For translation use subtitles by buttton ‘CC’ and Settings to change language. Voice: Late Father Elias Leyds c.s.j. (1958-2024)
Who are the 12 witnesses of the cross, who shaped the beginning of the church?
9 april 2020 – Pater Elias Leyds c.s.j. (1958-2024) reflects in the holy week on the Apocalypse
The other 12 were received by Our Lady as offspring of the Heavenly Father and gendered through God’s word become flesh, first fruits of our Lord’s sacrifice
1-2 The chief executioner and the condemned robber signify the perpetual struggle that now comes to an end, between order and chaos, between tyranny and rebellion, they converge as law and prophecy into one return to the father, whose truth makes us free.
3-5 Gad, Aser and Naphtali are sons of handmaids and their names indicate the three women present. Mary Magdalena and Mary of Cleophas standing at the foot of the cross, while Salami mother of John watches from afar. These three women… represent the dignity of womanhood in the church, the wisdom of being spouse, mother… and guardian’ of living tradition.
6 Manasseh is son of Joseph by an Egyptian mother, but he has been accepted into the patriarchy’s by Jacob his grandfather. Here Universal openness meets unique predilection.
Therefore the name Manasseh indicates the Beloved Disciple John. He is entrusted to our lady because both know the secrets of the Lord, that emanate from the Lord’s pierced heart and reach the ends of the world.
7-10 Simeon Levi Isachar and Zebulon… are the other four sons of Leah and their names indicate the four soldiers. They signify all souls committed to the common history of man, they have to gain, keep and defend order… in the realms that divine providence has entrusted to them. In their Dominion the church will arrive and preach the gospel.
Then they can change obedience, for beyond obeying commands of worldly masters,
they can obey the Word of God. Thus … they can step from divine providence, into the light of divine grace and cross human frontiers, not to conquer but to win souls for eternal life.
11-12 Joseph and Benjamin are the beloved sons for they were born to the beloved spouse Rachel, their names indicate Joseph and Nicodemus, who showed their allegiance to Jesus in hours of darkness. After the death of Jesus they arranged for his burial, before nightfall.
Listen to some of the many insightful comments Father Elias gave (See the video or the transcript for the full text)
“The 12 are united into one mystical body.”
“These three women represent the dignity of womanhood in the church, the wisdom of being spouse, mother, and guardian of living tradition.”
“They have to gain, keep, and defend order in the realms that divine Providence has entrusted to them.”
“Thus they can step from divine providence into the light of divine grace and cross human frontiers not to conquer, but to win souls for eternal life.”
“These 12 constitute the church at its beginning.”
“This was the embryo that was to be born at Pentecost.”
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Update April 16th 2025
Transcript of spoken text by late father Elias Leyds (1958-2024) (See also video)
Now let’s look at the 12 patriarchies. All four gospels describe the presence of 16 particular persons on Golgotha, our Lord and our Lady, and 14 others.
One of these 14 was the unrepentent robber. About him nothing else can be said, and that he remained in darkness. But the other 13 were open to God’s grace, or at least they were acting in compliance with divine providence.
Of these 13, the anonymous person offering the sour wine, represents the heavenly father of all patriarchs who offered to Jesus the ultimate chalice of the passion.
The other 12 were received by our lady as offspring of the Heavenly Father and gendered through God’s word, become flesh. Henceforth, our Lady has been the mother of the church. Before her Immaculate eyes the 12 are united into one mystical body. The bride of the lamb, as divine wisdom sheds a pure new light on their souls.
Judah and Ruben are sons of Leah. Their names indicate the centurion and the repentant robber. The chief executioner and the condemned robber signify the perpetual struggle that now comes to an end between order and chaos. Between tyranny and rebellion. They converge as law and prophecy into one return to the Father, whose Truth makes us free.
Gad. Asher and Naphtali are sons of Handmaids, and their names indicate the three women present. Mary Magdalena and Mary of Cleophas standing at the foot of the cross while Salomi. Mother of John watches from afar. These three women represent the dignity of womanhood in the church, the wisdom of being spouse, mother, and guardian of living tradition.
Manasseh is son of Joseph by an Egyptian mother, but he has been accepted into the patriarchies by Jacob, his grandfather. Here universal openness meets unique predilection. Therefore the name Manasseh indicates the beloved disciple John. He is entrusted to our lady because both know the secrets of the Lord that emanate from the Lord’s pierced heart and reach the ends of the world.
Simeon Levi Issachar and Zebulon are the other four sons of Leah, and their names indicate the four soldiers. They signify all souls committed to the common history of man. They have to gain, keep, and defend order in the realms, that divine Providence has entrusted to them. In their dominion the church will arrive and preach the gospel. Then they can change obedience. For beyond obeying commands of worldly masters, they can obey the word of God.
Thus they can step from divine providence into the light of divine grace and cross human frontiers not to conquer, but to win souls for eternal life.
Joseph and Benjamin are the beloved sons for they were born to the beloved spouse, Rachel. Their names indicate Joseph and Nicodemus, who showed their allegiance to Jesus in hours of darkness. After the death of Jesus, they arranged for his burial, before nightfall.
So the names of 12 patriarchies denote the 12 witnesses of the cross. First fruits of our Lord’s sacrifice. These 12 constitute the church at its beginning. As it emerged when our Lord and our Lady exchanged looks even beyond death.
These 12 were the embryo of the church, conceived by the Heavenly Father through the word become flesh and enthrusted to the immaculate soul of our lady.
This was the embryo that was to be born at Pentecost. And hence grew into a multitude of thousands and thousands. One body uniting tribes and nations.
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