Piety, Reading 1: Ezekiel 16:59-63, Responsorial Psalm: Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6, Gospel: Matthew 19:3-12, Inspirational Hymns - Gregorian Chants, Our Lady of Medjugorje Monthly Message, Feast of the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother Mary, Blessed Bartolo Longo, Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei, History of the 54 day Novena , Mystical City of God Book 8 Chapters 5, 6, and 7 The Holy Death and Assumption of Our Blessed Mother Mary, Catholic Catechism - Part Three - The Life of the Christ - Article 2 Participation in Social life,
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU (Divine Mercy). "Always Trust in Jesus, He the beacon of light amongst the darkest clouds" ~ Zarya Parx 2016
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU (Divine Mercy). "Always Trust in Jesus, He the beacon of light amongst the darkest clouds" ~ Zarya Parx 2016
"Where There is a Will, With God, There is a Way", "There is always a ray of sunshine amongst the darkest Clouds, the name of that ray is Jesus" ~ Zarya Parx 2014
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge, reason and free will, make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in Heaven. The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe (fear of the Lord) , counsel, knowledge, fortitude, and piety (reverence) and shun the seven Deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony...Its your choice whether to embrace the Gifts of the Holy Spirit rising towards eternal light or succumb to the Seven deadly sins and lost to eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes from this earth to the Darkness, Purgatory or Heaven is our Soul...it's God's perpetual gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...~ Zarya Parx 2013
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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2026 - Jubilee Year of St. Francis
Pope Leo XIV declared 2026 as the special Jubilee Year of St. Francis. The year-long celebration began on January 10, 2026, and runs through January 10, 2027, marking the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Key Details of the Jubilee
- Occasion: The 800th anniversary (the Transitus) of St. Francis passing from earthly life in 1226.
- Duration: January 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027.
- Purpose: To encourage the faithful to reflect on humility, peace, and care for creation following the example of St. Francis.
- Indulgences: Plenary indulgences are available to Catholics under standard conditions (sacramental confession, communion, and prayers for the pope's intentions) by making a pilgrimage to a Franciscan church or place of worship dedicated to St. FrancisPrayer of St. FrancisLord, make me a channel of thy peace,
that where there is hatred, I may bring love;
that where there is wrong,
I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
that where there is error, I may bring truth;
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
that where there is despair, I may bring hope;
that where there are shadows, I may bring light;
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to
comfort than to be comforted;
to understand, than to be understood;
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.
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Liturgical Cycle: A - Gospel of Matthew
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Daily Rosary
(MON, SAT) - Joyful Mysteries(TUES, FRI) - Sorrowful Mysteries
(WED,SUN) - Glorious Mysteries
(THURS) - Luminous Mysteries
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Inspirational Hymns
Contents
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Our Lady of Medjugorje Monthly Messages
July 25, 2026 message from Our Lady of Medjugorje:
"Dear children! While darkness and peacelessness rule in many hearts, you, little children, be prayer and my extended hands of love. Little children, place the Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your family and read it, so that it may be an encouragement for you to conversion and a new life; because Satan is strong and seduces hearts. Your hearts, through my maternal Heart, I desire to commend to the Heart of my Son Jesus, so that He, the Risen One, may reign in you and joy may begin to reign in you and around you. Thank you for having responded to my call." (With Ecclesiastical approval) 07/25/2026Thank you.. ~ Blessed Mother Mary
"Dear children! While darkness and peacelessness rule in many hearts, you, little children, be prayer and my extended hands of love. Little children, place the Sacred Scripture in a visible place in your family and read it, so that it may be an encouragement for you to conversion and a new life; because Satan is strong and seduces hearts. Your hearts, through my maternal Heart, I desire to commend to the Heart of my Son Jesus, so that He, the Risen One, may reign in you and joy may begin to reign in you and around you. Thank you for having responded to my call." (With Ecclesiastical approval) 07/25/2026Thank you.. ~ Blessed Mother Mary
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Papam Leo Quartus Decimus
(Pope Leo XIV)
(Pope Leo XIV)
Pope Leo XIV Angelus: August 9, 2026
2026-08-09 Vatican Radio
Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!
Today’s Gospel speaks of Jesus approaching his disciples by walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a storm (cf. Mt 14:22-33).
Following the miracle of the loaves and fish (cf. Mt 14:13-21), the Master urges his disciples to get into the boat and set out, while he withdraws to the mountain to pray by himself. Once away from the shore, the disciples find themselves at the mercy of the wind and struggle to make headway. After a successful experience in which they had been the protagonists of a miraculous sign, they now find themselves helpless and frightened in the face of the threat of the waves and the headwind.
As the night was drawing to a close, Jesus came towards them across the choppy waters, and, terrified, they mistook him for a ghost (v. 26). But he said to them, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid!” (v. 27). The Lord’s presence changes everything: Peter even manages to take a few steps across the waves towards him; but then losing his nerve, he begins to sink, and Jesus saves him. When the Master then steps into the boat, the storm subsides, and a profession of faith spontaneously springs out of the disciples’ hearts: “Truly, you are the Son of God!” (v. 33).
To realize this point, it was not enough for them simply to have witnessed a miracle, nor to have succeeded in the eyes of the people; instead, they had to experience their own weakness and, within it, recognize God’s presence. Only this experience could open their eyes and hearts to his closeness, finding peace even in the midst of the storm.
Sometime later, Jesus would say to them: “If you have faith and do not doubt… if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done” (Mt 21:21). This is similar to what they experienced on the lake: the peace of Christ, who had been on the mountain praying, reached them in the midst of the raging waters.
This miracle, then, teaches us something important. First, not to get carried away by success and never to be presumptuous. At the same time, not to despair, even in moments of darkness, when we feel powerless in the face of problems and, despite our efforts, it seems as though we are going backwards rather than forwards. Whatever the circumstances, Jesus does not abandon us, and if we humbly welcome him into the boat of our lives — through prayer, the sacraments and listening to his Word — in him, we will find peace, light and strength for our journey.
May Mary, who was proclaimed blessed for her faith (cf. Lk 1:45), help us to live in a trusting surrender to God
After the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters,
I continue to follow with concern the tragic situation in Sudan, especially in the city of el-Obeid. In expressing my spiritual closeness to all the people of the nation, I renew my appeal to those in authority to guarantee humanitarian corridors for the civilian population. At the same time, I urge the international community to support efforts aimed at bringing about an immediate ceasefire. Let us pray that the Lord may sustain those who are suffering, convert the hearts of those who sow violence, and grant the long awaited peace.
Distressing reports continue to arrive of innocent people being killed and injured in Ukraine and Russia. These incidents are occurring one after another, indeed they are multiplying, resulting in ever-increasing numbers of civilian victims, including children. My thoughts are with the victims’ families, the wounded and all those who are suffering due to the ongoing conflict. In the face of so much anguish, I renew my heartfelt appeal for humanitarian law to be respected and for both sides to cease attacks on civilian targets. War only begets more war and causes immense suffering. It is time to put an end to this vicious cycle of violence and make room for diplomacy and dialogue, so as to open the way to peace.
And now I offer a warm welcome to all of you, Romans and pilgrims from different countries!
I greet in a special way the young people from the Saint Mary Magdalene Community of the Archdiocese of Milan, who have walked the Via Francigena from Siena to Rome; as well as the Scouts from Enna, who have held their camp in the Roman Hills; and the young people from Pernumia, in the Diocese of Padua.
The presence of so many youth groups, who chose to devote part of their summer vacation on formation activities and friendship, is a sign of hope, as was the gathering of the young Franciscans whom I had the joy of meeting last Thursday in Assisi.
To all of you, young men and women who are listening to me, I would like to remind you that in these days the liturgical calendar offers us some wonderful examples of holy men and women, whom I invite you to get to know them better. Yesterday was the great Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers; today, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Edith Stein, the Carmelite who was killed at Auschwitz and is Co-Patroness of Europe; tomorrow, Saint Lawrence, deacon of the Church of Rome; and the day after tomorrow, Saint Clare of Assisi, who left a life of comfort to follow Jesus, poor and humble, in the footsteps of her fellow citizen, Saint Francis. Dear young people, allow yourselves to be inspired by these exemplary witnesses to the Gospel!
Thank you all for being here, and have a blessed Sunday!
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2026 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed - 08/09/2026
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Today's Word - piety pie·ty [pahy-tee]
Origin: 1275-1325; Middle English piete < Middle French < Latin pietās, equivalent to pi (us) + -etās, variant (after i) of -itās; see pious, -
1. reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations: a prayer full of piety.
2. the quality or state of being pious: saintly piety.
3. dutiful respect or regard for parents, homeland, etc.: filial piety.
4. a pious act, remark, belief, or the like: the pieties and sacrifices of an austere life.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Ezekiel 16:59-63
59 "For the Lord Yahweh says this: I shall treat you as you have deserved for making light of an oath and breaking a covenant,
60 but I shall remember my covenant with you when you were a girl and shall conclude a covenant with you that will last for ever.
61 And you for your part will remember your behaviour and feel ashamed of it when you receive your elder and younger sisters and I make them your daughters, although this is not included in my covenant with you.
62 I shall renew my covenant with you; and you will know that I am Yahweh,
63 and so remember and feel ashamed and in your confusion be reduced to silence, when I forgive you for everything you have done -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '
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Today's Responsorial Psalm - Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
2 Look, he is the God of my salvation: I shall have faith and not be afraid, for Yahweh is my strength and my song, he has been my salvation.'
3 Joyfully you will draw water from the springs of salvation
4 and, that day, you will say, 'Praise Yahweh, invoke his name. Proclaim his deeds to the people, declare his name sublime.
5 Sing of Yahweh, for his works are majestic, make them known throughout the world.
6 Cry and shout for joy, you who live in Zion, For the Holy One of Israel is among you in his greatness.'
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Today's Gospel Reading - Matthew 19:3-12
3 Some Pharisees approached him, and to put him to the test they said, 'Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?'
4 He answered, 'Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning made them male and female
5 and that he said: This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and the two become one flesh?
6 They are no longer two, therefore, but one flesh. So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.'
7 They said to him, 'Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?'
8 He said to them, 'It was because you were so hard-hearted, that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning.
9 Now I say this to you: anyone who divorces his wife -- I am not speaking of an illicit marriage -- and marries another, is guilty of adultery.'
10 The disciples said to him, 'If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is advisable not to marry.'
11 But he replied, 'It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted.
12 There are eunuchs born so from their mother's womb, there are eunuchs made so by human agency and there are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.'
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Lectio Divina - Ordinary Time
August 14, 2026
Opening Prayer
Almighty and ever-living God, your Spirit made us your children, confident to
call you Father.
Increase your Spirit within us and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 19: 3-12
Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and to put him to the test they said, 'Is it
against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?'
He answered, 'Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning made
them male and female and that he said: This is why a man leaves his father and
mother and becomes attached to his wife, and the two become one flesh? They
are no longer two, therefore, but one flesh. So then, what God has united,
human beings must not divide.'
They said to him, 'Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should
be given in cases of divorce?'
He said to them, 'It was because you were so hard-hearted, that Moses allowed
you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say
this to you: anyone who divorces his wife -- I am not speaking of an illicit
marriage -- and marries another, is guilty of adultery.'
The disciples said to him, 'If that is how things are between husband and wife, it
is advisable not to marry.'
But he replied, 'It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only
those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born so from their mother's
womb, there are eunuchs made so by human agency and there are eunuchs
who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let
anyone accept this who can.'
Reflection
• Context. Up to chapter 18 Matthew has shown how the discourses of Jesus
have marked the different phases of the progressive constitution and
formation of the community of disciples around their Master. Now in chapter
19: 1 this small group withdraws from the territory of Galilee and arrives in the
territories of Judaea. The call of Jesus that involves his disciples advances
more until the decisive choice: the acceptance or rejection of the person of
Jesus. Such a phase takes place along the road that leads to Jerusalem
(chapters 19-20), and finally with the arrival in the city and to the Temple
(chapters 21-23). All the encounters that Jesus experiences in the course of
these chapters take place along this journey from Galilee to Jerusalem.
• The encounter with the Pharisees. Passing through Trans-Jordanian (19: 1) the
first encounter is with the Pharisees and the theme of the discussion of Jesus
with them becomes a reason for reflection for the group of the disciples. The
question of the Pharisees concerns divorce and places Jesus in difficulty,
particularly, the more solid and stable reality for every Jewish community. The
intervention of the Pharisees wants to accuse Jesus because of his teaching.
It is a question of a true process: Matthew considers it as “testing him”, “a way
of tempting him”. The question is really a crucial one: “Is it against the Law for
a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatsoever?” (19: 3). The awkward
malicious attempt of the Pharisees to interpret the text of DT 24, 1 to place
Jesus in difficulty does not escape the attention of the reader: “Suppose a
man has taken a wife and consummated the marriage, but she has not
pleased him and he has found some impropriety of which to accuse her, he
has, therefore, made out a writ of divorce for her and handed it to her and
then dismissed her from his house”. This text had given place, throughout the
centuries, to innumerable discussions: to admit divorce for any reason
whatsoever; to request a minimum of bad behavior, a true adultery.
• It is God who unites. Jesus responds to the Pharisees having recourse to Gn 1:
17: 2: 24, which presents the question about the primary will of God, the
Creator. The love that unites man to woman, comes from God and because
of its origin, it unifies and cannot be separated. If Jesus quotes Gn 2: 24: “This
is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife
and they become one flesh” (19: 5), it is because he wants to underline a
particular and absolute principle: it is the creating will of God that unites man
and woman. When a man and a woman unite together in marriage, it is God
who unites them; the term “coniugi” - couple – comes from the verb joined
together, to unite, that is to say, that the joining together of the two partners
sexually is the effect of the creative word of God. The response of Jesus to the
Pharisees reaches its summit: marriage is indissoluble from its original
constitution. Jesus continues this time drawing from Ml 2: 13-16: to repudiate
the wife is to break the covenant with God and according to the prophets this
covenant has to be lived, above all, by the spouses in their conjugal union (Ho
1-3; Is 1: 21-26; Jr 2: 2; 3: 1, 6-12; Ez 16; 23; Is 54: 6-10, 60-62).
The response of Jesus appears as a contradiction to the Law of Moses
which grants the possibility to grant a writ of divorce.
To motivate his response Jesus reminds the Pharisees:
if Moses gave this possibility, it is because you were so hardhearted (v. 8), more
concrete, because of your indocility to the Word of God. The Law of Gn 1: 26; 2:
24 had never been modified, but Moses was obliged to adapt it to an attitude
of indocility. The first marriage was not annulled by adultery. To contemporary
man and particularly, to the ecclesial community the word of Jesus clearly
says that there should be no divorces; and, just the same, we see that there
are; in pastoral life the divorced persons are accepted, to whom the possibility
of entering into the Kingdom is always open. The reaction of the disciples is
immediate: “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is
advisable not to marry” (v. 10). The response of Jesus continues to sustain the
indissolubility of matrimony, impossible for the human mentality but possible
for God. The eunuch of whom Jesus speaks is not the one who is unable to
generate but the one, who separated from his wife, continues to live in
continence, he remains faithful to the first conjugal bond: he is an eunuch as
regards all other women.
if Moses gave this possibility, it is because you were so hardhearted (v. 8), more
concrete, because of your indocility to the Word of God. The Law of Gn 1: 26; 2:
24 had never been modified, but Moses was obliged to adapt it to an attitude
of indocility. The first marriage was not annulled by adultery. To contemporary
man and particularly, to the ecclesial community the word of Jesus clearly
says that there should be no divorces; and, just the same, we see that there
are; in pastoral life the divorced persons are accepted, to whom the possibility
of entering into the Kingdom is always open. The reaction of the disciples is
immediate: “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is
advisable not to marry” (v. 10). The response of Jesus continues to sustain the
indissolubility of matrimony, impossible for the human mentality but possible
for God. The eunuch of whom Jesus speaks is not the one who is unable to
generate but the one, who separated from his wife, continues to live in
continence, he remains faithful to the first conjugal bond: he is an eunuch as
regards all other women.
Personal Questions
• As regards marriage do we know how to accept the teaching of Jesus with
simplicity, without adapting it to our own legitimate choices to be
comfortable?
• The evangelical passage has reminded us that the design of the Father on
man and on woman is a wonderful project of love. Are you aware that love
has an essential law: it implies the total and full gift of one’s own person to the
other?
Concluding Prayer
God, create in me a clean heart, renew within me a resolute spirit, do not thrust
me away from your presence,
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Saint of the Day: The Feast of the Assumption
Feast Day: August 15
Died: 55 AD at age 69
Patron Saint of : universal, heavenly mother of all
 In his August 15, 2004, homily given at Lourdes, Pope John Paul II quoted John 14:3 as one of the scriptural bases for understanding the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. In this verse, Jesus tells his disciples at the Last Supper, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also." According to Catholic theology, Mary is the pledge of the fulfillment of Christ's promise. The feast of the Assumption on August 15 is a public holiday in many countries, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany (Saarland and Bavaria only), Greece, Lebanon, Lithuania, Italy, Malta, Mauritius, Poland, Portugal, Senegal, Slovenia, and Spain. In Eastern Orthodox churches following the Julian Calendar, the feast day of Assumption of Mary falls on August 28. History of the beliefAlthough the Assumption (Latin: assūmptiō, "taken up") was only relatively recently defined as infallible dogma by the Catholic Church, and in spite of a statement by Saint Epiphanius of Salamis in AD 377 that no one knew whether Mary had died or not, apocryphal accounts of the assumption of Mary into heaven have circulated since at least the 4th century. The Catholic Church itself interprets chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation as referring to it. The earliest known narrative is the so-called Liber Requiei Mariae (The Book of Mary's Repose), which survives intact only in an Ethiopic translation. Probably composed by the 4th century, this Christian apocryphal narrative may be as early as the 3rd century. Also quite early are the very different traditions of the "Six Books" Dormition narratives. The earliest versions of this apocryphon are preserved by several Syriac manuscripts of the 5th and 6th centuries, although the text itself probably belongs to the 4th century.An Armenian letter attributed to Dionysus the Areopagite also mentions the event, although this is a much later work, written sometime after the 6th century. John of Damascus, from this period, is the first church authority to advocate the doctrine under his own name. His contemporaries, Gregory of Tours and Modestus of Jerusalem, helped promote the concept to the wider church. In some versions of the story the event is said to have taken place in Ephesus, in the House of the Virgin Mary, although this is a much more recent and localized tradition. The earliest traditions all locate the end of Mary's life in Jerusalem (see "Mary's Tomb"). By the 7th century a variation emerged, according to which one of the apostles, often identified as St Thomas, was not present at the death of Mary, but his late arrival precipitates a reopening of Mary's tomb, which is found to be empty except for her grave clothes. In a later tradition, Mary drops her girdle down to the apostle from heaven as testament to the event. This incident is depicted in many later paintings of the Assumption. Teaching of the Assumption of Mary became widespread across the Christian world, having been celebrated as early as the 5th century and having been established in the East by Emperor Maurice around AD 600. It was celebrated in the West under Pope Sergius I in the 8th century and Pope Leo IV then confirmed the feast as official. Theological debate about the Assumption continued, following the Reformation, climaxing in 1950 when Pope Pius XII defined it as dogma for the Catholic Church. Catholic theologian Ludwig Ott stated, "The idea of the bodily assumption of Mary is first expressed in certain transitus-narratives of the fifth and sixth centuries.... The first Church author to speak of the bodily assumption of Mary, in association with an apocryphal transitus B.M.V., is St. Gregory of Tours." The Catholic writer Eamon Duffy states that "there is, clearly, no historical evidence whatever for it." However, the Catholic Church has never asserted nor denied that its teaching is based on the apocryphal accounts. The Church documents are silent on this matter and instead rely upon other sources and arguments as the basis for the doctrine. Catholic teaching |
|---|
| In this dogmatic statement,
the phrase "having completed the course of her earthly life," leaves
open the question of whether the Virgin Mary died before her assumption
or whether she was assumed before death; both possibilities are allowed.
Mary's assumption is said to have been a divine gift to her as the
'Mother of God'. Ludwig Ott's view is that, as Mary completed her life
as a shining example to the human race, the perspective of the gift of
assumption is offered to the whole human race. In Ludwig Ott's Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma he states that "the fact of her death is almost generally accepted by the Fathers and Theologians, and is expressly affirmed in the Liturgy of the Church", to which he adduces a number of helpful citations, and concludes that "for Mary, death, in consequence of her freedom from original sin and from personal sin, was not a consequence of punishment of sin. However, it seems fitting that Mary's body, which was by nature mortal, should be, in conformity with that of her Divine Son, subject to the general law of death". The point of her bodily death has not been infallibly defined, and many believe that she did not die at all, but was assumed directly into Heaven. The dogmatic definition within the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus which, according to Roman Catholic dogma, infallibly proclaims the doctrine of the Assumption leaves open the question whether, in connection with her departure, Mary underwent bodily death; that is, it does not dogmatically define the point one way or the other, as shown by the words "having completed the course of her earthly life". On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII solemnly declared:
Assumption and Dormition (Eastern Christianity) comparedThe Catholic Feast of the Assumption is celebrated on August 15, and the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics celebrate the Dormition of the Theotokos (the falling asleep of the Mother of God) on the same date, preceded by a 14-day fast period. Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that Mary died a natural death, that her soul was received by Christ upon death, and that her body was resurrected on the third day after her death and that she was taken up into heaven bodily in anticipation of the general resurrection. Her tomb was found empty on the third day. "...Orthodox tradition is clear and unwavering in regard to the central point [of the Dormition]: the Holy Virgin underwent, as did her Son, a physical death, but her body – like His – was afterwards raised from the dead and she was taken up into heaven, in her body as well as in her soul. She has passed beyond death and judgement, and lives wholly in the Age to Come. The Resurrection of the Body ... has in her case been anticipated and is already an accomplished fact. That does not mean, however, that she is dissociated from the rest of humanity and placed in a wholly different category: for we all hope to share one day in that same glory of the Resurrection of the Body which she enjoys even now."Many Catholics also believe that Mary first died before being assumed, but they add that she was miraculously resurrected before being assumed, while others believe she was assumed bodily into Heaven without first passing through death. As mentioned earlier, this aspect of the Assumption is not authoritatively defined in Catholic theology, and either understanding may be legitimately held by Catholics. Eastern Catholics observe the Feast as the Dormition. Many theologians note by way of comparison that in the Catholic Church, the Assumption is dogmatically defined, while in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Dormition is less dogmatically than liturgically and mystically defined. Such differences spring from a larger pattern in the two traditions, wherein Catholic teachings are often dogmatically and authoritatively defined – in part because of the more centralized structure of the Catholic Church– while in Eastern Orthodoxy, many doctrines are less authoritative. Mary's Heavenly BirthdayThe Assumption is important to many Catholic and Orthodox Christians as the Virgin Mary's heavenly birthday (the day that Mary was received into Heaven). Her acceptance into the glory of Heaven is seen by them as the symbol of the promise made by Jesus to all enduring Christians that they too will be received into paradise. The Assumption of Mary is symbolised in the Fleur-de-lys Madonna.The present Italian name of the holiday, "Ferragosto", may derive from the Latin name, Feriae Augusti ("Holidays of the Emperor Augustus"), since the month of August took its name from the emperor. The Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15 was celebrated in the eastern Church from the 6th Century. The Catholic Church adopted this date as a Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the real physical elevation of her sinless soul and incorrupt body into Heaven. The Solemnity of the Assumption on August 15 is a public holiday in many countries, including Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Cyprus, Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Colombia, Cyprus, East Timor, France, Gabon, Greece, Republic of Guinea, Haiti, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tahiti, Togo, and Vanuatu. It is also a holiday in some predominantly Catholic states of Germany, including Bavaria and Saarland. In Guatemala it is observed in Guatemala City and in the town of Santa Maria Nebaj, both of which claim her as their patron saint. Also, this day is combined with Mother's Day in Costa Rica. In many places, religious parades and popular festivals are held to celebrate this day. Prominent Catholic and Orthodox countries in which Assumption day is an important festival but is not recognized by the state as a public holiday include Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Ireland, Mexico, the Philippines and Russia. In Canada, Assumption Day is the Fête Nationale of the Acadians, of whom she is the patron saint. Businesses close on that day in heavily francophone parts of New Brunswick, Canada. The Virgin Assumed in Heaven is also patroness of the Maltese Islands and her feast, celebrated on 15 August, apart from being a public holiday in Malta is also celebrated with great solemnity in all the local churches especially in the seven localities known as the Seba' Santa Marijiet. In Anglicanism and Lutheranism, the feast is kept, but without official use of the word "Assumption". Scriptural SourcesAs mentioned, recent papal scholarship has cited John 14:3 as evidence of the Assumption in principle if not formally. Near the end of a review of the doctrine's history – a review which serves as the bulk of Munificentissimus Deus – Pope Pius XII tells us: "All these proofs and considerations of the holy Fathers and the theologians are based upon the Sacred Writings as their ultimate foundation." Precedent to this, he cites many passages that have been offered in support of this teaching:29. ...the holy writers...employed statements and various images and analogies of Sacred Scripture to Illustrate and to confirm the doctrine of the Assumption, which was piously believed... On the feast day of the Assumption, while explaining the prophet's words: "I will glorify the place of my feet," [Isaiah 60:13] he [i.e. St. Anthony of Padua] stated it as certain that the divine Redeemer had bedecked with supreme glory his most beloved Mother from whom he had received human flesh. He asserts that "you have here a clear statement that the Blessed Virgin has been assumed in her body, where was the place of the Lord's feet..." 30. ...St. Albert the Great... in a sermon which he delivered on the sacred day of the Blessed Virgin Mary's annunciation, explained the words "Hail, full of grace" [Luke 1:28]-words used by the angel who addressed her-the Universal Doctor, comparing the Blessed Virgin with Eve, stated clearly and incisively that she was exempted from the fourfold curse that had been laid upon Eve [cf. Genesis 3:16]... 32. Along with many others, the Seraphic Doctor held the same views. He considered it as entirely certain that...God...would never have permitted her body to have been resolved into dust and ashes. Explaining these words of Sacred Scripture: "Who is this that comes up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?" [Song of Songs 8:5] and applying them in a kind of accommodated sense to the Blessed Virgin, he reasons thus: "From this we can see that she is there bodily...her blessedness would not have been complete unless she were there as a person. The soul is not a person, but the soul, joined to the body, is a person. It is manifest that she is there in soul and in body. Otherwise she would not possess her complete beatitude. The Pope also cites, significantly in paragraph 39, 1st Corinthians 15, where we read (vv. 21–26): For by a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But every one in his own order: the firstfruits Christ, then they that are of Christ, who have believed in his coming. Afterwards the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father, when he shall have brought to nought all principality, and power, and virtue. For he must reign, until he hath put all his enemies under his feet. And the enemy death shall be destroyed last: For he hath put all things under his feet. In this passage Paul alludes to Genesis 3:15 (in addition to the primary reference of Psalms 8:6), where it is prophesied that the seed of the woman will crush Satan with his feet. Since, then, Jesus arose to Heaven to fulfill this prophecy, it follows that the woman would have a similar end, since she shared this enmity with Satan. The pope comments thus in paragraph 39: ...although subject to [Jesus, who is] the new Adam, [Mary, the new Eve] is most intimately associated with him in that struggle against the infernal foe which, as foretold in the protoevangelium [i.e. Genesis 3:15], would finally result in that most complete victory over the sin and death which are always mentioned together in the writings of the Apostle of the Gentiles. Consequently, just as the glorious resurrection of Jesus was an essential part and the final sign of this victory, so that struggle which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal body, for the same Apostle says: "When this mortal thing hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory." The pope also mentions (in paragraph 26) Psalms 132, a liturgical psalm commemorating the return of the Ark of God to Jerusalem and lamenting its subsequent loss. The second half of the psalm says that the loss will be recompensed in the New Covenant, and so it is hopefully prayed, "Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified" (v. 8). Since the Church sees this New Covenant ark in Mary, it understands that she was taken into Heaven in the same manner as the Lord – that is, body and soul. In the same paragraph, the pope mentions also Psalms 45:9–17 for support of a heavenly Queen present bodily with the heavenly King Jesus, and Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, and 6:9, which speaks of David's lover "that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer". Regarding the Marian interpretations of those passages from Psalms 132 to Song of Songs 6:9 and those in between, the pope did, however, consider them "rather free in their use of events and expressions taken from Sacred Scripture" (paragraph 26). Finally, he mentions in the next paragraph "that woman clothed with the sun [Revelation 12:1–2] whom John the Apostle contemplated on the Island of Patmos" as support for the doctrine. The text seems to parallel this woman with the woman of the Genesis 3 prophecy (and hence Mary): for in verse 9 the passage recalls "that old serpent" of Genesis 3, and reflects the prophecy that God would place "enmities between thee [i.e. Satan] and the woman, and thy seed and her seed" when it says that Satan "was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed" (Rev. 12:17). All these passages – viz., John 14:3, Isaiah 60:13, Luke 1:28, Song of Songs 8:5, 1st Corinthians 15:21–26, Psalms 132:8, Psalms 45:9–17, Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, 6:9, Genesis 3:15, and Revelation 12:1–2 – are drawn upon as Scriptural support of the Assumption both in that original document, and today by Catholic apologists |
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References:
- Duggan, Paul E. (1989). The Assumption Dogma: Some Reactions and Ecumenical Implications in the Thought of English-speaking Theologians. Emerson Press, Cleveland, Ohio
- Shoemaker, Stephen J. (2002, 2006). Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's Dormition and Assumption. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-925075-8 (Hardcover 2004, Reprint), ISBN 0-19-921074-8 (Paperback 2006)
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Featured Item from Litany Lane
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Today's Snippet I: Blessed Bartolo Longo
Early years
Bartolo Longo was born into a wealthy family on February 10, 1841 in the small town of Latiano, near Brindisi, in southern Italy. His parents were devout Roman Catholics.
In 1851, Longo's father died and his mother remarried a lawyer. Despite
Longo's stepfather wanting him to become a teacher, Longo was set on
becoming a lawyer. In 1861, Longo succeeded in convincing his stepfather
and was sent to the University of Naples to study law.
In the 1860s, the Catholic Church in Italy found itself at odds with a strong nationalistic movement. General Giuseppe Garibaldi, who played a key role in Italian unification,
saw the Pope as an antagonist to Italian nationalism and actively
campaigned for the elimination of the papal office altogether. The Catholic Church in Europe was also competing with a growing popularity in Spiritualism and Occultism.
Because of this, many students at the University of Naples took part in
demonstrations against the pope, dabbled in witchcraft and consulted
Neapolitan mediums.
Longo became involved with a movement that he claimed led him into a
Satanist cult. After some study and several "spiritual" experiences
Longo said that he was ordained as a satanic priest.
Conversion
In the following years, Longo's life became one of "depression, nervousness, and confusion".
Bothered by paranoia and anxiety, he turned to a hometown friend,
Vincenzo Pepe, for guidance. It was Pepe who convinced him, in Longo's
account, to abandon Satanism and introduced him to the Dominican Father
Alberto Radente who led him to a devotion to the rosary.
On October 7, 1871 Longo became a Dominican tertiary and took the name
“Rosario”. Around this time, he reportedly visited a séance and held up a
rosary, declaring, “I renounce spiritualism because it is nothing but a
maze of error and falsehood.” He also came to know some Franciscans
with whom he helped the poor and incurably ill for two years. Bartolo
also kept up his law practice, which took him to the nearby village of
Pompei. He went to Pompei to take care of the affairs of Countess Marianna Farnararo De Fusco.
In Pompei, Longo later recounted, he was shocked at the erosion of
the people’s faith. He wrote, “Their religion was a mixture of
superstition and popular tradition. ... For their every need, ... they
would go to a witch, a sorceress, in order to obtain charms and
witchcraft.” Through talking to the citizens, Bartolo came to recognize
their severe lack of catechesis. When he asked one man if there was only
one God, the fellow answered, “When I was a child, I remember people
telling me there were three. Now, after so many years, I don‘t know if
one of them is dead or one has married.”
Longo wrote of his personal struggles with mental illness, paranoia,
depression and anxiety. At one point, he noted struggling with suicidal
thoughts, but rejected them by recalling the promise of Saint Dominic, "he who propagates my Rosary will be saved." Longo wrote that this promise is what convinced him to encourage public devotion to the rosary.
Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii
In 1875, Longo obtained as a gift a painting portraying Our Lady of the Rosary, with Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine of Siena.
Sister M. Concetta de Litala of the Monastery of the Rosary at Porta
Medina had been holding it for the Dominican priest Alberto Radente.
Radente had acquired it from a junk-shop dealer in Naples for a very
small sum. The painting was in bad condition and Longo wrote of his
immediate distaste of the poor artistic quality when he first saw it.
However, he accepted the gift to conserve funds and to not insult the
Sister Concetta. Longo raised funds to restore the image and placed it
in the church in an effort to encourage pilgrimages.
Alleged miracles began to be reported and people began flocking in droves to the church. Longo was encouraged by the Bishop of Nola
to begin the construction of a larger church—the cornerstone being laid
on May 8, 1876. The church was consecrated in May 1891 by Cardinal La
Valletta (representing Pope Leo XIII). In 1939, the church was enlarged to a basilica, known today as the Basilica of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Pompei.
Later life and death
At
the suggestion of Pope Leo XIII, Bartolo Longo and the Countess Mariana
di Fusco were married on April 7, 1885. The couple remained continent
(abstained from intercourse),
and continued to do many charitable works and provided for orphaned
children and the children of prisoners which for its time was
revolutionary. In 1906 they donated the entire property of the Pompeii shrine to the Holy See.
Longo continued promoting the Rosary until his death on October 5,
1926, at the age of 85. The piazza on which his basilica stands has
since been named in memory of Longo. His body is encased in a glass tomb
and he is wearing the mantle of a Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, a papal order of knighthood.
Beatification
On October 7, 2003 Pope John Paul II prayed for world peace at the
Basilica. More than 30,000 people were waiting to greet him as he flew
in by helicopter.
References
- Rum, A., "Our Lady of Pompei", Dictionary of Mary, Catholic Book Publishing Co., NY, 1985
- Brown, Ann M., "Apostle of the Rosary: Blessed Bartolo Longo", New Hope Publications. 2004. ISBN 1-892875-24-1
- Giuseppe Guerzoni, Garibaldi: con documenti editi e inediti, Florence, 1882, Vol. 11, 485.
- Conan, Doyle, "The History of Spiritualism Vol II", The Book Tree Co., CA, 2007
- Sullivan, OP, Br. Ezra, "The Rosary: the Devil's Defeat", Catholic Exchange, October 26, 2007 Angelo Stagnaro, "Blessed Bartolo Longo: The Ex-Satanist On the Path to Sainthood", Catholic Herald, 2011-07-19
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Today's Snippet II: Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii
History
Bartolo Longo started restoring a church in disrepair in October 1873 and promoted a festival in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary.
In 1875, Longo obtained a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary from a
convent in Naples and raised funds to restore the image so as to locate
it in the church. Miracles began to be reported and pilgrims began
flocking in droves to the church. Three hundred people of the area
pledged a penny a month for the work. Bartolo Longo was encouraged by Giuseppe Formisano, Bishop of Nola,
to begin the construction of a larger church—the cornerstone being laid
on the 8 May 1876. The church was consecrated on the 7 May 1891 by
Cardinal Raffaele Monaco La Valletta, representing Pope Leo XIII.
Pope Benedict XVI presented his sixth Golden Rose to the shrine on the 19 October 2008.
Architecture
The original building built between 1876 and 1891 and designed by Antonio Cua followed a Latin cross plan. It was only 420 square metres (4,500 sq ft). The construction of the façade, work of Giovanni Rispoli,
started on the 15 May 1893. The facade culminates with the statue of
the Virgin of the Rosary (18,000 kg (40,000 lb), 3.25 m (10.7 ft)), work of Gaetano Chiaromonte, carved from a single block of Carrara marble, beneath which are placed the word "PAX" and the year "MCMI" (1901).
To accommodate the increasing numbers of pilgrims, the sanctuary was
expanded between 1934 and 1939 from one to three aisles, keeping its
Latin cross plan. The project was designed by the architect-priest
Monsignor Spirito Maria Chiapetta. Each new aisle has three altars on each side. The new building with its 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft) can accommodate up to 6,000 people.
The 80-metre (260 ft) bell tower built between 1912 and 1925 was designed by Aristide Leonori, assisted by his brother Pio Leonori.
Our Lady of the Rosary
An attempt was made by an amateur to restore it, and it was placed in
the church on 13 February 1876, the foundation day for the
Confraternity of the Holy Rosary there. In 1880 the famous Italian
painter, Federico Madlarelli, offered to restore the image. It was again
finally restored by Vatican artists in 1965.
References
- Cruz, Joan Carroll (1984). Relics. Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 978-0-87973-701-6. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- Carillo, Saverio; Sepe, Vincenzo; Petillo, Pasquale (2010). "The Huge Enlargement with R.C. Structure of the Shrine of Pompeii in Italy (1933-1939): a Technological, Architectonic and Cultural Challenge" (PDF). IABSE Symposium, Large Structures and Infrastructures for Environmentally Constrained and Urbanised Areas (Conference paper). Venice: 802–809. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
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Today's Snippet III: History of the 54 Day Rosary Novena
"Whoever desires to obtain favors from Me should make three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary, and three novenas in thanksgiving." ~ Promise of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary
On March 3, 1884, Our Lady of Pompeii appeared before the gravely ill daughter of an Italian military officer and, through her, gave the world a new devotion of tremendous power.
or over a year, Fortuna Agrelli had been in great distress and even near-death. Indeed, her case had been given up as hopeless by the most celebrated physicians. In desperation, on February 16, the afflicted girl and her family began a novena of Rosaries.
Two weeks later, the Queen of the Holy Rosary appeared before Fortuna one evening. Sitting upon a high throne, surrounded by luminous figures, Our Lady was holding the Divine Child on Her lap and a Rosary in Her hand. Both were arrayed in golden garments and were accompanied
by Sts. Dominic and Catherine of Siena.
“Child, your faith has pleased Me.” Our Lady said to Fortuna, “Whoever desires to obtain favors from Me should make three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary, and three novenas in
thanksgiving.”
Obedient to Our Lady’s command, Fortuna and her family completed the six novenas whereupon the young girl was restored to perfect health and her family showered with many blessings.
This miracle of the Rosary made a very deep impression on Pope Leo XIII, He wrote 17 encyclicals on the Rosary and urged all Christians to
love the Rosary and pray it fervently.
A laborious Novena, but a Novena of Love. You who are sincere will not find it too difficult,
if you really wish to obtain your request. Should you not obtain the favor you seek, be assured that the Rosary Queen, who knows what each one stands most in need of, has heard your prayer. You will not have prayed in vain. No prayer ever went unheard. And Our Blessed Lady has never been known to fail.
if you really wish to obtain your request. Should you not obtain the favor you seek, be assured that the Rosary Queen, who knows what each one stands most in need of, has heard your prayer. You will not have prayed in vain. No prayer ever went unheard. And Our Blessed Lady has never been known to fail.
Look upon each Hail Mary as a rare and beautiful rose which you lay at Mary's feet. These spiritual roses, bound in a wreath with Spiritual Communions, will be a most pleasing and acceptable gift to her, and will bring down upon you special graces. If you would reach the innermost recesses of her heart, lavishly bedeck your wreath with spiritual diamonds holy communions. Then her joy will be unbounded, and she will open wide the channel of her choicest graces to you.
Reference:
- Knights of Divine Mercy. Retreived August, 8, 2016 from http://knightsofdivinemercy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/54_Day_Novena_Rosary.pdf
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Today's Snippet IV: The 54 Day Novena
Start: Monday August 15, 2016 - Feast of the Assumption
Finish: Friday, October 7, 2016 - the Feast of our Lady of the Rosary
Duration: 54 consecutive days of 3 novenas of petition (27 days) followed by 3 novenas of thanksgiving (27 days). Only Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious Mysteries are recited in order, daily as taught in original novena of 1884. NOTE: The Luminous mysteries are NOT included in this novena.
Intentions: Worldwide Conversion, Our Nation, and World Peace
Intentions: Worldwide Conversion, Our Nation, and World Peace
How to Recite the 54-Day Rosary Novena
Traditionally a novena is nine days. Thus, Our Lady’s words to young
Fortuna, “make three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary in petition,
and three novenas in thanksgiving.”
The novena consists of five decades of the Rosary (one set of
mysteries) each day for twenty-seven days in petition; then immediately
five decades each day for an additional twenty-seven days in
thanksgiving, regardless of whether or not the request has been granted
yet.
So began six novenas of Rosaries, which became known as the 54-day Rosary Novena.
To do the novena properly one must pray the Rosary for 54 consecutive
days, without missing a day, and must pray the particular Mystery
indicated for that day following the correct sequence.
That is, the first day of the novena always begins with the Joyful
Mysteries (regardless of what day of the week the novena is started);
the second day, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed; and the third day of
the novena, the Glorious Mysteries are prayed. The fourth day of the novena begins again with the Joyful Mysteries
and continues on in that sequence throughout the 54 days of the novena.
The 54 day novena starts on Monday, August 15, 2015 on the Feast of the Assumption with the Joyful Mysteries. Below are included the opening petition and thanksgiving prayers for each Mystery.
Opening prayer s for Joyful Mysteries
In petition:
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I humbly kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses snow white buds to remind thee of thy joys each bud recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my petition; from thy bounty thou wilt give me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly seek. I despair of nothing that I ask of thee. Show thyself my Mother!
In thanksgiving:
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses snow white buds to remind thee of thy joys each bud recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, Dispenser of God's graces. and Mother of all who invoke thee! thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou hast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Opening Prayers for Sorrowful Mysteries
In petition:Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I humbly kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses blood red roses to remind thee of the passion of thy divine Son, with Whom thou didst so fully partake of its bitterness each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my petition; from thy bounty thou wilt give me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly seek. I despair of nothing that I ask of thee. Show thyself my Mother!
In thanksgiving:
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses blood red roses to remind thee of the passion of thy divine Son, with Whom thou didst so fully partake of its bitterness each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou hast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses blood red roses to remind thee of the passion of thy divine Son, with Whom thou didst so fully partake of its bitterness each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou hast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Opening Prayers for Glorious Mysteries
In petition:
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I humbly kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses full blown white roses, tinged with the red of the passion, to remind thee of thy glories, fruits of the sufferings of thy Son and thee each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my petition; from thy bounty thou wilt give me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly seek. I despair of nothing that I ask of thee. Show thyself my Mother!
In thanksgiving:
Hail!, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses full blown white roses, tinged with the red of the passion, to remind thee of thy glories, fruits of the sufferings of thy Son and thee each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God s graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou bast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Indulgencies
Made by the Blessed Virgin to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan.
1. To all those who will recite my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and very great
graces.
2. Those who will persevere in the recitation of my Rosary shall receive some signal grace.
3. The Rosary shall be a very powerful armor against hell; it shall destroy vice, deliver from sin, and shall dispel heresy.
4. The Rosary shall make virtue and good works flourish, and shall obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; it shall substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world, elevate them to desire heavenly and eternal goods. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!
5. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary, shall not perish.
6. Those who will recite my Rosary piously, considering its Mysteries, shall not be overwhelmed
by misfortune nor die a bad death. The sinner shall be converted; the just shall grow in grace and
become worthy of eternal life.
7. Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the consolations of the Church, or without
grace.
8. Those who will recite my Rosary shall find during their life and at their death the light of God, the fullness of His grace, and shall share in the merits of the blessed.
9. I will deliver very promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary.
10. The true children of my Rosary shall enjoy great glory in heaven.
11. What you ask through my Rosary, you shall obtain.
12. Those who propagate my Rosary shall obtain through me aid in all their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Son that all the confrères of the Rosary shall have for their brethren in life and death the saints of heaven.
14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are all my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion to my Rosary is a special sign of predestination.
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FEATURED BOOK
THE MYSTICAL CITY OF GOD
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 to Sister Mary of Jesus, Prioress of the convent of the Immaculate Conception in Agreda, Spain. For new enlightenment of the world, for rejoicing of the Catholic Church, and encouragement of men. Completed in 1665.
THE DIVINE HISTORY AND LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD
Venerable Mary of Agreda
Translated from the Spanish by Reverend George J. Blatter
1914, So. Chicago, Ill., The Theopolitan; Hammond, Ind., W.B. Conkey Co., US..
IMPRIMATUR: +H.J. Alerding Bishop of Fort Wayne
Translation from the Original Authorized Spanish Edition by Fiscar Marison (George J. Blatter). Begun on the Feast of the Assumption 1902, completed 1912.
This work is published for the greater Glory of Jesus Christ through His most Holy Mother Mary and for the sanctification of the Church and her members.
Book 8, Chapter 5
SAINT
GABRIEL BRINGS NOTICE OF DEATH
In writing of what still remains of
the history of our Lady, of our only and heavenly Phoenix, the
blessed Mary, it is no more than right that our hearts be filled with
tenderness and our eyes with tears at the sweet and touching marvels
of the last years of her life. I should wish to exhort the devout
faithful not to read of them nor consider them as past and absent,
since the powerful virtue of faith can make these truths present to
the mind; and if we look upon them with the proper piety and
Christian devotion, without a doubt we shall gather the sweetest
fruit, and our hearts shall feel the effects and rejoice in the good,
which our eyes cannot see.
The most holy Mary had arrived at the
age sixty–seven years without having tarried in her career,
ceased in her flight, mitigated the flame of her love, or lessened
the increase of her merits from the first instant of her Conception.
As all this had continued to grow in each moment of her life, the
ineffable gifts, benefits and favors of the Lord had made Her
entirely godlike and spiritual; the affectionate ardors and desires
of her most chaste heart did not allow Her any rest outside the
centre of her love; the bounds of the flesh were most violently
irksome; the overwhelming attraction of the Divinity to unite Itself
with Her with eternal and most close bonds, (according to our mode of
speaking) had attained the summit of power in Her; and the earth
itself, made unworthy by the sins of mortals to contain the Treasure
of heaven, could no longer bear the strain of withholding Her from
her true Lord. The eternal Father desired his only and true Daughter;
the Son his beloved and most loving Mother; and the Holy Ghost the
embraces of his most beautiful Spouse. The angels longed for their
Queen, the saints for their great Lady; and all the heavens mutely
awaited the presence of their Empress who should fill them with
glory, with her beauty and delight. All that could be alleged in
favor of Her still remaining in the world and in the Church, was the
need of such a Mother and Mistress, and the love, which God himself
had for the miserable children of Adam.
But as some term and end was to be
placed to the career of our Queen, the divine consistory (according
to our mode of understanding), conferred upon the manner of
glorifying the most blessed Mother and established the kind of loving
reward due to Her for having so copiously fulfilled all the designs
of the divine mercy among the children of Adam during the many years
in which She had been the Foundress and Teacher of his holy Church.
The Almighty therefore resolved to delight and console Her by giving
Her definite notice of the term still remaining of her life and
revealing to Her the day and hour of the longed for end of her
earthly banishment. For this purpose the most blessed Trinity
despatched the archangel Gabriel with many others of the celestial
hierarchies, who should announce to the Queen when and how her mortal
life should come to an end and pass over into the eternal.
The holy prince descended with the rest to the
Cenacle in Jerusalem and entered the oratory of the great Lady where
they found Her prostrate on the ground in the form of a cross, asking
mercy for sinners. But hearing the sound of their music and
perceiving them present, She rose to her knees in order to hear the
message and show respect to the ambassador of heaven and his
companions, who in white and refulgent garments surrounded Her with
wonderful delight and reverence. All of them had come with crowns and
palms in their hands, each one with a different one; but all of them
represented the diverse premiums and rewards of inestimable beauty
and value to be conferred upon their great Queen and Lady. Gabriel
saluted Her with the Ave Maria, and added thereto: “Our Empress
and Lady, the Omnipotent and the Holy of the holy sends us from his
heavenly court to announce to Thee in his name the most happy end of
thy pilgrimage and banishment upon earth in mortal life. Soon, O
Lady, is that day and hour approaching which, according to thy
longing desires, Thou shalt pass through natural death to the
possession of the eternal and immortal life, which awaits Thee in the
glory and at the right hand of thy divine Son, our God. Exactly three
years from today Thou shalt be taken up and received into the
everlasting joy of the Lord, where all its inhabitants await Thee,
longing for thy presence.”
The most holy Mary heard this message with
ineffable jubilee of her purest and most loving spirit, prostrating
herself again upon the earth, She answered in the same words as at
the incarnation of the Word: “Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi
secundum verbum tuum.” “Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
be it done according to thy word” (Luke 1, 38). Then She asked
the holy angels and ministers of the Most High to help Her give
thanks for this welcome and joyful news. The blessed Mother
alternately with the seraphim and other angels sang the responses of
a canticle that lasted for two hours. Although by their nature and
supernatural gifts the angelic spirits are so subtle, wise and
excellent, they were nevertheless excelled in all this by their Queen
and Lady, as vassals are by their sovereign; for in Her, grace and
wisdom abounded as in a Teacher, in them, only as in disciples.
Having finished this canticle and humiliating herself anew, She
charged the supernal spirits to beseech the Lord to prepare Her for
her passage from mortal to eternal life, and to ask all the other
angels and saints in heaven to pray for the same favor. They offered
to obey Her in all things, and there with saint Gabriel took leave and
returned with all his company to the empyrean heaven.
The great Queen
and Lady of all the universe remained alone in her oratory, and amid
tears of humble joy prostrated Herself upon the earth, embraced it as
the common mother of us all, saying: “Earth, I give thee thanks
as I ought, because without my merit thou hast sustained me
sixty–seven years. Thou art a creature of the Most High and by
his will thou hast sustained me until now. I
ask thee now to help me during the rest of my dwelling
upon thee, so that, just as I have been created of thee and upon
thee, I may through thee and from thee be raised to the blessed
vision of my Maker.’’ She addressed also other creatures,
saying: “Ye heavens, planets, stars and elements, created by
the powerful hands of my Beloved, faithful witnesses and proclaimers
of his greatness and beauty, you also I thank for the preservation of
my life; help me then from today on, that, with the divine favor, I
may begin anew to perfect my life during the time left of my career,
in order that I may show myself thankful to my and your Creator.”
The devout Queen resolved to take
leave of the holy places before her departure into heaven, and having
obtained the consent of saint John She left the house with him and
with the thousand angels of her guard. Although these sovereign
princes had always served and accompanied Her in all her errands,
occupations and journeys, without having absented themselves for one
moment since the instant of her birth; yet on this occasion they
manifested themselves to Her with greater beauty and refulgence, as
if they felt special joy in seeing themselves already at the
beginning of her last journey into heaven. The heavenly Princess,
setting aside human occupations in order to enter upon her journey to
the real and true fatherland, visited all the memorable places of our
Redemption, marking each with the sweet abundance of her tears,
recalling the sorrowful memories of what her Son there suffered, and
fervently renewing its effects by most fervent acts of love, clamors
and petitions for all the faithful, who should devoutly and
reverently visit these holy places during the future ages of the
Church. On Calvary She remained a longer time, asking of her divine
Son the full effects of his redeeming Death for all the multitudes of
souls there snatched from destruction. The ardor of her ineffable
charity during this prayer rose to such a pitch, that it would have
destroyed her life, if it had not been sustained by divine power.
The Queen asked also the angels of the sanctuaries
and the Evangelist to give Her their blessing in this last
leave–taking; and therewith She returned to her oratory
shedding tears of tenderest affection for what She loved so much upon
earth. There She prostrated Herself with her face upon the earth and
poured forth another long and most fervent prayer for the Church; and
She persevered in it, until in an abstractive vision of the Divinity,
the Lord had given Her assurance that He had heard and conceded her
petitions at the throne of His mercy. In order to give the last touch
of holiness to her works, She asked permission of the Lord to take
leave of the holy Church, saying: “Exalted and most high God,
Redeemer of the world, head of the saints and the predestined,
Justifier and Glorifier of souls, I am a child of the holy Church,
planted and acquired by thy blood. Give me, O Lord, permission to
take leave of such a loving Mother, and of all my brethren, thy
children, belonging to it.” She was made aware of the consent
of the Lord and therefore turned to the mystical body of the Church,
addressing it in sweet tears as follows:
“Holy
Catholic Church, which in the coming ages shall be called the Roman,
my mother and Mistress, true treasure of my soul, thou hast been the
only consolation of my banishment; the refuge and ease of my labors;
my recreation, my joy and my hope ; thou hast sustained me in my
course; in thee have I lived as a pilgrim to the Fatherland and thou
hast nourished me after I had received in thee my existence in grace
through thy head, Christ Jesus, my Son and my Lord. In thee are the
treasures and the riches of his infinite merits; thou shalt be for
his faithful children the secure way to the promised land, and thou
shalt safeguard them on their dangerous and difficult pilgrimage.
Thou shalt be the mistress of the nations to whom all owe reverence;
in thee are the rich and inestimable jewels of the anxieties, labors,
affronts, hardships, torments, of the cross and of death, which are
all consecrated by those of my Lord, thy Progenitor, thy Master, thy
Chief, and are reserved for his more distinguished servants and his
dearest friends. Thou hast adorned and enriched me with thy jewels in
order that I might enter in the nuptials of the Spouse; thou hast
made me wealthy, prosperous and happy, and thou containest within
thee thy Author in the most holy Sacrament. My happy Mother, Church
militant, rich art thou and abundant in treasures! For thee have I
always reserved my heart and my solicitude; but now is the time come
to part from thee and leave thy sweet companionship, in order to
reach the end of my course. Make me partaker of thy great goods;
bathe me copiously in the sacred liquor of the blood of the Lamb,
preserved in thee as a powerful means of sanctifying many worlds. At
the cost of my life a thousand times would I bring to thee all the
nations and tribes of mortals, that they might enjoy thy treasures.
My beloved Church, my honor and my glory, I am about to leave thee in
mortal life; but in the eternal life I will find thee joyful in an
existence which includes all good. From that place I shall look upon
thee with love, and pray always for thy increase, thy prosperity and
thy progress.
This was the parting of the most blessed Mary from
the mystical body of the holy Roman Catholic Church, the mother of
the faithful, in order that all who should hear of Her, might know by
her sweet tears and endearments, in what veneration, love and esteem
She held that holy Church. After thus taking leave, the great
Mistress, as the Mother of Wisdom, prepared to make her testament and
last Will. When She manifested this most prudent wish to the Lord, He
deigned to approve of it by his own royal presence. For this purpose,
with myriads of attending angels, the three Persons of the most
blessed Trinity descended to the oratory of their Daughter and
Spouse, and when the Queen had adored the infinite Being of God, She
heard a voice speaking to Her: “Our chosen Spouse, make thy
last will as thou desirest, for We shall confirm it and execute it
entirely by our infinite power.’’ The most prudent Mother
remained for some time lost in the profoundness of her humility,
seeking to know first the will of the Most High before She should
manifest her own. The Lord responded to her modest desires and the
person of the Father said to Her: “My Daughter, thy will shall
be pleasing and acceptable to Me; for thou art not wanting in the
merits of good works in parting from this mortal life, that I should
not satisfy thy desires.” The same encouragement was given to
her by the Son and the Holy Ghost. Therewith the most blessed Mary
made her will in this form:
‘‘Highest
Lord and eternal God, I, a vile wormlet of the earth, confess and
adore Thee with all the reverence of my inmost soul as the Father,
the Son and the Holy Ghost, three Persons distinct in one undivided
and eternal essence, one substance, one in infinite majesty of
attributes and perfection. I confess Thee as the one true Creator and
Preserver of all that has being.
In thy kingly presence I declare and say, that my last will is this: Of the goods of mortal life and of the world in which I live, I possess none that I can leave; for never have I possessed or loved anything beside Thee, who art my good and all my possession. To the heavens, the stars and planets, to the elements and all creatures in them I give thanks, because according to thy will they have sustained me without my merit, and lovingly I desire and ask them to serve and praise Thee in the offices and ministries assigned to them, and that they continue to sustain and benefit my brethren and fellowmen. In order that they may do it so much the better, I renounce and assign to mankind the possession, and as far as possible, the dominion of them, which thy Majesty has given me over these irrational creatures, so that they may now serve and sustain my fellowmen.
Two tunics and a cloak, which served to cover me, I leave to John for his disposal, since I hold him as a son. My body I ask the earth to receive again for thy service, since it is the common mother and serves Thee as thy creature; my soul, despoiled of its body and of all visible things, O my God, I resign into thy hands, in order that it may love and magnify Thee through all thy eternities.
My merits and all the treasures, which with thy grace through my works and exertions I have acquired, I leave to the holy Church, my mother and my mistress, as my residuary heiress, and with thy permission I there deposit them, wishing them to be much greater. And I desire before all else they redound to the exaltation of thy holy name and procure the fulfillment of thy will earth as it is done in heaven, and that all the nations come to the knowledge, love and veneration of Thee, the true God.”
In thy kingly presence I declare and say, that my last will is this: Of the goods of mortal life and of the world in which I live, I possess none that I can leave; for never have I possessed or loved anything beside Thee, who art my good and all my possession. To the heavens, the stars and planets, to the elements and all creatures in them I give thanks, because according to thy will they have sustained me without my merit, and lovingly I desire and ask them to serve and praise Thee in the offices and ministries assigned to them, and that they continue to sustain and benefit my brethren and fellowmen. In order that they may do it so much the better, I renounce and assign to mankind the possession, and as far as possible, the dominion of them, which thy Majesty has given me over these irrational creatures, so that they may now serve and sustain my fellowmen.
Two tunics and a cloak, which served to cover me, I leave to John for his disposal, since I hold him as a son. My body I ask the earth to receive again for thy service, since it is the common mother and serves Thee as thy creature; my soul, despoiled of its body and of all visible things, O my God, I resign into thy hands, in order that it may love and magnify Thee through all thy eternities.
My merits and all the treasures, which with thy grace through my works and exertions I have acquired, I leave to the holy Church, my mother and my mistress, as my residuary heiress, and with thy permission I there deposit them, wishing them to be much greater. And I desire before all else they redound to the exaltation of thy holy name and procure the fulfillment of thy will earth as it is done in heaven, and that all the nations come to the knowledge, love and veneration of Thee, the true God.”
“In the
second place I offer these merits for my masters the Apostles and
priests, of the present and of the future ages, so that in view of
them thy ineffable clemency may make them apt ministers, worthy of
their office and state, filled with wisdom, virtue and holiness by
which they may edify and sanctify the souls by thy blood.
In the third place I offer them for the spiritual good of my devoted servants, who invoke and call upon me, in order that they may receive thy protection and grace, and afterwards eternal life.
In the fourth place I desire that my services and labors may move Thee to mercy toward all the sinning children of Adam, in order that they may withdraw from their sinful state. From this hour on I propose and desire to continue my prayers for them in thy divine presence, as long as the world shall last. This, Lord and my God, is my last will, always subject to thy own.” At the conclusion of this testament of the Queen, the most blessed Trinity approved and confirmed it; and Christ the Redeemer, as if authorizing it all, witnessed it by writing in the heart of his Mother these words: “Let it be done as thou wishest and ordainest.”
In the third place I offer them for the spiritual good of my devoted servants, who invoke and call upon me, in order that they may receive thy protection and grace, and afterwards eternal life.
In the fourth place I desire that my services and labors may move Thee to mercy toward all the sinning children of Adam, in order that they may withdraw from their sinful state. From this hour on I propose and desire to continue my prayers for them in thy divine presence, as long as the world shall last. This, Lord and my God, is my last will, always subject to thy own.” At the conclusion of this testament of the Queen, the most blessed Trinity approved and confirmed it; and Christ the Redeemer, as if authorizing it all, witnessed it by writing in the heart of his Mother these words: “Let it be done as thou wishest and ordainest.”
If all we children of Adam, and
especially we who are born in the law of grace, had no other
obligation toward the most blessed Mary than this of having been
constituted heirs of her immense merits and of all that is mentioned
in this short and mysterious testament, we could never repay our
debt, even if in return we should offer our lives and endure all the
sufferings of the most courageous martyrs and saints.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN
The Virgin Mary
speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain
Among the absurd fallacies introduced
by the demon into the world none is greater or more pernicious than
the forgetfulness of the hour of death and of what is to happen at
the court of the rigorous Judge. Consider, my daughter, that through
this portal sin entered into the world; for the serpent sought to
convince the first woman principally, that she would not die and need
not think of that matter (Gen. 11, 4). Thus continually deceived,
there are uncountable fools who live without thought of death and who
die forgetful of the unhappy lot that awaits them. In order that thou
mayest not be seized by this human perversity, begin to convince
thyself now that thou must die irrevocably; that thou hast received
much and paid little; that the account shall be so much the more
rigorous, as the Judge has been more liberal in the gifts and talents
lavished upon thee in thy sphere. I do not ask of thee more, and also
not less, than what thou owest to thy Spouse and to thy Lord, which
is always to operate the best in all places, times and occasions,
without permitting any forgetfulness, intermission or carelessness.
Book 8, Chapter 6
THE
GLORIOUS TRANSITION OF THE VIRGIN MARY
And now, according to the decree of
the divine will, the day was approaching in which the true and living
Ark of the covenant was to be placed in the temple of the celestial
Jerusalem, with a greater glory and higher jubilee than its prophetic
figure was installed by Solomon in the sanctuary beneath the wings of
the cherubim (III King 8, 8). Three days before the most happy
Transition of the great Lady the Apostles and disciples were gathered
in Jerusalem and in the Cenacle. The first one to arrive was saint
Peter, who was transported from Rome by the hands of an angel. At
that place the angel appeared to him and told him that the passing
away of the most blessed Mary was imminent and the Lord commanded him
to go to Jerusalem in order to be present at that event. Thereupon
the angel took him and brought him from Italy to the Cenacle. Thither
the Queen of the world had retired, somewhat weakened in body by the
force of her divine love; for since She was so near to her end, She
was subjected more completely to love’s effects.
The great Lady
came to the entrance of her oratory in order to receive the vicar of
Christ our Savior. Kneeling at his feet She asked his blessing and
said: “I give thanks and praise to the Almighty, that He
brought to me the holy Father for assisting me in the hour of my
death.’’ Then came saint Paul, to whom the Queen showed
the same reverence with similar tokens of her pleasure at seeing him.
The Apostles saluted Her as the Mother of God, as their Queen and as
Mistress of all creation; but with a sorrow equal to their reverence,
because they knew that they had come to witness her passing away.
After these Apostles came the others and
the disciples still living. Three days after, they were all assembled
in the Cenacle. The heavenly Mother received them all with profound
humility, reverence and love, asking each one to bless Her. All of
them complied, and saluted Her with admirable reverence. By orders of
the Lady given to saint John, and with the assistance of saint James
the less, they were all hospitably entertained and accommodated.
Some of the Apostles who had been transported by
the angels and informed by them of the purpose of their coming, were
seized with tenderest grief and shed abundant tears at the thought of
losing their only protection and consolation. Others were as yet
ignorant of their approaching loss, especially the disciples, who had
not been positively informed by the angels, but were moved by
interior inspirations and a sweet and forcible intimation of God’s
will to come to Jerusalem. They immediately conferred with saint
Peter, desirous of knowing the occasion of their meeting; for all of
them were convinced, that if there had been no special occasion, the
Lord would not have urged them so strongly to come. The apostle saint
Peter, as the head of the Church, called them all together in order
to tell them of the cause of their coming, and spoke to the assembly:
“My dearest children and brethren, the Lord has called and
brought us to Jerusalem from remote regions not without a cause most
urgent and sorrowful to us. The Most High wishes now to raise up to
the throne of eternal glory his most blessed Mother, our Mistress,
our consolation and protection. His divine decree is that we all be
present at her most happy and glorious Transition. When our Master
and Redeemer ascended to the right hand of his Father, although He
left us orphaned of his most delightful presence, we still retained
his most blessed Mother and our light now leaves us what shall we do?
What help or hope have we to encourage us on our pilgrimage? I find
none except the hope that we all shall follow Her in due time.”
Saint Peter could speak no farther, because
uncontrollable tears and sighs interrupted him. Neither could the
rest of the Apostles answer for a long time during which, amid
copious and tenderest tears, they gave vent to the groans of their
inmost heart. After some time the vicar of Christ recovered himself
and added: “My children, let us seek the presence of our Mother
and Lady. Let us spend the time left of her life in her company and
ask Her to bless us.” They all betook themselves to the oratory
of the great Queen and found Her kneeling upon a couch, on which She
was wont to recline for a short rest. They saw Her full of beauty and
celestial light, surrounded by the thousand angels of her guard.
The natural condition and appearance of her sacred
and virginal body were the same as at her thirty–third year;
for, as I have already stated, from that age onward it experienced no
change. It was not affected by the passing years, showing no signs of
age, no wrinkles in her face or body, nor giving signs of weakening
or fading, as in other children of Adam, who gradually fall away and
drop from the natural perfection of early man or womanhood. This
unchangeableness was the privilege of the most blessed Mary alone, as
well because it consorted with the stability of her purest soul, as
because it was the natural consequence of her immunity from the sin
of Adam, the effects of which in this regard touched neither her
sacred body nor her purest soul. The Apostles and disciples, and some
of the other faithful occupied her chamber, all of them preserving
the utmost order in her presence. Saint Peter and saint John placed
themselves at the head of the couch. The great Lady looked upon them
all with her accustomed modesty and reverence and spoke to them as
follows: “My dearest children, give permission to your servant
to speak in your presence and to disclose my humble desires.”
Saint Peter answered that all listened with attention and would obey
Her in all things; and He begged Her to seat Herself upon the couch,
while speaking to them. It seemed to saint Peter that She was
exhausted from kneeling so long and that She had taken that position
in order to pray to the Lord, and that in speaking to them, it was
proper She should be seated as their Queen.
But She, who was the Teacher of humility and
obedience unto death, practiced both these virtues in that hour. She
answered that She would obey in asking of their blessing, and
besought them to afford Her this consolation. With the permission of
saint Peter She left the couch and, kneeling before the Apostle, said
to him: “My lord, I beseech thee, as the universal pastor and
head of the holy Church, to give me thy blessing in thy own and in
its name. Pardon me thy handmaid for the smallness of the service I
have rendered in my life. Grant that John dispose of my vestments,
giving them to the two poor maidens, who have always obliged me by
their charity.” She then prostrated Herself and kissed the feet
of saint Peter as the vicar of Christ, by her abundant tears
eliciting not less the admiration than the tears of the Apostle and
of all the bystanders. From saint Peter She went to saint John,
kneeling likewise at his feet, said: “Pardon, my son and my
master, my not having fulfilled toward thee the duties of a Mother as
I ought and as the Lord had commanded me, when from the Cross He
appointed thee as my son and me as thy mother (John 19, 27). I humbly
and from my heart thank thee for the kindness which thou hast shown
me as a son. Give me thy benediction for entering into the vision and
company of Him who created me.”
The sweetest
Mother proceeded in her leave–taking, speaking to each of the
Apostles in particular and to some of the disciples; and then to all
the assembly together; for there were a great number. She rose to her
feet and addressed them all, saying: “Dearest children and my
masters, always have I kept you in my soul and written in my heart. I
have loved you with that tender love and charity, which was given to
me by my divine Son, whom I have seen in you, his chosen friends. In
obedience to his holy and eternal will, I now go to the eternal
mansions, where I promise you as a Mother I will look upon you by the
clearest light of the Divinity, the vision of which my soul hopes and
desires in security. I commend unto you my mother, the Church, the
exaltation of the name of the Most High, the spread of the
evangelical law, the honor and veneration for the words of
my divine Son, the memory of his Passion and Death, the practice of
his doctrine. My children, love the Church, and love one another with
that bond of charity which your Master has always inculcated upon you
(John 13, 34). To thee, Peter, holy Pontiff, I commend my son John
and all the rest.”
The words of the
most blessed Mary, like arrows of a divine fire, penetrated the
hearts of all the Apostles and hearers, and as She ceased speaking,
all of them were dissolved in streams of tears and, seized with
irreparable sorrow, cast themselves upon the ground with sighs and
groans sufficient to move to compassion the very earth. All of them
wept, and with them wept also the sweetest Mary, who could not resist
this bitter and well–founded sorrow of her children. After some
time She spoke to them again, and asked them to pray with Her and for
Her in silence, which they did.
During this quietness the incarnate Word descended from heaven on a throne of ineffable glory, accompanied by all the saints and innumerable angels, and the house of the Cenacle was filled with glory. The most blessed Mary adored the Lord and kissed his feet. Prostrate before Him She made the last and most profound act faith and humility in her mortal life. On this occasion the most pure Creature, the Queen of the heavens, shrank within Herself and lowered Herself to the earth more profoundly than all men together ever have or ever will humiliate themselves for all their sins. Her divine Son gave Her His blessing and in the presence of the courtiers of heaven spoke to Her these words: “My dearest Mother, whom I have chosen for my dwelling–place, the hour is come in which thou art to pass from the life of this death and of the world into the glory of my Father and Mine, where thou shalt possess the throne prepared for thee at my right hand and enjoy it through all eternity. And since, by my power and as my Mother have caused thee to enter the world free and exempt from sin, therefore also death shall have no right or permission to touch thee at thy exit from this world. If thou wishest not to pass through it come with Me now to partake of my glory, which thou hast merited.”
During this quietness the incarnate Word descended from heaven on a throne of ineffable glory, accompanied by all the saints and innumerable angels, and the house of the Cenacle was filled with glory. The most blessed Mary adored the Lord and kissed his feet. Prostrate before Him She made the last and most profound act faith and humility in her mortal life. On this occasion the most pure Creature, the Queen of the heavens, shrank within Herself and lowered Herself to the earth more profoundly than all men together ever have or ever will humiliate themselves for all their sins. Her divine Son gave Her His blessing and in the presence of the courtiers of heaven spoke to Her these words: “My dearest Mother, whom I have chosen for my dwelling–place, the hour is come in which thou art to pass from the life of this death and of the world into the glory of my Father and Mine, where thou shalt possess the throne prepared for thee at my right hand and enjoy it through all eternity. And since, by my power and as my Mother have caused thee to enter the world free and exempt from sin, therefore also death shall have no right or permission to touch thee at thy exit from this world. If thou wishest not to pass through it come with Me now to partake of my glory, which thou hast merited.”
The most prudent Mother prostrated Herself at the
feet of her Son and with a joyous countenance answered: “My Son
and my Lord, I beseech Thee let thy mother and thy servant enter into
eternal life by the common portal of natural death, like the other
children of Adam. Thou, who art my true God, hast suffered death
without being obliged to do so; it is proper that as I have followed
Thee in life, so I follow Thee also in death.’’ Christ
the Savior approved of the decision and the sacrifice of his most
blessed Mother, and consented to its fulfillment. Then all the angels
began to sing in celestial harmony some of the verses of the
Canticles of Solomon and other new ones. Although only saint John and
some of the Apostles were enlightened as to the presence of Christ
the Savior, yet the others felt in their interior its divine and
powerful effects; but the music was heard as well by the Apostles and
disciples, as by many others of the faithful there present. A divine
fragrance also spread about, which penetrated to the street. The
house of the Cenacle was filled with a wonderful effulgence, visible
to all, and the Lord ordained that multitudes of the people of
Jerusalem gathered in the streets as witnesses to this new miracle.
When the angels began their music, the most
blessed Mary reclined back upon her couch or bed. Her tunic was
folded about her sacred body, her hands joined and her eyes fixed
upon her divine Son, and She was entirely inflamed with the fire of
divine love. And as the angels intoned those verses of the second of
the Canticles: “Surge, propera, amica mea,” that is to
say: “Arise, haste, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and
come, the winter has passed,” etc., She pronounced those words
of her Son on the Cross: “Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my
spirit.” Then She closed her virginal eyes and expired. The
sickness which took away her life was love, without any other
weakness or accidental intervention of whatever kind. She died at the
moment when the divine power suspended the assistance, which until
then had counteracted the sensible ardors of her burning love of God.
As soon as this miraculous assistance was withdrawn, the fire of her
love consumed the life–humors of her heart and thus caused the
cessation of her earthly existence.
Then this most pure Soul passed from her virginal
body to be placed in boundless glory, on the throne at the right hand
of her divine Son. Immediately the music of the angels seemed to
withdraw to the upper air; for that whole procession of angels and
saints accompanied the King and Queen to the empyrean heavens. The
sacred body of the most blessed Mary, which been the temple and
sanctuary of God in life, continued to shine with an effulgent light
and breathed forth such a wonderful and unheard of fragrance, that
all the bystanders were filled with interior and exterior sweetness.
The thousand angels of her guard remained to watch over the
inestimable treasure of her virginal body.
The Apostles and disciples, amid the tears and the joy of the wonders they had seen, were absorbed in admiration for some time, and then sang many hymns and psalms in honor of the most blessed Mary now departed. This glorious Transition of the great Queen took place in the hour in which her divine Son had died, at three o’clock on a Friday, the thirteenth day of August, she being seventy years of age, less the twenty–six days intervening between the thirteenth day of August, on which She died, and the eighth of September, the day of her birth. The heavenly Mother had survived the death of Christ the Savior twenty–one years, four months and nineteen days; and his virginal birth, fifty–five years. This reckoning can be easily made in the following manner: when Christ our Savior was born, his virginal Mother was fifteen years, three months and seventeen days of age. The Lord lived thirty–three years and three months; so that at the time of his sacred Passion the most blessed Lady was forty–eight years, six months and seventeen days old; adding to these another twenty–one years, four months and nineteen days, we ascertain her age as seventy years, less twenty–five or twenty–six days. *(Age at death, 69 years, 11 months, 5 or 6 days.)
The Apostles and disciples, amid the tears and the joy of the wonders they had seen, were absorbed in admiration for some time, and then sang many hymns and psalms in honor of the most blessed Mary now departed. This glorious Transition of the great Queen took place in the hour in which her divine Son had died, at three o’clock on a Friday, the thirteenth day of August, she being seventy years of age, less the twenty–six days intervening between the thirteenth day of August, on which She died, and the eighth of September, the day of her birth. The heavenly Mother had survived the death of Christ the Savior twenty–one years, four months and nineteen days; and his virginal birth, fifty–five years. This reckoning can be easily made in the following manner: when Christ our Savior was born, his virginal Mother was fifteen years, three months and seventeen days of age. The Lord lived thirty–three years and three months; so that at the time of his sacred Passion the most blessed Lady was forty–eight years, six months and seventeen days old; adding to these another twenty–one years, four months and nineteen days, we ascertain her age as seventy years, less twenty–five or twenty–six days. *(Age at death, 69 years, 11 months, 5 or 6 days.)
Great wonders and prodigies happened
at the precious death of the Queen; for the sun was eclipsed (as I
have mentioned above) and its light was hidden in sorrow for some
hours. Many birds of different kinds gathered around the Cenacle, and
by their sorrowful clamors and groans for a while caused the
bystanders themselves to weep. All Jerusalem was in commotion, and
many of the inhabitants collected in astonished crowds, confessing
loudly the power of God and the greatness of his works. Others were
astounded and as if beside themselves. The Apostles and disciples
with others of the faithful broke forth in tears and sighs. Many sick
persons came who all were cured. The souls in purgatory were
released. But the greatest miracle was that three persons, a man in
Jerusalem and two women living in the immediate neighborhood of the
Cenacle, died in sin and impenitent in that same hour, subject to
eternal damnation; but when their cause came before the tribunal of
Christ, His sweetest Mother interceded for them and they were
restored to life. They so mended their conduct, that afterwards they
died in grace and were saved. This privilege was not extended to
others that died on that day in the world, but was restricted to
those three who happened to die in that hour in Jerusalem. What
festivities were celebrated on that occasion in heaven I will
describe in another chapter, lest heavenly things be mixed up with
the sacred things of earth.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN
The Virgin Mary
speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain
My daughter, besides what thou hast
understood and written of my glorious Transition, I wish to inform
thee of another privilege, which was conceded to me by my divine Son
in that hour. Thou hast already recorded, that the Lord offered me
the choice of entering into beatific vision either with or without
passing through the portals of death. If I had preferred not to die,
the Most High would have conceded this favor, because sin had no part
in me, and hence also not its punishment, which is death. Thus it
would also have been with my divine Son, and with a greater right, if
He had not taken upon Himself the satisfaction of the divine justice
for men through his Passion and Death. Hence I chose death freely in
order to imitate and follow Him, as also I did during his grievous
passion. Since I had seen my Son and true God die, I would not have
satisfied the love I owe Him, if I had refused death, and I would
have left a great gap in my conformity to and my imitation of my Lord
the Godman, whereas He wished me to bear a great likeness to Him in
his most sacred humanity. As I would thereafter never be able to make
up for such a defect, my soul would not enjoy the plenitude of the
delight of having died as did my Lord and God.
Hence my choosing to die was so
pleasing to Him, and my prudent love therein obliged Him to such an
extent, that in return He immediately conceded to me a singular favor
for the benefit of the children of the Church and conformable to my
wishes. It was this, all those devoted to me, who should call upon me
at the hour of death, constituting me as their Advocate in memory of
my happy Transition and of my desiring to imitate Him in death, shall
be under my special protection in that hour, shall have me as a
defense against demons, as a help and protection, and shall be
presented by me before the tribunal of his mercy and there experience
my intercession. In consequence the Lord gave me a new power and
commission and He promised to confer great helps of His grace for a
good death and for a purer life on all those who in veneration of
this mystery of my precious death, should invoke my aid. Hence I
desire thee, my beloved daughter, from this day on to keep in thy
inmost heart a devout and loving memory of this mystery, and to
bless, praise, and magnify the Omnipotent, because he wrought such
sacred miracles for me and for the mortals. By this solicitude thou
wilt oblige the Lord and me to come to thy aid in that last hour.
And since death follows upon life and
ordinarily corresponds with it, therefore the surest pledge of a good
death is a good life; a life in which the heart is freed and detached
from earthly love. For this it is, which in that last hour afflicts
and oppresses the soul and which is like a heavy chain restraining
its liberty and preventing it from rising above the things loved in
this world. O my daughter! How greatly do mortals misunderstand this
truth, and how far they err from it in their actions! The Lord gives
them life in order that they may free themselves from the effects of
original sin, so as to be unhampered by them at the hour of their
death; and the ignorant and miserable children of Adam spend all
their life in loading upon themselves new burdens and fetters, so
that they die captives of their passions and in the tyranny of their
hellish foes. I had no share in original sin and none of its effects
had any power over my faculties; nevertheless I lived in the greatest
constraint, in poverty and detached from earthly things, most perfect
and holy; and this holy freedom I did indeed experience at the hour
of my death. Consider then, my daughter, and be mindful of this
living example; free thy heart more and more each day, so that with
advancing years thou mayest find thyself more free, more detached and
averted from visible things, and so that when the Spouse shall call
thee to his nuptials, thou wilt not need to seek in vain the required
freedom and prudence.
Book 8, Chapter 7
BURIAL
AND ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN
In order that the Apostles, the
disciples, and many others of the faithful might not be too deeply
oppressed by sorrow, and in order that some of them may not die of
grief caused by the passing away of the blessed Mary, it was
necessary that the divine power, by an especial providence, furnish
them with consolation and dilate their heart for new influences in
their incomparable affliction. For the feeling, that their loss was
irretrievable in the present life, could not be repressed; the
privation of such a Treasure could never find recompense; and as the
most sweet, loving and amiable interactions and conversation of their
great Queen had ravished the heart of each one, the ceasing of her
protection and company left them as it were without the breath of
life. But the Lord, who well knew how to estimate the just cause of
their sorrow, secretly upheld them by his encouragements and so they
set about the fitting burial of the sacred body and whatever the
occasion demanded.
Accordingly the holy Apostles, on
whom this duty specially devolved, held a conference concerning the
burial of the most sacred body of their Queen and Lady. They selected
for that purpose a new sepulchre, which had been prepared
mysteriously by the providence of her divine Son. As they remembered,
that, according to the custom of the Jews at burial, the deified body
of the Master had been anointed with precious ointments and spices
and wrapped in the sacred burial cloths; they thought not of doing
otherwise with the virginal body of His most holy Mother. Accordingly
they called the two maidens, who had assisted the Queen during her
life and who had been designated as the heiresses of her tunics, and
instructed them to anoint the body of the Mother of God with highest
reverence and modesty and wrap it in the winding–sheets before
it should be placed in the casket. With great reverence and fear the
two maidens entered the room, where the body of the blessed Lady lay
upon its couch; but the refulgence issuing from it barred and blinded
them in such a manner that they could neither see nor touch the body,
nor even ascertain in what particular place it rested.
In fear and reverence still greater than on their
entrance, the maidens left the room; and in great excitement and
wonder they told the Apostles what had happened. They, not without
divine inspiration, came to the conclusion, that this sacred Ark of
the covenant was not to be touched or handled in the common way. Then
saint Peter and saint John entered the oratory and perceived the
effulgence, and at the same time they heard the celestial music of
the angels who were singing: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the
Lord is with thee.” Others responded: “A Virgin before
childbirth, in childbirth and after childbirth.” From that time
on many of the faithful expressed their devotion toward the most
blessed Mary in these words of praise; and from them they were handed
down to be repeated by us with the approbation of the holy Church.
The two holy Apostles, saint Peter and saint John, were for a time
lost in admiration at what they saw and heard of their Queen; and in
order to decide what to do, they sank on their knees, beseeching the
Lord to make it known. Then they heard a voice saying: “Let not
the sacred body be either uncovered or touched.”
Having thus been informed of the will
of God they brought a bier, and, the effulgence having diminished
somewhat, they approached the couch and with their own hands
reverently took hold of the tunic at the two ends. Thus, without
changing its posture, they raised the sacred and virginal Treasure
and place it on the bier in the same position as it had occupied on
the couch. They could easily do this, because they felt no more
weight than that of the tunic. On this bier the former effulgence of
the body moderated still more, and all of them, by disposition of the
Lord and for the consolation of all those present, could now perceive
and study the beauty of that virginal countenance and of her hands.
As for the rest, the omnipotence of God protected this His heavenly
dwelling, so that neither in life nor in death anyone should behold
any other part except what is common in ordinary conversation, her
most inspiring countenance, by which She had been known, and her
hands, by which She had labored.
So great was the care and solicitude
for His most blessed Mother, that in this particular He used not so
much precaution in regard to his own body, as that of the most pure
Virgin. In her Immaculate Conception He made Her like to Himself;
likewise at her birth, in as far as it did not take place in the
common and natural manner of other men. He preserved Her also from
impure temptations and thoughts. But, as He was man and the Redeemer
of the world through his Passion and Death, He permitted with his own
body, what He would not allow with Hers, as that of a woman, and
therefore He kept her virginal body entirely concealed; in fact the
most pure Lady during her life had herself asked that no one should
be permitted to look upon it in death; which petition He fulfilled.
Then the Apostles consulted further about her burial. Their decision
becoming known among the multitudes of the faithful in Jerusalem,
they brought many candles to be lighted at the bier, and it happened
that all the lights burned through that day and the two following
days without any of the candles being consumed or wasted in any shape
or manner.
In order that this and many other
miracles wrought by the power of God on this occasion might become
better known to the world, the Lord himself inspired all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem to be present at the burial of his most
blessed Mother, so that there was scarcely any person in Jerusalem,
even of the Jews or the gentiles, who were not attracted by the
novelty of this spectacle.
The Apostles took upon their shoulders the sacred body and the tabernacle of God and, as priests of the evangelical law, bore the Propitiatory of the divine oracles and blessings in orderly procession from the Cenacle in the city to the valley of Josaphat. This was the visible accompaniment of the dwellers of Jerusalem.
The Apostles took upon their shoulders the sacred body and the tabernacle of God and, as priests of the evangelical law, bore the Propitiatory of the divine oracles and blessings in orderly procession from the Cenacle in the city to the valley of Josaphat. This was the visible accompaniment of the dwellers of Jerusalem.
In the midst of this celestial and
earthly accompaniment, visible and invisible, the Apostles bore along
the sacred body, and on the way happened great miracles, which would
take much time to relate. In particular all the sick, of which there
were many of the different kinds, were entirely cured. Many of the
possessed were freed from the demons; for the evil spirits did not
dare to wait until the sacred body came near the persons thus
afflicted. Greater still were the miracles of conversions wrought
among many Jews and gentiles, for on this occasion were opened up the
treasures of divine mercy, so that many souls came to the knowledge
of Christ our Savior and loudly confessed Him as the true God and
Redeemer, demanding Baptism. Many days thereafter the Apostles and
disciples labored hard in catechizing and baptising those, who on
that day had been converted to the holy faith.
The Apostles in carrying the sacred body felt wonderful effects of divine light and consolation, which the disciples shared according to their measure. All the multitudes of the people were seized with astonishment at the fragrance diffused about, the sweet music and the other prodigies. They proclaimed God great and powerful in this Creature and in testimony of their acknowledgment, they struck their breasts in sorrow and compunction.
The Apostles in carrying the sacred body felt wonderful effects of divine light and consolation, which the disciples shared according to their measure. All the multitudes of the people were seized with astonishment at the fragrance diffused about, the sweet music and the other prodigies. They proclaimed God great and powerful in this Creature and in testimony of their acknowledgment, they struck their breasts in sorrow and compunction.
When the procession came to the holy
sepulchre in the valley of Josaphat, the same two Apostles, saint
Peter and saint John, who had laid the celestial Treasure from the
couch onto the bier, with joyful reverence placed it in the sepulchre
and covered it with a linen cloth, the hands of the angels performing
more of these last rites than the hands of the Apostles. They closed
up the sepulchre with a large stone, according to custom at other
burials. The celestial courtiers returned to heaven, while the
thousand angels of the Queen continued their watch, guarding the
sacred body and keeping up the music as at her burial. The concourse
of the people lessened and the holy Apostles and disciples, dissolved
in tender tears, returned to the Cenacle. During a whole year the
exquisite fragrance exhaled by the body of Queen was noticeable
throughout the Cenacle, and in her oratory, for many years. This
sanctuary remain a place of refuge for all those that were burdened
with labor and difficulties; all found miraculous assistance, as well
in sickness as in hardships and necessities of other kind. After
these miracles had continued for some years in Jerusalem, the sins of
Jerusalem and of its inhabitants drew upon this city, among other
punishments, that of being deprived of this inestimable blessing.
Having again gathered in the Cenacle,
the Apostles came to the conclusion that some of them and of the
disciples should watch at the sepulchre of their Queen as long as
they should hear the celestial music, for all of them were wondering
when the end of that miracle should be. Accordingly some of them
attended to the affairs of the Church in catechizing and baptizing
the new converts; and others immediately returned to the sepulchre,
while all of them paid frequent visits to it during the next three
days. Saint Peter and saint John, however, were more zealous in their
attendance, coming only a few times to the Cenacle and immediately
returning to where was laid the treasure of their heart.
If on this account the glory even of
the least of the saints is ineffable, what shall we say of the glory
of the most blessed Mary, since among the saints She is the most holy
and She by Herself is more like to her Son than all the saints
together, and since her grace and glory exceed those of all the rest,
as those of an empress or sovereign over her vassals? This truth can
and should be believed; but in mortal life it cannot be understood,
or the least part of it be explained; for the inadequacy and
deficiency of our words and expressions rather tend to obscure than
to set forth its greatness. Let us in this life apply our labor, not
in seeking to comprehend it, but in seeking to merit its
manifestation in glory, where we shall experience more or less of
this happiness according to our works.
Our Redeemer Jesus entered heaven conducting the
purest soul of his Mother at his right hand. She alone of all the
mortals deserved exemption from particular judgment; hence for Her
there was none; no account was asked or demanded of Her for what She
had received; for such was the promise that had been given to Her,
when She was exempted from the common guilt and chosen as the Queen
privileged above the laws of the children of Adam.
For the same reason, instead of being judged with the rest, She shall be seated at the right hand of the Judge to judge with Him all the creatures. If in the first instant of her Conception She was the brightest Aurora, effulgent with the rays of the sun of the Divinity beyond all the brightness of the most exalted seraphim, and if afterwards She was still further illumined by the contact of the hypostatic Word, who derived his humanity from her purest substance, it necessarily follows that She should be His Companion for all eternity, possessing such a likeness to Him, that none greater can be possible between a Godman and a creature.
In this light the Redeemer himself presented Her before the throne of the Divinity; and speaking to the eternal Father in the presence of all the blessed, who were ravished at this wonder, the most sacred humanity uttered these words: “Eternal Father, my most beloved Mother, thy beloved Daughter and the cherished Spouse of the Holy Ghost, now comes to take possession of the crown and glory, which We have prepared as a reward for her merit. She is the one who was born as the rose among thorns, untouched, pure and beautiful, worthy of being embraced by Us and being placed upon a throne to which none of our creatures can ever attain, and to which those conceived in sin cannot aspire. This is our chosen and our only One, distinguished above all else, to whom We communicated our grace and our perfections beyond the measure accorded to other creatures; in whom We have deposited the treasure of our incomprehensible Divinity and its gifts; who most faithfully preserved and made fruitful the talents, which We gave Her; who never swerved from our will, and who found grace and pleasure in our eyes. My Father, most equitous is the tribunal of our justice and mercy, and in it the services of our friends are repaid in the most superabundant manner. It is right that to my Mother be given the reward of a Mother; and if during her whole life and in all her works She was as like to Me as is possible for a creature to be, let Her also be as like to Me in glory and on the throne of our Majesty; so that where holiness is in essence, there it may also be found in its highest participation.’’
For the same reason, instead of being judged with the rest, She shall be seated at the right hand of the Judge to judge with Him all the creatures. If in the first instant of her Conception She was the brightest Aurora, effulgent with the rays of the sun of the Divinity beyond all the brightness of the most exalted seraphim, and if afterwards She was still further illumined by the contact of the hypostatic Word, who derived his humanity from her purest substance, it necessarily follows that She should be His Companion for all eternity, possessing such a likeness to Him, that none greater can be possible between a Godman and a creature.
In this light the Redeemer himself presented Her before the throne of the Divinity; and speaking to the eternal Father in the presence of all the blessed, who were ravished at this wonder, the most sacred humanity uttered these words: “Eternal Father, my most beloved Mother, thy beloved Daughter and the cherished Spouse of the Holy Ghost, now comes to take possession of the crown and glory, which We have prepared as a reward for her merit. She is the one who was born as the rose among thorns, untouched, pure and beautiful, worthy of being embraced by Us and being placed upon a throne to which none of our creatures can ever attain, and to which those conceived in sin cannot aspire. This is our chosen and our only One, distinguished above all else, to whom We communicated our grace and our perfections beyond the measure accorded to other creatures; in whom We have deposited the treasure of our incomprehensible Divinity and its gifts; who most faithfully preserved and made fruitful the talents, which We gave Her; who never swerved from our will, and who found grace and pleasure in our eyes. My Father, most equitous is the tribunal of our justice and mercy, and in it the services of our friends are repaid in the most superabundant manner. It is right that to my Mother be given the reward of a Mother; and if during her whole life and in all her works She was as like to Me as is possible for a creature to be, let Her also be as like to Me in glory and on the throne of our Majesty; so that where holiness is in essence, there it may also be found in its highest participation.’’
This decree of the incarnate Word was
approved by the Father and the Holy Ghost. The most holy soul of Mary
was immediately raised to the right hand of her Son and true God, and
placed on the royal throne of the most holy Trinity, which neither
men, nor angels nor the seraphim themselves attain, and will not
attain for all eternity. This is the most exalted and supereminent
privilege of our Queen and Lady, that She is seated on the throne
with the three divine Persons and holds her place as Empress, while
all the rest are set as servants and ministers to the highest King.
To the eminence and majesty of that position, inaccessible to all
other creatures, correspond her gifts of glory, comprehension, vision
and fruition; because She enjoys, above all and more than all, that
infinite Object, which the other blessed enjoy in an endless variety
of degrees. She knows, penetrates and understands much deeper the
eternal Being and its infinite attributes; She lovingly delights in
its mysteries and most hidden secrets, more than all the rest of the
blessed.
Just as little can be explained the
extra joy, which the blessed experienced on that day in singing the
new songs of praise to the Omnipotent and in celebrating the glory of
his Daughter, Mother and Spouse; for in Her He had exalted all the
works of his right hand. Although to the Lord himself could come no
new or essential glory because He possessed and possesses it
immutably infinite through all eternity; yet the exterior
manifestations of His pleasure and satisfaction at the fulfillment of
his eternal decrees were greater on that day.
On the third day after the most pure
soul of Mary had taken possession of this glory never to leave it,
the Lord manifested to the saints His divine will, that She should
return to the world, resuscitate her sacred body and unite Herself
with it, so that She might in body and soul be again raised to the
right hand of her divine Son without waiting for the general
resurrection of the dead. The appropriateness of this favor, its
accordance with the others received by the most blessed Queen and
with her supereminent dignity, the saints could not but see; since
even to mortals it is so credible, that even if the Church had not
certified it, we would judge those impious and foolish, who would
dare deny it. But the blessed saw it with greater clearness, together
with the determined time and hour as manifested to them in God
himself. When the time for this wonder had arrived, Christ our Savior
himself descended from heaven bringing with Him at His right hand the
soul of his most blessed Mother and accompanied by many legions of
the Angels, the Patriarchs and ancient Prophets. They came to the
sepulchre in the valley of Josaphat, and all being gathered in sight
of the virginal temple, the Lord spoke the following words to the
saints.
“My Mother
was conceived without stain of sin, in order that from Her virginal
substance I might stainlessly clothe Myself in the humanity in which
I came to the world and redeemed it from sin. My flesh is her flesh;
She co–operated with Me in the works of the Redemption; hence I
must raise Her, just as I rose from the dead, and this shall be at
the same time and hour. For I wish to make Her like Me in all
things.” All the ancient saints of the human race then gave
thanks for this new favor in songs of praise and glory to the Lord.
Those that especially distinguished themselves in their thanksgiving
were our first parents Adam and Eve, saint Anne, saint Joachim and
saint Joseph, as being the more close partakers in this miracle of
his Omnipotence. Then the purest soul of the Queen, at the command of
the Lord, entered the virginal body, reanimated it and raised it up,
giving it a new life of immortality and glory and communicating to it
the four gifts of clearness, impassibility, agility and subtlety,
corresponding to those of the soul and overflowing from it into the
body.
Endowed with these gifts the most
blessed Mary issued from the tomb in body and soul, without raising
the stone cover and without disturbing the position of the tunic and
the mantle that had enveloped her sacred body. Since it is impossible
to describe her beauty and refulgent glory, I will not make the
attempt. It is sufficient to say, that just as the heavenly Mother
had given to her divine Son in her womb the form of man, pure,
unstained and sinless, for the Redemption of the world, so in return
the Lord, in this resurrection and new regeneration, gave to Her a
glory and beauty similar to his own. In this mysterious and divine
interchange each One did what was possible: most holy Mary engendered
Christ, assimilating Him as much as possible to Herself, and Christ
resuscitated Her, communicating to Her of his glory as far as She was
capable as a creature.
Then from the sepulchre was started a
most solemn procession, moving with celestial music through the
regions of the air and toward the empyrean heaven. This happened in
the hour immediately after midnight, which also the Lord had risen
from the grave; and therefore not all of the Apostles were witness of
this prodigy, but only some of them, who were present and watching at
the sepulchre. The saints and angels entered in the order in which
they had started; and in the last place came Christ our Savior and at
his right hand the Queen, clothed in the gold of variety (as David
says Ps. 44, 10), and so beautiful that She was the admiration of the
heavenly court. All of them turned toward Her to look upon Her and
bless Her with new jubilee and songs of praise. Thus were heard those
mysterious eulogies recorded by Solomon: Come, daughters of Sion, to
your Queen, who is praised by the morning stars and celebrated by the
sons of the Most High. Who is She that comes from the desert, like a
column of all aromatic perfumes? Who is She, that rises like the
aurora, more beautiful than the moon, elect as the sun, terrible as
many serried armies? Who is She that comes up from the desert resting
upon her Beloved and spreading forth abundant delights? (Cant. 3,6–9;
8,5). Who is She in whom the Deity itself finds so much pleasure and
delight above all other creatures and whom He exalts above them all
in the heavens! O novelty worthy of the infinite Wisdom! O prodigy of
his Omnipotence, which so magnifies and exalts Her!
Amid this glory the most blessed Mary arrived body
and soul at the throne of the most blessed Trinity. And the three
divine Persons received Her on it with an embrace eternally
undissoluble. The eternal Father said Her: “Ascend higher, my
Daughter and my Dove.” The incarnate Word spoke: “My
Mother, of whom I received human being and full return of my work in
thy perfect imitation, receive now from my hand the reward thou hast
merited.” The Holy Ghost said: “My most beloved Spouse,
enter into the eternal joy, which corresponds to the most faithful
love; do Thou now enjoy thy love without solicitude; for past is the
winter of suffering for Thou hast arrived at our eternal embraces.”
There the most blessed Mary was absorbed in the contemplation of the
three divine Persons and as it were overwhelmed in the boundless
ocean and abyss of the Divinity, while the saints were filled with
wonder and new accidental delight. Since, at the occasion of this
work of the Omnipotent happened other wonders, I shall speak of them
as far as possible in the following chapter.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN
The Virgin Mary
speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain
My daughter, lamentable and
inexcusable is the ignorance of men in so knowingly forgetting the
eternal glory, which God has prepared for those who dispose
themselves to merit it. I wish that thou bitterly bewail and deplore
this pernicious forgetfulness; for there is no doubt, that whoever
wilfully forgets the eternal glory and happiness is in evident danger
of losing it. No one is free from this guilt, not only because men do
not apply much labor or effort in seeking and retaining the
remembrance of this happiness; but they labor with all their powers
in things that make them forget the end for which they were created.
Undoubtedly this forgetfulness arises from their entangling
themselves in the pride of life, the covetousness of the eyes, and
the desires of the flesh (John 2, 16); for employing therein all the
forces and faculties of their soul during the whole time of their
life, they have no leisure, care or attention for the thoughts of
eternal felicity. Let men acknowledge and confess, whether this
recollection costs them more labor than to follow their blind
passions, seeking after honors, possessions or the transitory
pleasures, all of which have an end with this life, and which, after
much striving and labor, many men do not, and can never attain.
This is a sorrow beyond all sorrows, and a
misfortune without equal and without remedy. Afflict thyself, lament
and grieve without consolation over this ruin of so many souls bought
by the blood of my divine Son. I assure thee, my dearest, that, if
men would not make themselves so unworthy of it, my charity would
urge me, in the celestial glory where thou knowest me to be, to send
forth a voice through the whole world exclaiming: “Mortal and
deceived men, what are you doing? For what purpose are you living? Do
you realize what it is to see God face to face, and to participate in
his eternal glory and share his company? Of what are you thinking?
Who has thus disturbed and fascinated your judgment? What will you
seek, if once you have lost this true blessing and happiness, since
there is no other? The labor is short, the reward is infinite glory,
and the punishment is eternal.”
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Catholic Catechism
PART THREE - THE LIFE OF THE CHRIST
SECTION ONE - MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
CHAPTER TWO - THE HUMAN COMMUNION
ARTICLE TWO - PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE
CHAPTER TWO - THE HUMAN COMMUNITY
1877 The vocation of humanity is to show forth the image of God and to be transformed into the image of the Father's only Son. This vocation takes a personal form since each of us is called to enter into the divine beatitude; it also concerns the human community as a whole.
ARTICLE 2 - PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE
I. AUTHORITY
1897 "Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as is necessary to work and care for the good of all."15
By "authority" one means the quality by virtue of which persons or institutions make laws and give orders to men and expect obedience from them.
1898 Every human community needs an authority to govern it.16 The foundation of such authority lies in human nature. It is necessary for the unity of the state. Its role is to ensure as far as possible the common good of the society.
1899 The authority required by the moral order derives from God: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment."17
1900 The duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority and to treat those who are charged to exercise it with respect, and, insofar as it is deserved, with gratitude and good-will.
The diversity of political regimes is morally acceptable, provided they serve the legitimate good of the communities that adopt them. Regimes whose nature is contrary to the natural law, to the public order, and to the fundamental rights of persons cannot achieve the common good of the nations on which they have been imposed.
1902 Authority does not derive its moral legitimacy from itself. It must not behave in a despotic manner, but must act for the common good as a "moral force based on freedom and a sense of responsibility":21
1904 "It is preferable that each power be balanced by other powers and by other spheres of responsibility which keep it within proper bounds. This is the principle of the 'rule of law,' in which the law is sovereign and not the arbitrary will of men."24
II. THE COMMON GOOD
1905 In keeping with the social nature of man, the good of each individual is necessarily related to the common good, which in turn can be defined only in reference to the human person:
1907 First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person. Society should permit each of its members to fulfill his vocation. In particular, the common good resides in the conditions for the exercise of the natural freedoms indispensable for the development of the human vocation, such as "the right to act according to a sound norm of conscience and to safeguard . . . privacy, and rightful freedom also in matters of religion."27
1908 Second, the common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly, it is the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the common good, between various particular interests; but it should make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on.28
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense.
1910 Each human community possesses a common good which permits it to be recognized as such; it is in the political community that its most complete realization is found. It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies.
1911 Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading throughout the world. The unity of the human family, embracing people who enjoy equal natural dignity, implies a universal common good. This good calls for an organization of the community of nations able to "provide for the different needs of men; this will involve the sphere of social life to which belong questions of food, hygiene, education, . . . and certain situations arising here and there, as for example . . . alleviating the miseries of refugees dispersed throughout the world, and assisting migrants and their families."29
1912 The common good is always oriented towards the progress of persons: "The order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other way around."30 This order is founded on truth, built up in justice, and animated by love.
III. RESPONSIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
1913 "Participation" is the voluntary and generous engagement of a person in social interchange. It is necessary that all participate, each according to his position and role, in promoting the common good. This obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human person.
1914 Participation is achieved first of all by taking charge of the areas for which one assumes personal responsibility: by the care taken for the education of his family, by conscientious work, and so forth, man participates in the good of others and of society.31
1915 As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life. The manner of this participation may vary from one country or culture to another. "One must pay tribute to those nations whose systems permit the largest possible number of the citizens to take part in public life in a climate of genuine freedom."32
1916 As with any ethical obligation, the participation of all in realizing the common good calls for a continually renewed conversion of the social partners. Fraud and other subterfuges, by which some people evade the constraints of the law and the prescriptions of societal obligation, must be firmly condemned because they are incompatible with the requirements of justice. Much care should be taken to promote institutions that improve the conditions of human life.33
1917 It is incumbent on those who exercise authority to strengthen the values that inspire the confidence of the members of the group and encourage them to put themselves at the service of others. Participation begins with education and culture. "One is entitled to think that the future of humanity is in the hands of those who are capable of providing the generations to come with reasons for life and optimism."34
IN BRIEF
1918 "There is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God" (Rom 13:1).
1919 Every human community needs an authority in order to endure and develop.
1920 "The political community and public authority are based on human nature and therefore . . . belong to an order established by God" (GS 74 § 3).
1921 Authority is exercised legitimately if it is committed to the common good of society. To attain this it must employ morally acceptable means.
1922 The diversity of political regimes is legitimate, provided they contribute to the good of the community.
1923 Political authority must be exercised within the limits of the moral order and must guarantee the conditions for the exercise of freedom.
1924 The common good comprises "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily" (GS 26 1).
1925 The common good consists of three essential elements: respect for and promotion of the fundamental rights of the person; prosperity, or the development of the spiritual and temporal goods of society; the peace and security of the group and of its members.
1926 The dignity of the human person requires the pursuit of the common good. Everyone should be concerned to create and support institutions that improve the conditions of human life.
1927 It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society. The common good of the whole human family calls for an organization of society on the international level.
15 John XXIII, PT 46.
16 Cf. Leo XIII, Immortale Dei; Diuturnum illud.
17 Rom 13:1-2; cf. 1 Pet 2:13-17.
18 Cf. as early as 1 Tim 2:1-2.
19 St. Clement of Rome, Ad Cor. 61:SCh 167,198-200.
20 GS 74 § 3.
21 GS 74 § 2.
22 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I-II,93 3, ad 2.
23 John XXIII PT 51.
24 CA 44.
25 Ep. Barnabae, 4,10:PG 2,734.
26 GS 26 § 1; cf. GS 74 § 1.
27 GS 26 § 2.
28 Cf. GS 26 § 2.
29 GS 84 § 2.
30 GS 26 § 3.
31 Cf. CA 43.
32 GS 31 § 3.
33 Cf. GS 30 § 1.
34 GS 31 § 3.
1877 The vocation of humanity is to show forth the image of God and to be transformed into the image of the Father's only Son. This vocation takes a personal form since each of us is called to enter into the divine beatitude; it also concerns the human community as a whole.
ARTICLE 2 - PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE
I. AUTHORITY
1897 "Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as is necessary to work and care for the good of all."15
By "authority" one means the quality by virtue of which persons or institutions make laws and give orders to men and expect obedience from them.
1898 Every human community needs an authority to govern it.16 The foundation of such authority lies in human nature. It is necessary for the unity of the state. Its role is to ensure as far as possible the common good of the society.
1899 The authority required by the moral order derives from God: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment."17
1900 The duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority and to treat those who are charged to exercise it with respect, and, insofar as it is deserved, with gratitude and good-will.
- Pope St. Clement of Rome provides the Church's most ancient prayer for political authorities:18 "Grant to them, Lord, health, peace, concord, and stability, so that they may exercise without offense the sovereignty that you have given them. Master, heavenly King of the ages, you give glory, honor, and power over the things of earth to the sons of men. Direct, Lord, their counsel, following what is pleasing and acceptable in your sight, so that by exercising with devotion and in peace and gentleness the power that you have given to them, they may find favor with you."19
The diversity of political regimes is morally acceptable, provided they serve the legitimate good of the communities that adopt them. Regimes whose nature is contrary to the natural law, to the public order, and to the fundamental rights of persons cannot achieve the common good of the nations on which they have been imposed.
1902 Authority does not derive its moral legitimacy from itself. It must not behave in a despotic manner, but must act for the common good as a "moral force based on freedom and a sense of responsibility":21
- A human law has the character of law to the extent that it accords with right reason, and thus derives from the eternal law. Insofar as it falls short of right reason it is said to be an unjust law, and thus has not so much the nature of law as of a kind of violence.22
1904 "It is preferable that each power be balanced by other powers and by other spheres of responsibility which keep it within proper bounds. This is the principle of the 'rule of law,' in which the law is sovereign and not the arbitrary will of men."24
II. THE COMMON GOOD
1905 In keeping with the social nature of man, the good of each individual is necessarily related to the common good, which in turn can be defined only in reference to the human person:
- Do not live entirely isolated, having retreated into yourselves, as if you were already justified, but gather instead to seek the common good together.25
1907 First, the common good presupposes respect for the person as such. In the name of the common good, public authorities are bound to respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the human person. Society should permit each of its members to fulfill his vocation. In particular, the common good resides in the conditions for the exercise of the natural freedoms indispensable for the development of the human vocation, such as "the right to act according to a sound norm of conscience and to safeguard . . . privacy, and rightful freedom also in matters of religion."27
1908 Second, the common good requires the social well-being and development of the group itself. Development is the epitome of all social duties. Certainly, it is the proper function of authority to arbitrate, in the name of the common good, between various particular interests; but it should make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on.28
1909 Finally, the common good requires peace, that is, the stability and security of a just order. It presupposes that authority should ensure by morally acceptable means the security of society and its members. It is the basis of the right to legitimate personal and collective defense.
1910 Each human community possesses a common good which permits it to be recognized as such; it is in the political community that its most complete realization is found. It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society, its citizens, and intermediate bodies.
1911 Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading throughout the world. The unity of the human family, embracing people who enjoy equal natural dignity, implies a universal common good. This good calls for an organization of the community of nations able to "provide for the different needs of men; this will involve the sphere of social life to which belong questions of food, hygiene, education, . . . and certain situations arising here and there, as for example . . . alleviating the miseries of refugees dispersed throughout the world, and assisting migrants and their families."29
1912 The common good is always oriented towards the progress of persons: "The order of things must be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other way around."30 This order is founded on truth, built up in justice, and animated by love.
III. RESPONSIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
1913 "Participation" is the voluntary and generous engagement of a person in social interchange. It is necessary that all participate, each according to his position and role, in promoting the common good. This obligation is inherent in the dignity of the human person.
1914 Participation is achieved first of all by taking charge of the areas for which one assumes personal responsibility: by the care taken for the education of his family, by conscientious work, and so forth, man participates in the good of others and of society.31
1915 As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life. The manner of this participation may vary from one country or culture to another. "One must pay tribute to those nations whose systems permit the largest possible number of the citizens to take part in public life in a climate of genuine freedom."32
1916 As with any ethical obligation, the participation of all in realizing the common good calls for a continually renewed conversion of the social partners. Fraud and other subterfuges, by which some people evade the constraints of the law and the prescriptions of societal obligation, must be firmly condemned because they are incompatible with the requirements of justice. Much care should be taken to promote institutions that improve the conditions of human life.33
1917 It is incumbent on those who exercise authority to strengthen the values that inspire the confidence of the members of the group and encourage them to put themselves at the service of others. Participation begins with education and culture. "One is entitled to think that the future of humanity is in the hands of those who are capable of providing the generations to come with reasons for life and optimism."34
IN BRIEF
1918 "There is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God" (Rom 13:1).
1919 Every human community needs an authority in order to endure and develop.
1920 "The political community and public authority are based on human nature and therefore . . . belong to an order established by God" (GS 74 § 3).
1921 Authority is exercised legitimately if it is committed to the common good of society. To attain this it must employ morally acceptable means.
1922 The diversity of political regimes is legitimate, provided they contribute to the good of the community.
1923 Political authority must be exercised within the limits of the moral order and must guarantee the conditions for the exercise of freedom.
1924 The common good comprises "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily" (GS 26 1).
1925 The common good consists of three essential elements: respect for and promotion of the fundamental rights of the person; prosperity, or the development of the spiritual and temporal goods of society; the peace and security of the group and of its members.
1926 The dignity of the human person requires the pursuit of the common good. Everyone should be concerned to create and support institutions that improve the conditions of human life.
1927 It is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society. The common good of the whole human family calls for an organization of society on the international level.
15 John XXIII, PT 46.
16 Cf. Leo XIII, Immortale Dei; Diuturnum illud.
17 Rom 13:1-2; cf. 1 Pet 2:13-17.
18 Cf. as early as 1 Tim 2:1-2.
19 St. Clement of Rome, Ad Cor. 61:SCh 167,198-200.
20 GS 74 § 3.
21 GS 74 § 2.
22 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh I-II,93 3, ad 2.
23 John XXIII PT 51.
24 CA 44.
25 Ep. Barnabae, 4,10:PG 2,734.
26 GS 26 § 1; cf. GS 74 § 1.
27 GS 26 § 2.
28 Cf. GS 26 § 2.
29 GS 84 § 2.
30 GS 26 § 3.
31 Cf. CA 43.
32 GS 31 § 3.
33 Cf. GS 30 § 1.
34 GS 31 § 3.
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