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

[Shin]

I was reading the posts in my email and very glad to hear more could arrive!

How many details these extracts are filling in!

[Shin]

I have added additional info to the first post as per the request, it is no trouble.

[Therese]

I have added additional info to the first post as per the request, it is no trouble.

Thank you so much, Shin!

[Therese]

I was reading the posts in my email and very glad to hear more could arrive!

How many details these extracts are filling in!

I had wanted to post excerpts of paragraphs 237 and 238 for you all, but I hadn't enough time for the task; so I gave a synopsis instead.  There is so much in this work that is very important and that I have not been able to post; it really is such a shame!

[Shin]

When I go back over the quotes and proofread them I tend to read the surrounding material so I do gather some splendid reading!

[Therese]

'Heavenly spirit and minister of my Son and Lord, I am moved to compassion at the sorrow and trouble in the humble heart of Paul.  I beg thee, my angel, go immediately to Damascus and console and comfort him in his fears.  Congratulate him on his good fortune and remind him of the thanks he owes eternally to my Son and Lord for the clemency with which He has drawn him to His friendship and chosen him as his Apostle.  Tell him, that never has such mercy been shown to any man as to him.  And in my own name tell him, that I shall aid him as a Mother in all his labors and serve him as the Handmaid of all the Apostles and ministers of the name and doctrine of my Son.  Give him my blessing in the name of Him, who condescended to assume flesh in my womb and to be nursed at my breast.'

Our Lady to one of her angels, as revealed to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 270

[Therese]

When I go back over the quotes and proofread them I tend to read the surrounding material so I do gather some splendid reading!

Excellent, Shin!

[Therese]

'Cut short therefore all thy reflections and self-reliance and remember, that, even if thou shouldst have the wisdom of the most learned, the counsel of the most prudent, and the natural intelligence of the angels, thou couldst, with all this, know how to execute his will far less perfectly than by resigning and leaving all to his divine pleasure.  He alone knows what is suitable to thee and seeks it with an eternal love; He chose thy ways and governs thee in them.  Permit thyself to be guided by his divine light, without losing time in doing thy duty; for in this delay lurks the danger of erring, and in my doctrine lie all security and success.  Write it in thy heart and fulfill it with all thy strength, in order that thou mayest merit my intercession and, though it, to be brought near to the Most High.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 276

[Therese]

'Moreover, this fiend [Lucifer] is a pure spirit and is not fatigued or ever in need of rest.  Therefore he is so vigilant in persecuting us, that he commences the combat from the very first instant of our existence in the mother's womb and he does not abate his fury and strife against the soul until it leaves the body.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 280

[Therese]

'For the demons, in his [the Creator's] scheme of the universe, hold the places merely as vile executioners; and even in this office they do no more than what is commanded or permitted them.  If depraved men would not join hands with these enemies, entertaining their deceits and by their sins meriting punishment, all nature would preserve the common order of cause and effect both in general and in particular; and there would be no occasion for such great misfortunes and losses among the faithful, in the diminution of crops, in contagious diseases, in sudden deaths, and in other devastations invented by the devil.  All these and many other evils, happening even at the birth of children through vices and disorders, we merit ourselves by uniting with the demons for our own chastisement and by delivering ourselves over to their malice.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 282

[Therese]

'The demons are fiercely tormented by their own fury whenever they perceive and sinner calling upon or remembering his Queen; since they know by experience how kindly She receives sinners and how readily She makes their cause her own.  Without hope or spirit of resistance the devils immediately give themselves up as foiled and vanquished.  It often happens, when God desires to bring about some special conversion, that the great Queen herself peremptorily commands the demons to withdraw from that soul and sink into the abyss, and her commands are always obeyed.  At other times, without such peremptory orders, God permits them to see the mysteries, the power, and holiness of his Mother, and this new knowledge, filling them with consternation and confusion, puts them to flight.  If the souls respond and co-operate with the grace obtained for them by the heavenly Sovereign, they are freed from the attacks of the demons.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 294

[Therese]

'I was made to understand, that if God were not so outrageously misused in his mercy, He would often interpose, even miraculously, his divine Omnipotence in our behalf.  Especially would He do this in defense of the mystical body of the Church and of some Catholic governments, bringing to naught the counsels of hell for the destruction of Christianity in our times.  We do not merit this protection of the infinite power, because all are united in rousing the divine wrath and the whole world his joined hands with the infernal fiends, into whose power it has fallen on account of the blind and insane pursuit of evil rampant among men.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 296



Note: V2 did away with the last few remaining Catholic governments.  Catholics and the whole world is being punished.

[Shin]

The information on chastisements is very helpful, as it makes clear how God deals with these matters in detail! It reminds me of the beautiful and priceless book, 'Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence'.


'In fact, my children, it is sin that brings upon us all calamities, all scourges, war, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, fires, frost, hail, storms, -- all that afflicts us, all that makes us miserable.'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

'We must all strive to be intimately convinced that everything which happens by chance or accident, as a great drought, too much rain, pestilence, famine, and the like, does not happen without the special Providence and will of God, and consequently we should not complain of the elements, or of God Himself, but should regard evils of this kind as a scourge with which God punishes us for our sins, and bowing ourselves beneath His Almighty hand, bear everything in humility and patience. God will thus be appeased. He will scatter His benedictions upon us. He will chastise us as His sons with a fatherly love, and will not deprive us of the kingdom of heaven.'

St. Robert Bellarmine

'For even His chastisements and His punishments are the greatest part of His beneficence, the greatest form of His providence. Whenever therefore thou seest that famines have taken place, and pestilences, and drought and immoderate rains, and irregularities in the atmosphere, or any other of the things which chasten human nature, be not distressed, nor be despondent, but worship Him who caused them, marvel at Him for His tender care.'

St. John Chrysostom

[Therese]

Blessed be the Lord, who chastises those whom He loves.  Thank you for those quotes, Shin!

[Therese]

'She [Blessed Mary] understood also, that the Lord portioned out to the Apostles and the faithful that kind of suffering or martyrdom, which corresponded with each one's grace and strength of soul.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 316

[Therese]

'Before going farther I will state, that saint James was one of the most intimate and beloved disciples of the great Mistress of the world.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 320