MARY OF AGREDA IS KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN FAVORED WITH THE MIRACLE OF BILOCATION: ALWAYS REMAINING IN HER CONVENT AT AGREDA, SHE WAS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS THE FIRST MESSENGER OF THE TRUE FAITH SENT BY GOD TO THE INDIANS IN ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO, U. S.
TO THE LIFE OF THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN GIVING THE REASON FOR WRITING IT, AND EXPLAINING OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
I should not be astonished to hear myself condemned as audacious, foolhardy and presumptuous by any person who will begin to realize (if realized it can be) that I, a simple woman, who is of herself but sheer weakness and ignorance and who is, on account of her sins, most unworthy, has resolved and attempted to write of divine and supernatural things. This condemnation will be the more justified in these, our present times, in which the holy Church, our mother, is so abundantly supplied with teachers and holy men, so rich in doctrines of the holy Fathers and Doctors; in this our most opportune age, when even prudent and wise persons, full of holy zeal in the spiritual life, are disturbed and troubled at the least mention of a higher life, looking upon visions and revelations as most suspicious and dangerous paths for the pursuit of Christian perfection. If no excuse can be found for such an enterprise in itself, or even for attempting things that are so far above and superior to what man can hope to compass, and so far beyond all human capacities, then we can only conclude that to undertake them is either a sign of perverse judgment or the result of an activity far surpassing all the human power.
2. As faithful children of the holy Church we must confess that all the mortals, not only with the use of all their natural powers, but with the simultaneous use of all the common and ordinary graces, are but incapable and, as it were, mute and ignorant weaklings for so difficult an undertaking as to explain and describe the hidden mysteries and magnificent sacraments which the powerful arm of the Most High has wrought in that Creature whom, as his Mother, He has designed to be an immense ocean of grace and privilege and the Depositary of the greatest treasures of the Divinity. How incapable must our weakness acknowledge itself to be, when even the angelic spirits confess that words fail them when attempting to describe that which is so far above their thoughts and capacities. The life of this Phoenix among the works of God is a book so sealed up that none is found among all the creatures of heaven and earth, worthy to open it (Apoc. 4, 3). It is evident then, that only the powerful Lord can unseal it; He who made Her more perfect than all the creatures; or She herself, the Mistress, our Queen and Mother, who was worthy to receive and properly to appreciate her ineffable gifts. It is in her power to select suitable instruments, and such as for her glory seem capable of manifesting these gifts in the proportion, at the time, and in the manner serviceable to her Onlybegotten Son.
3. I would willingly maintain that these instruments can be no other than the teachers and learned saints of the Catholic Church, or the doctors of the schools, who have all taught the way of truth and life. But the thoughts and the judgments of the Most High are exalted as much above our own as heaven is exalted above the earth and no one knows his mind and no one can counsel Him in his works (Rom. 11, 34) ; He it is that holds the scales of the sanctuary in his hands (Apoc, 6, 5), and who weighs the winds (Job 28, 25); who grasps in his hands all the orbs (Is. 40, 12), and who, by the equity of his most holy counsels, disposes of all things with weight and measure (Wis. 11, 21), assigning to each one opportune time and place. He dispenses the light of wisdom (Ecclus. 24, 37) and by his most equitable bounty He distributes it, and no one can ascend to the heavens to draw it down (Baruch 3, 29), or fetch it from the clouds, or know its ways or investigates the hidden paths thereof (Baruch 3, 31). He alone observes it as it is in itself, and transfuses it as the vapor and emanation of his immense charity (Wis. 7, 25) as the brightness of his eternal light, as the flawless reflection and image of his eternal bounty, through holy souls among the nations in order to make them friends of the Most High and constitute them as Prophets (Wis. 7, 27). The Lord alone knows why and for what purpose He thus prepared me, the last of his creatures; why He thus called and raised me, obliged and compelled me, to write the life of his most holy Mother, our Queen and Lady.
4. It is beyond the prudent surmise of any man that, without this influence and power of the Most High, the thought of such a work should enter into a human heart, or such an enterprise should take shape in my mind. For I acknowledge and confess myself to be a weak woman, wanting in all virtue; therefore, it should be far from my thoughts to approach such a work, but equally as far from me to refuse it on my own account. In order that a just estimate may be had in this matter I will mention in simple truth something of that which happened to me regarding this history.
5 In the eighth year after the foundation of this convent, in the twenty-fifth of my life, obedience imposed upon me the office which I unworthily hold at the present day, namely to be the abbess of this convent. I found myself much troubled, sorrowful and discouraged, because neither my age nor my inclinations were such as are requisite for governing and commanding, but they were rather such as befitted one who should be governed and obey. I knew also, that in order to invest me with this office a dispensation had been obtained. On account of these and other just reasons, the terrors with which the Most High has crucified me during all my life, were much augmented. In addition thereto God left me in dreadful doubt whether I was on the secure path or whether I should obtain or lose his friendship and grace.
6. In this tribulation I cried to the Lord with all my heart that He help me and if it be his will that I should be freed from this danger and burden. Although it is true that the Lord had prepared me sometime beforehand and commanded me to accept the office, and although when I tried to excuse myself on account of my pusillanimity, He always consoled me and reiterated his command, I nevertheless did not cease my petitions, but rather augmented them. For I perceived and understood in the Lord that, although He showed this to be his holy will, which I could not hinder, yet I was aware at the same time that he left me free to retire and resist, and, if I wished, to act according to my weakness as a creature and in the consciousness of total insufficiency; such is the prudence of the Lord in his dealings with men. Relying on this kindness of the Lord, I increased my efforts to be relieved from this evident danger, which is so little estimated by our human nature with its bad habits and disorderly passions. The Lord, however, repeated continually that it was His will and He consoled me, admonishing me through his holy angels to obey.
7. I fled in this affliction to our Queen and Lady as to my only refuge in all troubles, and after I had manifested to Her my way of life and my desires, She deigned to answer me in these sweetest of words: "My daughter, console thyself and do not be disturbed in thy heart on account of this labor; prepare thyself for it and I will be thy Mother and Superior, whom thou shalt obey; and the same I will be to thy subjects. I will supplement thy deficiencies and thou shalt be my agent, through whom the will of my Son and my God shall be fulfilled. In all thy temptations and troubles thou shalt take refuge with me, confer about them with me, and take the advice, which I will give thee in all things. Obey me, and I will favor thee and will continue to be attentive to thy affliction." These were the words of the Queen, as consoling as they were soothing to my soul. From that day on the Mother of mercy multiplied her mercies toward me, her slave; for She became more intimate with me and continued her intercourse with my soul, receiving me, listening to me, teaching me with ineffable condescension, giving me counsel and encouragement in my affliction, filling my soul with the light and knowledge of eternal life and commanding me to renew the vows of my profession in her presence. Finally this our most amiable Mother and Lady revealed Herself still more fully to her slave, withdrawing the veil from the hidden sacraments and magnificent mysteries which are contained, though unknown to mortals, in her most holy life. And, although this blessed and supernatural light was uninterrupted, and especially clear on her festival days and on other occasions when I was instructed in many mysteries; yet it was not so full, frequent and clear as that which was afterwards vouchsafed to me when She added the command that I write the history of her life according as her Majesty herself should dictate and inspire me. Particularly on one of these festivals of the most holy Mary the Most High informed me that He had in reserve many hidden sacraments and blessings, which He had conferred upon this his heavenly Mother in the days of her pilgrimage and that it was his intention to manifest them to me, in order that I might write them down according to her guidance. This will of the Most High, though I resisted it, was continually present to my mind for the space of ten years, until I attempted the first writing of this divine history.
8. Consulting about my doubts with the holy princes and angels, whom the Most High had appointed to direct this work of writing the history of our Queen, and manifesting to them how great was my disturbance and affliction of heart and how stuttering and mute was my tongue for such an arduous task, they replied over and over again that it was the will of the Most High that I write the life of his most pure Mother and our Mistress. On one day especially, when I made many objections and declared to them my difficulties, and my incapability and great fears, they spoke to me these words: "With good reason thou fearest and art disturbed, a soul, doubtest and hesitatest in a matter, where we angels ourselves would do the same, as considering ourselves unable worthily to describe the high and magnificent doings of the Omnipotent in the Mother of Piety and our own Queen. But remember, dearest soul, that the firmament, the whole machinery of the world and all things created will sooner fail, than the words of the Most High Many times He has promised to his creatures, and in the holy Scriptures it is recorded, that the obedient man' shall speak of victories over his enemies and shall not be reprehensible in obeying (Prov. 21, 28). And when He created the first man and gave him the command not to eat of the tree of knowledge, he established the virtue of obedience, and swearing He swore, in order to give greater assurance to man. For the Lord has repeatedly given such an oath; for instance, when He promised to Abraham that the Messiah should descend from his race, He added thereto the assurance of an oath (Gen. 22, 16) ; the same He did when He created the first man, assuring him that the obedient shall not err. He also repeated this oath, when He ordained that his most holy Son should die (Luke 1, i3) ; and He gave a like assurance to men that they, who should obey this second Adam, imitating Him in the obedience, by which He restored what the first lost through his disobedience, shall live forever and that the enemy shall have no part in them. Remember, Mary, that all obedience takes its rise from God as from its first and principal source, and we angels obey the power of his divine right hand and his most just will. We cannot contravene or ignore it, because we see the immutable being of God face to face and we perceive that his will is holy, pure and true, most equitable and just. Now this certainty, which we angels possess through the beatific vision, you mortals also possess in its proper proportion as wayfarers through the words of the Lord concerning your prelates and superiors: "He who hears you, hears Me; and who obeys you, obeys Me." (Luke 20, 16). Now since obedience is rendered on account of God, who is the principal Cause and who is the Superior of all, it is befitting to his almighty Providence that He take the consequences of obedience, whenever that which is commanded is not in itself sinful. Accordingly the Lord assures us of these things by an oath, and He will sooner cease to exist, though this is impossible, than that He will fail in his word. In the same way as the children. proceed from their parents, and all the living from Adam, multiplied from his natural being in his posterity; so also all superiors are constituted by God as by the supreme Lord on whose account we yield obedience to them; human beings to their living superiors, we angels to our higher hierarchies of the same nature, and all beings together, in their superiors, obey the eternal God. Remember now, that all of these have directed and commanded thee to do that, about which thou still hesitatest; if thou now shouldst begin to write by mistake, intending thereby to fulfill his commands in obedience, then the Most High would do with thy pen the same as He did with the knife of Abraham, when he was about to sacrifice his son Isaac, for on that occasion the Lord commanded one of us angels to withhold the arm and the knife. He did not thus command us to withhold thy pen, but has ordered us with lightest breath to speed it on, and while gazing on his Majesty, to direct and assist thee by illuminating thy intellect."
9. Such encouragement and instruction my holy angels and lords gave me at this time. On many other occasions the prince Saint Michael informed me of the same wish and command of the Most High. By the continual enlightenments, favors and instructions of this great prince, I have understood great sacraments and mysteries of the Lord and of the Queen of heaven; for this angel was one of those, who guarded and assisted Her and who were delegated from the angelic choirs, as I will relate in its place (Part I, 201-206). He is at the same time the general patron and protector of the holy Church. He was a special witness and faithful minister of the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption. This I have often heard of Saint Michael himself, who showed me singular favors in my troubles and dangers, and has promised me his assistance and direction in this undertaking.
10. In addition to all this and other facts, which need not here be mentioned, and in addition to what I shall say farther on, the Lord has directly, in his own person, commanded and manifested to me his will many times, and in words which I shall presently repeat. He said to me one day on the festival of the Presentation of most holy Mary in the temple: "My spouse, many mysteries pertaining to my Mother and the saints have been made manifest in the Church militant; but many are still hidden, especially the interior secrets of their lives, and these I wish now to make known; and I desire thee to put them down in writing according as thou art directed by the most pure Mary. I will reveal and explain them to thee; for until now I have, according to the hidden designs of my wisdom, kept them in reserve, because the time for revealing them was not befitting or opportune to my Providence. Now, however, it is, and it is my will that thou write. Obey, soul!"
11. All these facts which I have mentioned, and many more which I could mention, would not have been urgent enough to rouse my will to an enterprise so arduous and so foreign to my condition, if to them had not been added the motive of obedience to my superiors, who are set to govern my soul and teach me the way of truth. For certainly my mistrusts and fears were not so unimportant as to permit me to come to a full decision without their commands in so great a matter, when in resolving upon others, also supernatural and vastly less difficult, I rely so much on the guidance of obedience. As an ignorant woman I have always sought this northstar, for it is a duty incumbent on all to test all things, even though they seem to be most noble and excellent beyond suspicion, by the approbation of the teachers and ministers of the holy Church. Such assurance I have been solicitous to procure for the direction of my soul, and more particularly in this undertaking of writing the life of the Queen of heaven. I have frequently tried to prevent my superiors from being moved by any accounts of my interior experiences, disguising, as much as I could, many things, and in tears begging the Lord to enlighten them and to fill them with mistrust against me, to watch over them lest they be deceived or lest they permit me to be deceived or misdirected. Many times I have desired that the very thought of allowing me to engage in this enterprise would fade from their minds.
12. I will also confess that the demon, availing himself of my natural dispositions and of my fears, has made great efforts to hinder this work by seeking to terrify and afflict me. He would no doubt have succeeded in keeping me from it if the zeal and persistence of my superiors had not counteracted my cowardice. In this persecution the Lord, the most pure Virgin and the holy angels often took occasion to renew their enlightenment, their tokens and wonders. Nevertheless, in spite of all this, I deferred, or to speak more appropriately, I resisted this undertaking many years; I refused compliance, as I will describe further on, not having the boldness to attempt the execution of something so far above all my powers. And I believe that this was not without special providence of his Majesty; for in the course of those years so many things have happened to me, and I may say, so many mysterious and various difficulties intervened, that I would not have been able to preserve the tranquillity and quiet of spirit, which is necessary for retaining the proper light and information; for not in all states of mind, though they are of the highest and most advanced, can the soul engage in that exalted activity which is necessary to correspond to such exquisite and delicate influences. In addition to this, there was still another reason, namely: During this protracted delay I could inform myself and assure myself of the truth of these things not only by means of the new enlightenment, which grew as time passed on, and by the prudence which experience gives, but also by the persevering insistence of the Lord, of the holy angels and of my superiors, under whose obedience I lived. Likewise an opportunity was given me to quiet my fears and misgivings, to overcome my cowardice and perplexity, and to trust that to the Lord, which I would not trust to my weakness.
13. Confiding then in the great virtue of obedience, I resolved in the name of the Lord and of my Queen and Mistress to lay aside my reluctance. I call this virtue great, not only because by it the most noble activities in the faculties of a creature, namely the mind, the judgment and free will, are offered as a holocaust to the Lord; but also because no other virtue ever assures success more unfailingly than obedience; for by it the creature then does not operate of itself alone, but also as an instrument of him that governs and commands. This was the assurance of Abraham, when he overcame the force of the natural love for his son Isaac (Gen. 22, 3). And if it was sufficient for such an act, and sufficient to detain the sun and the heavens in their swift course (Josue 10, 13), it can certainly be sufficient to influence the movement of the earth. Perchance if the hand of Oza had been guided by obedience, he would perhaps not have been punished as presumptuous in touching the ark. Well do I know that I am more unworthy than Oza in stretching out my hand to touch, not the lifeless and figurative ark of the old covenant, but the living Ark of the New Testament, which contained the manna of the Divinity, the source of grace and the New Law. But if I remain silent, I fear with good reason to disobey most high commands, and I could exclaim with Isaias: "Woe is me because I kept my peace!" (Is. 6, 5). Therefore, my Queen and Lady, it is better that thy benignest goodness and mercy and the blessings of thy liberal hand should shine forth through my base and unworthy efforts; it is better that I should experience thy blessings in obeying thy commands, than that I should fall into thy displeasure. It will be a work of thy clemency, O purest Mother, to raise the poor from the earth and to execute through a weak and unfit instrument, a work so difficult; for thereby Thou shalt magnify thy condescension and the graces which thy most holy Son communicates to Thee. Moreover Thou thereby shalt exclude that deceitful presumption, which might make us imagine that by human efforts, or by earthly prudence, or by the force and authority of deep discussion, this work is accomplished. Thou thereby showest, that by divine virtue Thou awakenest anew the hearts of the faithful, drawing them toward Thee, Thou fountain of kindness and mercy. Speak therefore, O Lady, that thy servant may hear with an ardent desire fully to obey Thee (I Kings 3, 19). But how can my desires ever reach or equal my indebtedness? A befitting response on my part will be impossible, but if it were possible, I would desire to give it. O powerful and exalted Queen, fulfill thy promises by manifesting to me thy graces and attributes, in order that thy greatness may be made known and heralded through the nations and generations. Speak, O Lady, for thy servant heareth; speak and magnify the Most High in the powerful and wonderful works, which his right hand performed for Thee in thy most profound humility. Let them flow from the hollow of his hands filled with hyacinths into thine (Cant. 5, 14), and from thine to thy devout servants, in order that the angels may bless Him, the just magnify Him, and the sinners seek Him. Let all of them see the example of thy highest sanctity and purity, and by the grace of thy most holy Son, let me be favored with this mirror and efficacious rule, by which I can set my life in order. For this is to be the principal purpose and first object of my solicitude in writing thy life. This Thou hast repeatedly intimated to me, condescending to offer me a living pattern and a mirror without flaw, in which I should see and according to which I should adorn my soul, so as to become worthy to be thy daughter and the bride of thy most holy Son.
14. This shall be my whole object and intention; and therefore I shall not write as a teacher, but as a disciple; not as one instructing, but as one trying to learn, knowing that it is the duty of women to be silent in the holy Church, and to listen to the teachers (I Cor. 14, 34). But as an instrument of the Queen of heaven I will declare what She deigns to teach me and whatever She commands me; for all the souls are capable of receiving the Spirit, which her divine Son has promised to pour out over men of all conditions (Joel 2, 28). The souls are also able to communicate it in a befitting manner, whenever a higher authority acting according to the dispensations of Christ's Church so disposes. I am now convinced that the Church has authorized this history through my superiors. That I should err is possible, and to an ignorant woman, natural; but then I err, while obeying and not acting of my own free will; thus I remit myself and subject myself to those who are my guides and to the correction of the holy Catholic Church, to whose ministers I fly in all my difficulties. And I wish that my superior, teacher and confessor be a witness and a censor of this doctrine, which I receive, and also a severe and vigilant judge of the manner in which I put it into practice, or fail in the fulfilling of the obligations consequent upon this blessing.
15. Pursuant to the will of the Lord and the command of obedience, I have written for the second time this heavenly history; for during the first writing of it, though the light by which I perceived the mysteries was abundant and fruitful in proportion as my shortcomings were great, my tongue was unequal to the task of finding the proper terms, and my pen not swift enough for a full statement. I omitted some things, and with the lapse of time and by the aid of new enlightenments, I found myself better prepared to write at this second time. Nevertheless, there always remains much of what I understood and have seen, which I must leave unsaid; since to say all will never be possible. Besides these reasons, there was another known to me in the Lord, namely; That in my first writing my mind was much hindered from attending to the matter and arrangement of this work by my temptations and great fears. They raised such tempests of contrary thoughts and suggestions within me, that, deeming it the greatest presumption to have attempted such an arduous task, I concluded to burn it. And I believe that this did not happen without the permission of the Lord, for in the turbulency of my soul I could not present myself in a state entirely befitting and desirable to the Lord for writing and engraving into my heart and spirit his doctrine, as He commands me to do now and as can be seen from the following event.
16. On one of the festival days of the Purification of Our Lady, after having received the most holy Sacrament, I wished to celebrate this holy festival, which was the anniversary of my profession, with many acts of thanksgiving and of total resignation to the Most High, who without any merits of mine had chosen me as his spouse. While I was thus exciting these affections, I felt in my interior a most powerful change accompanied by abundant light which raised me and urged me strongly and sweetly toward the knowledge of the essence of God, his goodness, perfections and attributes, and to the disclosing of my own misery (Wis. 8, 1). And these different things, which were placed before my understanding at one and the same time, produced in me various effects: The first was that all the attention of my mind and all my aspirations were raised on high; the other effect was, that I was humbled in mind to the very dust, in such a way that it seemed to take away my own existence. At the same time I felt a most vehement sorrow and contrition for my grievous sins, joined to the determination to amend and to renounce all worldly things, aspiring instead toward complete love of God. In these affects I remained as if annihilated, and the greatest pain seemed but consolation, and death, but life. The Lord having pity on my faintness, in sheer mercy, spoke to me: "Be not dismayed, my daughter and spouse, for in order to pardon, to wash and to purify thee from thy sins, I will apply my infinite merits and the blood, which I shed for thee; animate thyself to desire all perfection in imitation of the life of the most holy Mary. Write it a second time in order that thou mayest supply what was wanting and impress her doctrines on thy heart. Do not again irritate my justice, nor show thyself thankless for my mercy by burning what thou shalt have written, lest my indignation deprive thee of the light which, without thy merits, thou hast received for the manifestation of these mysteries."
17. I immediately thereupon saw the Mother of God, who also spoke to me: "My daughter, as yet thou hast not derived becoming fruit for thy soul from the tree of life, which was offered thee in the writing of my history, nor didst thou enter into the substance of its contents. Thou hast scarcely yet thought of this hidden manna, nor hast thou attained that perfect and ultimate preparation, which the Almighty requires in order to engrave and imprint, in a proper manner, my virtues into thy soul. I am to give thee the befitting qualities and perfections for that which the divine right hand is to accomplish in thee. I have asked Him that, through my intercession and through the abundant graces conferred upon me, I be permitted to adorn thee and compose thy soul, so that thou mayest turn again to the writing of my life with less attention to the material and more to the spiritual and substantial part of it. Remove the hindrances which oppose the currents of divine grace flowing to thee from the Almighty through me and make thyself capable of readily accepting the full portion assigned to thee by the divine will. See that thou do not curtail or limit it by thy shortcomings and imperfections." Thereupon I saw that the divine Mother clothed me in a garment whiter than the snow and more shining than the sun; and She girded me with a most precious girdle and said:
"This is a participation of my purity." I also asked for the infused science of the Lord, which should serve me as most beautiful hair for my adornment and for other precious gifts and presents, the value of which I saw and knew was great, but which I was not able fully to estimate. After having thus adorned me, the heavenly Lady said: "Work faithfully and earnestly to imitate me and to be my most perfect daughter, engendered of my spirit, nourished at my breast. I give thee my blessing, in order that in my name and under my direction and assistance thou mayest again resume thy writing."
18. The whole of this holy life of Mary is divided, for greater perspicuity, into three parts. The first treats of all that pertains to the first fifteen years of her life, from the moment of her most pure Conception until the moment when in her virginal womb the eternal Word assumed flesh, including all that the Most High performed for Mary during these years. The second part embraces the mystery of the Incarnation, the whole life of Christ our Lord, his Passion and Death and his Ascension into heaven, thus describing the life of our Queen in union with that of her divine Son and all that She did while living with Him. The third part contains the life of the Mother of grace during the time She lived alone, deprived of the companionship of Christ our Redeemer, until the happy hour of her transition, Assumption and crowning as the Empress of heaven, where She is to live eternally as the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son and the Spouse of the Holy Ghost. These three parts I subdivided into eight books, in order that they may be more convenient for use and always remain the subject of my thoughts, the spur of my will and my meditation day and night.
19. In order to say something of the time in which I wrote this heavenly history, it must be noticed that my father, brother Francis Coronel, and my mother, sister Catharine de Arana, my parents, founded in their own house this convent of the discalced nuns of the Immaculate Conception by the command and the will of God, which was declared to my mother, sister Catharine, in a special vision and revelation. This foundation took place on the octave of the Epiphany, January 13th, 1619. On the same day we took the habit, my mother and her two daughters; and my father took refuge in the order of our seraphic Father Saint Francis, in which two of his sons had already been living as religious. There he took the habit, made his profession, lived an exemplary life, and died a most holy death. My mother and myself received the veil on the day of the Purification of the Queen of heaven, on the second of February, 1620. On account of the youth of the other daughter her profession was delayed. The Almighty in his sheer goodness favored our family so much, that all of us were consecrated to Him in the religious state. In the eighth year of the foundation of this convent, in the twenty-fifth of my age, in the year of our Lord 1627, holy obedience imposed upon me the office of abbess, which to this day I unworthily hold. During the first ten years of the time in which I held this office, I received many commands from the Most High and from the Queen of heaven to write her holy life, and I continued in fear and doubt to resist these heavenly commands during all that time until the year 1637, when I began to write it the first time. On finishing it, being full of fears and tribulations, and being so counseled by a confessor (who directed me during the absence of my regular confessor), I burned all the writing containing not only this history, but many other grave and mysterious matters; for he told me, that women should not write in the Church. I obeyed his commands promptly; but I had to endure most severe reproaches on this account from my superiors and from the confessor, who knew my whole life. In order to force me to rewrite this history, they threatened me with censures. The Most High and the Queen of heaven also repeated their commands that I obey. During this second writing, so abundant was the light concerning the divine Essence, so copious were the blessings of the divine right hand for the renewal and vivification of my soul in the teachings of my heavenly Mother, so perfect were the instructions and so exalted were the sacraments communicated to me, that it was necessary to write another book in connection with this history, the title of which will be: "Laws of the Spouse; heights of his divine love and fruits gathered from the tree of life of most holy Mary, our Lady." By divine favor I begin rewriting this history on the eighth of December, 1655, on the day of the Immaculate Conception. |
