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

[Therese]

'Enamoured and drawn onward He approaches closely to those souls, who thus love and serve Him in all things, while He withdraws from the lukewarm and the negligent ones, or deals with them only according to the general rules of his divine Providence.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 595

[Shin]

'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

What do you think is the best way to have fervent love?

[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

What do you think is the best way to have fervent love?

The best way I can think of to have fervent love is to converse all day long with our loving God, with gratitude, reverence and fear of the Lord, practicing His Presence; and to come up with all sorts of new ways to show Him our love, in our thoughts, words, and actions; and by always striving after greater perfection in order to please Him; and by loving His commands and obeying them for the love of Him, who loves us so much ... and by keeping our hearts softened by tears of sorrow for sin and by meditations on our Lord's Passion.  And, of course, by praying to Blessed Mary to give us her heart and dispositions.

What do you think is the best way to have fervent love?

[Therese]

'If the transitory labors and sufferings are accepted with joy and with serenity of heart, they spiritualize the creature, they elevate it and furnish it with a divine insight; by which the soul begins to esteem affliction at its proper value and soon finds consolation and the blessings of mortification and of freedom from disorderly passions....

I wish also that thou imitate me in respecting the priests and minsters of the Lord, who in the new law hold a much higher dignity than in the old, since the divine Word has now united itself with human nature and become the eternal High-Priest, according to the order of Melchisedech (Ps. 109, 4)....

Ponder and meditate without intermission upon that, which my most holy Son suffered, so that thy soul be a participant in his sorrows.  Let the pious memory of his sufferings engender in thee a disgust and abhorrence of all earthly pleasures that thou despise and forget all that is visible, and instead, follow the Author of life.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 605

[Therese]

'If He would use his absolute power and perform great miracles for preventing the course of secondary causes, the order of nature would be confounded, and to a certain extent He would contradict Himself in his double role as Author of grace and as Author of nature.  Therefore, miracles must happen but rarely, and on special occasions for particular reasons, or when some end is to be served.  Therefore, God reserves them for the manifestations of his power at certain times.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 616

[Shin]

'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

What do you think is the best way to have fervent love?

The best way I can think of to have fervent love is to converse all day long with our loving God, with gratitude, reverence and fear of the Lord, practicing His Presence; and to come up with all sorts of new ways to show Him our love, in our thoughts, words, and actions; and by always striving after greater perfection in order to please Him; and by loving His commands and obeying them for the love of Him, who loves us so much ... and by keeping our hearts softened by tears of sorrow for sin and by meditations on our Lord's Passion.  And, of course, by praying to Blessed Mary to give us her heart and dispositions.

What do you think is the best way to have fervent love?

I think you've said it very well and covered what I would have said! 

[Shin]

'If He would use his absolute power and perform great miracles for preventing the course of secondary causes, the order of nature would be confounded, and to a certain extent He would contradict Himself in his double role as Author of grace and as Author of nature.  Therefore, miracles must happen but rarely, and on special occasions for particular reasons, or when some end is to be served.  Therefore, God reserves them for the manifestations of his power at certain times.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 616

We can see how much this is the truth simply by looking around!

[Therese]

'If He would use his absolute power and perform great miracles for preventing the course of secondary causes, the order of nature would be confounded, and to a certain extent He would contradict Himself in his double role as Author of grace and as Author of nature.  Therefore, miracles must happen but rarely, and on special occasions for particular reasons, or when some end is to be served.  Therefore, God reserves them for the manifestations of his power at certain times.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 616

We can see how much this is the truth simply by looking around!

You make a very good point, Shin!

I understand that God is the First Cause of everything except for sin and that we all are the secondary causes of things.  God is the First Cause of everything (except for sin) and we, with our free will, are secondary causes.  Is God the First Cause of everything (except for sin) because we could not desire, think, say, will and do anything with our free will unless He were to conserve us and give us the strength, movement, ability, etc. to think, say or do it?  I think this is what it means.  Because we have free will and God basically does not intervene all that much (i.e. unless He has to), do things basically happen as a result of the underlying Eternal Law (which directs all creatures, rational and irrational) and because of the free will of men and the laws of nature operating in irrational creatures--all subject to (and directed by) the Eternal Law and all working together for the good of those who love God and do His Will?  Please be sure to answer this second question, Shin, as I am having difficulty with it and need your help.  If you could explain the bold-faced part of the following text, it would help me a lot.  'If He would use his absolute power and perform great miracles for preventing the course of secondary causes, the order of nature would be confounded, and to a certain extent He would contradict Himself in his double role as Author of grace and as Author of nature.  

[Therese]

"'....Tell me, life of my soul and light of my eyes, whether the labors of this journey [to Egypt] are fatiguing Thee, whether the rigors of the season and of the weather cause Thee affliction, and what I can do for thy service and for thy relief."  And the divine Infant answered:  "All the labors, O Mother, and all fatigue are most light and sweet to Me, since I undergo them for the honor of my eternal Father and for the instruction and Redemption of men, especially in thy company."  The Child wept a few times, yet in great serenity and in the manner of a grown-up and perfect man; and immediately the loving Mother sought the interior cause of these tears, finding it in his soul.  She understood that they were tears of love and compassion for the salvation of men and caused by their ingratitude; in this sorrow and weeping the sweetest Mother imitated Him.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 627






'But, since my understanding, by means of the most exalted inspiration, penetrated so deeply into the very essence of God in the person of the Word united to the Divinity, and since I knew that my most holy son was the eternal, all-powerful, infinite Creator and Preserver of all things, and that this iniquitous king [Herod] depended for his life and existence entirely upon this beneficence, I was particularly struck with wonder to see the most sacred humanity pray and beseech his eternal Father to confer upon Herod, at this very time [of his seeking to kill the divine Infant] enlightenment, help and blessing; to see my Son, who had it so much in his power to punish him, by his prayers prevent the full measure of chastisement which he deserved.  Although Herod's purpose was frustrated, yet this obstinate reprobate was visited with less chastisement than would have been given to him if my holy Son had not prayed for him.'  

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 628

[Therese]

'Now if persecutions afford thee the advantage of imitating Him, why should thou not esteem them as a great blessing?  Why should thou not love those who give thee the occasion to practice this highest perfection, why not thank them for this benefit, and hold them not as enemies but as benefactors, who afford thee a chance to obtain what is of so much importance for thy welfare?'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 629

[Therese]

'Since I trusted in the Lord, He provided for me in the time of my need.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 547

[Therese]

'However, just as his blessings are distributed to the good and to the bad, so also it cannot be a rule with God to give greater temporal goods to the good and less to the bad.  On the contrary He prefers that the chosen and predestined ones be poor (James 2, 5), both because they thus gain more merit and reward, and because there are few who know how to use wealth properly and who can retain it without inordinate greed.  Although my most holy Son and I had nothing to fear from this danger, yet He wished to furnish this example to men and to teach them this science, through which eternal life comes to them.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 640

[Therese]

'So then the Infant Jesus, with his Mother and saint Joseph, reached the inhabited country of Egypt.  On entering the towns the divine Infant, in the arms of his Mother, raised his eyes and his hands to the Father asking for the salvation of these inhabitants held captive by satan.  And immediately He made use of his sovereign and divine power and drove the demons from the idols and hurled them to the infernal abyss.  Like lightning flashed from the clouds they darted forth and descended to the lowermost caverns of hell and darkness (Luke, 10, 4).  At the same instant the idols crashed to the ground, the altars fell to pieces, and the temples crumbled to ruins.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 643

[Shin]

'It is one of the most firmly established and most consoling of the truths that have been revealed to us that (apart from sin) nothing happens to us in life unless God wills it so. Wealth and poverty alike come from Him. If we fall ill, God is the cause of our illness; if we get well, our recovery is due to God. We owe our lives entirely to Him, and when death comes to put an end to life, His will be the hand that deals the blow.

But should we attribute it to God when we are unjustly persecuted? Yes, He is the only person you can charge with the wrong you suffer. He is not the cause of the sin the person commits by ill-treating you, but He is the cause of the suffering that person inflicts on you while sinning.

God did not inspire your enemy with the will to harm you, but He gave him the power to do so. If you receive a wound, do not doubt but that it is God Himself who has wounded you. If all living creatures were to league themselves against you, unless the Creator wished it and joined with them and gave them the strength and means to carry out their purpose, they would never succeed. You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above, the Savior of the world said to Pilate. We can say the same to demons and men, to the brute beasts and to whatever exists -- You would not be able to disturb me or harm me as you do unless God had ordered it so. You are sent by Him you are given the power by Him to tempt me and to make me suffer. You would have no power over me if it had not been given you from above.

If from time to time we meditated seriously on this truth of our faith it would be enough to stifle all complaint in whatever loss or misfortune we suffer. What I have the Lord gave me, it has been taken away by Him. It is not a lawsuit or a thief that has ruined you or a certain person that has slandered you; if your child dies it is not by accident or wrong treatment, but because God, to whom all belongs, has not wished you to keep it longer.'

St. Claude de la Colombiere

[Shin]

Well, God is guiding all through His Divine Providence, all our life, entirely .. .

Could you clarify your question a little more Therese?

[Shin]

'So then the Infant Jesus, with his Mother and saint Joseph, reached the inhabited country of Egypt.  On entering the towns the divine Infant, in the arms of his Mother, raised his eyes and his hands to the Father asking for the salvation of these inhabitants held captive by satan.  And immediately He made use of his sovereign and divine power and drove the demons from the idols and hurled them to the infernal abyss.  Like lightning flashed from the clouds they darted forth and descended to the lowermost caverns of hell and darkness (Luke, 10, 4).  At the same instant the idols crashed to the ground, the altars fell to pieces, and the temples crumbled to ruins.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. II, 643

It is always good to hear of idols being destroyed, the pagan temples reduced to ruins! What a cause for rejoicing!