the Caesars, and might've caught that if I'd seen a context in English. I thought it might be a Jewish month!!! Isn't that a howler?

I'm not proficient in PC operation at all. Now I'll have to teach myself the notepad procedure you've told me about. It's just what I need, since I'm a slow writer. Good idea! I appreciate your kind suggestions! Ciao; your friend Gene.

-- eugene c. chavez (chavezec@pacbell.net), August 26, 2001.


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