People of the New Testament (I) is the third volume of the long-awaited "New Light on the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich" series. It begins with the visionary's account of St. Joseph and an extraordinarily detailed account of the Three Kings, and moves on then to John the Baptist and his parents Elizabeth and Zechariah (and their Essene ancestry). There follow compilations on the lives of the apostles Andrew, Simon Peter, James the Greater, and John of Zebedee, including extensive episodes from the travels and missions of all four in the years after the Passion. In some cases these stories corroborate traditional accounts of the apostolic journeys; in others, they offer new perspectives into the earliest formation of the Christian Church.
Anne Catherine Emmerich was born on September 8, 1774, at Flamske, Germany. From early childhood she was blessed with the gift of spiritual sight and lived almost constantly in inner vision of scenes of the Old and New Testaments. Later, her visions became concerned primarily with the life of Jesus Christ, although they encompassed also the lives of many saints and other personages (some unknown to history) as well as far-reaching insights into many other mysteries. In 2004 she was beatified by Pope John Paul II.
This series supplements an earlier Angelico publication: The Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, Books I-III. In 2009 the original notes of Anne Catherine's visions (in 38 notebooks) became for the first time available for reference, and the present series incorporates much new material translated therefrom. With regard to both individuals and themes, every reference thus far located in the notes and in prior translations have been woven together, so the reader can find in one place almost all of what Anne Catherine had to say on each topic.
As regards the series as a whole, virtually every individual in the biblical visions (approximately 250 in total) is referenced in the five People of the New Testament volumes. The Life of the Virgin Mary is dedicated to Mary (and her Essene ancestry), and Scenes from the Lives of the Saints treats of fifty-nine saints. The present volume forms a set with Mysteries of the Old Testament and two further volumes cover a multitude of separate themes: Inner Life and Worlds of Soul & Spirit and Spiritual Works and Journeys. The final volume is The Life of Anne Catherine Emmerich.
