Question

MYSTICAL

City of God THE MIRACLE OF HIS OMNIPOTENCE

AND THE ABYSS OF HIS GRACE THE DIVINE HISTORY AND LIFE OF THE VIRGIN

MOTHER OF GOD

OUR QUEEN AND OUR LADY, MOST HOLY MARY EXPIATRIX OF THE FAULT OF EVE

AND MEDIATRIX OF GRACE

Manifested in these later ages by that Lady to her handmaid

SISTER MARY OF JESUS

Superioress of the convent of the Immaculate Conception of the town

of Agreda, of the province of Burgos in Spain, under

obedience to the regular obser^'ance

of the seraphic father

SAINT FRANCIS

For new enh"ghtenment of the world, for rejoicing

of the Catholic Church, and encouragement of men.

. '.W .

•it

Translation from the Original Authorized Spanish Edition

BY

FISCAR MARISON Begun on the Feast of the Assumption

1902

INTRODUCTION TO THE

LIFE OF THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN

GIVING THE REASON FOR WRITING IT, AND EXPLAINING

OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES IX CONNECTION THEREWITH.

1. I should not be astonished to hear myself con-

demned as audacious, foolhardy and presumptuous by

any person who will begin to realize (if realized it can

be) that I, a simple woman, who is of herself but sheer

weakness and ignorance and who is, on account of her

sins, most unworthy, has resolved and attempted to write

of divine and supernatural things. This condemnation

will be the more justified in these, our present times, in

which the holy Church, our mother, is so abundantly

supplied with teachers and holy men, so rich in doctrines

of the holy Fathers and Doctors ; in this our most oppor-

tune age, when even prudent and wise persons, full of

holy zeal in the spiritual life, are disturbed and troubled

at the least mention of a higher life, looking upon visions

and revelations as most suspicious and dangerous paths for the pursuit of Christian perfection. If no excuse can

be found for such an enterprise in itself, or even for at-

tempting things that are so far above and superior to

what man can hope to compass, and so far beyond all

human capacities, then we can only conclude that to un-

dertake them is either a sign of perverse judgment or the

result of an activity far surpassing all the human power. 2. As faithful children of the holv Church we must

4 INTRODUCTION

confess that all the mortals, not only with the use of all

their natural powers, but with the simultaneous use of all

the common and ordinary graces, are but incapable and,

as it were, mute and ignorant weaklings for so difficult an

undertaking as to explain and describe the hidden mys- teries and magnificent sacraments w^hich the powerful arm of the Most High has wrought in that Creature

whom, as his Mother, He has designed to be an immense ocean of grace and privilege and the Depositary of the

greatest treasures of the Divinity. How incapable must our weakness acknowledge itself to be, when even the

angelic spirits confess that words fail them when at-

tempting to describe that which is so far above their

thoughts and capacities. The life of this Phoenix

among the works of God is a book so sealed up that none

is found among all the creatures of heaven and earth,

worthy to open it (Apoc. 4, 3). It is evident then, that

only the powerful Lord can unseal it ; He who made Her

more perfect than all the creatures; or She herself, the

Mistress, our Queen and Mother, who was worthy to re-

ceive and properly to appreciate her ineffable gifts. It

is in her power to select suitable instruments, and such as

for her glory seem capable of manifesting these gifts in

the proportion, at the time, and in the manner serviceable

to her Onlybegotten Son.

3. I would willingly maintain that these instruments

can be no other than the teachers and learned saints of

the Catholic Church, or the doctors of the schools, who have all taught the way of truth and life. But the

thoughts and the judgments of the Most High are ex-

alted as much above ouf own as heaven is exalted above

the earth and no one knows his mind and no one can

counsel Him in his works (Rom. 11, 34) ; He it is that

holds the scales of the sanctuary in his hands (Apoc. 6,

INTRODUCTION 5

5), and who weighs the winds (Job 28, 25) ; who

grasps in his hands all the orbs (Is. 40, 12), and who,

by the equity of his most holy counsels, disposes of all

things with weight and measure (Wis, 11, 21), assign-

ing to each one opportune time and place. He dispenses the light of wisdom (Ecclus. 24, Z7 ) and by his most

equitable bounty He distributes it, and no one can ascend

to the heavens to draw it down (Baruch 3, 29), or fetch

it from the clouds, or know its ways or investigate the

hidden paths thereof (Baruch 3, 31). He alone observes

it as it is in itself, and transfuses it as the vapor and

emanation of his immense charity (Wis. 7, 25) as the

brightness of his eternal light, as the flawless reflection

and image of his eternal bounty, through holy souls

among the nations in order to make them friends of the

Most High and constitute them as Prophets (Wis. 7, 27).

The Lord alone knows why and for what purpose He thus prepared me, the last of his creatures; why He thus

called and raised me, obliged and compelled me, to write

the life of his most holy Mother, our Queen and Lady. 4. It is beyond the prudent surmise of any man that,

without this influence and power of the Most High, the

thought of such a work should enter into a human heart,

or such an enterprise should take shape in my mind. For

I acknowledge and confess myself to be a weak woman,

wanting in all virtue; therefore, it should be far from

my thoughts to approach such a work, but equally as far

from me to refuse it on my own account. In order that a

just estimate may be had in this matter I will mention in

simple truth something of that which happened to me re-

garding this histor\\

5 In the eighth year after the foundation of this con-

vent, in the twenty-fifth of my life, obedience imposed

upon me the office which I unworthily hold at the pres-

6 INTRODUCTION

ent day, namely to be the abbess of this convent. I found

myself much troubled, sorrowful and discouraged, be-

cause neither my age nor my inclinations were such as are

requisite for governing and commanding, but they were

rather such as befitted one who should be governed and

obey. I knew also, that in order to invest me wnth this

office a dispensation had been obtained. On account of

these and other just reasons, the terrors with which the

Most High has crucified me during all my life, were

much augmented. In addition thereto God left me in

dreadful doubt whether I was on the secure path or

whether I should obtain or lose his friendship and grace.

6. In this tribulation I cried to the Lord with all my heart that He help me and if it be his will that I should

be freed from this danger and burden. Although it is

true that the Lord had prepared me sometime before-

hand and commanded me to accept the office, and al-

though when I tried to excuse myself on account of my pusillanimity, He always consoled me and reiterated his

command, I nevertheless did not cease my petitions, but

rather augmented them. For I perceived and understood

in the Lord that, although He showed this to be his holy

will, which I could not hinder, yet I was aware at the

same time that he left me free to retire and resist, and, if

I wished, to act according to my weakness as a creature

and in the consciousness of my total insufficiency ; such is

the prudence of the Lord in his dealings with men. Re-

lying on this kindness of the Lord, I increased my efforts

to be relieved from this evident danger, which is so little

estimated by our human nature with its bad habits and

disorderly passions. The Lord, however, repeated con-

tinually that it was his will and He consoled me, admon-

ishing me through his holy angels to obey.

7. I fled in this affliction to our Queen and Lady as

INTRODUCTION 7

to my only refuge in all troubles, and after I had mani-

fested to Her my way of life and my desires, She deigned to answer me in these sweetest of words : "My daughter, console thyself and do not be disturbed in thy heart on

account of this labor; prepare thyself for it and I will be

thy Mother and Superior, whom thou shalt obey; and the same I will be to thy subjects. I will supplement thy deficiencies and thou shalt be my agent, through whom the will of my Son and my God shall be fulfilled. In all

thy temptations and troubles thou shalt take refuge with

me, confer about them with me, and take the advice,

which I will give thee in all things. Obey me, and I will

favor thee and will continue to be attentive to thy afflic-

tion." These were the words of the Queen, as consoling as they were soothing to my soul. From that day on the

Mother of mercy multiplied her mercies toward me, her

slave ; for She became more intimate with me and con-

tinued her intercourse with my soul, receiving me, listen-

ing to me, teaching me with ineffable condescension, giv-

ing me counsel and encouragement in my affliction, filling

my soul with the light and knowledge of eternal life and

commanding me to renew the vows of my profession in

her presence. Finally this our most amiable Mother and

Lady revealed Herself still more fully to her slave, with-

drawing the veil from the hidden sacraments and mag- nificent mysteries which are contained, though unknown to mortals, in her most holy life. And, although this

blessed and supernatural light was uninterrupted, and

especially clear on her festival days and on other occa-

sions when I was instructed in many mysteries ; yet it was not so full, frequent and clear as that which was after-

wards vouchsafed to me when She added the command that I write the history of her life according as her Ma-

jesty herself should dictate and inspire me. Particularly

8 INTRODUCTION

on one of these festivals of the most holy Mary the Most

High informed me that He had in reserve many hidden

sacraments and blessings, which He had conferred upon this his heavenly Mother in the days of her pilgrimage and that it was his intention to manifest them to me, in

order that I might write them down according to her^

guidance. This will of the Most High, though I resisted

it, was continually present to my mind for the space of

ten years, until I attempted the first writing of this divine

history.

8. Consulting about my doubts with the holy princes and angels, whom the Most High had appointed to direct

this work of writing the history of our Queen, and mani-

festing to them how great was my disturbance and afflic-

tion of heart and how stuttering and mute was my tongue for such an arduous task, they replied over and over

again that it was the will of the Most High that I write

the life of his most pure Mother and our Mistress. On one day especially, when I made many objections and de-

clared to them my difficulties, and my incapability and

great fears, they spoke to me these words: "With good reason thou fearest and art disturbed, O soul, doubtest

and hesitatest in a matter, where we angels ourselves

would do the same, as considering ourselves unable wor-

thily to describe the high and magnificent doings of the

Omnipotent in the Mother of Piety and our own Queen. But remember, dearest soul, that the firmament, the

whole machinery of the world and all things created will

sooner fail, than the words of the Most High Many times He has promised to his creatures, and in the holy

Scriptures it is recorded, that the obedient man shall

speak of victories over his enemies and shall not be repre- hensible in obeying (Prov. 21, 28). And when Pie cre-

ated the first man and gave him the command not to eat

INTRODUCTION 9

of the tree of knowledge, he established the virtue of

obedience, and swearing He swore, in order to give

greater assurance to man. For the Lord has repeatedly

given such an oath ; for instance, when He promised to

Abraham that the Messias should descend from his race.

He added thereto the assurance of an oath (Gen. 22,

16) ; the same He did when He created the first man,

assuring him that the obedient shall not err. He also

repeated this oath, when He ordained that his most holy

Son should die (Luke 1, 73) ; and He gave a like assur-

ance to men that they, who should obey this second

Adam, imitating Him in the obedience, by which He re-

stored what the first lost through his disobedience, shall

live forever and that the enemy shall have no part in

them. Remember, Mary, that all obedience takes its rise

from God as from its first and principal source, and we

angels obey the power of his divine right hand and his

most just will. We cannot contravene or ignore it, be-

cause we see the immutable being of God face to face

and we perceive that his will is holy, pure and true, most

equitable and just. Now this certainty, which we angels

possess through the beatific vision, you mortals also pos- sess in its proper proportion as wayfarers through the

words of the Lord concerning your prelates and supe- riors : "He who hears you, hears Me

; and who obeys you,

obeys Me." (Luke 20, 16). Now since obedience is ren-

dered on account of God, who is the principal Cause and

who is the Superior of all, it is befitting to his almighty Providence that He take the consequences of obedience,

whenever that which is commanded is not in itself sin-

ful. Accordingly the Lord assures us of these things by an oath, and He will sooner cease to exist, though this is

impossible, than that He will fail in his word. In the

same way as the children proceed from their parents, and

10 INTRODUCTION

all the living from Adam, multiplied from his natural

being in his posterity; so also all superiors are consti-

tuted by God as by the supreme Lord on whose account we

yield obedience to them ; human beings to their living su-

periors, we angels to our higher hierarchies of the same

nature, and all beings together, in their superiors, obey the eternal God. Remember now, that all of these have

directed and commanded thee to do that, about which

thou still hesitatest; if thou now shouldst begin to write

by mistake, intending thereby to fulfill his commands in

obedience, then the Most High would do with thy pen the

same as He did with the knife of Abraham, when he was

about to sacrifice his son Isaac, for on that occasion the

Lord commanded one of us angels to withhold the arm and the knife. He did not thus command us to withhold

thy pen, but has ordered us with lightest breath to speed it

on, and while gazing on his Majesty, to direct and assist

thee by illuminating thy intellect."

9. Such encouragement and instruction my holy angels and lords gave me at this time. On many other occa-

sions the prince saint Michael informed me of the same

wish and command of the Most High. By the continual

enlightenments, favors and instructions of this great

prince, I have understood great sacraments and mysteries of the Lord and of the Queen of heaven

; for this angel

was one of those, who guarded and assisted Her and

who were delegated from the angelic choirs, as I will re-

late in its place (Part I, 201-206). He is at the same

time the general patron and protector of the holy Church.

He was a special witness and faithful minister of the mys- teries of the Incarnation and Redemption. This I have

often heard of saint Michael himself, who showed me

singular favors in my troubles and dangers, and has

promised me his assistance and direction in this under-

taking.

INTRODUCTION 11

10. In addition to all this and other facts, which need not here be mentioned, and in addition to what I shall say farther on, the Lord has directly, in his own person, com- manded and manifested to me his will many times, and in

words which I shall presently repeat. He said to me one

day on the festival of the Presentation of most holy

Mary in the temple : "My spouse, many mysteries per-

taining to my Mother and the saints have been made manifest in the Church militant; but many are still hid-

den, especially the interior secrets of their lives, and these

I wish now to make known ; and I desire thee to put them

down in writing according as thou art directed by the

most pure Mary. I will reveal and explain them to thee ;

for until now I have, according to the hidden designs of

my wisdom, kept them in reserve, because the time for

revealing them was not befitting or opportune to my Providence. Now, however, it is, and it is my will that

thou write. Obey, soul!"

11. All these facts which I have mentioned, and many more which I could mention, would not have been urgent

enough to rouse my will to an enterprise so arduous and so foreign to my condition, if to them had not been added the motive of obedience to my superiors, who are set to

govern my soul and teach me the way of truth. For cer-

tainly my mistrusts and fears were not so unimportant as to permit me to come to a full decision without their

commands in so great a matter, when in resolving upon others, also supernatural and vastly less difficult, I rely so much on the guidance of obedience. As an ignorant woman I have always sought this northstar, for it is a

duty incuml>ent on all to test all things, even though they seem to be most noble and excellent beyond suspicion, by the approbation of the teachers and ministers of the holy Church, Such assurance I have been solicitous to pro-

12 INTRODUCTION

cure for the direction of my soul, and more particularly in this undertaking of writing the life of the Queen of

heaven. I have frequently tried to prevent my superiors

from being moved by any accounts of my interior ex-

periences, disguising, as much as I could, many things,

and in tears begging the Lord to enlighten them and to

fill them with mistrust against me, to watch over them lest they be deceived or lest they permit me to be deceived

or misdirected. Many times I have desired that the very

thought of allowing me to engage in this enterprise

would fade from their minds.

12. I will also confess that the demon, availing himself

of my natural dispositions and of my fears, has made

great efforts to hinder this work by seeking to terrify and

afflict me. He would no doubt have succeeded in keep-

ing me from it if the zeal and persistence of my superiors

had not counteracted my cowardice. In this persecution the Lord, the most pure Virgin and the holy angels often

took occasion to renew their enlightenment, their tokens

and wonders. Nevertheless, in spite of all this, I de-

ferred, or to speak more appropriately, I resisted this un-

dertaking many years ; I refused compliance, as I will de-

scribe further on, not having the boldness to attempt the

execution of something so far above all my powers. And I believe that this was not without special providence of

his Majesty; for in the course of those years so many things have happened to me, and I may say, so many mysterious and various difficulties intervened, that I

would not have been able to preserve the tranquillity and

quiet of spirit, which is necessary for retaining the

proper light and information; for not in all states of

mind, though they are of the highest and most advanced,

can the soul engage in that exalted activity which is

necessary to correspond to such exquisite and delicate in-

INTRODUCTION 13

Alienees. In addition to this, there was still another rea-

son, namely: During this protracted delay I could inform

myself and assure myself of the truth of these things not

only by means of the new enlightenment, which grew as

time passed on, and by the prudence which experience

gives, but also by the persevering insistence of the Lord,

of the holy angels and of my superiors, under whose

obedience I lived. Likewise an opportunity was given

me to quiet my fears and misgivings, to overcome my cowardice and perplexity, and to trust that to the Lord,

which I would not trust to my weakness.

13. Confiding then in the great virtue of obedience, I

resolved in the name of the Lord and of my Queen and

Mistress to lay aside my reluctance. I call this virtue

great, not only because by it the most noble activities in

the faculties of a creature, namely the mind, the judg-

ment and free will, are offered as a holocaust to the

Lord ; but also because no other virtue ever assures suc-

cess more unfailingly than obedience ; for by it the crea-

ture then does not operate of itself alone, but also as an

instrument of him that governs and commands. This was

the assurance of Abraham, when he overcame the force

of the natural love for his son Isaac (Gen. 22, 3), And if it was sufficient for such an act, and sufficient to detain

the sun and the heavens in their swift course (Josue

10, 13), it can certainly be sufficient to influence the

movement of the earth. Perchance if the hand of Oza had been guided by obedience, he would perhaps not

have been punished as presumptuous in touching the ark.

Well do I know that I am more unworthy than Oza in

stretching out ray hand to touch, not the lifeless and fig-

urative ark of the old covenant, but the living Ark of the

New Testament, which contained the manna of the Di-

vinitv, the source of grace and the New Law. But if I

14 INTRODUCTION

remain silent, I fear with good reason to disobey most

high commands, and I could exclaim with Isaias : "Woe is me because I kept my peace!" (Is. 6, 5). Therefore,

O my Queen and Lady, it is better that thy benignest

goodness and mercy and the blessings of thy liberal hand

should shine forth through my base and unworthy ef-

forts ;

it is better that I should experience thy blessings in

obeying thy commands, than that I should fall into thy

displeasure. I\ will be a work of thy clemency, O purest

Mother, to raise the poor from the earth and to execute

through a weak and unfit instrument, a work so difficult ;

for thereby Thou shalt magnify thy condescension and

the graces which thy most holy Son communicates to

Thee. Moreover Thou thereby shalt exclude that deceit-

ful presumption, which might make us imagine that by human efforts, or by earthly prudence, or by the force

and authority of deep discussion, this work is accom-

plished. Thou thereby showest, that by divine virtue

Thou awakenest anew the hearts of the faithful, drawing them toward Thee, Thou fountain of kindness and

mercy. Speak therefore, O Lady, that thy servant may hear with an ardent desire fully to obey Thee (I Kings 3, 19). But how can my desires ever reach or equal my indebtedness? A befitting response on my part will be

impossible, but if it were possible, I would desire to give it. O powerful and exalted Queen, fulfill thy promises

by manifesting to me thy graces and attributes, in order

that thy greatness may be made known and heralded

through the nations and generations. Speak, O Lady, for thy servant heareth

; speak and magnify the Most

High in the powerful and wonderful works, which his

right hand performed for Thee in thy most profound hu-

mility. Let them flow from the hollow of his hands

filled with hyacinths into thine (Cant. 5, 14), and from

INTRODUCTION IS

thine to thy devout servants, in order that the angels

may bless Him, the just magnify Him, and the sinners

seek Him. Let all of them see the example of thy high- est sanctity and purity, and by the grace of thy most holy Son, let me be favored with this mirror and efficacious

rule, by which I can set my life in order. For this is to

be the principal purpose and first object of my solicitude

in writing thy life. This Thou hast repeatedly intimated

to me, condescending to offer me a living pattern and a

mirror without flaw, in which I should see and according to which I should adorn my soul, so as to become worthy to be thy daughter and the bride of thy most holy Son.

14. This shall be my whole object and intention; and therefore I shall not write as a teacher, but as a disciple ;

not as one instructing, but as one trying to learn, know-

ing that it is the duty of women to be silent in the holy

Church, and to listen to the teachers (I Cor. 14, 34). But as an instrument of the Queen of heaven I will de-

clare what She deigns to teach me and whatever She commands me ; for all the souls are capable of receiving the Spirit, which her divine Son has promised to pour out over men of all conditions (Joel 2, 28). The souls

are also able to communicate it in a befitting manner, whenever a higher authority acting according to the dis-

pensations of Christ's Church so disposes. I am now convinced that the Church has authorized this history

through my superiors. That I should err is possible, and to an ignorant woman, natural ; but then I err, while

obeying and not acting of my own free will ; thus I remit

myself and subject myself to those who are my guides and to the correction of the holy Catholic Church, to

whose ministers I fly in all my difficulties. And I wish that my superior, teacher and confessor be a witness and a censor of this doctrine, which I receive, and also a

16 INTRODUCTION

severe and vigilant judge of the manner in which I put it into practice, or fail in the fulfilling of the obligations

consequent upon this blessing.

15. Pursuant to the will of the Lord and the com-

mand of obedience, I have written for the second time

this heavenly history; for during the first writing of it,

though the light by which I perceived the mysteries was abundant and fruitful in proportion as my shortcomings were great, my tongue was unequal to the task of finding

the proper terms, and my pen not swift enough for a full

statement, I omitted some things, and with the lapse of

time and by the aid of new enlightenments, I found my- self better prepared to write at this second time Nev-

ertheless there always remains much of what I imder-

stood and have seen, which I must leave unsaid; since to

say all will never be possible. Besides these reasons,

there was another known to me in the Lord, namely ;

That in my first writing my mind was much hindered

from attending to the matter and arrangement of this

work by my temptations and great fears. They raised

such tempests of contrary thoughts and suggestions with-

in me, that, deeming it the greatest presumption to have

attempted such an arduous task, I concluded to burn it.

And I believe that this did not happen without the per-

mission of the Lord, for in the turbulency of my soul I

could not present myself in a state entirely befitting and

desirable to the Lord for writing and engraving into my heart and spirit his doctrine, as He commands me to do

now and as can be seen from the following event.

16. On one of the festival days of the Purification of

Our Lady, after having received the most holy Sacra-

ment, I wished to celebrate this holy festival, which was

the anniversary of my profession, with many acts of

thanksgiving and of total resignation to the Most High,

INTRODUCTION 17

who without any merits of mine had chosen me as his

spouse. While I was thus exciting these affections, I felt

in my interior a most powerful change accompanied by abundant light which raised me and urged me strongly and sweetly toward the knowledge of the essence of God, his goodness, perfections and attributes, and to the dis-

closing of my own misery (Wis. 8, 1). And these dif-

ferent things, which were placed before my understand-

ing at one and the same time, produced in me various

effects : The first was that all the attention of my mind and all my aspirations were raised on high ;

the other

effect was, that I was humbled in mind to the very dust,

in such a way that it seemed to take away my own exist-

ence. At the same time I felt a most vehement sorrow and contrition for my grievous sins, joined to the de-

termination to amend and to renounce all worldly things,

aspiring instead toward complete love of God. In these

affects I remained as if annihilated, and the greatest pain seemed but consolation, and death, but life. The Lord

having pity on my faintness, in sheer mercy, spoke to

me: "Be not dismayed, my daughter and spouse, for in

order to pardon, to wash and to purify thee from thy sins, I will apply my infinite merits and the blood, which I shed for thee; animate thyself to desire all perfection in imitation of the life of the most holy Mar\'. Write it

a second time in order that thou mayest supply what was

wanting and impress her doctrines on thy heart. Do not

again irritate my justice, nor show thyself thankless for

my mercy by burning what thou shalt have written. lest

my indignation deprive thee of the light which, without

thy merits, thou hast received for the manifestation of

these mysteries." 17. I immediately thereupon saw the Mother of God,

who also spoke to me: "My daughter, as yet thou hast

18 INTRODUCTION

not derived becoming fruit for thy soul from the tree of

life, which was offered thee in the writing of my history, nor didst thou enter into the substance of its contents.

Thou hast scarcely yet thought of this hidden manna, nor hast thou attained that perfect and ultimate prepara-

tion, which the Almighty requires in order to engrave and imprint, in a proper manner, my virtues into thy soul. I am^to give thee the befitting qualities and per- fections for that which the divine right hand is to accom-

plish in thee. I have asked Him that, through my inter-

cession and through the abundant graces conferred upon me, I be permitted to adorn thee and compose thy soul,

so that thou mayest turn again to the writing of my life

with less attention to the material and more to the spir-

itual and substantial part of it. Remove the hindrances

which oppose the currents of divine grace flowing to

thee from the Almighty through me and make thyself ca-

pable of readily accepting the full portion assigned to thee

by the divine will. See that thou do not curtail or limit

i'- by thy shortcomings and imperfections." Thereupon I saw that the divine Mother clothed me in a garment whiter than the snow and more shining than the sun

;

and She girded me with a most precious girdle and said :

"This is a participation of my purity." I also asked for

the infused science of the Lord, which should serve me as most beautiful hair for my adornment and for other

precious gifts and presents, the value of which I saw and

knew was great, but which I was not able fully to esti-

mate. After having thus adorned me, the heavenly Lady said : "Work faithfully and earnestly to imitate me and

to be my most perfect daughter, engendered of my spirit,

nourished at my breast. I give thee my blessing, in

order that in my name and under my direction and assist-

ance thou mayest again resume thy writing."

INTRODUCTION 19

18. The whole of this holy life of Mary is divided,

for greater perspicuity, into three parts. The first treats

of aU that pertains to the first fifteen years of her life,

from the moment of her most pure Conception until the

moment when in her virginal womb the eternal Word assumed flesh, including all that the Most High per- formed for Mary during these years. The second part

embraces the mystery of the Incarnation, the whole life

of Christ our Lord, his Passion and Death and his As-

cension into heaven, thus describing the life of our Queen in union with that of her divine Son and all that She did

while living with Him. The third part contains the life

of the Mother of grace during the time She lived alone,

deprived of the companionship of Christ our Redeemer,

imtil the happy hour of her transition, assumption and

crowning as the Empress of heaven, w'here She is to live

eternally as the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of

the Son and the Spouse of the Holy Ghost. These three

parts I subdivided into eight books, in order that they

may be more convenient for use and always remain the

subject of my thoughts, the spur of my will and my meditation day and night.

19. In order to say something of the time in which

I wrote this heavenly history, it must be noticed that my father, brother Francis Coronel, and my mother, sister

Catharine de Arana, my parents, founded in their own house this convent of the discalced nuns of the Immacu- late Conception by the command and the will of God, which was declared to my mother, sister Catharine, in a

special vision and revelation. This foundation took place

on the octave of the Epiphany, January 13th, 1619. On the same day we took the habit, my mother and her two

daughters; and my father took refuge in the order of our

seraphic Father Saint Francis, in which two of his sons

20 INTRODUCTION

had already been living as religious. There he took the

habit, made his profession, lived an exemplary life, and

died a most holy death. My mother and myself received

the veil on the day of the Purification of the Queen of

heaven, on the second of February, 1620. On account

of the youth of the other daughter her profession was

delayed. The Almighty in his sheer goodness favored

our family so much, that all of us were consecrated to

Him in the religious state. In the eighth year of the

foundation of this convent, in the twenty-fifth of my age, in the year of our Lord 1627, holy obedience imposed

upon me the office of abbess, which to this day I un-

worthily hold. During the first ten years of the time in

which I held this office, I received many commands from the Most High and from the Queen of heaven to write

her holv life, and I continued in fear and doubt to resist

these heavenly commands during all that time until the

year 1637, when I began to write it the first time. On finishing it, being full of fears and tribulations, and be-

ing so counseled by a confessor (who directed me dur-

ing the absence of my regular confessor), I burned all

the writing containing not only this history, but many other grave and mysterious matters

; for he told me, that

women should not write in the Church. I obeyed his

commands promptly ; but I had to endure most severe re-

proaches on this account from my superiors and from the

confessor, who knew my whole life. In order to force

me to rewrite this history, they threatened me with cen-

sures. The Most High and the Queen of heaven also

repeated their commands that I obey. During this sec-

ond writing, so abundant was the light concerning the

divine Essence, so copious were the blessings of the di-

vine right hand for the renewal and vivification of my soul in the teachings of my heavenly Mother, so perfect

INTRODUCTION 21

were the instructions and so exalted were the sacraments

communicated to me, that it was necessary to write an-

other book in connection with this history, the title of

which will be : "Laws of the Spouse ; heights of his di-

vine love and fruits gathered from the tree of life of

most holy Mary, our Lady." By divine favor I begin re-

writing this history on the eighth of December, 1655, on

the day of the Immaculate Conception.

BOOK ONE Treats of the Divine Fore-Ordalnment of Christ and His (Mother as the

Highest Ideals of all Creation; of the Creation of the Angels and Men as their Servants; of the Lineage of the Just Men,

Finally Resulting in the Immaculate Conception and Birth of the Queen of Heaven; and of Her Life

up to Her Presentation in the Temple.

CHAPTER I.

CONCERNING TWO SPECIAL VISIONS VOUCHSAFED TO MY SOUIv BY THE LORD AND CONCERNING OTHER ENLIGHT-

ENMENTS AND MYSTERIES, WHICH COMPELLED ME TO

WITHDRAW FROM EARTHLY THINGS AND RAISED MY SPIRIT TO DWELL ABOVE THE EARTH.

1. I confess to Thee (Matth. 11, 25) and magnify Thee, King Most High, that in thy exalted Majesty Thou hast hidden these high mysteries from the wise and from the teachers, and in thy condescension hast revealed them to me, the most insignificant and useless slave of thy

Church, in order that Thou mavest be the more admired

as the omnipotent Author of this history in proportion as its instrument is despicable and weak.

2. After I had overcome the above mentioned reluc-

tance and disorderly fears which caused so much timid

hesitation, lest I suffer shipwreck in that sea of marvels,

the most exalted Lord caused me to feel a virtue from on

high, strong, sweet, efficacious and gentle ; an enlighten-

ment which illumined the intellect, subjected the rebel-

lious will, tranquillizing, directing, governing and attract-

ing the whole range of interior and exterior senses, thus

2^

24 CITY OF GOD

subjecting my entire being to the will and pleasure of the

Most High and directing it in all things toward his honor

and glory alone. Being thus prepared, I heard a voice

from the Almighty, which called me and raised me up toward Him, exalting my dwelling-place on high (Ec- clus. 51, 13) and strengthening me against the lions, that

hungrily roared about me in order to snatch my soul

from the enjoyment of great blessings in the boundless

mysteries of this holy Tabernacle and City of God. Sur-

rounded by the sorrows of death and perdition (Ps. 17, 5) and beset by the flames of Sodom and Babylon, in which

we live, it liberated me from the portals of sorrow, into

which I was enticed to enter. My enemies, forming vis-

ions of fallacious and deceitful delights for the misleading of my senses and the capture of them by pretended pleas-

ures, set their allurements about me, in order that I might

blindly turn toward these flames and be consumed by them. But from all these snares, laid for my footsteps

(Ps. 56, 7), the Most High has delivered me, elevating my spirit and teaching me by the most efficacious admonitions

the way of perfection. He invited me to a life spiritual-

ized and angelic, and obliged me to live so cautiously, that

in the midst of the furnace, the fire touched me not (Ec- cli. 51,6). He often liberated me from the impure tongue, when it sought to communicate to me its earthly fables

(Ps. 118, 85). His Majesty invited me to rise from the

dust and littleness of the law of sin, to resist the defec-

tions of sin-infected nature and restrain its disorders,

combatting them by his enlightening inspirations and rais-

ing myself above myself (Lam. 3, 28). He called me re-

peatedly, sometimes by the power of his omnipotence, sometimes with the correction of a Father, and at others

with the love of a Spouse, saying: Arise, my dove, creation

of my hands, make haste and come to Me (Cant. 2, 10),

THE CONCEPTION 25

who am the light and the way (John 8, 12), he that fol-

lows Me, walks not in darkness. Come to Me, who am the secure truth, and unchangeable holiness, to Me, who am the Powerful and the Wise, and the Teacher of those

that follow wisdom (Wis. 7, 15).

3. These words were like arrows of sweet love, which

filled me with admiration, reverence, knowledge and

dread of my sins and of my vileness, so that I retired

from his presence, shrunken and annihilated in the

knowledge of my nothingness. And the Lord spoke to

me: ''Come, O soul, come to Me, who am thy omnipo- tent God, and although thou hast been a prodigal child

and a sinner, arise from the earth and come to Me, thy

Father; receive the stole of my friendship and the ring

of a spouse." 4. Still remaining in that secure retreat of which I

have spoken, I saw on a certain day, six angels, whom the Almighty had appointed to assist and guide me in

this undertaking and in other dangers. Coming toward

me, they purified and prepared my soul, and then pre-

sented me before the Lord. His Majesty gave to my in-

terior being a new light and, as it were, a participation

in glory, by which I was made capable and desirous of

seeing and understanding the things, which are above the

powers of a mere terrestrial creature. Soon after, two

other angels, of a still higher order, appeared to me and I

felt within me the power of the Lord by which they

called me. I understood that they were most mysterious

envoys and that they wished to reveal to me high and

hidden sacraments. Eagerly I responded, and desirous

of enjoying the blessing which they pointed out to me. I

declared to them, how ardently I longed to see what they

wished to show me and yet so mysteriously concealed

from me. Then they at once answered with great seren-

26 CITY OF GOD

ity: "Restrain thyself, O soul." I turned to the great

princes of heaven and said : "Princes of the Almighty and messengers of the great King! Why do you now de-

tain me contrary to my will and why do you defer my joy and my delight, after you have called me? What force is this of yours, and what power, which calls me, fills me with fervor, which allures and yet detains me, which attracts me to follow after the odor of my beloved

Lord and of his ointments, and yet restrains me with

strong bonds? Tell me the cause of all this!" They answered : "Because, in order to be instructed in all these

mysteries, thou must needs, O soul, come with bare feet

and despoiled of all thy desires and passions; for these

mysteries do not accommodate or lend themselves to dis-

ordered inclinations. Take off thy shoes like Moses

(Exodus 3, 5), for such was the command given to him before he could see the wonderful bush." "Princes of

heaven and my lords," I answered, "much was asked of

Moses, when he received the command to perform the

works of an angel while yet living in mortal flesh : but he

was a saint, and I am but a sinner full of miseries. My heart is disturbed and I am in conflict with the slavery and the oppression of sin, which I feel in my members, and which are opposed to the law of the spirit" (Rom. 7, 23). To which they rejoined: "Soul, it would in-

deed be for thee a most difficult enterprise, if thou hadst

to execute it merely with thy own power; but the Most

High, who wishes to see in thee this disposition, is pow- erful, and He will not deny to thee his help, if from thy heart thou ask his assistance and thou prepare thyself to

receive it. And his power, which caused the bush to

burn and at the same time prevented it from being con-

sumed, can prevent also the fire of the passions which

encompass and beset the soul, from consuming it, if it

THE CONCEPTION 27

truly desires to be saved. His Majesty asks for that

which He desires, and can execute what He asks.

Strengthened by Him, thou canst do that which He com-

mands (Phil. 4, 13) ; take off thy shoes and weep in bit-

ter sorrow, call out to Him from the bottom of thy heart,

in order that thy prayers may be heard and thy desires

fulfilled."

5. Presently I saw a most precious veil covering a

treasure and my heart burned with desire to see it raised

and to look upon the sacred mystery which I understood

was hidden beneath. My desire was answered in the fol-

lowing manner: "Obey, O soul, in what was enjoined

and commanded thee ; despoil thyself of thyself, and then

this mystery will be revealed to thee." I resolved to

amend my life and to overcome my appetite; I sighed

and wept with many aspirations from my inmost soul

for the manifestation of this blessing. While I made

my good resolves, the veil which covered the treasure,

began to be lifted. Presently the veil fell entirely and

my interior eyes saw what I shall not know how to de-

scribe in words. I saw a great and mysterious sign in

heav^en; I saw a Woman, a most beautiful Lady and

Queen, crowned with the stars, clothed with the sun, and

the moon was at her feet (Apoc. 12, 1). The holy an-

gels spoke to me: "This is that blessed Woman, whom Saint John saw in the Apocalypse, and in whom are en-

closed, deposited and sealed up the wonderful mysteries

of the Redemption. So much has the most high and pow- erful God favored this Creature, that we. his angelic

spirits, are full of astonishment. Contemplate and ad-

mire her prerogatives, record them in writing, because

that is the purpose for which, according to the measure

suitable to thy circumstances, they will be made mani-

fest to thee." I was made to see such wonders, that the

28 CITY OF GOD

greatness of them took away my speech, and my admira-

tion of them suspended my other faculties ; nor do I think

that all the created beings in this mortal life will ever

comprehend them, as will appear in the sequel of my dis-

course.

6. On another day, while my soul sweetly tarried in

the aforesaid habitation, I heard a voice from the Most

High saying: "My spouse, I desire that thou rouse thy-

self in earnest to seek Me, and to love Me with fervor;

that thou make thy life more angelic than human, and

that thou forget entirely the terrestrial affairs. I wish to

raise thee as one that is poor from the dust, and as one

full of need from the dunghill (Ps. 112, 7), so that,

while I exalt thee, thou mayest humiliate thyself, and

the nard of thy sweet odor may remain in my presence ;

knowing thy own misery, be thou convinced from the

bottom of thy heart, that thou meritest for thyself only tribulation and humiliation. Consider my greatness and

thy littleness; remember that I am just and holy; I deal

with thee considerately, making use rather of my mercy and not chastising thee as thou deservest. Strive to build

upon this foundation of humility all the other virtues in

order to fulfill my wishes. I appoint my Virgin Mother to teach, correct and reprehend thee. She will spur thee

onward and accompany thy footsteps according to my liking and pleasure."

7. While the Most High spoke to me the Queen stood

near by; and the heavenly Princess disdained not to ac-

cept the office which his Majesty assigned to Her. She

accepted it benignly and said to me : "My daughter, I

desire that thou be my disciple and my companion, and I will be thy Teacher; but remember that thou must obey me courageously and from this day on no vestige of a

daughter of Adam must be found in thee. My conduct

THE CONCEPTION 29

and my works during my pilgrimage on earth, and the

wonders, which the arm of the Almighty wrought

through me. shall be the mirror and the model of thy life." I prostrated myself before the throne of the King and Queen of the universe and I offered to obey Her in

all things; I gave thanks to the Highest for the favor,

which He, so much in excess of my merits, conferred

upon me in giving me such a Guide and Protectress. Into

Her hands I renewed the vows of my profession; I of-

fered myself to Her and proposed to work anew at the

amendment of my life. Again the Lord spoke to me :

"Behold and see !" Turning 1 saw a most beautiful lad-

der with many rungs ; around it were many angels, and

a great number of them were ascending and descending

upon it. His Alajesty said to me: "This is the mys- terious ladder of Jacob, the house of God and the portal

of heaven (Gen. 28, 17) ; if thou wilt earnestly strive to

live irreprehensible in my eves, thou wilt ascend upon it to ]\Ie."

8. This promise incited my desires, set my will aflame

and enraptured my spirit; with many tears I grieved,

that I should be a burden to myself in my sinfulness

(Job. 7, 20). I sighed for the end of my captivity and

longed to arrive where there would be no obstacle to my love. In this anxiety I passed some days, trying to re-

form my life; I again made a general confession and

corrected some of my imperfections. The vision of the

ladder continued without intermission, but it was not ex-

plained to me. I made many promises to the Lord and

proposed to free myself from all terrestrial things and

to resen-e the powers of my will entirely for his love,

without allowing it to incline toward any creature, be it

ever so small or unsuspicious ; I repudiated all visible

and sensible things. Having passed some days in these

30 CITY OF GOD

affections and sentiments, I was informed by the Most

High, that the ladder signified the hfe of the most Holy Virgin, its virtues and sacraments. His Majesty said to

me : "I desire, my spouse, that thou ascend this stair of

Jacob and enter through this door of heaven to acquire the knowledge of my attributes and occupy thyself in the

contemplation of my Divinity. Arise then and walk,

ascend by it to Me. These angels, which surround it

and accompany it, are those that I appointed as the gtiar-

dians of Mary, as the defenders and sentinels of the cita-

del of Sion. Consider Her attentively, and, meditating on her virtues, seek to imitate them." It seemed to me then, that I ascended the ladder and that I recognized the great wonders and the ineffable prodigies of the Lord in a mere Creature and the greatest sanctity and perfec- tion of virtue ever worked by the arm of the Almighty. At the top of the ladder I saw the Lord of hosts and the

Queen of all creation. They commanded me to glorify,

exalt and praise Him on account of these great mysteries and to write down so much of them, as I might bring

myself to understand. The exalted and high Lord gave me a law, written not only on tablets, as He gave to

Moses (Exod. 3L 18), but one wrought by his omnipo- tent finger in order that it might be studied and ob-

served (Ps. 1, 2). He moved my will so that in her

presence I promised to overcome my repugnance and

with her assistance to set about writing her history, pay-

ing attention to three things: First, to remember that

the creature must ever seek to acknowledge the profound reverence due to God and to abase itself in proportion to

the condescension of his Majesty toward men and that

the effect of greater favors and benefits must be a greater

fear, reverence, attention and humility; secondly, to be

ever mindful of the obligation of all men, who are so for-

THE COXXEPTION 31

getful of their own salvation, to consider and learn what

they owe to the Queen and Mother of piety on account

of the part assumed by Her in the Redemption, to think

of the love and the reverence which She showed to God and the honor in which we are to hold this great Lady ;

thirdly, to be willing- to have my spiritual director, and if

necessary the whole world, find out my littleness and

vileness, and the small returns which I make for w^hat I

receive.

9. To these my protestations the most Holy Virgin answered : "My daughter, the world stands much in need

of this doctrine, for it does not know, nor does it prac-

tice, the reverence due to the Lord omnipotent. On ac-

count of this ignorance his justice is provoked to afflict

and humiliate men. They are sunken in their careless-

ness and filled with darkness, not knowing how to seek

relief or attain to the light. This, however, is justly their

lot, since they fail in the reverence and fear, which they

ought to have." Besides this the Most High and the

Queen gave me many other instructions, in order to make clear to me their will in regard to this work. It seemed to me temerity and want of charity toward myself, to re-

ject the instruction which She had promised me for nar-

rating the course of her most holy life. It seemed

equally improper to put off the writing of it, since the

Most High had intimated this as the fitting and oppor- tune time, saying to me in this regard : "My daughter, when I sent my Onlybegotten, the world, with the excep- tion of the few souls that served Me, was in worse condi-

tion than it ever had been since its beginning; for human nature is so imperfect that if it does not subject itself to

the interior guidance of my light and to the fulfillment of

the precepts of my ministers by sacrificing its own judg- ment and following Me, who am the way, the truth and

32 CITY OF GOD

the life (John 14, 6), and by carefully observing my com- mandments in order not to lose my friendship, it will

presently fall into the abyss of darkness and innumerable

miseries, until it arrives at obstinacy in sin. From the

creation and sin of the first man until I gave the law to

Moses, men governed themselves according to their own inclinations* and fell into many errors and sins (Rom. 8,

13). After having received the law, they again com- mitted sin by not obeying it (John 7, 19) and thus they lived on, separating themselves more and more from truth and light and arriving at the state of complete for-

getfulness. In fatherly love I sent them eternal salvation

and a remedy for the incurable infirmities of human na-

ture, thus justifying my cause. And just as I then

chose the opportune time for the greater manifestation of

my mercy, so I now select this time for showing toward

them another very great favor. For now the hour has

come and the opportune time to let men know the just

cause of my anger, and they are now justly charged and

convinced of their guilt. Now I will make manifest my indignation and exercise my justice and equity; I will

show how well justified is my cause. In order that this

may come to pass more speedily, and because it is now time that my m.ercy show itself more openly and be-

cause my love must not be idle, I will offer to them an

opportune remedy, if they will but make use of it for re-

turning again to my favor. Now, at this hour, when the

world has arrived at so unfortunate a pass, and when,

though the Word has become incarnate, mortals are more careless of their weal and seek it less

; when the day of

their transitory life passes swiftly at the setting of the

sun of time; when the night of eternity is approaching closer and closer for the wicked and the day without a

night is being born for the just; when the majority of

THE CONCEPTION 33

mortals are sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness

of their ignorance and guilt, oppressing the just and

mocking the children of God ; when my holy and divine

law is despised in the management of the iniquitous af-

fairs of state, which are as hostile as they are contrary to

my Providence; when the wicked least deserve my mer-

cy; in these predestined times, I wish to open a portal for the just ones through which they can find access to

my mercy; I wish to give them a light by which they can

dispel the gloom that envelops the eyes of their minds.

I wish to furnish them a suitable remedy for restoring them to my grace. Happy they who find it, and blessed

they who shall appreciate its value, rich they who shall

come upon this treasure, and blessed and very wise those

who sh.Jl search into and shall understand its marvels

and hidden mysteries. I desire to make known to mor- tals how much intercession of Her is worth, who brought restoration of life by giving mortal existence to the im-

mortal God. As recompense I desire that they look upon the wonders wrought by my mighty arm in that pure Creature, as upon a mirror by which they can estimate

their own ingratitude. I wish to make known to them much of that, which according to my high judgment is

still hidden concerning the ^lother of the Word." 10. "I have not revealed these mysteries in the primitive

Church, because they are so great, that the faithful

would have been lost in the contemnlation and admira-

tion of them at a time when it was more necessary to

establish firmly the law of grace and of the Gospel. Al-

though all mysteries of religion are in perfect harmony with each other, yet human ignorance might have suf-

fered recoil and doubt at their magnitude, when faith

in the Incarnation and Redemption and the precepts of

the new law of the Gospel were yet in their beginnings.

34 CITY OF GOD

On this same account the person of the incarnate Word said to his disciples at the last supper: "Many things

have I to say to you ; but you are not yet disposed to re-

ceive them" (John 6, 12). These words He addressed

to all the world, for it was not yet capable of giving full

obedience to the law of grace and full assent to the faith

in the Son, much less was it prepared to be introduced

into the mysteries of his Mother. But now, mankind has greater need for this manifestation, and this neces-

sity urges Me to disregard their evil disposition. And if

men would now seek to please Me by reverencing, be-

lieving, and studying the wonders, which are intimately

connected with this Mother of Piety, and if they would

all begin to solicit her intercession from their whole

heart, the world would find some relief. I will not longer withhold from men this mystical City of refuge; de-

scribe and delineate it to them, as far as thy shortcom-

ings allow. I do not intend that thy descriptions and

declarations of the life of the Blessed Virgin shall be

mere opinions or contemplations, but reliable truth. They that have ears to hear, let them hear. Let those who thirst come to the living waters and leave the dried-out

cisterns ; let those that are seeking for the light, follow it

to the end. Thus speaks the Lord God Almighty!" 11. These are the words of the Most High on the oc-

casion before mentioned. Obedient to the authority,

which commands me, I will in the following chapter de-

scribe the manner in which I receive my information and

enlightenment, and how I see the Lord. Thus comply-

ing with his orders, I will explain, once for all, the illu-

minations and the favors which are vouchsafed to me for

this work and to which I will refer in the sequel of this

history.