99. On the last day of the novena of immediate
preparation of the tabernacle (Ps. 45, 5), which He was
to sanctify by his coming, the Most High resolved to
renew his wonders and multiply his tokens of love, re
peating the favors and benefits which up to this day He
had conferred upon the Princess Mary. But the Al
mighty chose to work in such a way, that in drawing
forth from his infinite treasures his gifts of old, He al
ways added thereto such as were new. All of these dif
ferent kinds of wonders were appropriate to the end He
had in view : lowering his Divinity to the human nature
and raising a woman to the dignity of Mother of God.
In descending to the lowliness of man s estate, God
neither could, nor needed to change his essence: for,
remaining immutable in Himself, He could unite his
Person to our nature; but an earthly woman, in ascend
ing to such an excellence that God should unite with
Her and become man of her substance, apparently must
traverse an infinite space and be raised so far above other
creatures, as to approach God s infinite being itself.
100. The day had then arrived, in which most holy
Mary was to reach the last stage and be placed so close
to God, as to become his Mother. In that night, at the
hour of greatest silence, She was again called by the
same Lord as it had happened on the other days. The
humble and prudent Queen responded: "My heart is
prepared (Ps. 107, 2), my Lord and exalted Sovereign:
let thy divine pleasure be fulfilled in me." Immediately
She was, as on the preceding day, borne body and soul
by the hands of her angels to the empyrean and placed
in the presence of the royal throne of the Most High;
and his divine Majesty raised Her up and seated Her
at his side, assigning to Her the position and throne,
which She was to occupy forever in his presence. Next
to the one reserved for the incarnate Word, it was the
highest and the most proximate to God himself; for it
excelled incomparably that of any of the other blessed,
and that of all of them together.
101. From this position She saw the Divinity by an
abstractive vision, as at other times, and his Majesty,
hiding from Her the dignity of Mother of God, mani
fested to Her such unusual and such high sacraments,
that on account of their sublimity and my insignificant
capacities, I cannot describe them. Again She saw in
the Divinity all things created and many other possible
and future ones. The corporeal things God manifested
and made known to Her by corporeal and sensible images,
as if they had been presented to her ocular vision. The
fabric of the universe, which before this She had known
in parts, now appeared to Her in its entirety, distinctly
pictured as upon canvas, with all the creatures contained
therein. She saw the harmony, order, connection and
dependence of each toward each, and of the divine will,
which had created them, governs and preserves them,
each in its place and mode of existence. Again She
saw all the heavens and the stars, the elements, and
those that lived in them, purgatory, limbo, hell and all
the occupants of these caverns. Just as the position of
the Queen of creation was above all creatures and in
ferior only to that of God, so also the knowledge given
to Her was superior to that of all created things being
inferior only to that of the Lord.
102. While thus the heavenly Lady was lost in ad
miration of what the Almighty showed to Her, and was
wrapped in praise and exaltation of the Lord, his Ma
jesty spoke to Her and said : "My chosen Dove, all the
visible creatures, which thou beholdest, I have created
and preserved in all their variety and beauty by my
Providence, solely for the love of men. And from all
the souls, which I have until now created and which
are predestined to be created unto the end, I shall choose
and select the congregation of the faithful, who shall be
set apart and washed in the blood of the Lamb in the
Redemption of the world. They shall be the special fruit
of his Redemption, and they shall enjoy its blessings
through the new law of grace and the sacraments to be
instituted by the Redeemer; and afterwards those that
persevere shall partake of my eternal glory and friend
ship. For these chosen ones I have primarily created
these wonderful works! and if all of them would strive
to serve Me, adore and acknowledge my holy name; as
far as I am concerned, I would for each and every one of
them create these great treasures and assign all over to
them as their possession.
103. "And if I had created only one being capable of
my grace and glory, I would have made it the lord and
master of all creation ; for this would be a much smaller
favor than to make it partaker of my friendship and of
eternal happiness. Thou, my Spouse, shalt be my chosen
One and thou hast found grace in my sight; and there
fore I make thee Mistress of all these goods and I give
thee dominion and possession of them all, so that, if
them art a faithful spouse according to my wishes, thou
mayest distribute and dispose of them according as thou
desirest and according as thy intercession shall direct;
for this is the purpose, for which they are given into thy
possession." Therewith the most blessed Trinity placed
a crown on the head of our Princess Mary, consecrat
ing Her as the sovereign Queen of all creation. Upon it
was spread and enameled the inscription: Mother of
God; but its meaning was not known to Her at this
time. The heavenly spirits, however, knew it and they
were filled with admiration at the magnificence of the
Lord toward this Maiden, most fortunate and blessed
among womankind. They revered and honored Her as
their legitimate Queen and as Sovereign of all creation.
104. All these portents of love the right hand of the
Most High wrought according to the order most befit
ting his infinite wisdom; for before coming down to
assume flesh in the virginal womb of this Lady, it was
proper that all his courtiers should acknowledge his
Mother as their Queen and Mistress, and give Her due
honor as such. It was certainly proper and just that God
should first make Her Queen before making Her
Mother of the Prince of eternities ; for She that was to
bear a Prince, must necessarily first be a Queen and be
acknowledged as Queen by her vassals. That the angels
should know Her as Mother, was not improper, nor was
there any necessity of concealing it from them. But on
the other hand it seemed due to the majesty of the Di
vinity, that the tabernacle chosen for his indwelling
should appear before them prepared and adorned with
all that was highest in dignity and perfection, in nobility
and magnificence to the full extent, in which it was pos
sible. Thus then, was She presented to the holy angels,
and recognized by them, as their honored Queen and
Lady.
105. In order to put the last touch to this prodigious
work of preparing the most holy Mary, the Lord ex
tended his powerful arm and expressly renewed the
spirit and the faculties of the great Lady, giving Her
new inclinations, habits and qualities, the greatness and
excellence of which are inexpressible in terrestrial terms.
It was the finishing act and the final retouching of the
living image of God, in order to form, in it and of it,
the very shape, into which the eternal Word, the essen
tial image of the eternal Father (II Cor. 4, 4) and the
figure of his substance (Heb. 1, 3), was to be cast. Thus
the whole temple of most holy Mary, more so than that
of Solomon, was covered with the purest gold of the
Divinity inside and out, (III Kings, 6, 30), so that no
where could be seen in Her any grossness of an earthly
daughter of Adam. Her entire being was made to
shine forth the Divinity; for since the divine Word was
to issue from the bosom of the eternal Father to descend
to that of Mary, He provided for the greatest possible
similarity between the Mother and the Father.
106. No words at my disposal could ever suffice to
describe as I would wish, the effects of these favors in
the heart of our great Queen and Mistress. Human
thought cannot conceive them, how then can human
words express them? But what has caused the greatest
wonder in me, when I considered these things in the
ligfat given to me, is the humility of this heavenly
Woman and the mutual contest between her humility and
the divine power. Rare and astonishing prodigy of hu
mility, to see this Maiden, most holy Mary, though
raised to the supremest dignity and holiness next to God,
yet humiliating Herself and debasing Herself below the
meanest of the creatures; so that, by the force of this
humility, no thought of her being destined for the Mothership
of the Messias could find entrance into her mind !
And not only this: She did not even have a suspicion of
anything great or admirable in Herself (Ps. 130, 1).
Her eyes and heart were not elated ; on the contrary the
higher She ascended by the operation of the right hand
of her God, so much the more lowly were her thoughts
concerning Herself. It was therefore just, that the Al
mighty should look upon her humility (Luke 1, 48), and
that therefore all generations should call her fortunate
and blessed.
INSTRUCTION WHICH THE QUEEN AND MISTRESS OF
HEAVEN GAVE ME.
107. My daughter, the soul that has only a selfish and
servile love is not a worthy spouse of the Most High,
for she must not love or fear like a slave, nor is she sup
posed to serve for her daily wages. Yet although her
heart must be a filial and generous love on account of
the excellence and immense goodness of her Spouse, she
must nevertheless also feel herself much bounden to
Him, when she considers how rich and liberal He is;
how, on account of his love for souls. He has created
such a variety of visible goods in order that they might
serve those who serve Him; and especially, when she
considers how many hidden treasures He has in readi
ness in the abundance of his sweetness (Ps. 30, 20) for
those that fear Him as his true children. I wish that
thou feel deeply obliged to thy Lord and Father, thy
Spouse and Friend, at the thought of the riches given
to those souls, who become his dearest children. For,
as a powerful Father, He holds in readiness these great
and manifold gifts for his children, and if necessary, all
of his gifts for each one of them in particular. In the
midst of such motives and incentives of love the disaf
fection of men is inexcusable, and at the sight of so
many blessings, given without measure, their ingratitude
is unpardonable.
108. Remember, also, my dearest, that thou wast no
foreigner, or stranger in this house of the Lord, his
holy Church (Ephes. 2, 19) ; but thou wast made a do
mestic and a spouse of Christ among the saints, favored
by his gifts and by the dowry of a bride. Since all the
treasures and riches of the bridegroom belong to the
legitimate spouse, consider of how great possessions He
makes thee participant and mistress. Enjoy them all,
then, as his domestic, and be zealous for his honor as a
much-favored daughter and spouse; thank Him for all
these works and benefits, as if they had all been pre
pared for thee alone by the Lord. Love and reverence
Him for thyself and for all thy neighbors, to whom God
has been so liberal. In all this imitate, with thy weak
faculties, that which thou hast understood of what I
have done. I assure thee also, daughter, that it will be
very pleasing to me, if thou magnify and praise the Om
nipotent with fervent affection, for the favors and riches
which, beyond all human conception, the divine right
hand showered upon me.
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