The Bestiary of Christ

This book was praised by Pope Pius XII. The original French version has over a thousand pages but this English edition cannot be said to be incomplete. You can find a Spanish edition which comes in two volumes, which is a literal translation of the original. The object of the book is to show the symbolism of real and mythological animals. Gives a summary of Pagan, Christian and even of Masonic symbolic meaning of the different creatures, and how each animal resembles a virtue of Christ. The Symbol is nothing else than a means to express a truth. Remember how Christ Himself made use of Parables to teach His Gospel. Today's society has its own symbols, but, because it is far from the source of all truth (Christ) those modern symbols cannot produce a vital effect in those who live by them. Page 323 "The Bee and the Fly" reads as follows: "Christian symbolism, following the Ancients, accepted the bee as one of the emblems of resurrection and immortality. The reason for this was the same as with the butterfly, the swallow in the West, and the frog in Egypt. The honeybee disappears during the winter season and reappears in the spring; and since for Ancient symbolism, as we have already noted, a season lasts for three months, these three symbolic months are translated as the three days during which the body of Christ was hidden in the tomb, after which it reappeared as does the bee after its three months in the darkness of the hive."