Reader Note: At the end of most chapters in the complete book of the Mystical City of God, Blessed Mary includes Her Divinely inspired teachings and guidance for living our mortal lives to attain eternal life. Although some paragraphs are specifically addressed to Sr. Mary of Agreda to assist in her discipleship, these messages are also meant for everyone's instruction and guidance.
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LISTEN (Vol 4 Bk 2 Chap12)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“My daughter, first of all I wish to enlighten you concerning certain doubts of your heart regarding the exalted and extraordinary mysteries of this history. Two misgivings have disturbed your interior: first, whether you, who knows yourself to be such an insignificant useless and ignorant woman, are a fit instrument for recording these mysteries; whether it would not be better to let some other person, more learned and perfect in virtue, write them and thus give them more authority; since you are the least of all, the most useless and ignorant.”
“Secondly, whether these mysteries, which are so extraordinary and never heard of, especially the frequent beatific and intuitive visions of the Divinity during my life, shall ever find credit among those who read of them.”
“To your first doubt I answer, that in truth you are the least and most useless of all; since you have heard it from the mouth of the Lord and I confirm it. But remember that belief in this history and in all that it contains, does not depend on the instrument, but on its Author, who is the highest truth, and upon the contents of your writing; and in this regard not even the highest seraph could add thereto, nor can you diminish or omit anything.”
“That an angel should write this history is not befitting; and if he should, the unbelievers and the sluggish of heart will nevertheless find occasion to slander him. It is necessary that the instrument be a human person; but it was not proper that this person be the most learned or wise; for then this work might be ascribed to his knowledge and thus occasion the danger of having the Divine light esteemed no higher, or even lower, than human knowledge, or it might be attributed entirely to human forethought and industry.”
“It is more to the glory of God, that this person should be a woman, who can rely neither on her own knowledge, nor her own industry. I likewise take special pleasure and honor from the fact that you are this instrument; because you (and all others) will know, that there is nothing of your own in this history and that you must not attribute more to yourself than to the pen with which you write, since you are but the instrument in the hands of the Lord and the repeater of my words. And, as you are such, so insignificant and sinful, you will not be disturbed in seeing mortals refuse to believe; since, in disbelieving what you write, they will not do any wrong to you, but by their unbelief fail in proper reverence for my words.”
“Although your faults and shortcomings are many, they can all be neutralized by the charity and kindness of the Lord, who has not looked for any other instrument of this work, but has raised you from the dust and manifested in you His liberal power. He has communicated His doctrine by one in whom the power of His truth would appear more plainly; and hence I desire that you follow it up in your conduct and reach the perfection you desire.”
“In answer to the second misgiving and anxiety, whether the greatness of these mysteries will not prevent belief in what you write, I have said many things in the course of this history. Those that take care to attain a worthy concept and appreciation of me, will find no difficulty in believing me; for they will understand the relation and proportion of my privileges to the dignity of Mother of God. They will understand that God's works are perfect; and if anyone begins to doubt in these matters, it is certain that he does not know what God is, or what I am.”
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LISTEN (Vol 1 Bk 1 Chap 26)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“My daughter, I wish that you reap for yourself the fruits which you desire from the description of the mysteries and sacraments of my holy life; and let the reward of your labors be the greater purity and perfection of your life, disposing yourself by the grace of the Most High to practice what you hear, is the will of my Divine Son, that you exert all your powers toward that which I shall teach you, and that you apply yourself with all your heart to my virtues and works.”
“Hear me with attentive faith, for I will speak to you words of eternal life and teach you the most holy things of a perfect Christian life and what is most acceptable to God. Begin even now to dispose yourself for the reception of the light, in which you shall see the hidden mysteries of my most holy life and the doctrine, which you desire. Continue in this exercise and write down that which I will teach you in this regard. And now listen."
"It is an act of justice due to the Eternal God that the creature coming to the use of reason, direct its very first movement toward God. By knowing, it should begin to love Him, reverence Him and adore Him as its Creator and only true Lord.”
“The parents are naturally bound to instruct their children from their infancy in this knowledge of God and to direct them with solicitous care, so that they may at once see their ultimate end and seek it in their first acts of the intellect and will. They should with great watchfulness withdraw them from the childishness and puerile trickishness to which depraved nature will incline them if left without direction. If the fathers and mothers would be solicitous to prevent these vanities and perverted habits of their children and would instruct them from their infancy in the knowledge of their God and Creator, then they would afterwards easily accustom them to know and adore Him.”
“My holy mother, who knew not of my wisdom and real condition, was most solicitously beforehand in this matter, for when She bore me in her womb, she adored in my name the Creator and offered worship and thanks for His having created me, beseeching Him to defend me and bring me forth to the light of day from the condition in which I then was.”
“ So also parents should pray with fervor to God, that the souls of their children, through His Providence, may obtain Baptism and be freed from the servitude of original sin. And if the rational creature has not known and adored the Creator from the first dawn of reason, it should do this as soon as it obtains knowledge of the essential God by the light of faith. From that very moment the soul must exert itself never to lose Him from her sight, always fearing Him, loving Him, and reverencing Him.”
“Thou, my daughter, owes this adoration to God from the beginning of your life; but now I desire you to practice it in a more perfect manner, as I shall show you. Direct the eyes of your soul toward the essence of God, which is without beginning and without limit, contemplate His infinite attributes and perfections. Consider that He alone is the true holiness, the highest Good, the most noble object of creatures, that He alone gave being to all things and without having need of them, sustains and governs them. He is consummate beauty without defect, He is eternal in His love, true in His words and most faithful in His promises. He it was who gave His own life and subjected Himself to sufferings for the good of His creatures without waiting for any merits on their part.”
“Over this wide field of Goodness and of benefits extend your vision and occupy your faculties without forgetting or wandering away therefrom. For, having obtained such a great knowledge of the highest Good, it would be a loathsome meanness and disloyalty to forget Him, and horrible would be your ingratitude, if, after having received an enlightenment so much above the common and ordinary, and divinely infused by faith, you would allow your understanding and will to swerve from the course of Divine love.”
“If at any time in your weakness it should nevertheless happen, then quickly seek it again with all dispatch and diligence and return more humbly to the Most High to give Him honor, glory and eternal praise. Remember that you must consider it your special duty to do this incessantly for yourself and for all the other creatures and in this I desire you to exert all your diligence”
“In order to excite yourself to greater efforts, confer in your heart what you know of my own conduct; how at the first sight of the highest Good, my heart was wounded with love, giving myself entirely to Him in order never to separate myself thereafter.”
“My whole life was consumed in this and I ceased not to press forward in order to arrive at the center of my desires and affections; for since the Object is infinite, so love can have no rest or cessation until It is attained. With the knowledge of God and the love of Him should also go the knowledge of yourself, remembering and considering your insignificance and vileness. Advert that when these truths are well understood, repeated, and meditated upon, they will cause Divine effects in the soul.”
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LISTEN Vol 3 Bk 2 Chap 4
Note: Herod, by his hollow pomp, his pride, vanity, tyranny and wickedness was later struck down by the minister angel of God in order to be punished in the eternal flames. Remember that the same happens now and always in the world; although men do not pay attention to it or fear it.
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“My daughter, you have been very short in describing the mysteries of this chapter; yet a great lesson is contained therein for you and all the children of light. Write it in your heart and notice well the great difference between the innocence and holiness of the Baptist, who was poor, afflicted, persecuted and imprisoned, and the abominable wickedness of Herod, the powerful king, who was flattered and served in the midst of his riches and base pleasures.”
“Both were of the same human nature, but entirely different in the sight of God, according as they used ill or well their free will and the created things around them. The penance, poverty, humility, contempt, tribulations of saint John, and his zeal for the glory of my Divine Son, merited for him the singular favor of dying in our arms. Herod, on the contrary, by his hollow pomp, his pride, vanity, tyranny and wickedness was struck down by the minister of God in order to be punished in the eternal flames.”
“Remember that the same happens now and always in the world; although men do not pay attention to it or fear it. They fear the vain strength of the world, not reflecting that it is but fleeting shadow and withering grass. Just as little do men think of the ultimate end, and of the abyss, into which vices draw them even in this world. Although the demon cannot take away man's liberty, nor ever completely sway his free will, yet, by leading them into so many and grievous sins, he obtains such an influence over it, that he is enabled to use it as an instrument of the evil he proposes. In spite of witnessing so many and such terrible examples, men remain callous to the fearful danger to which they expose themselves by their sins in imitation of Herod and his adulterous concubine.”
“In order to cast souls into this abyss of wickedness Lucifer meets them with the vain pride and honor of this world and with its base pleasures, representing them as alone important and desirable. Thus the ignorant children of perdition loosen the bonds of reason, in order to follow the degrading pleasures of their flesh and be enslaved by their mortal enemy.”
“My daughter, the Savior and I have taught the way of humility, of contempt, and tribulation. This is the royal road, on which we first walked, and of which We have set Ourselves up as Teachers. We are the Protectors of all the afflicted and ill-used, ready to assist by miraculous and especial favors all those who call upon Us in their necessities.”
“Of this assistance and protection the followers of this world and its vain pleasures deprive themselves, since they hate the way of the Cross. To the Cross you were called and invited, and on account of it you are favored with the sweetness of my loving guidance. Follow me and labor to imitate me, since you have found the secret treasure (Matth. 12, 44) and the precious pearl, for the possession of which you must despise all that is earthly and give up all human freedom in so far as it is contrary to the pleasure of my most exalted Lord.”
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LISTEN Vol 4 Bk 1 Chap 7
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"I wish you to take notice, that, though the species of the Eucharist are consumed, my Divine Son, whenever souls receive Him with reverence and fervor and prepare for Him a pure and ardent heart, remains with them with special graces, by which He assists them, enriches and directs them in return for their hospitality.
Beware the souls, who partake of this blessing, because many knowing of it, approach the holy Sacrament without the proper disposition, as if by haphazard or habit, and without being solicitous for the reverence and holy fear due to It."
"In pondering over my teachings make yourself worthy to understand profoundly this mystery of love, and when you are permitted to receive Him, detach and cleanse your interior from all earthly things, attending only to the fact, that you are about to receive the infinite and incomprehensible God Himself.
Surpass yourself in love, in humility, and thanksgiving; since all that you can ever do, will be less than is demanded by such an exalted mystery.
For your better preparation, let that which I did on such occasions be your model and example.
I desire especially that you imitate me interiorly, as in the three bodily prostrations.
Observe also that which you have added yourself, in order to do reverence to the Sacramental Flesh and Blood as coming from my womb and as having been nourished and grown from my milk. Ever keep up this devotion; for the truth you have perceived, that this consecrated Body contains part of my own blood and substance, is in fact real.
And if in your love, you would deeply grieve to see the sacred Body and Blood ignominiously and sacrilegiously trampled under foot; you should feel the same grief and shed bitter tears at seeing so many children of the Church treat It with irreverence and without any fear or decorum."
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LISTEN Vol 2 Bk2 Chap25
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“When the necessaries of life are wanting to those under your charge, exert yourself properly to obtain them. If sometimes you must sacrifice your own tranquility in fulfilling this obligation, you need not on that account to lose your peace of mind; especially if you are mindful of what I have so often told you: not to lose sight of the presence of the Lord; for by his Divine light and grace, if you are careful and preserve your peace, you can do all things.”
“Whatever can duly be procured by human exertion, is not to be expected by a miracle, nor must one try to exempt himself from labor in the hope of a supernatural interference on the part of God; for the Lord sweetly concurs with the ordinary and natural course of created things. The labor of the body is serviceable to the soul as a sacrifice and as an increase of the merits due to that kind of activity.
While at work the rational creature can praise God and adore Him in spirit and in truth (John 4, 23). In order to fulfill this duty, direct your activity according to His pleasure, consult His will in regard to them, weighing them with the scales of the sanctuary and riveting your attention upon the Divine light which the Almighty infuses in your soul.”
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LISTEN: Vol 2 Bk 2 Chap 28
INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE INFANT JESUS TO ST. JOSEPH
Seizing upon this occasion the infant God ( at 1yr. of age), resting upon the arms of His Mother as upon the seat of wisdom, began to speak to saint Joseph in an intelligible voice, saying: "My father, I came from heaven upon this earth in order to be the light of the world, and in order to rescue it from darkness of sin; in order to seek and know My sheep as a good Shepherd, to give them nourishment of eternal life, teach them the way of heaven, open its gates, which had been closed by their sins. I desire that you both be children of the Light, which you have so close at hand."
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READ: Vol 3 Bk 2 Chap 6
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“My daughter, you daily understand and declare more fully in this history, that my Son, and I with Him, in our ardent love, embraced the way of the Cross and suffering for the whole course of our natural life. You receive this knowledge more fully and hear this doctrine repeated so often, that you must strive to follow it closely in your daily life. This duty grows upon you from the day in which my Son has chosen you as bride, and will oblige you more and more, so that you can not evade the duty of embracing and loving hardships to such an extent, that your greatest pain shall be to be without them.
Renew every day this desire in your heart, for I wish you to be very proficient in this science, which the world abhors so much.
But remember, at the same time, that God does not afflict creatures merely for the sake of afflicting them, but in order to make them more capable and worthy of receiving the blessings and treasures prepared for them beyond all human conception (1 Cor. 2, 9). For the confirmation of this truth and as a pledge of His promises He permitted the Transfiguration of Himself on Mount Tabor in my presence and that of some of the disciples. In the prayer which He then made to the eternal Father and which I alone knew of and understood, He humbled Himself before His Father confessing Him (as He always did in His prayers) as the true God, infinite in His perfections and attributes, and besought Him to concede a share of the glory of His own body to all those, who in their mortal bodies should afflict themselves and bear hardships for His love and in imitation of His own, and to grant this glory in the measure proper to each after the resurrection of their bodies in the final judgment.
Since the eternal Father granted this request, there is a certain contract between God and man. The glory which was given to the body of Christ the Savior was a pledge of that which Christ was to secure for all His followers. Great, therefore, is the value of the momentary hardships endured in the privation of earthly delights and in mortifications and sufferings for the sake of Christ (II Cor. 4, 17).
On account of the merits of this prayer of Christ, this glory which belongs to Him is due to the creatures in justice, since men are the members of Christ's mystical body (II Tim. 4, 8) . Yet this union with Christ, by which man merits such reward, must be brought about by grace and by imitation of the same suffering which merited it for the Redeemer.
If all bodily suffering merits its crown, a much greater crown is merited by the patient endurance and pardoning of injuries, and by returning good for them, as We acted in regard to Judas; for the Lord did not only not take away from Judas his apostolate, or show Himself in any way irritated against him, but He patiently bore with him to the very end, when Judas had already made himself altogether unfit for any graces by giving himself up to the devil.
During our mortal life the Lord is very slow in visiting His vengeance upon us; but He will make up for His slowness in the severity of His punishments after death. If then God suffers and bears with us so much, how much must one poor worm of the earth bear with another, since both are of the same nature and condition? By the light of this truth and by the charity of the Lord and Spouse, you must regulate the amount of your patience and long suffering with others and the zeal for their salvation. I do not say that you must therefore permit what is against the honor of God, for that would not be a true zeal for the good of your neighbor; but you must love them as creatures of the Lord and abhor sin; you must suffer and ignore whatever is done against you, always seeking, as far as in you lies, the salvation of others.
Do not lose heart, when you sees no immediate fruit, but continue to present to the eternal Father the merits of my most holy Son, my intercession and that of the saints and angels; for as God is charity and as they are the ministers of the Most High, they will gladly make use of this same charity for the benefit of those who are still on their pilgrimage.” s on our website. We offer a variety of resources, including articles, videos, and forums, to help you deepen your understanding of spirituality and connect with others on a similar journey.
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LISTEN (Vol 2 Bk 2 Chap 24)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“My daughter, great and above all else to be esteemed, is the consolation of the faithful friends of my most holy Son, when they with lively faith and assurance are permitted to serve the Lord of lords and the God of gods, who alone holds power and dominion over all creation and who triumphs and reigns over His enemies.
In this feeling of assurance the intellect is delighted, the memory is recreated, the will is rejoiced and all the powers of the devout soul enjoy the sweetness of the most exalted activity. For they are entirely taken up with this supreme Goodness, Holiness and infinite Power, which has need of none outside Itself and whose will governs all created things (II Mach. 14,35, Apoc. 4,11).”
“O how many thousand-fold blessings do those creatures lose who, forgetful of their true happiness, employ all the time of their life and all their powers in attending upon visible things, pursuing the momentary pleasures and seeking the apparent and deceitful goods of this world!”
In the knowledge and light vouchsafed to you I would wish, my daughter, that you withdraw yourself from this danger, and that your intellect and memory occupy themselves continually with the reality of the existence of your God. In this endless sea, engulf and annihilate yourself, repeating without cessation: "Who is like to God our Lord, that dwells on high and looks upon the humble in heaven and on earth?" (Ps. 112, 5). Who is like to Him, that is almighty and depends upon no one? that humbles the proud, and casts down those whom the blind world calls powerful, that triumphs over the demon and hurls him to the abyss?”
“In order that your heart may dilate so much the more upon these truths and attain a greater power over the enemies of the Most High and of yourself, I wish that, as far as is possible, you imitate me, glorying in the victories and triumphs of His mighty arm and seeking yourself to have a share in those which He gains over this cruel dragon. No created tongue, not that of the seraphim, can describe what my soul felt when I beheld my most holy Son working such wonders against His enemies for the benefit of the souls blinded and terrorized by their errors and for the exaltation and honor of the Most High.”
“In this jubilation I magnified the Lord; and in company with my Son I composed new hymns of praise as His Mother and as Spouse of the Holy Ghost. You are a daughter of the holy Church and a spouse of my most blessed Son, favored by His grace: it is therefore just that you be zealous in acquiring this glory and honor for Him, striving against His enemies and battling for the triumphs of your Spouse.”
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LISTEN (Vol 3 Bk 2 Chap 9)
INSTRUCTION OF MOST HOLY MARY.
"I wish you also to ponder, what a horrible crime it is in the eyes of the Lord, in mine, and in those of all the saints, that men should despise and neglect the frequent reception of the holy Communion, and that they should approach it without preparation and fervent devotion."
"Principally in order that you may understand and record this warning, I have manifested to you, what I did on that occasion and how I prepared myself so many years for receiving my most blessed Son in the holy Sacrament and also the rest, which you are yet to write for the instruction and confusion of men. For if I, who was innocent of any hindering sin and filled with all graces, sought to increase my fitness for this favor by such fervent acts of love, humility and gratitude, consider what efforts you and the other children of the Church, who every day and hour incur new guilt and blame, must make in order to fit yourselves for the beauty of the Divinity and humanity of my most holy Son? "
"What excuse can those men give in the last judgment, who have despised this ineffable love and blessing, which they had always present in the holy Church, ready to fill them with the plenitude of His gifts, and who rather sought diversion in worldly pleasures and attended upon the outward and deceitful vanities of this earthly life? Be amazed at this insanity as were the holy angels, and guard thyself against falling into the same error."
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LISTEN (Vol 3 Bk 2 Chap 24)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“O how many thousand-fold blessings do those creatures lose who, forgetful of their true happiness, employ all the time of their life and all their powers in attending upon visible things, pursuing the momentary pleasures and seeking the apparent and deceitful goods of this world! In the knowledge and light vouchsafed to you I would wish, my daughter, that you withdraw yourself from this danger, and that your intellect and memory occupy themselves continually with the reality of the existence of your God."
"In this endless sea, engulf and annihilate yourself, repeating without cessation: "Who is like to God our Lord, that dwells on high and looks upon the humble in heaven and on earth?" (Ps. 112, 5). Who is like to Him, that is almighty and depends upon no one? ..that humbles the proud, and casts down those whom the blind world calls powerful, that triumphs over the demon and hurls him to the abyss?”
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LISTEN (Vol 3 Bk 1 Chap 21)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“In order to understand better what you have written, you must keep in mind three motives of our Lord in entering upon this battle with Lucifer, and this understanding will furnish you great light and strength against Satan and his followers. His first motive was to destroy sin and the seeds of sin, sown in the human nature by Satan in the first transgression of Adam."
"These seeds are the seven capital vices: pride, avarice, lust and the others, being the seven heads of the dragon. Lucifer appointed an infernal chieftain over each one of these vices in the battle of hell against the human race, and the evil spirits were distributed into squadrons under these leaders in order to maintain the sort of orderly confusion, which I have described in the first part of this heavenly history (Part I, No. 103)."
"Accordingly my divine Son entered into conflict with each one of these princes of darkness, vanquishing them and destroying their power. In the Gospels only three temptations are mentioned, being those which are more manifest to the senses; but the conflict and the triumph was far more extensive, for Christ our Lord overcame all these princes and their vices."
"Pride He overcame by His humility; anger, by His meekness; avarice, by His contempt for riches; and all the other vices, by their corresponding virtues. The greatest defeat and consternation, however, overtook these enemies at the foot of the Cross, when they became certain that it was the incarnate Word who had conquered and crushed them. Since that time they are timid in entering into conflict with those men, who rely on the power and triumph of my Son."
"The second motive for engaging in this conflict was obedience to the command of the eternal Father, who not only wished Him to die for men, and redeem them by His Passion and Death, but also to enter into battle with the demons and vanquish them by the force of His incomparable virtues."
"The third motive, and the one that was consequent upon the second, was to furnish mankind an example and a model for triumphing over their enemies and to take away from all men any cause of wonder or surprise at being tempted and persecuted by the devils. He wished that all should have this consolation in their temptations and conflicts, that their Redeemer and Teacher first suffered them in His own Person (Heb. 4, 15); for, though in some respects his temptations were different from ours, yet in substance, they were entirely the same, only of greater satanic force and malice."
"My Lord permitted Lucifer to strain all his powers in his battle with Him, in order that by His Divine power He might crush and enfeeble hell in its battles against mankind, making it more easy for us to overcome them, if we wish to avail ourselves of the advantages gained by this very conflict of our Redeemer."
"All mortals have need of this instruction, if they are to vanquish the demon; but you, my daughter, need it more than many generations on account of the wrath of this dragon against you and on account of your natural weakness in battle, when not assisted by my teaching and this example. Before all see that you keep in subjection your flesh and the influences of the world. Mortifying your flesh and flying the world by retiring from creatures to the interior of your soul, thus conquering both these enemies and preserving the blessed light of grace, which you there receive, and loving nothing except in as far as well ordered charity permits."
"For this purpose renew in yourself the memory of the narrow path pointed out to you; for the Lord has given you a natural faculty of ardent love, and We wish that you consecrate this faculty entirely to the love of God."
"Consent not to any movement of your appetites, no matter in how small a matter; and allow your senses no liberty, except for the exaltation of the Most High, or for suffering or doing something for the benefit and love of your neighbor. If you obey me in all things, I will see that you are protected and strengthened against this cruel dragon for the battles of the Lord (I King 25, 28). A thousand shields will surround you both for defense and offense against the demon. Accustom yourself always to use against him the words of holy Writ, not deigning to exchange many words with such an astute enemy."
"Weak creatures should not indulge in conferences or arguments with their mortal enemy and the master of lies; since even my Divine Son, who was All powerful and infinitely wise, did not do so.
In this He gave the souls an example how circumspectly they are to act with the devil. Arm yourself with living faith, unwavering hope and love of humility, for these are the virtues by which the dragon is crushed and vanquished and against which he dares not make a stand. He flies from them because they are powerful weapons against his pride and arrogance.”
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LISTEN (Vol 2 Bk 2 Chap 3)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“In his malice and astuteness, the ancient serpent strains all his powers to destroy in the human heart the science of humility, sowed by the Redeemer as a seed of holiness in the human heart; and in its place he seeks to sow the cockle of pride (Matth. 13, 25)."
"In order to root out these and allow free growth to the blessing of humility, it is necessary that the soul consent and seek to be humiliated by its fellow creatures and that it asks the Lord incessantly and in all sincerity of heart for this virtue and for the means to attain it. Very scarce are the souls that apply themselves to this science and reach the perfection of this virtue; for it requires entire conquest of one's whole self to which few attain, even among those who profess to be virtuous."
"This contagion of pride has so deeply penetrated into the human faculties, that it is communicated to nearly all of men's doings and there is scarcely one among men who is without pride, just as the rose never grows without thorns or the grain without husks."
"On this account the Most High makes so much of the truly humble; and those who entirely triumph over pride, He exalts and places with the princes of his people, esteeming them as His favored children and exempting them from the jurisdiction of the demon. Thus it comes that the devil dares scarcely approach them, because he fears the humble and their victories over him more than the fires of hell."
"I desire, my dearest, that you attain the inestimable treasure of humility in all its fullness, and that you offer to the Most High a docile and yielding heart, in order that He may impress upon it, like on soft wax, the image of my own most humble activity."
"As you has been informed of such deeply hidden secrets concerning this sacrament, you are under great obligations to correspond to my wishes, not losing the least occasion of humiliation and advancing in this virtue. Neglect none of them, since you know how much I sought after them, who was the Mother of God Himself, most pure and full of grace."
"The greater my prerogatives, so much the greater was my humility, because in my estimation they far exceeded my merits and only increased my obligations."
"All you children of Adam (Ps. 50, 7), were conceived in sin, and there is none who has not sinned on his own account. If none can deny this infection of his nature, why should not all humiliate themselves before God and before men? Lowering themselves to the very dust and placing themselves in the last place is not such a great humiliation for those who have sinned, for even then they will always be more honored than they deserve."
"The truly humble must lower themselves beneath that which they have deserved. If all the creatures would despise and abhor them, or offend them; if they would consider themselves worthy of hellfire, they would only fulfill justice, but not the requirement of humility, since that would only be admitting their deserts."
"But real, deep humility goes to the length of desiring a greater humiliation than that due to one's self in justice. On this account there is no mortal who can attain to the kind of humility which I practiced, such as you has understood and described; but the Most High will be satisfied with and ready to reward the efforts of those who humble themselves as far as they can and as they deserve in justice.
Let then the sinners admit their baseness and understand how they make of themselves monsters of hell by imitating Lucifer in his pride. For pride found him beauteous and endowed with great gifts of grace and nature; and although he dissipated these blessings, he had nevertheless possessed them as his own."
"But man, who is mere slime, and moreover has sinned and is full of ugliness and baseness, is a monster, if he bloats himself up in vain pride. By such absurdity he surpasses even the demon; since man possesses a nature neither so noble, nor was ever gifted with such grace and beauty as Lucifer.
He and his hellish followers despise and laugh over men, who in such inferiority swell up in pride; for they can well understand this vain and contemptible madness and delirium."
"Mind well therefore, my daughter, this lesson, and humiliate yourself lower than the earth, showing just as little sense of injury as the dust, whenever the Lord, either Himself or through others, sends you humiliation. Never judge yourself injured by anyone nor consider yourself offended; if you abhor pretense and lying, remember, that the greatest offense is to aspire after honor or high position.
Do not attribute to creatures that which God brings about in order to humiliate you or others by affliction and tribulations; for this is protesting against mere instruments, while it is Divine mercy which inflicts punishment on men for their humiliation."
"This, if they would only understand, is really what is happening by the disposition of the Lord to the kingdoms of our day."
"Humiliate yourself in the Divine presence for yourself and for all your fellowmen, in order to placate his wrath, just as if you alone were guilty; and as if you never had made any satisfaction; since during mortal life no one can ever know whether he has satisfied for his transgressions.
Seek to appease Him as if you alone had offended Him; and in regard to the gifts and favors which you have received and does receive, show yourself grateful as one who deserves much less and owes much more. By these considerations humiliate yourself more than all others, and labor without ceasing to correspond to the Divine clemency, which has shown itself so liberal toward you.”
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LISTEN (Vol 2 Bk 2 Chap 16)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"My daughter, although you have described my spouse, saint Joseph, as the most noble among the princes and saints of the heavenly Jerusalem; yet neither can you properly manifest his eminent sanctity, nor can any of the mortals know it fully before they arrive at the vision of the Divinity. Then all of them will be filled with wonder and praise as the Lord will make them capable of understanding this sacrament."
"On the last day, when all men shall be judged, the damned will bitterly bewail their sins, which prevented them from appreciating this powerful means of their salvation, and availing themselves, as they easily could have, of this intercessor to gain the friendship of the just Judge. The whole human race has much undervalued the privileges and prerogatives conceded to my blessed spouse and they know not what his intercession with God is able to do. I assure you, my dearest, that he is one of the greatly favored personages in the Divine presence and has immense power to stay the arms of Divine vengeance."
"I desire that you be very thankful to the Divine condescension for vouchsafing you so much light and knowledge regarding this mystery, and also for the favor which I am doing you therein. From now on, during the rest of your mortal life, see that you advance in devotion and in hearty love toward my spouse, and that you bless the Lord for thus having favored him with such high privileges and for having rejoiced me so much in the knowledge of all his excellences. In all your necessities you must avail yourself of his intercession. You should induce many to venerate him and see that your own religious distinguish themselves in their devotion to him."
"That which my spouse asks of the Lord in heaven is granted upon the earth and on his intercession depend many and extraordinary favors for men, if they do not make themselves unworthy of receiving them. All these privileges were to be a reward for the amiable perfection of this wonderful saint and for his great virtues; for Divine clemency is favorably drawn forth by them and looks upon saint Joseph with generous liberality, ready to shower down its marvelous mercies upon all those who avail themselves of his intercession."
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LISTEN (Vol 3 Bk 1 Chap 23)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“My dearest daughter, the wisdom of the flesh has made men ignorant, foolish and hostile to God, because it is of the devil, deceitful, earthly and rebellious to the Divine laws (Rom. 8, 7)."
"The more the children of Adam study and exert themselves to reach the evil objects of their carnal and animal passions, and to attain the means of indulging them, so much the more will they fall into ignorance of Divine things, by which alone they can come to their true ultimate end. This ignorance and worldly prudence is still more abominable and still more hateful in the eyes of God, when it occurs in the children of the Church."
"By what right can the children of this world call themselves sons of God, brethren of Christ and inheritors of His possessions? The adopted son must be, in all that is possible, like unto the natural son. A brother is not of different blood or position from that of his brother. One is not called an heir merely because he is in some way concerned with the possessions of his father, but because he has the full enjoyment and comes into the possession of the principal property of the testator. How then are those heirs of Christ, who love, desire and seek only earthly goods and are perfectly satisfied with them? How can those be His brothers, who so widely depart from His position, His teachings and His holy rule of life? How can they be similar to Him and claim to be His image and likeness, when they so often destroy in themselves all likeness of Him and allow themselves to be so often sealed with the image of the infernal beast? (Apoc. 16, 2)."
"By Divine light you know, my daughter, these truths, and how much I exerted myself to make myself the image of the Most High, namely, my Son and Lord. Do not think, that I have given you such deep insight into my works without some purpose; for it is my wish that this remain written in your heart and be forever before your eyes, serving you as a rule for all your conduct during the remainder of your life, which cannot be of very long duration now."
"Do not allow yourself to be retarded and snared away from my following by intercourse with creatures; let them alone, avoid them, despise them in so far as they can hinder you on your way. In order that you may advance in my school, I wish to see you poor, humble, despised, abased yet always with a cheerful heart and countenance. Do not try to repay yourself with the applause or the love of any creature, nor allow human sentiment to rule you; for the Most High has not destined you for such useless entanglements, or for occupations so lowly and adverse to the religious state to which He has called you. Think attentively and humbly of the tokens of His love received at His hands; and of the treasures of His grace, which He has showered upon you."
"Neither Lucifer nor any of his ministers and followers are ignorant of them: they are filled with wrath against you and in their cunning they will let no stone unturned for your destruction. His greatest efforts will be directed against your interior, where he has planted his battery of cunning and deceit. Do live well prepared and watchful against all his attacks, close the portals of your senses and preserve the authority of your will, without allowing it to be spent on human undertakings no matter how good and upright they may appear to you: for if in the least point you curtail the love which God requires of you, this very point will be seized upon by your enemies as a portal of entrance."
"All the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17, 21), keep it there, and there will you find It, and in It all the good you desire. Forget not my teachings and discipline, lock it up in your bosom and remember how great is the danger and damage from which I thereby wish to preserve you. That you are called to imitate and follow Me, is the greatest blessing, which you can ever desire. I am ready in my extreme clemency to grant you this blessing, if you dispose yourself to high resolves, holy words and perfect works, which alone can raise you to the state which the Almighty and I desire you to attain.”
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LISTEN ( Vol 4 Bk 1 Chap 9)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"My daughter, you have so far been well informed of my life and activity, considering that you are a mere creature. Besides me, there is no other created being, which you can better use as your model and original for your greater holiness and perfection. But now you have entered upon the description of the supreme state of virtue reached by me in mortal life. This favor should oblige you to renew your desires and direct all the attention of your faculties toward the perfect imitation of all that I teach you. It is time, my dearest, and there is reason, that you deliver yourself entirely over to my will in what I seek of you."
"In order that you may animate yourself to the attainment of this blessing, I wish you to take notice, that, though the species of the Sacrament are consumed, my Divine Son, whenever souls receive Him with reverence and fervor and prepare for Him a pure and ardent heart, remains with them with special graces, by which He assists them, enriches and directs them in return for their hospitality. Few are the souls, who partake of this blessing, because many knowing of it, approach the holy Sacrament without the proper disposition, as if by haphazard or habit, and without being solicitous for the reverence and holy fear due to it. But as you are now informed of this secret, I desire that, since by the orders of your superiors you receive it every day, you prepare yourself worthily each time and thus partake of this great blessing."
"For this end you must avail yourself of the remembrance of what I did, and by it regulate your aspirations, your fervor, your love, and all that is necessary to prepare your heart as a temple and habitation of your Spouse and highest King. Labor then to collect all your powers within yourself; before and after receiving observe all that pertains to the fidelity of a Spouse, and especially must you place a guard over your eyes and a watch over all your senses, in order that no profane or foreign image may enter into the temple of the Lord. Keep your heart entirely pure and unspotted; for when it is impure or preoccupied, the plenitude of Divine light and wisdom cannot enter (Wis. 1, 4)."
"All this you will know from what God has shown you, if you have attended to it with an upright purpose. Even supposing that you cannot exempt yourself from all intercourse with creatures, it is befitting that you hold your senses in great subjection, and that you do not permit them to introduce the image of any sensible thing, by which you would not be assisted in striving after the most holy and pure of virtue. Separate the precious from the worthless, the truth from deceit. In order that you may imitate me perfectly, I wish that from now on you attend to the choice you are to make in all things great or small, so that you err in none, perverting the order of Divine light."
"Consider attentively the common deception of mortals and the woeful damage they suffer. For in the decisions of their will they ordinarily are moved solely by what they perceive through the senses, and they immediately proceed to act upon their choice without further consideration or counsel. Since the sensible impressions immediately move the animal passions and inclinations, it is evident that men do not act according to right reason, but according to the impulse of passion, excited by the senses and their objects. Hence, he that considers only the injury and pain caused, is straightway moved to vengeance; he that follows only his hankering after strange property, as soon as he lays his eyes upon it, is impelled to injustice. In the same manner act so many unfortunates, who follow the concupiscence of the eyes, the movements of the flesh, and the pride of life, because these are the only things offered by the world and the devil. In their blind deception they follow darkness as their light, taste the bitter as sweet, take deadly poison for remedy of their souls, and hold that for wisdom which is nothing but diabolical and earthly ignorance. Do you guard yourself against these pernicious errors, and never resolve on anything, or govern yourself by anything that is merely sensible or arising from sensible impressions, nor pursue the advantages held out through them."
"In your actions take counsel first of all from the interior knowledge and light communicated to you by God, in order that you may not go blindly forward; and He shall always grant you sufficient guidance. Immediately seek the advice of your superiors and teachers, if you canst do so before making your choice. And if your superior or teacher is not at hand, seek counsel of others, even inferiors; for this is more secure than to follow your own will, which may be disturbed and blinded by passion."
"This is the rule to be followed especially in the exterior works, pursuing them with recollection, with secrecy, and according to the demands of circumstances and fraternal charity as they occur. In all of them it is necessary not to lose out of sight the north-star of interior light, while moving in the profound gulf of the intercourse with creatures, where there is continual danger of perishing."
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LISTEN: Vol 2 Bk 2 Chap 14
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"My daughter, you are astonished, not without cause, at what you have learned and recorded of the unhappy fate of Judas and of the fall of the Apostles, who were all disciples in the school of Christ, nursed at His breast by His doctrine, by the example of His life, and by His miracles, enjoying His sweetest and gentlest intercourse, and many other benefits of My assistance and intercession."
"But I truly say to you, if all the children of the Church would attentively consider this example, they would find a salutary exhortation and warning in this mortal state of life against the danger surrounding them even in the midst of the favors and blessings they continually receive at the hands of the Lord.
All of them cannot be equal to seeing Him with bodily eyes and having intercourse with Him as the living image of all sanctity. The Apostles received from me personal exhortations and they were eyewitnesses of My blameless and holy conduct; they received great tokens of My kindness and My charity flowed directly from God through me upon them."
"If they, in the very act of receiving such favors and in the very presence of their God and Savior, forgot all of them and all of their obligation of corresponding to them: who then shall be so presumptuous in this mortal life as not to fear the danger of eternal ruin, no matter how many favors he has received from the Almighty?"
"They were Apostles chosen by their Divine Master, their true God; yet one of them fell lower than any other individual of the human race; and the others failed in faith, the foundation of all virtue. Yet all this was conformable to the just judgments of the Most High."
"Why then should those who are not Apostles, be without fear, who have not so labored in the school of Christ and who have not so merited My intercession?"
"Concerning the perdition of Judas and of his most just punishment you have written enough in order to set forth to what extremes a man can be brought by yielding to vices and to the devil, and by refusing to hear and follow the pleading of grace."
"I moreover inform you, that not only the torments of the traitorous disciple Judas, but also those of many other Christians, who condemn themselves and shall be sent to the same place of punishment, which was assigned to them and Judas from the beginning of the world, are greater than the torments of many demons."
"For my most holy Son did not die for the angels, but for men; nor were the fruits and results of the Redemption for the demon, but entirely at the disposal of the children of the Church in the holy Sacraments."
"The contempt for these incomparable benefits is not properly the sin of the devils, but of the Christians; and therefore they must expect a special and appropriate punishment for this contempt. The mistake of not having recognized Christ as the true God causes the deepest and most tormenting regret to Lucifer and his evil spirits for all eternity. Hence, on account of this error, they are filled with special wrath against those that were redeemed, particularly against the Christians, who derived the greatest benefits from the Redemption and the blood of the Lamb. That is why the devils are so eager to cause forgetfulness and misuse of these graces in them and why afterwards in hell, they are permitted to vent so much the greater fury and wrath upon the wicked Christians."
"If it were not for the equitable dispositions of Divine Justice by which the pains are proportioned to the guilt, they would wreck still fiercer vengeance upon them. But the goodness of the Lord extends even to this place and restrains the malice of the demons by his infinite power and wisdom.
In the fall of the other eleven Apostles, I wish, my dearest, that you learn the frailty of human nature, since even in such great blessings and favors received of the Lord, it easily falls into the habit of gross negligence and ingratitude, such as the Apostles manifested in flying from their heavenly Master and leaving Him in a spirit of doubt."
"Men incur this danger from their earthly and sensuous inclinations, the result of past sins and of the habits formed by a terrestrial, carnal and sensuous life, void of spirituality. On account of it they desire and love the Divine favors and benefits only in a carnal manner. As soon as they fail to find that kind of enjoyment in them, they turn to other sensible enjoyments, are moved by them and lose the true conception of a spiritual life; for they treat it and estimate it according to the low standard of mere sensuality."
"Hence the Apostles, though they were so greatly favored by My most holy Son, fell into such gross heedlessness and sins; for the miracles, the teachings and the examples affected them only in a sensible manner; and as they, in spite of their being raised to justice and perfection, permitted themselves to be affected by them only outwardly, they were presently disturbed by temptation and yielded to it. They acted like men who had done little to penetrate into the mysteries and into the spirit of what they had seen and heard in the school of their Master."
"By this example, my daughter, and by My teachings you ought to be well instructed, a spiritual disciple of mine, and not a terrestrial, accustoming yourself to despise mere outwardness, even in favors bestowed upon you by the Lord or myself. When you receive them, do not attach yourself merely to the material or sensible in them, but raise your mind to the exalted and the spiritual contained therein; to that which is perceived by the interior and spiritual, and not by the animal senses (I Cor. 2, 14). If even the merely sensible can hinder the spiritual life, how much is this true of that which pertains altogether to earthly, animal and carnal life?"
"Clearly I desire of you to forget and blot out of your faculties all images and remembrances of mere creatures in order that you may be fit to receive my salutary teaching and be capable of imitating me."
"My daughter, to great deeds are you called and invited on account of the Divine enlightenment you receive concerning the mysteries of the sufferings of my most holy Son and of myself for the human race, and on account of the knowledge which you hast obtained concerning the small return made by heartless and ungrateful men for all our pains."
"You live yet in mortal flesh and are yourself subject to this ignorance and weakness; but by the force of truth you are now roused to great wonder, sorrow and compassion at the want of attention displayed by mortals toward these great sacraments and at the losses sustained by them through their lukewarmness and negligence."
"What then are the thoughts of the angels and saints, and what are my thoughts in beholding this world and all the faithful in such a dangerous and dreadful state of carelessness, when they have the Passion and Death of my Divine Son before their eyes, and when they have Me, for their Mother and Intercessor and His most pure life and mine for an example?"
"I tell you truly, my dearest, only my intercession and the merits of His Son, which I offer to the eternal Father, can delay the punishment and placate His wrath, can retard the destruction of the world and the severe chastisement of the children of the Church, who know His will and fail to fulfill it (John 15, 15).
But I am much incensed to find so few who condole with me and try to console my Son in His sorrows, as David says (Ps. 68, 21). This hardness of heart will cause great confusion to them on the day of judgment; since they will then see with irreparable sorrow, not only that they were ungrateful, but inhuman and cruel toward my Divine Son, toward Me and toward themselves."
"Consider then your duty, my dearest, and raise yourself above all earthly things and above yourself; for I am calling you and choose you to imitate and follow me into the solitude, in which I am left by creatures, whom my Son and I have pursued with so many blessings and favors. Weigh in your heart, how much it cost my Lord to reconcile mankind to the eternal Father (Colos. 1,22) and regain for them His friendship. Weep and afflict yourself that so many should live in such forgetfulness and that so many should labor with all their might at destroying and losing what was bought by the blood of God itself and all that I from the first moment of my Conception have sought to procure and am procuring for their salvation."
"Awaken in your heart the deepest grief, that in His holy Church there should be many followers of the hypocritical and sacrilegious priests who, under cover of a false piety, still condemn Christ; that pride and sumptuousness with other grave vices should be raised to authority and exalted, while humility, truth, justice and all virtues be so oppressed and debased and avarice and vanity should prevail.
Few know the poverty of Christ, and fewer embrace it. Holy faith is hindered and is not spread among the nations on account of the boundless ambition of the mighty of this earth; in many Catholics it is inactive and dead; and whatever should be living, is near to death and to eternal perdition.
The counsels of the Gospel are forgotten, its precepts trodden under foot, charity almost extinct. My son and true God offers His cheeks in patience and meekness to be buffeted and wounded (Thren. 3, 30)."
"Who pardons an insult for the sake of imitating Him? Just the contrary is set up as law in this world, not only by the infidels, but by the very children of the faith and of light. In recognizing these sins I desire that you imitate me in what I did during the Passion and during my whole life, namely practice the virtues opposed to these vices."
"As a recompense for their blasphemies, I blessed God; for their oaths, I praised Him; for their unbelief, I excited acts of faith, and so for all the rest of the sins committed."
"This is what I desire you to do while living in this world. Fly also the dangerous intercourse with creatures, taught by the example of Peter, for you are not stronger than he, the Apostle of Christ; and if you fall in your weakness, weep over your fault and immediately seek my intercession. Make up for your ordinary faults and weaknesses by your patience in adversities, accept them with a joyous mien and without disturbance, no matter what they may be, whether they be sickness or the molestations coming from creatures, or whether they arise from the opposition of the flesh to the spirit, or from the conflicts with visible or invisible enemies. In all these things can you suffer and must you bear up in faith, hope and magnanimous sentiment. I remind you, that there is no exercise more profitable and useful for the soul than to suffer: for suffering gives light, undeceives, detaches the heart from visible things and raises it up to the Lord. He will come to meet those in suffering, because He is with the afflicted and sends to them His protection and help" (Ps. 40, 15).
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LISTEN (Vol 3 Bk 2 Chap 10)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"My daughter, in three virtues mentioned by you in the foregoing chapter as especially practiced by my Son and Lord, I wish that you be particularly zealous as His spouse and my beloved disciple. They are the virtues of charity, humility and obedience in which Jesus desired to signalize Himself toward the end of His life."
"Without doubt He manifested His love for men during His whole life, since He performed for them such admirable works from the very first instant of His conception in my womb. But towards the end of His life, when He established the evangelical law of the New Testament, the fire of ardent love, that burned in His bosom, burst out in more consuming flames."
"On this last occasion the charity of the Savior for the children of Adam exerted its full force, since it was urged on by the sorrows of death that encompassed Him, and was spurred on from the outside by the dislike of men for suffering, their self-chosen misfortunes and their boundless ingratitude and perversity in seeking to destroy the honor and the life of Him, who was ready to sacrifice all for their eternal happiness."
"By this conflict His love was inflamed to the point at which it could not be extinguished (Cant. 8, 7) ; and thus being now about to leave the earth, He was driven to exercise all His ingenuity in attempting to prolong His benefactions and His intercourse with men, leaving among them, by His teachings, works and examples, the sure means of participating in the effects of His Divine charity."
"In this art of loving your neighbor for God's sake I wish that you be very expert and zealous. This you will be, if the very injuries and sufferings with which they afflict you, shall waken in you a greater love.
You must remember, that then alone will you be secure and unwavering, when neither benefits nor flatteries of men have any effect on you. For to love those who do you good, is a duty; but if you are heedless, you cannot know, whether in that case you love them for God's sake, or for the sake of the benefits they confer, which would be loving your own advantage or yourself rather than your neighbor for God's sake. He who loves for other than God's sake or for vain complaisance merely, has not yet learned true charity; since he is yet taken up with the blind love of his own ease."
"But if you love those who do not satisfy any of these cravings, you are led on to love them for the Lord's sake as the principal motive and object of your love, loving Him in His creatures, whoever they be.
You must exercise yourself in both the corporal and the spiritual works of mercy; but as you has fewer occasions to exercise those of the body than those of the spirit, you must continually extend your spiritual works of charity, multiplying, according to the will of your Savior, your prayers, petitions, pious practices, accompanying them with prudent and holy admonitions and thus advancing the spiritual welfare of souls."
"Remember that my Lord and Son conferred no bodily blessings on anyone, without accompanying them with spiritual, and it would have been derogatory to the Divine perfection of His works, to perform them without this plenitude of goodness."
"From this you will understand how much we must prefer the benefits of soul to those of the body; hence you must always seek them in the first place, although earthly minded men blindly prefer temporal blessings, forgetting the eternal ones and those tending toward the friendship and grace of the Most High."
"The virtues of humility and obedience were highly exalted by the conduct of my most holy Son in washing the feet of his Apostles. If by your interior enlightenment concerning this extraordinary example you does not humble yourself to the dust, your heart is indeed hardened and you are very obtuse in the knowledge of the Lord."
"Let it then be understood henceforth that you never can consider or profess yourself sufficiently humbled, even when you finds yourself despised and trodden under foot by all men, sinners as they are; for they never can be as bad as Judas, or you as good as your Lord and Master. But to merit and to be honored by this virtue of humility, will give you such perfection and worthiness, that you will deserve the name of a spouse of Christ and make yourself somewhat like unto Him. Without this humility no soul can be raised to excellence and communication with the Lord; for the exalted must first be humbled and only the lowly ones can and should be exalted (Matth. 23, 12) ; and souls are always raised up by the Lord in proportion as they have humiliated themselves."
"In order that you may not lose this pearl of humility just at the time when you thinks yourself secure of it, remember that the exercise of it is not to be preferred to obedience, nor must you practice it merely at your own will, but in subjection to your superiors; for if you prefer your own judgment to that of your superiors even if you do it under color of humility, you are guilty of pride; for that would be not only refusing to seek the lowest place, but placing yourself above your superior."
"Hence you may understand the error of shrinking back, like saint Peter, from the favors and blessings of the Lord, depriving you thereby not only of the gifts and treasures offered you, but of the advantage of humility, which you seek and which is much preferable. You fail also in gratefully acknowledging the high ends and in striving after the exaltation of His holy name, which the Lord seeks in such works."
"It is not your business to enter into the examination of His secret and exalted judgments, nor to correct them by your reasonings and your objections on account of which you might think yourself unworthy of His favors or incapable of performing the works enjoined. All this is a seed of Lucifer's pride, covered up by apparent humility as he thus seeks to hinder the communications of the Lord, His gifts and His friendship, which you desire so much."
"Let it then be to you an inviolable rule, that as soon as your confessors and superiors approve of certain favors and blessings as coming from the Lord, you accept them as such with due thanks and reverence. Do not allow yourself to be led into new doubts and vacillating fears, but correspond with the favors of the Lord in humble fear and tranquil obedience."
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LISTEN (Vol 2 Bk 2 Chap 20)
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“My daughter, the doctrine and example contained in the foregoing chapter will teach you to strive after the constancy and expansion of heart, by which you may prepare yourself to accept blessings and adversity, the sweet and the bitter with equanimity."
"O dearest soul! How narrow and unwilling is the human heart toward that which is contrary and distasteful to its earthly inclinations! How it chafes in labors! How impatiently it meets them! How insufferable it deems all that is contrary to its desires! How persistently it forgets, that its Teacher and Master has first accepted sufferings, and has honored and sanctified them in His own Person!
It is a great shame, yea a great boldness, on the part of the faithful, that they should abhor suffering, even after my most holy Son did suffer for them and when so many of the just before His Death were led to embrace the cross solely by the hope that Christ would once suffer upon it, although they would never live to see it. And if this want of correspondence is so base in others, consider well, my dearest, how vile it would be in you, who are so anxious to obtain the grace and the friendship of the Most High; who desires to merit the name of a spouse and friend of God, who wishes to belong entirely to Him and that He belong entirely to you, who wishes to be my disciple and that I be your Teacher, who aspires to follow and imitate me, as a faithful daughter her mother (Matth. 7, 21)."
"All this must not result in mere sentiment and in empty words, or oft-repeated exclamations of: Lord, Lord; and, when the occasion of tasting the chalice and the cross of suffering is at hand, you must not turn away in sorrow and affliction from the sufferings, by which the sincerity of a loving and affectionate heart is to be tried."
"All this would be denying in your actions, what you profess in your words, and it would be a swerving from the path of eternal life: for you can not follow Christ, if you refuse to embrace the cross and rejoice in it, nor shall you find me by any other way (Matth. 8, 34)."
"If creatures fail you, if temptation or trouble assail you, if the sorrows of death encompass you (Ps. 17, 5), you must in no wise be disturbed or disheartened, since nothing displeases my most holy Son or me more than placing a hindrance or misapplying the grace given by Him for your defense."
"By misusing it and receiving it in vain, you yield great victory to the demon, who glories much in having disturbed or subjected any soul that calls itself a disciple of Christ and of me; and having once brought you to default in small things, he will soon oppress you in greater ones."
"Confide then in the protection of the Most High and press onward trusting in me. Full of this trust, whenever tribulation comes over you, fervently exclaim: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? (Psalm 26, 1). He is my Helper, why should I hesitate? I have a Mother, a Queen and Mistress, who will assist me and take care of me in my affliction."
"In this security seek to preserve interior peace and keep forever in your view my works and my footsteps for your imitation. Remember the sorrow, which pierced my heart at the prophecies of Simeon, and how I remained in peace and tranquility, without any sign of disturbance, although my heart and soul were transfixed by a sword of pain. In every event I sought motives for glorifying and adoring His admirable wisdom. 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."
"This is the teaching of the school of the Redeemer, hidden from those living in Babylon and from those who love vanity (Matth. 11,25). I wish also that you imitate me in respecting the priests and ministers 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 Melchizedek (Ps. 109,4). Listen to their words and instructions, as God requires, whose place they take. Consider the power and authority given them in the Gospels, where it is said: "Who hears you, hears Me; who obeys you obeys Me" (Luke 10, 16). Strive after the perfection they teach you. Ponder and meditate without intermission upon that, which my most holy Son suffered, so that your soul be a participant in His sorrows. Let the pious memory of His sufferings engender in you such a disgust and abhorrence of all earthly pleasures that you despise and forget all that is visible, and instead, follow the Author of eternal life.”
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LISTEN Vol 4 Bk 2 Chap 11
NOTE: Set your goal for Eternal Life at the beginning of your life. “Life disappears like a dream (Ps. 143, 4); the days are evil (Ephes. 5, 6)”
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"My daughter, when mortals, having run the short course of their lives, come to the end at which God expects them to merit eternal life, then will they also by their own experience, see the finish of all their errors and deceits. Then the just will see in what consisted their real salvation and happiness, and the reprobate, wherein lay their lamentable and everlasting perdition. 0 how happy, my daughter, is the man, who during the short instant of his life seeks to anticipate the Divine science, which he is so soon to possess by experience!!"
"This is the true wisdom, not to wait for the end until knowing that end, but look to the end in the beginning of the course, and enter upon it, not with so many doubts whether we shall attain the end, but with some security of attaining it."
"Consider then, with what sentiments those must be animated, who, at the beginning of a race, see a great prize, which they can attain by pressing on their course for a time with great diligence (I Cor. 9, 24). Certainly they will set out with all speed, without turning aside or permitting themselves to be detained by any cause whatsoever. And if they press not on or if they cease to look to the prize at the end of their course, they will be held either as foolish, or as ignorant of what they were losing.
Such is mortal life of men, a short course, the end of which shall bring to the runner either eternal glory or everlasting torment as a reward or punishment."
"All men are born to run this race by the use of their reason and free will; and no one, much less the children of the Church, can plead ignorance as an excuse. Hence, where is the judgment and good sense of those in the Catholic faith? Why does vanity still retain its hold upon them? Why do they ensnare themselves in the love of what is only apparent and deceitful? Why do they ignore the end to which they shall come so soon? Why will they not understand what there awaits them? Do they perhaps not know that they are born but to die (Ps. 138, 49), that life is but momentary, death infallibly certain, the reward or punishment unavoidable and eternal? (II Cor. 4, 1i)."
"What can the lovers of this world answer to these questions? Those that consume all of their short life (for even the longest lives are very short), in accumulating honors, or riches, in wasting their strength and powers in the enjoyment of corruptible and most vile pleasures."
"Alas, my friend, consider how false and treacherous is the world in which you are born and which your eyes behold. In it I desire you to show thyself as my disciple, my follower, a child of my desires, and a fruit of my prayers. Forget it entirely with a heartfelt abhorrence: do not lose sight of the end toward which you runs so swiftly, the purpose for which your Creator formed you out of nothing; sigh for it continually, and direct toward it your anxious solicitude; do not permit thyself to be drawn away by the fleeting, vain and deceitful things of the world; let the Divine love alone dwell in you and engage all your forces; for that is not a true love, which permits any part of them to be diverted to other things, or which does not free them and mortify them entirely from passing things, and subject them to the one great end."
"Let this love be in you strong as death (Cant. 8, 6), so that you may be renewed entirely as I desire. Do not hinder the will of my Divine Son in all that He wishes to accomplish in you, and be assured of His fidelity, which rewards a hundredfold (Matth. 19, 29)."
Read or listen to the complete chapter for a better understanding of these Spiritual Directives and Loving Guidance from Blessed Mary
LISTEN Vol 4 Bk 2 Chap 18
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"My daughter, since you admire my esteem and love for the Holy Church, I wish to assist your affection in conceiving new appreciation and love for it. Thou cannot in your mortal flesh understand what passed in my soul in contemplating the holy Church. In addition to what you have understood already, you will see more, if you consider what moved my heart; namely, the loving works of my Divine Son in the interest of the holy Church; they should be your meditation day and night; for in what He did for the Church, you will be able to estimate His love toward it.”
“ In order to be its Head and the Chief of the predestined in this world and forever (Col. 1, 18; Rom. 8, 29), He descended from the bosom of the eternal Father and assumed flesh in my womb. In order to regain His children (Luke 19, 10), lost through the first sin of Adam, He took passible and mortal flesh. In order to leave the example of His unblemished life and His true and salutary doctrine (I Pet. 2, 21), He lived and conversed with men thirty-three years (Baruch 3, 38). In order to redeem them effectually and merit for them infinite blessings of grace and glory, which they themselves could not merit, He suffered most cruelly, shed His blood accepting a most painful and frightful death on the Cross (Phil. 2, 8). In order that from His sacred body after its death might spring mysteriously His Church, He permitted it to be torn by the lance (John 19, 34).”
“Since the eternal Father was so well pleased with His Life, Passion and Death, the Redeemer instituted in His Church the sacrifice of His body and blood (Luke 22, 19), in which His memory should live and which the faithful might offer as a satisfaction and peace-offering to the Divine Justice. At the same time through it He wished to remain perpetually present in His Church as a Sacrament for the spiritual nourishment of its children and as a fountain of grace, a viaticum and certain pledge of eternal life.”
In addition to this He sent upon His holy Church the Holy Ghost, to fill it with His gifts and His wisdom, promising that He should guide and govern it always without error free from uncertainty and danger (John 15, 26). He enriched it with all the merits of His Life, Passion and Death, applying them by means of the Sacraments, furnishing all that was necessary for men from their birth to their death for cleansing them from their sins, for persevering in grace, for defending themselves against the demons and vanquishing them by the arms of His Church, for crushing their own natural passions; and at the same time He instituted fit and apt ministers for securing to His faithful all these blessings.”
“In the Church militant He communicates familiarly with all the holy souls; He makes them participants in His hidden and secret favors; He works wonders and miracles for them, and when it is for His glory, assumes their works; He hears their prayers for themselves or for others, thus maintaining the communion of saints.”
“He left in it also other fountains of light and truth, the holy Gospels and writings dictated by the Holy Ghost, the decisions of the sacred councils, the assured and ancient traditions. He sends at opportune times holy doctors full of wisdom; He furnishes teachers and learned men, preachers and ministers in abundance. He spreads the renown of the Church through His wonderful saints; beautifies it with a variety of religious orders, wherein the perfect and apostolic life is professed and preserved; He governs it by many prelates and dignitaries. In order that all may proceed in harmony, He placed over it a supreme head, the Roman Pontiff, His vicar, with the plenitude of highest and Divine authority, as the head of this mystical and most beautiful body. He defends and protects him to the end of the world against all the powers of the earth and the infernal abysses (Matth. 16, 18).”
“Among all these blessings bestowed and still to be bestowed upon His beloved Church, not the least one was, that He left me in it after His wonderful Ascension in order that it might be spread and governed by my merits and my presence.”
“From that time on and forever I hold this Church as my possession; for the Most High has consigned it to me as a gift and has commanded me to take care of it as its Mother and Mistress.”
“ These, my dearest, are the greatest reasons and motives for my past and present love of the holy Church, here made known to you; and I desire that they rouse and enkindle your heart to an ardent performance of all that pertains to you as my disciple, as my daughter and that of the holy Church. Love it, respect and esteem it from your whole heart, enjoy its treasures, gather in the riches of heaven, deposited together with its Author, in His Church. Seek to unite it with you and to unite yourself with it; for in it you find your refuge and your salvation, consolation in your labors, hope in your banishment, light and truth to guide you in the darkness of this world. For this holy Church I desire you to labor during all the rest of your life; since this is the purpose for which you have been called into existence; thus shall you imitate and follow me in my tireless solicitude for the Church on earth; this is your greatest good fortune, for which you owe eternal gratitude. I wish you, my daughter, to be mindful of the fact, that with this desire and intent I have applied to you a great portion of the treasures of the Church for the writing of my life; and the Lord has chosen you as an instrument and as secretary of its mysteries and hidden sacraments for purposes of His greater glory."
Read or listen to the complete chapter for a better understanding of these Spiritual Directives and Loving Guidance from Blessed Mary
LISTEN: Assumption: Vol 4 Bk 2 Chap 21
LISTEN: Coronation: Vol 4 Bk 2 Chap 22
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"My daughter, lamentable and inexcusable is the ignorance of men in so knowingly forgetting the eternal glory, which God has prepared for those who dispose themselves to merit it."
"I wish that you bitterly bewail and deplore this pernicious forgetfulness; for there is no doubt, that whoever willfully forgets the eternal glory and happiness is in evident danger of losing it.
No one is free from this guilt, not only because men do not apply much labor or effort in seeking and retaining the remembrance of this happiness; but they labor with all their powers in things that make them forget the end for which they were created."
"Undoubtedly this forgetfulness arises from their entangling themselves in the pride of life, the covetousness of the eyes, and the desires of the flesh (John 2, 16); for employing therein all the forces and faculties of their soul during the whole time of their life, they have no leisure, care or attention for the thoughts of eternal felicity. Let men acknowledge and confess, whether this recollection costs them more labor than to follow their blind passions, seeking after honors, possessions or the transitory pleasures, all of which have an end with this life, and which, after much striving and labor, many men do not, and can never attain."
"How much easier is it for mortals to avoid such perversity, especially for the children of the Church, since they have at hand the easy means of faith and hope for attaining the truth! Even if to gain eternal happiness were as difficult to obtain as honors and riches and other apparent advantages, it would be very foolish to labor as much for the false as for the true advantages for eternal punishment as for eternal glory."
"This abominable foolishness you will perceive and bewail with tears, my daughter, if you will consider the world in which you live: how it is disturbed by wars and discords; how many unhappy ones it contains, who seek death in exchange for a short and vain honor, vengeance and other most vile advantages, while they do not think or care for eternal life than irrational animals. It would be a blessing for them if like animals they could end altogether with the temporal death; but as the most of them act against justice, and others, who still seek to be just, live in forgetfulness of their end, the ones as well as the others incur the eternal death."
"This is a sorrow beyond all sorrows, and a misfortune without equal and without remedy. Afflict yourself, lament and grieve without consolation over this ruin of so many souls bought by the blood of my Divine Son. I assure you, my dearest, that, if men would not make themselves so unworthy of it, my charity would urge me, in the celestial glory where you know me to be, to send forth a voice through the whole world exclaiming: "Mortal and deceived men, what are you doing? For what purpose are you living? Do you realize what it is to see God face to face, and to participate in His eternal glory and share His company? Of what are you thinking? Who has thus disturbed and fascinated your judgment? What will you seek, if once you have lost this true blessing and happiness, since there is no other? The labor is short, the reward is infinite glory, and the punishment is eternal."
"In connection with this sorrow, which I am trying to excite in you, seek to labor assiduously in order to evade the danger. A living example you have in my life, which was a continual suffering such as you have known; but when I came to my reward all of it seemed as nothing, and I forgot it as if it had not occurred. Resolve, my dear, to follow me in my labor; and though your labor seems to exceed that of all the mortals, look upon it as most insignificant; let nothing seem to you difficult or hard, or bitter, even to passing through fire and sword."
"Extend your hand to great things, and shield your domestics, the senses, with double vestments (Prov. 31, 19, 21 ), against hardships and sufferings to the utmost of their powers. At the same time I wish you to be free from another error, that of men who say: let us secure salvation: greater or less glory does not matter; we shall all be together in that life. By this false principle, my daughter, eternal life is not made secure, but rather put at hazard; since it arises from great foolishness and lack of Divine love."
"Who seeks to make such a bargain with God, offends Him, and tempts Him to permit such souls to live in continued danger of perdition. Human weakness always tends to do less good than it desires to do; and when this desire is small, then it will execute very little, and hence risks losing all.
He who contents himself with the mediocre or lowest in virtue, always leaves in his will and in his inclinations an opening for earthly affections and love of the passing things. Such an opening is contrary to Divine love and therefore unavoidably causes the loss of the latter and the ascendency of the former."
"When the creature resolves to love God from all its heart and with all its powers, as He commands, God overlooks its human defects and shortcomings, and is pleased with their resolve to reap the highest rewards. But to despise them or willfully undervalue them shows not the love of children or of true friends, but the base fear of slaves, who are content to live and be let alone."
"If the saints could return to merit some additional degree of glory by suffering all torments to the day of judgment, they would doubtlessly return; because they have a true and perfect knowledge of the value of the reward and they love God with a perfect charity. It is not proper that this privilege be granted to the saints; but it was conceded to me, as you have recorded in this history; and my example confirms this truth. It also reproves the foolishness of those, who, in order to avoid suffering and the Cross of Christ, are looking for a curtailed reward, one which is contrary to the inclination of God's Goodness and contrary to His desire of seeing souls multiply their merits and gain copious rewards in the eternal felicity. "
Read or listen to the complete chapter for a better understanding of these Spiritual Directives and Loving Guidance from Blessed Mary
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"But the Father in heaven, who lets the sun rise over the just and the unjust (Matth. 5, 45), and lets the rain fall on the good and the bad, nevertheless helps all, giving them life and nourishment."
"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."
"He wished to furnish this example to men and to teach them this science, through which eternal life comes to them."
Read or listen to the complete chapter for a better understanding of these Spiritual Directives and Loving Guidance from Blessed Mary
READ: Vol 3 Bk 1 Chap 16
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"My daughter, although you have described my spouse, Saint Joseph, as the most noble among the princes and saints of the heavenly Jerusalem; yet neither can you properly manifest his eminent sanctity, nor can any of the mortals know it fully before they arrive at the vision of the Divinity. Then all of them will be filled with wonder and praise as the Lord will make them capable of understanding this sacrament.”
“On the last day, when all men shall be judged, the damned will bitterly bewail their sins, which prevented them from appreciating this powerful means of their salvation, and availing themselves, as they easily could have, of this intercessor Saint Joseph to gain the friendship of the just Judge.”
“The whole human race has much undervalued the privileges and prerogatives conceded to my blessed spouse and they know not what his intercession with God is able to do. I assure you, my dearest, that he is one of the greatly favored personages in the Divine presence and has immense power to stay the arms of Divine vengeance.”
“I desire that you be very thankful to the Divine condescension for vouchsafing you so much light and knowledge regarding this mystery, and also for the favor which I am doing you therein.”
“From now on, during the rest of your mortal life, see that you advance in devotion and in hearty love toward My spouse, and that you bless the Lord for thus having favored Him with such high privileges and for having rejoiced me so much in the knowledge of all his excellences.”
In all your necessities you must avail yourself of his intercession. You should induce many to venerate him and see that your own religious distinguish themselves in their devotion to him."
"That which my spouse asks of the Lord in heaven is granted upon the earth and on his intercession depend many and extraordinary favors for men, if they do not make themselves unworthy of receiving them. All these privileges were to be a reward for the amiable perfection of this wonderful saint and for his great virtues; for Divine clemency is favorably drawn forth by them and looks upon Saint Joseph with generous liberality, ready to shower down its marvelous mercies upon all those who avail themselves of his intercession."
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LISTEN: Vol 3 Bk 1 Chap 16
Although the great Lady persevered in the belief and hope of a seasonable intervention of the Lord, and therefore remained silent in order not to reveal the sacrament, concerning the disclosure of which the King had given Her no command; yet She was much afflicted by the resolve of Saint Joseph to leave Her; because She reflected upon the great inconvenience of being alone, without a companion and a protector, on whom She could rely for consolation and support in the natural order; for She well knew that She could not expect all to proceed according to the supernatural and miraculous.
Yet all her sighs could not prevent Her from exercising the most exalted virtues with a magnanimous spirit, such as patience in bearing her afflictions and the suspicions of Saint Joseph and its results; prudence, in withholding the disclosure of the mystery on account of its greatness; silence, in signalizing Herself as a woman who knew how to refrain from speaking about that which so many human reasons urged Her to make known; forbearance and humility, in silently submitting to the suspicions of Saint Joseph. Many other virtues did She exercise in this trouble in a wonderful manner; by which She taught us to hope in the Almighty for our deliverance in the greatest tribulations.
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
“My daughter, the example of my silence, which you have been writing about, should teach you to use it as a guide in your treatment of the favors and sacraments of the Lord, namely that you keep them concealed within your heart."
"Although it might at times seem useful to reveal them for the consolation of some soul, you must not act upon this opinion without having first consulted God in prayer, and then your superiors. For these spiritual matters must not be made dependent upon human feeling, which are so much subject to the passions and inclinations of nature.”
“There is always great danger of considering that to be an advantage which is harmful, and a service to God, what is injurious. It is not given to eyes of the flesh and blood (I Cor. 2, 14) to discern the interior movements, so as to decide which of them are Divine and caused by grace, or which are human, engendered by the disorderly affections. Although there is great difference between these two kinds of affections and their causes, nevertheless, if the creature is not highly enlightened and dead to its passions, it cannot recognize this difference, nor separate the precious from the vile (Jer. 15, 19).”
“This danger is greater when some temporal or human motive is mixed up with or underlies our actions; for then our natural selflove is wont to creep in and take away discretion and supervision of heavenly and spiritual things, leading on to many sudden and dangerous falls.”
“Let it therefore be to you as a rule always to be followed that you reveal nothing to anyone except to your spiritual guide, unless I command otherwise. Since I have constituted myself your Teacher, I will not fail to give advice and direction in this and in all other things, lest you stray from the path appointed to you by the will of my most holy Son.”
“Yet I admonish you to appreciate highly all the favors and revelations of the Most High. Preserve them with a magnanimous heart; esteem them, give thanks for them, and put them to practice in preference to anything else, especially in preference to anything originating from your own inclinations.”
“The reverential fear of God bound me to silence, having (as was proper) such a high regard for the Treasure deposited in me. Notwithstanding the natural feeling of love and obligation toward my master and spouse saint Joseph, and in disregard of the sorrow and compassion for his afflictions, of which I so desired to free him, I hid the secret of my state in silence, preferring the pleasure of the Lord to all these, and leaving to Him the defense of my cause.”
“Learn also from this never to defend thyself against accusations, no matter how innocent you may be. Oblige the Lord to do it by confiding in His love. Charge your reputation to His account; and in the meanwhile overcome by patience and humility, by sweet and kind words, those who have offended you.”
“Above all things I admonish you never to judge evil of anyone, even if you see with your own eyes the outward warrants of your judgment; for perfect and sincere charity will teach you to find a prudent evasion and excuse for all faults of your neighbor.”
“God has placed my spouse, saint Joseph, as a shining example for such a course of action, since no one had more evident proofs of evil, and no one was more discreet in deferring his judgment. For in the law of discreet and holy charity it must be held as prudence, not temerity, to suspect higher causes, as yet unseen, rather than to judge and condemn our neighbors for faults in which his guilt is not clearly evident.”
“I do not give you special instructions for those that are in the state of matrimony, since they can derive them manifestly from the whole course of my life. But from the above instruction all can profit, although just now I have in view your own advancement, because I desire it with especial love. Hear me, daughter, and fulfill my counsels and follow these my words of eternal life.”
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LISTEN: Vol 2 Bk 2 Chap 9
Instructions from our Queen, the Mother of God, Blessed Mary:
"My dearest daughter, if you are of a meek and docile heart, these mysteries which you have written about and have understood, will stir within you sweet sentiments of love and affection toward the Author of such great wonders."
"I wish that, bearing them in mind, you from this day on embrace with new and great esteem the contempt and neglect of the world."
"And tell me, dearest, if, in exchange for your forgetfulness and scorn of the world, God looks upon you with eyes of sweetest love, why should you not buy so cheaply, what is worth an infinite price? Can the world give you this, even when it esteems you and exalts you most? And what do you lose, if you despise it? Is its favor not all vanity and deceit (Ps. 4, 3)? Is it not all a fleeting and momentary shadow, which eludes the grasp of those that haste after it? Hence, if you had all worldly advantage in your possession, what great feat would it be to despise it as of no value?"
"Consider how little you do in rejecting all of it for the love of God, for mine and that of the holy angels! And if the world does not neglect you as much as you should desire, on your own behalf despise it, in order to remain free and unhampered to enjoy to the full extent the highest Good with the plenitude of His most delightful love and intercourse."
"My most holy Son is such a faithful Lover of souls, that He has set me as the teacher and living example of the love of humility and true contempt of worldly vanity and pride. He ordained also for His own glory as well as for my sake that I, His Servant and Mother, should be left without shelter and be turned away by mortals, in order that afterwards His beloved souls might be so much the more readily induced to offer Him a welcome, thus obliging Him, by an artifice of love, to come and remain with them."
"He also sought destitution and poverty, not because He had any need of them for bringing the practice of virtues to the highest perfection, but in order to teach mortals the shortest and surest way for reaching the heights of Divine Love and union with God."
"You know well, my dearest, that you have been incessantly instructed and exhorted by Divine enlightenment to forget the terrestrial and visible and to gird yourself with fortitude (Prov, 31, 17), to raise yourself to the imitation of me, copying in yourself, according to your capacity, the works and virtues manifested to you in my life. This is the very first purpose of the knowledge which you have received in writing this history; for you have in me a perfect model, and by it you can arrange the converse and conduct of your life in the same manner as I arranged mine in imitation of my sweetest Son."
"The dread with which this command to imitate me has inspired you, as a being above your strength, moderate and you must encourage yourself by the words of my most holy Son in the Gospel of saint Matthew: "Be ye perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5, 48). This command of the Most High imposed upon His holy Church is not impossible for fulfillment, and, if His faithful children on their part dispose themselves properly, He will deny to none of them the grace of attaining this resemblance to the heavenly Father. All this my most holy Son has merited for them. But the degrading forgetfulness and neglect of men hinder them from maturing within themselves, the fruits of His Redemption."
"Of you particularly I expect this perfection, and I invite you to it by the sweet law of love which accompanies my instruction. Ponder and scrutinize, by the Divine light, the obligation under which I place you, and labor to correspond with it like a faithful and anxious child. Let no difficulty or hardship disturb you, nor deter you from any virtuous exercise, no matter how hard it may be. Do not be content with striving after the love of God and salvation for yourself alone; if you would be perfect in imitating me and fulfilling all that the Gospel teaches, you must work for the salvation of other souls and the exaltation of the holy name of my Son, making yourself an instrument in His powerful hands for the accomplishment of mighty works to advance His pleasure and glory."
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