Mystical City of God - Virgin Mary

By Sor Maria of Agreda

Virgin Mary Mystical City of God - Book 7 chapter 3 verses 26-38COMPLETING THE EXPLANATION OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF THE APOCALYPSE.

  INDEX   Book 7  Chapter  3    Verses:  26-38


26. This holy city of Jerusalem, Mary our Mistress,
according to the Evangelist, "Having the glory of God,
and the light thereof, was like to a precious stone, as to
the jasper stone, even as a crystal." From her very be
ginning, the soul of the most holy Mary was filled and,
as it were, bathed, in new participations of the Divinity,
such as was never seen or known of any other creature;
for She alone was the aurora sending forth the splendors
of the Sun, Christ, true God and man, to whom She was
to give birth. And this divine light and clearness went
on increasing until She reached the highest state, seated
at the right hand of her Son on the very throne of the
blessed Trinity and clothed in the variety of all the gifts,
graces, virtues, merits and glory beyond all creatures
(Ps. 44, 10). When I saw Her in this place of inacces
sible light, it seemed to me, that She possessed no other
splendor than that of God himself, who seemed to com
municate it to Her from the fount and origin of his im
mutable Being. Through the humanity of his Onlybegotten
the same light and clearness seemed to be both
in the Mother and the Son, each according to their de
gree; yet in substance seeming one and the same, not
found in any of the other blessed, nor in all of them to
gether. In variety She seemed like jasper, in preciousness
She was inestimable, and in beauty of body and soul
She was like translucent crystal, permeated by the very
substance of clearness and light.
27. "And it had a wall great and high, having twelve
gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written
thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the
children of Israel. On the east, three gates; and on the
north, three gates; and on the south, three gates; and
on the west, three gates." The wall which defended and
enclosed this holy city of most holy Mary, was so great
and high as is God himself and all his omnipotence and
divine attributes; for all the power and greatness of
God, his immense wisdom, were called in requisition to
fortify, to secure and defend this great Lady from the
enemies that might assault Her. And this invincible de
fense was redoubled, when She descended to live alone in
the world, without the company of her divine Son, and
to establish the new Church of the Gospel. For this
purpose She held at the disposal of her will, in a new
manner, God s own power against all the enemies of the
Church, visible and invisible. Since, after the founda
tion of this new city of Mary, the Most High threw open
most liberally all his treasures, and since He wished to
call through Her all mortals to the knowledge of Him
self and to the eternal happiness, the gentiles, Jews, bar
barians, without distinction of nationality or estate : there
fore He built this holy City with twelve gates opening up
toward all directions of the world. In them He placed
the twelve angels, who were to call and invite all the
children of Adam; and especially rouse all men to devo
tion and piety toward their Queen. In these gates are
also the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, in order
that no one might think himself excluded from the sacred
refuge of this heavenly Jerusalem, and in order that all
might understand, that most holy Mary holds their names
written in her heart and intimately connected with the
favors She received of the Most High as the Mother of
clemency and mercy, and not of justice.
28. "And the wall of that city had twelve foundations,
and in them, the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of
the Lamb." When our great Mother and Mistress was
at the right hand of her Son and God in the throne of his
glory, She offered Herself to come back to the world to
plant the Church ; thereupon the Lord charged Her es
pecially with the care of the Apostles and wrote their
names in the inflamed and pure bosom of that heavenly
Instructress, where we would see them written, if that
were possible to our mortal eyes. Although at that time
there were only eleven names of the Apostles, that of
Mathias was selected beforehand to take the place of
Judas. And because upon the wisdom and love of this
great Lady depended the doctrine, the instruction, the
firmness and entire government, by which we twelve
Apostles and saint Paul were to found the Church, on this
account our names are written in the foundation of this
mystical city of Mary; for She is to be the mainstay and
the groundwork of the holy Church and of its founders,
the Apostles. By her doctrine She taught us, by her wis
dom She enlightened, by her charity She inflamed us, by
her patience She bore with us, by her meekness She drew
us on, by her counsel She governed us, by her advice She
prepared us for her work, and by the dispensation of her
heavenly powers She delivered us from dangers. To all
She rendered assistance as if there were but one that
needed it, and each one She helped as if each were a
multitude. To us twelve Apostles were these gates
opened up more widely than to all the children of Adam.
While our Mistress lived, She never failed in protecting
each one of us, but remained present with us at all times
and places, defending us and protecting us without fail
in all our necessities and labors. From this great and
powerful Queen, and through Her, we participated and
received all the blessings, graces and gifts of the Most
High, in order that we might be fit ministers of the New
Testament (II Cor. 3, 6). For these reasons were our
names written in the foundations of the walls of this
mystical City, the most blessed Mary.
29. "And he that spoke to me, had a measure of a reed
of gold, to measure the city and the gates thereof, and
the wall. And the city lieth in a foursquare, and the
length thereof is as great as the breadth : and he meas
ured the city with the golden reed for twelve thousand
furlongs, and the length and the height and the breadth
thereof are equal." In order that I might understand the
immensity of this holy City of God, the one that spoke
to me measured it in my presence. For measurement he
had a hollow cane or a reed of gold, which symbolized
the deified humanity of the Word, with its gifts, graces
and merits; and in which were united the frailty of the
human and terrestrial nature with the precious and ines
timable essence of God, exalting the humanity and its
merits. Although this measure so greatly exceeds that
which it was to measure, namely the blessed Mary; yet
in all the heavens and the earth nothing else could be
found to measure the most holy Mary and her greatness,
than her own Son and true God. For all the creatures,
human and angelical, were inferior and unsuited to the
measurement and exploration of this mystical and divine
City. But measured by her Son, She was found com
mensurate with Him, as a Mother worthy of Him, with
out failing in anything belonging to this dignity. Her
greatness was twelve thousand stadia, equal in all its di
mensions ; hence it forms a cube, proportionate in all its
parts. Such was also the proportion and immensity of
the gifts of the great Queen; so that if the saints each re
ceived five or two talents, She received in proportion
twelve thousand of each gift, reaching immense magni
tude. Though She was already measured thus when She
passed into existence by her Immaculate Conception and
prepared for the Mothership of God; yet She was
measured again on this occasion, when She returned from
the right hand of the eternal Son and her dimensions
were proportionate to take the place and office of her
Son and Redeemer of the world.
30. "And the building of the wall thereof was of
jasper stone : but the city itself pure gold, like to clear
glass. And the foundations of the walls of the city
were adorned with all manner of precious stones." The
doings and the outward behavior of most holy Mary,
which, like the walls surrounding a city, are visible to all,
were of such wondrous beauty and variety, that merely
by her example She conquered and attracted the hearts
of all that looked upon Her or conversed with Her. By
Her sole presence She routed the demons and all his fan
tastical illusions; and therefore the walls of this City
were of jasper. By her conduct and labors, as far as
they became known exteriorly, our Queen produced more
fruits and wrought greater wonders in the primitive
Church, than all the Apostles and saints of that age.
The interior of this city was of the finest gold of inex
plicable clearness, participated from her own Son and so
closely resembling the light of the infinite Being, that it
seemed but the reflex of it. And this City was not only
of the finest and most precious gold, but it seemed as of
the purest and transparent glass; for She was an im
maculate mirror of the Divinity, admitting no other
image. She was like a crystalline tablet on which was
written the evangelical law. In Her it should become
known to the whole world ; therefore this tablet was of
clear glass and not of opaque stone, as that of Moses,
for one people only. All the foundations in the walls of
this great City were of precious stones; for it was
founded by the hand of the Most High, who, being rich
and powerful, built it without stint or measure, with
whatever was most precious, estimable and secure of all
his gifts, privileges and favors. These were typified by
the most solid, rich, beautiful and valuable stones known
among men. (Let the tenth chapter of the first book,
first part, be consulted.)
31. "And the twelve gates of the city are twelve
pearls, one to each : and every several gate was of one
several pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold,
as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple
therein. For the Lord Almighty is the temple thereof,
and the Lamb." He that comes to this holy city of Mary
and enters through faith, hope, veneration, piety and de
votion, will find it a precious pearl that will make him
fortunate, rich and prosperous in this life and blessed
through her intercession in the next. He will feel no re
pugnance in entering this City of refuge, because its gates
are lovely and desirable, like rich and precious gems.
Hence no mortal will have an excuse, if he does not avail
himself of the most blessed Mary and of her kindness
toward the sinners. For there is nothing in Her which
is not capable of attracting the soul to Her and to eter
nal salvation. If the gates then are so beautiful and
precious to all that approach them, much more beautiful
will be the square of this City; for it is of the purest
gold and translucent, which signifies her most ardent love
and desire to admit all and enrich them with the treasures
of eternal happiness. For this purpose She manifests
Herself to all in the clearest light; and no one will find
in Her the darkness of deceit or falsehood. And because
into this holy city of Mary came God himself and in an
especial manner, and the Lamb, her own Son in sacra
mental form, thus filling and occupying Her: therefore
I saw in Her no temple and no propitiatory except the
omnipotent God and the Lamb. Nor was it necessary to
build a temple in this City for the ceremonious offering
of prayers and petitions as in other cities. For God him
self and her divine Son were her temple and They were
attentive and propitious to all her petitions, prayers, and
requests offered for the faithful of the Church.
32. "And the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the
moon, to shine in it. For the glory of the Lord hath
enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof." After
our Queen had returned to the world from the right
hand of her divine Son, her spirit was enlightened not
only in the manner common to the saints, nor only
in the manner She had been enlightened before her
ascension, but, in recompense for the clear vision and
fruition of which She deprived Herself in order to return
to the militant Church, another kind of vision, an ab
stractive and continual vision of the Divinity, was con
ferred upon Her, and with it was joined another kind of
fruition proportionate to it. Hence, in a manner pecu
liar to Her, She participated in the state of the comprehensors,
though She was yet a pilgrim. Besides this
privilege She enjoyed also another: that her divine Son
in the sacramental species of bread remained continually
within her bosom, as in his proper tabernacle : for when
ever She received holy Communion, the sacred species
were not dissolved until She received them the next time ;
so that as long as She lived in the world after her de
scent from heaven, She bore with Her without inter
mission her divine Son and sacramental God. By a spe
cial kind of vision She also saw Him within Herself and
conversed with Him without the necessity of seeking his
royal presence anywhere outside of Herself. She bore
Him within her bosom and could say with the Spouse:
I hold Him and will not let Him go (Cant. 3, 4). Hence
there could be no night in this holy City, where grace
shone as the moon, nor was there need of any other rays
than those of the Sun of justice, since She possessed them
in all plenitude, and not only in part, as the rest of the
saints.
33. "And the nations shall walk in the light of it : and
the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor
into it." No excuse or justification can the banished chil
dren of Eve have, if by the divine light, which Mary gave
to the world, they do not walk in the path of true happi
ness. In order that She might enlighten his Church in
the first age, her Son sent Her and made Her known to
the first children of his holy Church. In the course of
ages He has continued to manifest her holiness and great
ness by the wonders performed by this Queen and by in
numerable favors and blessings flowing from her hands
upon mankind. In these last ages, which are the pres
ent, He will spread her glory and make Her known in
new splendor, on account of the Church s great need of
her intercession and of her help against the world, the
demon and the flesh. For these, through men s own
fault, as we see even in our day, will assume greater
sway and strength to hinder the working of grace in men
and to make them more unworthy of glory. Against
this new malice of Lucifer and his followers the Lord
wishes to oppose the merits and intercession of purest
Mary and the light sent into this world by the example
of her life. She is to be the refuge and sanctuary of
sinners and the straight and secure way, full of splendor
for all that wish to walk upon it.
34. If the kings and princes of the earth would walk
in that light and seek their honor and glory in this city
of Mary and employ the greatness, power, riches of their
states in advancing the honor of her name and that of
her most holy Son, then they could rest assured, that
being directed by this Northstar, they will be assisted
in the exercise of their dignities and will govern their
states with great success. In order to renew this confi
dence in our Catholic princes, professors and defenders
of the faith, He discloses all that I now and in the course
of this history have been made to understand and record.
For this reason the highest King of kings and the Re
storer of monarchies has given the most holy Mary the
title of Patroness, Protectress and Advocate of these
Catholic kingdoms. Through this singular blessing the
Most High has resolved to remedy the calamities and
difficulties, which the Christians on account of their sins,
are to endure and suffer and which in our own times we
sorrowfully and tearfully are sustaining. The infernal
dragon has poured out his froth and fury against the holy
Church, because he sees the carelessness of its heads and
members and because he sees so many men in love with
vanity and delusive pleasures. The greater part of the
guilt and its punishment falls upon those who call them
selves Catholic, whose offenses, as being those of chil
dren, are more heinous ; for they know the will of their
heavenly Father, who dwells on high, and yet do not
strive to fulfill it more earnestly than the strangers.
Though knowing that the kingdom of heaven suffers vio
lence and must be gained by labors, they have neverthe
less given themselves over to idleness and pleasure, tem
porizing with the world and the flesh. This dangerous
deceit of the demon, the just Judge punishes by the
demon himself, giving him, in his just judgments, the
liberty to afflict the holy Church and scourge its children
with rigor.
35. But the Father of Mercies, who is in heaven, does
not permit the works of his kindness to be entirely un
done; and in order to preserve them He offers us the
opportune protection of most holy Mary, in order
that through her prayers and intercession his divine jus
tice may find some pretext or excuse for the suspension of
the rigorous chastisements hanging over us. He wishes
to wait and see, whether we shall avail ourselves of the
intercession of this great Queen and Lady of Heaven for
pacifying the just indignation of her divine Son, and
whether we shall amend our lives, by which we make
ourselves unworthy of his mercy and provoke his justice.
Let not the Catholic princes and the inhabitants of these
kingdoms neglect this occasion, wherein the blessed Mary
offers the days of salvation and the acceptable time of
her protection. Let them exalt the glory and honor of
this Queen by devoting themselves entirely to the service
of her divine Son and of Her, in thankfulness of the
blessing of the Catholic faith, which has been preserved
until now so pure in these kingdoms. For both Mother
and Son have through this preservation of the faith
shown to the world their singular love toward these king
doms, and they now show it again, by vouchsafing this
salutary advice. Let them therefore zealously strive to
employ their power and their influence for spreading and
exalting the name of Christ and that of most blessed Mary
through all the nations. Let them believe, that in order
to oblige the Son, there can be no more efficacious means
than to exalt his Mother with due reverence and to
spread the knowledge and veneration of Her through
all the nations of the world.
36. For a still greater proof and testimony of the
clemency of the most blessed Mary, the Evangelist adds :
"And the gates thereof shall not be shut by day: for
there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the
glory and honor of the nations into it." Let no one,
even though he has been neglectful and a sinner, an in
fidel or a pagan, approach the Mother of mercy with
diffidence. She who deprived Herself of the glory of
the right hand of her Son in order to assist us, cannot
shut the portals of kindness to any one that seeks relief
with an humble heart. Whether he arrives in the night
of sinfulness or in the day of grace, at any hour of his
life, he shall be admitted and assisted. If he who calls
in the middle of the night at the door of a true friend,
will force him, either through his necessity or impor
tunity, to rise and help him with the desired bread,
what will not She do, who is so loving a Mother, who
calls us and earnestly invites us to the remedy? (Luke
11, 8). She will not wait until we ourselves importune
Her ; for She hastens to assist. She is eager to respond,
most sweet and delightful in her favors, and most liberal
in enriching us. She is the leaven of mercy, inducing
the Most High to grant it ; She is the portal of heaven,
opened up for our entering through her intercession and
prayers : "There shall not enter into it anything defiled,
nor deceitful." She is never roused to indignation or
hatred against men; in Her there is no deceit, no fault
or defect ; She cannot fail in anything that mortals may
need for their salvation. We have no excuse or pre
text for not going to Her with humble acknowledgment ;
since She, being pure and spotless Herself, will purify
and cleanse also us. She holds the keys to the foun
tains, from which, as Isaias says, we may draw the
waters of the Redeemer; her intercession, in response
to our petitions, will turn these keys, so that the waters
will gush forth to wash us and to make us worthy of her
most blessed company, and that of her divine Son for
all the eternities.
INSTRUCTION GIVEN TO ME BY THE GREAT QUEEN AND
MISTRESS OF THE ANGELS.
37. My daughter, I wish to tell thee for thy comfort
and the comfort of my servants, that thou hast written
of these mysteries in these chapters to my great satisfac
tion and with the approbation of the Most High. He
wishes the world to know what I have done for the
Church in coming back from the empyrean heaven to
assist the faithful, and how much I desire to help the
Catholics who seek my aid in accordance with the com
mands of God and my own maternal affection. The
saints also, and especially saint John, were particularly
rejoiced, that thou hast made mention of their jubilee at
seeing me ascend with my Son and Lord ; for it is time
that the children of the Church should know this and
understand more fully the blessings to which the Omnip
otent has raised me. They are thereby to enliven their
hope and make themselves more capable of the favors I
can and will bestow upon them. Let them know that I,
as a loving Mother, am filled with pity at seeing them
so deceived and oppressed by the tyranny of satan, to
whom they have blindly fallen victims. Saint John my
servant has concealed many other sacraments in the
twenty-first and the twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse
concerning the favors shown me by the Almighty. In
the course of this history thou hast revealed those which
the faithful can profitably know at present, and thou shalt
reveal still more.
38. But thou must without delay gather for thyself
the fruits of all thou hast understood and written. First
of all thou must advance in heartfelt love and devotion
toward me, and be convinced that I shall be thy help in
all tribulations, thy constant assistance in all thy works;
that the portals of my mercy are opened up for thee and
for all whom thou recommendest to me, if only thou
shalt make thyself such as I desire. Therefore I inform
thee, my dearest, and urgently remind thee, that, in the
same manner as I was fitted out in heaven for return
ing and engaging in a more perfect activity on this
earth, so the Lord desires thee to be renewed in the
heaven of thy interior, in the secret and superior parts
of thy spirit, in those private exercises by which thou
hast created the interior solitude for writing the rest of
this life. Understand that all this has not been brought
about without special providence of God, which thou wilt
easily see in pondering over and recording thy experi
ences before beginning this third part. Now that thou
art left alone and art freed from the government and daily
intercourse of this community, I give thee this advice;
and there is now especial reason, that with the divine
favor thou renew thyself in the imitation of my life and
in putting into practice, as far as possible, what thou
knowest of me. This is the will of my divine Son, and
is in harmony with thy own wishes. Hear then my
teaching and gird thyself with fortitude (Prov. 31, 17).
Resolve with all the powers of thy will to be attentive,
fervent, constant, eager and diligent in seeking to please
thy Spouse and Lord. Accustom thyself never to lose
Him out of sight, even when thou descendest to in
tercourse with creatures and engagest in the works of
Martha. I shall be thy Teacher. The angels shall stand
by thee, so that with them and by means of their enlight
enments thou continually praise the Lord. The Most
High will lend thee his strength, so that thou mayest
fight his battles with his and thy enemies. Do not make
thyself unworthy of such great blessings and favors.
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