Extracts from the Mystical City of God
'With the help of the Almighty's grace, thou canst rise above thyself and make thyself a daughter of heaven, whence all grace comes.'
Our Lady's Words to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. I, 310
VOLUME IV
PART IThe Coronation
The heavenly Life of the Queen of Heaven, most holy Mary, containing the Events of her Life from the Coming of the Holy Ghost until the Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin Mother of God in Heaven.
'Thy conversation is to be on high (Phil. 3, 20); thy intercourse, with the Lord of all creation and thy Spouse; thy conference shall be with the angels and saints, and thou must rivet thy whole attention upon me, thy Mother and Teacher. For all the rest that is earthly and visible thou must have neither movement of life, nor any activity; no more than a dead body, which shows no feeling of life in response to anything that may happen to it or may be done to it. Neither must difficulties disquiet thee, nor flattery or pleasures affect thee; thou must not respond to injuries, nor be elated by honors; let neither presumption inflate thee, nor mistrust cast thee down; thou must not give consent to any feeling of concupiscence or anger; because thy model in all these passions must be a dead body, already freed from all of them. Nor must thou have any more dealings with the world than the dead; for the world immediately forgets those whom it has praised in life, and to such an extent, that, though they be father or brother, and the most intimate relatives, it hastens to put them out of sight. All this the deceased permit, without a murmur of a feeling of offense; nor do the dead make any account of the living, much less do they attend to them or to anything they may have left among their survivors.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Volume IV, Introduction, 12
'Of all mortals the Evangelist saint John alone had cognizance of this mystery [of Our Lady's triduum of glory in the heavens]; for in a vision he had seen the great Queen of heaven ascend with her divine Son and had also seen Her descend in her glory and graces for the enrichment of the Church. Two days he remained as it were entranced and suspended in admiration at this extraordinary mystery. Knowing that his most holy Mother had descended from on high he desired to speak to Her, but dared not presume.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 5
'When I saw Her in this place of inaccessible light [seated at the right hand of her Son on the throne of the Blessed Trinity], it seemed to me, that She possessed no other splendor than that of God himself, who seemed to communicate it to Her from the fount and origin of his immutable Being. Through the humanity of his Only-begotten the same light and clearness seemed to be in both the Mother and the Son, each according to their degree; yet in substance seeming one and the same, not found in any of the other blessed, nor in all of them together.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 26
'The greater part of the guilt and its punishments falls upon those who call themselves Catholic, whose offenses, as being those of children, are more heinous; for they know the will of their heavenly Father, who dwells on high, and yet do not strive to fulfil it more earnestly than the strangers. Though knowing that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and must be gained by labors, they have nevertheless given themselves over to idleness and pleasure, temporizing with the world and the flesh. This dangerous deceit of the demon, the just Judge punishes by the demon himself, giving him, in his just judgments, the liberty to afflict the holy Church and scourge its children with rigor.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 34
'But the Father of Mercies, who is in heaven, does not permit the works of his kindness to be entirely undone; and in order to preserve them He offers us the opportune protection of most holy Mary, in order that through her prayers and intercession his divine justice may find some pretext or excuse for the suspension of the rigorous chastisements hanging over us. He wishes to wait and see, whether we shall avail ourselves of the intercession of this great Queen and Lady of Heaven for pacifying the just indignation of her divine Son, and whether we shall amend our lives, by which we make ourselves unworthy of his mercy and provoke his justice.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 35
'She [Blessed Mary] is never roused to indignation or hatred against men; in Her there is no deceit, no fault or defect; She cannot fail in anything that mortals may need for their salvation.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 36
'The vigilant Mother, empowered by the right hand of her divine Son, took care of that happy family in order to bring all their works up to the highest perfection. After her descent from heaven, She instructed the Apostles, yet She never entered upon this duty without first being requested by saint Peter or saint John. Through her prayers She moved her divine Son to inspire them with these commands, in order that She might obey them as his vicars and priests. Thus all things happened as arranged by the Mother of humility and She obeyed as a handmaid. Laying aside all pretense to her dignity as Queen and Lady, and making no use of her sovereignty and dominion, She obeyed as a servant and conducted Herself as if She were an inferior, and in this spirit She conferred with the Apostles and the other faithful. During those days She explained to them the mystery of the blessed Trinity in terms most exalted and mysterious, yet suited to the understanding of all. She explained also the mystery of the hypostatic union, and those of the Incarnation, adding many others, which they had already been taught by the Master; telling them at the same time that they would be enlightened by the Holy Ghost for a deeper understanding of all these things.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 48
'She [Blessed Mary] taught them [the Apostles] how to pray mentally, insisting on the excellence and necessity of that kind of prayer; how the principal duty and the most noble occupation of the rational creature was to raise itself, by understanding and the will, above all that is created to the knowledge and love of God; and that no other object or occupation should ever be preferred or should ever interrupt this duty, so as not to deprive the soul of this supreme benefit, the beginning of eternal life and happiness. She taught them also how to thank the eternal Father for having given us his only Son for our Redeemer and Master, and for the love with which the Lord redeemed us at a cost of his Passion and Death. She exhorted them to give thanks to God for having singled them out as his Apostles, and his companions and as the founders of his holy Church. . . She exhorted them to persevere in humble prostrations and other actions of worship and reverence in adoring the greatness and majesty of the Most High.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 49
'[On Pentecost Sunday] This plentitude of wonders and prodigies overflowed and communicated itself also to others outside of the Cenacle; for it caused diverse and various effects of the Holy Spirit among the inhabitants of Jerusalem and its vicinity. All those who, who with some piety had compassioned our Savior Jesus in his Passion and Death, deprecating his most bitter torments and reverencing his sacred Person, were interiorly visited with new light and grace, which disposed them afterwards to accept the doctrine of the Apostles.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 64
'Not less wonderful, although more hidden, were some contrary effects produced on that day by the Holy Ghost in Jerusalem. By the dreadful thunders and violent commotion of the atmosphere and the lightnings accompanying his advent, He disturbed and terrified the enemies of the Lord in that city, each one according to his own malice and perfidy. This chastisement was particularly evident in those who had actively concurred in procuring the death of Christ, and who had signalized themselves in their rabid fury against Him. All these fell to the ground on their faces and remained thus for three hours. Those that had scourged the Lord were suddenly choked in their own blood, which shot forth from their veins in punishment for shedding that of the Master. The audacious servant, who had buffeted the Lord, not only suddenly died, but was hurled into hell body and soul. Others of the Jews, although they did not die, were chastised with intense pains and abominable sicknesses. These disorders, consequent upon shedding the blood of Christ, descended to their posterity and even to this day continue to afflict their children with most horrible impurities. This chastisement became notorious in Jerusalem, although the priests and Pharisees diligently sought to cover it up, just as they had tried to conceal the Resurrection of the Savior. As these events, however, were not so important, neither the Apostles nor the Evangelists wrote about them, and in the confusion of the city the multitude soon forgot them.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 65
'The chastisement and terror extended also to the depths of hell, where the demons felt themselves seized with new confusion and oppression for three days, just as the Jews lay on the earth for three hours. During these three days Lucifer and his demons broke forth in fearful howlings, communicating new terror and confusion of torments to all the damned.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 66
'The Apostles and disciples from that day on continued without intermission their preaching and their miracles, and through the entire octave they instructed not only the three thousand, who had been converted on Pentecost day, but multitudes of others, who day by day accepted the faith. Since they came from all parts of the world, they conversed and spoke with each one in his own language; for as I have said above, they spoke in various languages from that time on.
This grace was given not only to the Apostles, although it was more complete and noticeable in them; also the disciples and the all the one hundred and twenty, who were in the Cenacle at the time, and also the holy women, who received the Holy Ghost, were thus favored. This was really necessary at the time on account of the great multitudes, who came to the faith. . . Although all the men and many of the women came to the Apostles, yet many, after having heard them, went to Magdalen and her companions, who catechized, instructed and converted them and others that came at the report of the miracles they performed. For this gift was also conferred on the women, who, by the imposition of hands, cured all sicknesses, gave sight to the blind, tongue to the mute, motion to the lame, and life to many of the dead. These and other wonders were principally wrought by the Apostles, nevertheless both their miracles and those of the women excited the wonder and the astonishment of all Jerusalem; so that nothing else was talked about except the prodigies and the teachings of the Apostles of Jesus, of his disciples, and followers of his doctrine.Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 83
'I content myself with saying, that the power and grace of the Holy Spirit were not exhausted in those first-fruits. His influence is always the same and would be just as efficacious with the many to the end of the Church, as it was with a few in its beginnings, if those many were as faithful as those few. It is true that the times have changed; but this change from virtue to vice, from good to evil, consists not in any change of the heavens and the stars, but in a change of men, who have strayed form the straight way of life eternal and walk the way of perdition . . . I speak of the faithful, who pride themselves in being children of light, but content themselves with only the name, and who sometimes use it merely to cloak their vices and to cover up their crimes.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 86
'Let then mortals, who have sinned against God, undeceive themselves: without penance their shall be no grace, without reform no pardon, without pardon no glory. But just as these are not conceded to those that are unworthy, so they are never denied to those that are worthy; nor is ever the mercy of God withheld from anyone who seeks to obtain it.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 94
'And since my divine Son ordains all these things [holy inspirations, helps and instructions] for thy own good and for the good of other souls, I wish, lastly, that in imitation of me, as has been shown thee, thou impregnate thy heart with a most sincere determination to assist all the children of the Church, and all other men, as far as thou canst, clamoring to the Lord from thy inmost heart and asking Him to look upon the souls with mercy for their salvation. And in order that thy may gain this blessing, offer to suffer for them as a victim if necessary; remembering, that they cost my divine Son and thy Spouse the shedding of his blood and his life, and remembering my own labors in the Church. Do thou continually implore the divine mercy for the fruit of that Redemption, and this practice I command thee under obedience.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 95
'Saint Peter took in his hands the unleavened bread, and, after raising up his eyes to heaven with admirable devotion, he pronounced over the bread the words of consecration of the most holy body of Christ, as had been done before by the Lord Jesus (II Cor. 11, 24).
Immediately the Cenacle was filled with the visible splendor of innumerable angels; and this light converged in a most singular manner on the Queen of heaven and earth and was seen by all those present. Then saint Peter consecrated the chalice and performed all the ceremonies, which Christ had observed with the consecrated body and blood, raising them up for the adoration of all the faithful. The Apostle partook himself of the Sacrament and communicated it to the eleven Apostles as most holy Mary had instructed him. Thereupon, at the hands of saint Peter, the heavenly Mother partook of it, while the celestial spirits there present attended with ineffable reverence. In approaching the altar the great Lady made three profound prostrations, touching the ground with her face. She returned to her place, and it is impossible to describe in words the effects of this participation of the holy Eucharist in this most exalted of creatures. She was entirely transformed and elevated, completely absorbed in this divine conflagration of the love of her most holy Son, whom She had now received bodily. She remained in a trance, elevated from the floor; but the holy angels shielded Her somewhat from view according to her own wish, in order that the attention of those present might not be unduly attracted by the divine effects apparent in Her.
The disciples continued to distribute holy Communion, first to the disciples and then to the others who had been believers before the Ascension. But of the five thousand newly baptized only one thousand received Communion on that day; because not all were entirely prepared or furnished with the insight and attention required for receiving the Lord in this great sacrament and mystery of the Altar. With regard to the manner of Communion in that day, the Apostles observed the distinction of giving to the most holy Mother and to the one hundred and twenty, upon whom the Holy Ghost had come, both species, of bread and wine; but the recently baptized partook only of the species of bread. But this difference was not made because the new faithful were less worthy of the one species than of the other; but because the Apostles knew, that in either one of the species they received the same Object in its entirety, namely the sacramental God; and that there was no precept, and likewise no necessity that each one receive both species. They considered, that there would be great danger of irreverence and other very grave inconveniences to permit the multitude to partake of the species of the blood, while this was not to be feared of the Communion of the few, who then partook of them at that time. I have been made to understand, that, for all those who were not consecrating or celebrating, the practice of communicating only the specie obtained from the very beginning of the Church. Although some, that were not priests, for some time partook of both species; yet, as soon as the Church increased and spread over the whole world, she being guided by the Holy Ghost, very wisely ordained, that laymen and those not celebrating Mass should communicate only in the specie of the sacred body; and that it was to pertain to those who were celebrating these divine mysteries, to partake of both species. Such is the secure practice of the Roman Catholic Church.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 112-113
'From the understanding which has been given me of the mystery of the love of Christ the Lord for his most holy Mother and of the force with which He was drawn towards Her, I would go so far to say, that if He had not found this way of remaining with Her in the sacramental species [lodging Himself in the Blessed Sacrament in Blessed Mary's heart], He would have come down from the right hand of the Father to the world in order to render companionship to his Mother while She sojourned with his Church. And if it had been necessary that the heavenly mansions and the celestial courtiers should be deprived of the presence of the most sacred humanity from that time, He would have considered that of less importance than to be deprived of the company of his Mother. It is no exaggeration to say this, when we all must confess, that in the purest Mary the Lord found a correspondence and a degree of love more conformable to his will than all in the blessed combined; and consequently, his own love for Her exceeded his love for all others.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 123
'Do thou guard thyself against these pernicious errors, and never resolve on anything, or govern thyself by anything that is merely sensible or arising from sensible impressions, nor pursue the advantages held out through them. In thy actions take counsel first of all from the interior knowledge and light communicated to thee by God, in order that thou mayest not go blindly forward; and He shall always grant thee sufficient guidance. Immediately seek the advise of thy superiors and teachers, if thou canst do so before making thy choice. And if thy superior or teacher is not at hand, seek counsel of others, even inferiors; for this is more secure than to follow thy own will, which may be disturbed or blinded by passion. This is the rule to be followed especially in the exterior works, pursuing them with recollection, with secrecy, and according to the demands of circumstances and fraternal charity as they occur. In all of them it is necessary not to lose out of sight the north-star of interior light, while moving in the profound gulf of the intercourse with creatures, where there is continual danger of perishing.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 134
'Prevented by her [Blessed Mary's] power he [Lucifer] desisted, and the first children of the Church enjoyed much peace and tranquility. This happiness under the protection of the great Queen and Lady would have continued forever, if men had not thought little of it, giving themselves up to the same and worst deceits than Ananias and Saphira. O that the faithful would fear this example and imitate that of the Apostles!'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 148
'. . . All these blessings I procure for Christians for heaven in our times; and if not all experience them, it is not because I do not solicit them, but because there are very few of the faithful who call to me with all their heart and who dispose themselves toward meriting and reaping the fruit of my maternal love. I would defend them all from the dragon, if all would call upon me and if all would fear his pernicious deceits, by which they are ensnared and entrapped to eternal damnation. In order that all may wake up to this frightful danger, I now give them this new reminder. I assure thee, my daughter, that all those, who damn themselves after the death of my Son and in spite of the benefits and favors procured by my intercession, will suffer greater torments in hell than those who were lost before his coming and before I was in the world. Thus those who from now on understand these mysteries and despise them to their loss, shall be subject to new and greater punishments.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 152
'He desires not the death of the sinner (Ezech. 33, 11); and, as thou hast written, He does not entertain an absolute and antecedent decree of damning his creatures, but seeks to save them all, if they do not peruse perdition of their own free will. Although He permits this in his justice as being inseparable from the free will of man, it is against his inclination.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 177
'If I desire that thou labor with such fervor of charity for the salvation of thy brethren, consider what thou must do to save thyself, and in what estimation thou must hold thy own soul, for which an infinite price was offered. I wish to admonish thee as a Mother, that when temptations and passions incline thee toward the commission of any sin, no matter how small, remember the sorrows and the tears which the knowledge of the sins of men and the desire to prevent them has caused me. Do not thou cause the like in me, my dearest; for although I am now incapable of that pain, yet thou deprivest me of the accidental joy of seeing thee, to whom I condescended to become a Mother and Teacher, really endowed with the perfection taught in my school. If thou art unfaithful in this, thou wilt frustrate my great desire of seeing thee please my divine Son and accomplish his holy will in all its plentitude. By the infused light which thou receivest, do thou ponder how great are any faults thou mayest commit after being so favored and bound in duty to Lord and to myself. Dangers and temptations will not be wanting to thee during the rest of thy earthly life; but in all of them remember my teaching, my sorrows and my tears, and above all what thou owest to my divine Son, who is so liberal toward thee in applying to thee the fruit of his blood for the purpose of eliciting thy grateful response.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 178
'She [Blessed Mary] knew all the faithful that joined the Church, was informed of the natural inclinations, of the degree of virtue and grace they possessed, the merit of their works, their beginning and end. She was ignorant of nothing pertaining to the Church, except when sometimes the Lord concealed from Her some affair, which afterwards was made known to Her at its conclusion. Her knowledge was not barren or profitless, but was inspired with the charity of Her divine Son toward all She saw and knew. As She at the same time was aware of the sacraments of divine Providence, She used all of her wisdom according to the measure and weight of her interior charity; for She gave neither more nor less than was proper according to the deserts of love and estimation due to each one; and this is a defect which we children of Adam ordinarily incur, even if we think we have used the nicest equity.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 179
'From the variety and bitterness of my pains and sorrows, with which my whole life was interwoven, even after I had returned from the right hand of my Son in heaven to the earth, thou wilt understand, that thy own life must be of the same texture, if thou wishest to follow me as my faithful disciple.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 200
'In their [the Apostles and disciples] labors She [Blessed Mary] comforted and assisted them through her holy angels, inspiring them with courage and bearing them to different localities, whenever necessary. The latter according to saint Luke, happened to Philip on the way to Gaza, when he baptized the Aethiopian, the servant of Queen Candace.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 208
'This symbol, which we ordinarily call the Creed, the Apostles established after the martyrdom of saint Stephen and before the end of the first year after the death of the Savior. Afterwards, in order to refute the Arian and other heresies, the Church, in the councils held on their account, explained more fully the mysteries contained in the Apostles' Creed and composed the one now chanted in the Mass. But in substance both are one and the same and contain the fourteen articles, which are the basis for the catechetical teaching of the Christian faith and which we are all bound to believe in order to be saved. As soon as the Apostles had finished pronouncing this Creed, the Holy Ghost approved of it by permitting a voice to be heard in their midst saying: "You have decided well.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 218
'O my daughter, bear in mind the reverence with which thou shouldst recite the Credo, Pater and Ave, and do not make thyself guilty of the thoughtless rudeness of many of the faithful in this matter. The frequency with which these prayers and divine words are repeated in the Church should not infringe upon the proper reverence due to them. This presumption arises from pronouncing them merely by the lips without meditating upon their meaning. I desire that they be to thee a subject of continuous meditation; and for this purpose the Most High has given thee a taste for studying the catechism; and thou wilt please the Lord and me, if thou carry it with thee and read it many times, as thou hast been accustomed to and as I again charge thee to do from now on.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 220
'Just as I was most anxious in that which pertained to the service of the children of the Church, so do thou be punctual in all that thou perceivest to be the will of God, whether it is for the benefit of thy soul or for the benefit of thy neighbor; and thus thou wilt imitate my example.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 221
'As the disciples were scattered through different cities, some near and others far, She [Blessed Mary] sent the symbol [the Apostles' Creed] and letter to those in the neighborhood by some of the faithful, and to those farther off, by her angels. To some of the disciples, in fact to the greater number of them, the angels appeared visibly; while to others they did not appear, but they placed these documents into their hands in an invisible manner, at the same time admirably moving their hearts. As well through these inspirations, as from the letter of the Queen, the disciples knew whence these messages had come.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 223
'Secondly, in the beginnings of the Church the merits of the passion and death of Christ, together with the prayers and intercession of his most holy Mother, were in a certain sense more acceptable and therefore (according to our way of understanding) more powerful with the eternal Father. For the children of the Church had not yet interposed the many and grievous sins, which have been committed since then and which have placed such great obstacles to the benefits of the Lord and to his Holy Spirit. Hence He does not now manifest Himself so familiarly to men as in the primitive Church.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 226
'I wish to state here, that besides the knowledge derived by our Queen from infused images She had also in God himself another knowledge of things through her abstractive vision, by which She continually saw the Divinity.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 234
'Joined with this plentitude of infused species and knowledge, She held absolute command of her faculties, as I said above, so that She admitted no images or ideas except those that were absolutely necessary for sustaining life, or for some work of charity or perfection. With this adornment and beauty, which was patent to the angels and saints, the heavenly Lady was an object of admiration, inducing them to praise and glorify the Most High for the worthy exercise of all his attributes in Mary, his most holy instrument.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 234
'Heavenly spirit and minister of my Son and Lord, I am moved to compassion at the sorrow and trouble in the humble heart of Paul. I beg thee, my angel, go immediately to Damascus and console and comfort him in his fears. Congratulate him on his good fortune and remind him of the thanks he owes eternally to my Son and Lord for the clemency with which He has drawn him to His friendship and chosen him as his Apostle. Tell him, that never has such mercy been shown to any man as to him. And in my own name tell him, that I shall aid him as a Mother in all his labors and serve him as the Handmaid of all the Apostles and ministers of the name and doctrine of my Son. Give him my blessing in the name of Him, who condescended to assume flesh in my womb and to be nursed at my breast.'Our Lady to one of her angels, as revealed to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 270
'Cut short therefore all thy reflections and self-reliance and remember, that, even if thou shouldst have the wisdom of the most learned, the counsel of the most prudent, and the natural intelligence of the angels, thou couldst, with all this, know how to execute his will far less perfectly than by resigning and leaving all to his divine pleasure. He alone knows what is suitable to thee and seeks it with an eternal love; He chose thy ways and governs thee in them. Permit thyself to be guided by his divine light, without losing time in doing thy duty; for in this delay lurks the danger of erring, and in my doctrine lie all security and success. Write it in thy heart and fulfill it with all thy strength, in order that thou mayest merit my intercession and, though it, to be brought near to the Most High.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 276
'Moreover, this fiend [Lucifer] is a pure spirit and is not fatigued or ever in need of rest. Therefore he is so vigilant in persecuting us, that he commences the combat from the very first instant of our existence in the mother's womb and he does not abate his fury and strife against the soul until it leaves the body.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 280
'For the demons, in his [the Creator's] scheme of the universe, hold the places merely as vile executioners; and even in this office they do no more than what is commanded or permitted them. If depraved men would not join hands with these enemies, entertaining their deceits and by their sins meriting punishment, all nature would preserve the common order of cause and effect both in general and in particular; and there would be no occasion for such great misfortunes and losses among the faithful, in the diminution of crops, in contagious diseases, in sudden deaths, and in other devastations invented by the devil. All these and many other evils, happening even at the birth of children through vices and disorders, we merit ourselves by uniting with the demons for our own chastisement and by delivering ourselves over to their malice.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 282
'The demons are fiercely tormented by their own fury whenever they perceive and sinner calling upon or remembering his Queen; since they know by experience how kindly She receives sinners and how readily She makes their cause her own. Without hope or spirit of resistance the devils immediately give themselves up as foiled and vanquished. It often happens, when God desires to bring about some special conversion, that the great Queen herself peremptorily commands the demons to withdraw from that soul and sink into the abyss, and her commands are always obeyed. At other times, without such peremptory orders, God permits them to see the mysteries, the power, and holiness of his Mother, and this new knowledge, filling them with consternation and confusion, puts them to flight. If the souls respond and co-operate with the grace obtained for them by the heavenly Sovereign, they are freed from the attacks of the demons.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 294
'I was made to understand, that if God were not so outrageously misused in his mercy, He would often interpose, even miraculously, his divine Omnipotence in our behalf. Especially would He do this in defense of the mystical body of the Church and of some Catholic governments, bringing to naught the counsels of hell for the destruction of Christianity in our times. We do not merit this protection of the infinite power, because all are united in rousing the divine wrath and the whole world his joined hands with the infernal fiends, into whose power it has fallen on account of the blind and insane pursuit of evil rampant among men.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 296
'She [Blessed Mary] understood also, that the Lord portioned out to the Apostles and the faithful that kind of suffering or martyrdom, which corresponded with each one's grace and strength of soul.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 316
'Before going farther I will state, that saint James was one of the most intimate and beloved disciples of the great Mistress of the world.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 320
'. . . Ascend to our throne, so that thou mayest be absorbed in the abyss of our Divinity and hold in this Trinity the fourth place, as far as is possible to a mere creature. Take possession of our glory, the treasures of which we place in thy hands. Thine are the heavens, the earth and all the abysses. Enjoy in this mortal life all the privileges of the blessed more fully than all the saints. . .'The eternal Father to Blessed Mary, as revealed to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 329
'It is important for all the children of the Church to escape the ignorance in which they live concerning the dangers besetting their eternal salvation; for they do not know or take notice, that their ignorance of these secrets is the chastisement of the sin of Adam, and how, after being enlightened, they again lose it and become more unworthy of it than before through their own sins. Many of the faithful are as oblivious and careless, as if there were no demons to persecute and deceive them; and if they sometimes think of them, it is superficially and lightly, falling immediately back into their forgetfulness, which for many of them means no less than eternal punishment. If at all times and in all places, in all their works and on all occasions the demons set their snares, it is but just and proper that Christians on their part take not one step without asking divine light to see and avoid the danger. But as the children of Adam are so torpid in regard to this matter, they perform scarcely one work without being assailed by the infernal serpent and infected by his poison. Thus they accumulate sins upon sins, evil upon evil, irritating the divine justice and shutting out mercy.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 361
'Cautiously examine, whether beneath some apparent work of piety there lurk not the snares of the demon and see that thou do not suffer evil in doing good to others. Do not trust to thy own judgment, although it may seem good and secure to thee; never hesitate to obey in all things, seeing that I by obedience safely passed through many labors and difficulties.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 362
'It is important for all the children of the Church to escape the ignorance in which they live concerning the dangers besetting their eternal salvation; for they do not know or take notice, that their ignorance of these secrets is the chastisement of the sin of Adam, and how, after being enlightened, they again lose it and become more unworthy of it than before through their own sins. Many of the faithful are as oblivious and careless, as if there were no demons to persecute and deceive them; and if they sometimes think of them, it is superficially and lightly, falling immediately back into their forgetfulness, which for many of them means no less than eternal punishment. If at all times and in all places, in all their works and on all occasions the demons set their snares, it is but just and proper that Christians on their part take not one step without asking divine light to see and avoid the danger. But as the children of Adam are so torpid in regard to this matter, they perform scarcely one work without being assailed by the infernal serpent and infected by his poison. Thus they accumulate sins upon sins, evil upon evil, irritating the divine justice and shutting out mercy.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 361
'Cautiously examine, whether beneath some apparent work of piety there lurk not the snares of the demon and see that thou do not suffer evil in doing good to others. Do not trust to thy own judgment, although it may seem good and secure to thee; never hesitate to obey in all things, seeing that I by obedience safely passed through many labors and difficulties.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 362
'Remember that this [Our Lady of the Pillar, erected by St. James in Saragossa, Spain] was the first temple of the evangelical law and was most pleasing to the will of the most blessed Trinity.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 363
Volume III - Part II . . . Volume IV - Part II
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