Mystical City of God

Types of Visions Mary Enjoyed - Part 1 - The Conception - Bk2 - Ch 14 -

The Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Agreda explores the different types of visions of God the Blessed Virgin Mary experienced during her life. The Blessed Virgin Mary went on to encourage Sister Mary saying, "This is the science and divine philosophy taught to you by the visits of the Most High and in it, you will feel the force of the divine fire, which should never through your fault and your negligence, be allowed to become extinguished in your bosom. Be alert, dilate your heart, gird yourself with fortitude in order to be commissioned with great undertakings and be able to accomplish them. Be constant in your faith regarding these admonitions, believing in them, esteeming them, and writing them in your soul with a humble and loving affection of your heart, as being sent in faithful solicitude by your Spouse and transmitted to you by me, your Teacher and Mistress."

Types of Visions Mary Enjoyed Part 2 - The Conception - Bk2 - Ch 14

The Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Agreda continues exploring the different types of visions of God the Blessed Virgin Mary experienced during her life. The Blessed Virgin Mary gave Sister Mary a word of caution saying, "...you have a certain rule of action in regard to the visions and revelations of the Lord, and it demands two precautions. The one consists in you subjecting these relations to the examination and the judgment of your confessors and superiors, asking the Most High with a lively faith, that He give them light to understand his divine will and truth to instruct you fully therein. The other consists of questioning your own heart and observing the effects of these revelations and visions, prudently trying to assure yourself against any error. "

Other Visions of Angels the Virgin Mary Enjoyed - The Conception - Bk2 - Ch 15

The Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Ágreda describes other kinds of visions and communications the Blessed Virgin Mary experienced with the angels of her guard. The Blessed Virgin Mary tells us we need to be both mindful and grateful for the many favors angels do for us.

"Admirable is the love, the fidelity, and the solicitude with which the angelic spirits assist mortals in their necessities; and most horrible is the forgetfulness, ingratitude, and grossness on the part of men in failing to acknowledge this debt." - the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Death of Mary’s Father St. Joachim and the Merit of Suffering - The Conception - Bk2 - Ch 16

As she returns to the happenings at the Temple in Jerusalem, the Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Ágreda describes the death of St. Joachim, six months after the Virgin Mary entered the Temple. The Blessed Virgin Mary teaches us about the merit of suffering saying, "My daughter, renovate many times in the secret of your heart your esteem for the blessing of tribulations, which the hidden providence of God dispenses for the justification of mortals. These are the judgments justified in themselves (Psalm 18:10-11) and more valuable than precious stones and gold, sweeter than the honeycomb, to those who know how to hold them in proper esteem. I wish you to remember, my beloved, that to suffer and to be afflicted with or without one’s fault is a benefit of which one cannot be worthy without special and great mercy of the Almighty; moreover to be allowed to suffer for one’s sins, is not only a mercy, but is demanded by justice. Behold, however, the great insanity of the children of Adam nowadays in desiring and seeking after compensations, benefits, and favors agreeable to their senses, and in sleeplessly striving to avert from themselves, that which is painful or includes any hardship or trouble."

Mary Encounters her 1st Dark Night of the Soul - The Conception, Bk2, Ch 17

The Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Ágreda describes how the Princess of Heaven begins to suffer affliction. How God hid Himself (without leaving) from the Blessed Virgin Mary and how she responds with her sweet and amorous sighs. "My daughter, all goods are estimated according to the appreciation in which creatures hold them; in so far they value them, as they know them to be good. But since there is only one true Good, and all the others merely fictitious and apparent, it follows, that only the highest Good is to be appreciated and recognized. Then only shalt thou give Him true appreciation and love, when thou shalt enjoy and esteem Him above all created things. By this appreciation and love will also be measured the sorrow of losing Him and from this thou canst understand somewhat my sentiments, at the time when the eternal God absented Himself from me, leaving me in my fears lest perhaps I had lost Him through my own fault." - the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary is bullied and what was behind it - The Conception - Bk2 - Ch18

The Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Agreda describes how Mary was mistreated by the other girl at the Temple. She provides an inside look, at both the material and the supernatural elements at work. The Blessed Virgin Mary explained to her, "...show yourself most meek, peaceful and agreeable toward those, who molest you; esteem them truly in your heart, and do not take vengeance on your Lord by taking vengeance on his instruments, nor despise the inestimable jewel of injuries. As far as lies in you always give good for evil (Romans 12:14), benefits for injuries, love for hate, praise for blame, blessings for malediction. Then will you be a perfect daughter of your Father (Matthew 5 43), the beloved spouse of your Lord, my friend, and my most cherished daughter."

The death of Mary’s mother St. Anne - The Conception - Bk2 - Ch19

The Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Ágreda describes how Mary was able to visit her mother St. Anne at her death bed. She also tells us about how God intervened to improve Mary's life at the Temple in Jerusalem, but how Mary saw the difficulties as great advantages.

The Blessed Virgin Mary's instruction included, "...the most valuable science of man is to know how to resign himself entirely into the hands of his Creator, since He knows why he has formed him and for what end each man is destined. Man’s sole duty is to live in obedience and in the love of his Lord. God will charge himself most solicitously with the care of those that thus confide in Him; He will take upon Himself the management of all the affairs and all the events of this life in order to draw blessings and benefits for those that thus trust in his fidelity."

Mary‘s Dark Night Ends - Suffering Explained - The Conception - Bk2 - Ch20

The Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Agreda takes us up to what's near the end of Mary's time at the Temple in Jerusalem. Mary has suffered for years, and the angels and God explain suffering to her. The Blessed Virgin Mary explained, "Accept then, my dearest, this doctrine and engrave it deeply into your heart. Understand that as a daughter of the Most High, as a spouse of my Son, and as my disciple, even if from no other motive, you must acquire the precious gem of suffering and thus become pleasing to your Lord and Spouse. I exhort you, my daughter, to select the sufferings of his Cross in preference to his favors and gifts and rather embrace afflictions than a desire to be visited with caresses; for in choosing favors and delights you may be moved by self-love, but in accepting tribulations and sorrows, you can be moved only by the love of Christ."

God asks Mary to get Married - The Conception - Bk2 - Ch21

The Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Ágreda explains how God asked the Virgin Mary to enter into marriage (before Joseph was chosen) and Mary's reaction. The Blessed Virgin Mary tells us, "...most high and venerable are the judgments of the Lord, and they should not be scrutinized by mortals, since they are impenetrable. His Majesty commanded me to enter the state of matrimony and at the same time concealed from me the sacrament dependent upon entering it."

She went on to say, "I was aware that God is superior to all creatures and that He had no need of our foresight; for He seeks only the subjection of our will, since the creature cannot give Him counsel, but only obedience and praise. And although, on account of not knowing what He wished of me and ordained for me in the state of matrimony, the love, which I had for chastity caused me much affliction; yet that grievous sorrow did not make me curious and inquisitive, but served to make my obedience more excellent and pleasing in his eyes."

Mary and Joseph‘s Marriage - The Conception - Bk2 - Ch22

The Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Ágreda explains the details of the selection and marriage of Mary and Joseph. How old was Joseph? More importantly their interior lives.

The Blessed Virgin Mary tells us that our state in life, or our vocation, is no hindrance to the level of holiness we can achieve, "...in the example of the matrimonial life wherein the Most High placed me, you find a reproof for those souls, who allege their life in the world as an excuse for not following perfection. To God nothing is impossible, and nothing is likewise impossible to those, who with a lively faith, hope in Him, and resign themselves entirely to his divine Providence. I lived in the house of my spouse with the same perfection as in the temple; for in changing my state of life I altered neither my sentiments nor the desire and anxiety to love and serve God; on the contrary, I added to my solicitude lest the obligations of a spouse should hinder me in God s service. On this account, God favored me and disposed and accommodated powerfully all things in conformity to my desires. The Lord will do the same for all men if on their part they correspond. They however blame the state of matrimony, deceiving themselves; for the hindrance to a holy and perfect life, is not the state, but the vain and superfluous cares and anxieties, in which they involve themselves forgetting the sweetness of the Lord and seeking and preferring their own."