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

[Therese]

'Hear me, my daughter, and bend thy ears to these counsels and doctrines of eternal life.  Cast out from thy faculties every image and affection toward human creatures and turn all the powers of thy heart and soul toward the mysteries and blessings of the Redemption.  Occupy thyself wholly with them, ponder and weigh them, give thanks for them as if thou alone wert in existence, as if they had been wrought solely for thee, and singly for each human being in particular (Gal. 2, 20).  Thus thou wilt find life and the way of life, proceeding thus thou canst not err; but thou shall find therein the light of thy eyes and true peace.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 539

[Therese]

'The Child Jesus showed exterior signs of affection by his pleased looks, by reclining upon his [St. Joseph's] breast, and by other tokens of affection usual with children in regard to their fathers, but in Him these tokens were always tempered with kingly majesty.  Yet all this was not so frequent in his dealings with saint Joseph, nor with such endearment, as with his true Virgin Mother.  Whenever She left Jesus in his care, She received from saint Joseph the relic of the Circumcision, which the latter ordinarily bore about him for his consolation.  Thus both the two Spouses were continually enriched:  She by holding her most holy Son, he by his sacred blood and deified flesh.  They preserved it in a crystal vase, which saint Joseph had purchased with the money sent to them by saint Elisabeth.  In this they had enclosed the particle of flesh and the sacred blood shed at the Circumcision, which had been caught up in pieces of linen.  The opening of the vase was encased in silver, which the mighty Queen, in order to preserve the sacred relics more securely, had sealed by her mere command.  Thus the silver opening was more firmly sealed than if it had been soldered by the artisan, who had made the vessel.  In this vase the prudent Mother treasured the relics during her whole life and afterwards She entrusted it to the Apostles, leaving it as an inheritance to the holy Church.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 549

[Therese]

'My daughter, in the foregoing chapter, thou hast been instructed not to seek information from the Lord by supernatural means, neither in order to relieve any suffering, nor in order to satisfy a natural hankering of curiosity.  Now I exhort thee likewise not to yield for any of these reasons, to the desire of performing any exterior action according to the promptings of nature.  For in all the activity of thy exterior faculties and senses thou must seek to moderate and subject thy inclinations, not yielding to them in their demands, although they may have the color of virtue or piety.  I was in no danger of going to excess in these affections on account of my sinlessness; nor was there a want of piety in my desire of remaining in the cave, where my most holy Son had been born and had been circumcised.  Yet I did not wish to express my desire, even when asked about it by my spouse; for I preferred obedience to this pious inclination, and I knew that it is more secure for souls and more according to the pleasure of the Lord to seek his will in the counsel and decision coming from other, rather than in their own inclination.  In me this course of action was advisable only on account of the greater perfection contained therein, but in thee and in other souls, who are subject to error in their judgment, this rule must be observed most rigorously, so as to prevent and avoid mistakes diligently and discreetly.  For in their ignorance and pusillanimity men are easily carried away by their feelings and inclination toward insignificant things, and very often they occupy themselves with trifles as if they were important matters, and with vanities, as if they were realities.  All such activity weakens the soul and deprives it of great spiritual blessings, of grace, enlightenment and merit.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 550

[Shin]

Ponder then, dearest, upon the small return given for the love of my Son and Lord by mortals, and how forgetful of thanks even his faithful continue to be.  Assume it as thy task, as far as thy weak powers allow, to render satisfaction for this grievous offense: loving Him, thanking Him and serving Him with all thy powers, for all the other men who fail to do so.  Therefore thou must be an angel in promptitude, most fervent and punctual on all occasions; thou must die to all earthly things, eliminating and crushing all human inclinations and rising upon the wings of love to the heights of love designed for thee by the Lord.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 538

How important gratitude is! 

[Therese]

Ponder then, dearest, upon the small return given for the love of my Son and Lord by mortals, and how forgetful of thanks even his faithful continue to be.  Assume it as thy task, as far as thy weak powers allow, to render satisfaction for this grievous offense: loving Him, thanking Him and serving Him with all thy powers, for all the other men who fail to do so.  Therefore thou must be an angel in promptitude, most fervent and punctual on all occasions; thou must die to all earthly things, eliminating and crushing all human inclinations and rising upon the wings of love to the heights of love designed for thee by the Lord.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 538

How important gratitude is!  

True!  Without gratitude how could we grow closer to God and make any real spiritual progress?

[Therese]

The three Magi Kings, who came to find the divine Infant after his birth, were natives of Persia, Arabia and Sabba (Ps. 71, 10).

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 552

[Therese]

'These three Kings were well versed in the natural sciences, and well read in the Scriptures of the people of God; and on account of their learning they were called Magi.  By their knowledge of Scripture, and by conferring with some of the Jews, they were imbued with a belief in the coming of the Messias expected by that people.  They were, moreover, upright men, truthful and very just in the government of their countries....Because these Magi governed adjoining countries and lived not far from each other, they were mutual friends and shared with each other the virtues and knowledge which they had acquired, consulting each other in the more important events of their reigns.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 553

[Therese]

'I have already mentioned in the eleventh chapter (No. 492) that in the same night in which the incarnate Word was born, they [the Magi] were informed of his Birth by the ministry of the holy angels....They were informed that the King of the Jews was born as true God and true man; that He was the Messias and Savior who was expected; that it was the One who was promised in the Scriptures and prophesies (Gen. 3, 10); and that they themselves, the three Kings, were singled out by the Lord to seek the star, which Balaam had foretold.  Each one of the three Kings also was made aware that the same revelation was being made to the other two in the same way; and that it was not a favor or miracle which should remain unused, but that they were expected to co-operate with the divine light and execute what it pointed out.  They were inspired and inflamed with a great love and with a desire to know the God made man, to adore Him as their Creator and Redeemer, and serve Him with most perfect devotion.  In all this they were greatly assisted by their distinguished moral virtues, which they had acquired; for on account of them they were excellently disposed for the operation of the divine enlightenment.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 554

[Therese]

'On the following day at dawn they [the Magi] returned to the cave of the Nativity in order to offer to the heavenly King the special gifts which they had provided.  Arriving they prostrated themselves anew in profound humility; and opening their treasures, as Scripture relates, they offered Him gold, incense and myrrh (Matt. 2, 11).  They consulted the heavenly Mother in regard to many mysteries and practices of faith, and concerning matters pertaining to their consciences and to the government of their countries; for they wished to return well instructed and capable of directing themselves to holiness and perfection in their daily life.  The great Lady heard them with exceeding pleasure and She conferred interiorly with the divine Infant concerning all that they had asked, in order to answer and properly to instruct these sons of the new Law.

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 567

[Therese]

'On their departure from Bethlehem the same or a similar star appeared in order to guide them home, conducting them on their new route to the place where they had first met, whence each one separated to reach his own country.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 569 

[Therese]

'All that thou dost for the Lord, thou should offer up to Him with fervent affection and promptitude, without negligence or fear; for negligent works, and those not enlivened by love, are not an acceptable sacrifice in the eyes of his Majesty.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 572

[Therese]

'Among the more rare and excellent privileges of most pure Mary, the chief one is, that She is Mother of God, which is the foundation of all the rest.  The second is, that She was conceived without original sin.  The third, that She enjoyed many times the beatific vision in this mortal life, and the fourth is that She continually saw clearly the most holy soul of her Son and all its operations for her imitation.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 578

[Therese]

'But it is to the intimate and frequent intercourse with the Lord by unceasing love, praise and reverence, that I wish thee to attend to most of all.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 583

[Shin]

How important the Holy Rosary is.. And the more we learn about Our Lady the more we understand why. 

[Therese]

How important the Holy Rosary is.. And the more we learn about Our Lady the more we understand why. 

So true! and everybody should be meditating on the mysteries of the lives of our Lord and our Lady in order that they may better love and appreciate and imitate what is contained in these great mysteries of our Redemption and in order that they may better love and appreciate all that our Lord and our Lady have done for us.  In City of God our Lady instructs us to meditate on the mysteries and sacraments of our Redemption.  People really should be praying at least 5 decades of the Most Holy Rosary daily, seeing our Blessed Mother at Fatima had asked us to pray at least 5 decades daily.  But how many Catholics heed our Lady's words in these approved apparitions and in the other approved apparitions of hers, I wonder? 

[Therese]

'My daughter, one of the misfortunes, which deprive souls of happiness, or at least diminish it, is that they content themselves with performing good works negligently or without fervor, as if they were engaged in things unimportant or merely accidental.  On account of this ignorance and meanness of heart few of them arrive at an intimate friendship of God, which they can attain only by fervent love.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 594