Excerpts from Mystical City of God by Ven. Mary of Agreda

[Therese]

'A few times She [St. Elisabeth] merited to see most holy Mary during her prayers, ravished and raised from the ground and altogether filled with divine splendor and beauty, so that she could not have looked upon her face, nor remain alive in her presence, if she had not been strengthened by divine power.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 239

[Therese]

'The imitation of this I desire especially of thee; let thy ambition be to take the last place, to live in subjection to all others; abased and considered as useless, in the presence of the Lord and of men, thou must judge thyself as less than the dust of the earth itself....It is good to obey the prelates and the instructors, therefore do it always.  But I desire that thou go much farther, and that thou obey the most insignificant of thy fellow beings in all that is not sinful, and in such a way, as if thou wert obeying the highest of thy superiors; and I desire that in this matter thou be very earnest, as I was during my earthly life.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 241

[Therese]

'His Majesty gave me such a deep knowledge of how much He is pleased with this virtue [humility], that in order to be allowed to perform only one of the acts mentioned by thee, such as sweeping the floor or kissing the feet of the poor, I would have been ready to suffer the greatest torments of the world.  Thou wilt never find words to express the love for humility which I had, nor to describe its excellence and nobility.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 252

[Therese]

'But in connection with this humility of life, let thy thoughts always be of the noblest and thy conversation in heaven with the angelic spirits (Philip 3, 20); deal with them and converse with them in order to obtain new light concerning the Divinity and the mysteries of Christ my most holy Son.  With creatures let thy intercourse be such as will continually increase thy fervor and serve thee as means of advancing and profiting by means of humility and divine love.  In thy own mind assume the lowest place beneath all creatures, so that when the occasion and the time of exercising the acts of humility arrive, thou mayest be found prompt and willing to exercise them.  Only then wilt thou be the mistress of the passions, if first thou hast acknowledged thyself in thy heart as the least and weakest and most useless of all the creatures.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 253

[Therese]

'Hence whenever the Lord sends to thee, or throws in thy way, a needy soul and makes thee aware of its state, labor faithfully to assist it.  Pray and weep with heartfelt and fervent love, that God may furnish the remedy for such great and dangerous evil, and do not neglect any means, divine or human, as far as thou art concerned, in order to obtain the salvation of eternal life for the soul entrusted to thee.  By means of the prudence and moderation which I have taught thee, thou must not grow weary in admonishing, nor in praying for that which will benefit that soul; and in all secrecy continue thy labor in its behalf.  Likewise I wish, that whenever it is necessary, thou command the demons in the powerful name of the Almighty and my own, to depart and leave in peace the souls oppressed by them; and as all this is to be done in secret, thou canst in all propriety animate and encourage thyself to this kind of work.  Remember that the Lord has placed thee, and will place thee in a position to exercise this doctrine.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 260

[Shin]

A moving extract to read!

[Therese]

Yes, it is!

Shin, I did not get an email notification of your last post (reply 181), not to mention other posts.  I receive notifications of certain other posts.

[Therese]

'In order to evade all hindrance to his holy Will, which I have already many time pointed out and made manifest to thee, seek to mortify the inferior part of thy being, the seat of the evil inclinations and evil passions.  Die to all that is earthly, sacrifice, in the consciousness of God's presence, all they sensitive appetites, fulfill none of their impulses, nor ever satisfy thy own will outside of the narrow limits of obedience.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. I, p. 250

Sorry, the text above should read:

'In order to evade all hindrance to his holy Will, which I have already many times pointed out and made manifest to thee, seek to mortify the inferior part of thy being, the seat of the evil inclinations and evil passions.  Die to all that is earthly, sacrifice, in the consciousness of God's presence, all the sensitive appetites, fulfill none of their impulses, nor ever satisfy thy own will outside of the narrow limits of obedience.'

[Therese]

'In order to evade all hindrance to his holy Will, which I have already many time pointed out and made manifest to thee, seek to mortify the inferior part of thy being, the seat of the evil inclinations and evil passions.  Die to all that is earthly, sacrifice, in the consciousness of God's presence, all they sensitive appetites, fulfill none of their impulses, nor ever satisfy thy own will outside of the narrow limits of obedience.'

'Of the things of things that are necessary for human life, accept only so much, as is needed to prevent death or indecency.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. I, p. 357
(Bk. II, #457)

Sorry, the above quote should read:

'Of the things that are necessary for human life, accept only so much, as is needed to prevent death or indecency.'

[Therese]

'Obedience is the subjection of our will, inducing us to do the will our superior in preference to our own.  Out free will is so estimable, that this virtue is admirable and excellent above all the moral virtues; for the sacrifice is greater than in any other.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. I, p. 432
(Bk II, #561)

Sorry, the above text should read:

'Obedience is the subjection of our will, inducing us to do the will our superior in preference to our own.  Our free will is so estimable, that this virtue is admirable and excellent above all the moral virtues; for the sacrifice is greater than in any other.'

[Therese]

'In the Queen of heaven these intelligences or revelations were vastly different from those which are proper to the Saints and Prophets; for her Highness enjoyed them continually, both in habit and in act, whenever She was not enjoying other more exalted visions of the Divinity.  Moreover the clearness and the extent of this intellectual light and all its effects were incomparably greater in most holy Mary.  For of the truths, mysteries and sacraments of the Most High, She knew more than al the holy Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and more even than all the angels combined; and She understood more profoundly and clearly, more unerringly and securely all that She did know.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. I, pg. 492
(Bk. II, #636)

Sorry, the above text should read:

'In the Queen of heaven these intelligences or revelations were vastly different from those which are proper to the Saints and Prophets; for her Highness enjoyed them continually, both in habit and in act, whenever She was not enjoying other more exalted visions of the Divinity.  Moreover the clearness and the extent of this intellectual light and all its effects were incomparably greater in most holy Mary.  For of the truths, mysteries and sacraments of the Most High, She knew more than all the holy Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and more even than all the angels combined; and She understood more profoundly and clearly, more unerringly and securely all that She did know.'

[Therese]

'I wish thee to remember, my beloved, that to suffer and be afflicted with our without one's fault is a benefit of which one cannot be worthy without special and great mercy of the Almighty; moreover to be allowed to suffer for one's sins is not only a mercy, but is demanded by justice.  Behold, however, the great insanity of the children of Adam nowadays in desiring and seeking after emoluments, benefits, and favors agreeable to their senses, and in sleeplessly striving to avert from themselves, that which is painful or includes any hardship or trouble.  It would be to their greatest benefit to seek tribulations diligently even when unmerited, yet they strive by all means to avoid them even when merited, and even though they cannot be happy and blessed without having undergone such sufferings.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. I, p. 520-521
(Bk. II, #673)

Sorry, the above quote should read:

'I wish thee to remember, my beloved, that to suffer and be afflicted with or without one's fault is a benefit of which one cannot be worthy without special and great mercy of the Almighty; moreover to be allowed to suffer for one's sins is not only a mercy, but is demanded by justice.  Behold, however, the great insanity of the children of Adam nowadays in desiring and seeking after emoluments, benefits, and favors agreeable to their senses, and in sleeplessly striving to avert from themselves, that which is painful or includes any hardship or trouble.  It would be to their greatest benefit to seek tribulations diligently even when unmerited, yet they strive by all means to avoid them even when merited, and even though they cannot be happy and blessed without having undergone such sufferings.'

[Therese]

"I exhort thee, my daughter, to select the sufferings of his Cross in preference to his favors and gifts and rather embrace afflictions than desire to be visited with caresses; for in choosing favors and delights thou mayest be moved by self-love, but n accepting tribulations and sorrows, thou canst be moved only by the love of Christ.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. I, p. 565
(Bk. II, #740)

Sorry, the above text should read:

'I exhort thee, my daughter, to select the sufferings of his Cross in preference to his favors and gifts and rather embrace afflictions than desire to be visited with caresses; for in choosing favors and delights thou mayest be moved by self-love, but in accepting tribulations and sorrows, thou canst be moved only by the love of Christ.'

[Therese]

'Before conceiving Him and becoming is Mother, She was inspired with divine knowledge and science concerning the passibility of the Word made flesh.  And when She became Mother She saw and experienced this truth in Her Son and Lord himself and therefore She gave a greater license, or rather a more strict command, to creatures to afflict Her, since She saw the results of this activity in their own Creator.  Hence, as the Most High did not wish his only and chosen Spouse to be continually molested by the creatures, even though She herself desired it, He often restrained them and neutralized their operations, so that the heavenly Princess unhindered by them, might occasionally enjoy the delights of the most high King.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, p. 42-43
(Bk. 3, Chap. 3, Para. 31)

The above quote should read:

'Before conceiving Him and becoming his Mother, She was inspired with divine knowledge and science concerning the passibility of the Word made flesh.  And when She became Mother She saw and experienced this truth in Her Son and Lord himself and therefore She gave a greater license, or rather a more strict command, to creatures to afflict Her, since She saw the results of this activity in their own Creator.  Hence, as the Most High did not wish his only and chosen Spouse to be continually molested by the creatures, even though She herself desired it, He often restrained them and neutralized their operations, so that the heavenly Princess unhindered by them, might occasionally enjoy the delights of the most high King.'

[Therese]

EDIT to Reply 130:
From what I have read in the City of God we should not allow images in our imagination of persons, places and things, even though they be not profane or unholy (e.g. our parents).

[Therese]

'By the same Omnipotence He provided that this most holy soul of Christ, in its superior faculties and in its most noble operations, should be in the state of glory and enjoying beatitude; while all this immense glory was at the same time compressed, as it were, into the superior parts of his soul, suspending the effects and gifts of glory, that would otherwise naturally have communicated themselves to his body.  On this account He could be at the same time viator, subject to suffering, enabling Him to procure our salvation by means of his Cross, Pasion and Death.'

Ven, Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 145

Sorry, the above quote should read:

'By the same Omnipotence He provided that this most holy soul of Christ, in its superior faculties and in its most noble operations, should be in the state of glory and enjoying beatitude; while all this immense glory was at the same time compressed, as it were, into the superior parts of his soul, suspending the effects and gifts of glory, that would otherwise naturally have communicated themselves to his body.  On this account He could be at the same time viator, subject to suffering, enabling Him to procure our salvation by means of his Cross, Passion and Death.'