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 IIThe Coronation
Describes the Journey of the Most Blessed Mary with Saint John to Ephesus; the Death and Chastisement of Herod; the Destruction of the Temple of Diana; the Return of the Most Blessed Mary from Ephesus to Jerusalem; the Instructions She gave to the Evangelists; the exalted State of Her purest Soul before Her death; Her most blessed Transition, Assumption and Coronation in heaven.
'Choose and accept only the most poor and ordinary, the most undesirable and humble things for thy use; for otherwise thou canst not imitate me in the spirit, in which without ostentation I refused all comforts and good things of this life offered to me by the faithful of Jerusalem, and of which I accepted only what was absolutely necessary for my sojourn in Ephesus.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 389
'The anxious desire of seeing the supreme Good and of loving God eternally and forever in heaven must alone be perpetual in thee.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 391
'My Daughter and Dove, chosen for my acceptation from all the creatures, let my courtiers, angels and saints understand that, for the exaltation of my holy name, for thy glory and for the benefit of mortals, I now give thee my royal word, that if men, in the hour of their death invoke thee and call upon thee with affection in imitation of my servant James, soliciting thy intercession with me, I will bend to them in clemency and look upon them with eyes of fatherly mercy; I will defend and guard them against the dangers of that last hour; I will ward off the cruel enemies that seek the perdition of souls in that hour; I will furnish them through thee with great helps for resisting these enemies and gaining grace, if they wish to avail themselves of this help; and thou shalt present to Me their souls to be rewarded by my liberal hands.'The eternal Father to Blessed Mary in the hearing of all the blessed, revealed to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 410
'If all the love of the holy angles and of men could be united in one person, it would be less than that of the most holy Mary; yet, if we could unite the love of all the other creatures into one whole, it is certain that such a conflagration of love would result, that, without being infinite, it would seem so to us, on account of its surpassing all our comprehension.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 414
'O my daughter, into what a lamentable state has the Christian people been cast by the powerful, by the pastors, and by the wicked ministers, whom God has given them in his secret judgments! O what confusion and chastisements await them! Before the tribunal of the just Judge they will have no excuse; since the Catholic truth undeceives them, their conscience loudly protests, while they wilfully remain deaf to all warnings.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 428
'The essence of holiness consists in the creature's conforming itself to the divine will, loving God above all things in obedience, whereas sin consists in deviating from this rule by the love of some other object and obedience to the demon.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 453
'In order to deserve this protection of the Lord, God wishes the creature on its part never to relax in vigilance, nor trust in its own strength, nor ever be remiss in asking and desiring this help; for without it, man can do nothing and will soon perish.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 454
' . . . I wish to impress upon thy mind, not for thy discouragement, but for thy advise and warning, that the works of the just, to which this serpent does not impart some of its poison, are very rare.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 454
'The demon often deceives the soul under the cloak of a good intention, proposing some apparently or remotely good end, in order to lead them into proximate danger; and thus it happens, that, enmeshed in this danger, the men never attain the good which drew them into action. At other times he prevents the soul, under cloak of this good intention, from examining into circumstances, which vitiate the act by imprudence in the performance. Then again, under the outwardly good intention, are often hidden the earthy passions and inclinations, which dominate the heart. Hence, amid so many dangers, thou canst find safety only in scrutinizing thy actions by the light which the Lord infuses into the superior part of thy soul; by it thou wilt know how to distinguish the good from the evil, the truth from the falsehood, the bitter from the sweet, passions from right reason. Then the divine light will not be obscured by darkness, the eye will be single and will purify to body of thy actions (Matth. 6, 22), and thou wilt be entirely and in all things pleasing to thy Lord and to Me.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 455
'To call the Queen Mother of God was agreed among the Apostles after they had composed the creed; and in speaking of Her they used indiscriminately the term of Virgin or Mother, because it was very important that all the faithful of the Church should accept the doctrine of the virginity and maternity of the great Lady. Some of the other faithful called Her Mary of Jesus, or Mary of Jesus, the Nazarene. Others less significantly called Her Mary, the daughter of Joachim and Anne. Such were the titles given to our Queen by the faithful in their conversation. The holy Church, preferring the names given Her by the Apostles, calls Her Virgin and Mother of God, and to these it has added other titles, still more illustrious and mysterious.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 459
'Consider then, my dearest, that, just as in the present condition of man nothing is more contrary to his nature than the subjection of one's will to that of another, so nothing is more necessary than this subjection for the bending of the stiff-necked pride, which the demon seeks to stir up in all the children of Adam. Hence the enemies labor sleeplessly to induce men to follow their own judgment and will. Threreby the devils gain many triumphs and lead many souls into diverse roads of destruction; for in all states and conditions of life the demon seeks to instill this poison into mortals, secretly soliciting them to follow their own judgment and refuse to obey the laws and the will of their superiors, but rather to despise and rebel against it, perverting the order of divine Providence for the well-ordering of all things. And because men overthrow this government of the Lord, the world is filled with confusion and darkness, created things are thrown out of order and subjected to opposite force without regard or attention to God and his laws.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 474
'In teaching thee this lesson I wish to reward thee for thy labor in writing my life; for by these instructions in so important a doctrine I wish to impress thee, that, if thou wishest to imitate me as thou shouldst, thou must communicate or speak with no one, nor undertake anything, nor write letters, nor move about, nor allow any thoughts (if possible), except in obedience to me and to those who govern thee.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 477
'But the demon is never fatigued or weakened in his efforts at tempting souls. The almighty, however, is not wanting in his providence; for He limits and restrains the power of the demons, so that they cannot pass the measure set for them, nor exert all their indefatigable powers for the persecution of souls. On the other hand He supports the weakness of men, giving them grace and strength to resist and overcome their enemies on the prescribed battleground.''Hence the inconstancy of souls in virtuously maintaining their position during temptation and in not bearing with fortitude and patience the inconveniences of doing good and fighting against the demons, is not excusable.'
Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 499-500
'O foolish children of Adam, who follow me, forsaking life for the sake of death, truth or falsehood? What absurdity and insanity is yours, (so in despair I must confess), since you have in your midst and belonging to your own nature the incarnate Word and this Woman? Greater is your ingratitude than mine and this Woman forces me to confess the truths, which I abhor with all my heart. Cursed be my resolve to persecute this Daughter of Adam, who so torments and crushes me!'Lucifer to the foolish children of Adam, as revealed to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 519
'Although thou mayest be weak and wanting is what is required, I wish thee to understand, that my divine Son now acts as a king who is short of subjects and soldiers and will admit any one who wishes to serve in his army. Encourage thyself then to conquer satan in present matters, for the Lord will afterwards arm thee for greater battles. I tell thee, that the Church would not be entangled in its present difficulties, if a number of the souls belonging to it had taken it upon themselves to defend the cause and honor of God; but the Church stands very much alone and forsaken by the children, whom it nourished at its own bosom.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 532
'I could not fall into such sins, yet in continual watchfulness I prayed to the Lord to govern me in all my actions according to his will and pleasure only, and I gave myself no liberty of doing anything that was not according to his greater pleasure. Hence I sought for myself the forgetfulness and the retirement from all creatures. Thou art subject to sin, and thou knowest how many snares the dragon, by himself and through the creatures, has laid in order to lead thee into it: hence thou hast good reason for ceaselessly beseeching the Almighty to govern thee in all thy actions, and for closing the portals of thy senses in such a way as to exclude from thy interior every image or figure of mundane and earthly things. Renounce therefore thy free will into the hands of thy God and yield it to every pleasure of the Lord and mine. In what thou must necessarily transact with creatures for the fulfillment of the divine law and of charity, admit no image except what is unavoidable; and immediately ask, that the remembrance of what is not necessary be blotted out of thy mind. Concerning all thy works, words and thoughts consult with God, with thy angels and with me, for we are always with thee; consult also with thy confessor wherever possible. All that thou dost or resolvest without this consolation, hold in suspicion and as dangerous, and only by comparing it with my teachings, thou canst ascertain, whether it agrees or disagrees with the will of God.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 555
'St. Jerome says, that saint Mark wrote his short Gospel in Rome, at the instance of the faithful residing there; but I wish to call attention to the fact, that this was a translation or copy of the one he had written in Palestine; for the Christians in Rome possessed neither his nor any other Gospel, and therefore he set about writing one in the Roman or Latin language.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 561
'At the orders of the Queen the angels frequently assisted the Apostles in their travels and tribulations and in the persecutions as well of the gentiles and the Jews, as of the demons, who continually excited evil-minded against the preachers of the Gospel. The angles often visited them in visible shapes, conversing with them and consoling them in the name of the most blessed Mary. At other times they performed the same office interiorly without manifesting themselves; sometimes they freed them from prison; sometimes they warned them of dangers and snares; sometimes they accompanied them on their way or carried them from one place to another where they were to preach, or informed them of what they were to do according to the circumstances peculiar to certain places or peoples. Of all these things they also kept their blessed Lady informed; for She took care of all of them and labored with them more than all of them together. It is not possible to enumerate the cares, solicitudes and diligent doings of this kindest Mother; for not a day or night passed, in which She did not perform any miracles for the Apostles and for the Church. Besides all this She wrote to them many times, animating them with heavenly exhortations and doctrines, and filling them with consolation and strength.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 567
'Seek thou, as long as thou shalt be upon earth, to compensate for the ingratitude and forgetfulness of mortals. And in order to do it as I desire, never let thy remembrance of Christ crucified, afflicted and blasphemed be extinguished. Persevere in thy exercises, never omitting them except in obedience or in a just cause; for if thou imitate me in this I shall make thee a participant in the effects I myself felt.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 593
'In accordance with the pleasure of the eternal Father Christ our Savior decreed as it were pledged Himself to his most blessed Mother, in the presence of all the saints, that from henceforth, as long as She should live in mortal flesh, She should, on every Sunday after finishing Her exercises of the Passion, be brought by the holy angels to the empyrean heaven and there, in the presence of the Most High, celebrate in body and soul the joys of the Resurrection. The Lord also decreed that, in Her daily Communion He should manifest to Her his most sacred humanity united to the Divinity in a new and wonderful manner, different from that in which She had enjoyed it until that day; so that this might serve as a pledge and foretaste of the glory, which He had reserved for his most holy Mother in eternity.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 601
'O how happy, my daughter, is the man, who during the short instant of his life seeks to anticipate the divine science, which he is so soon to posses by experience! This is the true wisdom, not to wait for the end until knowing that end, but look to the end in the beginning of the course, and enter upon it, not with so many doubts whether we shall attain the end, but with some security of attaining it. Consider then, with what sentiments thou must be animated, who, at the beginning of the race, see a great prize, which they can attain by pressing on their course for a time with great diligence (I Cor. 9, 24).'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 608
'But remember that belief in this history and in all that it contains, does not depend on the instrument, but on its Author, who is the highest truth, and upon the contents of thy writing; and in this regard not even the highest seraph could add thereto, nor canst thou diminish or omit anything.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 620
'In my school I wish thee to learn the love, the gratitude and humility of a true disciple of mine; for I desire thee to distinguish thyself and advance thyself exceedingly. All my festivals thou shouldst celebrate with a sincere devotion and invite the saints and angels to assist thee therein; especially the feast of the Immaculate Conception, in which I was so highly favored by the divine power and from which I derived so much joy. In these times, more than formerly, I am solicitous of seeing it acknowledged by men and of their praising the Most High or this extraordinary miracle. On the day of thy own birth into the world thou shouldst render special thanks to the Lord in imitation of me and perform some extra work in his service. Above all thou shoulds resolve thenceforth to amend thy life and to commence to labor in this anew. And all the mortals, instead of spending the anniversary of their birth in demonstration of vain earthly joy, should make similar resolutions.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 624
'As this great Lord is so wise, just and equitous, He will never reject us on account of our poverty, but only on account of our ingratitude. He desires to give us plentifully, but at the same time He wishes us to be grateful, rendering Him the glory, honor and praise contained in gratitude. Such a return for small benefits, obliges Him to confer other greater ones; if we are grateful for all, He multiplies them. However it is only the humble that secure them, since they are at the same time thankful.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 625
'O how highly did She [Blessed Mary] esteem the sayings of the wise! "Lean not upon thy own prudence; be not wise in thy own conceit" (Prov. 3, 5, 7). "Despise not the discourse and the teaching of the presbyters, and live always according to their sayings" (Eccli. 8, 9). "Do not enter into high speculation with yourselves, but conform to the lowly" (Rom. 12, 16).'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 630
'The root of this most dreadful ingratitude in men is the boundless desire and covetousness for the temporal, apparent and transitory goods. From this insatiable thirst grows their unthankfulness; for as they hanker so much after the temporal goods, they undervalue what they receive and give thanks neither for them nor for the spiritual goods; and thus they are most ungrateful as well for the ones as the others. In addition to this unbearable foolishness they are guilty of a still greater one, namely, they ask God not for what is necessary to them, but for things which are inurious and will bring about their eternal perdition.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 639
'It is also a bad sign, when the just Judge confers temporal blessings upon those who ask for them in forgetfulness of the blessings of the Redemption and Justification; for all such, oblivious of the means of their eternal salvation, demand but the instruments of their death, and to yield to their demands is no blessing, but a chastisement of their blindness.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 640
'However, as this Lord was true God and true man, human nature apparently remained a debtor to him, unless someone among mere creatures could repay the Redeemer in as far as with the divine grace it was possible to man. This return was made by his own Mother and our Queen; since she alone was the secretary of the great counsel and the archive of his mysteries and sacraments.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 643
[During Blessed Mary's novena in honor of the Feast of the Incarnation celebrated by her annually] Having thus adorned and beautified the great Queen, all of the eighteen seraphim raised Her to the throne of the Most Blessed Trinity and placed Her at the right hand of the Onlybegotten, our Savior. There She was asked what was her petition and desire. And the true Esther answered: "I ask mercy for my people, O Lord, (Esther 7, 3); and in their name and mine I desire and long to thank thy almighty clemancey for giving human form to the eternal Word in my womb for their salvation." To these petitions and prayers She added others of incomparable love and wisdom, supplicating for the whole human race and especially for the holy Church.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 652
'But it has especially been shown to me, that on the day on which She celebrated the Incarnation, She liberated all the souls from purgatory; and that from heaven, where this favor was granted to the Queen of all creation and the Mother of the Redeemer, She sent the angels to bring them to Her in order that She might offer them as the fruit of the Incarnation to the eternal Father.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 655
'The dignity of Mother of God so far exceeds the sphere of all other creatures, that it would be base ignorance on the part of men to deny me favors greater than those bestowed upon other saints.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 657
'Then the Queen celebrated the Baptism of Christ our Lord with magnificent thanksgiving for his submitting to be baptized Himself and thus establishing this Sacrament. After offering her prayers for the Church She withdrew to fast for the forty following days in order to commemorate the fast of the Lord and of Herself after his Baptism, as I have recorded in its place. During these forty days She did not sleep, or eat or leave Her retreat, unless some great necessity of the Church demanded Her presence. Her only intercourse was with saint John when receiving holy Communion, or when She was obliged to despatch some business for the government of the Church.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 670
'The memory of the Passion, the institution of the blessed Sacrament, and of the Resurrection She celebrated not only every week, as described above, but also on the anniversaries of their happening. Each year She observed their commemoration in the manner as is now done in the Church in the Holy Week. Besides the exercises of each week She added many others; and on Good Friday, at the hour in which Christ was crucified, She placed Herself upon a cross and there remained for three hours. She renewed all the prayers of the Lord, with all the sorrows and mysteries of that day. But on the following Sunday, which corresponds to the Resurrection, She was raised by the holy angels to the empyrean heavens where during that day She enjoyed the beatific vision, while on the ordinary Sundays her vision of the Godhead was abstractive.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 674
'I wish thee to fill all thy days and thy nights with works holy and pleasing in the sight of the Lord; but on the festivals thou shouldst add other interior and exterior exercises. Excite the fervor of thy heart, recollect thyself, and if it seems to thee that thou art doing much, labor still more earnestly to make certain thy vocation and election (II Pet. 1, 10), nor ever omit any exercise out of negligence.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 677
'In guilt the soul weakens in virtue, the enemy acquires more influence, and the passions tend to become indomitable and invincible; hence may fall, but not so many rise from their sins. The remedy against these dangers is to live in continual and unremitting anxiousness to merit the divine grace, in ceaseless striving to do the more perfect, not giving the enemy any chance to find the soul off its guard or unoccupied with some exercise or work of virtue. Thereby the weight of the lower human nature will be lightened, the passions and bad inclinations will be crushed, the demon intimidated, the soul will be raised up and will gain strength against the flesh and dominion over the inferior and sensitive faculties, subjecting them to the divine will.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 693
'It is not possible that either thou or any other creature arrive at the perfection and excellence of my works, nor does the Lord bind anyone to that; but with his divine grace thou canst fill thy life with works of virtue and holiness, and spend in them all thy time and all thy faculties; so that, adding exercise to exercise, prayer to prayer, petition to petition, virtue to virtue, thou let no time, no day, no hour of thy life be bare of good works learned of me. For this purpose I joined other works with those necessary for the government of the Church, and celebrated the festivals in the manner and with the preparations thou hast come to know and describe. As soon as one was solemnized, I began to prepare me for another, so that not for one moment was my life void of works holy and pleasing in the sight of the Lord. All the children of the Church, if they wish, can imitate me and thou shouldst do it more zealously than the others. This is the purpose for which the Holy Ghost ordained the solemnities and commemorations of my divine Son and of myself and of the saints recurring in the holy Church.' "As I have exhorted thee many times, I wish that thou distinguish thyself by their devout celebration, especially by the celebration of the mysteries of the Divinity and humanity of my divine Son, those of my life and of my glory. Then I desire of thee a special devotion to the angels, as well on account of their great excellence, holiness, beauty and ministry, as also on account of the great favors and blessings thou hast received through these celestial spirits. I desire that thou assimilate thyself to them in purity of thy soul, in the exaltedness of thy thought, in the fervor of thy love, and in living as if thou hadst neither an earthly body or its passions. They are to be thy friends and companions in thy pilgrimage, in order that they may be such also in the Fatherland. With them thou shouldst now maintain conversation and familiar intercourse, in which they will show thee the attributes and the tokens of thy Spouse, give thee certain knowledge of his perfections, lead thee to the straight ways of justice and of peace, defend thee from the demon, warn thee of his deceits. In the continued teaching of these spirits and ministers of the Most High thou shalt hear the laws of divine love. Hear and obey them exactly.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 694-695
'It was a great mercy and providence of the Lord, that many of the faithful of the primitive Church were thus timely forewarned of the death of their Queen; for He does not send labors and evils to his people without first manifesting them to his servants, as is said by the prophet Amos (Amos 3, 7).'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 708
'Among the absurd fallacies introduced by the demon into the world none is greater or more pernicious than the forgetfulness of the hour of death and of what is to happen at the court of the rigorous Judge'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 711
'I do not ask of thee more, and also not less, than what thou owest to they Spouse and to thy Lord, which is always to operate the best in all places, times and occasions, without permitting any forgetfulness, intermission or carelessness.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 711
'If in thy weakness thou incurrest the guilt of some omission or negligence, let not the sun go down or the day pass without having sorrowed for it, or confessed it, if thou canst, as if it were for the last account. Proposing amendment, even of the slightest fault, commence to work with new fervor and solicitude, like one from whom the time is slipping away for accomplishing such an arduous and laborious task as the gaining of the eternal glory and felicity and the avoiding of everlasting death and punishment. This is to be the continual occupation of all thy spiritual and sensitive faculties, in order that thou make thy hope certain and joyful (II Cor. 1, 7); in order that thou mayest not labor in vain (Phil. 2, 16), nor run on into the uncertain (I Cor. 9, 26), like those who content themselves with some good works which they mix up with many reprehensible and detestable crimes. These can not walk in security and joy of interior hope; since their own conscience assails them and saddens them, unless they are lost in forgetfulness and in the foolish delights of the flesh.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 712
'Among the wonders which the Lord wrought with the most blessed Mother during these last years, there was one, which was manifest not only to the Evangelist, but to many of the faithful. This was, that when the blessed Lady received holy Communion, She shone for some hours with a clearness so wonderful, that She seemed transfigured and gifted with glory. This was caused by the sacred body of her Son, who, as I have before stated, showed Himself to her in a transfigured and more glorious state than on mount Tabor. All that then beheld Her were filled with a joy and with effects so divine that they could indeed be felt but not described.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 718
'When the great Queen had made her testament, She gave thanks to the Almighty and asked permission to add another petition, saying: "Most clement Lord and Father of mercies, if it is according to thy pleasure, my soul desires that at its departure be present the Apostles, my masters and thy anointed, together with the other disciples, in order that they pray for me and bless me at my transition from this into the eternal life." To this her divine Son answered: "My most beloved Mother, the Apostles are already on their way to come to thee, and those that are near shall shortly arrive, while those that are far off shall be carried by my angels; because for my and thy greater glory it is my will that all assist at thy glorious departure for the glorious mansions, so that thou and they may be consoled." For this new favor the most blessed Mary gave thanks prostrate upon the ground, and therewith the three divine Persons returned to the empyrean heavens.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 727
'Now is the time to work, so that thou mayest find thyself prepared, at leisure, and disengaged to receive the Spouse at the hour of death. Look upon my freedom and detachment from all earthly things: govern thyself by it, and let not the oil of light and of love fail thee (Matth. 25, 3), in order that thou mayest enter the nuptials of the Spouse through the open gates of his infinite mercy and clemency.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 731
'Thou hast already recorded, that the Lord offered me the choice of entering into beatific vision either with or without passing through the portals of death. If I had preferred not to die, the Most High would have conceded this favor, because sin had no part in me, and hence also not its punishment, which is death. Thus it would also have been with my divine Son, and with a greater right, if He had not taken upon Himself the satisfaction of the divine justice for men through his Passion and Death. Hence I chose death freely in order to imitate and follow Him, as also I did during his grievous passion. Since I had seen my Son and true God die, I would not have satisfied the love I owe Him, if I had refused death, and I would have left a great gap in my conformity to and my imitation of my Lord the Godman, whereas He wished me to bear a great likeness to Him in his most sacred humanity. As I would thereafter never be able to make up for such a defect, my soul would not enjoy the plenitude of the delight of having died as did my Lord and God.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 744
'And since death follows upon life and ordinarily corresponds with it, therefore the surest pledge of a good death is a good life; a life in which the heart is freed and detached from earthly love. . . I had no share in original sin and none of its effects had any power over my faculties; nevertheless I lived in the greatest constraint, in poverty and detached from earthly things, most perfect and holy; and this holy freedom I did indeed experience at the hour of my death. Consider then, my daughter, and be mindful of this living example; free thy heart more and more each day, so that with advancing years thou mayest find thyself more free, more detached and averted from visible things, and so that when the Spouse shall call thee to his nuptials, thou wilt not need to seek in vain the required freedom and prudence.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 746
'During a whole year the exquisite fragrance exhaled by the [deceased] body of the Queen was noticeable throughout the Cenacle, and in her oratory, for many years.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 754
'It is time that thou die to visible things, and that thy body be buried in thy self-knowledge and self-abasement, while thy soul sink into the being of God.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 757
'If the world will not forget thee, do thou forget it; if it will not leave thee alone remember that thou hast forsaken it, and that I have separated thee from it. If it follow thee, fly; if it flatter thee, despise it; if it contemn thee, suffer it; and if it seek thee, let it not find thee except in so far as will be to the glory of the Most High. But as regards all the rest, thou must not any more bear in mind, than the living remember the dead. Forget it just as the dead forget the living, and I desire that thou have no more intercourse with this world, than the dead have with the living. It will not seem extraordinary to thee, that in the beginning, in the middle and at the end of this history I repeat so often this doctrine, if thou ponder what depends upon thy practicing it. Consider, my dearest, what persecutions the devil has roused against thee in secret through the world and its inhabitants under different pretexts and appearances. If God has permitted them for the purpose of trying thee and for the exercise of his grace, it is proper, that, as far as thou are concerned, thou take it as a lesson and a warning. Remember that great is the treasure which thou carriest in a fragile vessel (II Cor. 2,7), and that all hell conspires and rises up against thee. Thou livest in mortal flesh, surrounded and assailed by astute enemies. Be a Spouse of Christ my divine Son, and I shall be thy Mother and Instructress. Recognize, then, thy need and thy weakness, and correspond with me as a dearest daughter, as an obedient and perfect disciple in all things.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 758
' . . . instead of being judged with the rest, She [Blessed Mary] shall be seated at the right hand of the Judge to judge with Him all the creatures.'
Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 762
'It is right that to my Mother be given the reward of a Mother; and if during her whole life and in all her works She was as like to Me as is possible for a creature to be, let Her also be as like to Me in glory and on the throne of our Majesty, so that where holiness is there in essence, there it may also be found in its highest participation.'Our Redeemer's words to His heavenly Father, as revealed to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 762
'To Her [Blessed Mary] belong the rewards, which according to our conditional decree We had prepared for the disobedient angels and for their followers among them, if thy had been faithful to their grace and vocation. She has recompensed Us for their falling away by her subjection and obedience; She has pleased Us in all her operations and has merited a seat on the throne of our Majesty.'The eternal Father's words, as revealed to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 764
'On the third day after the most pure soul of Mary had taken possession of this glory never to leave it, the Lord manifested to the saints his divine will, that She should return to the world, resuscitate her sacred body and unite Herself with it, so that She might in body and soul be again raised to the right hand of her divine Son without waiting for the general resurrection of the dead.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 765
'My flesh is her flesh; She co-operarated with Me in the works of the Redemption; hence I must raise Her, just as I rose from the dead, and this shall be at the same time and hour. For I wish to make Her like Me in all things.'Our Redeemer's words to the saints, as revealed to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 766
'My daughter, lamentable and inexcusable is the ignorance of men in so knowingly forgetting the eternal glory, which God has prepared for those who dispose themselves to merit it. I wish that thou bitterly bewail and deplore this pernicious forgetfulness; for there is no doubt, that whoever wilfully forgets the eternal glory and happiness is in evident danger of losing it. No one is free from this guilt, not only because men do not apply much labor or effort in seeking and retaining the remembrance of this happiness; but they labor with all their powers in things that make them forget the end for which they were created.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 770
'Human weakness always tends to do less good than it desires to do; and when this desire is small, then it will execute very little, and hence risks losing all.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 773
'When the creature resolves to love God from all its heart and with all its powers, as He commands, God overlooks its human defects and shortcomings, and is pleased with their resolve to reap the highest rewards. But to despise them or wilfully undervalue them shows not the love of children or of true friends, but the base fear of slaves, who are content to live and be let alone. If the saints could return to merit some additional degree of glory by suffering all torments to the day of judgement, they would doubtlessly return; because they have a true and perfect knowledge of the value of the reward and they love God with a perfect charity. It is not proper that this privilege be granted to the saints; but it was conceded to me, as thou hast recorded in this history; and my example confirms this truth. It also reproves the foolishness of those, who, in order to avoid suffering and the cross of Christ, are looking for a curtailed reward, one which is contrary to the inclinations of God's goodness and contrary to his desire of seeing souls multiply their merits and gain copious rewards in the eternal felicity.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 774
'All approved of the decision of the vicar of Christ and at his order immediately removed the stone, which closed the sepulchre. This being done, they saw the grave despoiled of the sacred body of the Queen of heaven and the tunic in the same position as when it had covered her, showing that it must have passed through the tunic and the stone of the sepulchre without disturbing any part of them. Saint Peter took out the tunic and mantle and, with all the others, venerated it, as they were now certain of the Resurrection and Assumption of the Blessed Mother into heaven. In mixed joy and sorrow they wept sweet tears at this prodigy and sang psalms and hymns of praise and glory to the Lord and his most blessed Mother.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 781
'My daughter, if anything could lessen the enjoyment of the highest felicity and glory which I possess, and if, in it, I could be capable of any sorrow, without a doubt I would be grieved to see the holy Church and the rest of the world in its present state of labor, notwithstanding that men know me to be their Mother, Advocate and Protectress in heaven, ready to guide and assist them to eternal life. In this state of affairs, when the Almighty has granted me so many privileges as his Mother and when there are so many sources of help placed in my hands solely for the benefit of mortals and belonging to me as the Mother of clemency, it is a great cause of sorrow to me to see mortals force me to remain idle, and that, for want of calling upon me, so many souls should be lost. But if I cannot experience grief now, I must justly complain of men, that they load themselves with eternal damnation and refuse me the glory of saving their souls.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 783
'With those who have called upon me in their needs I have always shown myself liberal, and the Lord has showed himself liberal to them on my account. Yet, though many are the souls whom I have helped, they are few in comparison with those, whom I could and am willing to help.'Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 784
'Thine, O lady, is the credit and the glory for all that I have written, not only because it records thy most holy and admirable life, but because thou hast given it a beginning, hast furthered it, and brought it to a close; and if Thou hadst not been its Author and Controller, it could never had entered into the hearts of man. Let then all thanks and credit be thine; because Thou alone canst give a worthy return to thy divine Son and our Redeemer for this new and peerless blessing . . . Only what Thou hast taught and commanded, have I written; I was but the mute instrument of thy tongue, moved and governed by thy wisdom. Perfect Thou this work of thy hands, not only for the appropriate glory and praise of the Most High, but add to it what is wanting, in order that I may practice thy doctrine, follow thy footsteps, obey thy commands, and run after the odor of thy ointment, which is the sweetness and fragrance of thy virtues diffused with ineffable kindness through this history.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 789
'I acknowledge myself, O Empress of heaven, as the most unworthy, the most indebted of all the children of the holy Church. In order that the monstrosity of my ingratitude may not become apparent in the Church, before the Almighty and before Thee, I propose, offer, and seek to make known my renunciation of all that is visible and earthly; I again subject my liberty to the divine will and to thy own, engaging myself not to use my free will, except for God's glory and pleasure . . . Guide me unto the end, command me as my Queen, instruct me as my Teacher, correct me as my Mother. Receive as thanksgiving for all this thy own life and the high pleasure which thou hast afforded to the most blessed Trinity, as the perfection of his marvels. Let the angels and saints praise Thee, let all generations know Thee; let all creatures, in Thee and through Thee, eternally bless their Creator and let my soul and all my faculties magnify Thee.'Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 790
Volume IV - Part I
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The Mystical City of God
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