Did you know that Venerable Mother Maria de Agreda’s book, “The Mystical City of God” refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary? I didn’t, but now I want to share with you some of what I learned from Mother Maria de Agreda.
The following is taken from her Book I, Chapter XVIII.
SEQUEL OF THE MYSTERY OF THE CONCEPTION OF THE MOST HOLY MARY AS DESCRIBED IN THE SECOND PART OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF THE APOCALYPSE.
“The angels of which the Evangelist speaks in this place, are seven of those who attend in a special manner at the throne of God and who have received commission and power to punish some of the sins of men. This vengeance of the wrath of the Omnipotent (Apoc. 15, 1) will happen in the last ages of the world; but it shall be a new punishment, greater than which neither before nor after is possible during mortal existence.”
ED. NOTE: Ven. Agreda here refers to Apocalypse Ch.15,1: “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful: seven angels having the seven last plagues. For in them is filled up the wrath of God.”
We return to Ven. Agreda again:
“But since these mysteries are deeply hidden and since not all have been revealed to me, nor concern this history, I do not consider it proper to expatiate upon them, but I will pass on to what more closely concerns my task.
“This angel, of which St. John speaks, is the one through whom God will avenge with an especial and dreadful chastisement the injuries committed against His most holy Mother ; for the insane daring, with which they have despised Her, has roused the indignation of His Omnipotence. As the most holy Trinity has pledged Itself to honor and exalt this Queen of heaven above all human creatures and above the angels, placing Her in this world as a Mirror of the Divinity and as the special Mediatrix of mortals, God has taken it in a particular manner upon Himself to avenge the heresies, errors, outrages, and all injuries committed against Her, since thereby men have not glorified, acknowledged and adored Him in this tabernacle and have not made use of this incomparable mercy.
“These punishments are prophesied to the holy Church. Although the mysterious words of the Apocalypse enshroud in obscurity the rigor of this punishment, yet woe to the unhappy ones, that shall be overtaken by it! Woe to me, who have offended a God so strong and powerful to chastise! I am overwhelmed in the expectation of the great calamity here threatened.”
In the “The Mystical City of God” Mother Maria de Agreda explains that the title refers to the Most Blessed Virgin herself. And she refers extensively to her mystical revelations of the Apocalypse to explain Mary’s exalted role in the Eternal Father’s plan for our salvation. I regret that I am unable to do more than simply provide you with a few brief excerpts from this work, but trust that they will enrich your Rosary meditations and fortify you for our ongoing and ever deepening spiritual battle. To continue with venerable Mother Maria de Agreda:
“267. The angel spoke to the Evangelist saying: “Come, and I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb,” etc. The angel declares in this passage, that the holy city of Jerusalem, which he showed to him, is the espoused wife of the Lamb, referring by this metaphor (as I have already said No. 248) to the most holy Mary, whom St. John saw both as a Mother, or Woman, and as a Spouse of the Lamb, that is Christ. The Queen held and fulfilled in divine manner both offices.
“She was the Spouse of the Divinity, the only One (Cant. 6, 8) and incomparable on account of the unequalled faith and love, with which the espousals were entered into and accomplished; and She was the Mother of the same Lord incarnate, giving Him His mortal substance and flesh, nourishing and sustaining Him in His existence as man, which He derived from Her. In order to see and understand such high mysteries the Evangelist was exalted in spirit to a great height of sanctity and light; for without going out of himself and being raised above human weakness, he could not understand them; just as we, imperfect, earthly and abject creatures, cannot encompass them for the same reason.
“Then elevated thus high, he says: “He showed me the holy city of Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven,” for Mary was built up and formed, not on earth, where She was like a pilgrim and a stranger, but in heaven, where the common, earthly material was excluded. For though the material of her being was taken from the earth, it was at the same time so elevated in heavenly perfection as to be fit for the building up of that mystical City in a celestial and angelic, yet divine manner, effulgent with the Divinity. 268. Therefore he adds: “Having the glory of God,” for the most holy soul of Mary was favored with such a participation of the Divinity and of its attributes and perfections, that if it were possible to see Her in her own essence, She would appear as if illumined with the eternal splendor of God Himself.
“Great and glorious things are said in the Catholic church of this City of God, and of the splendor, which She has received from that same Lord; but all of it is insignificant, and all human words fall short of the truth.
I’ll include a few more quotes regarding this most precious and beloved City of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary:
“Above all We shall give to Her dominion and power over the dragon, our enemy, and over all his allied demons. Let them fear her presence and her name and in it, let their deceits be crushed and annihilated. Let all the mortals that fly to this City of refuge, find in it a sure and certain protection, free from all the dread of the demons and their snares.” . . .
“The blessed Trinity made known to Her that before His most just tribunal nothing would ever be denied to Her; that She should command the devil and that She should have power, by virtue of her commands, to keep him away from souls, since She would have at her disposal the arm of the Almighty.
“In saying that this City was surrounded by a great and high wall St. John refers to this God-given prerogative of his Mother, that She was to be the secret refuge: protection and defense of all men, wherein they would find all the security of a city of refuge and of a strong fortress against their enemies.
“He says that the walls are very high, for the power of the most pure Mary to overcome the demon and to raise the souls to grace is so great that it is inferior only to that of God Himself. So well armed for all this and so well defended and secure for Herself and for all those, who seek her protection, is this City, that not all the forces created by God outside of Her can overthrow or surmount its walls.
“I desire to mention that the measure of the dignity, the merits and graces of most holy Mary, was none other than the humanity of her most blessed Son, united to the divine Word.
“The Evangelist calls the humanity of Christ a “reed” because He assumed the frailty of our weak and carnal nature, and “of gold,” on account of His Divinity. In accordance with the dignity of the true God-man, Christ, and correspondingly with the gifts and merits of the incarnate God.
“280. From all this can be estimated the greatness of that City of God, the most holy Mary.:
(Venerable Maria de Agreda. “The Mystical City of God: Complete Edition Containing all Four Volumes with Illustrations” Veritatis Splendor Publications. Kindle Edition. Also available in a beautiful hardbound version from TAN)
We have been struggling for such a long time towards a deeper understanding of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary to enrich our consecrations to her. It is good to leave the hateful darkness of the occupied Vatican and its sycophants among the professional Catholic experts and walk in the light of faith, in devotion to the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of Our Lord – she who has taken us for her own children. How blessed we are!
I’m not sure how relevant it is to be recommending such a voluminous work in view of the disastrous situation we are all in. But if you have the time, or can make time for spiritual reading, I highly recommend the four volumes of Agreda’s Mystical City of God.. In addition to Venerable Maria de Jesus de Agreda, I’ve been reading “The Last Mass of Padre Pio” by Alessandro Gnocchi and Mario Palmaro. If you do not remember Palmaro, Rorate’s article is here. (You might want to search for more.) And another very useful work is “The Watches of the Sacred Passion, Volumes I & II” by Rev. Peter Gallwey, S.J. which is a free download from archive.org. It is heart-wrenching to think of the tremendous loss the Church has sustained in the fall of the Jesuits. Just think, from the likes of Father Gallwey to Pope Francis! Also, “Padre Pio’s Spiritual Direction for Every Day”., sorry I do not have time for the link. It’s a book I refer to almost daily and always gain something worthwhile from it. But one of my favorites of all time is Father Maximilian Kolbe’s little gem of a book, “She Leadeth Me” by Kolbe Publications. It is a very small book, but a spiritual powerhouse nevertheless!
If only I could get just a bit more stamina back, (and time off from the very non-helpful medical providers!) I would like to write more on the books just cited, especially my most beloved saint, Padre Pio. How wish I had been able to have those books when I was young. But our Father knows the best time for His gracious gifts and even at this late age, He blesses me with these treasures! I hope you too will avail yourself of them – and then tell me what you think!
God bless you all, and may Our Mother keep you close to her Immaculate Heart!
(Return to Fatima receives no recompense for recommending books.)
Thank you for reading. I pray for you all, always!
Remember – Our Lady needs us to obey: First Saturdays of Reparation, daily rosary, at least 5 mysteries, wear her brown scapular and live your Total Consecration to her Immaculate Heart, offering daily duties in reparation and for the conversion of poor sinners.
† Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of our hearts, Mother of the Church, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of poor sinners, especially our Pontiff.
† Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy kingdom come! Viva Cristo Rey!
† St. Joseph, protect us, protect our families, protect our priests.
† St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.
~ by evensong for love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, King.
Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thine enemies!