 Book 2 chapter 1 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 2. The marriage at Cana, how most holy Mary accompanied the Redeemer of the world in his preaching, the humility shown by the heavenly queen in regard to the miracles wrought by her divine son, the transfiguration of the Lord, his entrance into Jerusalem, his passion and death, his triumph over Lucifer and his demons by his death on the cross, the most sacred resurrection of the Lord and his wonderful ascension into heaven. Chapter 1 At the request of the most blessed mother, Christ our Savior begins to manifest himself to the world by his first miracle. The evangelist St. John, who in his first chapter mentions the calling of Nathaniel, the fifth disciple of the Lord, begins his second chapter with the words. And the third day there was a marriage at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus also was invited, and his disciples to the marriage. John chapter 2 verse 1 Hence it appears that the blessed lady was in Cana before her most holy son was invited to the wedding. I was ordered by my superiors to inquire how this harmonizes with what I have said in the preceding chapter and to ascertain what day was meant. Then I was informed that, notwithstanding, the different opinions of the commentators, this history of the queen and that of the Gospels coincided with each other and that the course of events was as follows, Christ the Lord, with the five apostles or disciples on entering Galilee, betook themselves directly to Nazareth, preaching and teaching on the way. On this journey he tarried only a short time, but at least three days. Having arrived at Nazareth, he baptized his blessed mother, as I have related, and thereupon immediately went forth to preach with his disciples in some of the neighboring places. In the meanwhile, the blessed lady, being invited to the marriage mentioned by the evangelist, went to Cana, for it was the marriage of some of her relatives in the fourth degree on her mother's St. Anne's side. While the great queen was in Cana, the news of the coming of the Redeemer into the world and of his having chosen some disciples had already spread. By the disposition of the Lord, who secretly ordained it for his own high ends, and through the management of his mother, he was called and invited to the wedding with his disciples. The third day mentioned by the evangelist, as the wedding day of Cana, is the third day of the week, and although he does not say this expressly, yet likewise he does not say that it was the third day after the calling of the disciples or his entrance into Galilee. If he had meant this, he certainly would have been more explicit. According to the ordinary course, it was impossible that Jesus should be present at a wedding, on the third day after his entering Galilee from Judea, at the place where he chose his first disciples, for Cana lay within the limits of the tribe of Zabalun, near the boundary of Phoenicia, far northward from Judea, and adjoining the tribe of Asir, a considerable distance from the place where the Savior entered from Judea into Galilee. If the wedding at Cana had been on the third day after the calling of the first disciples, then only two days intervened, whereas the journey from Judea to Cana required three days. Moreover, he would first have to be near Cana in order to receive such an invitation, which would likewise require some time. Then also, in order to journey from Judea to Cana, he would have to pass through Nazareth, for Cana is nearer to the Mediterranean Sea and to the tribe of Asir, as I have said. This his mother would certainly have known of his coming, and therefore would have awaited his arrival, instead of going on her visit to Cana. That the evangelist does not mention the visit of the Lord to Nazareth, nor the baptism of the Blessed Lady, was not because it did not really happen, but because he and the other writers can find themselves to that which pertains to their purpose. Saint John himself says that they omit the mention of many miracles performed by the Lord. John chapter 20 verse 30 Since it was not necessary to describe them all, from this explanation it will be seen that this history is confirmed by the Gospels themselves and by the very passage in question. While therefore the Queen of the world was in Cana, her most holy son with his disciples was invited to the marriage, and as in his condescension he had brought about this invitation, he accepted it. He betook himself to this wedding in order to sanctify and confirm the state of matrimony and in order to begin to establish the authenticity of his doctrine by the miracle which he was to perform, and of which he was to declare himself openly as the author. As he had already proclaimed himself as a teacher by admitting his disciples, it was necessary to confirm their calling and give authority to his doctrine in order that they might receive and believe it. Hence, though he had performed other wonders in private, he had not made himself known as the author of them in public as on this occasion. On this account the evangelist says, This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee. John chapter 2 verse 11 This miracle took place on the same day on which a year ago happened, the baptism of Jesus by Saint John. This day was also the anniversary of the adoration of the kings, and therefore the Holy Roman Church celebrates the three mysteries on one and the same day, the 6th of January. Our Lord had now completed the 30th year of his life, and had begun his 31st year, 13 days before, being those from the Nativity to Epiphany. The master of life entered the house of the marriage feast, saluting those present with the words, The peace of the Lord and his light be with you. Literally fulfilling them by his arrival. Thereupon he began to exhort and instruct the bridegroom concerning the perfection and holiness of his state of life. In the meanwhile the queen of heaven instructed the bride in a similar manner, admonishing her in sweetest and yet most powerful words concerning her obligations. Both of the marriage couple afterwards fulfilled most perfectly the duties of their state into which they were ushered and for which they were strengthened by the sovereigns of heaven and earth. I will not detain myself in declaring that this bridegroom was not Saint John the Evangelist. It is enough to know, as I have stated in the last chapter, that Saint John had come with the Savior as his disciple. The Lord had not come to this wedding in order to disapprove of matrimony but in order to establish it anew and give it credit, sanctifying and constituting it a sacrament by his presence. Hence he could not have had the intention of separating the two married people immediately after they had entered into this union, nor did the Evangelist ever have any intention of marrying. On the contrary, our Savior, having exhorted the bridegroom and the bride, added a fervent prayer addressed to the Eternal Father, in which he besought him to pour his blessings upon the institution for the propagation of the human race in the new law and to vest this state with sacramental power to sanctify all those who would receive it worthily in his holy church. The Blessed Virgin, cooperating in this work and in all others for the benefit of the human race, knew of the wishes and the prayer of her Divine Son, and joined him therein. And as she took upon herself the duty of making a proper return, which is so much neglected by other men, she broke out in canticles of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for this benefit, and the angels at her invitation joined her in the praise of God. This however was known only to the Lord and Savior, who rejoiced in the wise behavior of his purest mother, as much as she rejoiced in his. Then they spoke and conversed with those that came to the wedding, but always with a wisdom and gravity worthy of themselves, and with a view of enlightening the hearts of all that were present. The most prudent lady spoke very few words, and only when she was asked, or when it was necessary, she always listened and attended without interruption to the doings and sayings of the Lord, treasuring them up and meditating upon them in her most pure heart. All the words and behavior of this great Queen, during her life, furnish an exquisite example of retirement and modesty, and on this occasion she was an example not only for the religious, but especially for women in the secular state, if they could only keep it before their mind in similar circumstances, such for instance as this marriage feast afforded. Thus learning to keep silence, to restrain themselves, compose their interior and allow no levity or looseness to creep into their exterior deportment, for never is moderation more necessary than in times of danger, and in women the most precious adornment and the most charming beauty is silence, restraint and modesty, by which many vices are shut out, and by which all virtues of a chaste and respectable woman receive their crowning grace. At table the Lord and His Most Holy Mother ate of some of the food but with the greatest moderation, yet also without showing outwardly their great abstinence, although when they were alone they did not eat of such food as I have already recorded, yet these teachers of perfection who wish not to disapprove of the common life of men, but wish to perfect it, accommodated themselves to all circumstances without any extremes or noticeable singularity whenever it was possible to do so without blame and without imperfection. The Lord not only inculcated this by His example, but He commanded His disciples and apostles to eat of what was placed before them on their evangelical tours of preaching and not to show any singularity in their way of life, such as is indulged in by the imperfect and those little versed in the paths of virtue, for the truly poor and humble must not presume to have a choice in their vitals. By divine arrangement, and in order to give occasion to the miracle, the wine gave out during the meal, and the kind lady said to her son, They have no wine. The Lord answered, Woman, what is that to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come. This answer of Christ was not intended as a reproach, but contained a mystery, for the most prudent queen had not asked for a miracle by mere accident, but by divine light. She knew that the opportune time for the manifestation of the divine power of her son was at hand. She who was full of wisdom and knowledge concerning the works of the redemption, and was well informed at what time and on what occasions the Lord was to perform them. Therefore she could not be ignorant of the proper moment for the beginning of this public manifestation of Christ's power. It must also be remembered that Jesus did not pronounce these words with any signs of disapproval, but with a quiet and loving majesty. It is true that he did not address the Blessed Virgin by the name of Mother, but Woman. However, this was because, as I have said before, he had begun to treat her with greater reserve. The mysterious purpose hidden in this answer of Christ was to confirm the disciples in their belief of his divinity, and to show himself to all as the true God, independent of his mother in his being, and in his power of working miracles. On this account also, he suppressed the tender appellation of Mother and called her Woman, saying, What does it concern thee, or what part have we, thou and I, in this? As if he wanted to say, The power of performing miracles I have not received from thee, although thou hast given me the human nature in which I am to perform them. My divinity alone is to perform them, and for it, the hour is not yet come. He wished to give her to understand that the time for working miracles was not to be determined by his most holy mother, but by the will of God, even though the most prudent lady should ask for them at an opportune and befitting time. The Lord wished to have it understood that the working of miracles depended upon a higher than the human will. Upon a divine will, and above that of his mother and altogether beyond it, that the will of his mother was to be subject to that which was his as the true God. Hence Christ infused into the minds of the Apostles a new light by which they understood the hypostatic union of his two natures, and the derivation of the human nature from his mother, and of the divine by generation from his eternal Father. The Blessed Lady well understood this mystery, and she said with quiet modesty to the servants, whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. In these words, showing her wise insight into the will of her Son, she spoke as the mistress of the whole human race, teaching us mortals that, in order to supply all our necessities and wants, it was required and sufficient on our part, to do all that the Saviour and those taking his place shall command. Such a lesson could not have come from such a mother and advocate, who is so desirous of our welfare, and who, since she so well knew what hindrance we place in the way of his great and numerous miracles for our benefits, wishes to instruct us to meet properly the beneficent intentions of the Most High. The Redeemer of the world ordered the servants to fill the jars or water pots which, according to the Hebrew custom, had been provided for the occasion. While having been filled, the Lord bade them draw some of the wine into which the water had been changed, and bring it to the chief steward of the feast, who was at the head of the table, and was one of the priests of the law. When this one had tasted of the wine, he called the bridegroom in surprise and said to him, Every man at first, set forth good wine, and when all men have well drunk, then that which is worse, but thou hast kept the good wine until now. The steward knew nothing of the miracle when he tasted of the wine, because he sat at the head of the table, while Christ and his mother, with his disciples, occupied the lower end of the table, practicing the doctrine which he was afterwards to teach us, namely, that in being invited to a feast we should not seek to occupy the better places, but be satisfied with the lowest. Then the miracle of changing the water into wine, and the dignity of the Redeemer was revealed. The disciples believed anew, as the evangelist says, and their faith in him was confirmed. Not only they, but many of the others that were present, believe that he was the true messiahs, and they followed him to the city of Capernaum, whither the evangelist tells us he, with his mother and disciples, went from Cana. There, according to St. Matthew, he began to preach, declaring himself the teacher of men, what St. John says of his manifesting his glory, by the sign or miracle, does not contradict his having wrought miracles before, but supposes them to have been wrought in secret. Nor does he assert that his glory was not shown, also in other miracles, but infers merely that Jesus did not wish to be known as their author, because the right time determined by divine wisdom had not come. It is certain that he performed many and admirable wonders in Egypt, such as the destruction of the temples and their idols. To all these miracles, most Holy Mary responded with heroic acts of virtue, in praise and thanksgiving to the most high, that his holy name was thus, gloriously manifested. She was intent on encouraging the new believers, and in the service of her divine son, fulfilling these duties with peerless wisdom and charity. With burning love, she cried to the eternal father, asking him to dispose the hearts and souls of men, for the enlightening words of the incarnate Word, and drive from them the darkness of their ignorance. Instruction Given to Me by the Queen, the Mistress of Heaven My daughter, without any excuse, is the forgetfulness and negligence shown by each and every one of the children of the Church, in regard to the spread and manifestation of the glory of their God, by making known his holy name to all rational creatures. This negligence is much more blamable now, since the eternal Word became man in my womb, taught the world and redeemed it for this very purpose. With this end in view, the Lord founded his Church, enriched it with blessings and spiritual treasures, assigned to it ministers, and endowed it with temporal riches. All these gifts are intended not only to preserve the Church in its present state, but to extend it and draw others to the regeneration of the Catholic faith. All should help to spread the fruits of the death of their Redeemer. Some can do it by prayer and urgent desires, for the exultation of his holy name, others by almsgiving, others by diligent preaching, others by fervent works of charity. But if this remissness is perhaps less culpable in the ignorant and the poor, who have none to exhort them, it is very reprehensible in the rich and the powerful, and especially in the ministers and prelates of the Church, whose particular duty is the advancement of the Church of God. Many of them, forgetting the terrible account which they will have to render, seek only their own vain honor instead of Christ. They waste the patrimony of the blood of the Redeemer in undertakings and aims not even fit to mention, and through their fault, allow innumerable souls to perish who by proper exertions could have been gained for the holy Church, or at least they lose, the merit of such exertions and deprive Christ of the glory of having such faithful ministers in his Church. The same responsibility rests upon the princes and the powerful of the world, who receive from the hands of God honors, riches, and temporal blessings for advancing the glory of the deity, and yet think less of this obligation than of any other. Do thou grieve for all these evils, and labor, as far as thy strength will allow, that the glory of the most high be manifest, that he be known to all nations, and that from the very stones may be generated sons of Abraham. Matthew 3 verse 9 Since all of this thou art capable, beseech him to send able workers and worthy ministers to his Church in order to draw men to the sweet yoke of the gospel, for great and plentiful is the harvest, and few are the faithful laborers and zealous helpers for harvesting it. Let what I have told thee of my maternal and loving solicitude in gaining followers for my son, and in preserving them in his doctrine and companionship, be to thee a living example for thy own conduct. Never let the flame of this charity die out in thy breast. Let also my silence and modesty at the wedding feast be an inviolable rule for thee and thy religious in all exterior actions, in retirement, moderation, and discretion of words, especially in the presence of men, for these virtues are the courtly dress with which the spouses of Christ must adorn themselves in order to find grace in his divine eyes. End of chapter one, book to chapter two of the mystical city of God, volume three by the venerable sister, Mary of Jesus of a Greta. This Lieberbach's recording is in the public domain. Book two, chapter two, most holy Mary accompanies the Savior in his preaching tours. She bears many hardships and takes care of the women that follow him, conducting herself in all things with the highest perfection. It would not be foreign to the purpose of this history to describe the miracles and the heroic works of Christ, our Redeemer and Master, for in almost all of them, his most blessed and holy mother concurred and took a part. But I cannot presume to undertake a work so arduous and so far above human strength and capacity. For the evangelist, Saint John, after having described many miracles of Christ says at the end of his gospel, thy Jesus did many other things, which if they were all described could not be contained in all the books of the world. John chapter 21 verse 25. If such a task seems so impossible to the evangelist, how much more to an ignorant woman, more useless than the dust of the earth? All that is necessary and proper and abundantly sufficient for founding and preserving the church has been written by the four evangelists. It is not necessary to repeat it in this history. Yet in order to compose this history and in order not to pass over in silence, so many great works of the exalted Queen, which have not been mentioned, it is necessary to touch on a few particulars. Moreover, I think, that to write of them and thus fasten them in my memory will be both consoling and useful for my advancement. The others, which the evangelists recorded in their gospels, and of which I have not been commanded to write, are better preserved for the beatific vision, where the saints shall see them manifested to them by the Lord, and where they will eternally praise him for such magnificent works. From Cana in Galilee, Christ the Redeemer, Wattakar Purnam, a large and populous city near the Sea of Tiberias, here, according to Saint John. John chapter two, verse 12. He remained some days, though not many, for as the time of the Pashk was approaching, he gradually drew nigh to Jerusalem in order to celebrate this feast on the 14th of the moon of March. His most blessed mother, having rid herself of her house in Nazareth, accompanied him thenceforth in his tours, upreaching and teaching to the very foot of the cross. She was absent from him only a few times, as when the Lord absented himself on Mount Tabor. Matthew chapter 17, verse one. Or on some particular conversions, as for instance, that of the Samaritan woman, or when the heavenly lady herself remained behind with certain persons in order to instruct and cataclyse them. But always after a short time, she returned to her Lord and master, following the Son of Justice until it sank into the abyss of death. During these journeys, the Queen of Heaven proceeded on foot, just as her divine son. If even the Lord was fatigued on the way, as Saint John says. John chapter four, verse six. How much more fatigued was this purest lady? What hardships did she not endure on such arduous journeys in all sorts of weather? Such is the rigorous treatment accorded by the mother of mercy to her most delicate body. What she endured in these labors alone is so great that not all the mortals together can ever satisfy their obligations to her in this regard. Sometimes by permission of the Lord, she suffered such great weakness and pains that he was constrained to relieve her miraculously. At other times, he commanded her to rest herself at some stopping place for a few days. While again on certain occasions, he gave such lightness to her body that she could move about without difficulty as if on wings. As I have already mentioned, the heavenly lady had the whole doctrine of the evangelical law written in her heart. Nevertheless, she was as solicitous and attentive as a new disciple to the preaching and doctrine of her divine son. And she had instructed her angels to report to her, if necessary, the sermons of the master whenever she was absent. To the sermons of her son, she always listened on her knees, thus according to the utmost of her powers, showing the reverence and worship due to his person and doctrine. As she was aware at each moment of the interior operations of the soul of Christ and of his continual prayers to the eternal Father, for the proper disposition of the hearts of his hearers and for the growth of the seed of his doctrine into eternal life, the most loving mother joined the divine master in his petitions and prayers and in securing for them the blessings of her most ardent and tearful charity. By her attention and reverence, she taught and moved others to appreciate duly the teaching and instructions of the savior of the world. She also knew the interior of those that listened to the preaching of the Lord, their state of grace or sin, their vices and virtues. This various and hidden knowledge so far above the capacity of men caused in the heavenly lady many wonderful effects of highest charity and other virtues. It inflamed her with zeal for the honor of the Lord and with ardent desires that the fruits of the redemption be not lost to the souls, while at the same time, the danger of their loss to the souls through sin moved her to exert herself in the most fervent prayer for their welfare. She felt in her heart a piercing and cruel sorrow that God should not be known, adored and served by all his creatures. And this sorrow was in proportion to the unequaled knowledge and understanding she had of all these mysteries. For the souls that would not give entrance to divine grace and virtue, she sorrowed with ineffable grief and was want to shed tears of blood at the thought of their misfortune. What the great queen suffered in her solitude and in her labors exceeds beyond all measure the pains endured by all the martyrs of the world. All the followers of the Savior and whomever he received into his ministry, she treated with incomparable prudence and wisdom, especially those whom she held in such high veneration and esteem as the apostles of Christ. As a mother she took care of all and as a powerful queen, she procured necessaries for their bodily nourishment and comforts. Sometimes when she had no other resources, she commanded the holy angels to bring provisions for them and for the women in their company. In order to assist them toward advancing in the spiritual life, the great queen labored beyond possibility of human understanding, not only of her continual and fervent prayers for them, but by her precious example and by her counsels, with which she nourished and strengthened them as a most prudent mother and teacher. When the apostles or disciples were assailed by any doubts, which frequently happened in the beginning or when they were attacked by some secret temptation, the great lady immediately hastened to their assistance in order to enlighten and encourage them by the peerless light and charity shining forth in her and by the sweetness of her words, they were exquisitely consoled and rejoiced. They were enlightened by her wisdom, chastened by her humility, quieted by her modesty, enriched by the blessings that flowed from this storehouse of all the gifts of the Holy Ghost. For all these benefits, for the calling of the disciples, for the conversion and perseverance of the just and for all the works of grace and virtue, she made a proper return to God, celebrating these events in festive hymns. As the evangelists tell us, some of the women of Galilee followed Christ the Redeemer on his journeys, Saint Matthew, Saint Mark and Saint Luke, tell us that some of those whom he had cured of demoniocal possession and of other infirmities accompanied and served him. Matthew, Chapter 27, Mark, Chapter 15, Luke, Chapter 8. For the master of eternal life excluded no sex from his following, imitation and doctrine. Hence some of the women attended upon him and served him from the very beginning of his preaching. The divine wisdom so ordered it for certain purposes, among which was also the desire to provide proper companions for his blessed mother during these journeys. Our Queen interested herself in a special manner in these pious and holy women, gathering them around her, teaching and catechizing them and bringing them as listeners to the sermons of her divine son. Although she herself was fully enlightened and instructed in the evangelical doctrine and abundantly able to teach them the way of eternal life, nevertheless, partly in order to conceal the secret of her heart, she always availed herself of the sayings of Christ in his public preaching as a text for her instructions and exhortations whenever she taught these and many other women who came to her either before or after hearing the Savior of the world. Not all of them followed Christ, but through the efforts of the heavenly lady, all of them received sufficient knowledge of the sacred mysteries of their conversion. Thus she drew innumerable women to the knowledge of Christ, to the way of eternal salvation and evangelical perfection, though the evangelists say no more of them than that some of them followed Christ. It was not necessary for the evangelists to go into these particulars in their histories. The admirable works of the blessed lady among the women stopped not short with merely teaching them divine faith and virtues by word of mouth, but she also taught them to practice the most ardent charity by visiting the sick in the infirmaries, the poor, the imprisoned and afflicted, nursing with her own hands the wounded, consoling the sorrowful and giving aid to those in necessity. If I were to mention all these works, it would be necessary to fill the greater part of this history with discourse on them or to make it much more extensive. Nor are the innumerable and vast miracles of the great queen during the public preaching of Christ our Lord, recorded in the gospels or in other histories. For the evangelists spoke only of the wonders brought by Christ and insofar as was useful to establish the faith of the church. It was necessary that men should first be well established and confirmed in this faith before the great deeds of the most holy mother should become manifest. According to what has been given me to understand, it is certain that she brought about not only many miraculous conversions, but she cured the blind and the sick and called the dead to life. That this should be so was proper for many reasons. On the one hand she was the assistant in the principle work for which the incarnate word came into the world, namely in his preaching and his redemption. For thereby the eternal father opened up the treasures of his omnipotence and infinite goodness, manifesting them in the divine word and in the heavenly mother. On the other hand, she as his mother was to resemble her son in the working of miracles, increasing the glory of both. For in this way, she accredited the dignity and doctrine of her son and eminently and most efficaciously assisted him in his ministry. That these miracles should remain concealed was due both to the disposition of the divine providence and to the earnest request of Mary herself, hence she performed them with such a wise secrecy that all the glory redounded to the exaltation of the Redeemer in whose name and virtue they were wrought. The same course she also maintained in her instructions, for she did not preach in public nor at any prearranged place or time, nor to those who were attended to by the appointed teachers and ministers of the divine word. The blessed lady knew that this kind of work was not incumbent upon women. First letter to the Corinthians chapter 14 verse 34. She contented herself with the assistance she could render by private instruction and conversation which she did with celestial wisdom and efficacy. By this assistance and by her prayers, she secured more conversions than all the preachers of the world. This will be better understood if we remember that besides the heavenly influence of her words, she possessed the most intimate knowledge of the nature, disposition, inclinations and bad habits of all men, of the time and occasion best suited to bring all to the way of eternal life. And to this knowledge, were added the most fervent prayers and the exquisite sweetness of her conversation. All these gifts were animated by her most ardent charity and the desire to bring souls to salvation and to the friendship of the Lord. And therefore the results of her labors were exceedingly great. She rescued innumerable souls, drawing them on and enlightening them. None of her petitions were denied her and none of her efforts failed of the holy effects which she asked for them. As then, the work of salvation was the principal object of all her endeavors. She without a doubt performed greater deeds than can be ever understood by men in this mortal life. In all these labors, the heavenly lady proceeded with the greatest gentleness, like the simplest dove, with extreme patience and forbearance, overlooking the imperfections and rudeness of the new faithful, enlightening the ignorance of the vast number of those that came to subject themselves to the doctrines of the Redeemer. On all occasions, she preserved the quiet, high-mindedness of a queen, yet at the same time only she, in imitation of the Savior, could ever have joined with it such perfection of humility and sweetness. Between themselves, they treated all with such great kindness and fullness of charity that no one could ever be excused from humble subjection to such teachers. They spoke and conversed and ate with the disciples and with the women that followed them. Matthew chapter nine verse 10. John chapter 12 verse two. Luke chapter five verse 29 and chapter seven verse 36. Observing all due moderation and reserve so that no one found it strange or doubted that the Savior was a true man, the natural and legitimate son of the most holy Mary. It was for this purpose also that the Lord treated other guests with such affability as is recorded in the holy gospels. Instruction which the most heavenly queen Mary gave me. My daughter, it is true that I labored more than is known or imagined by mortals in following and accompanying my divine son to the foot of the cross, nor were my anxieties for their welfare any less after his death, as thou wilt be made to understand in writing the third part of this history. Admit all my labors and hardships, I was ineffably rejoiced in spirit to see the incarnate word working for the salvation of men and opening the book sealed by the seven mysteries of his divinity and sacred humanity. The human race owes me no less for my rejoicing at the welfare of each one than for my solicitude in procuring it because both sprang from the same love. In this I wish thee to imitate me as I have so often exhorted thee. Although thou dost not hear with thy bodily ears the sermons of my divine son, nor his own voice in preaching, thou canst yet imitate me in the reverence with which I listen to him, for it is the same one that speaks to thy heart and who teaches thee the same doctrine. Therefore I exhort thee, whenever thou recognizeest the enlightening voice of thy spouse and pastor to kneel down in reverence and listen to his words, adoring him full of thankfulness and writing his counsel in thy heart. If thou happenest to be in a public place where thou canst not show this external reverence, do it interiorly and obey him in all things as if thou werest present at his very preaching, for just as hearing him then without obeying him would not have made thee happy, so thou canst now make thyself blessed by executing which thou hears him say to thee interiorly even though thou dost not hear him with thy bodily ears. Great is thy obligation, since most extraordinary is the kindness and mercy shown to thee by the most high and by me. Be thou not dull of heart, lest thou remain poor amidst such riches of the divine enlightenment. But not only to the interior voice of the Lord must thou listen reverently, but also to the voice of his ministers, preachers and priests, whose words are the echoes of the most high and the aqueducts through which the blessed doctrine of life and the perennial fountains of divine truth flow to the souls. In them God speaks, and the voice of his divine law resounds. Hear them with such reverence that thou art unwilling to look for any error nor presume to pass judgment on what they say. For thee all must appear wise and eloquent, and in every one of them hear only the voice of Christ, my Son and Lord. Be warned not to fall into the foolish presumption of the worldly, who with very reprehensible vanity and pride, most hateful in the sight of God, despise his ministers and preachers, because they do not speak in accordance with their depraved taste. When they go to hear the divine truth, they judge only of the expression and style as if the word of God were not simple and strong. Letter to the Hebrews chapter four verse 12. Depending not on oratorical and artful arrangement of words, adjusted merely to the weakness of those that listen. Do not count this as an unimportant advice. Listen to all that I say to thee in this history, since as a careful teacher, I wish to inform thee of little things as well as of great, of unimportant as well as of important points. Remember that to perform anything with perfection is always great. I exhort thee to treat affably the rich as the poor without the acceptation of persons so common among the children of Adam. My divine son and I rejected and condemned all such distinction, showing ourselves equally kind to all and even more so to those who were most despised, indigent and afflicted. Letter of St. James chapter two verse two. Worldly wisdom looks upon the person, not at the state of the souls, nor at virtue, but at outward ostentation. But heavenly prudence considers the image of God in all. Just as little should as thou wonder that thy sisters and neighbors perceive thy defects of nature, such as art derived from the first sin, thy infirmities, fatigues, thy appetites and other shortcomings. Sometimes the hiding of these defects is hypocrisy and want of humility. The friends of God should fear only sin and should desire to die rather than commit it. All the other defects do not sully the conscience and it is not necessary to conceal them. End of chapter two. Book two chapter three of the mystical city of God, volume three, by the venerable sister Mary of Jesus of a Greta. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Book two chapter three. The humility of the Blessed Mary notwithstanding the miracles wrought by the Lord, the instruction on humility which she gave to the apostles in regard to the wonders which they themselves were to perform, other reflections. The principal lesson to be learned from the history of the most holy Mary, if it is attentively studied, is a clear demonstration of the profound humility of the queen and mistress of the humble. This virtue in her is so ineffable that it can never be sufficiently extolled or duly appreciated, for it will never be understood in all its perfection either by angels or men. But just as the sweetness of sugar is added to confections and medicines in order to relieve the bitterness of taste, thus humility was mingled in all the virtues and doings of the most holy Mary, perfecting them and rendering them agreeable to the wishes of the most high and pleasing to men. So that on account of her humility, the Almighty looked upon her with pleasure and all the nations call her blessed. Luke chapter one verse 48. The most prudent lady lost not a single chance, occasion, time, or place during her whole life for performing all the acts of virtue possible to her, but it is a greater marvel that none of her actions or virtues ever was found wanting in the least point of humility. This virtue raised her above all that was not God and just as by humility Mary conquered all creatures, so in a certain sense, by the same virtue, she also overcame God himself, causing him to find such complacence in her that no grace which she chose to ask either for herself or for others was ever denied her. She subdued all creatures to her wishes by her humility, for in the house of her parents, as I have related in the first part, she won over her mother, St. Anne, and the servants to permit her to practice humility. In the temple, the maiden and her companions at last yielded to her self-abasement. In matrimony, St. Joseph allowed her to perform the humblest services. The angels gave way to her desire for lowly occupations and the apostles and evangelists obeyed her in not proclaiming her praises to the world. By her humility, she moved the father and the Holy Spirit and even her most holy son to ordain that her dignity should remain concealed to the world and that she should be treated in such a way as not to cause men to praise her for being the mother of him who wrought such great miracles and holy doctrines. Such profound and exquisite humility could be practiced only by the most humble among the humble, for neither the other children of Adam nor the angels themselves could ever be placed in similar positions for practicing it, even if they should not fall short on account of the inferiority of nature. We will understand this better when we consider how the poison has so deeply entered the rest of the mortals by the first bite of the ancient serpent that in order to counteract it, the divine wisdom has appointed the bad effects of sin itself as a remedy. For our own and proper defects, brought home to each one's consciousness are intended to make sensible of the inherent degradation of our present state of existence, which we would otherwise continue to ignore. It is manifest that we have a spiritual soul, but it belongs to the lowest order of spiritual beings while God occupies the highest and the angels and intermediate degree. And as regards the body, we are made not only of the lowest elements, that is of earth, but also of its most unclean constituents, that is of its slime. Genesis chapter two, verse seven. All this was arranged not in vain by the eternal wisdom and power, but with a great purpose, intending that the slime of the earth should always take its proper place and be satisfied with the lowest position, no matter how much it might find itself embellished and adorned with grace, for it must bear all these graces in a vessel of clay and dust. Second letter to the Corinthians, chapter four, verse seven. We all lose sight of this truth and of our lowliness, so inherent in our human nature and in order to keep alive the sense of our vileness and degradation. It is necessary that we experience the attacks of our passions and the disorder of our doings. And even our daily experience in this regard is sufficient to bring us to our senses and to make us confess our perversity. We still lay claim to the full excellence and distinction of a noble humanity while we are but dust and slime of the earth. And moreover, by our actions prove ourselves unworthy even of this lowly and earthly existence. The most humble Mary alone, not having on her the touch of Adam's guilt nor experiencing any of its foul and dangerous consequences was proficient in the art of true humility and carried it to its highest perfection. And just because she understood to its fullest extent the position occupied by a mere creature, she humiliated herself more than all the children of Adam, though they are burdened not only with terrestrial origin but with their own sins. Other men, if they become humble, were first humbled and must confess with David. Before I was humbled, I offended. And it is good for me that thou hast humbled me that I may learn thy justification. Psalm 118, verses 67 and 71. But the mother of humility did not enter into her humility by being humbled. She was humble without ever being humiliated. She was never degraded by guilt or passion but always generously humble of her own accord. Though the angels cannot be properly compared with men, being of a superior hierarchy and nature and free from passions or guilt of sin, yet these sovereign spirits could not attain the humility of most holy Mary even if they did humble themselves before their creator as his creatures. That the blessed lady was of terrestrial and human make was for her a motive and a means of excelling the angels in self abasement since they could not make their higher spiritual nature serve as a reason for abasing themselves as much as the blessed queen. Moreover, she possessed the dignity of being the mother of God and the mistress of the angels and of all creation. And none of them could ever claim such a dignity and excellence which enhanced any act of humility on the part of the blessed virgin and made her humility surpass all perfection of this virtue ever attained by any other created being. There was in Mary an excellence of humility altogether singular and peculiar to her for neither the full knowledge that she was the mother of God nor the consideration of all the wonders that she wrought or that were wrought by her divine son nor her position as the keeper and dispenser of all the divine treasures as the most immaculate among all creatures and as the most powerful and most favored of all God's creatures could ever cause her heart to forsake the place she had chosen in estimating herself as the lowest of all the handiwork of the most high. Oh rare humility. Oh fidelity never experienced among mortals. Oh wisdom which even the angels themselves cannot aspire to who that is acknowledged by all as the most highly exalted of all creation can ever in his own mind be little himself and count himself as the most insignificant who like she can conceal from himself the praise which all unite in giving who in imitation of her can be so contemptible in his own eyes while for the rest he is so admirable who singled out for high distinction does not lose sight of lowliness and who invited to a like position can thus select the most lowly not by necessity or in sadness nor within patient protest but with all his heart and with the sincerest content. Oh children of Adam how slow and dull we all are in this divine science how necessary it is that the Lord conceal from us our own blessings or accompany them with some burden or counterweight lest we frustrate all his goodness toward us and lest we be prevented from scheming some robbery of the glory due to him as the author of all good in us. Let us then understand what dastardly humility ours is and how precarious if we ever have it at all for the Lord let us so express it must use much circumspection and care in entrusting us with any advantage or virtue on account of the weakness of our humility and seldom does our ignorance fail to indulge itself with some petty theft on such occasions or at least with a vain complacency or inconsiderate joy. The humility of the conduct of the most holy Mary in regard to the miracles of Christ our Lord was a source of great admiration to her holy angels for they were not accustomed to behold in the children of Adam and not even among themselves such a basement united to such great perfection and magnificence of activity. Nor did the miracles of the Saviour in whom the holy angels expected and had already experienced, proofs of his omnipotence, excite their admiration so much as the pureless fidelity with which the most blessed virgin referred all miraculous works to the glory of God, and by which she esteemed herself so unworthy of them that she deemed his not omitting them on account of her demerits and a special favor of her divine Son. Such humility she practiced in spite of the fact that she, by her constant prayer, was precisely the instrumental cause of nearly all the miracles wrought by the Lord. Not to mention this other fact that if the Heavenly Mother had not intervened between Christ and the human race, the world would never have come into the possession of the Gospels nor ever merited to experience any of its effects. The miracles and doings of Christ our Lord and Saviour were so new and unheard of in the world that great admiration and honor could not but have been the result of his most holy Mother, for she was not only known to the apostles and disciples, who acknowledged her as the true Mother of the Redeemer, but by the new faithful, who all came to acknowledge her as the true Mother of the Messiahs and many times congratulated her on account of the wonders wrought by her Son. All this, however, was for her a new occasion of humility, for she always humbled herself to the dust and debased herself in her own mind beyond all conception of created mind. Yet with all of her humility she did not show herself slow and ungrateful, in the acknowledgment of all the favors lavished upon her, for in humiliating herself at sight of all the great works of Christ, she rendered worthy thanks to the Eternal Father for each one of them and thus filled out the great void of ingratitude of the human race. And by means of the secret communication of her purest soul with that of the Savior, she sought to divert toward God her Son, the honor attributed to her by his hearers. This happened on some occasions, which even the evangelists mentioned. For instance, when the Jews attributed the healing of the deaf mute to the devil, the Lord incited a woman to exclaim, Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck. The humble and attentive Mother, hearing these words of praise, begged her divine Son to divert this praise from her, and the Lord exceeded to her a request in such a way that he turned these words into a still grater, yet at that time a hidden praise. For the Lord answered, Yea, rather, blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it. Luke 11 verse 27 By these words he neutralized the praise given to her as Mother, but enhanced it in application to her as a Saint, attracting the attention of his hearers to the essential of all virtue, in which his mother was distinguished above all others and most wonderful, though at the same time none of his hearers adverted to this hidden signification. Another instance of this kind is mentioned by St. Luke when he says that someone interrupted the preaching of the Lord by the message that his mother and his brethren had arrived, and that they could not come near to him on account of the press of the multitude. The most prudent Virgin, fearing less those within hearing, would break out in applause, at seeing the mother of the Saviour, asked her son to prevent such an event, the Lord again yielded and said, My mother and my brethren, are they who hear the Word of God and do it. Luke 8 verse 21 In these words likewise the Lord did not deprive his mother of the honor due to her on account of her holiness, but referred it to her above all others, yet in such a way that the attention of the bystanders was diverted from her, and she on her part, gained her object of seeing the Lord alone, praised and acknowledged for his works. I wish to mention that these events, as I have been made to understand, happened on different occasions and at different places. Accordingly St. Luke records them in two different chapters, 8 and 9, though St. Matthew refers to the wonderful cure of the possessed mute in chapter the twelfth, and immediately as that the Saviour was notified of the presence of his mother and his brethren, who wished to speak to the Lord. On this account, and on account of what else is said there, some commentators have thought that both the above-mentioned incidents took place at one and the same time, but having again been ordered to ask by my superiors, I was told that they were separate events happening at different times, which can also be deduced from the balance of the context of these chapters. For St. Luke mentions the incident of the exclaiming woman after having related the healing of the possessed deaf mute. The other incident, he relates in the eighth chapter, after the Lord had preached, the parable of the seed, and both of them followed immediately after what the evangelist had said before that. In order to understand more fully, the perfect accord of the evangelist and the reason why the Blessed Queen came to her son on those occasions, I wish to state that the Virgin Mother frequented the sermons of Christ our Saviour for two reasons. Sometimes she wished to hear him, as I have stated above. At other times she sought him in order to ask some favor for the souls, either regarding their conversion, or the cure of the sick or afflicted. For the kindest lady took the remedy of all such evils into her own hand, just as she had done at the marriage feast of Cana. Being made aware of these and other pressing necessities, either by the angels or by her interior light, she was accustomed to approach the Lord, and such was also the object of seeking the master on the occasions mentioned by the evangelists. As this happened not only once, but many times, and since the crowds attending the sermon of the Lord were often very great, he was notified on these, and many other occasions not mentioned, that his mother and his brethren were seeking him. On these occasions he spoke the words recorded by St. Luke and St. Matthew. There is nothing strange in his having repeated the same words on two different occasions, for he also repeated on several occasions this other saying of his. Because everyone that exalted himself shall be humbled, and he that humbled himself shall be exalted. Luke chapter 14 verse 11 and chapter 18 verse 14. First the Lord used in the parable of the publican and the Pharisee, as also in that of the guests invited to the marriage, as can be seen in the 14th and 18th chapters of St. Luke and the 23rd chapter of St. Matthew. The Blessed Mary practiced humility not only herself, but was the great teacher of humility for the apostles and disciples, for it was necessary that they be well founded and rooted in this virtue, in order to receive the gifts and to work the wonders not only later on the foundation of the church, but even now in the first beginnings of their duties as preachers of the word. Mark chapter 3 verse 14. The holy evangelists tell us that the Lord sent before him the apostles. Luke chapter 9 verse 2. And afterwards the 72 disciples and that he gave them power to expel the demons from the possessed and to cure the sick. The great mistress of the humble, canceled and exhorted them with words of eternal life, how they were to govern themselves in performing these miracles. By her teaching and intercession, the spirit of wisdom and humility was deeply planted into their hearts, so that they well understood how entirely these miracles are wrought by divine power, and that all the glory of these works belong to the Lord alone. They understood that they themselves were merely the instruments. That just as the brush does not deserve the glory attached to a work of art, nor the sword that of victory, but all belongs to the artist or to the wielder of the sword. So all the honor and praise due to their miracles belong to the Lord and master in whose name they perform them. It is worthy of notice that none of these lessons given to the apostles before being sent to preach are mentioned in the holy gospels. But this was intentional because all these instructions were given to them by the blessed lady. Yet when the disciples returned to their master, and full of exultation, told him that they had subjected to themselves the demons in his name. Luke, chapter 10, verse 17. He reminded them that he had given them this power and that they should not be elated except in having their names recorded in heaven. So feeble is our humility that the Savior was obliged to apply such corrections and antidotes in order to preserve it in his own disciples. But afterwards, in order that they might be worthy founders of the Holy Church, the science of humility taught them by Christ the Lord and his holy mother was still more necessary, for then they were to perform still greater miracles in the name of Christ and in confirmation of the faith and of their evangelical preaching. The heathens, being accustomed blindly to give divine honors to anything great or strange and seeing the miracles wrought by the apostles, were only too ready to adore them as gods. Thus when they saw St. Paul and St. Barnaby in Lycaonia, cure the man crippled from his birth. Acts of the Apostles, chapter 14, verse 9. They proclaimed the one as Mercury and the other as Jupiter. Later on, when St. Paul survived the bite of a viper, while all the others had been bitten and died thereof, he was called a god. Acts of the Apostles, chapter 28, verse 6. All these miraculous events and occasions most Holy Mary foresaw in the fullness of her knowledge and as the assistant of her divine son in the establishment of the law of grace. During the time of his preaching, which lasted three years, Christ went to celebrate the Pash three times, and the blessed lady accompanied him each time. Being present when in the first year, he used the whip to drive the cellars of sheep, pigeons, and cattle from the house of God. In all the doings of the Savior, in the city and in his sufferings, the great lady accompanied him with admirable affection and heroic acts of virtue according to her condition and circumstances. She conducted herself with sublime perfection, especially in regard to the practice of her most ardent charity, which she derived from the Lord himself. Since she lived only in God and God in her, the charity of Christ burned in her bosom and left her to seek the good of her fellow men with all the powers of her body and soul. Instruction Given to Me by the Queen of Heaven In his malice and astuteness, the ancient serpent strains all his powers to destroy in the human heart the science of humility sowed by the Redeemer as a seed of holiness in the human heart, and in its place he seeks to sow the cockle of pride. Chapter 13, Verse 25 In order to root out these and allow free growth to the blessing of humility, it is necessary that the soul consent and seek to be humiliated by his fellow creatures, and that it asks the Lord incessantly and in all sincerity of heart for this virtue and for the means to attain it. Very scarce are the souls that apply themselves to this science and reach the perfection of this virtue, for it requires entire conquest of one's whole self, to which few attain, even among those who profess to be virtuous. This contagion of pride has so deeply penetrated into the human faculties that it is communicated to nearly all of men's doings, and there is scarcely one among men who is without pride, just as the rose never grows without thorns or the grain without husks. On this account, the Most High makes so much of the truly humble, and those who entirely triumph over pride, he exalts in places with the princes of his people, esteeming them as his favorite children, and exempting them from the jurisdiction of the demon. Thus it comes that the devil dares scarcely approach them, because he fears the humble and their victories over him, more than the fires of hell. I desire, my dearest, that thou attain the inestimable treasure of humility in all its fullness, and that thou offer to the Most High a docile and yielding heart in order that he may impress upon it like a soft wax, the image of his most humble activity. As thou hast been informed of such deeply hidden secrets concerning this sacrament, thou art under great obligations to correspond to my wishes, not losing the least occasion of humiliation and advancing in this virtue. Neglect none of them, since thou knowest how much I sought after them, who was the mother of God himself, most pure and full of grace. The greater my prerogatives, so much the greater was my humility, because in my estimation they far exceed my merits and only increase my obligations. All you children of Adam. Psalm 50 verse 7 We're conceived in sin, and there is none who has not sinned on his own account. If none can deny this infection of his nature, why should not all humiliate themselves before God and before men? Lowering themselves to the very dust and placing themselves in the last place is not such a great humiliation for those who have sinned, for even then they will always be more honored than they deserve. The truly humble must lower themselves beneath that which they have deserved. If all the creatures would despise and abhor them or offend them, if they would consider themselves worthy of hellfire, they would only fulfill justice, but not the requirement of humility, since that would only be admitting their desserts. But real deep humility goes to the length of desiring a greater humiliation than that due to oneself injustice. On this account there is no mortal who can attain to the kind of humility which I practiced, such as thou hast understood and described, but the most high will be satisfied with and ready to reward the efforts of those who humble themselves as far as they can and as they deserve injustice. Let them the sinners admit their baseness and understand how they make of themselves monsters of hell by imitating Lucifer in his pride. For pride found him beautyous and endowed with great gifts of grace and nature, and although he dissipated those blessings, he had nevertheless possessed them as his own. But man, who is mere slime, and moreover has sinned and is full of ugliness and baseness, is a monster if he blots himself up in vain pride. By such absurdity he surpasses even the demon, since man possesses a nature neither so noble nor was ever gifted with such grace and beauty as Lucifer. He and his hellish followers despise and laugh over men, who in such inferiority swell up in pride, for they can well understand this vain and contemptible madness and delirium. And well therefore, my daughter, this lesson, and humiliate thyself lower than the earth, showing just as little sense of injury as the dust, whenever the Lord, either himself or through others, sends thee humiliation. Never judge thyself injured by any one, nor consider thyself offended, if thou abhor pretence and lying. Remember that the greatest offense is to aspire after honor or high position. Do not attribute to creatures that which God brings about in order to humiliate thee, or others by affliction and tribulations, for this is protesting against mere instruments, while it is divine mercy which inflicts punishment on men for their humiliation. This if they would only understand, is really what is happening by the disposition of the Lord to the kingdoms of our day. Humiliate thyself in the divine presence, for thyself and for all thy fellow men, in order to placate his wrath, just as if thou alone were't guilty. And as if thou never hadst made any satisfaction, since during mortal life no one can ever know whether he has satisfied for his transgressions. Seek to appease him, as if thou alone hast offended him, and in regard to the gifts and favors which thou hast received and thus receive, show thyself grateful as one who deserves much less and owes much more. By these considerations humiliate thyself more than all others, and labor without ceasing to correspond to the divine clemency which has shown itself so liberal toward thee. End of chapter 3 Book 2 chapter 4 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 2 chapter 4. The devil is much disturbed and disconcerted on account of the miracles of Christ and of Saint John the Baptist, Herod seizes and beheads Saint John, the particulars of his death. The Redeemer of the world, departing from Jerusalem and traveling about Judea for some time, pursued the work of preaching and performing miracles, while he was baptizing and at the same time commissioning his disciples to baptize as is recorded in the third and fourth chapter of Saint John's Gospel. His precursor also continued to baptize in Aenon on the banks of the Jordan near the city of Salem, but the baptisms of the Lord and those of Saint John were not the same kind, for Saint John continued to give only the baptism of water and of penance, while our Lord administered his own baptism that of real pardon of sins and justification, such as it is now in the church, accompanied by the infusion of grace and of the virtues. To the mysterious power and effects of the baptism of Christ was moreover added the efficacy of his words and instructions confirmed by the wonder of his miracles. On this account more disciples and followers soon gathered around Christ than around Saint John, in fulfillment of the words of the Baptist, that Christ must grow while he must be diminished. John chapter 3 verse 22. At the baptisms of the Lord, his most holy Mother ordinarily was present, and she beheld all the great results of this regeneration in the favored souls. With the same gratitude as if she herself were receiving the benefits of the sacrament, she gave thanks for them, breaking forth in canticles of praise, and exercising heroic virtues as a thank offering to the author of them. Thus in all these wonderful activities she gained for herself incomparable and unheard of merits. When by divine permission Lucifer and his followers arose from the ruinous defeat which they had experienced at the triumph of Christ in the desert, and when they returned and saw the works of the most sacred humanity, divine providence ordained, that though always remaining ignorant of the principal mystery connected with Christ, they should nevertheless see enough to lead to their entire discomforture. Lucifer therefore perceived the great results of the preaching, the miracles, the baptism of Christ our Lord, and how by these means innumerable souls were withdrawn from his jurisdiction and from the shackles of sin in the reformation of their life, the same effects he recognized also in the preaching of Saint John and in his baptism. He remained ignorant of the essential difference between these two preachers and their baptisms, and at the same time had no doubts about the final overthrow of his dominion if their activity should continue. Hence, Lucifer could not be but full of fear and unrest. He knew well that he was too weak to resist the power of heaven, which he felt was exerted against him in these new preachers and their doctrines. These considerations filled his proud mind with great apprehension, and therefore he called another meeting of the princess of darkness and said to them, Strange things happen in the world during these years, and every day do they multiply so that my fears, lest the divine word has come into the world, according to the promise, are growing more and more harrowing. I have searched the face of the whole earth, and I cannot find him. But these two men, who are preaching and deprive me every day of many souls, excite within me great misgivings. The one I could never overcome in the desert, and the other vanquished all of us, so that even now we are disheartened and crushed. If they continue as they have begun, all our triumphs will turn to confusion. They cannot both be the messiahs, and I cannot as yet be sure that either one of them is he. But to draw so many souls from a life of sin is a work not equal by any to this day. It supposes a new power which we must investigate and trace to its source, and we must destroy these two men. Follow me and assist me with all your strength, astuteness and sagacity, because otherwise they will frustrate our intentions. These ministers of evil, therefore, came to the determination of persecuting a new, our Savior Christ and his precursor, St. John. But as they had no knowledge of the mysteries of the divine wisdom, all their great projects and resolves were vain and without firmness. They were sadly misled and confused on the one hand by so many miracles, and on the other hand by outward appearances entirely different from those which they had attributed to the incarnate word at his coming into the world. In order that his malice might find some enlightenment, and in order that his companions, who were to spy out and discover what secret power had discomfited them, might be more successful in assisting him. Lucifer ordered meetings of the demons to be held, in which they were to communicate to each other what they had seen and understood concerning recent events, and he offered them great rewards and performance in his hellish dominions for good service. For the purpose of throwing them into a still greater doubt and confusion, the Lord permitted the hellish fiends to imagine greater holiness in the life of St. John the Baptist. He did not perform the same wonders as Christ, but the outward signs of his holiness were very remarkable and his exterior virtues were wonderful. John also concealed some of the more extraordinary wonders performed by Jesus from the dragon, and there was a great similarity between Christ and St. John in regard to certain particulars which came to the knowledge of the devil, so that he remained in doubt and could not come to a certain decision as to which of them really deserved to hold the office and dignity of messiahs. Both, he said to himself, are great saints and prophets. The life of the one is that of the common people, but yet extraordinary and strange in some respects. The other performs many miracles, and his doctrine is nearly the same. Both cannot be the messiahs, but let them be whoever they may be. I recognize them as my great enemies and as saints, and must persecute them until I have undone them. These suspicions of the demons began from the time when he saw St. John in the desert, leading such a wonderful and unheard of life even from his childhood, and at the time he thought that his virtues were greater than that of a mere man could be. On the other hand, he also learned of some of the doings and of the heroic virtues of the life of Christ our Lord which were not less wonderful, and the demon compared them with those of John. Yet as the Savior lived a life more of the common order among men, Lucifer was more anxious to find out who this John could be. With this desire, he incited the Jews and the Pharisees of Jerusalem to send the priests and Levites to St. John in order to ascertain who he was. John 1 verse 19 Whether he was Christ, as through Lucifer they were led to suspect, and the devil's suggestions must have been very persistent since they knew that the Baptist was of the tribe of Levi and hence, as was well known, could not be the messiahs, for according to the Scriptures and according to their knowledge of the law and of revealed truth, the messiahs was to be of the tribe of Judah. Psalm 81 verse 11 But the devil troubled their mind so much that yielding to his astute malice, they asked this question. The devil pursued a double object, for if John was the messiahs, he wanted him to reveal it. If not, he wanted to diminish his influence with the people who believed him to be the messiahs. For he wished St. John to fall into a vain complacence, or at least usurp, either holy or in part, the honor thus held out to him. Hence the demon eagerly listened to every word of the answer given by St. John. But the holy precursor answered with heavenly wisdom, confessing the truth in such a way that the astuteness of the enemy was foiled and his uncertainty was greater than before. He answered that he was not Christ. And they asked again whether he was Elias. Since it was written of Elias that he was to come before Christ, and as the Jews were so dull as not to know how to distinguish between the first and second coming, they asked him whether he was Elias. He answered, I am not, adding, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. As said the prophet Isaiah. John chapter 1, verses 20 and 21. All these questions were put by the messengers through instigation of the devil. For he expected that if St. John was a holy man, he would tell the truth, and therefore reveal clearly who he was. When he heard St. John call himself a voice, he was much taken aback, suspecting in his ignorance that he meant to call himself the eternal word. His restlessness was augmented the more, when he reflected on the apparent unwillingness of St. John to reveal himself to the Jews. Hence he suspected that his having called himself a voice was only a covered way of speaking. The devil argued that if St. John had called himself openly the word of God, he would have thereby revealed his divinity. Hence in order not to discover himself, he had assumed the name voice instead of word. Since such confusion of mind did Lucifer fall concerning the mystery of the incarnation, and while he believed the Jews had been deluded and misled, he himself was cast into a much greater error by his false theology. Thus deceived his fury against the Baptist outgrew all bounds, but remembering his defeats in the battles against the Savior, and conscious of having had just as little success in leading St. John into any grave fault, he resolved to make war upon him by another channel. And he found such a channel already prepared. The Baptist had reprehended Herod for his disgraceful and adulterous connection with Herodias, who had openly left her husband Philip, his brother, as is related by the Evangelists. Mark 6 verse 17. Herod was aware of the holiness of St. John and of his sayings. He held him in fear and veneration, and listened to him with pleasure, but whatever forced the truth and the light of reason exerted in Herod it was readily perverted to evil by the malicious and boundless hatred of the wicked Herodias and her daughter, who was like her mother in morals. The adulterous woman was deeply degraded by her passions and sensuality, and therefore lent herself readily as an instrument of demoniac malice. This woman, having been previously instigated by the devil to procure the death of St. John in different ways, now incited the King to condemn him to death, that he had called himself the voice of God, and who was the greatest of women born, was therefore taken prisoner. The anniversary of the unfortunate birthday of Herod was to be celebrated by a banquet and ball, given by him to the magistrates and nobles of Galilee, of which he was king. The degraded Herodias brought her daughter to the feast, in order to dance before the guests. The blinded and adulterous king was so taken in by the dancing girl that he promised her any gift or favor she desired, even if it were the half of his kingdom. She, directed by her mother, and both of them by the devil, asked for more than a kingdom, yea, more than many kingdoms, namely, the head of John the Baptist, and that it be given to her immediately on a plate. The king commanded it to be done on account of the oath he had taken, and because he had subjected himself to the influence of a vile and degraded woman. Men are accustomed to consider it an unbearable offense to be called a woman, because they think it denies them the superiority deemed peculiar to manhood, but it is a greater disgrace to be governed and led about by women's whims, for he that obeys is inferior to the one that commands, and yet many are thus degraded without inverting thereto, and so much the greater is their degradation, the more immodest the woman they follow, for, having lost the virtue of modesty, nothing remains in a woman which is not most despicable and abominable in the sight of God and man. During the imprisonment of Saint John, brought about by Herodias, he was much favored by our Savior and by his mother. The lady comforted him many times by sending her holy angels, also ordering them to prepare and bring him nourishment. The Lord also conferred on him many interior graces and favors, but the demon who wished to destroy him gave no rest to Herodias until he should see him dead. He eagerly seized the occasion of the banquet, inciting Herod to utter that foolish promise in oath, for the sake of Herodias's daughter and confusing his mind, so that he impiously looked upon a failure to fulfill his sworn promise, as a sin and a dishonor, and thus in his blindness he delivered the head of the Baptist to the dancing girl, as is related in the Gospel. At the same time, the Queen of the world was, in the usual manner, made aware of the interior will of her most holy son, that the hour of martyrdom had arrived for the Baptist, and that he should give his life in testimony of the truths he had preached. The most pure mother prostrated herself at the feet of Christ our Lord, and tearfully implored him to assist his servant and precursor, in that hour, to comfort and console him, and that his death might be so much the more precious, in his eyes, in view of his suffering for the honor and defense of the truth. The Savior responded to her petition, with much pleasure, saying that he would fulfill it entirely, and bidding her immediately to accompany him on a visit to St. John. When Christ and his holy mother were miraculously and invisibly born to the dungeon cell, where St. John lay fettered in chains, and wounded in many parts of his body, for the wicked adulteress, wishing to do away with him, had ordered some of her servants, six on three different occasions, to scourge and maltreat him, which they actually did in order to please their mistress. By these means, this Tigris had attempted to murder the Baptist, before the banquet at which Herod commended him to be beheaded. The devil incited these cruel henchmen to assail St. John, with filest insults and bodily ill treatment, for they were most wicked men, fit servants of such an accursed and infamous adulteress. The presence of Christ and his blessed mother filled that foul prison of the Baptist with celestial light, while the other parts of the palace of Herod were infested by innumerable demons, and sinker fans more criminal than the state prisoners in their cells below. The cell of St. John was entirely sanctified by the presence of the sovereigns of heaven, who were accompanied by a great host of angels. As soon as the precursor beheld before him, the redeemer and his mother, in the midst of the angelic hosts, his chains fell from him, and his wounds were healed. With ineffable joy he prostrated himself on the ground, and in deepest humility and admiration asked the blessing of the incarnate word and his mother. Having fulfilled his request, they remained for some time, holding divine converse with their friend and servant, which I cannot all repeat here, though I will mention some of what impressed itself more vividly on my dull mind. In kindest tone and manner the Saviour said, John, my servant, how eagerly thou pressest on to be persecuted, imprisoned, and scourged, and to offer thy life for the glory of my Father, even before I myself enter upon my sufferings. Thy desires are quickly approaching their fulfillment, since thou art soon to enjoy thy reward in suffering tribulations, such as I myself have in view for my humanity. But it is thus the Eternal Father rewards the zeal with which thou hast fulfilled the office of being my precursor. Let thy loving anxieties now cease, and offer thy net to the acts, for such is my wish, and thus shall thou enjoy the happiness of suffering and dying for my name. I offer to the Eternal Father thy life, in order that mine be yet prolonged. The sweetness and power of these words penetrated the heart of the Baptist, and filled it with such delights of divine love that for a long time he could not give any answer. But being reinforced by divine grace, and dissolved in tears, he thanked his Lord and Master for the ineffable favor of this visit, which was now added to so many other great ones he had received at his hands, and with size of love from his inmost soul, he said, My eternal God and Lord, I cannot ever merit pains or sufferings worthy of such a great consolation and privilege as that of enjoying thy divine presence, and that of thy exalted mother, my mistress, altogether unworthy am I of this new blessing. In order that thy boundless mercy may be exalted, permit me, Lord, to die before thee, so that thy holy name may be made more widely known, and look with favor on my desire of enduring the most painful and lingering death. Let hered and sin and hell itself triumph over me and my death, for I offer my life for thee, my beloved, in the joy of my heart. Receive it, my God, as a pleasing sacrifice, and thou, mother of my Savior and my mistress, turn thy most loving eyes and clemency upon thy servant, and continue to show him thy favor as a mother and as a cause of all blessing. During all my life I have despised vanities and loved the cross, which is to be sanctified by my Redeemer. I have desired to sow in tears, but never could I have merited the delight of such a visit, which has sweetened all my sufferings, gladdened my bondage, and makes my death itself more pleasing and acceptable than life. While they were yet engaged in this conversation, three servants of Herod entered his prison, with a hangman ready to execute upon him the implacable fury of the cruel adulteress. St. John presented his neck, and the executioner fulfilled the impious order of Herod by cutting off his head. The High Priest Christ, at the same moment, received in his arms the body of the saint, while his Blessed Mother held his head in her hands, both of them offering this victim to the Eternal Father on the altar of their sacred hands. This was possible not only because the two sovereigns of the world were invisible, but also because the servants of Herod had begun to quarrel as to which of them should flatter the infamous dancer and her mother by bringing them the head of St. John. In their dispute, one of them, without paying attention to any other circumstance, snatched the head from the hands of the Queen of Heaven, and the rest of them followed in order to offer it on a plate to the daughter of Herodias. The sacred soul of the Baptist, in the company of a multitude of angels, was sent to limbo, and its arrival renewed the joy of the holy souls there imprisoned. The sovereigns of Heaven returned to the place once they had come. Of the holiness and excellence of the Great Precursor, many things are written in the Church, and although I have been informed of several other mysteries concerning Him which I could relate, I cannot depart from my original purpose or extend this history in writing of them. I wish only to say that the fortunate and Blessed Precursor of Christ received great favors at the hands of Christ the Redeemer and his Holy Mother during the whole course of his life. In his happy birth, his stay in the desert, his preaching and in his holy death, such wonders were wrought for no other man by the right hand of God. Instruction given to me by the Most Holy Queen, Mary. My daughter, thou hast been very short in describing the mysteries of this chapter, yet a great lesson is contained therein, for thee and all the children of light. Write it in thy heart, and notice well the great difference between the innocence and holiness of the Baptist, who was poor, afflicted, persecuted, and imprisoned, and the abominable wickedness of Herod, the powerful King, who was flattered and served in the midst of his riches and base pleasures. Both were of the same human nature, but entirely different in the sight of God, according as they used ill or well, their free will, and the created things around them. The penance, poverty, humility, contempt, tribulations of St. John, and his zeal for the glory of my Divine Son, merited for him the singular favor of dying in our arms, Herod on the contrary, by his hollow pomp, his pride, vanity, tyranny, and wickedness was struck down by the minister of God in order to be punished in the eternal flames. Remember that the same happens now and always in the world, though men do not pay attention to it or fear it. They fear the vain strength of the world, not reflecting that it is, but fleeting shadow and withering grass. Just as little do men think of the ultimate end, and of the abyss, into which vices draw them even in this world. Although the demon cannot take away man's liberty, nor ever completely sway his free will, yet by leading them into so many and grievous sins, he obtains such an influence over them that he is unable to use it as an instrument of the evil he proposes. In spite of witnessing so many and such terrible examples, men remain callous to the fearful danger to which they expose themselves by their sins in imitation of Herod and his adulterous concubine. In order to cast souls into this abyss of wickedness, Lucifer meets them with the vain pride and honor of this world and with its base pleasures, representing them as alone, important and desirable. Thus the ignorant children of perdition loosen the bonds of reason in order to follow the degrading pleasures of their flesh and be enslaved by their mortal enemy. My daughter, the Savior and I, have taught the way of humility, of contempt, and tribulation. This is the royal road on which we first walked, and of which we have set ourselves up as teachers. We are the protectors of all the afflicted and ill-used, ready to assist by miraculous and a special favors, all those who call upon us in their necessities. Of this assistance and protection, the followers of this world and its vain pleasures deprive themselves since they hate the way of the cross. To the cross thou wast called and invited, and on account of it thou art favored with the sweetness of my loving guidance. Follow me and labor to imitate me, since thou hast found the secret treasure. Matthew chapter 12 verse 44 And the precious pearl, for the possession of which thou must despise all that is earthly and give up all human freedom, insofar as it is contrary to the pleasure of my most exalted Lord. End of chapter 4