Book 8 CHAPTER XV.

OTHER FEASTDAYS CELEBRATED BY THE MOST BLESSED MARY IN MEMORY OF THE CIRCUMCISION, THE ADORATION OF THE KINGS, HER PURIFICATION, THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD, HIS FAST, THE INSTITUTION OF BLESSED SACRAMENT, HIS PASSION AND RESURRECTION.

662. In renewing the memory of the mysteries of the life and death of Christ the Savior, our great Queen sought not only to give worthy thanks for Herself and for the whole of the human race, in order, as the Teacher of all holiness and wisdom, to lead the Church to this holy science of gratitude ; but besides fulfilling this debt of thanks, She also sought to draw down God s infinite bounty and merciful clemency to meet the weakness and misery of the human kind. The most prudent Mother knew that her divine Son and the eternal Father were much repelled by the sins of mortals, and that at the tribunal of his mercy they had no other claim than the infinite charity by which God had lovingly reconciled them to Him though they were sinners and his enemies (Rom. 5, 8). As Christ our Savior had accomplished this reconciliation by his works and the mysteries of his life and death, the heavenly Lady thought these very days, on which the works of Christ had been performed, most convenient and proper for multiplying her prayers to the Omnipotent, beseeching Him to show his love for love s sake to call them to his faith and friendship, and to justify them for no other reason than because He had himself merited and gained for them justification and life everlasting.

663. Never will either men or angels fully know what a debt the world owes to the maternal piety of this great Lady and Queen. The many favors which She received at the hands of the Almighty each time She was ad mitted to beatific vision in her mortal flesh, were blessings not only for Her, but also for us; for on those occasions her divine knowledge and charity reached the highest possible degree in a created being and in the same degree did She desire the glory of the Most High in the salvation of the rational creatures. As She was yet in the state of a pilgrim and thus could merit and gain their salvation, her loving anxieties lest souls lose the enjoyment of God overflowed all bounds in her purest heart. Hence She suffered a martyrdom pro longed through her whole life and it would have consumed her vital forces each hour and each instant, if the power of God had not prevented it; for the thought that so many souls should damn themselves and be eternally deprived of the vision and enjoyment of God, and, in addition to this, that they should suffer the eternal torments of hell, without further hope of the remedy which they had despised, was really a martyrdom to Her.

664. This lamentable misfortune caused an immense sorrow to the sweetest Mother, because She alone recognized and weighed it fully in her wisdom. She was filled with a corresponding charity, and would have suffered without any relief, if She had been left only to the influences of her love and merely to the consideration of what the Lord had done and suffered for rescuing men from eternal damnation. But the Lord foresaw and provided against this deadly sorrow in his most faithful Mother; therefore He at times miraculously preserved her life; at others He withdrew her mind from it by diverse enlightenments; at others again He revealed to Her the secrets of the eternal predestination, in order that her heart might be quieted by seeing into the equity of his divine Justice. All these and other measures were applied by Christ the Savior in order that his most blessed Mother might not die at the sight of the sins and the eternal damnation of the reprobate. And if this unhappy and calamitous fate of sinners as foreseen by the heavenly Lady, could so afflict her purest heart, and if it could so move her divine Son, that He subjected Himself for their salvation to the sufferings and death of the Cross, what words can describe the blind foolishness of those men, who so senselessly rush upon their irreparable and never sufficiently to be dreaded ruin of their souls?

665. But the manner in which our Savior and Master Jesus alleviated the sorrows of his beloved Mother, was by listening to her petitions and prayers for mortals, by showing his appreciation of her love, by offering Her his treasures and infinite merits, by constituting Her his principal almoner, and by consigning into Her hands the free and loving distribution of all the treasures of his mercy and grace, and thus bring succor to the souls whom in her deep science She knew to be in greatest need thereof. These promises of the Lord to his most blessed Mother, as well as the solicitude and prayers of the loving Queen, were of ordinary and constant occurrence ; and they were still more notable on the festivals commemorating the mysteries of her divine Son. For the day of the Circumcision She commenced her exercises at the same hour as at the other feasts; and the incarnate Word descended to her oratory with the same majesty and accompanied by the angels and the saints. As this mystery consisted in his beginning to shed his blood for men and in his subjecting Himself to the law of sinners as if He were one of them, the acts of his most pure Mother in commemoration of that great condescension and clemency were ineffable.

666. The great Mother humiliated Herself to the lowest depths; She lovingly compassioned the sufferings of the Child-God in such a tender age; She thanked Him for this blessing conferred upon all the children of Adam; She bewailed the universal forgetfulness and want of appreciation of the bloodshed for the rescue of all. And, as if ashamed in the presence of her divine Son for not having paid her debts, She offered her own life and her own blood in satisfaction and in imitation of her Master s example. She spent that whole day in sweet converse and colloquy reiterating her desires and petitions. Yet, though the Lord accepted her offerings, it was not befitting to let Her actually pay all the sacrifices of her inflamed love. Therefore She added other inventions of her charity toward the mortals. She be sought her divine Son to divide his gifts, caresses and favors among all the children of men; She begged that She alone be singled out to suffer for his love; that all should share in the reward, all should taste the sweetness of the divine Spirit, that all might be induced to enter the path of eternal life, and none be lost in eternal death, since their God himself became man and suffered for the very purpose of drawing all men to Himself (John 12, 32). Then She offered to the eternal Father the blood, which his Son shed in the Circumcision and his humility in allowing Himself to be circumcised in his sinlessness. After She had thus exercised acts of in comparable perfection and adored Him as true God and man, her divine Son gave Her his blessing and returned to the right hand of the eternal Father in heaven.

667. To prepare for the feast of the Magi She began her devotions some days before, in order as it were to get ready some presents to offer to the incarnate Word. The principal offering of the Queen were the souls brought to a state of grace and called by Her the gold. For this purpose to obtain this gift of gold She availed Herself of the services of the holy angels, ordering them to lead numerous souls to the knowledge and belief of the true God by special and powerful inspirations. This result was brought about by their ministry and much more by her own prayers and petitions, so that She drew many from sin, brought others to the faith and to Baptism, and snatched others from the talons of the infernal dragon at the hour of death. To this gift She then added the gift of myrrh, which were her prostrations in the form of a cross, her humiliations, and other exercises of penance, by which She prepared Herself so as to present her own Self as myrrh before her God. Her third offering was the incense of her inflamed and soaring love, her words and ejaculations, and other promptings of her affection, so full of wisdom and sweetness.

668. In order to receive these offerings, her divine Son, on the day and hour of the mystery, descended with innumerable angels and saints. In their presence, and inviting all the courtiers of heaven to assist, She made her offering accompanying it with wonderful adoration, worship and love; and with the offering She combined a fervent prayer for all the mortals. Then She was taken up to the throne of her Son and true God and made to share the glory of his sacred humanity in an ineffable manner. She was divinely united with it and as it were transfigured by its splendors and translucency. A few times, in order to moderate the conflagration of her love, the Lord himself embraced Her and permitted Her to recline upon his arms. These favors are such as cannot be described in words; for the Omnipotent sought each day to exhaust upon Her the treasures of his blessings, old and new (Matth. 13, 52).

669. After receiving these favors, She descended from the throne and supplicated the Lord for mercy upon mankind. She concluded her petitions by a canticle of praise in the name of all and She asked the saints to accompany Her in all this. On this day also a wonderful thing happened; namely, at the end of this feast She asked all the Patriarchs and Saints present to intercede for Her with the Almighty, that He might assist and govern Her in all his works. For this purpose She went from one to the other repeating her request and as if humbly kissing their hands. Her divine Son, ineffably pleased, per mitted Her to exercise her humility also before her parents, and before the Patriarchs and Prophets related to Her. But this demonstration of her humility was not extended to the angels, because they were her ministers and not in the same relations with Her as her holy forebears. These heavenly spirits attended upon Her in another way, namely serving Her in these exercises.

670. Then the Queen celebrated the Baptism of Christ our Lord with magnificent thanksgiving for his submitting to be baptized Himself and thus establishing this Sacrament. After offering her prayers for the Church She withdrew to fast for the forty following days in order to commemorate the fast of the Lord and of Herself after his Baptism, as I have recorded in its place. During these forty days She did not sleep, or eat, or leave her retreat, unless some great necessity of the Church demanded her presence. Her only intercourse was with saint John when receiving holy Communion, or when She was obliged to despatch some business for the government of the Church. The beloved disciple was also more solicitous in his attendance upon Her, absenting himself rarely from the Cenacle. He relieved the numerous persons who sought help in their necessities, and he cured the sick by applying some article, which had been used by the powerful Queen. Many possessed by demons also came, and some of them were freed before arriving; for the demons dared not linger within the bodies of those that approached the dwelling of most holy Mary. Others of the demons cast themselves into the abyss as soon as the possessed were touched by the cloak, or the veil, or some other article belonging to the Queen. If any of the demons still resisted, the Evangelist called the blessed Lady, at whose presence they fled without waiting for further commands.

671. It would be necessary to write many books, if all the miracles and works of the great Queen during these forty days were to be recorded; for, if She did not sleep, or eat, or rest, who can estimate what She in her great solicitude and activity accomplished during so long a time ? It is enough to know, that She applied and offered up all for the increase of the Church, the justification of souls, the conversion of the world, and to assist the Apostles and disciples preaching the Gospel throughout the earth. At the end of this Lent her divine Son regaled Her with a banquet similar to the one brought by the angels to Him at the end of his fast, as I have described in its place. Only this one was more splendid, since at it was present the glorified Savior, full of majesty and accompanied by myriads of angels, some of them serving, others singing in divine and celestial harmonies ; and the Lord himself furnished what was eaten by his most blessed Mother. This day was very delightful to Her, more on account of the presence of her divine Son and his tokens of love, than on account of the exquisite nectars and mannas of heaven. In thanksgiving She prostrated Herself and asked his benediction, adoring the Lord ; and He, having given it to Her, returned to the celestial regions. During all these apparitions of the Lord Christ, the pious Mother performed great and heroic acts of humility, submission and veneration, kissing the feet of her Son, acknowledging Herself unworthy of those favors, and asking for new graces in order to serve Him better in the future.

672. Possibly there may be those, who in their human prudence, will consider as rather frequent these apparitions of the Lord, which I have described for so many occasions. But those who think so, will have to show what is the measure of the holiness of the Mistress of grace and virtue and the reciprocal love of such a Mother and Son, and they will be obliged to tell us how far these favors exceed the measure due to the circumstances. They forget, that both faith and reason convince us, that this measure goes far beyond all human estimate. As for myself, the light in which I see these things excludes all doubt, and moreover it should suffice for anyone to consider, that each day, each hour and moment, Christ our Savior descends from heaven, wherever in all the world a priest legitimately consecrates the sacred Host in the Mass. I say, that He descends not only by a bodily motion, but by the change of bread and wine into his sacred body and blood. Though this descent happens in a different manner, which I will not gainsay or dispute; yet the holy Catholic faith teaches me, that the same Christ is actually present and remains in the consecrated host. This wonder the Lord performs thus frequently for men and for their welfare, notwithstanding that there are so many unworthy ones, and some even among those who consecrate. If anyone can induce Him to continue this favor, it is no one else than the most blessed Mary, for whom He will do it and for whom He has principally begun to do it, as I have explained elsewhere. Hence it is not astonishing that He should have visited Her personally so many times; since She alone was able and knew how to merit it not only for Herself, but for all the rest of us.

673. After the fast the great Lady celebrated the feast of her Purification and the Presentation of the infant God in the temple. In order that She might make this offering and that God might accept it, the most blessed Trinity appeared in her oratory with his heavenly court. To prepare Her for offering up the incarnate Word, the angels vested and adorned Her with the same garments and jewels, as I have described for the feast of the Incarnation. Then she offered up a comprehensive prayer, in which She supplicated for the whole human race and especially for the Church. The reward for this prayer and for the humility, with which She subjected Herself to the law of the purification as well as for her other exercises, was a new increase of grace, new gifts and favors for Herself, and for others great helps and blessings.

674. The memory of the Passion, the institution of the blessed Sacrament, and of the Resurrection She celebrated not only every week, as described above, but also on the anniversaries of their happening. Each year She observed their commemoration in the manner as is now done in the Church in the Holy Week. Besides the exercises of each week She added many others ; and on Good Friday, at the hour in which Christ was crucified, She placed Herself upon a cross and there remained for three hours. She renewed all the prayers of the Lord, with all the sorrows and mysteries of that day. But on the following Sunday, which corresponds to the Resurrection, She was raised by the holy angels to the empyrean heavens where during that day She enjoyed the beatific vision, while on the ordinary Sundays her vision of the Godhead was abstractive.

INSTRUCTION WHICH THE QUEEN OF THE ANGELS GAVE ME.

675. My daughter, the divine Spirit, whose wisdom and prudence governs the holy Church, through my inter cession has ordained, that in it so many different feasts should be celebrated, not only in order that proper thanks should be given to the Creator and Redeemer for the works of the Redemption, of my life, and of the saints, and that the blessings, which never can be properly re paid, may not be forgotten by mankind; but also in order that these solemnities might afford men an opportunity of attending to holy exercises and of recollecting themselves interiorly by withdrawing from the solicitudes of temporal affairs; and in order that they might, by the exercise of virtue and the good use of the Sacraments, repair the losses sustained by their distractions, imitate the virtues and the lives of the saints, solicit my inter cession, merit the forgiveness of their sins and gain the graces and favors held in readiness by the divine mercy in these mysteries.

676. This is the spirit of the holy Church, by which She desires to govern and nourish her children as a de voted mother. And I, who am Mother of them all, sought to attract and bind them to the secure path of their salvation. But the insinuations of the infernal serpent have always (and especially in the unhappy times in which thou livest) tended to pervert these holy ends of the Lord and mine, and when he cannot pervert the order of the holy Church, he exerts himself to pre vent the greater part of the faithful from being benefited by her institutions and strives to induce many to convert them into greater guilt for their condemnation. And the same demon will stand as their accuser at the tribunal of the divine justice; for on the days of greatest solemnity and festivity men not only fail to enter into the spirit of the Church by employing them in works of virtue and in worship of their God ; but just on those days they commit the most grievous sins, as is ordinarily the case with carnal and worldly men. Certainly most outrageous and reprehensible is the common forgetfulness and contempt of this duty in the children of the Church, when they profane the sacred and holy days by spending them in diversion and play, in excessive and disorderly eating and drinking, irritating the justice of the Almighty instead of appeasing Him, in succumbing to their invisible enemies instead of vanquishing them, and in permitting them to triumph in their pride and malice.

677. Do thou, my daughter, bewail this damage, since I cannot bewail it now in the same way as I have done it in mortal life; and exert thyself to assist thy brethren in overcoming this widespread carelessness. And although the life of the religious should differ from that of seculars so as to have no distinction of days and to apply every day for the divine worship, for prayer and holy exercises, as thou shouldst teach thy subjects; yet I desire thee to celebrate with them the feasts of the Lord and mine by a more careful preparation and purity of conscience. I wish thee to fill all thy days and thy nights with works holy and pleasing in the sight of the Lord; but on the festivals thou shouldst add other interior and exterior exercises. Excite the fervor of thy heart, recollect thyself, and if it seems to thee that thou art doing much, labor still more earnestly to make certain thy vocation and election (II Pet. 1, 10), nor ever omit any exercise out of negligence. Consider that the days are evil (Ephes. 5, 6), and that life disappears like a dream (Ps. 143, 4). Live very carefully in order that thou mayest not be found without merit, holy deeds and perfect works. To each hour assign its legitimate occupation, as thou hast seen me do it, and as I have many times admonished and taught thee.

678. For this purpose I exhort thee to live attentive to the divine inspirations and amid all the other blessings not to forget those contained in such enlightenments. Let thy care be such, that no virtuous act or greater perfection, which is possible to thee and comes to thy notice, remain unexecuted. I assure thee, my dearest, that through their negligence and forgetfulness mortals lose immense treasures of grace and glory. All the perfection that I knew of my divine Son when I lived with Him, I imitated, and whatever the Holy Ghost pointed out to me as being most perfect, I executed as thou hast seen. This anxious solicitude was as natural to me as to breathe ; and through it I induced my divine Son to show me so many favors and visit me so often during my mortal life.

679. I desire likewise that, in order that thou and thy religious may imitate me in my retirement and solicitude, thou establish the manner in which the customary retreat is to be conducted; and that those who make it should live retired during the days appointed for it in holy obedience. Thou knowest from experience, what fruit is gathered in these retreats, since in it thou hast written nearly the whole of my life; and in this solitude the Lord visited thee with greater blessings and favors for the betterment of thy own life and the conquering of thy enemies. In order that thy religious may understand how they must conduct themselves in the exercises of the re treat for their greater profit and advancement, I wish that thou write for them a special treatise, in which thou wilt assign all their occupations to certain hours and times. These should be arranged in such a way, that the one who is in retreat does not miss the community exercises ; for conformity to them is an obligation superseding all the particular ones. As for the rest, those in retreat should observe perfect silence and go about veiled, in order that they may be known as making the retreat and not spoken to by any of the others. Let none be deprived of this benefit on account of their office and let their duties be assigned to others in obedience. Ask enlightenment of the Lord for writing this treatise, and I shall assist thee to understand more thoroughly my practices in retirement, in order that thou mayest teach it to the others.