505. In order to understand better the mysteries to
be described in this chapter, it is necessary to presuppose
what I have written in the eighth, ninth and tenth chap
ter, of the first book, of the first part, where I explained
the twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse in so far as it
was made, known to me at that time. Not only there,
but during* the whole course of this heavenly history,
have I referred to the present chapters of this third part
for a description of the battles of the most holy Mary
with Lucifer and the demons, the triumphs She gained,
and the state in which She was left by the Almighty
after these battles for the rest of her earthly life. Of
all these sacred mysteries the evangelist saint John had
a knowledge and he describes them in his Apocalypse
(as I have stated at other times), especially in the twelfth
and twenty-first chapters. On these two chapters I must
discourse in this history for two reasons.
506. First, the secrets contained in them are so ex
alted and magnificent, that they can never be adequately
explained or manifested; especially as the Evangelist,
considering it as the sacrament of the King and Queen,
has enveloped them in such enigmatical and metaphorical
language, as can be interpreted only through divine
revelation when and how the Lord shall please ; and in
this the Evangelist followed the express commands of the
most holy Mary. Secondly, the proud rebellion of Lucifer,
although in general opposing the supreme will and orders
of the Most High and omnipotent God, was especially
directed against Christ our Lord and his Mother, to
whose superiority and excellence the apostate angels do
not wish to subject themselves. Also the first rebellion
and war waged with saint Michael in heaven was in
protest against their authority; but at that time they
could not war with the incarnate Word and with his
Virgin Mother in person, but only against the mysterious
sign or representation of that mysterious Woman, which
they saw placed in the heavens as a prophetic symbol
of all the mysteries of the Incarnation to be enacted in
her womb. When the time came for the execution of
all these sacraments and for the Incarnation of the Word
in her womb, it was proper that this battle of the demons
should be renewed and that Christ and Mary should
triumph over them in person. For this the Lord, as
well in heaven as afterwards in paradise, had threatened
them with this enmity between the Woman and the ser
pent, and between the seed of the Woman and the serpent,
in order that She might crush his head.
507. All this was fulfilled to the letter in Christ and
in Mary; for of our great Highpriest and Savior saint
Paul says, that He was tempted in all things like we
ourselves and for our example, but without sin ; and the
same can be said of the most holy Mary. Lucifer had
permission to tempt Them after his fall from heaven,
as I have said in the tenth chapter of the first Part.
And because this battle with the most holy Mary was
to be a counterpart of the first one in heaven and was
to be for the demons the fulfillment of the threat and
menace contained in her image, it was described and
enveloped in the same enigmatical words. Having suffi
ciently explained about the first battle, I must now
speak of what happened in the second. Although Lucifer
and his demons had already been punished in their
first rebellion by the eternal loss of the beatific vision
and hurled into hell, they were now punished anew in
this second battle by additional accidental torments cor
responding to their evil desires and attempts against the
most blessed Mary. The explanation thereof is, that
the natural faculties of a creature draw satisfaction and
contentment from their attaining what they strive after
and this in proportion to the vehemence with which they
have striven ; and on the other hand, pain and disappoint
ment in not attaining their object, or in experiencing
opposite results. Now, the demons since their fall had
desired nothing more vehemently than to see that One
fall from grace, who was to be the medium of grace
for the children of Adam. Hence it was an inconceiv
able torment for the infernal dragons to find themselves
vanquished and foiled in the desperate desires and hopes
entertained by them for so many ages.
508. The heavenly Mother on the other hand, on
account of the same and many other reasons, in the
overthrow of the ancient serpent gained a most joyful
triumph. For the conclusion of this battle, moreover,
and for the state which She was then to enjoy during
the rest of her life, her divine Son held in readiness so
many and such great blessings, as surpass all human and
angelic capacity. In order to say something of what I
have been made to understand, the reader must remem
ber, that, on account of our limited powers and capacity,
we are constrained to use for the most exalted mysteries
the same terms and words as we use for the more ordi
nary ones. Yet in what I am to speak of now, there is
infinite latitude and extent of mystery, within which
the Almighty can raise the creature from one state,
which seems to us the highest, to one much more exalted,
and from this again to a higher and more excellent state.
For, such a creature as Mary, after being destined and
confirmed in this world of graces, gifts and favors, and
after reaching (as She really did) all that is not God s
essence, must at last embrace within itself a vastness of
excellence so great, that, of its own Self, it constitutes
a new hierarchy, greater and more exalted than all the
rest of the creatures angelic and human.
509. Having premised all this, I will proceed to tell
as well as I can, what happened to Lucifer until his final
overthrow through the most holy Mary and her Son our
Savior. The dragon and his demons were not yet en
tirely subdued by the triumphs related in the last chapter,
when they were hurled down from the upper air into the
abyss by the great Lady ; nor by their ill-success with the
sorceresses in Jerusalem. But, fearing in his malice that
he should have little time left for his temptations and
persecutions, the enemy, in his implacable malice, wished
to make up for the shortness of time by an increase of
fury and temerity. Hence he sought out other men, who,
having been especially instructed by him in magic and
witchcraft, were still greater sorcerers. To these Lucifer
gave special and minute directions how to take away the
life of Her whom they held as their enemy. These
ministers of evil attempted to fulfill their commission
many times, making use of very powerful and pernicious
charms. But none of them could in any way harm either
the life or the health of the most blessed Mary; for the
effects of sin exerted no influence over Her who was
sinless and who, moreover, for other reasons, was exempt
and superior to all natural causes. Seeing this and find
ing his most deeply laid plans frustrated, the dragon
visited those sorcerers with fierce and cruel punishments ;
for the Lord permitted this, because they had merited
chastisement for their temerity and in order that they
might know, what kind of master they served.
510. Full of this new fury Lucifer convened all the
princes of darkness and reminded them of the many
reasons they had since their fall from heaven, for strain
ing all their forces and their whole malice in order to
cast down this Woman, their Enemey; since they now
clearly recognized in Her the One shown to them at that
time. They all agreed with him and resolved to unite
and assault Her alone, presuming that on some occasion
or another they would find Her less prepared and bereft
of her defense. Mary .being alone in her oratory, they
at once seized this opportunity and, emptying hell for this
enterprise, they advanced upon Her in united multitudes.
This battle was the greatest ever fought by a mere
creature, from the first one in the empyrean heaven to
the end of the world ; and it was very much like that first
one. In order to estimate the fury of Lucifer and his
demons, in coming to where the most blessed Mary
then was, one must consider their torments, as well in
perceiving the divine power emanating from Her as in
remembering how often they had been oppressed and
vanquished by Her. But their wrath and envy conquered
even these torments and drove them, in spite of their
pains, to throw themselves as it were upon the bristling
pikes and swords to avenge themselves upon the heavenly
Lady; for, not to make such an attempt, was a greater
torment than any other.
511. The first assault of the demons was directed
principally upon the exterior senses of Mary, consisting in
terrific howlings and confused clamors. Arraying their
hosts in the air, they produced such a fearful noise and
trembling, that the machinery of the whole world seemed
on the point of destruction. To make all this appear
more real, they assumed diverse visible shapes, some of
horrid and different kinds of demons, other of angels
of light. In these shapes they pretended to begin a
darksome and formidable contest or battle, seemingly
without cause and so that only the confused and terrible
noise could be heard. Thus they sought to produce fear
or disturbance in the soul of the most blessed Lady.
And truly they would have excited terror in any other,
even the most holy creature, if left to the ordinary re
sources of grace, and no one could have encountered
them without losing life ; for this onset lasted for twelve
whole hours.
512. But our great Queen and Lady remained im
movable and serene, as tranquil as if She heard or saw
nothing of all this; She was disturbed or altered in no
wise, showed no change in her countenance, no traces of
sorrow during the whole of this infernal uproar. Then
the demons proceeded to other temptations directed
against the internal faculties of the invincible Mother,
pouring out their diabolical malice more than I can de
scribe; for all that devilish multitude exhausted the full
measure of their hellish astuteness in concocting their
false revelations, lights and suggestions, their promises
and threats in attempting to infect each of her virtues by
temptations to the contrary vice. I will not stop to
enumerate in particular these temptations, as it is neither
necessary nor convenient. But our Lady and Queen
overcame them all, since in opposition to the vices She
performed acts of the contrary virtues, which reached
an excellence fully in proportion to the impulse and force
of her then acquired state of grace, gifts and perfection.
513. As one who was experiencing the strength of
hellish malice and who knows the necessity of divine
assistance, She prayed on that occasion for all that are
afflicted and tempted by the demon. The Lord granted
Her the power of extending her protection to all those
who are tempted and who invoke her intercession. The
demons persevered in this battle until no kind of malice
was left unattempted against the most pure Mother.
Then She on her part called upon the divine justice, ask
ing God to rise up and judge his cause (as David says
Ps. 73, 22), that his enemies might be dispersed and
those who abhorred his presence be put to flight. To ful
fill his judgment the incarnate Word descended from
heaven to her retirement in the Cenacle, appearing to his
Virgin Mother as her sweetest and loving Son, and to
the enemies as the severe Judge on the throne of his
supreme majesty. He was accompanied by innumerable
angels, by the ancient saints, Adam and Eve and many
patriarchs and prophets, and saint Joachim and Anne.
All these presented and manifested themselves to the most
blessed Mary in her oratory.
514. Prostrating Herself as usual in deepest venera
tion and worship, the great Lady adored her Son and
true God. The demons did not see the Lord, though
they were made aware of his royal presence and tried to
fly from the imminent punishment. But the divine power
detained them, fettering them in the manner in which
their spirit nature permitted; and the ends of their fet
ters or chains the Lord placed into the hands of his most
blessed Mother.
515. Then a voice issued from the throne saying:
"Today comes upon you the wrath of the Almighty, and
the first sentence, fulminated against the ancient serpent
from on high and afterwards in paradise, shall be ex
ecuted: a Woman descended from Adam and Eve shall
crush its head (Gen. 3, 15), because in your disobedience
and pride, you have despised the humanity of the Word
in the virginal womb." Immediately the most holy Mary
was raised from the earth by the hands of six seraphim
nearest to the throne of God and, enveloped in a reful
gent cloud, was placed at the side of the throne of her
divine Son. From his own essence and Divinity issued
an ineffable and supereminent splendor, which enveloped
and surrounded Her like the globe of the sun. Beneath
her feet appeared also the moon, indicating that She was
to subject to Her all that was inferior, earthly and
variable, symbolized by the concavity of the moon. Over
her head was placed a diadem or crown of twelve stars,
as an emblem of the divine perfections communicated to
Her to the fullest extent possible in a mere creature. She
was also shown as pregnant, not only of the concept of
God in her mind, but also of the corresponding love.
She gave forth a voice as if of the sorrows of the birth
of what She had conceived, in order that all creatures
might participate in it; and they rejected it, although She
desired it with tears and groans (Apoc. 12, 1).
516. This sign, in all the grandeur in which it had
been conceived in the divine mind, was shown in heaven
to Lucifer, who was present as the great, red dragon with
seven heads crowned with seven diadems and ten horns.
In this horrid shape he represented himself as the author
of the seven capital sins, who attempted to crown these
sins with his invented heresies as diadems and who armed
by his astuteness and strength as with ten horns, had
sought to overthrow the divine law contained in the ten
commandments. In like manner he had encircled with
his tail and drawn to hell with him a third part of the
stars of heaven; (Apoc. 12, 4) ; not only in seducing the
myriads of angels, who followed him in disobedience,
but also in casting from heaven of the Church many of
the believers, who seemed to have risen above the stars
either in dignity or sanctity.
517. In such a fearful and horrid shape stood Lucifer,
and with him, in many other and various, all of them
abominable, shapes, stood his fellow-demons, arranged
in battle array around Mary, who was about to bring
forth in spiritual birth the perpetual existence and enrich
ment of the holy Church. And the dragon, in furious
envy, that this Woman should be so powerful in estab
lishing and spreading this Church, and that She should,
by her merits, example and intercession, enrich it with
so many graces and raise so many myriads of men to their
predestined eternal happiness, stood in readiness to de
vour if possible, what She was to bring forth and to
destroy this new Church. In spite of the envy of the
dragon She brought forth a man-child, who was to govern
all the nations with a strong rod of iron. This manchild
was the most righteous and strong spirit of the
Church, which in the righteousness of Christ our God
holds sway over all the nations in justice; and likewise it
signified all the apostolic men, who in the same righteous
spirit are to judge (Matth. 19, 28) with the iron rod of
divine justice. All this it was that most holy Mary
brought forth, not only because She gave birth to Christ,
but also because through her merits and diligence She
brought forth the Church in holiness and rectitude,
nourished it during the time She lived in it, and even now
and forever preserves it in the manly spirit, in which it
was born, maintaining the uprightness of the Catholic
truth, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail
(Matth. 16, 18).
518. Then, says saint John, this man-child was taken
up to the throne of God and the Woman fled to her
destined place in the desert in order that She might there
be nourished one thousand two-hundred and sixty days.
This signifies, that all the legitimate offspring of the
heavenly Mother, as well that which is the fruit of the
general spirit of holiness in the Church, as also the par
ticular souls which She engendered and engenders as
her proper spiritual children, shall arrive at the throne
where is her natural Offspring, Christ, in whom and for
whom She engenders and raises her children. But the
solitude to which the most blessed Mary was carried was
a most exalted and mysterious state, to which She was
raised after her battle and of which I shall say some
thing presently. It is called a solitude, because She
alone of all creatures was in that state, and none other
could ever reach or attain it. In it She was without
the company of creatures; and She was moreover left
alone by the dragon, who more than any one else was
ignorant of this mystery, and could not any more tempt
or persecute Her in person. There the Lord nourished
Her one thousand two hundred and sixty days, which
was the time She lived in this state before passing to
another.
519. All this was darkly known and intimated to
Lucifer and his demons before this heavenly Woman and
living Sign was hidden away from their sight. The
knowledge of her destiny took away the confidence,
which, for more than five thousand years, had inspired
the dragon with the hope of being able to vanquish Her
who was the Mother of the incarnate Word. Hence the
despair and torment of Lucifer and his demons can to a
certain extent be imagined; especially as they now saw
themselves overcome and held bound by the very Wom
an, whom they had with such insane fury sought to cast
down from grace and deprive of the merits and fruits of
the Church. The dragon in agonizing efforts to escape,
said : "O Woman, give me leave to hurl myself into hell,
for I cannot bear thy presence, nor will I ever venture to
come before Thee as long as Thou livest upon this world.
Thou hast conquered, O Woman, Thou hast conquered,
and I acknowledge thy power in Him who has made
Thee his Mother. Omnipotent God, chastise us Thyself,
since we cannot resist Thee ; but do not send thy punish
ments through a Woman of a nature so inferior to ours.
Her charity consumes us, her humility crushes us, and
She is in all things a living manifestation of thy mercy
for men. This is a torment surpassing many others.
Assist me, ye demons! But alas, what can our united
efforts avail against this Woman, since all our power
cannot ever deliver us from her presence until She her
self casts us forth? O foolish children of Adam, who
follow me, forsaking life for the sake of death, truth or
falsehood? What absurdity and insanity is yours, (so
in despair I must confess), since you have in your midst
and belonging to your own nature the incarnate Word
and this Woman ? Greater is your ingratitude than mine
and this Woman forces me to confess the truths, which
I abhor with all my heart. Cursed be my resolve to
persecute this Daughter of Adam, who so torments and
crushes me!"
520. While the dragon thus gave vent to his despair,
the prince of the heavenly hosts saint Michael appeared in
order to defend the cause of the incarnate Word and his
most blessed Mother; and by the arms of the under
standing they began another battle with the dragon and
his followers (Apoc. 12, 7). Saint Michael and his
angels hurled at them the convincing arguments of old,
reproaching them with their pride and disobedience in
heaven and with their temerity in persecuting and
tempting the incarnate Word and his Mother, and con
tending with those in whom they had no part or right
whatever, since they could accuse Them of no sin, injus
tice or imperfection. Saint Michael justified the works
of the divine justice, declaring them most righteous and
unblamable chastisements for the disobedience and
apostasy of Lucifer and the demons. Anew they anathe
matised them and confirmed the sentence of their dam
nation, confessing the Almighty as holy and just in all
his works. The demon and his angels on the other hand
likewise tried to defend their rebellion and the audacity
of their pride; but all their reasonings were false, vain,
and full of diabolical presumption and error.
521. A silence ensued in the altercation and the Lord
of hosts spoke to the most holy Mary: "My Mother
and my Beloved, chosen from the creatures by my eternal
wisdom for my habitation and holy temple! Thou hast
given Me human form and restored the human race;
Thou hast followed Me, imitated Me and merited the
graces and gifts communicated to Thee above all my crea
tures and Thou hast never permitted them to be unprofit
able in Thee. Be Thou the worthy object of my infinite
love, the protection of my Church, its Queen, Mistress
and Governess. To Thee is commissioned my power,
and, as the almighty God, I place it in thy most faithful
disposal. In virtue of it do Thou command the infernal
dragon, that as long as Thou shalt live in the Church, he
shall not sow the seed of error and heresy which he
holds in readiness; cut off his hardened neck, crush his
head; for during the days of thy life I desire that the
Church shall derive this advantage from thy presence."
522. The most holy Mary executed this command of
the Lord and as Queen and Mistress enjoined the infer
nal dragons to become mute and powerless to spread their
false doctrines among the faithful, and that, as long as
She was to live upon earth, none of them presume to
deceive mortals by their heretical tenets and doctrines.
And so it happened; for although the demon, in his
wrath and vengeance, had intended to pour out this poison
in the Church, the Lord, for the sake of his love of the
heavenly Mother, hindered it during her lifetime. After
her glorious Transition, permission was given to the
demon to spread his heresies because the sins of men
subjected them to the just judgments of the Lord.
523. Thereupon, (as saint John says), the great drag
on, the ancient serpent called satan and devil, was cast
forth and with his demons banished from the presence
of the Queen. Their chains were lengthened and they
fell upon the earth, where they were permitted to re
main. The voice of the archangel was heard in the
Cenacle, saying: "Now is come the salvation, and the
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power
of Christ; because the accuser of our brethren is cast
forth, who accused them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and
by the word of the testimony, and they loved not their
lives unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heaven, and you
that dwell therein. Woe to the earth and to the sea, be
cause the devil is come down unto you, having great
wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time" (Apoc.
12, 10). By these words the angel proclaimed, that in
virtue of the victories and triumphs of the most blessed
Mary, united to those of her Son and Savior, the reign
of God, his Church, and the effects of the Redemption
of man were assured to the just. All this he called the
salvation, the strength and power of Christ. And as,
without doubt, if the most blessed Mother had not over
come the infernal dragon, this impious and powerful
enemy would have hindered the effects of the Redemp
tion; therefore this voice of the angel resounded victo
riously at the conclusion of the battle and at his casting
forth unto the earth and the sea. He congratulated the
saints, because now the head and the plottings of the
demon, by which he slandered men, were crushed, and
the angel calls them brethren because of their relation
ship with the angels through the soul, through grace and
glory.
524. The calumnies, by which the devil persecuted and
accused the mortals were the illusions and deceits by
which he expected to pervert the beginnings of the
evangelical Church, and his appeals to the justice of
God, alleging that men, through their ingratitude and
wickedness and by their having taken away the life of
Christ the Savior, did not merit Redemption or mercy,
but deserved to be punished by leaving them to their own
sinfulness and to the darkness of eternal damnation.
Against all these accusations, however, Mary, as our
most sweet and kind Mother, rose up in our defense,
meriting for us faith and its spread, the abundance of
mercies and gifts accruing to us from the death of her
Son, all of which the sins of those that crucified Him
and the others, that would not receive Him, have indeed
failed to deserve. The angel, by his prediction of woe,
warns the inhabitants of the earth to be prepared for the
serpent, which now descended to them in such -great
wrath; for without a doubt this dragon knows, that he
has little time for wrecking1 his fury upon men, since he
has learned of the mysteries of Redemption, the power
of most holy Mary, the abundance of grace and wonder
ful favors in the primitive Church. From all these facts
he suspects, that the end of the world is at hand, or that
all men will follow Christ our Lord and avail themselves
of the intercession of his Mother to gain eternal life.
Alas, that men themselves should be more foolish and
ungrateful than even the demon himself dared to think!
525. In further explanation of these mysteries, the
Evangelist states, that when the dragon saw himself
cast upon the earth, he attempted to persecute the
mysterious Woman, who had brought forth the manchild.
But to Her were given two wings as of a great
eagle, in order that She might fly into the solitude or
desert, where She was nourished for a time, and for two
times, and for the half of a time, hidden away from
the sight of the serpent. And therefore the serpent cast
forth after the Woman a great river to overwhelm Her
if possible. By these words the wrath of Lucifer against
God, his Mother and the Church are more definitely
declared ; for, as far as this dragon is concerned, he never
permits his envy to slumber, his pride to weaken, or his
malice to sleep in tempting anew this Queen as long as he
has power and permission. But they were taken from
him in regard to the Queen; and hence it is said, that
two wings were given to Her for flying into the desert,
where She is nourished during the stated times. These
wings were the divine power of ascending to the vision
of the Deity given to Mary and of descending to dis
tribute the treasures of grace to men, as we shall describe
in the next chapter.
526. From that time on the serpent had no more power
to tempt Mary in person, wherefore it is said that her
solitude or desert is removed from the sight of the demon.
The times and the time and half of a time are three
years and a half, which contain the thousand two hun
dred and sixty, less a few days, as mentioned before. In
this state, and in others yet to be spoken of, the most
blessed Mary spent the rest of her mortal life. But since
the dragon was forced to give up tempting Her, he shot
forth the blood of his venomous malice after the heavenly
Woman; for after her victory he sought astutely to
tempt the faithful and to persecute them through aid of
the Jews and gentiles; and especially after her glorious
Transition into heaven did he loosen the flood of his
heresies and false schisms locked up within himself. The
threats which he uttered after her victory, referred to the
war he intended to wage against men in order to avenge
himself upon Her; for, being now unable to vent his
rage upon the person of the Queen, he resolved to con
tinue it against those, whom the Lady loved so much.
527. Hence saint John says that the dragon proceeded
to make war upon the others, who are of her generation
and seed, who observe the law of God, and have the
testimony of Christ. And the dragon stood upon the
sands of the sea, namely; he relied upon the countless
infidels, idolaters, Jews and pagans, through whom he
has made and does make war upon the holy Church, be
sides secretly waging the war of temptation against the
faithful. But the solid and firm set earth, which is the
immutability of the Church, and the imperishable Catho
lic truth "helps the mysterious Woman; because She
opens her mouth and swallows and absorbs the flood
poured out against Her by the serpent. And so it hap
pened in reality, since the holy Church, which is the
organ and the mouthpiece of the Holy Ghost, has con
demned and overthrown all the errors, the false sects and
doctrines by her definitions, by holy Scriptures, by the
decrees of her councils, by the teachings of her doctors,
instructors and preachers of the Gospel.
528. All these mysteries and many others the Evange
list intimates and describes under the image of this battle
and triumph of most holy Mary. In order to end the
conflict, though Lucifer was already cast from heaven
and given over, fettered in chains, into the hands of the
victorious Queen, the great Lady perceived it to be the
will of the Lord her divine Son, that She hurl him and
his hosts into the infernal caverns. Fortified and
strengthened by God, She released them and commanded
them immediately to depart into hell. As soon as She
pronounced the word, all the demons fell into the most
distant caverns of hell, where they remained for some
time giving forth terrible and despairing howls. Then
the holy angels sang new hymns to the incarnate Word
on account of his victories and those of his invincible
Mother. The first parents, Adam and Eve, gave thanks
to God, because He chose this their Daughter for his
Mother and thus repaired the ruin they had caused to
their posterity; the Patriarchs, because their great ex
pectations and prophecies were so happily and gloriously
fulfilled; saint Joachim, saint Anne and saint Joseph,
with still greater jubilee, glorified the Almighty for their
Daughter and Spouse ; and all of them together sang the
glory and praise of the Most High, so holy and admirable
in his counsels. The most blessed Mary prostrated Her
self before the royal throne and adored the incarnate
Word, offering Herself anew to labor for the Church,
and asking his blessing, which She received with admir
able effects. She asked also her parents and her Spouse
for their blessing, recommending the holy Church and
all the faithful to their prayers. Thereupon the whole
celestial gathering took their leave and returned to
heaven.
INSTRUCTION WHICH MARY, THE QUEEN OF THE ANGELS,
GAVE: ME.
529. My daughter, with the rebellion of Lucifer and
his demons in heaven have commenced the battles be
tween the kingdom of light and that of darkness, between
Jerusalem and Babylon; and these battles will not cease
to the end of the world. The Captain and Head of the
children of light is the incarnate Word, as the Author
of holiness and grace; and Lucifer, as the author of sin
and perdition, has constituted himself as the leader of
the children of darkness. Each one of these chieftains
defends his followers and seeks to increase his reign
and the number of his adherents. Christ seeks to draw
men to Himself by the truths of his divine faith, by the
favors and gifts of his grace, by the holiness of his
virtues, by his consolations in labors and by the certain
hope of his promised happiness, commanding his angels
to accompany, to console and defend them until they
should be able to bring them to heaven; Lucifer, on the
other hand, gains his followers by lies, deceits and treach
ery, by the allurements of ignominious and abominable
vices, by darkness and confusion ; he treats them in this
life like a tyrant, afflicting them relentlessly and depriving
them of all consolation ; while in the next life he holds in
readiness for them eternal and horrible torments, which
he himself and through his demons shall inflict upon them
with inhuman cruelty as long as God is God.
530. But alas ! in spite of this truth, so infallible and
so well known to mortals, in spite of the infinite differ
ence of the recompense, how few, my daughter, are the
soldiers that follow Christ, as their legitimate Lord, as
their King, their Chief, and their model ; and how numer
ous are those that band with Lucifer, who gives them no
existence, no life, who affords them no nourishment, nor
any return ; who deserves nothing nor in any way obliges
them, as was and is the case with the Author of life and
grace, my divine Son? So great is the ingratitude of
men, so foolish their infidelity, so unhappy their blind
ness. Merely because God has given men freedom of
will, either to follow their Master or not, to show them
selves thankful or not, they side with Lucifer and serve
him freely, permit him to enter the house of God and his
temple, that he may tyrannically confuse and profane it
and draw after him the greater part of the world to his
eternal torments.
531. This conflict will last to the end, because the
Prince of eternity, on account of his infinite goodness,
will not cease to defend the souls He created and re
deemed by his blood. But not only He himself battles
with the dragon, nor only through his angels; for it
redounds to the greater glory and exaltation of his name,
if He overcomes the enemies and confounds their pride
through the human creatures, in whom they seek to
avenge themselves upon the Lord. I, being a mere
creature, next to my Son, the true God, was the Leader
and Sovereign in these battles. Although through his
Passion and Death, He vanquished the demons, who had
become very haughty by the dominion of sin inaugurated
among men by Adam ; yet, after He, and I in his name,
had triumphed over the enemies and through our victories
established the Church in such high perfection and holi
ness, the Church would have persevered and Lucifer
would have remained crushed (as I said before), if the
ingratitude and the forget fulness of men had not im
pelled him anew toward the perdition and ruin of the
whole globe.
532. Nevertheless my divine Son did not forsake the
Church, which He had acquired by his blood, nor have I,
as its Mother and Protectress, forsaken it ; and We con
tinue to look within it for some souls to defend the glory
and honor of God and fight the battles against hell for
the confusion and crushing of the demons. Hence I
wish thee to dispose thyself by divine grace for this
battle and not to wonder at the strength of the demon,
nor to be downcast at thy misery and poverty. Thou
knowest that the wrath of Lucifer against me was greater
than against any of the creatures, and greater than
against all of them together; but by the power of the
Lord I vanquished him gloriously, and thou, in the same
power, canst resist him in thy smaller temptations. Al
though thou mayest be weak and wanting in what is
required, I wish thee to understand, that my divine Son
acts now as a king who is short of subjects and soldiers
and will admit any one who wishes to serve in his army.
Encourage thyself then to conquer satan in present mat
ters, for then the Lord will afterwards arm thee for
greater battles. I tell thee, that the Church would not
be entangled in its present difficulties, if a number of the
souls belonging to it had taken it upon themselves to
defend the cause and honor of God; but the Church
stands very much alone and forsaken by the children,
whom it nourished at its own bosom.
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