 Book 1, Chapter 12 of the Mystical City of God, Volume 3, by the venerable sister Mary of Jesus of a Greta. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Book 1, Chapter 12, the incessant prayers and petitions of Christ the Redeemer for our welfare and how our Most Holy Mother joined Him therein and received many new enlightenments. The more our limited discourse seeks to make clear and extol the mysterious works of Christ our Redeemer and of His Most Holy Mother, the more evident it becomes that mere human words are far from being able to compass the greatness of these sacraments, for, as Ecclesiasticus says, they surpass all our words of praise. Ecclesiasticus, Chapter 43, Verse 33 Nor can we ever fathom or compass them, and there will always remain many greater secrets than those we have sought to explain. For those which we do explain are very insignificant and we do not deserve to comprehend nor to speak about the few which we attempt to fathom. Inadequate is the intellect of the Highest Seraphim to weigh and pierce the secrets that pass between Jesus and Mary during the years in which they live together. Especially is this true of the years of which I am now speaking, during which the teacher of life instructed her in everything that was to happen in the law of grace, namely, how much this new law was to accomplish in this, the sixth age of the world, which includes these sixteen hundred and fifty-seven years and all the unknown future until the end of the world. In all this, the Most Blessed Lady was instructed in the school of her Divine Son, for he foretold her, all by word of mouth, pointing out the time and place of each event, the kingdoms and provinces of their history during the existence of the Church. This was shown her so clearly that if she had lived through our centuries in mortal flesh, she would have known all the members of the Holy Church with their features and names. This happened in regard to the persons whom she afterwards saw and converse with during her life, for when they came into her presence for the first time, she already knew them by her interior faculties and merely began to know them by the experience of the senses. Still, while the Most Holy Mother of Wisdom so clearly understood these mysteries in the soul of her Son and in the operations of his faculties, she did not penetrate so deeply into these secrets as the Most Holy Soul of Christ, which was beatifically united to the Divinity, for the Heavenly Lady was a creature and as yet did not continually enjoy the beatific vision. Nor did she always comprehend the image conceived in the beatific vision of this Divine Soul of Christ, for this happened only when she herself was enjoying the intuitive vision of the Divinity. But she beheld the imaginary species of the interior faculties of Christ concerning the mysteries of the Militant Church and she understood also how they depended upon his Most Holy Will, that he decreed and controlled all its developments according to their proper time, place and occasion. She was made aware in like manner how the human will of the Redeemer conformed itself to the Divine and was governed by it in all its decrees and dispositions. The Divine Harmony overflowed in the will and faculties of the Blessed Lady, leading her to cooperate with the will of her Son and through it with the Divine. Hence there existed an ineffable similarity between Christ and Holy Mary and she was the helpmate of Christ in the building up of the new law. All these hidden sacraments ordinarily transpired in the humble oratory of the Queen were the greatest of all mysteries the incarnation of the Divine Word in her virginal womb had taken place, though it was a narrow and poorly furnished room consisting merely of the bare and rude walls, yet it enclosed the grandeur of him who is immense and shed forth all the majesty and sacredness which since then is attached to the rich temples and innumerable sanctuaries of the world. In this holy of holies the High Priest of the new law ordinarily performed his prayers which always concluded with fervent intercessions for men. At these times also he spoke to his virgin mother about all the works of the redemption and communicated to her the rich gifts and treasures of grace which he had come to shower upon the children of light in the New Testament and in his holy church. Many times did he beseech his eternal Father not to allow the sins and the ingratitude of men to hinder their redemption. As Christ in his foreknowledge was always conscious of the sins of the human race and of the damnation of so many thankless souls the thought of dying for them caused him to sweat blood many times on these occasions. Although the evangelists, because they never intended to relate all the events of his life, mentioned this sweating of blood but once before his passion, it is certain that this happened many times and in the presence of his most holy mother and this has been intimated to me several times. During prayer our blessed master sometimes assumed a kneeling posture, sometimes he was prostrate in the form of a cross or at other times raised in the air in this same position which he loved so much. In the presence of his mother he was want to pray. Oh most blessed cross, when shall thy arms receive mine, when shall I rest on thee, and when shall my arms, nailed to thine, be spread to welcome all sinners? Come ye poor, to the treasures of my grace, come ye little ones, to the caresses and delights of your true Father, come ye afflicted and worn out ones, for I will relieve and refresh you. And I will deny nothing that you desire to receive. My eternal Father, they are the works of thy hands, do not despise them, for I will offer myself as a sacrifice on the cross in order to restore them to justice and freedom. If they be but willing, I will lead them back to the bosom of thy elect and to their heavenly kingdom, where thy name shall be glorified. At all these prayers the beloved mother was present, and in her purest soul, as in the purest crystal, the light of the only begotten was reflected. His interior and exterior prayers re-echoed in her, causing her to imitate his petitions and prayers in the same postures. When the great lady for the first time saw him sweat blood, her maternal heart was transfixed with sorrow and filled with astonishment at the effects caused in Christ our Lord by the sins and ingratitudes committed by men, foreseen by the Lord and known to her. In the anguish of her heart she turned to her fellow mortals and exclaimed, Oh, children of men, little do ye understand how highly the Lord esteems his image and likeness in you, for as the price of your salvation he offers his own blood and deems it little to shed all of it for you. Oh, could I but unite your wills with mine in order that I might bring you to love and obey him? Bless by his right hand be the grateful and the just among men, who will be faithful children of their father. Let those be filled with light, and with the treasures of grace, who will respond to the ardent desires of my Lord in regard to their salvation. Would that I could be the insignificant slave of the children of Adam, and thereby induce and assist them to put an end to their sins and their own damnation. Lord and master, life and light of my soul, who can be so hard of heart and so hostile to himself that he should not feel himself urged on by thy blessings? Who can be so ungrateful and so unheedful as to ignore thy most burning love? How can my heart bear with men, who, being so favored by thy bounty, are so coarse and rebellious? Oh, children of Adam, turn your inhuman cruelty upon me, afflict and insult me as much as you will, only pay my beloved Lord the reverence and love which you owe to his endearments. Thou my Son and Lord, art light of light, Son of the Eternal Father, figure of his substance. Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3. As everlasting, as immense, as infinite as he, equal to him in essence and attributes, being with him, one God and one Supreme Majesty. John chapter 10 verse 30 Thou art chosen among thousands. Canticles chapter 5 verse 10. Beautiful above all the sons of men, holy, innocent and without defect of any kind, how then, eternal God, can mortals ignore the object of their most noble love, the principle who gives them existence, the end wherein consists their eternal true happiness? Oh, that I could give my life in order that all might escape their error. Many other sentiments of burning love, far beyond the powers of my heart and tongue, this heavenly lady uttered in her dove-like sincerity, and in this love and in profoundest reverence she wiped the sweat from the face of her sweetest son. At other times she found him in quite a different condition, shining with glory and transfigured as afterwards on Mount Tabor. Matthew chapter 17 verse 2 In the midst of a great multitude of angels, who adored him and in the sweet harmony of their voices, gave praise and thanksgiving to the only begotten of the Father, made man. These celestial voices our blessed lady heard, and she joined hers with them. At other times, this happened while he was not transfigured, for the divine will ordained that the sensitive part of the divine humanity of the word should sometimes have this solace, while at other times it should enjoy also the transfiguring overflow of the glory of the soul into the body, yet this only at great intervals. Whenever the heavenly mother found him in this state and beheld his glorified body, or when she heard the hymns of the angels, she participated in these delights, to such an extent, that if her spirit had not been so strong and if her Lord and Son had not fortified her, she would have lost all her natural powers, and even as it was, the Holy Angels had to support the failing strength of her body on those occasions. Many times, when her divine Son was in one of these states of suffering or joy, and was praying to the Eternal Father, or as it were, conferring with him concerning the highest mysteries of the redemption, the person of the Father approved or conceded his petitions for the relief of men, or showed to the most holy humanity of Christ the secret decrees of predestination, reprobation, or condemnation of some souls. All this, our Blessed Lady heard, humbling herself to the dust. With unequaled reverence and fear, she adored the omnipotent, and accompanied her Son in his prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, offered up to the Eternal Father for mankind, in praise of all his inscrutable judgments. Such secrets and mysteries, the most prudent virgin conferred in her heart, and stored them up in her memory, converting them into the material and nourishment of her fiery love. None of these blessings and secret favors were in her unprofitable or fruitless. To all of them, she corresponded according to the inmost desires of her Lord. In all of them, she fulfilled the highest intentions of the Almighty, and all his works found due response from her, as far as was possible, from a mere creature. Instructions which the Queen of Heaven, Mary, gave me intercede for them, with my Son, and obtain for them the hidden manna, which will give them nourishment and life. Apocalypse 2 verse 17 I wish that thou write this advice into thy heart. Whenever thou must perform any interior or exterior work, consider beforehand whether what thou art going to say or do corresponds with the doings of thy Lord, and whether thou hast the intention thereby to honor thy Lord and benefit thy neighbor. As soon as thou art sure that this is thy motive, execute thy undertaking in union with him and in imitation of him, but if thou findest not this motive, let the undertaking rest. This is my invariable course in pursuing the imitation of my Lord and King, though in me there was no reluctance toward the good, but only the desire of imitating him perfectly. In this imitation consists the fruit of his holy teaching, in which he urges us to do what is most pleasing and acceptable to the Eternal God. Moreover, from this day on, be mindful not to undertake any work, not to speak or even think any of anything, without first asking my permission and consulting with me as thy mother and teacher. And as soon as I answer thee, give thanks to the Lord, for if I do not answer after continual inquiry, I promise and assure thee on the part of the Lord that he will nevertheless give thee light as to what will be according to his most perfect will. In all things, however, subject thyself to the guidance of thy spiritual director, and never forget this practice. Volume 3 By the Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Agreta Book 1, Chapter 13 Most Holy Mary passes her thirty-third year, ever after remaining unchanged as to her virginal body. She plans to support her Most Holy Son and Saint Joseph by the labor of her hands. After Jesus had reached his twelfth year, our great Queen and Lady occupied herself particularly in the exercises and the mysteries, which I have pointed out but could not fully describe in the foregoing chapters. In the course of time, our Savior passed the period of his adolescence at eighteen, and his blessed mother reached her perfect growth in her thirty-third year. I call it that, because according to the division of man's life, commonly accepted, the age of thirty-three years, is that of full bodily growth and perfection, being the end of youthful vigor, or, as others would have it, the beginning of it. Whatever opinion is accepted, that is the end of the natural perfection of the body, and it lasts only a short time, for immediately corrupted nature, never remaining in the same state, begins to decline. Like the moon, which begins to lessen as soon as it has reached fullness, it never remains in the same state. From that time on, the body does not grow in length, nor can the increase in bulk be called a perfection, being rather a defect of nature. On this account, our Lord Christ died at the completion of his thirty-third year, for his most ardent love induced him to wait only until his body should have attained its perfect growth and vigor, and was in all respects most capable of bringing the perfect gifts of nature and grace to this sacrifice. Not because divine grace was in need of any growth in him, but in order that his human nature might correspond with the perfection of grace and that nothing might be wanting, even exteriorly, to the completeness of his sacrifice for mankind. In accordance with this, it is said that the Almighty created Adam and Eve in the condition of a man and woman at the age of thirty-three years. It is true, of course, that in the first and second age of the world, the life of man was much longer, and, by dividing the periods of human life at that time, many more years would have to be counted for each period before the time of David than after that time, when old age begins at seventy years. When, therefore, the Queen of Heaven arrived at her thirty-third year, her virginal body had attained full natural growth, so well proportioned and beautiful that she was the admiration not only of human beings, but of the angelic spirits themselves. She had grown in size and stature to the most perfect proportion in all the parts of her body and most strikingly resembled her divine son in features and complexion when later on he arrived at that age, always, of course, taking into account that Christ was the most perfect man while his mother was the most perfect woman. Other mortals, on account of the decline of the natural humors and temperature, ordinarily begin to deteriorate and gradually approach decay as far as their body is concerned. The exquisite balance of bodily humors is disturbed, and the earthly ones begin to predominate more and more. The hair begins to whiten, the countenance to wrinkle, the blood to cool, some of the strength to weaken. And the whole human frame, in spite of the greatest care, commences to decline toward old age and corruption. But in the most holy Mary it was not so, for the wonderful beauty and strength which she had attained at the age of thirty-three years remained unchanged, and when she had reached her seventieth year, as I shall relate later on, she still retained the same beauty and entirety of her virginal body as at the age of thirty-three. The blessed lady was well aware of this special privilege conceded to her by the most high, and she rendered him most humble thanks. She understood also that it was granted to her in order that the likeness of her most holy son might always be preserved in her, though with the differences consequent upon her different nature and longer life. For the Lord attained full bodily growth at thirty-three years while she retained it during her much longer life. St. Joseph, although he was not so very old at the time when our blessed lady reached her thirty-third year, was much broken and worn out as far as his body was concerned. For his continual cares, his journeys and his incessant labours for the sustenance of his spouse and of the Lord had weakened him much more than his years. This was so ordained by the Lord, who, wishing to lead him on to the practice of patience and of other virtues, permitted him to suffer sickness and pain, as I will relate in the following chapter. His most prudent spouse, knowing that he was much weakened and always having loved and served him better than any wife ever did her husband, spoke to him and said, My spouse and my master, I am deeply obliged to you for the faithful labours, watchfulness and care thou hast bestowed on my welfare. For in the sweat of thy brow thou hast until now supported me, thy servant, and my most holy son, the true God, and in this thy solicitude thou hast spent thy strength and the best part of thy health and of thy life in protecting me and attending upon my welfare. From the hands of the Almighty thou shalt receive the reward of thy works and the blessings of sweetness which thou deservedest. Psalm 20 verse 4 But now I beseech thee, my master, rest henceforth from thy labours, since thy impaired strength is not any more equal to them. I wish from now on to show my gratitude by laboring in thy service and provide for such sustenance as the Lord wishes us to have. The Saint listened to the words of his sweetest spouse, with abundant tears, of humblest acknowledgement and consolation, although he at first earnestly entreated her to be allowed to continue forever in his labours, yet at last he yielded to her request and obeyed his spouse, the mistress of the world. From that time on he rested from the hard labour of his hands, by which he had earned a livelihood for all three. They gave away the carpenter tools as an alms, not wishing to have anything superfluous or useless in their house and family. Being thus at leisure, Saint Joseph occupied himself entirely in the contemplation of the mysteries of which he was the guardian and in the exercise of virtues. As he had the happiness and good fortune of continually enjoying the sight and the intercourse of the divine wisdom incarnate and of her who was the mother of it, this man of God reached such a height of sanctity that his heavenly spouse accepted no one ever surpassed him and he far outstripped all other creatures. The blessed lady, and also her most holy son, attended upon him and nursed him in his sickness, consoling and sustaining him with the greatest aciduity, and hence there are no words sufficiently expressive of the humility, reverence and love which all this caused in the simple and grateful heart of this man of God. He thus became the admiration and joy of the angels and the pleasure and delight of the most high. Thenceforth the mistress of the world took upon herself the task of supporting by her work, her most holy son and her husband, for such was the will of the eternal wisdom in order to raise Mary to the very pinnacle of all virtues and perfections and in order to furnish an example for the confusion of the daughters and the sons of Adam and Eve. The Lord set up for us as a model, this strong woman, clothed with beauty and fortitude. For at this age of thirty-three years she was to show herself girded with strength and ready to extend her hands to the poor, purchasing the field and cultivating the vineyard by her own labor to bring forth its fruits. The heart of her husband confided in her, and not only that of her husband, Saint Joseph, but also that of her son, the true God, man, the teacher of the poor, and the poor of the poor, and they were not deceived. Proverbs 31 verse 10 The great queen began to busy herself much more in spinning and weaving linen and wool, thus mysteriously fulfilling all that Solomon says about her in the Proverbs. But as I have explained, this chapter of Scripture at the end of the first part I shall not repeat it here, although much of what I said then pertains to this period of her life, when both interiorly and exteriorly she executed it in action. The Lord was not wanting an ability to provide for his bodily living that of his blessed mother and of Saint Joseph, for not in bread alone does man live and is sustained. Matthew chapter 4 verse 4 All was arranged by the teacher of our salvation with admirable providence for the glory of our queen and for our instruction. Her diligence and care in these employments cannot be expressed in words. She labored much, and because she always lived in retirement, she was assisted by that most fortunate woman of whom I have spoken before. This woman assumed some of the labor of the great queen and performed the necessary errands, but Mary never used any command when in want of her assistance, but spoke to her in humble request and with the utmost consideration, always seeking to find out her wishes by asking her whether she would not like to do this or that. Her blessed son, like his heavenly mother, ate no meat, their nourishment was only fish, fruit, and herbs, and these only in the greatest moderation. For Saint Joseph she procured flesh meat, and although their poverty and want was apparent also in this, yet it was seasoned by the good will and loving kindness with which she served it to her spouse. The blessed lady slept but little, and often she spent the greater part of the night in the work. For the Lord now permitted her to spend more time in such employment than in Egypt. Sometimes it happened that with all her diligence and labor she could not earn what was necessary, for Saint Joseph now had need of more expensive nourishment. At such times Christ our Lord made use of his almighty power in multiplying what was in their possession, or in commanding the angels to bring the necessaries from elsewhere. But more frequently he miraculously enabled his most holy mother to accomplish much in short time by the labor of the great queen. Instruction which the queen of heaven, Mary, gave me. My daughter, in what thou hast written of my labors, thou shouldst have received a most exalted doctrine for thy imitation and direction. But in order that thou mayest not forget, thou shalt have received the most exalted doctrine for thy imitation and direction. I wish that thou imitate me in three virtues, which thou wilt find in what thou hast written. They are the virtues of prudence, charity, and justice, so little taken notice of by mortals. Prudence should teach thee to provide for the wants of thy neighbor as far as possible in thy state. Charity should make thee the most exalted doctrine for thy imitation and direction. Thou shouldst be an eye to the blind and ear to the deaf, and thy hands should labor for those that are maimed. Job 29 verse 15 Although, on account of thy state of life, thou must practice this doctrine principally and continually in a spiritual way, yet I desire that thou take it to the heart also as far as the temporal and bodily wants of thy neighbor demand, always striving to be in the heart of thy neighbor. For I also provided for the necessities of my spouse and held myself ready to serve and support him, deeming myself obliged thereto, and I fulfilled this obligation with ardent charity until he died. Although the Lord had given him to me for my support, I faithfully provided for him for the sake of his life. Although the Lord had given him to me for my support, I faithfully provided for him by my labors as long as he was unable to perform this task himself. I judged it to be my duty, thus to use the strength given to me by the Lord, and would have considered it a great fault, not to do so, with great aciduity. The children of the Church pay no attention to this example, and therefore they have fallen into a perverseness which greatly exasperates the just Judge. For, although all mortals, not only since the first sin, by which all incurred work as a punishment, but also from the very first beginning, were created in order to work. Genesis 2 verse 15 Nevertheless, work is not evenly distributed among men. The powerful and the rich, and those whom the world calls lords and nobles, all try to exempt themselves from this common law and try to throw this burden upon the humble and the poor of human society. The rich keep up their pride in ostentation, by the labor and sweat of the poor, and the powerful draw their strength from the weakness and helplessness of the lowly. In many of the proud, by their haughtiness, this perversity reaches such extremes that they begin to think all this is due to them, and they despise, oppress, and trod underfoot the poor. Letter of St. James 2 verse 6 In this matter of not paying proper wages to the poor and to the servants, and in matters of like sort, thou wilt find great crimes against the order and will of the Almighty. But let it be known that just as the rich pervert justice and reason, and refuse to take their share in human labor, so also will mercy be inverted for them, and be showered upon the despised and lowly. WISDOM Chapter 6 verse 7 Because thou art a superior, but deem thyself more lowly and humble, a slave of all the rest, diligently serving them all without distinction. If necessary, be ready to labor for their sustenance, and be convinced that this is incumbent upon thee, not only as their superior, but also because the religious are thy sisters, daughters of the Heavenly Father, and creatures of the Lord thy spouse. Since thou hast received more than all the rest at his liberal hand, thou art also obliged to labor more than they. The weak and ailing relieve a bodily labor and do their labor thyself, which that thou not only avoid charging others with work, which thou canst perform thyself, and which belongs to thee, but that thou assume as much as possible that of all the rest, deeming thyself their inferior and their servant, as I wish thee always to consider thyself. Since thou canst not do all thyself, and since it is necessary that thou distribute bodily labor among thy subjects, I exhort thee to observe good order and equity, not putting more labor upon those who are too humble or weak to object. But I wish that thou humiliate those who are of a haughty and proud spirit, and are unwilling to occupy themselves in hard labor. However, this must be done without exasperating them and with a gentle firmness, helping them to suppress their lukewarmness and want of subjection by placing upon them the yoke of holy obedience in accordance with their profession. In doing this, thou conferest upon them the greatest blessing, and thou only fulfillest thy own obligation. Therefore thou shouldest see to it that they understand thee in that way. All this thou wilt attain if thou make no personal distinctions and assign to each one the work which she can do and what is appropriate to her, obliging and compelling each one with equity and justice to abhor idleness and laxity and let them see thee engaged in the hardest and most difficult work. Thereby thou wilt gain a humble liberty of commanding them, but what thou canst do thyself command no one in order that thou mayest enjoy the fruit and the reward of labor in imitation of me, and in obeying all that I advise and remind thee of. in the last years of his life and how the Queen of Heaven, his spouse, nursed him during that time. A common defect in all of us that are called to the light and to the profession of holy faith in the school of Christ our Lord is that of looking upon him too much as our redeemer and not sufficiently as our teacher in our sufferings. Luke chapter 24 verse 26 We all desire to reap the fruit of salvation and enter the portals of grace and glory, but we do not, with like zeal, seek to follow him on the way of the cross by which he entered and upon which he invites us to attain eternal glory. Matthew chapter 16 verse 24 Although as Catholics we do not fall into such insane errors as the heretics, for we know and profess that without exertion and labor there can be no reward or crown. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 5 And that it is a sacrilegious blasphemy to avail oneself of the salvation of Christ in order to sin without remorse or restraint. Nevertheless, as far as really practicing the works inculcated by faith, some of the children of the church differ little from the children of darkness, for they look upon difficult and painful works as unnecessary for the following of Christ and for the participation in his glory. Let us throw off this error in our practice and let us understand well that suffering was not only for Christ our Lord but also for us, that if he suffered labors and death as the redeemer of the world, he suffered them also as our teacher, thereby inviting us as his friends to enter upon the way of his cross. So much so that his nearest friends receive the greatest share of suffering and no one can merit heaven without the price of personal exertions. In imitation of his most holy mother, the apostles, martyrs, confessors and virgins, and all his followers, have won their crown by labors and those that have been most prepared for suffering have obtained so much the more abundant reward and the higher crown. It might be objected that our Lord was at the same time God and man and that if he has given us the most conspicuous and wonderful example of suffering he did it more in order to be admired than to be imitated. But this is only a bold and daring pretense on our part, for he can meet this objection with the example of his mother, our most pure and innocent queen, with that of her blessed spouse and of so many men and women, weak and deficient as we ourselves, who were less guilty, but who have imitated him and followed him on the way of the cross. The Lord did not suffer only in order to excite our admiration, but in order that we imitate his example and he did not let even his divinity stand in the way of labor and suffering, but allowed sorrow and suffering to overwhelm him in proportion to his innocence and sinlessness. Along this royal highway of the cross, the Lord led the spouse of his blessed mother, St. Joseph, whom he loved above all the sons of men. In order to increase his merits and crown before the time his meriting should come to an end, he visited him in the last years of his life with certain sicknesses, such as fever, violent headaches and very painful rheumatisms, which greatly afflicted and weakened him. In the midst of these infirmities he was suffering from another source, more sweet but extremely painful, namely from the fire of his ardent love, which was so vehement, that the flights and ecstasies of his most pure soul would often have burst the sounds of his body if the Lord, who vouchsafed them, had not strengthened and comforted him against these agonies of love. In these sweet excesses the Lord allowed him to suffer until his death, and on account of the natural weakness of his extenuated body, this exercise was the source of ineffable merits for the fortunate saint, not only because of the sufferings occasioned, but because of the love by which these sufferings were brought about. The great Queen, his spouse, was a witness to all these mysteries, and, as I have already stated, she knew the whole interior of the soul of Saint Joseph, being thus rejoiced by the knowledge of having for her spouse a man so holy and so beloved of the Lord. She beheld and comprehended the sincerity and purity of his soul, his burning love, his exalted and heavenly thoughts, his dove-like patience and meekness in his grievous ailments and exquisite sufferings. She knew that he never complained either of these, nor of any of the other trials, nor ever asked for any relief in his wants and necessities, for he bore all, with incomparable equanimity and greatness of soul. As his most prudent spouse contemplated and weighed all those heroic virtues of Saint Joseph, she grew to look upon him with such a veneration as cannot ever be properly estimated by any one. She labored with incredible joy for his comfort and comfort, and the greatest of his comforts was that she should prepare and administer his vitals with her own virginal hands. But as all her service seemed little in the eyes of the heavenly lady, compared to the necessities of her spouse, she sometimes, in her love for him, made use of her power as queen and mistress of all creation, and commanded that the food which she administered to him impart special strength and supply new life to this holy and just man of God. This command of the great lady, whom all creatures obeyed, was fulfilled, and when Saint Joseph tasted of the vitals, which bore these blessings of sweetness, when he perceived their effects, he was want to say to the queen, My lady and spouse, what celestial food is this which vivifies me, rejoices my senses, restores my strength, and fills my soul and spirit with new delight. The empress of heaven served him his meals on bended knees, and when he was much disabled in suffering, she took off his shoes in the same posture. At other times, she supported him in her arms. Although the humble saint sought to rouse himself in order to forestall some of these ministrations of his spouse, he could not altogether prevent them, for she was intimately aware of all his sufferings and weaknesses, and of the circumstances and occasions when he needed her assistance. At such times, the heavenly nurse always hastened to assist him in his wants. Often also, as the mistress of wisdom and of virtue, she comforted him by words of sweetest consolation. In the last three years of his life, when his infirmities increased, our queen attended upon him day and night, and her only other employment was the service administration due to her most holy son. Jesus sometimes joined and assisted her in the care of her holy spouse whenever he was not engaged in other necessary works. There was never a sick person, nor will there ever be one, who was so well nursed and comforted. Great was the happiness and worth of this man of God, Saint Joseph, for he alone deserved to have for his spouse, her, who was the spouse of the Holy Ghost. But the heavenly lady was not satisfied with these proofs of her devotion toward Holy Joseph. She'd made use of other means for his relief and comfort. Sometimes she asked the Lord in her ardent charity to impose upon her the pains suffered by her spouse and release him therefrom. To gain her point, she, the mother and mistress of all sanctity, pleaded before the Most High, alleging that her debt was greater than that of all the earth-born, and since she had not given the proper return, she was inferior to them, deserving all their sufferings, and offered her heart for all manner of pain and suffering. She pleaded also the sanctity of Saint Joseph, his purity, innocence, and the delight of the Lord in this heart, made according to that of his Son. She asked for many blessings for him, and gave most heartfelt thanks for having created a man so worthy of his favors, so full of justice and holiness. She invited the Holy Angels to give thanks to God for him, and in contemplating the glory and wisdom of the Lord, as shown in this man, she sang new hymns of praise. For on the one hand she saw the pains and sufferings of her beloved spouse, which excited her pity and condolence, and on the other hand she was aware of his merits, and the delight of the Lord in this man, and how the Saint pleased and glorified his God by his patience. The Heavenly Lady exercised different virtues suitable to the occasion, and of so exalted a degree, that she excited the admiration of the angelic spirits. Yet greater should be the admiration of us ignorant men to see that a mere creature so perfectly fulfilled so many different duties, and that in her the anxiety of Martha should not interfere with the contemplation of Mary. She imitated in this the activity of the supernal spirits, who guard and assist us without losing sight of the Most High. Matthew, Chapter 18, Verse 10 But Mary far excelled them in her attention to God while engaged in bodily labor, of which they were incapable. Though she was a child of Adam, she lived like a heavenly spirit, occupying the superior part of her being in the exalted exercises of her divine love, and employing her inferior faculties in works of charity toward her spouse. Sometimes, when the merciful queen perceived the bitterness and severity of the sufferings of Saint Joseph, she was moved to tender pity, and then she would only ask permission of her most holy son to be allowed to command the natural sources and occasions of these pains to disappear, and thus put a stop to the sufferings of this just and beloved man of God. As all creatures obey the command of their great mistress, her holy spouse was immediately relieved and rested from his pains, sometimes for a day, sometimes longer, until his ailments, according to the decree of the Almighty, again assumed sway for the increase of his merits. At other times, she ordered the holy angels as their queen, though not in the form of a command but of a request, to console Saint Joseph and covered him in his sorrows and labors as the frail condition of his body demanded. Thereupon, the angelic spirits would appear to Saint Joseph in human forms, most beautiful and shining, and begin to speak to him of the divinity and its infinite perfections. Then they would raise their voices in sweetest harmony of celestial music, singing hymns of divine canticles, by which they restored his drooping strength and inflamed the love of his purest soul. To rejoice him the more, he was specially informed, not only of the source of these blessings and divine favors, but of the great holiness of his virginal spouse, of her singular love and charity, in conversing with him and serving him, and of many other excellences and privileges of the great mistress of the world. All this together caused such effects in Saint Joseph and so raised his merits before God, as no tongue can express, nor any human understanding in this life can comprehend. Instruction given to me by the Queen of Heaven, most Holy Mary. My daughter, one of the virtuous works most pleasing to the Lord and most fruitful for souls, is the loving care of the sick. By it is fulfilled to a great extent the natural law which requires us to do our neighbors what we wish them to do to us. In the Gospel this is adduced as one of the works for which the Lord shall give eternal reward to the just. Matthew chapter 25 verse 34 And the failure to exercise this duty is alleged as one of the causes of the eternal damnation of the wicked. In the same place, the justice of this retribution is also explained. Namely, as men are the children of the eternal father the Lord accounts any good or ill done to our neighbor as done to his own children, whose part he takes. For so it is customary among human parents. With regard to thyself, thou must moreover consider that thou art the mother of thy religious and that they, just as thou thyself, are the spouses of my blessed son. The fact that they have received of him less blessings should so much the more oblige thee to serve and nurse them in their sickness. On this account I have on another occasion told thee that thou must consider thyself the infomerian of all of them, as being inferior to them because of thy great obligations. I assign to thee thereby an office which is great in the house of the Lord. In order to fulfill its obligations, do not charge others with the work which thou canst do thyself in the service of the sick. And whatever, on account of the duties of thy office, thou canst not be thou careful in commending to the special care of those who are appointed to discharge these duties by obedience. Besides common charity, there are other reasons why the religious should be attended to in their ailments with the greatest care and solicitude. Namely, in order that their afflictions and necessities might not cause them to long for return to their parental homes and to the world, be sure that in this way much harm enters the nature, for human nature is so adverse to suffering, that rather than feel the want of necessities, it will again face the greatest dangers of the soul. In order to stir the on toward proficiency in the exercise of this doctrine, the charity which I showed toward my spouse, Joseph, in his ailments should serve thee as a spur and encouragement. Very tardy is that charity, and even the politeness, which waits until the needy one asks for help. I did not wait, but hastened to assist before I was asked. My charity and attention anticipated the requests of my spouse, and thus I consoled him, not only by my services, but by my longing solicitude and attention. I shared his sufferings and hardships with heartfelt compassion, but at the same time I praised the most high and thanked him for the blessings of affliction conferred on his servant. If sometimes I sought to relieve his pains, it was not in order to deprive him of the occasion of meriting, but that he might by this aid excite himself to glorify so much the more the author of all goodness and holiness and to these virtues I exhorted and encouraged him. With similar perfection shouldst thou exercise this noble virtue, providing for the needs of the sick and weak, comforting them by thy compassion and words of advice, doing them all kinds of good service, without wishing the ward of suffering. Let not thy carnal love disturb thee when thy sisters fall sick, although they be those thou lovest or needest most, for thereby many souls, both in the world and in religion, lose the merit of their labors. The sorrow occasion by the sight of sickness or danger in their friends disturbs their equanimity and under the pretense of compassion they begin to complain and refuse to submit themselves to the dispositions of divine grace. In all these things I have given thee an example and I demand of thee to imitate it perfectly by following my foot steps. End of Chapter 14 Book 1 Chapter 15 of the Mystical City of God Volume 3 by the venerable sister Mary of Jesus of a greater. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Book 1 Chapter 15 The Happy Death of Saint Joseph and what followed upon it, how Jesus our Redeemer and Blessed Mary our Lady, assisted at his passing away. Already eight years, Saint Joseph had been exercised by his infirmities and sufferings, and his noble soul had been purified more and more each day in the crucible of affliction and of divine love. As the time passed, his bodily strength gradually diminished and he approached an unavoidable end in which the stipend of death is paid by all of us children of Adam. Hebrews Chapter 9 Verse 27 In like manner also increased the care and solicitude of his heavenly spouse, our Queen assisting and serving him with unbroken punctuality, perceiving in her exalted wisdom that the day and hour for his departure from this cumbrous earth was very near, and Lady B took herself to her blessed son and said to him, Lord God Most High, Son of the Eternal Father and Saviour of the World, by Thy Divine Light I see the hour approaching, which Thou hast decreed for the death of Thy servant, Joseph. I beseech Thee by Thy ancient mercies and by Thy infinite bounty to assist him in that hour by Thy almighty power. Let his death be as precious in his life as pleasing to Thee, so that he may depart in peace and in the certain hope of the eternal reward to be given to him on the day in which Thou shalt open the gates of heaven for all the faithful. Be mindful, my son, of the humility and love of Thy servant, of his exceeding great merits and virtue, of the fidelity and solicitude by which this just man has supported Thee and me, Thy humble handmaid our Saviour answered, My mother, Thy request is pleasing to me and the merits of Joseph are acceptable in my eyes. I will now assist him and will assign him a place among the princes of my people. Psalm 115 verse 15 So high that he will be the admiration of the angels and will cause them and all men to break forth in highest praise with none of the human born I do as with Thy spouse. The great lady gave thanks to her sweetest son for this promise and, for nine days and nights before the death of Saint Joseph, he uninterruptedly enjoyed the company and attendance of Mary or her divine son. By command of the Lord, the holy angels, three times on each of the nine days, furnished celestial music, mixing their hymns of praise with the benedictions of the sick man. Moreover, their humble but most precious dwelling was filled with the sweetest fragrance and odor so wonderful that they comforted not only Saint Joseph but invigorated all the numerous persons who happened to come near the house. One day before he died, being holy inflamed with divine love on account of these blessings, he was wrapped in an ecstasy which lasted 24 hours. The Lord himself supplied strength for this miraculous intercourse. In this ecstasy he saw clearly the divine essence and manifested therein all that he believed by faith, the incomprehensible divinity, the mystery of the incarnation and redemption, the militant church with all its sacraments and mysteries. The Blessed Trinity commissioned and assigned him as the messenger of our Savior to the holy patriarchs and prophets of Limbo and commanded him to prepare them for their issuing forth from this bosom of Abraham to eternal rest and happiness. All this most holy Mary saw reflected in the soul of her divine Son together with all the other mysteries just as they had been known to her beloved spouse and she offered her sincerest thanks for all this to her Lord. When Saint Joseph issued from this ecstasy, his face shone with wonderful splendor and his soul was entirely transformed by his vision of the essence of God, he asked his blessed spouse to bless him, her benediction but she requested her divine Son to bless him in her stead which he did. Then the great queen of humility falling on her knees besought Saint Joseph to bless her as being her husband in head. Not without divine impulse the man of God fulfilled this request for the consolation of his most prudent spouse. She kissed the hand with which he blessed her and asked him to salute the just ones of Limbo in her name. He humbled Joseph, sealing his life with an act of self-abasement as pardon of his heavenly spouse for all his deficiencies in her service and love and begged her to grant him her assistance and intercession in this hour of his passing away. The Holy Man also rendered humblest thanks to her Son for all the blessings of his life and especially for those received during this sickness. The last words which Saint Joseph spoke to his father. Then this man of God, turning toward Christ our Lord, in profound his reverence, wished to kneel before him, but the sweetest Jesus coming near received him in his arms, where, reclining his head upon them, Joseph said, My highest Lord and God, Son of the Eternal Father, Creator and Redeemer of the world, give thy blessing to thy servant and the work of thy hand. Pardon, O merciful King, the faults which I have committed in thy service and intercourse. I extol and magnify thee and render eternal and heartfelt thanks to thee for having, in thy ineffable condescension, chosen me to be the spouse of thy true mother. Let thy greatness and glory be my thanksgiving for all eternity. The Redeemer of the world gave him his benediction, saying, My Father, rest in peace and in the grace of my eternal Father and mine, and to the prophets and saints who await thee in limbo bring the joyful news of the approach of their redemption. At these words of Jesus and reclining in his arms, the most fortunate Saint Joseph expired and the Lord himself closed his eyes. At the same time, the multitude of the angels who attended upon their king and queen intoned hymns of praise in loud and harmonious voices. By command of the Lord, they carried his most holy soul in place of the patriarchs and prophets, where it was immediately recognized by all, as clothed in the splendors of incomparable grace, as the putative Father and the intimate friend of the Redeemer, worthy of highest veneration. Conformably to the will and mandate of the Lord, his arrival spread inutterable joy to this countless gathering of the saints by the announcement of their speedy rescue. It is necessary to mention that the long sickness and suffering which preceded the death of Saint Joseph was not the sole cause and occasion of his passing away, for with all his infirmities he could have extended the term of his life, if to them he had not joined the fire of the intense love within his bosom. In order that his death might be more the triumph of his love than of the effects of original sin, the Lord suspended the special and miraculous assistance by which his natural forces were enabled to withstand the violence of his love during his lifetime. As soon as this divine assistance was withdrawn, nature was overcome by his love and the bonds and chains by which this most holy soul was detained in its mortal body, were at once dissolved and the separation of the soul from the body in which death consists took place. Love was then the real cause of the death of Saint Joseph, as I have said above. This was at the same time the greatest and most glorious of all his infirmities, for in it death is but a sleep of the body and the beginning of real life. Her spouse having thus passed away the great lady began to prepare his body for burial according to Jewish custom. No other hands touched him than her own and those of the holy angels who assisted her invisible human forms. In order that the utmost propriety might be observed by the Virgin Mother, God enveloped the body of Saint Joseph in a wonderful light, which hid all except his countenance, and thus his pure espouse, although she clothed him for burial, saw only his face. Sweetest fragrance exhaled from his body and it remained so beautiful and lifelike that the neighboring people eagerly came to see it and were filled with admiration. Accompanied by the redeemer of the world, his most blessed mother and a great multitude of angels and escorted by their friends and many others, the sacred body of the most glorious Saint Joseph was born to the common-burying place. But on all these occasions and in these occupations the most prudent queen preserved her composure and gravity without allowing her countenance to exhibit any unwomenly or disorderly excitement, nor did her sorrow prevent her from attending to all that belonged to the service of her deceased spouse or her divine son. In every one of her movements was visible the royal and magnanimous behavior of the queen of the human race. She reiterated her thankful acknowledgment of the great favors done to her spouse by the son of God and prostrate at his feet in new abasement of humility, she said to him, Lord and master of my whole being, my true son, the holiness of my spouse Joseph might until now have detained thee in my company. Though unworthy of it, I beseech thee by thy own kindness, not to forsake me now, receive me anew as thy servant and look upon the humble desires and longings of my heart. The savior of the world accepted this new offering of his most holy mother and he promised not to leave her until the time when obedience to his eternal father had obliged him to begin his life of public teaching. Teaching of Mary, the Queen of Heaven My dearest daughter, it was not without special reason that thy heart was moved to great compassion and pity toward those who are at the point of death and that thou art inspired with a desire to help them in that hour, for it is true, as thou hast perceived, that then the souls of men incur the most incredible and dangerous attacks from the demons as well as from their own frailty and from the creatures around them. That hour is the great trial of life upon which depends the sentence of eternal death or eternal life, of eternal suffering or eternal glory. As the most high has condescendingly vouchsafed to fill thee with these sentiments, I exhort thee to exert all thy powers and faculties to act accordingly. Remember then, my friend, that when Lucifer and his satellites of darkness perceive by the course of natural events that anyone falls a prey to a dangerous and mortal disease, they immediately prepare to assail the poor and unbewearing soul with all their malice and astuteness in order to vanquish them, if possible, by various temptations. Whenever they see an opening for attacking the souls, they try to supply in fury and malice the shortness of time. At such times they gather like bloodthirsty wolves and search out the natural and acquired failings in his nature, taking into account his inclinations, habits and customs, and where his passions cause him greater weakness, in order to direct toward this part the strongest battery and engines of war. Those that have a disorderly love of earthly life, they persuade that there is not such great danger, and they prevent others from unperceiving them. Those that have been negligent in the reception of the sacraments, they try to make still more careless, and they place obstacles and difficulties in the way, in order that they supply without them, or in order that they may receive them without fruit and with a bad disposition. Others they fill with false suggestions and shame, in order that they may not confess their sins and open their conscience. Others they confuse and try to prevent from making proper restitution, and thus unburdening their consciences. Others who love vanity, they entangle, even at that last hour, in many vain and proud desires, with regard to what is to be done for them after death. Those that have been avaricious or sensual, they seek to excite violently toward what they have loved so blindly during life. In short, all of the bad habits and customs, this cruel enemy avails himself in order to fill their minds with images of creatures and draw them away from their salvation, or make them incapable of it. All the sinful actions and vicious habits of their previous life come, as it were, pledges in the hands of the common enemy, for the possession of the sinner, and weapons for assault and battery in this tremendous hour of death. Every appetite, which has been inordinately indulged, is an avenue or bypass by which he enters into the citadel of the soul. Once in, he breathes forth his pestilental fumes, and raises the clouds of darkness, his proper work, so that the soul may not give to the divine inspirations, have no true sorrow for its sins, and do no penance for its wicked life. Generally, these enemies cause a great damage to the souls in that hour by exciting the vain hope of a longer life and being able to execute later on what God suggests to them by means of the holy angels. Giving way to this deceit, they find themselves afterwards betrayed and lost. Just as great is the danger of those who have shown little esteem for the saving graces of the sacraments, for this contempt is very offensive to the Lord and to the saints, and divine justice want to punish it by leaving these souls to their own wicked councils. This leads them to great neglect in profiting by this help. Thus they are themselves forsaken by the Lord in their last hour, in which they expect it to provide for their salvation. There are few among the just, this ancient serpent does not furiously attack in their last agony. And if Satan boasts of having ruined even saints at such times, what hope have the wicked, the negligent and sinful, who have spent their whole lives in making themselves unworthy of divine favor and grace, and who are devoid of meritorious works to offset the assaults of their enemies? My holy spouse, Saint Joseph, was one of those who enjoyed the privilege of neither seeing nor feeling the presence of the demon in his last hour. For as soon as the approach to deal with him, as they do with the rest of men, they felt a powerful force, which kept them at a distance, and the holy angels hurled them back into their abyss. Seeing themselves thus oppressed and crushed, they were seized with great uneasiness and confusion. Almost stupefied, Lucifer called a meeting of his followers in Hell in order to consult about this event, and in order to have them once more search the earth for the messiahs, and then happened what thou shalt relate later on in its place. Hence thou wilt understand the great danger in the hour of death, when both the good works and the bad will begin to show their effects. I will not tell thee how many are thus lost in order that thy sincere love of God may not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss. But the general rule is a good life gives hope of a good end. All other reliance is doubtful, and salvation resting upon it is very rare and merely accidental. The best precaution is to take a good start from afar, and therefore I admonish thee that at the dawning of each day, when thou lookest upon the light, thou seriously consider, whether it may not be the last of thy life, and if it should be the last, for thou dost not know, that thou place thy soul in such a state as to be able to meet death with a smiling face. Do not delay even for one instant sorrow for thy sins, and affirm purpose of confessing them as soon as thou findest thyself guilty of any, and of amending the least of thy imperfections. In all this, be careful that thou leave not upon thy conscience the smallest defect without being sorry for it, and without cleansing thyself of my most holy Son. Place thyself in such a condition that thou art ready to appear before the just Judge, who is to examine and judge thy least thoughts and all thy movements. In order that according to thy pious wishes, thou mayest help those who are in danger of death, thou shouldest give to others the same counsels that I have now given thee. Exort them to lead a careful life in order to secure a happy death. Say some prayers for this intention every day of thy life, fervently asking the Almighty to disperse the deceits of the devils to destroy the snares prepared against those who are in the throes of death and that his right hand confound all the demons. Know that I have directed my prayers to that end for mortals, and in this I wish thee to imitate me, that thou mayest help them so much the more. I wish thee to order and command the demons to depart from the sick and stop their persecutions, and thou canst very efficaciously use this power, even when thou art absent from the sick, for thou art to command them in the name of the Lord, and thou art to compel them to obey thee for his greater honor and glory. When thy own religious are in danger of death, do thou without exciting them, instruct them in what they are to do, admonish them and see that they receive them frequently during life, in preparation for a good end. Seek to encourage and console them, speaking to them of the things of God, and his mysteries contained in the holy scriptures. Exort them to awaken their good intentions and desires, and to prepare themselves to receive the light and the graces of the most high. Excite them to hope, strengthen them against temptations, and teach them how they are to resist and serve them, seeking to divine them before they themselves manifest them to thee. The Almighty will give thee an understanding of them, so that thou mayest apply the right medicine to each, for the infirmities of the soul are hard to diagnose and cure. All that I now tell thee, thou must execute as the most beloved daughter of the Lord and in his service, and I will procure for thee certain privileges for thyself and for those thou wish to aid in that terrible hour. Do not stint thy charity in these works, for thou shalt not work by thy own strength alone, but by the power which God wishes to exercise in thee for his own glory. End of Chapter 15 Book 1, Chapter 16 of the Mystical City of God, Volume 3, by the venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of a Greta. This Librivox recording is in the public domain. Book 1, Chapter 16 The Age of the Queen of Heaven at the death of St. Joseph and some of the privileges of her holy spouse. The most fortunate of men, St. Joseph, reached an age of 60 years and a few days, for at the age of 33 he espoused the Blessed Virgin and he lived with her a little longer than 27 years as her husband. When St. Joseph died she had completed half of her 42nd year, for she was espoused to St. Joseph at the age of 14, as stated in the first part, Book 2, Chapter 22 The 27 years of her married life completed her 41st year, to which must be added the time from the 8th of September until the death of her blessed spouse. The Queen of Heaven still remained in the same disposition of natural perfection as in her 33rd year, for as already stated in the 13th chapter of this book, she showed no signs of decline, or of more advanced age, or of weakness, but always remained in that same most perfect state of womanhood. She felt the natural sorrow due to the death of St. Joseph, for she loved him as her spouse, as a man preeminent in perfection and holiness as her protector and benefactor. This sorrow in the most prudent lady was well ordered and most perfect, far from being therefore less deep. For her love was great, yea so much the greater, as she was well informed of the high rank he held among the saints, who are written in the book of eternal life, and in the eternal mind of the most high. We do not lose without sorrow what we love in an ordinary manner, so much the greater will be our sorrow for losing what we love much. It is not the purpose of this history to describe at length the perfections and balances of St. Joseph, nor have I any commission to do so, except in so far as will suffice to point out his dignity and that of our Queen, to whose merits, next to those of her Divine Son, must be ascribed the gifts and graces conferred by the Almighty upon this glorious Patriarch. The heavenly lady was either the instrumental or meritorious cause of the holiness of her spouse, or at least the final object or purpose of this holiness. For all the vast perfection of his virtues and graces were conferred upon St. Joseph for the purpose of making of him a worthy protector and spouse of her whom God selected as his mother. According to this standard, and according to the love of God for his most holy mother, is to be measured the holiness of St. Joseph, and from my understanding of this matter, if there had been in the world another man more perfect and more worthy, the Lord would have chosen this other one for the spouse of his mother. Since he was chosen by God, St. Joseph was no doubt the most perfect man upon earth. Having created and destined him for such a high end, it is certain that God, in his almighty power, prepared and perfected him in proportion to the exultaness of his end. That is, according to our way of thinking, his holiness, virtues, gifts, graces, and infused natural habits, were made to correspond by divine influence with the end for which he was selected. I perceive a certain difference in the graces given to this great patriarch and those vouchsafed to other saints. For many saints were endowed with graces and gifts that were intended not for the increase of their own sanctity, but for the advance of the service of the most high in other souls. They were, so to say, gifts and graces freely given and not dependent upon the gifts of the receiver. But in our blessed patriarch all the divine favors were productive of personal virtue and perfection for the mysterious purpose toward which they tended and helped along was closely connected with the holiness of his own life. The more angelic and holy he grew to be so much the more worthy was he to be the spouse of the most holy Mary the depository and treasure house of heavenly sacraments. He was to be a miracle of holiness as he really was. This marvelous holiness commenced with the formation of his body in the womb of his mother. In this the providence of God himself interfered, regulating the composition of the four radical humors of his body with extreme nicety of proportion and securing for him that evenly tempered disposition which made his body a blessed earth fit for the abode of an exquisite soul and well-balanced mind. Chapter 8 verse 19 Without understanding entirely the mystery she elicited great acts of virtue and believed that her son or whomever she bore in her womb would be wonderful in the sight of God and men. The holy child Joseph was born most beautiful and perfect of body and caused in his parents and in his relations an extraordinary delight, something like that caused by the birth of Saint John the Baptist though the cause of it was more hidden. The Lord hastened in him the use of his reason perfecting it in his third year, endowing it with infused science and augmenting his soul with new graces and virtues. From that time the child began to know God by faith and also by natural reasoning and science as the cause and author of all things. He eagerly listened and understood profoundly all that was taught him in regard to God and his works. At this premature age he already practiced the highest kinds of prayer and contemplation and eagerly engaged in the exercise of the virtues proper to his youth, so that at the time when others come to the use of reason, at the age of seven years or more, Saint Joseph was already a perfect man in the use of it and in holiness. He was of a kind disposition loving, affable, sincere showing inclinations not only holy but angelic, growing in virtue and perfection and advancing toward his espousal with most holy Mary by an altogether irreproachable life. For the confirmation and increase of his good qualities was then added the intercession of the Blessed Lady. For as soon as she was informed that the Lord wished her to enter the married state with him she earnestly besought the Lord to sanctify Saint Joseph and inspire him with most chaste thoughts and desires in conformity with her own. The Lord listened to her prayer and permitted her to see what great effects his right hand wrought in the mind and spirit of the patriarch Saint Joseph. They were so copious that they cannot be described in human words. He infused into his soul the most perfect habits of all the virtues and gifts. He balanced anew all his faculties and filled him with grace, confirming it in an admirable manner. In the virtue and perfection of chastity the Holy Spouse was elevated higher than the Seraphim. For the purity which they possessed without body, Saint Joseph possessed in his earthly body and in mortal flesh. Never did an image of the impurities of the animal insensible nature engage even for one moment any of his faculties. This freedom from all such imaginations and his angelic simplicity fitted him for the companionship and presence of the most pure among all creatures and without this excellence he would not have been worthy of so great a dignity and rare excellence. Also in the other virtues he was wonderfully distinguished, especially in charity for he dwelt at the fountain head of that living water which flows on to the eternal life. John chapter 4 verse 14 He was in close proximity to that sphere of fire and was consumed without resistance. The best that can be said of the charity of our Saint is what I have already said in the preceding chapter. Namely, that his love of God was really the cause of his mortal sickness and of his death. The manner of his death was a privilege of his singular love for his sweet size of love surpassed and finally put an end to those of his sickness being far more powerful. As the objects of his love, Christ and his mother were present with him always and as both of them were more closely bound to him than to any of the woman born his most pure and faithful heart was unavoidably consumed by the loving effects of such a close union. Blessed be the author of such great wonders and blessed be the most fortunate of mortals Saint Joseph who so worthily corresponded to their love he deserves to be known and extoll by all the generations of men and all nations since the Lord has wrought such things with no other man and to none has he shown such love. The divine visions and revelations vouchsafe to Saint Joseph I have particularly mentioned in the course of this history but there were many more than can be described and the greatest of them all was his having known the mysteries of the relation between Christ and his mother and his having lived in their company for so many years as the punitive father of the Lord of Heaven. But I have been informed concerning certain other privileges conferred upon Saint Joseph by the most high on account of his great holiness which are especially important to those who ask his intercession in a proper manner. In virtue of these special privileges the intercession of Saint Joseph is most powerful first for attaining the virtue of purity and overcoming the sensual inclinations of the flesh secondly for procuring powerful help to escape sin and return to the friendship of God thirdly for increasing the love and devotion to most holy Mary fourthly for securing the grace of a happy death and protection against the demons in that hour fifthly for inspiring the demons with terror at the mere mention of his name by his clients sixthly for gaining health of body and assistance in all kinds of difficulties seventhly for securing issue of children in families these and many other favors God confers upon those who properly and with good disposition seek the intercession of the spouse of our Queen Saint Joseph I beseech all the faithful children of the church to be very devout to him and they will experience these favors in reality if they dispose themselves as they should in order to receive and merit them. Instruction which the Queen of Heaven most holy Mary gave me my daughter although thou hast described my spouse Saint Joseph as the most noble among the princes and saints of the heavenly Jerusalem yet neither canst thou properly manifest his eminent sanctity nor can any of the mortals know it fully before they arrive at the vision of the divinity then all of them will be filled with wonder and praise as the Lord will make them capable of understanding this sacrament on the last day when all shall be judged the damned will bitterly bewail their sins which prevented them from appreciating this powerful means of their salvation and availing themselves as they easily could have of this intercessor to gain the friendship of the just judge the whole human race has much undervalued the privileges and prerogatives conceded to my blessed spouse and they know not what his intercessions with God is able to do I assure thee my dearest that he is one of the greatly favored personages in the divine presence and has immense power to stay the arms of divine vengeance I desire that thou be very thankful to the divine condescension for vouchsafing thee as much light and knowledge regarding this mystery and also for the favor which I am doing thee therein from now on during the rest of thy mortal life see that thou advance in devotion and in hearty love toward my spouse and that thou bless the Lord for thus having favored him with such high privileges and for having rejoiced me so much in the knowledge of his excellences in all thy necessities thou must avail thyself of his intercession thou shouldest induce many to venerate him and see that thy own religious diminish themselves in their devotion to him that which my spouse asks of the Lord in heaven is granted upon the earth his intercession to pen many and extraordinary favors for men if they do not make themselves unworthy of receiving them all these privileges were to be a reward for the amiable perfection of this wonderful saint and for his great virtues for divine clemency is favorably drawn forth by them and looks upon saint Joseph with generous liberality ready to shower down its marvelous mercies upon all those who avail themselves of his intercession End of Chapter 16 Book 1 Chapter 17 of the mystical city of God Volume 3 by the venerable sister Mary of Jesus of a Greta this Liborvox recording is in the public domain Book 1 Chapter 17 the doolings of most holy Mary after the death of saint Joseph and some of her dealings with the holy angels Christian perfection is all included in the two states of life known to the church the active and the contemplative life to the active life belongs all the operations of the body and the senses practiced in our intercourse with our neighbor in temporal affairs they embrace a wide field and include the practice of the moral virtues which constitute the perfection of our active life to the contemplative life belong the interior activities of the understanding and well aiming at the most noble acts proper to the rational creature therefore the contemplative life is more excellent than the active and as it is more quiet more delightful and beautiful it is also more desirable in itself it tends more directly toward the highest end that is God since it consists in the deepest knowledge and love of God and thus participates of the qualities of eternal life which is entirely contemplative these two lives the two sisters Martha and Mary Luke chapter 10 verse 41 the one quiet and thoughtful the other solicitous and bustling or those other two sisters and wives Leah and Rachel the one fruitful but ugly and with sore eyes the other beautiful and gracious but sterile in the beginning for the active life is more productive though in it the soul is taken up with numerous and various occupations during which it is kept in disturbance and cannot raise itself up to penetrate the high things of God while the contemplative life is most beautiful although in the beginning not so productive because it's fruits are to be the result of prayer and merits these presuppose great advance in the perfection and in the friendship of God which draw down the liberality of God in favor of other souls and produce the fruits of benediction very copious and very precious the combination of these two lives is the acme of Christian perfection but this combination is very difficult we do not see both kinds of life united in one person but existing in a remarkable degree separated in Martha and Mary in Leah and Rachel representing singly either the active or the contemplative life in none of them could both the active and the contemplative life be properly represented on account of the difficulty of combining the practice of both in one subject to any great extent although the saints have labored much to attain this perfect combination and all the teachers of spiritual life have sought to direct souls toward it although there are so many instructions of learned and apostolic men and the examples of the apostles and of the founders of the holy religion who have sought to join contemplation with action as far as is possible with divine grace yet they always knew that the active life on account of the multitude of its interests and occupations concerning inferior objects dissipates the heart and disturbs it as the Lord tells Martha although those engaged in it may see quiet and repose in order to raise themselves to the highest objects of contemplation they never succeed in doing so during this kind of life without great difficulty and only for a short time except by a special privilege of the most high on this account the saints that wish to give themselves up sought the deserts and solitudes which are more favorable to that kind of life and the other that pursued the active life and the care of souls by teaching and exhortation set aside some of their time for retirement from exterior activity and divided their days between contemplation and active life by thus attending to both with perfection they attained the merits and reward of the two kinds of life founded on love and grace and support the most blessed Mary alone joined these two lives in a perfect manner the highest and most ardent contemplation was not hindered by her occupations in the active life in her was the solicitude of Martha without its excitement and the quiet and rest of Mary without idleness of the body she possessed the beauty of Rachel and the fruitfulness of Leah and only this great and prudent queen truly exemplified what these sisters desired although she attended upon her ailing spouse and supported him and her most holy son by her labor she did not on that account interrupt or curtail her heavenly contemplations nor was she under any necessity of seeking solitude or retirement in order to restore the quiet and peace of her heart and raise it beyond the seraphic regions yet when she found herself alone and deprived of the company of Saint Joseph she so arranged her exercises as to spend her time entirely in the interior activity of divine love she immediately perceived by her insight into the interior of her most holy son that such was his will that she should relax her labors by which she had attended to the wants of Saint Joseph through night and day and that instead of this hard labor she should now join his majesty in his prayers and exalted works the Lord also reminded her of the accomplishment necessary to them it would be sufficient to engage in labor only for a short time each day for from that time on they were to eat only once a day at even tide having until now followed another custom out of regard to Saint Joseph and in order to keep him consoling company at meal times then forward Jesus and Mary ate but once a day at six o'clock in the evening many times their meal consisted merely of bread at times the blessed lady added fruits or herbs or perhaps fish and this formed the only refreshment of the sovereigns of heaven and earth although their frugality and abstinence had always been great yet it was greater after they were left alone and they never dispensed themselves except in regard to the kind of food and in regard to the time of taking it when they were invited they ate a little of what was offered to them without abstaining entirely commencing to practice the advice which Jesus was always afterwards to give to his disciples for their conduct while preaching the gospel the simple food used by the heavenly sovereigns was served by the great lady to her divine son on her knees having as permission thus to serve it sometimes she also prepared it in that posture moved there too by the thought that it was to serve as nourishment to the true son of God the presence of Saint Joseph was no hindrance to the most blessed mother in treating her son with all due reverence not missing the least point of what this reverence toward him demanded but after the death of Saint Joseph the great lady practiced prostrations and genuflections much more frequently for there was always more freedom for such actions in the presence of her holy angels than in the presence of her spouse who was man many times she remained prostrate upon the ground until the Lord commanded her to rise very often she kissed his feet at other times his hand usually she was filled with tears of the profound his humility and reverence she always stood in the presence of her divine son in posture of adoration and most ardent love awaiting his divine pleasure and intent upon imitating his interior virtues although she had no faults and was not guilty even of the least imperfection or negligence in the service and love of her most holy son her eyes like those of the reverent and of the anxious handmaid mentioned by the prophet only more devotedly were continually upon the hands of her master in order to gain the graces she desired for assisting her to greater perfection it cannot enter into human thought what divine science aided her in understanding and performing so many and so great works in union with the incarnate word during the time they both lived alone together without any other company than that of the holy angels of their guard and service they alone were the eyewitnesses and were moved to admiration and to the highest praises to see themselves so inferior in wisdom and purity to a mere creature who was worthy of such holiness for she alone made a full return for the graces she received with the holy angels the queen of heaven entered into a sweet emulation and strife in regard to the ordinary and humble services which were necessary for the comfort of the word of God and the well ordering of their little dwelling for there was no one to attend to these things except the heavenly lady and those most noble and faithful vassals and ministers who for this purpose assisted in human forms ready and anxious to attend to their work the great queen wished to perform all the humble work herself and with her own hands to scrub the house and arrange its poor furnishings wash the dishes and cooking utensils and set but these courtiers of the most high being truly courteous and more expeditious though not more humble in their operations usually anticipated these services before the queen could find time to perform them sometimes and at certain periods often she would find them thus at the work which she was about to perform and the holy angels having begun it beforehand but at her word they assisted and allowed her to satisfy her humility and devotion in completing it herself in order that they might not interfere with her affectionate desires she said to the holy angels ministers of the most high you are such pure spirits that you reflect the light of the divinity for my illumination and therefore these low and servile occupations are not suitable to your state your nature and condition these pertain to me who besides being only of earth and the lowest of the mortals and the least of the servants of my lord and son permit me my friends to perform the service to which I am bound since I can thereby gain merits which on account of your station and dignity you do not need I know the value of these servile works which the world despises and the lord has given me this knowledge not in order that I may allow them to be done by others but that I may perform them myself our queen and lady angels it is true that in thy eyes and in the estimation of the lord these are as valuable as thou knowest them to be but if thou dost thereby earn the precious rewards of thy humility take notice that we would be deficient in obedience to the lord if we would knowingly omit any of these works permitted us by the most high the merits which thou loses in not performing this service thou oh lady can't easily make up by the justification of denying thyself the desire of executing them the most prudent virgin answered these arguments by saying no my masters and sovereign spirits you must not look upon these works in such a light for if you consider yourselves bound to serve me as the mother of your great lord whose creatures you are remember that he has raised me from the dust to this great dignity and that therefore my debt of gratitude for this benefit is greater than yours as my obligation is so much the greater my return must also be greater than yours if you desire to serve my son as his creatures I likewise must serve him on this account and I am more bound to do so because I am the mother of such a son thus you will always find me more obliged than yourselves to be humble thankful and annihilated to the very dust in his presence these and similar sweet and admirable contentions were going on between most holy Mary and her angels and the palm of humility always remained in the hands of their queen and mistress the world is justly ignorant of these mysteries being unworthy of knowing them on account of its vanity and pride its foolish arrogance deems insignificant and contemptible these humble and servile occupations while the courtiers of heaven who know their value appreciate them and the queen of creation eagerly sought after them as very precious but let us leave the world to its intentional or unconscious ignorance humility is not for the proud of heart nor lowly service for purple and fine linen nor scrubbing and washing for costly gems and silks nor are the precious jewels of these virtues intended indiscriminately for all men but if the contagion of worldly pride enters into the schools of humility and contempt of the world namely into religious communities and if this kind of humiliation is looked upon by them as a disgrace we cannot deny that such sentiments are nothing but a most shameful and reprehensible pride if we religious men and women despise the benefits of such humble occupations and count them a degradation like worldly people how can we appear before the angels in our queen who esteemed as great honors those very works which we look upon as contemptible and dishonorable sisters, daughters of this great queen and lady, to you I speak who are called and transported to the bridal chamber of the great king to true joy and exultation Do not allow yourselves to be robbed of your right to be called children of such a mother if she who was the queen of angels and men humbled herself by engaging in such lowly and trivial occupations in scrubbing and busying herself in the most common handiwork what presumption shall the haughtiness vain pride and want of humility of mere slaves appear to be in her sight and in the sight of the Lord God himself far from our community be such treason fit only for Babylon and its inhabitants let us feel honored by that which the exalted queen esteemed as a crown of merit and let it be for us a subject of most shameful confusion and a cause for dreadful reprehension to be found wanting in the same zealous contention of humility which she entertained with the holy angels let us eagerly seek after humble and servile occupation and let us cause in the angels and heavenly companions the same emulation which was so pleasing to our queen and to her most holy son and our spouse we must understand that without real and solid humility it is audacious to seek the reward of spiritual or sensible consolations and to strive after them is daring foolishness let us rather look upon our heavenly teacher who is the perfect example of a holy and perfect life in the great queen the favors and delights of heaven alternated with her humble and servile occupations for it happened many times when she was engaged in prayer with her son that the holy angels in sweet harmonious voices sang the hymns and canticles composed by Mary herself in praise of the infinite being of god and of the hypostatic union of the word with human nature in the second person of the trinity the blessed lady often asked the angels to repeat these hymns to her lord and creator and alternating the verses with them she added new hymns they obeyed her lost in admiration at the profound wisdom manifested in what she thus said and composed for them then whenever her most holy son retired to rest or during his meals she commanded them as the mother of their creator solicitous to entertain him that they furnish a sweet music in her name and the Lord permitted it whenever she so ordered therein yielding to the ardor of her love and veneration with which she served him in his last years in order to narrate all that has been revealed to me in this regard a much longer discourse were necessary and much greater ability than mine from what I have insinuated one can judge of some extent of other deep mysteries of this intercourse and find motive and occasion to magnify and extol the great lady and queen whom may all nations know and praise as blessed among creatures as the mother of the creator and redeemer of the world instruction given to me by the queen of heaven my daughter I wish that before proceeding to narrate other mysteries thou understand well all that the Lord commanded in regard to my intercourse with my holy spouse St. Joseph when I espouse myself to him God commanded me to change the order of my meals and other exterior duties in order to accommodate myself to his circumstances for he was the head of the family and according to the common rule I was the inferior the same conduct was also followed by my most holy son the true God yet he subjected himself before the eyes of the world to him who was thought to be his father as soon as we were alone after the death of my spouse who was the occasion of this great change in our lives we return to our former way of living the Lord did not expect St. Joseph to accommodate himself to us but that we should accommodate ourselves to him as the common order among men required nor did the Lord resort to miracles in order to escape the necessity of taking food or of following ordinary human occupations for in all things he acted as the teacher of all virtues and of all perfection being an example to parents and children to prelates, superiors and superioresses to subjects and inferiors to parents in order that they may learn to love their children help them, nourish them, exhort them, correct them and lead them on in the way of salvation misness or carelessness to children in order that they may learn to esteem, love and honor their parents as the instruments of their existence, diligently obey them according to the natural law which requires and teaches obedience and repudiates the opposite as monstrous and horrible to prelates and superiors in order that they may love their subjects and direct them as their children to inferiors that they obey without resistance even if they should in other respects be of higher and better condition in life for insofar as the superior represents God the prelate is always superior in dignity but greater charity must always teach both to be of one spirit in order that thou mayest acquire this great virtue I desire that thou can form and accommodate thyself to thy sisters and inferiors without affection of formality and that thou treat them like meekness and sincerity do thou pray when they pray work and eat and take thy recreation with them for real perfection in a convent consists in conforming with the common spirit and if thou act thus thou wilt be guided by the Holy Spirit who governs all well regulated communities following this order thou canst make progress in abstinence eating less than the others though the same amount of food is placed before thee without being singular thou canst with a little discretion abstain from what thou desirest for the love of thy spouse and of me if thou art not hindered by some grave infirmity never absent thyself from the common exercises unless perhaps obedience to thy superiors sometimes prevent thee be present at all common exercises with special reverence attention and devotion for at such times thou wilt most frequently be visited by the Lord I wish also that thou learn from this chapter to conceal carefully the special works thou undertakest in imitation of my own for although I had no need of refraining from any work in the presence of Saint Joseph yet I was careful to add retirement as an additional observance of perfection and prudence since retirement of itself makes good works more praiseworthy but this is not to be understood of ordinary and obligatory works since thou must give a good example and let thy light shine avoiding any danger of scandal or cause of covel there are many works which can be done in secret and unobserved by the eyes of creatures and which are not lightly to be exposed to the danger of publicity and ostentation in thy retirement thou canst make many genuflections prostrate in the dust thou canst humiliate thyself adoring the supreme majesty of the most high in thy mortal body which oppresses thy soul as a sacrifice for the disorderly inclinations against justice and reason thus thou wilt not reserve any part of thy being from the service of thy creator and spouse and thou wilt force thy body to make up the loss which it causes to the soul by his passions and earthly affections with this object in view seek to keep it always in strict subjection allowing it to partake only of those comforts which serve to keep it in proper condition for the activity of the soul and not to pander to his passions and appetites mortify and crush it until it is dead to all that is delightful to the senses so that even the common actions necessary for life shall appear to thee more painful than agreeable taste more of bitterness than of dangerous enjoyment although I have already on other occasions spoken to thee of the value of this mortification and humiliation thou shouldest now, by this example which I have given thee, be still more convinced of their great value I now command thee not to despise any of these acts or deem them of little consequence but esteem all of them as precious treasures to be gained for thyself in this thou must be covetous and avaricious eagerly grasping the occasions of doing servile work such as scrubbing cleaning the house changing in the most menial services and attending upon the sick and infirm as I have said before in all of these works place me before thy eyes as an example in order that my carefulness and humility may urge thee on full of joy to be able to imitate me and shame for any negligence therein if I, who never had displeased or offended the Lord since the beginning of my existence, judge this virtue of humility so necessary in order to find grace in his eyes and be raised up by his right hand how much more is it necessary for thee to humble thyself to the dust and annihilate thyself in his sight who was conceived in sin and has so often offended him Psalm 50 verse 7 Humiliate thyself to nothingness and acknowledge that what being the most high has given thee thou hast but ill employed and that therefore thy very existence should be a subject of humiliation to thee thus will thou at last find the treasure of grace End of chapter 17