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

[Therese]

'Beside the thousand angels which served ordinarily as her guard, the Lord commanded other nine thousand to attend on their Queen and Mistress, and serve as a guard of honor ten thousand strong from the first day of her journey [to Bethlehem].'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 450

[Shin]

'dead to the world' such a beautiful phrase. . . it makes me think of the many angels around a beautiful soul in such a state.

[Therese]

'It is certain that if any or all of the souls would entrust themselves to the direction and government of this Lord they would soon experience that same fidelity, punctuality and most sweet efficacy with which his Majesty arranged all things that touched upon his honor and service in my life.  They would likewise taste those delightful and divine emotions which I felt in relying upon his most holy will; nor would they fail to receive the abundance of his gifts, which are enclosed as in an infinite ocean within his Divinity.  And just as the waters of the ocean rush forth wherever they find a suitable opening, so the graces and blessings of the Lord overflow upon rational creatures, when they are well disposed and do not hinder their course.  This truth is hidden to mortals because they do not stop to ponder and consider the works of the Almighty.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 454

[Therese]

'dead to the world' such a beautiful phrase. . . it makes me think of the many angels around a beautiful soul in such a state.

What exactly does it mean for one to be crucified to the world and the world to one, Shin?  I've been wondering about this and you have prompted me to ask you about it.

[Shin]

You ask me a hard question..

[Therese]

You ask me a hard question..

No worries, I'll check a good commentary for the answer, Shin.

[Shin]

Yes let's read what the saints have to say..

[Therese]

Yes let's read what the saints have to say..

I haven't come across anything the saints have said about this passage, but I think it means that one is not given in to any selfishness (concupiscence of the eyes, the pride of life, etc.) and is not lured by the world and its temptations.  The world is like one dead to the soul and the soul is like one dead to the world--unresponsive and uninvolved.  God bless you!

[Therese]

'They [St. Joseph and Blessed Mary, seeking lodging in Bethlehem] knocked at the doors of their acquaintances and nearer family relations; but they were admitted nowhere and in many places they met with harsh words and insults....But having already applied at more than fifty different places, they found themselves rejected and sent away from them all.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 462

[Therese]

"My sweetest Lady, my heart is broken with sorrow at the thought of not only not being able to shelter Thee as Thou deserves and as I desire, but in not being to offer Thee even any kind of protection from the weather, or a place of rest, a thing rarely or never denied to the most poor and despised of the world.  No doubt heaven, in thus allowing the hearts of men to be so unmoved as to refuse us night-lodging, conceals some mystery.  I now remember, Lady, that outside the city walls there is a cave, which serves as a shelter for shepherds and their flocks.  Let us seek it out; perhaps it is unoccupied, and we may there expect some assistance from heaven, since we receive none from men on earth."

St. Joseph to Blessed Virgin Mary, City of God, Vol. II, 463

[Therese]

'"Be ye perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5, 48).  This command of the Most High imposed upon his holy Church is not impossible of fulfillment, and, if his faithful children on their part dispose themselves properly, He will deny to none of them the grace of attaining this resemblance to the heavenly Father.  All this my most holy Son has merited for them.  But the degrading forgetfulness and neglect of men hinder them from maturing within themselves the fruits of His redemption.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 466

[Therese]

'Let no difficulty or hardship disturb thee, nor deter thee from any virtuous exercise, no matter how hard it may be.  Nor be content with striving after the love of God and salvation of thyself alone; if thou wouldst be perfect in imitating me and in fulfilling all that the Gospel teaches, thou must work for the salvation of other souls and the exaltation of the holy name of my Son, making thyself an instrument in his powerful hands for the accomplishment of mighty works to advance his pleasure and glory.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 467

[Therese]

'My most holy Son is such a faithful Lover of souls that He hast set me as a living example of the love of humility and true contempt of worldly vanity and pride.  He ordained also for his own glory as well as for my sake that I, his Servant and Mother, should be left without shelter and be turned away by mortals, in order that afterwards his beloved souls might be so much the more readily induced to offer Him a welcome, thus obliging Him, by an artifice of love, to come and remain with them.  He also sought destitution and poverty, not because He had any need of them for bringing the practice of virtues to the highest perfection, but in order to teach mortals the shortest and surest way for reaching the heights of divine love and union with God.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 465

[Shin]

Again the blessings of holy poverty! 

[Therese]

Again the blessings of holy poverty! 

How blessed are the poor, more particularly--the poor in spirit!

[Therese]

'At the end of the beatific rapture and vision of the Mother ever Virgin, which I have described above (No. 473), was born the Sun of Justice, the Onlybegotten of the eternal Father and of Mary most pure, beautiful, refulgent, and immaculate, leaving Her untouched in her virginal integrity and purity and making Her more godlike and forever sacred; for He did not divide, but penetrated the virginal chamber as the rays of the sun penetrate the crystal shrine, lighting it up in prismatic beauty.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 477