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

[Therese]

'Deny thyself to all that is earthly and visible; ignore it and refuse to look upon it; have no desire for it and pay no attention to it; avoid being known, and let no creatures have any part in thee; guard thou thy secret (Is. 24, 16), and thy treasure (Matth. 13, 44) from the fascination of men and from the devil.  In all this thou will have success, if, as a disciple of my most holy Son and of me, thou puttest in perfect practice the evangelical doctrine inculcated by Us.  In order to compel thyself to an exalted undertaking always be mindful of the blessing of being called by divine Providence to the imitation of my life and virtues and to the following of my footsteps through my instruction.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 25

[Therese]

'The shortest and the most secure course to follow, both for thee and for all men, is to welcome bitterness and sorrow and put aside ease and pleasure of the senses, and inviolably to resolve not to allow them to become dissipated or enjoy greater freedom than the strict rule of reason permits.  In addition to this thou must continually seek after the greater pleasure of the Lord and aspire to the great last end of all thy longings.    For this purpose thou must always be solicitous to imitate me, for to this I call and invite thee, desiring that thou arrive at the summit of virtue and holiness.  Consider the punctuality and fervor with which I achieved so many and so great results; not because the Lord urged me on by his commands, but because I wished to please him more.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 34

[Therese]

'These [holy angels], who numbered ten thousand, She [Blessed Mary] asked saying:  "My friends and companions, you well know the cause of my sorrow: in this bitter affliction be my consolation and give me some information concerning my Beloved, so that I may seek and find Him (Cant. 3, 2).  Give some relief to my wounded heart, which torn from its happiness and life, bounds from its place in search of Him."  The holy angels, who, though they never lost sight of the Creator and Redeemer, were aware that the Lord wished to furnish his Mother this occasion of great merit, and that it was not yet time to reveal the secret to Her, answered by speaking words of consolation without manifesting to Her the whereabouts and doings of their Lord.  This evasive answer raised new doubts in the most prudent Lady.  Her anxiety of heart caused Her to break out in tears and sighs of inmost grief, and urged Her onward in search, not of the lost drachm, like the woman in the Gospel, but of the whole treasure of heaven and earth (Luke 15, 8 ).'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 38



'Moreover, during these three days the Lord left Her [Blessed Mary] to her natural resources of nature and of grace, deprived of special privileges and favors; for, with the exception of the company and intercourse of the angels, He suspended all the other consolations and blessings so constantly vouchsafed to her most holy soul.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 41

[Therese]

'On this occasion [when the rabbis were gathered together in the temple and then joined by the Child Jesus] the coming of the Messias was discussed; for on account of the report of the wonderful events, which had spread about since the birth of the Baptist and the visit of the Kings of the east, the rumor of the coming of the Redeemer and of his being already in the world, though yet unknown, had gained ground among the Jews.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 49



'During the rest of the journey the heavenly Mother discoursed with her sweetest Son on the mysteries, interiorly manifested to Her concerning the discussion with the teachers.  He repeated by word of mouth, what He had shown Her interiorly.  In particular He told Her, that these doctors had not recognized Him as the Messias because they were inflated and arrogant in their own knowledge.  Their understanding was obscured by the darkness of their pride, so that they could not perceive the divine light shining forth in such profusion form Him; while, if they had the humble and loving desire of seeing the truth, his reasoning would have sufficiently convinced them.  On account of these obstacles they saw it not, though it was open before their eyes.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 58  

[Therese]

'Consider all the delights and joys of the world as insanity, its laughing as sorrow, sensible enjoyment as self deceit, as the source of foolishness, which intoxicates the heart and hinders and destroys all true wisdom.  Live in constant and holy fear of losing eternal life and rejoice in nothing except in the Lord until thou obtainest full possession of Him.  Fly from conversations with men and dread its dangers.  If sometimes God places thee in the way of human intercourse for his glory and by obedience, although thou must trust in his protection, yet never be remiss or careless in guarding thyself from contamination.  Do not trust thy natural disposition when there is a question of friendship and close intercourse with others; in this consists for thee a greater danger; for the Lord has given thee a pleasing and mild disposition, so that thou mayest naturally incline toward Him, resist none of his intentions and make a proper return for the blessings bestowed upon thee.  But as soon as thou givest entrance to creatures into thy heart thou wilt certainly be carried away and alienated by them from the highest good, and thou wilt pervert the intentions and operations of his infinite wisdom in thy behalf.  It would certainly be most unworthy of thee to divert that which is most noble in thy nature to an unseemly end.  Raise thyself above all created things, and above thyself (Thren. 3, 28).  Perfect the operations of thy faculties and set before them the exalted perfections of thy God, of my beloved Son and thy Spouse, who is beautiful among the sons of men (Ps. 44, 3).  Love Him with all the powers of thy heart and soul.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Vol. III, 63

[Shin]

These quotations are good for helping with Rosary meditations.

[Therese]

These quotations are good for helping with Rosary meditations.

These quotations are so excellent.  Everybody can benefit by them, and in so many ways.

[Therese]

'And in many temptations I exhort thee not to be troubled or afflicted much; for if they cause thee to halt in thy course, they will already have gained a great advantage over thee and they will prevent thee from becoming strong in the practice of perfection.  Listen therefore to the Lord alone, who is desirous of the beauty of thy soul (Ps. 44, 12); who is liberal in bestowing his gifts upon it, powerful to deposit therein the treasures of his wisdom, and anxious to see thee prepare thyself to receive them.  Allow Him to write into thy heart the evangelical Law.  Let that be thy continual study, thy meditation day and night, the sweet nourishment of thy memory, the life of thy soul and the sweet nectar for thy spiritual taste.  Thus wilt thou obtain what the Most High and I require of thee, and what thou thyself desirest.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 73

[Therese]

'That those who walk in the way of salvation are the smaller number, is due to the vice and the depraved habits imbibed in youth and nourished in childhood.  For that saying of Deuteronomy is very true:  "As the days of thy youth, so also shall thy old age be"  (Deut. 33, 25).  Hence the demons gain courage and increase their tyrannical influence over souls in the early years of man's life, hoping that they will be able to induce men to commit so much the greater and more frequent sins in later years, the more they have succeeded in drawing them into small and insignificant faults in their childhood.  By these they draw them on to a state of blind presumption; for with each sin the soul loses more and more the power of resistance, subjects itself to the demon, and falls under the sway of its tyrannical enemies.  The miserable yoke of wickedness is more and more firmly fastened upon it; the same is trodden underfoot by its own iniquity and urged onward under the sway of the devil from one precipice to another, from abyss to abyss (Ps. 41, 8 ): a chastisement merited by all those, that allow themselves to be overcome by evil-doing in the beginning.  By these means Lucifer has hurled into hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day, rising up in his pride against the Almighty.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 83

[Therese]

'The most holy Mary understood, more than any tongue can explain, the value and excellence of tears, and at the same time the foolishness and danger of laughter and human enjoyment.  For, while all the children of Adam, though they are conceived in original sin and afterwards incur many other actual sins, give themselves over to laughter and gaiety, this heavenly Mother, being without sin at her Conception and after, was aware, that this mortal life should be consumed in weeping over the absence of the supreme Good and over the sins, which have been and are committed against God.  For the sake of all men She wept over their sins, and merited by her most innocent tears the great consolations and favors of the Lord.  Her most pure heart was in continual distress at the sight of the offenses committed against her Beloved and her God; her eyes distilled incessant tears (Jer. 9,1), and her bread day and night was to weep over the ingratitude of sinners toward their Creator and Redeemer (Ps. 41, 4).  No creatures, not all of them together wept more than the Queen of Angels, though for men, on account of their sins, their is abundant cause of wailing and weeping, while in Her there was cause only for joy and delight on account of her treasures of grace.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 90

[Therese]

'Fear the danger of not attending to the divine calls, for that is the cause of the loss of innumerable souls.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 95

[Shin]

'The most holy Mary understood, more than any tongue can explain, the value and excellence of tears, and at the same time the foolishness and danger of laughter and human enjoyment.  For, while all the children of Adam, though they are conceived in original sin and afterwards incur many other actual sins, give themselves over to laughter and gaiety, this heavenly Mother, being without sin at her Conception and after, was aware, that this mortal life should be consumed in weeping over the absence of the supreme Good and over the sins, which have been and are committed against God.  For the sake of all men She wept over their sins, and merited by her most innocent tears the great consolations and favors of the Lord.  Her most pure heart was in continual distress at the sight of the offenses committed against her Beloved and her God; her eyes distilled incessant tears (Jer. 9,1), and her bread day and night was to weep over the ingratitude of sinners toward their Creator and Redeemer (Ps. 41, 4).  No creatures, not all of them together wept more than the Queen of Angels, though for men, on account of their sins, their is abundant cause of wailing and weeping, while in Her there was cause only for joy and delight on account of her treasures of grace.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 90

This reminds me the saints speaking of priests' sermons being good when they bring the people who hear them to tears.

[whiterockdove]

Or a good confession when absolution makes the tears flow!

[Therese]

Wasn't it St. John Vianney, who in one of his sermons, in tears without saying a word, held up a crucifix to the people in the pews, moving them all to tears?  What a sermon!

[Therese]

Wasn't it St. John Vianney, who in one of his sermons, in tears without saying a word, held up a crucifix to the people in the pews, moving them all to tears?  What a sermon!

[Therese]

'The powerful arms for battling against those who make war on thee, must be the doctrines of the Catholic faith (Rom. 1, 17), for the firm belief in them and the continual exercise of them, the incessant meditation and remembrance of them, illumine the souls, drives away errors, disclose the deceits of satan and disperse his falsehoods just as the rays of the sun dispel the dark clouds.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, City of God, Vol. III, 104