The Church

Be transported to the fields of Bethlehem, where the shepherds witnessed the angels praising and glorifying God. This music is very similar to the Angels chanting recorded at a Mass celebrated in Sicily by Roman Catholic priest and exorcist of the Franciscan Order, Father Matteo La Grua. https://youtu.be/OVbAH3dJyAI?si=87N0ditn1iKAnUs3 THE IMAGE OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CONTAINS A MYSTICAL HARMONY. Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day: December 12th | Reflections in her eyes, accurate constellations on her mantle, and symbolism within every fold…the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is fascinating to behold, and truths embedded deep within her are still being uncovered. For example, not only do the stars on her mantle match the constellations from the night of her apparition, but they match when viewed from above—ie, from God’s perspective looking down from heaven as opposed to looking up! The latest discovery has to do with music. Source- the Young Catholic Woman The discovery was made by Fernando Ojeda, a mathematical accountant who says,   “The Instituto Superior de Estudios Guadalupanos gives me the mission of studying the image by applying the only science that had not been done before in image studies, Mathematics, Mexico resident and mathematical accountant Fernando Ojeda said. Each star, according to its position, and each flower center, according to its position, is a certain musical note”. THE STORY OF THE TILMA Juan Diego is the first Catholic saint indigenous to the Americas. At dawn on Saturday December 9, 1531, while on his usual journey, Juan Diego encountered the Virgin Mary who revealed herself as the ever-virgin Mother of God and instructed him to request the bishop to erect a chapel in her honour so that she might relieve the distress of all those who call on her in their need. He delivered the request, but was told by the bishop (Fray Juan Zumárraga) to come back another day after he had had time to reflect upon what Juan Diego had told him. Later the same day: returning to Tepeyac, Juan Diego encountered the Virgin again and announced the failure of his mission, suggesting that because he was “a back-frame, a tail, a wing, a man of no importance” she would do better to recruit someone of greater standing, but she insisted that he was whom she wanted for the task. Juan Diego agreed to return to the bishop to repeat his request. This he did on the morning of Sunday, December 10, when he found the bishop more compliant. The bishop, however, asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was truly of heaven. Be transported to the fields of Bethlehem! https://youtu.be/VIbrfkFYkw4?si=A6G1sKLHvMj4FE8Qhttps://youtu.be/5HCh3UBxr8g?si=7CmjN7WX-QDV81ap Juan Diego returned immediately to Tepeyac and, encountering the Virgin Mary reported the bishop’s request for a sign; she condescended to provide one on the following day (December 11). By Monday, December 11, however, Juan Diego’s uncle Juan Bernardino had fallen sick and Juan Diego was obliged to attend to him. In the very early hours of Tuesday, December 12, Juan Bernardino’s condition having deteriorated overnight, Juan Diego set out to Tlatelolco to get a priest to hear Juan Bernardino’s confession and minister to him on his death-bed. In order to avoid being delayed by the Virgin and embarrassed at having failed to meet her on the Monday as agreed, Juan Diego chose another route around the hill, but the Virgin intercepted him and asked where he was going; Juan Diego explained what had happened and the Virgin gently chided him for not having had recourse to her. In the words which have become the most famous phrase of the Guadalupe event and are inscribed over the main entrance to the Basilica of Guadalupe, she asked: “¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre?” (“Am I not here, I who am your mother?”). She assured him that Juan Bernardino had now recovered and she told him to climb the hill and collect flowers growing there. Obeying her, Juan Diego found an abundance of flowers unseasonably in bloom on the rocky outcrop where only cactus and scrub normally grew. Using his open mantle as a sack (with the ends still tied around his neck) he returned to the Virgin; she rearranged the flowers and told him to take them to the bishop. On gaining admission to the bishop in Mexico City later that day, Juan Diego opened his mantle, the flowers poured to the floor, and the bishop saw they had left on the mantle an imprint of the Virgin’s image which he immediately venerated. The next day Juan Diego found his uncle fully recovered, as the Virgin had assured him, and Juan Bernardino recounted that he too had seen her, at his bed-side; that she had instructed him to inform the bishop of this apparition and of his miraculous cure; and that she had told him she desired to be known under the title of Guadalupe. The bishop kept Juan Diego’s mantle first in his private chapel and then in the church on public display where it attracted great attention. On December 26, 1531, a procession formed for taking the miraculous image back to Tepeyac where it was installed in a small, hastily erected chapel. In the course of this procession, the first miracle was allegedly performed when an indigenous man was mortally wounded in the neck by an arrow shot by accident during some stylized martial displays executed in honour of the Virgin. In great distress, the indigenous carried him before the Virgin’s image and pleaded for his life. Upon the arrow being withdrawn, the victim made a full and immediate recovery. Not withstanding the fact that the beatification was “equipollent”, the normal requirement is that at least one miracle must be attributable to the intercession of the candidate before the cause for canonization can be brought to completion. The events accepted as fulfilling this requirement occurred between May 3 and May 9, 1990, in Querétaro, Mexico (precisely during the period of the beatification) when a 20-year-old drug addict

THE THREE KINGS OF’ THE ORIENT COME TO ADORE THE WORD MADE MAN IN BETHLEHEM PRIVATE REVELATION TO VEN. SISTER MARY OF AGREDA The three Magi Kings, who came to find the divine Infant after his birth, were natives of Persia, Arabia and Sabba (Ps. 71, 10), countries to the east of Palestine. Their coming was prophesied especially by David, and before him, by Balaam, who, having been hired by Balaac, king of the Moabites, to curse the Israelites, blessed them instead (Numb. 24, 17). In this blessing Balaam said, that he would see the King Christ, although not at once, and that he would behold Him, although not be present; for he did not see Him with his own eyes, but through the Magi, his descendants many centuries after. He said, also, that a star would arise unto Jacob, which was Christ, who arose to reign forever in the house of Jacob (Luke 1, 32). These three Kings were well versed in the natural sciences, and well read in the Scriptures of the people of God; and on account of their learning they were called Magi. By their knowledge of Scripture, and by conferring with some of the Jews, they were imbued with a belief in the coming of the Messias expected by that people. They were, moreover, upright men, truthful and very just in the government of their countries. Since their dominions were not so extended as those of our times, they governed them easily, and personally administered justice as wise and prudent sovereigns. This is the true office of kings, and therefore the Holy Ghost says, that He holds their hearts in his hands in order to direct them like irrigated waters to the fulfillment of his holy will (Prov, 21, 1). They were also of noble and magnanimous disposition, free from avarice and covetousness, which so oppresses, degrades and belittles the spirits of princes. Because these Magi governed adjoining countries and lived not far from each other, they were mutual friends and shared with each other the virtues and the knowledge which they had acquired, consulting each other in the more important events of their reigns. In all things they communicated with each other as most faithful friends. I have already mentioned in the eleventh chapter (No. 492) that in the same night in which the incarnate Word was born, they were informed of his Birth by the ministry of the holy angels. It happened in the following manner: one of the guardian angels of our Queen, of a higher order than that of the guardian angels of the three kings, was sent from the cave of the Nativity. By his superior faculties he enlightened the three guardian angels of the Kings informing them at the same time of the will and command of the Lord, that each of them should manifest to his charge the mystery of the Incarnation and of the birth of Christ our Redeemer. Immediately and in the same hour each of the three angels spoke in dreams to the wise man under his care. This is the usual course of angelic revelations when the Lord communicates with souls through the angels. This enlightenment of the Kings concerning the mysteries of the Incarnation was very copious and clear. They were informed that the King of the Jews was born as true God and man; that He was the Messias and Savior who was expected; that it was the One who was promised in the Scriptures and prophecies (Gen. 3, 10); and that they themselves, the three Kings, were singled out by the Lord to seek the star, which Balaam had foretold. Each one of the three Kings also was made aware that the same revelation was being made to the other two in the same way; and that it was not a favor or miracle which should remain unused, but that they were expected to co-operate with the divine light and execute what it pointed out. They were inspired and inflamed with a great love and with a desire to know the God made man, to adore Him as their Creator and Redeemer, and serve Him with most perfect devotion. In all this they were greatly assisted by their distinguished moral virtues, which they had acquired; for on account of them they were excellently disposed for the operation of the divine enlightenment. After receiving these heavenly revelations in their sleep, the three Kings awoke at the same hour of the night, and prostrating themselves on the ground and humiliating themselves to the dust, they adored in spirit the immutable being of God. They exalted his infinite mercy and goodness for having sent the divine Word to assume flesh of a Virgin (Is. 7, 14) in order to redeem the world and give eternal salvation to men. Then all three of them, governed by an impulse of the same Spirit, resolved to depart without delay for Judea in search of the divine Child in order to adore Him. The three Kings prepared gifts of gold, incense and myrrh in equal quantities, being guided by the same mysterious impulse; and without having conferred with each other concerning their undertaking, the three of them arrived at the same resolve and the same plan of executing it. In order to set out immediately, they procured on the same day the necessary camels and provisions together with a number of servants for the journey. Without heeding the commotion caused among their people, or considering that they were to travel in foreign regions, or caring for any outward show of authority, without ascertaining particulars of the place whither they were to go, or gathering information for identifying the Child, they at once resolved with fervent zeal and ardent love to depart in order to seek the newborn King. At the same time the holy angel, who had brought the news from Bethlehem to the kings, formed of the material air a most resplendent star, although not so

The Shrine of the Three Kings or Tomb of the Three Magi is a reliquary traditionally believed to contain the bones of the Biblical Magi, also known as the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men. The shrine is a large gilded and decorated triple sarcophagus placed above and behind the high altar of Cologne Cathedral in western Germany. Built approximately from 1180 to 1225, it is considered the high point of Mosan art and the largest reliquary in the Western world. The “relics of the Magi” were originally situated at Constantinople, but brought to Milan in an oxcart by Eustorgius I, the city’s bishop, to whom they were entrusted by the Emperor Constantine in 314. Eight centuries later in 1164, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa took the relics of the Magi from the church of Saint Eustorgio in Milan and gave them to the Archbishop of Cologne, Rainald of Dassel. The relics have since attracted a constant stream of pilgrims to Cologne. “In the days of Philipp of Heinsberg the shrine of the three magi was built. This was told to me by some eyewitnesses who were present when the three magi were put into the shrine.” — Vita Eustorgii On 20 July 1864, the shrine was opened, revealing human remains and the coins of Philip I, Archbishop of Cologne. An eyewitness report reads: “In a special compartment of the shrine now there showed – along with remains of ancient old rotten or moulded bandages, most likely byssus, besides pieces of aromatic resins and similar substances – numerous bones of three persons, which under the guidance of several present experts could be assembled into nearly complete bodies: the one in his early youth, the second in his early manhood, the third was rather aged. Two coins, bracteates made of silver and only one side stricken, were adjoined; one, probably from the days of Philipps von Heinsberg, displayed a church), the other showed a cross, accompanied by the sword of jurisdiction, and the crosier (bishop’s crook) on either side.” The Gospel tells us that the Magi came from the East and, after adoring the Child Jesus, they returned to their country by another route to avoid Jerusalem and Herod. We learn that in the East they saw the star rise and decided to go to visit the “King of the Jews”. They passed by Jerusalem to King Herod’s palace to learn the place of his birth according to the prophecy of the Old Testament, and the same star led them to Bethlehem, the town of King David. The origin of the Magi according to the Gospel, as well as their work as astrologers and the titles they were later given, all point to Assyria-Babylonia-Media (the Persian Empire). The role of Magi (wise) is documented among the Medes and in Persia (as well as in Arabia, Egypt, and Ethiopia). The third-century Roman Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus tells us that they were accompanied by an escort of 12,000 men. It is also plausible that they came from Persia, Arabia and India because of their offerings (gold, frankincense and myrrh). Using planetary conjunctions, comet apparitions, and supernova explosions in the East during this time, the extraordinary phenomenon known as the “rising of the star”—which heralds the birth of a king—is primarily used to try and pinpoint the exact date of Christ’s birth. It can also be used to determine the Magi’s route and the duration of their journey from Babylonia to Bethlehem—at least fifteen days, or up to nine months—from the East to Jerusalem (east-west), from Jerusalem to Bethlehem (north-south, eight kilometres) and back to the East. Since the third century, apocryphal texts have backed up the Persian origin. Gift-giving is a custom from the East. Zoroaster predicted the arrival of a Messiah. The Magi are seen in early imagery wearing Persian attire, and their veiled hands represent a Persian Mazdean ritual of adoration. The remains of the Magi discovered in Persia are reported to have been carried back to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine’s mother. From there, they are claimed to have been moved to Milan then, in 1164, to the Cologne Cathedral, where they are still located today. The worship of the Magi in the Gospel, which occurred after Herod and the Jerusalem Jewish rulers rejected the Messiah in the infant Jesus, represents the eventual conversion of the pagan world, which in turn is what led to their subsequent geographic diversification. A key factor in the process of broadening their roots is the selection of the number three. A comprehensive and diverse list can be obtained by compiling all the nations that different writers and customs have identified as the Magi’s birthplace over the ages: Asia (northwest of the Nabataeans, Yemen in the south); Arabia (assyria, Babylonia, Media, Persia); India (along the Silk Road, from Taxila in the north to Piravom in Kerala, in southern India, where they had their shrines); Golden Chersonese (Malaysia), according to a German geographer from the fifteenth century; and Africa (apparently for the first time in the eighth and ninth centuries, by the theologian Bede the Venerable). In the fourteenth century, John of Hildesheim wrote the Historia Trium Regum, often known as ‘The History of the Three Kings’. John claims that Balthasar, Melchior and Caspar came from Chaldea (modern Iran and Iraq), Persia and India. They went their separate ways, met in Jerusalem and journeyed together to Bethlehem. After worshipping Christ, they returned to India as a group and founded a church. They died at the same time, after a second vision that signalled the end of their time on earth, and were buried in their Indian church. According to John of Hildesheim, the bodies were retrieved from India by St. Helena – article here –, the mother of Emperor Constantine, two centuries later. She deposited them in the magnificent church of St. Sophia in Constantinople, where they were housed in a beautifully ornamented casket. The relics were transferred to Milan, Italy, by Emperor Mauricius in

The Manner in Which God Communicates with the Soul Vision Intellectual Vision Intellectual vision refers to a type of vision that is perceived through the intellect or the rational faculties of the mind. It is often associated with a deep understanding and contemplation of divine truths and spiritual realities. Intellectual vision is not dependent on sensory perception or external apparitions. Instead, it involves a profound spiritual insight and comprehension of God’s truth through intellectual reasoning, illumination, and divine grace. This type of vision is more abstract and transcendent in nature, focusing on understanding and contemplating the deep mysteries of faith. It is obtained through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Imaginary Vision On the other hand, imaginary vision obtained by contemplation refers to a type of vision that involves sensory perception and sensory imagination. This type of vision is typically experienced through the use of the imagination, dreams, or actual apparitions. It involves visual images, auditory experiences, or other sensory manifestations that are perceived by the senses or the mind. Imaginary visions obtained through contemplation may arise during deep states of prayer, meditation, or mystical experiences. These visions often involve vivid imagery, symbols, and narrative sequences that communicate spiritual truths or divine messages. Such visions are seen as a form of divine communication or revelation and are believed to provide insights into the spiritual realm or the divine will. Apparition Apparitions are a different thing. They are external manifestations or apparitions of divine beings, angels, or saints. These appearances may occur to individuals or groups and are often accompanied by a sense of awe, reverence, and religious significance. Apparitions are often considered as a direct and tangible encounter with the divine. St. Teresa of Avila wrote about both apparitions and visions in her writings. In her autobiography, “The Life of St. Teresa of Avila,” she describes her experiences of receiving visions and apparitions from God. In these experiences, she would see or hear things that others around her could not perceive. She would often have conversations with Jesus, angels, and saints, and receive guidance and instructions from them. These experiences were deeply spiritual and form a significant part of her mystical journey. It is important to note that the terms “visions” and “apparitions” are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is a distinction between the two. Visions typically refer to experiences where the mystical content is seen in the mind’s eye, while apparitions involve an external presence or manifestation. St. Teresa of Avila had both types of experiences, and she documented them in her writings. St. Teresa of Avila write extensively about the topics of love and the suspended intellect in her mystical teachings. Her writings explore the stages of prayer and contemplation that lead to a deeper union with God. Let’s delve into some key points from her teachings:  Love as the Foundation:St. Teresa emphasized the importance of love as the foundation of spiritual growth. She said that the soul’s ultimate goal is to love and be loved by God. She described love as the driving force behind all spiritual progress and emphasized the need for a sincere and passionate love for God. The Suspended Intellect:In her writings, St. Teresa spoke of the “suspended intellect” as a state in which the rational faculties are temporarily set aside in favor of a more intuitive and experiential approach to prayer. She said that in order to reach higher levels of contemplation, one must be willing to let go of the usual efforts of the intellect and surrender to God’s presence. Prayer of Quiet and Union:According to St. Teresa, as the soul progresses in prayer, it may experience what she called the “prayer of quiet.” In this state, the intellect is suspended, and the soul is filled with a profound sense of peace and quiet joy in the presence of God. This prayer of quiet is considered a precursor to the higher state of prayer called “union,” where the soul experiences a deep mystical union with God. Stages of Prayer:St. Teresa described different stages or grades of prayer, which she referred to as the “Interior Castle.” These stages represent the progressive journey of the soul towards union with God. As the soul advances through the different mansions of the interior castle, the intellectual faculties become increasingly passive, and the soul relies more on the intuitive and experiential knowledge of God’s presence and love. Integration of Love and Intellect:St. Teresa did not reject the intellect or rational faculties but stressed the need for an integration of love and intellect in one’s spiritual journey. She said that true spiritual growth is a balanced combination of love, faith, reason, and intellectual understanding. Music (video below) can be a powerful tool to aid in this process, as it can help create a conducive environment and facilitate a sense of inner peace and spiritual connection. https://youtu.be/NyV01zXuW-A The Manner in Which God Communicates with the Soul By Intellectual Vision Saint and Doctor of the Church Teresa of Avila wrote: To prove to you more clearly, sisters, the truth of what I have been saying and to show that the more the soul advances, the closer does this good Jesus bear it company, it would be well for me to tell you how, when He so chooses, it cannot withdraw from His presence. This is clearly shown by the manners and ways in which His Majesty communicates Himself to us, manifesting His love by wonderful apparitions and visions which, if He is pleased to aid me, I will describe to you so that you may not be alarmed if any of these favours are granted you. We ought, even if we do not receive them ourselves, to praise Him fervently for thus communing with creatures, seeing how sovereign are His majesty and power. For example, a person who is in no way expecting such a favour nor has ever imagined herself worthy of receiving it, is conscious that Jesus Christ stands by her side although she sees Him neither

The Vision of the Understanding Suspended in Contemplation I have often thought with wonder of the great goodness of God; and my soul has rejoiced in the contemplation of His great magnificence and mercy. May He be blessed for ever! For I see clearly that He has not omitted to reward me, even in this life, for every one of my good desires. – St. Teresa of Avila. Being as a fundamental aspect of reality St. Bonaventure said that all being originates from God, who is the source of all existence. He emphasized the importance of recognizing and acknowledging the divine presence in all creation. According to Bonaventure, true knowledge of being involves recognizing the imprint of God in everything. This recognition of God’s presence leads to a deeper appreciation and reverence for the created world. Contemplation is central to Bonaventure’s spiritual teachings. He saw contemplation as a means of experiencing and deepening one’s relationship with God. Bonaventure believed that through contemplation, individuals could encounter the divine and attain spiritual union with God. Contemplation, for him, involved a deepening of one’s faith, a surrender of oneself to God, and a receptive openness to divine grace. St. Bonaventure considered contemplation to be the highest form of prayer, surpassing discursive reasoning. It was in this state of contemplation that individuals could experience profound insights into God’s nature and their own relationship with the divine. St. Augustine’s description of his own inward route to God: And admonished by all this to return to myself, I entered inside myself, you leading and I able to do so because you had become my helper. And I entered and with the eye of my soul, such as it was, I saw above that eye of my soul, above my mind, an unchangeable light.…Whoever knows the truth knows this light…. O eternal truth and true love and loved eternity, you are my God; to you do I sigh both night and day. (Augustine, Confessiones, 7.10; CCSL 27: 103) Bonaventure viewed salvation as a transformative journey of the soul towards God. He described salvation as a process of “ascending” towards God through a series of stages or degrees. These degrees included purgation, illumination, and union. According to Bonaventure, purification (purgation) involved striving to detach oneself from earthly attachments and purifying one’s desires and intentions. Illumination referred to the reception of divine wisdom and grace, which enables individuals to see and understand spiritual truths. Finally, union referred to the ultimate goal of the soul’s journey, where the individual achieves a profound and intimate union with God. This union is characterized by a complete self-surrender to God’s will, a profound love for God, and a participation in the divine life. Bonaventure believed that this journey towards union with God was made possible through the grace of Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit. He saw salvation as a process of transformation, where individuals are conformed to the image of Christ and participate in God’s redemptive work. In summary, St. Bonaventure emphasized the recognition of God’s presence in all creation, the importance of contemplation as a means of encountering God, and the transformative journey towards union with God as the goal of salvation. St. Bonaventure says, “Listen, all you who desire the Kingdom of God! Honor and serve the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, and you will find life and eternal salvation!” This statement highlights the significance of devotion to Mary as a pathway to eternal life. St. Bonaventure wrote that through the intercession and guidance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, individuals could find salvation and attain eternal life with God. He emphasized the importance of prayer and devotion to Mary as a way to grow closer to Christ and ultimately attain salvation. It is important to note that St. Bonaventure’s theology should be understood within the broader context of Catholic teachings on salvation. The Catholic Church teaches that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance of sins, and participation in the sacraments, particularly baptism. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is seen as a supportive element in the journey of faith, but not the sole means of salvation. Eternal Life Eternal life traditionally refers to continued life after death, as outlined in Christian eschatology. The Apostles’ Creed testifies: “I believe… the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” In this view, eternal life commences after the second coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead, although in the New Testament’s Johannine literature there are references to eternal life commencing in the earthly life of the believer, possibly indicating an inaugurated eschatology. According to mainstream Christian theology, after death but before the Second Coming, the saved live with God in an intermediate state, but after the Second Coming, experience the physical resurrection of the dead and the physical recreation of a New Earth. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “By death the soul is separated from the body, but in the resurrection God will give incorruptible life to our body, transformed by reunion with our soul. In John, those who accept Christ can possess life “here and now” as well as in eternity, for they have “passed from death to life”, as in John 5:24: “He who hears my word, and believes him that sent me, has eternal life, and comes not into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” In John, the purpose for the incarnation, death, resurrection and glorification of The Word was to provide eternal life to humanity. When it comes to eternal life, Bonaventure believed that this concept extends beyond mere immortality. He viewed eternal life as a dynamic and intimate relationship with God, where individuals experience ultimate fulfillment and communion with the divine. In this state, human beings are transformed and perfected within the context of God’s love. Bonaventure emphasized that eternal life begins in the present, through participation in the grace and love of God. It is not solely something that occurs in the afterlife, but rather an ongoing

the vision of the understanding taught by Scripture Saint Bonaventure wrote: He who knows Jesus Christ can understand all sacred Scripture The source of sacred Scripture was not human research but divine revelation. This revelation comes from the Father of Light from whom the whole concept of fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives. From him, through Jesus Christ his Son, the Holy Spirit enters into us. Then, through the Holy Spirit who allots and apportions his gifts to each person as he wishes, we receive the gift of faith, and through faith Christ lives in our hearts. So we come to know Christ and this knowledge becomes the main source of a firm understanding of the truth of all sacred Scripture. It is impossible, therefore, for anyone to achieve this understanding unless he first receives the gift of faith in Christ. This faith is the foundation of the whole Bible, a lamp and a key to its understanding. As long as our earthly state keeps us from seeing the Lord, this same faith is the firm basis of all supernatural enlightenment, the light guiding us to it, and the doorway through which we enter upon it. What is more, the extent of our faith is the measure of the wisdom which God has given us. Thus, no one should overestimate his wisdom; instead, he should soberly make his assessment according to the extent of the faith which God has given him. The outcome or the fruit of reading holy Scripture is by no means negligible: it is the fullness of eternal happiness. For these are the books which tell us of eternal life, which were written not only that we might believe but also that we might have everlasting life. When we do live that life we shall understand fully, we shall love completely, and our desires will be totally satisfied. Then, with all our needs fulfilled, we shall truly know the love that surpasses understanding and so be filled with the fullness of God. The purpose of the Scriptures, which come to us from God, is to lead us to this fullness according to the truths contained in those sayings of the apostles to which I have referred. In order to achieve this, we must study holy Scripture carefully, and teach it and listen to it in the same way. If we are to attain the ultimate goal of eternal happiness by the path of virtue described in the Scriptures, we have to begin at the very beginning. We must come with a pure faith to the Father of Light and acknowledge him in our hearts. We must ask him to give us, through his Son and in the Holy Spirit, a true knowledge of Jesus Christ, and along with that knowledge a love of him. Knowing and loving him in this way, confirmed in our faith and grounded in our love, we can know the length and breadth and height and depth of his sacred Scripture. Through that knowledge we can come at last to know perfectly and love completely the most blessed Trinity, whom the saints desire to know and love and in whom all that is good and true finds its meaning and fulfillment. For Holy Scripture is principally concerned with the works of reparation. Wherefore it especially deals with faith, hope, and charity, by which the soul is reformed, and most of all with charity. Concerning this the Apostle says that the end of the Commandments is reached by a pure heart and a good conscience and an unfeigned faith [I Tim., 1, 5]. This is the fulfillment of the Law, as he says. And our Saviour adds that all the Law and the Prophets depend upon these two Commandments: the love of God and of one’s neighbor. Which two are united in the one spouse of the Church, Jesus Christ, Who is at once neighbor and God, at once brother and Lord, at once king and friend, at once Word uncreated and incarnate, our maker and remaker, the alpha and omega. He is the highest hierarch, purging and illuminating and perfecting His spouse, the whole Church and any holy soul. Of this hierarch and this ecclesiastical hierarchy is the entire Holy Scripture by which we are taught to be purified, illuminated, and perfected, and this according to the triple law handed down to us in it: the law of Nature, of Scripture, and of Grace; or rather according to the triple principal part of it: the Mosaic Law purifying, the prophetic revelation illuminating, and evangelical teaching perfecting; or above all, according to the triple spiritual meaning of it–the tropological which purifies us for an honest life, the allegorical which illuminates us for the clarity of understanding, the analogical which perfects us by mental elevation and the most delightful perceptions of wisdom–in accordance with the three aforesaid theological virtues and the spiritual senses reformed and the three above-mentioned stages of elevation and hierarchical acts of the mind, by which our mind retreats into itself so that it may look upon God in the brightness of the saints [Ps., 109, 3] and in them, as in a chamber, it may sleep in peace and take its rest [Ps., 4, 9] while the spouse adjures it that it stir not up till she pleases [Cant., 2, 7]. Now from these two middle steps, by which we proceed to contemplate God within ourselves as in the mirrors of created images–and this as with wings opened for flying which hold the middle place–we can understand that we are led into the divine by the powers of the rational soul itself placed therein by nature as far as their operations, habits, and knowledge are concerned, as appears from the third stage. For we are led by the powers of the soul reformed by virtues freely granted, by the spiritual senses, and by mental elevation, as appears from the fourth stage. We are nonetheless led through hierarchical operations, that

Reverend George J. Blatter wrote: NOTHING that essentially differs from the teachings of the Catholic Church can rightfully be taught or believed by any man or under any pretext. Moreover, even the essential doctrines can be taught and expounded only in the sense and spirit approved, or at least not disapproved, by the Church. This at once will establish the position which private revelations, whether coming from Heaven or originating from hallucination, merely human or devilish, hold in the Church of God. There can be no doubt that God can and does manifest to chosen souls hidden things in addition to what He teaches through the public ministry of His Church. It is also an accepted truth that He sometimes reveals them to his friends for the express purpose of communicating this extra knowledge to other well disposed persons through the natural and human means at the disposal of those receiving his revelations. These manifestations He invariably surrounds with enough evidence to satisfy all requirements of a cautious and well founded human belief. It follows naturally that whenever He thus surrounds private revelations with evidences of their heavenly origin, He will be pleased with a rational and loving belief and dissatisfied with a captious and obstinate unbelief of the facts or truths thus privately revealed. Where, however, these external evidences are wanting, or wherever holy Church intimates the least direct or indirect disapproval, there any faith in private revelation would be not only foolish, but positively wrong. The Church has as yet given no public and full approval to private revelations of any kind; nor will she ever do so, since that would be really an addition to the deposit of faith left by Christ. But tacitly and indirectly she has approved many private revelations, and among them the writings of Mary of Agreda mentioned in the previous parts of this article. She could well do so, since there are no writings of that kind which exhibit more reliable human proofs of divine origin than the “Ciudad de Dios” of the Venerable Servant of God, Mary of Jesus of Agreda. The existence of the Bible justifies the query, whether there are not other books that have been written under supernatural guidance, though we know of course that none of them can ever have the same importance and authenticity as the Bible. For the Bible was provided as the record of the general revelations of God to mankind at all its stages to the end of times. Evidently there remains an immense domain of truths outside the range of natural human knowledge and not specially revealed in the Bible. You will at once say: that whole field is covered by the one true religion. Of course it is. The teaching and ministry of men especially appointed for that purpose, the practice and example of those eminent in the Christian virtues, the writings of those versed in higher truths, are the ordinary means of spreading truth and leading men to their great destiny. But besides all this, history proves that God, for special purposes, often grants to his friends higher insight into supernatural truths and facts, which, if at his command they are recorded in writing, are intended by Him as an additional source of higher knowledge and well deserve to be considered as private revelations. Past ages simply teem with writings that claim to be derived from or based on divine revelation or inspiration. Many of them are clearly nothing but frauds, showing the signs of conscious or unconscious hallucination. Many again seem beyond mere natural human powers of insight, but at the same time in their authorship and tendencies show nothing divine or beneficent, thus proving that besides human error and malice the sinister and treacherous know ledge of malign spirits often finds its way into such writings. Ancient sorcery and magic and modern spiritism have their root in this sort of preternatural communication. Hence it would be foolish not to demand the closest inquiry into anything put forward as private revelation. Fortunately it is easy to apply sure and unfailing tests. All that is necessary, is to ascertain the character and motives of the writer and the result or drift of his writings. Mahomet proves himself an epileptic adventurer and his Koran a travesty of Judaism and Christianity, settling like a blight upon civilization. Joseph Smith and his companions turn out to be rebellious incendiaries and murderers and their book of Mormon a ridiculous fake, establishing a fanatic and bigamous theocracy. The fakir Dowie pretending prophecy, ends as a lunatic in a bankrupt Zion, yet leaving millions to his relatives. The humbugging Eddy, after crazy-quilting scraps from the Bible with shreds of Buddhism, Brahmanism and Theosophy, shuffles off her wrinkled coil amid a numerous following of dupes who rather expected her faked science to keep her perpetually alive or raise her up from the dead. Is there any difficulty in discovering the fraud in revelations of such a kind? Yet they claim divine inspiration and very often contain passages which show sources of information and deceit not altogether human. The sinister manifestation of spiritism and the astounding information, often furnished by mediums, are not all sleight of hand or illusion of the senses; some of these things can be explained only by assuming interference of a sinister spirit world. Would it not be absurd to concede the communication with evil spirits or departed souls, damned or otherwise, (and all reasonable people concede it), and deny the possibility of communing with the good spirits or souls and with God? Who would want to limit the power of God in this way? It will not do to claim that all the communication of God and the good spirits takes the ordinary course provided in the public ministry of the true religion. For it does not. Saint Paul saw things that he dared not reveal, though he was not slow in writing down his other revelations. The doctrine of the Immaculate

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According to the six stages of ascension into God, there are six stages of the soul’s powers

St. Bonaventure believed that knowledge begins in faith, is developed through rational understanding, and is ultimately perfected in the vision of God. He believed that the purpose of faith is to bring us closer to God, and that through the process of understanding and contemplation, we can gain a deeper understanding of God’s nature and divine mysteries. In the vision of understanding raised in faith, we are able to see the world with a deeper clarity, and to understand the meaning and purpose of our lives in a way that allows us to fully embrace our faith and live our lives in accordance with God’s will. Ven. María de Ágreda‘s work, the Mystical City of God, related her revelations about the terrestrial and heavenly life, received directly from the Blessed Virgin Mary. Already our heavenly Princess felt that the day of the clear vision of the Divinity was approaching and that like the harbingers of early dawn, the rays of the divine light were breaking upon her soul. Her heart began to be inflamed by the nearness of the invisible fire, which illumines but does not consume; and made attentive by this new clearness, She questioned her angels and said to them: “My friends and lords, my most faithful and vigilant sentinels, tell me: what hour is it of my night? And when will the bright light of the day arise, in which my eyes shall see the Sun of justice which illumines them and gives life to my affections and my soul ?” The holy princes answered Her and said: “Spouse of the Most High, thy wished-for light and truth is near; it will not tarry long, for already it approaches.” At these words the veil which hid the view of these spiritual substances was slightly lifted; and the holy angels became visible, showing themselves as during her first years in their own essence, without hindrance or dependence of the bodily senses. With these hopes and with the vision of the heavenly spirits the anxieties of most holy Mary concerning the sight of her Beloved were somewhat allayed. But this kind of love seeks after the most noble Object, and without It, although enjoying the presence of the angels and saints, the heart, wounded by the arrows of the Omnipotent, will not come to rest. Nevertheless, our heavenly Princess, rejoiced by this alleviation, spoke to her angels and said to them: “Sovereign Princes and flames of that inaccessible light, in which my Beloved dwells, why have I for so long a time been unworthy of your sight? Wherein have I been displeasing to you and failed to satisfy you? Tell me, my lords and teachers, wherein I have been negligent, in order that I may not again be forsaken by you through my own fault.” “O Lady and Spouse of the Almighty,” they answered, “we obey the voice of our Creator and are governed by his holy will, and as his spirits, He commissions us and sends us out in his service. He commanded us to conceal ourselves during the time in which He himself withdrew from sight. But though hidden we remained present, solicitous for thy protection and defense, fulfilling his command by remaining in thy company without being visible.” The Blessed Virgin Mary said: It is an act of justice due to the eternal God that the creature coming to the use of reason, direct its very first movement toward God. By knowing, it should begin to love Him, reverence Him and adore Him as its Creator and only true Lord. The parents are naturally bound to instruct their children from their infancy in this knowledge of God and to direct them with solicitous care, so that they may at once see their ultimate end and seek it in their first acts of the intellect and will. They should with great watchfulness withdraw them from the childishness and puerile trickishness to which depraved nature will incline them if left without direction. If the fathers and mothers would be solicitous to prevent these vanities and perverted habits of their children and would instruct them from their infancy in the knowledge of their God and Creator, then they would afterwards easily accustom them to know and adore Him. My holy mother, who knew not of my wisdom and real condition, was most solicitously beforehand in this matter, for when She bore me in her womb, she adored in my name the Creator and offered worship and thanks for his having created me, beseeching Him to defend me and bring me forth to the light of day from the condition in which I then was. So also parents should pray with fervor to God, that the souls of their children, through his Providence, may obtain Baptism and be freed from the servitude of original sin. And if the rational creature has not known and adored the Creator from the first dawn of reason, it should do this as soon as it obtains knowledge of the essential God by the light of faith. From that very moment the soul must exert itself never to lose Him from her sight, always fearing Him, loving Him, and reverencing Him. Thou, my daughter, owest this adoration to God from the beginning of thy life; but now I desire thee to practice it in a more perfect manner, as I shall show thee. Direct the eyes of thy soul toward the essence of God, which is without beginning and without limit, contemplate his infinite attributes and perfections. Consider that He alone is the true holiness, the highest good, the most noble object of creatures, that He alone gave being to all things and without having need of them, sustains and governs them. He is consummate beauty without defect, He is eternal in his love, true in his words and most faithful in his promises. He it was who gave his own life and subjected Himself to sufferings for the good of his creatures without

Bilocation of Ven. Mary of Agreda Spanish nun, Maria of Jesus of Agreda, who evangelized Native Americans in the 1600s. The Jumanos (Wichitas or Apache) peoples testified to having been visited by the Lady in Blue between 1622 and 1625, when she bilocated from Spain to the New World. Bilocation She had the gift of bi-location, traveling from Spain to Arizona and New Mexico 500 times while remaining in Agreda, Spain. Bilocation is the supernatural ability to be in two places at once, like St. Padre Pio did. The Lady in Blue When the franciscan missionaries had come to the new world, a tribe of indians came to them asking to be baptized. They knew the gospel they professed the creed and they wanted to receive the sacraments of the church. The franciscans were in shock. Aid of the angels Between 1620 and 1623, Mary of Jesus reported that she was often “transported by the aid of the angels” to settlements of a people called Jumanos. The Jumano Indians of New Spain (what is today Texas and New Mexico). Eventually a mission led by the Franciscan Friar Juan de Salas visited them in 1629. St. Bonaventure wrote: For according to the first institution of nature there was created a man fit (homo habilis) for the quiet of contemplation, and for that reason God placed him in the paradise of delights. But turning himself away from the true Light towards the completely changeable good (commutabile bonum), he was himself stooped down through his own fault, and his whole race by Original Sin, which infects human nature in a twofold manner, that is the mind by ignorance, the flesh by concupiscence; so that man thoroughly blinded and stooped down sits in the shadows and does not see the light of Heaven unless grace succors him with justice against his concupiscence, and knowledge with wisdom against his ignorance. Which is entirely (totum) done through Jesus Christ, who has been made for us by God our wisdom and justice and sanctification and redemption. Since therefore first one is to ascend rather than descend upon Jacob’s stair, let us situate the first step of ascension at the bottom, by considering this whole world sensible to us as a mirror, through which we pass-over to God, the Most High Artisan. In the first manner the power of sight (aspectus) of the one contemplating, considering the things in themselves, sees in them (their) weight, number and measure: the weight in regard to the position, where they are inclining, the number, by which they are distinguished, and the measure, by which they are limited. And for this reason it sees in them a standard of measure (modum), a beauty (species), and an order, and also (their) substance, virtue, and activity (operationem). From which it can rise together, as from a vestige, to understand the power, wisdom and immense goodness of the Creator. In the second manner the power of sight of the believer (fidelis), considering this world tends toward (its) origin, descent and end. For by faith we believe, that the ages have been made ready for the Word of life; by faith we believe, that the seasons of the three laws, that is of nature, of Scripture and of grace succeed one another (and have descended  in a most orderly manner; by faith we believe, that the world must be terminated by a final judgment; adverting in the first to power, in the second to providence, in the third to justice of the Most High Principle. In the third manner the power of sight of the one investigating by reasoning  sees, that certain things only are, moreover that certain things are and live, but that certain things are, live, and discern; and indeed that the first things are the lesser, the second ones the middle, the third the best. — Again it sees, that certain things are only corporal, certain things partly corporal, partly spiritual; from which it adverts, that some are merely spiritual as the better and more worthy of both. Nevertheless it sees, that certain things are mutable and corruptible, as (are) terrestrial things, certain things are mutable and incorruptible, as (are) celestial things; from which it adverts, that certain things are immutable and incorruptible, as (are) super-celestial things. From these visible things, therefore, it rises up together to consider the power, wisdom, and goodness of God, as the being (entem), living, understanding, merely spiritual and incorruptible and intransmutable One. Moreover this consideration broadens according to the septiform condition of creatures, which is the septiform testimony of the divine power and goodness, if the origin, the magnitude, the multitude, the beauty (pulchritude), the plentitude, the operation and the order of all other things would be considered. — For the origin of things according to their creation, distinction and embellishment (ornatum), as much as it regards  the works of the six days, foretells the Divine Power, producing all other things from nothing, (the Divine) Wisdom distinguishing all other things lucidly and (the Divine) Goodness adorning all other things with largess. Moreover the magnitude of things according to the quantity of their length, breadth and depth; according to the excellence of their virtue extending far, wide, and deeply, as is clear in the diffusion of light; according to the efficacy of their most interior, continual and diffuse activity, as is clear in the activity of fire, manifestly indicates the immensity of the power, wisdom and goodness of the Triune God who in all other things by power, presence and essence exists as One uncircumscribed. Moreover the exterior beauty of things according to the variety of their lights, figures and colors in bodies simple, mixed and even connected (complexionatis), as in celestial and mineral bodies, as stones and metals, plants and animals, proclaims in an evident manner the aforesaid three things. Moreover the fullness of things, according to which matter is full of forms according to seminal reasons; form is full of virtue according to active power;

Sixfold Vision of Truth Spirituality is about life in the Holy Spirit. The greatest saints have always had the greatest joy. They see things as they really are, and what they see above all is that which is above all: the love of God. Jesus is the truth and our attitude toward the truth determines the outcome of our lives. Lived knowledge of the truth, of Christ, is more than the modern secular realism of the last two centuries founded on the perception of objects and their representation determined by scientific observation. As St. Bonaventure puts it, there is a sixfold vision, or six ways of grasping truth : natural reason, the vision of the understanding imprinted through nature; the vision of the understanding lifted up in faith; the vision of the understanding taught by Scripture; the vision of the understanding suspended in contemplation; the vision enlightened by prophecy; and the vision absorbed through unitive love in God. The strongest love is the most unitive love “God continues to do and to work in the soul by means of this night, illumining and enkindling it divinely with yearnings for God alone and for naught else whatever” . In proportion as it detaches itself from earth, leaving aside all affection and desire for creatures, the soul climbs “the secret ladder” of love which raises it step by step even unto its Creator, “for it is love alone that unites and joins the soul to God”. “It is to be observed, then, that love is the inclination of the soul and the strength and power which it has to go to God … and thus, the more degrees of love the soul has, the more profoundly does it enter into God and the more is it centered in Him”  – St. John of the Cross. The steps of the unitive way, wrote St. Bonaventure, are divided in this manner: watchfulness must arouse you, since the Spouse is at hand; trust must strengthen you, since He is faithful; desire must inflame you, since He is sweet; rapture must uplift you, since He is lofty; delight in Him must bring you peace, since He is beautiful; joy must inebriate you, since His love is full; close proximity must weld you to Him, since His love is strong. Thus, in the intimacy of our loving soul, let us always say to the Lord: It is You I seek, in You I hope, for You I long, to You I rise, You I receive, in You I exult, and to You I finally cling. Well, it always helps to have a woman to clarify things… THE quietists held that the sacred humanity of our Savior was a means useful only at the beginning of the spiritual life. St. Teresa of Avila, on the contrary, insists particularly that we should not of our own initiative leave off in prayer the consideration of our Savior’s humanity, for it is the way which leads souls to His Divinity. In discussing the state of souls that are in the sixth mansion, the Saint and Doctor of the Church writes: You may fancy that one who has enjoyed such high favors need not meditate on the mysteries of the most sacred Humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, but will be wholly absorbed in love. … Having been warned by experience in this respect, I have decided to speak again about it here. … Be most cautious on the subject; attend to what I venture to say about it and do not believe anyone who tells you the contrary. … How much less should we willfully endeavor to abstain from thinking of our only good and remedy, the most sacred Humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ? … Our Lord Himself tells us that He is “the Way”; He also says that He is “the Light”; that no man cometh to the Father but by Him; and that “He that seeth Me, seeth the Father also.” … True, those whom our Lord admits into the seventh mansion rarely or never need thus to help their fervor, for the reason I will tell you of, if I recollect it when I come to write of this room where, in a wonderful manner, souls are constantly in the company of Christ our Lord both in His Humanity and His Divinity. … Life is long and full of crosses and we have need to look on Christ our pattern, to see how He bore His trials, and even to take example by His Apostles and saints if we would bear our own trials perfectly. Our good Jesus and His most blessed Mother are too good company to be left. …I assure you, daughters, that I consider this a most dangerous idea whereby the devil might end by robbing us of our devotion to the most Blessed Sacrament.  All the Saints have repeated St. Paul’s words: “For to me, to live is Christ: and to die is gain. …Having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ.”  As the profession of arms, says St. Thomas, is the life of the soldier, as study is that of the scholar, so Christ was their life, the continual object of their love and the source of their energy. St. Paul likewise delighted in saying to the Corinthians: “For both the Jews require signs, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness; but unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”  “For I judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” The great Apostle repeats this thought to the Ephesians with incomparable splendor: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation, in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your heart

The following text is by St-Eudes (St. Jean Eudes 1601 – 1680), a French Roman Catholic priest. He taught about the mystical unity of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and wrote: You must never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely are Jesus and Mary bound up with each other that whoever beholds Jesus sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus, loves Mary; whoever has devotion to Jesus, has devotion to Mary. Who is this Lord whom the Blessed Virgin magnifies? It is He who is the Lord of lords, the sovereign and universal Lord of heaven and earth. This Lord is the Eternal Father; this Lord is the Son; this Lord is the Holy Spirit-three divine Persons who are but one God and one Lord, having but one single essence, power, wisdom, goodness and majesty. The most pure Virgin praises and magnifies the eternal Father for having associated her with His divine paternity by making her the mother of the very Son whose Father He is. She magnifies the Son of God for having deigned to choose her to be His Mother and Himself to be her true Son. She magnifies the Holy Spirit for having willed to accomplish in her the greatest of His works; that is, the adorable mystery of the Incarnation. She magnifies the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for the infinite graces which They have granted to her and intend to bestow on all mankind. Here is another joy of the Queen of Heaven which is indicated in these words: “My soul hath rejoiced . . . ” a joy which surpasses all the others. Several holy Fathers and important Doctors write that this Virgin Mother, being ecstatically elevated to God at the moment of the Incarnation of her Son within her, was filled with the same inconceivable joys which are possessed by all the blessed in heaven, and that she was rapt to the third heaven, where she had the happiness of seeing God clearly face to face. In proof of this, these holy writers advance the indisputable maxim that all the privileges with which the Son of God has honored His other saints were also bestowed by Him upon His divine Mother. Now St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose, St. Basil, St. Anselm, St. Thomas and a number of others do not hesitate to assert that St. Paul, while he was still on earth, saw the essence of God when he was transported to the third heaven. Who can doubt, then, that the Mother of Our Saviour, who always lived in the most perfect innocence and who alone loved God more than all the other saints combined, enjoyed this same favor, not only on one Occasion but on several, particularly at the happy moment of the conception of her Son? This is the opinion of St. Bernard, Albert the Great, St. Antoninus and many others. “0 blessed Mary,” exclaims the holy Abbot Rupert, “it was then that a deluge of joy, a furnace of love and a torrent of heavenly delights burst upon thee, wholly absorbed and inebriated thee, and made thee experience what no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard and no human heart has ever understood.” “It is a great thing,” says St. Antoninus, “to have created heaven and earth out of nothing. It is a great thing to have brought manna down from heaven in order to nourish the Chosen People in the desert for forty years. All the miracles that our Saviour performed in Judea, giving sight to the blind, driving out devils from the bodies of those who were possessed, curing the sick, restoring the dead to life, arc great and marvelous things. But the mystery of the Incarnation, which the infinite power of God wrought in the Blessed Virgin, incomparably surpasses all these other things. It is what prompts her to say, ‘He that is mighty hath done great things! “ “Here arc the great things,” says St. Thomas of Villanova, “that God wrought in the most holy Virgin. He elevated her to such a high degree of grandeur that all the eyes of men and angels cannot scan that eminence. He transformed this granddaughter of Adam into the Mother of her own Creator, the Lady of the world, the Queen of heaven and the Empress of all creatures. A new prodigy appeared in the world, to the great wonderment of heaven and earth: a God-Man, a Man-God; God become man, and man united with God. Prodigy of prodigies, miracle of miracles, after which there remains nothing on earth worthy to be admired!” Having magnified God for the infinite favors bestowed upon her and having made this admirable prophecy, “All generations shall call me blessed,” which includes a world of wonders which the Almighty has wrought and will continue to accomplish for all time and eternity to render this Virgin Mother glorious and venerable throughout the universe, she makes yet another prophecy that vibrates with rich comfort for all mankind, particularly for those who fear God. In it our peerless Mary affirms to us that the mercy of God extends from generation to generation to all those who fear Him: “And his mercy is from generation unto generation, to them that fear him.” What is this mercy? “It is our most bountiful Saviour,” explains St. Augustine. The eternal Father is called the Father of Mercy, because He is the Father of the Word Incarnate who is uncreated mercy itself. It is this mercy which the royal prophet David begged God, in the name of the whole human race, to send into the world through the mystery of the Incarnation, when he prayed: Show us, 0 Lord, Thy mercy, and grant us Thy salvation. The Word Incarnate is all love and charity; therefore He must be all mercy. God is naturally and essentially all merciful, says St. Jerome, and always ready to save by His clemency those whom He

Listen to what Jesus revealed in 1300 to St. Mechtilde, Written by St. Eudes (1601-1680) St. John of Damascus says that the earthly paradise, Noe’s ark, the burning bush, the Tables of the Law, the Ark of the Covenant, the golden vessel containing the manna, the golden candlesticks in the Tabernacle, the table with the loaves of proposition, Aaron’s rod, the furnace of Babylon, were all figures of the incomparable Virgin Mary. God the Father was not satisfied to foreshadow and represent the person of the Mother of His Beloved Son merely in the person of Mary, sister of Moses, in the Prophetess Debbora, wise Abigail, chaste and generous Judith, beautiful and compassionate Esther, and many other valiant women. Beyond this, the Eternal Father designed to entrust to us special pictures and images of the mysteries and qualities of His incomparable Mother, her virtues and even the more noble faculties of her virginal body. Several passages of Sacred Scripture reveal these pictures, especially the twenty-fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, and the Canticle of Canticles, where her Immaculate Conception is represented by the lily growing among thorns without being wounded by them: “As the lily among thorns;” her Nativity, by the rising dawn; her Assumption, by the Ark of the Covenant which St. John saw in Heaven; the sublime eminence of her dignity, her power and her holiness, by the height of the cedar of Lebanon; her charity, by the rose; her humility, by the spikenard; her mercy, by the olive; her virginity, by the closed gate of the Temple which God showed to Ezechiel the Prophet.But above all else, Our Heavenly Father has willed to place before our eyes a wealth of beautiful figures and marvellous representations of Mary’s most holy Heart. He has done this to show us how much He values and cherishes this lovable Heart and because the rare and wondrous perfections that fill it are well-nigh innumerable and can be represented and described only through a great number of figures and symbolic pictures. Among the many images and representations of the Admirable Heart of Mary I can distinguish twelve of surpassing beauty. Six of them are found in the principal divisions of the universe; namely, the heavens, the sun, the center of the earth, the inexhaustible fountain of Genesis, the sea and the Garden of Eden. The six others appear in six of the most important manifestations witnessed by the world from the time of Moses to the death of Our Lord. They are the burning bush of Mount Horeb, the mysterious harp of David, the magnificent throne of Solomon, the marvellous Temple of Jerusalem, the miraculous furnace of Babylon, and the Holy Mount of Calvary.I consider that the marriage of our First Parents in the Garden of Eden, a holy union designated directly by God, was symbolic of the hypostatic union between the divinity and humanity of the Eternal Word, and the mystical alliance of Our Saviour and His Church. Yet where was the contract for these divine alliances drawn up, if not in the Garden of the heart of Mary, the handmaid of God Almighty and the beloved Spouse of the Holy Spirit? There took place the secret and ineffable negotiations between the Eternal Father and the Blessed Virgin concerning the mystery of the Incarnation. There she made the offering and surrender of herself to the Divine Will, and gave her consent to have a part in the Divine Espousals, not only between the august Trinity and herself, but between divine and human nature, between the Son of God and Holy Church. Not only is her Heart entirely covered with King Solomon’s gold, but it is itself wrought of the finest and purest gold, of a metal infinitely more precious than all the material gold to be found in the universe. The Heart of our amiable Mother is filled with love of God and charity towards us. It is entirely transformed into love and charity, and completely identified with the purest love and the most perfect charity. Its love is more ardent, more pure and divine, its charity more fervent, holier and more excellent than the love and charity of all the Seraphim. The temple of Mary contains all the riches of God together with all the treasures of Heaven and earth because it keeps within its cloister all the mysteries of the life of the Son of God. “His Mother kept all these words in her heart.[ Luke 2, 51.] Her Heart possesses the very Son of God Himself, the treasure of the Eternal Father, Who encompasses all the wealth and beauty of the Most Holy Trinity. In this temple Christ, the Sovereign Priest, offered His first sacrifice at the time of the Incarnation. Christ, the Doctor of doctors and the Preacher of preachers, Who taught and preached so often in the temple of Jerusalem, imparts to us from the temple of His Mother’s Heart as many instructions and lessons as there we virtues exemplified in this virginal Heart. In this temple God is adored more profoundly and worthily, praised and glorified more perfectly than in all other material or spiritual temples that ever were and shall be in Heaven and on earth, the sacred humanity of Jesus alone excepted. The smallest acts of virtue and even the prayerful thoughts of Mary’s holy Heart are more agreeable to the Divine Majesty and render God greater honor and glory than the greatest actions of the foremost among the Saints. The Heart of the heavenly Mary is indeed a temple and a temple filled with rarest marvels. God entrusted to King David a description of the temple of Jerusalem written by His own hand, as recorded in the words: “All these things came to me written by the hand of the Lord.”[ Par. 28, 19.] The Eternal Father willed to place several remarkable objects in this temple to foreshadow and represent many great and wondrous mysteries that were to be found in the admirable Heart

It marks the first day in 1917 on which the Blessed Mother appeared to the three shepherd children of Fatima in Portugal.

Let’s begin with a true story… The more we pray for the intercession of our guardian angel than the more help and protection we will receive and one of the most powerful examples in recent times that proves the truth of this spiritual law took place in the life of father Goldmann. He was a priest from Germany who served during World War two before his ordination to the priesthood. Father Goldmann was drafted into the SS Division of the German army where he served as a medic. Towards the end of the war he was stationed in Italy. One night about two o’clock in the morning he heard a voice commanding him to: get up and dig, there is no time to waste. He jumped up and looked around but didn’t see anyone. He then asked the guards if they had spoken to him or had seen anyone or anything in the area but they hadn’t. So he decided to go back to sleep, but again he heard someone commanding him get up and dig. After these words were spoken he felt a strange fear come over him that made him conclude that he should start digging immediately and so at two o’clock in the morning he began to dig a foxhole in the darkness. He worked at it all night. In the morning he looked up and then saw to his horror ten enemy planes circling his camp like vultures they swooped down and dropped 20 bombs. Everyone was killed of course with the exception of father Goldmann and his driver, whom he had invited into the protection of his foxhole earlier on. Now, who warned father Goldmann in the middle of the night to begin digging that foxhole that saved his life was an angel of course, but how do we know this? Well we know it because three weeks later, father Goldmann received a letter from a Franciscan sister who had been praying for him during the war. She told him in her letter that at two o’clock in the morning on the very day that the airplanes attack took place, she had experienced a great fear about his safety. So she rushed to the convent Chapel and then prayed continually throughout the night until morning repeating the words: guardian angel save him now. We should notice here first of all that the sister was awakened quite obviously by an emergency message from her guardian angel. It is by that internal pressure and tension that was mentioned earlier, and so we can quite rightly conclude that father Goldmann was saved from the air-raid attack because the Franciscan sister prayed with faith and devotion to her guardian angel. To be continued soon…

St. Columba (6th century). “Hearken, hearken to what will happen in the latter days of the world! There will be great wars; unjust laws will be enacted; the Church will be despoiled of her property; people will read and write a great deal; but charity and humility will be laughed to scorn, and the common people will believe in false ideas.“ The Virgin Mary first spoke of the future chastisement in the Secret of La Salette, revealed in 1858. In 1917, Our Lady of Fatima said that we must pray the daily Rosary and do penance so that people will stop offending God. Our Lady told little Jacinta that “the sins of the flesh” were the most frequent sins committed by people leading them to eternal punishment. The Third Secret of Fatima showed an Angel touching the earth with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire. At Garabandal in 1961, Our Lady speaks of a “very great punishment” and said, “The cup is filling up.” The Second Message in 1965 said, “Now it is overflowing.” Conchita described the Chastisement as something “very, very great in keeping with what we deserve.” “The Chastisement is conditional and depends on whether or not mankind heeds the messages of the Blessed Virgin and the Miracle. “If it should take place, I know of what it will consist because the Blessed Virgin told me about it, but I am not permitted to say what it is.” “I have seen the Chastisement. I can assure you that it is worse than being enveloped in fire, worse than having fire above and beneath you.” “I do not know how much time will pass between the Miracle and the Chastisement.” The Secret of Fatima began with a vision of hell. It showed souls in a vast sea of fire with flames coming from within them. The souls had no control of their movements, being defenseless to protect themselves from demons there to torment them.The Chastisement foretold at Garabandal should be dreaded because it has similarities to Sodom and Gomorrah on a world wide scale. While the Chastisement has never been the favorite topic for discussion when it comes to Garabandal, it was primarily to warn us of this potential event that the Blessed Virgin appeared. This is supported by the fact that in the first Message of October 18, 1961, the message of Garabandal, the whole second part, more than fifty percent of the text of the entire Message, is devoted to the Chastisement. The first part tells us what we must do to prevent it from happening. Father Francis Benac On Oct. 13, 1973, Our Lady appeared to Sr. Agnes Sasagawa in Akita, Japan. Our Lady intervened to emphasize once again the necessity that God must be obeyed or there would be a punishment for the world.   Mother Mariana is linked mysteriously to our times Our Lady showed Mother Mariana of Jesus Torres the visions of the 20th Century over 350 years ago. In 1906, her three-century old tomb was opened. They discovered the body whole and incorrupt, complete with her habit and the articles of penance that had been placed in the tomb with her. Revelations Mother Mariana was blessed to receive revelations from Our Lord and Our Lady. Apparition The apparition has been approved by the Church and Mother Mariana has been declared Venerable in the first step towards her canonization. Resurrected twice Mariana died three times and was resurrected twice during her life. She experienced the Passion of Our Lord and The Stigmata. She experienced the pains of Hell. Revelations of Our Lady of Good Success Our Lady: “Oh, if only human beings and religious knew what Heaven is and what it is to possess God, how differently they would live, sparing no sacrifice in order to enter more fully into possession of it! But some let themselves be dazzled by the false glamour of honors and human greatness while others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil which in religious houses destroys their fervor, humility, self-renunciation and the ceaseless practice of religious virtues and fraternal charity and that child-like simplicity which makes souls so dear to my Divine Son and to me, their Mother. “Woe to the world should it lack monasteries and convents! Men do not comprehend their importance, for, if they understood, they would do all in their power to multiply them, because in them can be found the remedy for all physical and moral evils… No one on the face of the earth is aware whence comes the salvation of souls, the conversion of great sinners, the end of great scourges, the fertility of the land, the end of pestilence and wars, and the harmony between nations. All this is due to the prayers that rise up from monasteries and convents. “O, if mortals only understood how to appreciate the time given to them, and would take advantage of each moment of their lives, how different the world would be! And a considerable number of souls would not fall to their eternal perdition! But this contempt is the fundamental cause for their downfall!” Our Lady emphasized the importance of the Sacrament of Penance and the important role of priests: “See and contemplate the grandeur of this restoring and life-giving Sacrament of Penance, so forgotten and even scorned by ungrateful men, who in their foolish madness, do not realize that it is the only sure means of salvation after one has lost his baptismal innocence. What is most grievous is that even the ministers of My Most Holy Son do not give to it the value that they should, viewing with cold indifference this valuable and precious treasure, which has been placed in their hands for the restoration of souls redeemed by the Blood of the Redeemer. There are those who consider hearing confession as a loss

St. Helena, a woman of humble extraction but remarkable character and unusual ability.

Go to – St. Francis Preached the Animals

Spirituality is about life in the Holy Spirit. The greatest saints have always had the greatest joy. They see things as

Here is Your Mother! You must know that when you ‘Ave’ Mary, she immediately greets you! – St. Bernardine The second command, which Jesus spoke from the Cross, is an act of entrusting the whole Church to Mary. Jesus foresaw His death would be of use to but very few and that the many would be lost through their own negligence and ingratitude, that is lack of Love. In one last gesture of love, Jesus shared his relationship with Mary with us. Mary leads us to Christ because its her, among men, that loved Jesus most on earth, and loves him most ardently in Heaven. The supernatural order of Mary’s divine maternity attests to the central role of the Blessed Mother in God’s plan of salvation. The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin and the supernatural favours granted to pilgrims are signs that exceed the powers of the created universe. As put by St Anselm, ‘God begot Him through whom all things were made and Mary gave birth to Him though whom all things are saved.’