Mystical City of God - Virgin Mary

By Sor Maria of Agreda

Virgin Mary Mystical City of God - Book 8 chapter 22 verses 775-785MOST HOLY MARY IS CROWNED AS QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND OF ALL CREATURES; ALL HER GREAT PRIVILEGES IN FAVOR OF MANKIND ARE AGAIN CONFIRMED UPON HER.

  INDEX   Book 8  Chapter  22    Verses:  775-785


775. When Christ Jesus the Savior took leave of his
disciples in order to enter upon his suffering, He told
them not to be disturbed in their hearts on account of the
things He had told them; because in the house of his
Father, which is eternal happiness, there are many man
sions. He further assured them, that there was room
and reward for all, although the merits and their good
works be diverse and that no one should be disturbed
in his peace and hope, though he should see others more
favored or advanced ; because in the house of God there
are many grades and many dwellings, in which each one
shall be content with what shall belong to him without
envy; for this is one of the great blessings of that eternal
felicity. I have said that most blessed Mary was assigned
to the supreme position and state on the throne of the
most blessed Trinity. Many times have I expressed myself
in these terms in order to point out great sacraments and
similar terms are used by the saints and by the sacred scrip
tures themselves (Apoc. 1, 4; 3, 21). Although no other
argument is really necessary, nevertheless, for those who
have not such a deep insight, I will say that God, as He is
the purest Spirit and at the same time infinite, immense,
incomprehensible, has no need of a material throne or
seat; for He fills all creation and is present in all crea
tures ; He is comprehended or circumscribed by none, but
He himself comprehends and encompasses all things. The
saints do not see God with corporal eyes, but with those
of the soul ; but as they see Him in some certain location
(in order to adapt ourselves to our terrestrial and material
ways of thinking and speaking) we say that He is upon
the royal throne of the most blessed Trinity, though in
reality He has his glory within Himself and communicates
it to his saints. But I do not wish to deny, that the most
sacred humanity of Christ our Savior and of his most
blessed Mother holds a place supereminent over all the
saints; and that among the blessed, who are in heaven
with body and soul, there will be some kind of order in
their relative position nearer or farther from Christ our
Lord and the Queen ; but here is not the place to inquire
into the manner into which this arrangement shall be
made in heaven.
776. We call that the throne of the Divinity, from
which God manifests Himself to the saints as the prin
cipal cause of their glory and as the infinite, eternal God,
independent of all things and on whose will all creatures
depend, from which He manifests Himself as the Lord,
as the King, as the Judge and Master of all that is in
existence. This dignity Christ the Redeemer possesses,
in as far as He is God, essentially, and as far as He is
man, through the hypostatic union, by which He com
municates his Godhead to the humanity. Hence in heaven
He is the King, the Lord and supreme Judge; and the
saints, though their glory exceeds all human calculation,
are as servants and inferiors of this inaccessible Majesty.
In this the most holy Mary participates in a degree next
inferior and in a manner otherwise ineffable and propor
tionate to a mere creature so closely related to the Godman;
and therefore She assists forever at the right hand
of her Son as Queen (Ps. 44, 10), Lady and Mistress of
all creation, her dominion extending as far as that of her
divine Son, although in a different manner.
777. After placing the most blessed Mary on this ex
alted and supereminent throne, the Lord declared to the
courtiers of heaven all the privileges She should enjoy in
virtue of this participation in his majesty. The Person
of the eternal Father, as the first principle of all things,
speaking to the angels and saints, said to them: "Our
Daughter Mary was chosen according to our pleasure
from amongst all creatures, the first one to delight Us,
and who never fell from the title and position of a true
Daughter, such as We had given Her in our divine mind ;
She has a claim on our dominion, which We shall recog
nize by crowning Her as the legitimate and peerless Lady
and Sovereign." The incarnate Word said: "To my
true and natural Mother belong all the creatures which
were created and redeemed my Me; and of all things
over which I am King, She too shall be the legitimate
and supreme Queen." The Holy Ghost said: "Since She
is called my beloved and chosen Spouse, She deserves to
be crowned as Queen for all eternity."
778. Having thus spoken the three divine Persons
placed upon the head of the most blessed Mary a crown
of such new splendor and value, that the like has been
seen neither before nor after by any mere creature. At
the same time a voice sounded from the throne saying:
"My Beloved, chosen among the creatures, our kingdom
is Thine ; Thou shalt be the Lady and the Sovereign of
the seraphim, of all the ministering spirits, the angels and
of the entire universe of creatures. Attend, proceed and
govern prosperously over them, for in our supreme con
sistory We give Thee power, majesty and sovereignty.
Being filled with grace beyond all the rest, Thou hast
humiliated Thyself in thy own estimation to the lowest
place ; receive now the supreme dignity deserved by Thee
and, as a participation in our Divinity, the dominion
over all the creatures of our Omnipotence. From thy
royal throne to the centre of the earth Thou shalt reign ;
and by the power We now give Thee Thou shalt subject
hell with all its demons and inhabitants. Let all of them
fear Thee as the supreme Empress and Mistress of those
caverns and dwelling-places of our enemies. In thy
hands and at thy pleasure We place the influences and
forces of the heavens, the moisture of the clouds, the
growths of the earth; and of all of them do Thou dis
tribute according to thy will, and our own will shall
be at thy disposal for the execution of thy wishes. Thou
shalt be the Empress and Mistress of the militant Church,
its Protectress, its Advocate, its Mother and Teacher.
Thou shalt be the special Patroness of the Catholic coun
tries; and whenever they, or the faithful, or any of the
children of Adam call upon Thee from their heart, serve
or oblige Thee, Thou shalt relieve and help them in
their labors and necessities. Thou shalt be the Friend,
the Defender and the Chieftainess of all the just and of
our friends; all of them Thou shalt comfort, console and
fill with blessings according to their devotion to Thee.
In view of all this We make Thee the Depositary of
our riches, the Treasurer of our goods; we place into
thy hands the helps and blessings of our grace for distri
bution; nothing do We wish to be given to the world,
which does not pass through thy hands ; and nothing do
We deny, which Thou wishest to concede to men. Grace
shall be diffused in thy lips for obtaining all that Thou
wishest and ordainest in heaven and on earth, and every
where shall angels and men obey Thee ; because whatever
is ours shall be thine, just as Thou hast always been ours ;
and Thou shalt reign with Us forever."
779. In the execution of this decree and privilege con
ceded to the Mistress of the world, the Almighty com
manded all the courtiers of heaven, angels and men, to
show Her obedience and recognize Her as their Queen
and Lady. There was another mystery concealed in this
wonder, namely, it was a recompense for the worship
and veneration, which, as is clear from this history, the
most blessed Mary, notwithstanding that She was the
Mother of God, full of grace and holiness above the
angels and saints, had bestowed upon the saints during
her mortal pilgrimage. Although during the time when
they were comprehensors and She yet a pilgrim, it was
for her greater merit, that She should humble Herself
beneath them all according to the ordainment of the
Lord ; yet now, when She was in possession of the king
dom, it was just, that She should be venerated, wor
shipped and extolled by them as her inferiors and vas
sals. This they also did in that most blessed state, in
which all things are reduced to their proper proportion
and order. Both the angelic spirits and the blessed souls,
while rendering their adoration to the Lord with fear
and worshipful reverence, rendered a like homage in its
proportion to his most blessed Mother; and the saints
who were there in their bodies prostrated themselves
and gave bodily signs of their worship. All these dem
onstrations at the coronation of the Empress of heaven
redounded wonderfully to her glory, to the new joy and
jubilee of the saints and to the pleasure of the most
blessed Trinity. Altogether festive was this day, and it
produced new accidental glory in all the heavens. Those
that partook more especially therein were her most for
tunate spouse saint Joseph, saint Joachim and Anne and
all the other relatives of the Queen, together with the
thousand angels of her guard.
780. Within the glorious body of the Queen, over her
heart, was visible to the saints a small globe or mon
strance of singular beauty and splendor, which particu
larly roused and rouses their admiration and joy. It
was there in testimony and reward of her having af
forded to the sacramental Word an acceptable restingplace
and sanctuary, and of her having received holy
Communion so worthily, purely and holily, without any
defect or imperfection, and with a devotion, love and
reverence attained by none other of the saints. In re
gard to the other rewards and crowns corresponding to
her peerless works and virtues, nothing that can be said
could give any idea ; and therefore I refer it to the bea
tific vision, where each one shall perceive them in pro
portion as his doings and his devotion shall have mer
ited. In the foregoing chapter I mentioned that the
Transition of our Queen happened on the thirteenth of
August, while her Resurrection, Assumption and Coro
nation happened on Sunday the fifteenth, on the day in
which it is celebrated in the Church. Her sacred body
remained in the sepulchre thirty-six hours, just as the
body of her divine Son; for her Transition and her
Resurrection took place in the same hours of the day.
According to the computation given above, I advert that
this miracle happened in the year of our Lord fifty-five,
which had advanced as many days as intervene between
the Nativity of the Lord and the fifteenth of August.
781. We have left the great Lady at the right hand
of her divine Son, reigning through all the ages of eter
nity. We now return to the Apostles and disciples,
who in flowing tears surrounded the sepulchre of Mary
in the valley of Josaphat. Saint Peter and saint John,
who had been the most constant in their attendance, no
ticed that the celestial music had ceased; for they failed
to hear it on the third day. Partly enlightened by the
Holy Ghost, they conjectured that the most pure Mother
had arisen and had entered heaven, body and soul, like
her divine Son. They conferred about this matter and
came to the conclusion that so it must be; and saint
Peter, as the head of the Church, decided that such a
wonderful fact should be ascertained as far as possible
and made known to those who had witnessed her death
and burial. For this purpose, on the same day, he called
together the Apostles, disciples and the other faithful at
the sepulchre. He told them of his reasons for the con
jecture now in the mind of all and the reasons for mani
festing the truth of this wonder to the Church, namely,
that it should be reverenced in the coming ages and would
redound to the glory of the Lord and of his most blessed
Mother. 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 the mantle and, with all the others, venerated
it, as they were now certain of the Resurrection and As
sumption 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.
782. In their affectionate wonder all of them remained
looking at the sepulchre, spellbound, until the angel of
the Lord descended and manifested himself to them,
saying: "Ye men of Galilee, why are you astounded
and tarry here? Your and our Queen now lives body
and soul in heaven and reigns in it forever with Christ.
She sends me to confirm you in this truth, and in her
name I tell you that She recommends to you anew the
Church, the conversion of souls, and the spread of the
Gospel. She desires to tell you that you now return
to your ministry, with which you were charged, and that
from her throne She will take care of you." At this
message the Apostles were consoled; they experienced
her protection in their wanderings, and much more in the
hour of their martyrdom; for to each of them did She
appear in that hour to present their souls to the Lord.
Other particulars concerning the Transition and Resur
rection of the most blessed Mary were not made known
to me for record here; nor have I during the whole
course of this heavenly history had any choice of saying
except what was made known to me and what I was com
manded to write.
INSTRUCTION WHICH THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN, MOST
HOLY MARY, GAVE ME.
783. My daughter, if anything could lessen the enjoy
ment 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, not
withstanding that men know me to be their Mother, Ad
vocate 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
may justly complain of men, that they load themselves
with eternal damnation and refuse me the glory of sav
ing their souls.
784. How much my intercession and the power I have
in heaven is worth has never been hidden in the Church,
for I have demonstrated my ability to save all by so many
thousands of miracles, prodigies and favors operated in
behalf of those devoted to me. With those who have
called upon me in their needs I have always shown my
self liberal, and the Lord has shown 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. The world
and the centuries are far advanced; while mortals are
tardy in turning toward the knowledge of God; the
children of the Church are involving themselves in the
snares of satan; sinners multiply and crimes increase,
because charity is getting cold even after God became
incarnate and has taught the world by his life and doc
trine, redeemed it by his Passion and Death, established
his evangelical law for the guidance of his creatures,
illustrated them by so many miracles, enlightenments,
blessings, favors in the Church and in its saints. In ad
dition to all this God has in his goodness opened up his
mercies through me and my intercession, constituting
me as Mother, Advocate, Protectress and Helper of all
men, and, though I am most punctual and liberal in ful
filling all these offices, the result is inadequate. After all,
since the crimes of men merit the chastisements, which
threaten them and which they begin to feel, and since,
under these circumstances, the malice of men has already
reached the highest possible point, what wonder is it
that divine Justice be irritated?
785. All this, my daughter, is true; but my kind and
clement love exceeds all this malice, detains justice and
still inclines the infinite Goodness toward men. The
Most High still wishes to give liberally of his infinite
treasures and resolves to favor those who know how to
gain my intercession before God. This is the secure way
and the powerful means of advancing the Church, of im
proving the Catholic reigns, of spreading the faith, of
furthering the welfare of families and of states, of bring
ing the souls to grace and to the friendship of God. In
this work, my daughter, I have desired thee to labor
and assist according to thy power with the divine grace.
Thy labor shall consist not only in having written my
life, but in imitating it by following the counsels and
salutary teachings, which thou hast so abundantly re
ceived, both in what thou hast written and in other favors
and blessings of the Almighty. Consider well, my dear
est, thy strict obligation of serving me as thy only
Mother, as thy legitimate and true Teacher and Su
perior, who favors thee with all these and many other
condescensions. Thou hast likewise often renewed and
ratified the vows of thy profession into my hands, and
hast therein promised me especial obedience. Remem
ber the promises thou hast so often given to the Lord
and his angels. Many times We have manifested to thee
our will, that thou live and act as one of them, and that
thou, in carnal flesh, participate in the condition and
activity of an angel; that thy conversation and inter
course be with those purest spirits ; and just as they con
verse with each other, and just as the higher enlighten
and illumine the lower, so they will enlighten and instruct
thee in the perfections of thy Beloved and in the exer
cise of all virtues, especially of the mistress of all of them,
charity, by which thou mayest be inflamed in the love of
thy sweet Master and of thy fellowmen. To this state
thou must aspire with all thy powers, in order that the
Most High may find thee apt for the fulfillment of his
most holy will and of all his wishes. May his powerful
right hand give thee his eternal benediction, show thee
the joy of his countenance and grant thee peace; see that
thou do not make thyself unworthy.
the Work of God Apostolate - mcog #208                                                

INDEX  Page up ^^

 

 The Work of God
www.theworkofgod.org

 Mistical City of God