Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, a.k.a. Paracelsus.
A 1927 reproduction of an etching by A. Hirschvogel, 1538. In the collections of the Welcome Trust.

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Today’s sharing from the Blue House of Via-HYGEIA, is the second part of our Little Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim Sampler-also known as Paracelsus-with new extracts from ‘The Gospel of a Wandering Doctor‘, edited and translated from the original German by Lucien Braun for Editions Arfuyen in 1991 (there will be a second re-edition in 1996 and a third in 2015). English translation by Via-HYGEIA from the French edition. From pages 30, 48 and 66.

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I-To My Accusers

You accuse me daily; you blame me that, sometimes, in taverns and inns, I have condemn as useless church attendance, ceremonies, alms, offerings and tithe, confession and other practices established and required by the priests. You have interpreted these words as those of a drunkard…And you called me a phony preacher.

To be honest, I don’t believe in you; I have faith in Christ. And it is true, I have said to those who came to listen to me: Beware of false prophets, of impostors, all sent by Satan. You pretend that I am just a peasant preacher, a lay man. What I say of Christ and His Teaching is enough to disconcert my accusers too.

But, if my listeners do listen and follow me, it is because the Spirit is in them and allows them to recognize your lies; because, what I say, I did not invent; I only preach the Gospel, The New Testament is the dwelling of the Truth, but you prefer to stick to the Old one; if it would have been perfect and just, Christ would not have needed to renew it.

But, we are only against the devil and his teaching; and not against yourself; are we not, you and me, brothers? If you would follow God’s edicts, there will be no hostility between you and me.

Try, consequently to be God’s children, because the true brotherhood is not according to the blood, but according to faith. The brothers according to blood die; brothers in faith will not experience death.

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(A Via Hygeia note: This attitude towards his fierce opponents reminds us of Jacob Boehme’s similar attitude:

On Christian Tolerance

43. ‘I have no controversy with the Children of God, by reason of the variety, and diversity of their gifts; I can reconcile them all in myself [I can make a good construction, and understanding of them to myself] I only bring them to the Center; and there I have the proof, and touchstone of all things. Now then if you will imitate and follow me, then you shall find it to be my experience; and afterward perhaps better understand what I have written.’

44. ‘A real true Christian hath no controversy or contention with anybody, for in the resignation in Christ, he dyeth from all controversy and strife; he asketh no more after the way of God, but wholly surrenders to the Mother; namely, unto the spirit of Christ; and whatsoever it doth with him it is all one to him; be it prosperity or adversity in this world, life or death; it is all alike unto him; no adversity or calamity reacheth the new man, but only the old man of this world; with the same the world may doe what it pleaseth, it belongeth unto the world, but the new man belongeth to God.’

Extracted from: ‘The Epistles of Jacob Behmen’, London, 1649, first English edition, printed by M. Simmons for Gyles Calvert, translated out of the German by John Ellistone, The second Epistle, paragraph 43 and 44).

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II-Of the True Church

It is useless to attend churches daily, to do genuflections, to prostrate oneself, to bring offerings. It is to bother for nothing. It is fruitless.

Church in Latin is written Catholica, meaning a communion in spirit; it represents the place of gathering of the believers; but it is a place according to the Spirit, because the Fides Catholica is not tied to a designable place. Ecclesia, which is a translation from the Greek, ἐκκλησία (Ekklesia), meaning a visible church with walls and made of stones. And as the true church of the believers and of the Saints is animated by the Spirit, walls don’t give faith nor shelter it.

True attendance consists in partaking to the Catholic Spirit, which is the church of the believers and of the Saints; because the Spirit is not contained in the ecclesia but only in the Catholica. It is from the Catholic church and not the ecclesial church that comes to us the grace of reaching blissful life.

The person who confesses to the church according to the Spirit receives the grace that grants deep in his heart true contrition and true repentance. Without an authentic contrition, no  confession is valid. Authentic repentance can be obtained only in the church of the Saints. The Saints were sacrificed in that church in which they were bestowed of the grace of faith; they weren’t skeptical, on the contrary, they were strong and perfect in their faith according to the Spirit.

It is true contrition that cleanses sin, not the external gestures of penance-because in sin, God is offended, and consequently, only Him alone can forgive.

There is nothing upon this Earth than can secure you a place in Heaven; only authentic contrition can save us; and it is given as a grace by the Spirit.

Daily attendance does not provide the spirit of the Catholica. The prebendaries of the church of stone have hidden to the simple people what is true contrition. They make them hope for salvation by asking them to give offerings, confessions. penances and other practices.

But, light must shine before the people, and not upon altars and images.

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III-Of The Useless Pump

The path that leads to the blissful life requiers silence, not noise; what leads to the blissful life must proceed from the heart and not imposed from the outside.

The churches of stone are richly painted and decorated, and have many ornaments and altars. But from these altars, what benefice the soul, faith and the spirit get?

Christ wants that our thoughts and our intentions are inner and not displayed in the outside, and that they do not leave us as soon as the priest takes of his ornaments.

True relics are in the heart; this is where the altar must be and not in the outside surrounded by songs and lip-service.

Blissful life does not dwell in visible things, but in the heart. It is there that the true temple has its foundations; not between walls. Ornaments are found in faith, not in the ecclesial robes. We need to chase away the devil with faith, not with our lips or hands; if you are in faith, you do not need to run, you will be heard wherever you are.

But, if your bad thoughts do not leave you alone, and you throw yourself in alms; if it does not appease you, it is because the way you use them comes from you & your interests and does not originate from your faith.

God wants that you adore Him within your faith, not through images. We ought to pray before God, not His image.

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IV-Of The Spirit Of Poverty

Blessed, and even more than blessed, is the person to whom God gave the spirit of poverty. In fact, the person who did not receive this grace may tells himself: ‘Come on, you are a rich man, you hold many goods and much gold; you partake in pleasures; you are powerful and the protege of the Emperor and the Pope’. To this, I answer: But, unfortunately, they are fake Christians, as they rule in luxury; they promulgate bad laws and they are accomplices joining together in works of injustice-and you would be the person to approve them, emulate them, follow them in the observance of these rotten laws and debauched lives? See, their lives is not Christian anymore, as it does not proceed from Christ’s teachings!

But, then, you may ask: ‘what are we to do?’ Here are some hints: If your heart is not attuned to the spirit of poverty, then you will be sad alike the young man to whom Christ told to sell his house and all of his goods and follow Him. If he would have followed Him, he would have been delivered from what was holding him back and condemns him. Because of his attachement to goods, this did not happen. This is why, blessed, and even more than blessed, is the person who received the spirit of poverty. It frees him from everything that incites theft, usury, murder and it delivers him from the pitfalls the Devil ceaselessly sows among the path.

This is why when I speak about the blessed life, I don’t address those who are attached to the material goods of this earth, but to those who are animated by the spirit of poverty, to those who are eager to live according to the One and True Justice, where everyone shares together their plights, everyone cries together and rejoice together.

I dedicate my help only to those who are eager to journey towards God, to those who wish to live already upon earth the lives they will have in the Other World. This is why they are seeking to live according to the teachings of Christ, because He is the Corner Stone…not any seldom preacher from Earth.

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V-About The Continuation Of The Apostolical Succession

There is an apostolical succession that still endures. This mission, established and regulated by God, is composed of three great epochs: The prophets, the apostles and the disciples.

The prophets only say what they are directly called by God to say. They are the Old Testament; they have foretold the avent of Christ, his teaching, his commandment, his redemption. In some sort of way, they have heralded the blessed life. They are dead and there are no more acting prophets. Their line ceased with John the Baptist; he was the last. The Old Testament ended with him, as did the rule of the blessed prophets.

After them, started the era of the apostles; they have also announced the blessed life, and taught that it can only be located in Christ. They were twelve, with some additional companions, such as Paul, Stephen, Barnabas, etc… They have preached and transmitted what Christ, the Son of God, commanded them to say and do. But, also their rule ended and they are no more.

After that, the disciples appeared, in conformity to the order established by God. It is them, who in the following ages, fulfilled the mission of the prophets in making the scriptures widely known. However, they are not prophets themselves, nor apostles, but disciples. Of course, we could call them apostles or prophets not because they genuinely would be, but because they herald the same message they did; this is why we ought to follow them faithfully, because they show us the path that leads to the blessed life in Christ, and that there are no other paths that would also lead to it. How to follow this path? They teach us. Because this mission is the highest, it is useful to make it known.

It is a great good that God bestows us in sending us, in all the epochs, messengers that teach us the path towards the blessed life. The Spirit illuminates them; this is why they speak in marvelous ways of the Kingdom of God. They speak with tongues of fire and with the ability to speak all languages and be understood by everyone.

It is through the Spirit that they are outstanding; He is the foundation of their teaching; He is also the origin of their power among us on earth: they heal the lepers, which is impossible within the usual ways of nature; and they do it super-naturally by the utterance of one word: ‘You are healed!‘ and the sick is truly healed. Likewise, through one word, they raise the dead, etc…And all produces signs; they are not proud nor  conceited; they do not accumulate wealth. When they drink a poison, no signs of harm occur; If they would be thrown into boiling waters, it does not affect them; if they would be chained, the chains would fall down and they would be freed without any human intervention. They despise the material goods of the Earth, walking without shoes, not carrying money, to show that their kingdom is not of this world. How greater would we be if we would give them a cup of water, or a slice of rye bread!

They walk upon the footprints of their master, Christ, who protects them and sustain them in their deeds and teachings. It is them we ought to listen to; it is them we ought to learn from. They are the bearers of light in this world and the salt of our hearts.

They rejoice to know that their names are inscribed within the book of life. And when the time of death comes, they will have accomplished the mission they were entrusted in; they will die blessed in God, and will enter eternal life, because they had preached peace and not their own interests.

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Source

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Coming soon

A Little Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim Sampler – Part III,  The Foreword to the ‘Great Astronomia, or the whole subtle Philosophy of the great and small world’-Extracted from : ‘Astronomia magna: oder Die gantze Philosophia sagax der grossen und kleinen Welt‘ , Frankfurt, 1571.

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