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

[Shin]

'It is not possible that either thou or any other creature arrive at the perfection and excellence of my works, nor does the Lord bind anyone to that; but with his divine grace thou canst fill thy life with works of virtue and holiness, and spend in them all thy time and all thy faculties; so that, adding exercise to exercise, prayer to prayer, petition to petition, virtue to virtue, thou let no time, no day, no hour of thy life be bare of good works learned of me.  For this purpose I joined other works with those necessary for the government of the Church, and celebrated the festivals in the manner and with the preparations thou hast come to know and describe.  As soon as one was solemnized, I began to prepare me for another, so that not for one moment was my life void of works holy and pleasing in the sight of the Lord.  All the children of the Church, if they wish, can imitate me and thou shouldst do it more zealously than the others.  This is the purpose for which the Holy Ghost ordained the solemnities and commemorations of my divine Son and of myself and of the saints recurring in the holy Church.'

"As I have exhorted thee many times, I wish that thou distinguish thyself by their devout celebration, especially by the celebration of the mysteries of the Divinity and humanity of my divine Son, those of my life and of my glory.  Then I desire of thee a special devotion to the angels, as well on account of their great excellence, holiness, beauty and ministry, as also on account of the great favors and blessings thou hast received through these celestial spirits.  I desire that thou assimilate thyself to them in purity of thy soul, in the exaltedness of thy thought, in the fervor of thy love, and in living as if thou hadst neither an earthly body or its passions.  They are to be thy friends and companions in thy pilgrimage, in order that they may be such also in the Fatherland.  With them thou shouldst now maintain conversation and familiar intercourse, in which they will show thee the attributes and the tokens of thy Spouse, give thee certain knowledge of his perfections, lead thee to the straight ways of justice and of peace, defend thee from the demon, warn thee of his deceits.  In the continued teaching of these spirits and ministers of the Most High thou shalt hear the laws of divine love.  Hear and obey them exactly.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 694-695

Let us all follow these instructions! 

[whiterockdove]

'If in thy weakness thou incurrest the guilt of some omission or negligence, let not the sun go down or the day pass without having sorrowed for it, or confessed it, if thou canst, as if it were for the last account.  Proposing amendment, even of the slightest fault, commence to work with new fervor and solicitude, like one from whom the time is slipping away for accomplishing such an arduous and laborious task as the gaining of the eternal glory and felicity and the avoiding of everlasting death and punishment.  This is to be the continual occupation of all thy spiritual and sensitive faculties, in order that thou make thy hope certain and joyful (II Cor. 1, 7); in order that thou mayest not labor in vain (Phil. 2, 16), nor run on into the uncertain (I Cor. 9, 26), like those who content themselves with some good works which they mix up with many reprehensible and detestable crimes.  These can not walk in security and joy of interior hope; since their own conscience assails them and saddens them, unless they are lost in forgetfulness and in the foolish delights of the flesh.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 712

This is a great passage!

[Shin]

Yes it is very helpful and key! One should strive to make an act of perfect contrition after any known sin!

Of course one cannot make an act of perfect contrition on one's own, one requires supernatural grace and help, so you have to pray for it!

I love how helpful shorter prayers are!

[Therese]

Yes, Whiterockdove, a great passage indeed, a great instruction to follow along with the rest of our Lady's instructions.  And yes, Shin, everybody should be praying for actual grace to make an act of perfect contrition, and for perfect contrition itself.  There are some very good little books written about perfect contrition that people really should read.   

[Therese]

'Among the wonders which the Lord wrought with the most blessed Mother during these last years, there was one, which was manifest not only to the Evangelist, but to many of the faithful.  This was, that when the blessed Lady received holy Communion, She shone for some hours with a clearness so wonderful, that She seemed transfigured and gifted with glory.  This was caused by the sacred body of her Son, who, as I have before stated, showed Himself to her in a transfigured and more glorious state than on mount Tabor.  All that then beheld Her were filled with a joy and with effects so divine that they could indeed be felt but not described.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 718`

[Therese]

'When the great Queen had made her testament, She gave thanks to the Almighty and asked permission to add another petition, saying:  "Most clement Lord and Father of mercies, if it is according to thy pleasure, my soul desires that at its departure be present the Apostles, my masters and thy anointed, together with the other disciples, in order that they pray for me and bless me at my transition from  this into the eternal life."  To this her divine Son answered:  "My most beloved Mother, the Apostles are already on their way to come to thee, and those that are near shall shortly arrive, while those that are far off shall be carried by my angels; because for my and thy greater glory it is my will that all assist at thy glorious departure for the glorious mansions, so that thou and they may be consoled."  For this new favor the most blessed Mary gave thanks prostrate upon the ground, and therewith the three divine Persons returned to the empyrean heavens.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 727

[Therese]

'Now is the time to work, so that thou mayest find thyself prepared, at leisure, and disengaged to receive the Spouse at the hour of death.  Look upon my freedom and detachment from all earthly things:  govern thyself by it, and let not the oil of light and of love fail thee (Matth. 25, 3), in order that thou mayest enter the nuptials of the Spouse through the open gates of his infinite mercy and clemency.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 731

[Shin]

Deo gratias for His infinite mercy and clemency!

[Therese]

'Thou hast already recorded, that the Lord offered me the choice of entering into beatific vision either with or without passing through the portals of death.  If I had preferred not to die, the Most High would have conceded this favor, because sin had no part in me, and hence also not its punishment, which is death.  Thus it would also have been with my divine Son, and with a greater right, if He had not taken upon Himself the satisfaction of the divine justice for men through his Passion and Death.  Hence I chose death freely in order to imitate and follow Him, as also I did during his grievous passion.  Since I had seen my Son and true God die, I would not have satisfied the love I owe Him, if I had refused death, and I would have left a great gap in my conformity to and my imitation of my Lord the Godman, whereas He wished me to bear a great likeness to Him in his most sacred humanity.  As I would thereafter never be able to make up for such a defect, my soul would not enjoy the plenitude of the delight of having died as did my Lord and God.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 744

[Therese]

'And since death follows upon life and ordinarily corresponds with it, therefore the surest pledge of a good death is a good life; a life in which the heart is freed and detached from earthly love....I had no share in original sin and none of its effects had any power over my faculties; nevertheless I lived in the greatest constraint, in poverty and detached from earthly things, most perfect and holy; and this holy freedom I did indeed experience at the hour of my death.  Consider then, my daughter, and be mindful of this living example; free thy heart more and more each day, so that with advancing years thou mayest find thyself more free, more detached and averted from visible things, and so that when the Spouse shall call thee to his nuptials, thou wilt not need to seek in vain the required freedom and prudence.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 746

[Therese]

'During a whole year the exquisite fragrance exhaled by the [deceased] body of the Queen was noticeable throughout the Cenacle,  and in her oratory, for many years.'

Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 754






'It is time that thou die to visible things, and that thy body be buried in thy self-knowledge and self-abasement, while thy soul sink into the being of God.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 757

[Therese]

'If the world will not forget thee, do thou forget it; if it will not leave thee alone remember that thou hast forsaken it, and that I have separated thee from it.  If it follow thee, fly; if it flatter thee, despise it; if it contemn thee, suffer it; and if it seek thee, let it not find thee except in so far as will be to the glory of the Most High.  But as regards all the rest, thou must not any more bear in mind, than the living remember the dead.  Forget it just as the dead forget the living, and I desire that thou have no more intercourse with this world, than the dead have with the living.  It will not seem extraordinary to thee, that in the beginning, in the middle and at the end of this history I repeat so often this doctrine, if thou ponder what depends upon thy practicing it.  Consider, my dearest, what persecutions the devil has roused against thee in secret through the world and its inhabitants under different pretexts and appearances.  If God has permitted them for the purpose of trying thee and for the exercise of his grace, it is proper, that, as far as thou are concerned, thou take it as a lesson and a warning.  Remember that great is the treasure which thou carriest in a fragile vessel (II Cor. 2,7), and that all hell conspires and rises up against thee.  Thou livest in mortal flesh, surrounded and assailed by astute enemies.  Be a Spouse of Christ my divine Son, and I shall be thy Mother and Instructress.  Recognize, then, thy need and thy weakness, and correspond with me as a dearest daughter, as an obedient and perfect disciple in all things.'

Our Lady to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Vol. IV, 758

[Shin]

The three enemies -- The world, the flesh, and the devil.

[Therese]

I feel sad that this last volume is coming near to its end.  How I've loved reading this work and sharing it with you all!

[Shin]

Now we have to look back on the fond memories.

And people will be rereading these posts as I have and there will be questions and comments reviving it in the future too.   

[Therese]

That I look forward too!  God bless you, Shin!