388. Our Redeemer and Master Jesus had already
consumed more than two years and a half in preaching
and performing wonders, and He was approaching the
time predestined by the eternal wisdom for satisfying
divine justice, for redeeming the human race through
his Passion and Death and thus to return to his eternal
Father. Since all his works were ordered with the
highest wisdom for our instruction and salvation, the
Lord resolved to prepare and strengthen some of his
Apostles for the scandal of his Passion by manifesting
to them beforehand in its glory that same body, which
He was so soon to exhibit in the disfigurement of the
Cross. Thus would they be reassured by the thought,
that they had seen it transfigured in glory before they
looked upon it disfigured by his sufferings. This he had
promised a short time before in the presence of all, al
though not to all, but only to some of his disciples, as
is recorded by saint Matthew (Matth. 16, 28). For his
Transfiguration He selected a high mountain in the center
of Galilee, two leagues east of Nazareth and called
Mount Tabor. Ascending to its highest summit with
the three Apostles, Peter, and the two brothers James
and John, He was transfigured before them (Matth. 17,
1; Mark 9, 1; Luke 9, 28).* The three Evangelists
tell us that besides these Apostles, were present also the
two prophets, Moses and Elias, discoursing with Jesus
about his Passion, and that, while He was thus trans
figured, a voice resounded from heaven in the name
of the eternal Father, saying : "This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him."
389. The Evangelists do not say that most holy Mary
was present at this Transfiguration, nor do they say
that She was not there; this did not fall within their
purpose, and they did not think it proper to speak of the
hidden miracle by which She was enabled to be there.
For the purpose of recording this event here, I was
given to understand that at the same time in which some
of the holy angels were commissioned to bring the soul
of Moses and Elias from their abode, others of
her own guard carried the heavenly Lady to Mount
Tabor, in order to witness the Transfiguration of her
divine Son, for without a doubt She really witnessed it.
There was no necessity of confirming the most holy
Mother in her faith, as was necessary with the Apos
tles ; for She was invincibly confirmed in faith. But the
Lord had many different objects in view at his Trans
figuration; and there were special reasons for his not
wishing to celebrate this great event without the pres
ence of his most holy Mother. What for the Apostles
was a gratuitous favor, was a duty in regard to the
Queen and Mother, since She was his Companion and
Co-partner in the works of the Redemption even to the
foot of the Cross. It was proper to fortify Her by this
favor against the torments in store for her most holy
soul. Moreover, She was to remain on earth as the
Teacher of the holy Church, therefore it was proper
that She should be one of the eye-witnesses of this great
mystery. To grant such a favor was easily within the
power of her divine Son, since He was wont to lay
open to Her all the workings of his divine soul. Nor
would the love of such a Son permit Him to withhold
that favor from his Mother; for He otherwise omitted
nothing whereby He could in any way demonstrate his
tender love for Her, and this certainly would be a token
of highest esteem for her excellence and dignity. I
have, therefore, been informed that for these reasons
and for many others not necessary to mention here, most
holy Mary assisted at the Transfiguration of her divine
Son, our Redeemer.
390. During this Transfiguration the blessed Mary
saw not only the humanity of Christ our Lord trans
formed in glory, but She was favored by an intuitive
and clear vision of the Divinity itself; for the Lord
wished Her to partake of the privilege implied in being
present at this event in a more abundant and distin
guished manner than the Apostles. Moreover, there
was a great difference between her insight and that of
the Apostles into the glory of the transfigured body;
for the Apostles, as saint Luke tells us (Luke 9, 32),
were not only asleep when Jesus at the beginning of this
mysterious glorification retired to pray, but they were
also seized with such fear at the voice resounding from
heaven, that they fell with their faces to the earth and
rose not until the Lord himself spoke to them and raised
them up (Matth. 17, 6). The blessed Mother, on the
other hand, witnessed and heard all these events without
undue excitement ; for, besides being accustomed to such
great manifestations of glory, She was divinely forti
fied and enlightened for looking upon the Divinity.
Hence She was enabled to look fixedly upon the glori
fied body, without experiencing the terror and weak
ness of the senses which overtook the Apostles. The
most blessed Mother had already on other occasions
seen the body of her divine Son glorified, as was re
lated in other parts of this history (Nos. 695, 851) ; but
on this occasion She looked upon Him with much greater
enlightenment and with a mind much more alert to
all the wonders therein hidden. Hence, also, the effects
caused in Her by this vision were such that She was
totally renewed and inflamed by this communication
with the Divinity. As long as She lived She never
lost the impression caused by the sight of such glory
manifested in the humanity of Christ. The memory of
it greatly consoled Her in the absence of her divine
Son, whenever his glorious presence was not otherwise
felt by Her, as we shall see in the third part of this
history. Yet on the other hand the memory of this
glorious Transfiguration of Christ also made Her feel
so much the more deeply the maltreatment experienced
by Christ in his Passion and Death.
391. But no human ingenuity can suffice fully to de
scribe the effects of this glorious vision of her Son on
her most holy soul. With inmost gratitude and deepest
penetration She began to ponder upon what She had
seen and heard; exalted praise of the omnipotent God
welled forth from her lips, when She considered how
her eyes had seen refulgent in glory that same bodily
substance, which had been formed of her blood, carried
in her womb and nursed at her breast; how She had
with her own ears heard the voice of the eternal Father
acknowledge her Son as his own and appoint Him as
the Teacher of all the human race. With her holy
angels She composed new canticles to celebrate an
event so full of festive joy for her soul and for the
most sacred humanity of her Son. I will not expatiate
upon this mystery, nor discuss in what the Transfigura
tion of the body of Jesus really consisted. It is enough
to know that his countenance began to shine like the sun
and his garments became whiter than the snow (Matth.
17, 2). This outward splendor was merely the effect
of the glory of his Divinity always united to his beauti
fied soul. At his Incarnation, the glory which would
naturally have been communicated permanently to his
sacred body, was miraculously suspended for the time
of his natural life: now, this suspension of his divine
glory ceased and the body, for a short time, was allowed
to share the glory of his soul. This is the splendor
which became visible to those who were present. Im
mediately after the miraculous suspense, the divine glory
was again confined only to his soul. As his soul was
always in the beatified state, so also his body, according
to the common order, should have continually shared in
this glory, and therefore this transient glorification of his
body was likewise a miracle.
392. After the Transfiguration the most blessed
Mother was brought back to her house in Nazareth;
her divine Son descended the mountain and im
mediately came to visit her in order to take final leave
of his parental province and set out for Jerusalem.
There, on the following Pasch, which was to be for
Him the last upon earth, He was to enter upon his
Passion. Having spent only a few days at Nazareth,
He departed with his Mother, his disciples and Apostles
and some of the holy women, traveling about through
Galilee and Samaria before entering Judea and Jerusa
lem. The Evangelist saint Luke writes of this journey
where he says, that He set his face toward Jerusalem
(Luke 9, 51); for He journeyed to Jerusalem with a
joyous countenance and full of desire to enter upon his
sufferings, in order thereby, according to his own most
ardent and generous desire, to sacrifice Himself for the
human race. He was not to return to Galilee, where
He had wrought so many miracles. Knowing this at
his departure from Nazareth, He glorified his eternal
Father and, in the name of his sacred humanity, gave
thanks for having, in that house and neighborhood, re
ceived the human form and existence which He was now
to deliver over to suffering and death. Of the prayers
of Christ our Lord on this occasion I will record as far
as I can the following one :
393. "My eternal Father, in compliance with thy will
I gladly haste to satisfy thy justice by suffering even
unto death. Thus shall I reconcile to Thee all the chil
dren of Adam, paying their debts and opening to them
the gates of heaven which have been closed against them.
I shall seek those who have turned away and lost them
selves, so that they may be restored by the force of my
love. I shall find and gather together the lost of the house
of Jacob (Is. 56, 8), raise up the fallen, enrich the poor,
refresh the thirsty, cast down the haughty and exalt the
humble. I wish to vanquish hell and enhance the glories
of the triumph over Lucifer (I John 3, 8), and over the
vices which he has sown into the world. I wish to
raise up the standard of the Cross, beneath which vir
tue, and all those that put themselves under its protec
tion, are to fight their battles. I wish to satiate my
heart with insults and affronts, which are so estimable
in thy eyes. I wish to humiliate Myself even to death
at the hands of my enemies, in order that our chosen
friends may be consoled in their tribulations and that
they may be honored by high rewards, whenever they
choose to humiliate themselves in suffering the same
persecutions. O beloved Cross! When shalt thou re
ceive Me in thy arms ? O sweet ignominies and affronts !
When shalt thou bear Me on to overcome death through
the sufferings of my entirely guiltless flesh? Ye pains,
affronts, ignominies, scourges, thorns, torments, death,
come to Me, who wish to embrace you, yield yourselves
to my welcome, since I well understand your value. If
the world abhors you, I long for you. If the world,
in its ignorance, despises you, I, who am truth and wis
dom, love and embrace you. Come then to Me, for
in welcoming you as man, I exalt you as the true God
and am ready to efface the touch of sin from you and
from all that will embrace you. Come to Me, ye pains,
and disappoint Me not; heed not my Omnipotence, for
I shall permit you to exert your full force upon my
humanity. You shall not be rejected and abhorred by
Me as you are by mortals. The deceitful fascination of
the children of Adam in vainly judging the poor and the
afflicted of this world as unhappy, shall now disappear;
for if they see their true God, their Creator, Master
and Father, suffering horrible insults, scourgings, the
ignominious torment and destitution of the Cross, they
will understand their error and esteem it as an honor
to follow their crucified God."
394. These are some of the sentiments which I have
been made to perceive in the heart of the Master of
life, our Savior. The sufferings of his Death on the
Cross show (as my words cannot express), how great
was the love with which He sought and underwent
them. Notwithstanding all this, our hearts are weighed
down by sin entangled in vanities (Ps. 4, 3). Though
we have life and truth before our eyes, we are neverthe
less carried away by our pride and repelled by humility,
ravished by what is pleasurable and full of abhorrence
for what is painful. O lamentable error! To labor
much in order to avoid laboring a little, to exhaust our
selves entirely, merely in order to avoid a small incon
venience, to foolishly resolve on suffering eternal shame
and confusion, just in order to evade a slight dishonor,
or in order not to forego one hour of vain and apparent
honor! Who that claims the use of his reason, can say
that he loves himself by following such a course? No
mortal enemy of his can ever do him a greater harm
than he does himself by doing what is displeasing to
God. We hold those as our enemies who flatter and
entertain us while they have treason in their hearts;
and we would call those foolish who would allow
themselves to be betrayed by an insignificant pleasure and
delight. If we judge right in this, as we really do, what
shall we say of the judgment of those who are devotees
of the world? Who has intoxicated them? Who has
thus deprived them of their reason? O how great is the
number of fools!
395. Most holy Mary alone of all the children of
Adam adjusted her whole life according to the will and
conduct of her Son, without departing in the least from
the closest imitation of his life and fulfillment of his
doctrine. She was that most prudent Creature, full of
knowledge and wisdom, who could make up for our
ignorance and foolishness and gain for us eternal truth
in the midst of our darkness. This happened also on
the occasion of which I have spoken, for the heavenly
Lady, being the mirror of her Son s soul, saw all the
affection and love actuating his interior. Since this
was also the guide of her activity, She entirely con
formed to them and with Him addressed her prayers
to the eternal Father as follows : "Most High God and
Father of mercies, I confess thy infinite and immutable
essence. Eternally do I praise and exalt Thee, for in
this place, after Thou hadst created me, Thou hast
deigned to glorify the power of thy arm by raising me
to the dignity of Mother of thy Onlybegotten and mag
nified the outflowing of thy ancient mercies with me,
thy humble slave, and because thy and my Onlybegotten
in the flesh which He assumed from my substance, has
condescended to retain me in his most delightful com
pany for thirty-three years, permitting me to enjoy his
graces, his teachings and his guidance for the enlighten
ment of the soul of thy handmaid. Today, my Lord
and eternal Father, I leave my country and I joyfully
follow my Son and Master in order to be present at the
sacrifice of his life and of his human existence for man
kind. There is no sorrow like unto my sorrow at see
ing the Lamb, which taketh away the sins of the world,
delivered over to bloodthirsty wolves; at seeing that
One subjected to suffering, torment, and death, who is
the living image and figure of thy substance (Heb. 1, 3) ;
who is engendered of Thee from all eternity, and equal
to Thee through all the ages; at seeing that One sub
jected to insult and death of the Cross, whom I have
given life in my womb, and at seeing the beauty of that
countenance obscured by filth and wounds, which is the
joy of my eyes and the delight of all the angels. O
would it were possible, that I receive the pains and sor
rows which await Him, and that I might suffer death in
order to save his life ! Accept, heavenly Father, the sac
rifice of my sorrowing affection, which I offer in union
with Him, in order that thy holy will and pleasure may
be fulfilled. O how quickly flee the days and hours,
which shall end in the night of my sorrow and bitterness !
It will be a fortunate day for the children of men, but
a night of affliction for my sorrow-laden heart, so soon
to be deprived of its illuminating Sun. O children of
Adam, so deeply lost in error and so forgetful of your
selves ! Awake at last from your heavy slumber and
recognize the weight of your sins in the devastation they
are about to cause in your God and Creator! See their
dire effects in my mortal sorrow and bitterness of my
soul ! Begin at last to take heed of the damage wrought
by sin!"
396. I cannot worthily express all the thoughts and
affections of the Mistress of the world in this her de
parture from Nazareth, her prayers and petitions to the
eternal Father, her most sweet and sorrowful conversa
tions with her divine Son, the greatness of her grief and
the vastness of her merits. For, on account of the con
flict between the love of a true Mother, by which She
naturally desired to preserve Him from the terrible tor
ments, and the conformity of her will with that of Jesus
and of his eternal Father, her heart was pierced by the
sword of sorrow, prophesied by Simeon (Luke 2, 35).
In her affliction She complained to her divine Son in
words of deepest prudence and wisdom, yet also of
sweetest sorrow, that She should be unable to prevent
his sufferings, or at least die with Him. These sor
rows of the Mother of God exceeded the sufferings of
all the martyrs who have died or will die for love of
God to the end of the world. In such a state of mind
and affection the Sovereigns of the world pursued their
way from Nazareth toward Jerusalem through Galilee,
which the Savior was not to revisit in this life. As the
end of his labors for the salvation of men drew to a
close, his miraculous works increased in number, and, as
the sacred writers of the Gospels relate, they became
especially numerous in the last months intervening be
tween his departure from Galilee and the day of his
entrance into Jerusalem. Until that day, after having
celebrated the feast or the Pasch of the Tabernacles, the
Savior traveled about and labored in Judea, awaiting
the appointed time, when, according to his will, He was
to offer Himself in sacrifice.
397. During these journeyings his most holy Mother
accompanied Him, except on a few occasions, when They
separated in order to attend to the welfare of souls in
different localities. On such errands saint John was
deputed to accompany Her and administer to her wants.
From that time on saint John received most exalted en
lightenments in regard to the great mysteries and hidden
sacraments of the most pure Virgin and Mother. Among
the wonders wrought by the most prudent and powerful
Queen at this time, were those of most exalted flights
of charity in procuring by her petitions and prayers the
justification of souls; for also She, just as her most
holy Son, now began to be more lavish in her blessed
benefactions to mankind, bringing many to the path
of eternal life, curing the sick, visiting the poor and the
afflicted, the destitute and the infirm, assisting the dying
with her own hands, especially those that were most
forsaken and afflicted with greater suffering and pain.
Of all these works in his special office of attending upon
the blessed Mother, the beloved disciple was a witness.
But as the force of her love, at the prospect of seeing
her divine Son leave Her to return to his eternal Father,
had now increased a thousandfold, the blessed Mother
had such a yearning desire of being in his presence, that
She often swooned away in ecstasies of love and affec
tion, whenever She was obliged to endure his absence for
any length of time. The divine Master on his part, who
as God knew all that passed in the heart of his beloved
Mother, faithfully corresponded with her feelings.
Speaking to Her those words, which were now fulfilled
to the letter : "Thou hast wounded my heart, my Sister,
my Spouse, thou hast wounded my heart with one of
thy eyes ;" for, as if wounded and overcome by his own
love, He was drawn again to her presence. According
to what has been made known to me, Christ our Lord, in
as far as He was man, could not ever have left the pres
ence of his Mother, if He had given full sway to his
love for a Mother who loved Him so much. Hence it
was natural that He should hasten to relieve and con
sole Her by his presence and intercourse. The beauty
of the most pure soul of his Mother refreshed Him and
made all his labors and hardships appear sweet to Him.
He looked upon Her as the choice and only fruit of all
his exertions, and the mere presence of Mary repaid
Him for all his bodily sufferings.
398. Our Savior continued to perform his miracles in
Judea. Among them was also the resurrection of
Lazarus in Bethany, whither He had been called by the
two sisters, Martha and Mary. As this miracle took
place so near to Jerusalem, the report of it was soon
spread throughout the city. The priests and Pharisees,
being irritated by this miracle, held a council (John 9,
17), in which they resolved upon the death of the Re
deemer and commanded all those that had any knowl
edge of his whereabouts, to make it known; for after
the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus retired to the town
of Ephrem, until the proximate feast of the Pasch should
arrive. As the time of celebrating it by his own Death
drew nigh, He showed Himself more openly with his
twelve disciples, the Apostles; and He told them pri
vately that they should now get themselves ready to go
to Jerusalem, where the Son of man, He himself, should
be delivered over to the chiefs of the Pharisees, bound
as a prisoner, scourged, and ill-treated unto the death
of the Cross (Matth. 20, 18). In the meanwhile the
priests kept a sharp watch to find Him among those
who came to celebrate the Pasch. Six days previous He
again visited Bethania, where He had called Lazarus to
life, and where He was entertained by the two sisters.
They arranged a banquet for the Lord and his Mother,
and for all of his company. Among those that were at
table with Them, was also Lazarus, whom He had
brought back to life a few days before.
399. While our Savior, according to the custom of the
Jews, was reclining at this banquet, Magdalen, filled with
divine enlightening and most magnanimous sentiments,
entered the banquet hall. As an outward token of her
ardent love toward Christ, her divine Master, she
anointed his feet and poured out over them and over his
head an alabaster vase filled with a most fragrant and
precious liquor, composed of spikenard and other
aromatic ingredients. Then She wiped his feet with her
hair just as she had done at another occasion in the
house of the pharisee, related by saint Luke (Luke 7,
38). Although the other three Evangelists in relating
this second anointment, apparently differ as to some of the
circumstances ; yet I was not informed that they refer to
different anointments or speak of more than one woman,
but that they refer only to Magdalen, who was moved to
these acts of devotion by inspiration of the Holy Ghost
and by her own burning love toward Christ the Re
deemer. The fragrance of this ointment filled the whole
house, for She had procured a large quantity, and of the
most precious kind; nor did she stint it in any way, but
broke the vessel in token of her generous love and de
votion to the Master. The avaricious Apostle Judas,
who wished to get possession of the ointment in order
to sell it for the increase of his purse, began to criticize
this mysterious anointing of his Master and also to stir
up some of the other Apostles under pretext of poverty
and of charity toward the poor (John 12, 5). These,
he said, are defrauded of their alms by this lavish ex
pense and waste of so costly an article. At the same
time all this had been ordained by divine Providence,
while Judas acted only as an avaricious and disgruntled
hypocrite.
400. The Teacher of truth and life defended Mag
dalen against this accusation of inconsiderate prodi
gality. He commanded Judas and the others not to
molest her (Matth. 24, 10), since her action had not been
vain or without good cause. He told them the poor would
not on that account lose the alms, which they should
receive each day, whereas such opportunity of showing
honor to his Person would not be afforded every day;
that the anointment had been performed by this generous
and loving woman through enlightenment of the holy
Spirit and as a prophetic announcement of the mysteri
ous unction the Savior was so soon to undergo in the tor
ments of his Death and at his burial. Nothing of all
this the perfidious disciple took to heart, but on the
contrary he conceived a furious wrath against his Master
on account of his thus justifying the action of Mag
dalen. Lucifer, profiting by the disposition of this de
praved heart, incited it to new upwellings of avarice,
anger, and mortal hate against the Author of life.
Thenceforth Judas schemed to bring about his Death,
and resolved, as soon as he should come to Jerusalem, to
betray Him to the pharisees and help to discredit Him
in their eyes, as he afterwards did. After this banquet
he betook himself secretly to Jerusalem and told them
that his Master taught new laws contrary to those of
Moses and of the emperors; that He was addicted to
banqueting, a friend of depraved and profane com
pany; that He had admitted as his followers many of a
wicked life, both men and women; that without delay
they should see such conduct stopped lest ruin overtake
them when it was too late to secure relief. As the
pharisees were already of the same mind and were insti
gated by the same prince of darkness, they gladly ac
cepted his advice. With them therefore he agreed on a
price for the betrayal of Christ our Savior.
401. All the thoughts of Judas lay open not only to
his divine Master, but also to his most blessed Mother.
The Lord said nothing to Judas in regard to this matter,
but continued to deal with him as a kind Father and to
enlighten his obstinate heart. His Mother, however, re
doubled her admonitions and gentle endeavors to with
draw Judas from the precipice; and on this night of the
banquet, which was that preceding Palm Sunday, She
called him aside to speak to him alone, representing to
him amid a flood of tears and with most sweet and per
suasive words, what terrible danger threatened him if he
should persist in his intentions. She asked him to give
up his designs and, if he was offended at his Master, to
take vengeance on Her. For this was a smaller evil,
since She was only a creature, while He was his Master
and the true God. In order to satisfy the avarice of this
insatiable heart, She offered him some presents, which
She had received for this purpose from Magdalen. But
none of her efforts were of any avail with this hardened
soul, nor did any of these sweet and living words soften
this more than adamantine heart. On the contrary, as
he did not find an answer and the exhortations of the
most prudent Queen were so urgent, he lashed himself
into greater fury, showing his wrath by a sullen silence.
He was, however, not ashamed to take what she offered
to him; for his avarice was equal to his perfidy. The
most blessed Mary then left him and betook Herself to
her Son and Master. Full of the bitterest sorrow She
cast Herself weeping at his feet. In her exquisite grief
and compassion She wished to bring some consolation
to the sacred humanity of Christ her Son, whom She
now beheld suffering of the sorrow unto death, which
He afterwards manifested in the presence of his disciples
(Matth. 24, 38). Of this kind were the sufferings of
Christ for the sins of those men who were to misapply
his Passion and Death, as I shall relate farther on.
INSTRUCTION WHICH THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN,
MOST HOLY MARY, GAVE ME.
402. My daughter, thou daily understandest and declarest
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. Thou receivest this knowledge more fully and near
est this doctrine repeated so often, that thou must strive
to follow it closely in thy daily life. This duty grows
upon thee from the day in which my Son has chosen
thee as bride, and will oblige thee more and more, so
that thou canst not evade the duty of embracing and
loving hardships to such an extent, that thy greatest pain
shall be to be without them. Renew every day this de
sire in thy heart, for I wish thee to be very proficient in
this science, which the world abhors so much. But re
member, at the same time, that God does not afflict crea
tures 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 (I Cor. 2, 9). For the confirmation
of this truth and as a pledge of his promises He per
mitted 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 al
ways 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 fol
lowers. 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).
403. 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 ir
ritated 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, thou must regulate the amount of thy pa
tience and long suffering with others and the zeal for
their salvation. I do not say that thou must therefore
permit what is against the honor of God, for that would
not be a true zeal for the good of thy neighbor; but
thou must love them as creatures of the Lord and abhor
sin; thou must suffer and ignore whatever is done
against thee, always seeking, as far as in thee lies, the
salvation of others. Do not lose heart, when thou seest
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.
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