Faith Is Greater
Than Obedience
(Words of the Savior to Professor
Albert Drexel on March 5, 1976)
Part 2
1974—1977
SOURCE
(Thank you!)
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of January 4, 1974
The blessing of My special grace be upon you, My son, in this hour.
In more and more hearts, the light of love for the miracle and mystery of My Presence is now dying. The great betrayal of My one and true Church has as the reason, that the hearts of priests and brides of Christ are becoming increasingly colder. Once I wept over Jerusalem and its inhabitants, because they did not recognize the grace of My arrival and My redemption. It was their sin, a sin which received mercy.
Greater, more terrible, and sinister, is the sin of defection of faith, the sin of rejection of My love in dwelling with men, of which priests and brides of Christ make themselves guilty. If I could weep as I did before in human form, My tears would never dry up!
Woe to the betrayal, woe to the coldness, woe to the breach of faith in the hearts of the consecrated! Woe that will become for many an eternal woe!
Now, there are more souls, people in the world, who flock together around My Eucharistic love, and who preserve the silent flame before the tent of My Presence.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of February 1, 1974
I bless you, My son, in this hour of My special grace.
Now, My archenemy, Satan, with the help of consecrated priests and with theologians filled with pride, has plunged My Church into the most grave crisis of history, and many good and faithful sons and daughters of the Church hope and wish for interference from God and His omnipotence, to silence the interior and exterior enemies of the Church. Yes, there are faithful people who, with their prayers, wish to call down from Heaven a chastising justice. When I visibly walked among men on earth, the disciple John, whom I loved, wished to call down fire upon immoral and hardened inhabitants of a town, (Luke 9:54) and I had to teach him that God is a God of eternity, and that His patience cannot be measured with the time of man. Therefore, I say to all those who are foretelling catastrophes again and again, after their own opinion and feelings, and who are even giving the exact date, and to those who believe them: Only the Father in Heaven knows the day and the hour of His visitation. It is also written in Scripture: Vengeance is Mine. (Deut. 32:35). And I taught the people: My ways are not your ways! (Isaiah 55:8) The punishment for the enemies of God and for the destroyers and betrayers of My Church is enormous, and more terrible than any terrestrial catastrophe! Those who were called to be My followers in the grace of consecration, and who threw away this grace and betrayed Me to the world, like Judas, shall go into the deepest hell, because terrible is the justice of God.
Incomprehensible is the mercy and love with which, on the day of judgment, I shall meet those who are loyal in faith and the devotees of the Church in distress, as the holy seer, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, exclaimed: Eye hath not seen, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him! (1 Cor. 2:9). Yes, blessed are those who believe in Me faithfully, in the midst of a world of unbelief and immorality. Believe Me, the Redeemer. Blessed are those who remember their Creator and Father each day, and who call down with prayers and sacrifices the grace and blessing of the Holy Ghost upon themselves and their own.
But no one is able to measure how very much those faithful win My Heart now and in eternity, who love My Virgin Mother, and who with confidence in Her interceding power, endure all the suffering of this world.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of March 1, 1974
May My blessing and the grace of this night come over you, My son.
A most difficult time for My one and true Church is near, because My sons called in My Church – the consecrated ones – have burdened themselves with three enormous and severe sins: The denial of My Divinity; the denial of My Resurrection; the denial of My presence in the mystery of the Host and the chalice, by those who receive My Precious Blood.
A threefold woe to these sins of unbelief, and a threefold curse upon those who make themselves guilty of even one of these!
Long ago I pronounced My woe over Jerusalem, because they were misled by a false idea of a worldly ruler and Messiah. For that reason I did not pronounce a curse over them. But those who are now turning away in unbelief in My redemption, in spite of having been raised in the faith and having been called to be messengers of eternal truth, are My new crucifiers and deserve a curse, a curse that is followed by infatuation and hardness and that hardly leaves them.
Here pride and humility are facing each other. The sin of desertion is the sin of pride, that pride which caused Lucifer to fall, and his followers in the world of spirits, and that caused them eternal depravity in hell. 'He hath put down the mighty from their seat,' called out the humble handmaid of the Lord, (Luke 1:52), and She was enlightened by the Holy Ghost. Consider well: Are not those who desert the faith the same as those who reject the holy Virgin and Mother? Truly, I say to you: He who arrives at the threshold of eternity, without the Mother of grace, shall be rejected by the Father of eternity, because the Father loves not only Me with an eternal, innate love in the mystery of the Divine Trinity, but also because of the ineffable love He has for the Mother of the Son, who is the most exquisite creature of His creation.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of April 5, 1974
A blessing and grace be upon you, My son, in this hour of My love and because of your work.
The distress of the people who are still faithful is growing more and more. Priests, who are true priests, become fewer. Repeatedly, people are wishing for guidance, for a good word, and action. And there should be somebody around who gives light and strength to the ones afflicted with troubles in body and soul.
A great sorrow for Me is that even children become victims of the desertion of faith. The apostate priests have no heart and word any more for the soul of a child. They talk to them about many things, but which are external, temporal, and worldly. They do not talk to them in the spirit of faith, nor about the Blessed Sacrament and the saints, nor about God and the soul, nor about grace and Heaven. They speak no more about Me, the true God, no more about the love of My Divine Heart. They have lost faith, humility, and reverence.
Those wretched priests do not preach anymore about God, nor Christ, nor the Holy Ghost, nor grace, nor commandments and judgment, nor eternity and the after-life. Their heaven is the world, and their idol, the belly. They do not speak anymore with the voice of the Gospel and the Bible, but with the voice of worldly prophets, and even with the voice of the enemies of God. Their spirit is the spirit of the world, their service is no longer the service of God. They attempt to destroy Christianity and to dissolve religion.
But good priests and also real Christians, men and women, still live and work. Their love belongs to Me, to Me crucified, and to Me, hidden in the Host of the tabernacles. Their sign is reverence to My Virgin Mother Mary. Their nobility is the spirit of the saints. Those true priests and Christians shall save the world – not only for a number of terrestrial years – but for all of eternity.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of May 3, 1974
I bless you, My son, in the night of My special graces and your work, that has been destined for you by the providence of the Father.
Do not become dejected because of the confusion and heresies of unfaithful and apostate priests, whose body and sensual enjoyment count more than the love of My Church and of immortal souls. All the real, true faithful should know that the interior and exterior enemies of the Church shall perish – forever – unless they return with interior repentance to the uniform teachings of the Church.
I tell you: There shall arise priests, who are now trained in hidden silence for the future and at the moment – and very soon – with apostolic spirit, following the footsteps of the saints, the discipline I desire and the unity of My Catholic Church, defending with holy reverence the mystery and miracle of the holy Eucharist.
Thus far rage the destroyers and their work of apostasy, but the ones who do it or let it happen, shall be judged. The judgment will be more servere for those who are My consecrated ones and who are called to guard the faith, but have not realized their ministry out of weakness.
Because the apostate teachers, boasting of pride with their human knowledge, setting it in opposition to the Holy Ghost, forget that faith is a gift of grace, that is given to man through prayer and in an interior disposition turned truly toward God. However, this disposition begins with humility, gives witness through reverence, and flows into holy love.
Whoever loves God truly in His mystery of divine, triune Unity and Trinity, loves his neighbor. Did I not say: I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also. He who says: I love God, and who hates his neighbor, lies; thus it is written! You should hate sin and evil and injustice, but pray for those who do, speak or think of this.
You should fight against evil; first of all against unbelief, and you should warn people about those who do not believe, who falsify the word of God or subvert discipline of love and put the love of man before God. He who says: I love my neighbor, and who despises, denies, and hates God – is of Satan! Therefore, test the spirits well!
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of June 7, 1974
May My blessing come over you and your work, My son.
Do not be discouraged by the confusion and abandonment of the faith!
This abandonment is the greatest since My glorious return to the Father. Formerly, in other times, there were exterior enemies of the Church, but in this time, it is the inward persecution of the Church to which Satan lends his help. Yes, it is the priests – the consecrated ones of the altars – who become unfaithful to their vocation, abandoning the faith, and thus disdaining the grace of the Holy Ghost. And if they do not return to prayer and to the grace of the faith, there is the curse of God and the curse of eternal damnation waiting for them.
Have not many angels fallen, who were in special grace and who were God's loving creation? And because they wanted to be like God, they were cast out. 'Who is like unto God?' With that word, the prince of the faithful angels threw the apostate angels into the abyss. (Apoc. 12:9)
The unfaithfulness of priests and the silence of shepherds is the great distress and sin which has befallen My one and true Church. Their sin is a sin against the Father, Who called them to their vocation; a sin against Me, the Son, with whom they have broken their faith; a sin against the Holy Ghost, whose influence and grace they have forgotten, rejected, and dishonored.
Oh, that they would return to humble prayer! Oh, would that they would return to the mystery of redemption! Oh, would that they returned to the light of the Holy Ghost! But alas! They are blinded by pride; they have deviated from My imitation, and have become cold in holy love.
Priests, high and low, load upon themselves, daily and hourly, a tremendous responsibility because of this treason to the one and true Son of God and Redeemer – by preferring the world.
Still, I feel consoled with the prayers, atonement, and sacrifices of numerous good people. I love and bless them.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of July 5, 1974
Be blessed, My son, in this night and in this hour of My special grace.
The struggle over the truth and preservation of faith under the influence and instigation of Satan, takes on more and more a sharper form and takes hold of many more people, because of the many shepherds who have fallen asleep or become blind to the need of souls.
Certainly My visible successor in Rome prays, sacrifices, and suffers constantly. But many servants of the Church – the consecrated ones of the altar – break the faith openly or interiorly. Indeed they poison souls in word and writing. Not just a few priests are they, who have forgotten the meaning and blessing of the ministry to souls, and who are seeking worldly things. The distress of souls cries to Heaven; in the meantime, unasked persons take power in the Church and in meetings, and all this is happening because of the bishops, who do not stop them, and who do not set up boundaries.
In the place of the Holy Ghost, an unholy spirit steps in that, daily, produces increasing corruption, because many of the faithful run after innovations and let themselves be infatuated by them. Heretics are exalted, and bishops try to excuse their wrong teachings and even to defend them.
They remove images of My Virgin Mother Mary from consecrated places, but My will and the will of My Father is that My Mother should be honored and called upon. Woe to those who forget and desert My most holy Mother. Those ones are truly motherless, and are going along the road of perdition, depriving themselves of one of the last graces before death – if they do not return to their Mother in humility and repentance, or if they have done so already perhaps.
Comfort and happiness be upon those who flock to this Mother, upon those who call on Her, who honor Her in holy places with zeal and trust – this also gives joy to Me, who am Her Son!
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of August 2, 1974
My blessing be upon you, My son, in this night and hour of My special graces.
This apostolate of yours is most necessary now, because of the spreading of corruption in the religious life, the abandonment of faith, and the loss of Christian family life.
All religious life and Catholic thinking and actions are put to shame, not only in the houses of families, but also in the dwellingplace of God, which priests – who are consecrated with a special sacrament for My service – do not know and exercise, neither reverence, nor do they use holy water, and have even forgotten and disregarded the sign of the cross, that is the profession of faith.
Those priests load upon themselves a quite serious and enormously great responsibility. They are ashamed to put in holy places, in the dwelling-place of God, the image of My crucified body and are merely satisfied with just a simple, bare cross or a little cross of wood, iron or stone. But I say: For those who are ashamed of My crucifix in life, I shall be invisible in eternity, and for an eternity, and they shall scream in vain for an eternity for the vision of My presence.
The crucifix, not the empty sign, is the Catholic sign and profession of faith. Blessed are the families in whose houses and lodgings the crucifix is placed, greeted, and honored!
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of September 6, 1974
I bless you, My son, in this hour.
The world lies in a severe situation. But My great grief and the greatest disaster is that My holy Church is demolished by unfaithful servants and shepherds! Oh, would that those called to serve souls might understand the teachings of My Virgin Mother Mary, as My servant Mary of Jesus of Agreda wrote them down by heavenly enlightenment; then My sick Church would recover. Oh, would that such souls might multiply, who understand the book Save the World, and The Prayer of Love, and who would offer themselves as victim souls to Me; then My kingdom would newly blossom in this world.
But alas, the world, with its threefold concupiscence, seizes more and more people; meanwhile, the churches are becoming emptier and more deserted. Still, there are many loyal and devoted people praying, but the sin of those who are unfaithful and infatuated with the world cries to Heaven!
I spoke about a threefold concupiscence, about which the holy Apostle wrote: The concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life. (1 John 2:16). But I demand souls who atone, and for love of Me renounce that which the world loves. I demand souls who are pure and keep away from the sin of the flesh, that brings only corruption. I demand souls who do not let themselves become infatuated with the falsehood of the world, but who strive for peace and joy, who will help souls, and who will shine eternally.
The saints followed the path of My example, but the people of the world walk the wide road leading to perdition. They shun the image of My crucified body, but they will not be able to find peace. At the end of their lives they will be without good deeds before the eternal Judge. I tell you that the world executes itself, because it will harvest its own ruin by its sin. But those who live according to the holy commandments of God, striving for eternity, shall have peace in their soul and heart, in the midst of troubles and anxieties, and shall meet My merciful love at the end of their lives.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of October 4, 1974
My blessings be upon you, My son, in the hour of My special graces.
The confusion in My one and true Church comes from the sin against faith, because so many priests have lost and thrown away their faith. Many shepherds, consecrated ones, called to follow the Apostles the bishops and other high dignitaries of the Church – regard the sin against faith as very small, and out of weakness and indifference, do not condemn it. This is the reason for the apostasy – the greatest since the days of the appointment of the Apostle Peter as head of the Church and since the sending out of the Apostles. There are traitors at work, who disgrace their hands and heart with the sin of unbelief.
Indeed, I am merciful, but the justice of God remains, and its terrible woe, the woe of the thrice-holy God, shall become the eternal disaster for those disloyal to their faith. Consider: eternal damnation. But the world that they love, and for which they lose and throw away grace and the virtue of faith, is transient. They are like clouds moving over the sky only some years, to dissolve into nothing like a passing vapor!
But blessed are those who keep the faith and guard it with fidelity and firmness, because those are the true just ones, to whom Scripture has revealed the Spirit of God: 'The just man lives by faith.' And also: 'He who does not believe, is already judged.' But I say: He who believes with his whole soul, is already saved.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of November 1, 1974
I bless you, My son.
You should know that the book you have just finished writing is good! Yet, you should write your last book about 'God.' 'God,' 'Redemption' and 'Eternity' shall be joined together into one work, so that it opposes and unmasks the false production of the theology of apostasy, because there shall come a time in which all modern theories and the whole godless knowledge shall collapse.
Consider: A great confusion has pierced My one and true Church. Books filled with false statements and full of heresy are accepted by bishops, who are supposed to be shepherds, and writings that bring the truth are rejected by the representatives of the Church, so great has become the confusion! But there is God, who decides also about the good and evil of writings and books. But also know: The pride of a false knowledge shall be humiliated – as never before in history and in the history of My holy Church.
Mary, My Virgin Mother, is destined and empowered by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, to crush the head also of this serpent.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of December 6, 1974
My blessing be upon you, My son.
My one and true Church exists in a desperate situation, which is the worst since the foundation of the Church. The blessings that come from the holy Sacraments are blocked off by priests and shepherds, and this almost prevents God from approaching souls. Many of those priests who are called and consecrated to teach the virtues of faith, reverence, and humility do not remember them, and do not exercise them anymore, and are not a good example for the faithful. The love of God is not mentioned anymore, and not even known. The hearts of the consecrated servants and also of some shepherds have become empty and cold.
However, the Heavenly Father looks with satisfaction upon prayer and upon people with the spirit of sacrifice and atonement. From them will begin and come a new awakening of the Church, while the godless world and the enemies of Christ are marching toward perdition. May the good people, therefore, not lose courage, because their prayers, faithfulness, and trust shall be heard!
The shrines of Mary, My Virgin Mother, shall be very much visited, and the blessings coming from there shall fall upon all those who have to suffer under wicked priests and tepid shepherds. The greater their faithfulness, the stronger is My love burning for them in My Heart.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of January 3, 1975
I bless you, My son, with the blessings of My love.
Truly, the confusion and demolition in My one and true Church have not ended yet, but the loyal people have grown in faith and love toward Me and My Virgin Mother, Mary, and shall rescue the Church. And therefore, those who are truly faithful should not fall into despair. Rather, they should develop new courage in joining together and in confessing their faith fearlessly. May all truly good people also understand one another and help each other; do they not have My Mother, who is also their Mother?
What you have written in your new book about My Virgin Mother, you have written well, because the reason for the confusion and demolition in My true Church, which is invaded, is that many people, and among them priests, abandon My Mother, who is their Mother and are therefore becoming lost. In their belief, they do not consider: that Mary Immaculate brought Me into the world, the Redeemer of the world and of man, and that the same Virgin, My Mother, persevered faithfully, praying, and sacrificing beneath the cross on Golgotha, as Mother, until the bitter hour!
He who does not honor Her, My Mother, he who does not pray to Her nor love Her, offends Me, and has forgotten what a great saint of the Church said: 'He who loves Mary, the Virgin and Mother, shall find on the threshold of eternity a merciful Judge in Jesus, and shall therefore not be lost.' Is such a promise not a great grace?
Neither the interior nor exterior enemies of My one and true Church will be able to destroy it, because Mary is powerful and graced by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Satan is afraid of Her, because he never could command Her. She is and has always been destined by the Eternal Father to conquer Satan and his cohorts, and She shall also reduce to ruins the diabolical work of a godless knowledge, and the unfaithfulness of numerous priests who became like Judas.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of February 7, 1975
I bless you, My son, with the blessing of My love.
Indeed, a difficult, a most difficult future shall come for the world, but it shall be more difficult for My one and true Church.
The causes of the disaster in the Church are: the desertion of God, the desertion of the commandments of God, the desertion of the discipline given by God. A world without God, without belief in God, a world disregarding God's unalterable commandments and prohibitions, a world abandoning and demolishing the order that God, the Father of creation, has put into nature and man: such a world is moving incessantly towards chaos and the abyss.
The desertion of God is the work of a knowledge full of pride and of disloyal priests. Great is the number of priests who never mention God, and who have abandoned and have interiorly lost God. The
desertion of God is followed by the desertion of God's commandments. The desertion of God leads to an unholy world, and opens the door and the road to sin and crime.
Some of the shepherds and guardians who have been anointed are no longer what they are supposed to be; they still permit homage to be given to them by the people, but have abandoned the faith and give freedom to heresies. The desertion of God's holy commandments gives Satan the liberty to scatter the seeds of crimes.
Oh, would that all of those shepherds might understand what responsibility they carry and how much this responsibility is increasing upon them, because those who still believe and pray do not find protection anymore. In addition to the desertion of God's commandments comes the desertion of the discipline of God. The guardian of this discipline is My visible successor in Rome. But there are priests who repudiate and oppose the office of the successor of Peter. In that way, they are destroying My one and true Church from within, and this is the reason why the confusion could become so great. And at the same time, these prophets of desertion are fighting against the Mother of the Church.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of March 7, 1975
I bless you, My son, in the hour of a special grace.
The present and coming time is the most difficult in the history of the Church and of all humanity – and also for My one and true Church the most dangerous time, because never before, in human history, has godlessness become so evident. The disaster that has befallen the Church and is caused by consecrated priests, who betrayed and abandoned God for the world, is not only a disaster in itself, but the magnitude of disaster.
This world is not only godless, but it insults God in a threefold way: in God the Father and Creator, in the Son and Redeemer, and in the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of grace. Not only the world alone, but with it many priests, insult the Father and Creator, when sinning against nature and in subverting the order of nature, and they even disgrace purity in the child. They insult Me, the Son, in denying My Divinity and in distorting and adulterating it in the hearts of men. And they sow in the souls of children the fatal seed of unbelief, that nourishes the deceptive hopes of earthly redemption – while I was the divine friend of children. They insult the Holy Ghost, to whom they do not open their heart anymore for grace and its effects. Instead, they make themselves guilty of the sin against the Holy Ghost, of which Scripture says that this sin shall not be forgiven, neither in this life nor in eternity.
The darker the night, the more beautifully shine the stars; and in the same way, the virtues of the good, those loyal in faith and in prayer, shine with brightness before God's countenance in the midst of a sinful world, and in the midst of a humanity walking towards perdition. I bless them all with the blessing of My love and My eternal fidelity. They should all be accompanied with the word of the holy Apostle Paul: 'This is our glory: the testimony of our conscience, that we have lived in the world not with natural earthly knowledge, but in the grace of God, with a holy effort and honest disposition to God.' I once said: I know mine and mine know Me. (Jn. 10:14) This word extends into the next world, and for all eternity.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of April 4, 1975
I bless you, My son, in the night of graces and in keeping My promise.
My complaint about priests is grievous and great. It is the priests who abandon their ministry, forgetting their vocations and disregarding the fact that Holy Orders is a sacrament. There are priests who remain in their ministry, but who do not take seriously their office, nor their vocation, nor their vows. There are priests who doubt and who are engulfed with scepticism, and who do not take care of souls with earnestness, nor with warmth, nor with perseverance. All those priests make themselves guilty of the deterioration of piety in the people, the destruction of the Church, and the dissolution of the faith. If they do not turn back before they pass into eternity, the judgment will be horrible.
Only good priests can save the people in faith, and keep them going in the spirit of prayer. My Heart and My love are longing for such priests. They should have: A strong and total faith, the spirit of prayer and the desire of My presence in the holy sacrifice; purity of heart and the overcoming of sensual inclinations against temptations. Only such priests are able to follow Me, the Lord and Master, in total surrender. Therefore, prayer for good priests is the great request of My Heart, and the task of the believing people.
Whenever My one and true, holy Church was afflicted with a decline, with schism, dissolution and calamities, it was the ordained priests, high and low, whose fault it was – and who loaded the guilt on themselves. But what is happening now in the one and true Church is the naked unbelief of priests. It is the desertion of God, the Creator and Father, and all this is done under a mask and in My name. My name is used to deceive – but in truth they deceive themselves. Their interior is pretense, their word is deception, and their end is hell!
But all who are united with Me in the love of their heart and remain faithful, will rescue the Church with the power and the light and the grace of the Holy Ghost – and it does not matter if the Church is then large or small in number. Did I not say, when I walked the earth: 'Many walk on the wide road to perdition, but only a few walk the narrow and steep path to the summit.'
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of May 2, 1975
May My blessing come over you, My son, in the night of My Heart!
I know that you, with many loyal faithful of the Church, suffer under the confusion and destruction in My one and true Church.
Have I not said before, that the present time is the most difficult one and the greatest trial for My Church, since the days when I lived on earth and since My redemptive death?
However, you should not give way to grief and bitterness, but consider and retain three facts: All those, who have been faithful to the holy Church in their heart and life, should be happy because in retaining faith, it makes them possess the truth. They should be happy because they carry within themselves the peace of a good conscience. They should be happy because they are filled with love toward My miraculous presence on the altar.
The first point is the grace of belief, that all those have lost, who ran after the heretical teachings of the modernists, in order to fall into the worm of a gnawing doubt. Their number goes into the millions.
The second point is peace of heart and life. How many, alas, who possessed this peace of the children of God, cannot now find inner calm, because they lost the true home in God, or it was taken away from them by unfortunate priests!
The third point is love of My miraculous Sacrament, about which I formally said to My apostles: 'Do this in remembrance of Me!' He who has preserved love for My Eucharistic presence in his soul, and repeatedly thinks and prays to Me, adores Me and nourishes love for Me with the bread of life, will keep a quiet and upward happiness.
Oh, how many people and priests – the consecrated servants of the all-holy One – have become empty and cold in their heart, because love toward the Eucharist has gone and died. For them the sanctuary lamp has lost its meaning.
But how much I bless all those who become inflamed in their interior with the bread of life!
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of June 6, 1975
I bless you, My son, in the hour of My grace and My Heart!
Since the Council, the trial upon My Church has grown. It has even grown to an inner persecution in some places.
What is now happening in My one and true Church gives Me greater pain than the three hours I suffered on the wood of the cross, if I were not now in glory and therefore unable to suffer.
The horror of devastation has entered into My Church. More and more priests doubt My true presence in the oblation of bread and wine. For them the sacrifice of the altar becomes only a mere 'meal,' as they say, deceiving themselves. Then they profane the temple of God by removing the sign of holiness and the images of saints, and they profane the holiest occurrence on the altar by worldly music and gestures. Others adorn the consecrated places with pictures and sculptures that expressed the language of hell.
They burrow into the book of the revelations of God, and in their arrogance and own pleasure, they deny My resurrection in their outrageous venture.
But the shepherds keep silent, and therefore make themselves guilty of an immense responsibility!
But it is most painful that those who are truly faithful in the holy faith and devoted to the mystical sacrifice, are persecuted – 'for justice sake,' as I said in the semon on the mount. The faithful ones may thereby understand the critical state of the Church. Yet, I am with those loyal faithful who are persecuted for justice sake – and I know them. Truly, the day will come when the falsehood and injustices will be revealed before the world, but until this day arrives, the endurance of the devotees will be of immeasurable interior agony.
This should be their consolation and glory: They go and stand in My imitation. It is their way of the cross.
Words of the Savior
in the early Morning of July 4, 1975
I bless you, My son, in the hour of a special grace, because I am faithful to My word.
You are all sad because My Church, the home of your soul, is flattened to the ground, because of disloyal priests and silent shepherds. You are enraged that by an unfortunate decision, My servant Paul has brought a flourishing Catholic work into distress. You are confused because your voice, My son, for the moment, does not give strength, joy, and comfort to many people. In all this distress, listen to My word, the word of My special love.
My Church lives in the midst of apostasy and destruction. She lives also among numerous faithful and loyal people. In the history of My Church, there have been times of decline, a desertion, and devastation in consequence of wicked priests and tepid shepherds. But the spirit of God is most powerful, and has raised up the Church and caused it to blossom again, but smaller, upon the ruins and graves of unfaithfulness and desertion. The work of Ecône of My servant Marcel* does not perish!
* A flourishing Catholic work: the seminary of Ecône, Switzerland. My servant Marcel: Marcel Lefebvre.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of August 1, 1975
May My blessing be upon you, My son, and strengthen you in your great sorrow.
I know about your common suffering for the Church. This Church has been invaded by disaster; many ordained servants of God have left the path of grace and have destroyed the faith in their hearts. They have lost the spirit of prayer and have become unfaithful to their holy and eternal vows. Therefore, fewer young men find the way to the priesthood, and thus, monasteries and convents became more and more hollow and empty, that before were places of prayer, of holy devotion, and sanctification. Yes, they even become places of desertion, of scandals, and corruption. To their own misfortune, priests and nuns become attracted to the world and filled with pride and haughtiness, to be ready tools of Satan and of his invisible and visible helpers.
But all that should not make you vexed. It should not confuse the faithful, when sin and injustice apparently triumph, and when good, pious priests are driven into solitude and even are condemned.
Even My representative on earth, the present successor of the holy Apostle Peter, is oppressed by false advisors. Have I not praised the blessed ones, who are persecuted for justice' sake?
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of September 5, 1975
I bless you, My son, in the hour of My special grace, and on account of the work that has been given to you by the providence of My Father.
The interior problems of My one and true Church have become very great. Take notice of these three facts: Apostasy has drawn close to the rock of Peter. High dignitaries – oh, what arrogance! – are going the way of perdition and have succumbed to haughtiness. Then the chosen ones of My Church began to deprive My Father's dwelling place, the sanctuary, of My miraculous and mysterious presence, of adornment, beauty, and splendor.
He who violates the dignity and greatness and majesty of the allholy triune God, or refuses the outward signs and demonstrations of homage with the excuse of simplicity, sins against God's majesty, and claims virtues under false pretense. The times in which the faith of My one and true Church blossomed were characterized by the greatness, beauty, and magnificence of the dwelling place of God, as well as its interior.
At present, the temples of God are empty, cold, and desolate because people, priests and not only priests but bishops too, have lost their faith.
But the greatest disaster that has invaded the Church is marked by the interior persecution, that is, that My servants who fight for the salvation of the faith are tormented, persecuted, and condemned, to the joy of Satan!
Of course, the omnipotence of the Father prevents the victims from being overwhelmed by this interior persecution, and their work from perishing. But among the souls of the faithful, it causes much distress, pain, and confusion, before the victory of God will be manifest.
For the good people, all that means a hard, almost uneasy and mysterious trial. Nevertheless, the joy of the triumphant truth of the faith over the enemies of the Church will be so much the greater. Also all the good and devoted faithful should consider: He who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in Heaven. The earth passes away, but Heaven continues and remains. And those who during distress, afflictions, and persecutions have truly persevered in faith, grace, and the love of God, of Mary, and of the saints, will shine forever like stars in Heaven. (Daniel 12:3)
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of October 3, 1975
I give you My blessing, My son, in the hour of My special grace, for the work that the plan of providence has foreseen for you.
Great is the confusion and wicked the destruction in My one and true Church. Indeed, at the end of My earthly life and at the end of My mission of the work of redemption, I prayed: 'That they all may be one.' But the course that is now taken by this one and true Church to bring unity, leads to a false unity, and ends in the destruction of the Church, which, because she is true can only be one.
I said to the Apostles: “The truth shall make you free.' But those who abandon or deny the truth, destroy the one and true Church, because they go astray from the path that I wanted and taught, and that I Myself walked, until the hour of My entering into the splendor of the Father.
I did not teach human knowledge, but I drew from the depth and capacity of wisdom of the thrice-holy God. I wanted to guide man to the fountain of this wisdom. The saints of My one and true Church understood this wisdom. Human knowledge leads only into error, nourishes pride, and awakens a dangerous vanity.
What I demand from My servants is wisdom, is humility, is childlike faith, is holy reverence before God and His mysteries. From such a disposition comes the spirit of prayer, that not only brings blessings for its own sanctification, but also becomes fruitful for the entrusted souls of the faithful ones. In the soul of a priest, humility, faith, and reverence become the seed and ground to nourish love, about which My Apostle Paul sang an exalted canticle.
Woe, and a threefold woe, that more and more people, especially priests in the world and in religious houses, caught by the arrogance of knowledge, have lost the love of the triune God and of My presence in the tabernacle and are trapped by an external world only, and by human love, for which they use time and money and become internally empty and emptier of God and what is holy.
Have I not said: 'Woe, because thou art likewarm; so I will vomit thee out of My mouth.' (Apoc. 3:16)
But My love and My grace is a thousandfold for those people who look up to the saints, who have an inflamed heart for My Virgin Mother Mary, and who draw strength from the visit and reception of My heavenly food!
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of November 7, 1975
I bless you, My son, in the hour of My grace and My fidelity.
When I was talking to you about peace, I meant that this peace is a special gift; because peace is disturbed in the world, and they have repulsed the light of the Father, from whom all good things come.
But what is more grievous is the disunity in My one and true Church. You have written correctly, because it is not My will, nor My pleasure, that the faithful separate from one another because of the form and celebration of My unbloody sacrifice. He who always celebrates or partakes with faith, reverence and with love toward Me in the mystery of My unbloody sacrifice, is in grace, and will harvest grace, and is instrumental in spreading it.
It is always the one and same true sacrifice, and not a mere memorial, but the renewal of My only bloody sacrifice on Golgotha. But when My holy Apostle Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, said, 'He who eats of this bread and drinks of this blood unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself,' then this sacrifice becomes, for the priest who celebrates it unworthily, a triple curse and judgment, because of the terrible sacrilege he has committed.
Never before, since the day and hour of My first consecration of bread and wine into My body and blood in the Cenacle in Jerusalem, have so many sacrileges been committed by priests, as since the introduction of the new liturgy. The blame is borne by those who are called and ordained for the holiest service, but who did not believe My words and lost or rejected this faith, and have therefore become servants of Satan. The seed of this incredulity will extend and continue to grow exuberantly.
But the word and will of My visible representative bears no guilt for this. His will is interior participation at the holy sacrifice in faith, in reverence and in love. Whoever participates in this way at the holy sacrifice will harvest grace, and is sharing in My love.
My woe, but My threefold woe, to those who disfigure, falsify, profane and degrade the mystery of My flesh and blood into a Satanic shoe. Woe that more and more priests are sinning in this way and act contrary to the word and wish of the successor of Peter, and who, in this way, make themselves three times guilty of eternal judgment!
My blessing, My grace, and My love to those for whom My sacrifice is the miracle and mystery of faith, that is not only holy, but the holiest!
But all of you, hold with firmness to the miraculous and mysterious sacramental sacrifice, in trusting My Virgin Mother Mary, who is watching over the place and the altar of your work, because She not only assisted Me, the Son, in the hour of the bloody sacrifice at Golgotha, but She is also watching over the altars on which the unbloody sacrifice is celebrated all over the world.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of December 5, 1975
My blessing be with you, My son, in the grace and hour of My love.
I spoke about the difficult time, because in truth, the coming year will be for many of the faithful of My one and true Church, a year of trial and a year of decision.
Know: the number of good priests is less, and the time is nearing in which many faithful people will be orphaned in their soul. Then their home will become the dwelling place of the church, wherein they, alone and together, will pray, read holy books, and sing the praise of God. Spiritually, in love and with longing, they will foster the memorial of the Blessed Sacrament and will receive communion in a spiritual way.
Good for those who are participating in the celebration of the mystical sacrifice, and who are edified by the reverence of the ordained servant of God. But all those who will suffer under the trial in the coming difficult time, should inscribe in their heart the following three facts: First: holy and strong faith will give them interior peace and stability. This faith is a virtue and a grace, that man can only preserve by prayer.
Second: From faith, hope follows for an afterlife of eternity and the eternal happiness of contemplating God. For the true Christian, the possession of this hope becomes a source of holy joy, that surpasses all worldly, earthly joys.
Third: At My departure from this earth, before I entered into the glory of the Father, I spoke about love: 'He that keepeth My commandments, he it is that loveth Me.' These commandments are commandments of the triune God. Whoever meets Me in humility, reverence, and sincerity in his daily life loves Me, and if it would be only a quiet thought and in the ardent desire of the Blessed Sacrament, the miraculous bread of life. Out of love for Me, love for your neighbor will receive roots and nourishment.
Once more I say: Faith, hope, charity, those three! Atend school in the school of My most holy Mother; She is the teacher, intercessor and Mediatrix of graces!
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of January 2, 1976
I bless you, My son, in the hour of My grace and for the work that you have been destined by the providence of the Father.
All those who love My Church, the Church of Rome, must decide in the midst of the confusion of spirits, if they are with the Church of Saint Peter and of the Apostles.
Because not only priests fail, but also bishops and cardinals and even cease being loyal to the faith, to love toward the Church, and to the duty of their ministry and vows, and they have in truth become helpers of Satan. And so I will point out to all those of good will, the path they must follow in this hour.
The first is a clear and whole and strong belief. This belief remains until the end of time and is the foundation of the Church. And, being Christ-like is to be able to survive in the struggle against hell and desertion.
The second necessity is prayer. There still exist praying people and praying priests. But, among numerous ordained servants of God and the Church, the spirit of prayer has died and is stifled by worldly things.
The third is love for My mystical and miraculous presence in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. This My Eucharistic presence is the home of souls and of My faithful ones. The great sacrilege committed by priests and shepherds is that in many places My presence is forgotten, disregarded, even profaned.
The fourth is the sincere and heartfelt honoring of My Virgin Mother Mary. It is a malediction and a disaster that there are always more priests who refuse to honor My most holy Mother, and even allow Her name and dignity to be disgraced. I will punish this sin greatly, if this sin is not repented of, before the threshold of eternity. But for all the faithful and loyal ones, Mary is the great consolation, the inexhaustible fountain of strength and radiant joy.
The fifth is that God has given angels for protection, as a reminder, and for guidance. Those angels indeed have a great power, particularly in the present and coming time in which My Church is invaded by Satan. But the Archangel Michael is his adversary.
Whoever has kept these five points in front of his eyes and in his life and heart, will stay calm in the midst of confusion and destruction.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of February 6, 1976
The blessing of My grace be upon you, My son, because of the work to which the providence of the Father has called you. … Hear My will!
The first and most important thing is that the great work, which represents the most beautiful and sublime glorification of My Virgin Mother Mary, is preserved for the Church and for humanity, and especially for the faithful. Therefore, the volumes that terminate by degrees should be newly printed, because this work is the revelation of God and the efficacious testimony against those fallen-away priests who do not honor the Mother of redemption anymore, which honor is due to Her according to the will of the triune God – in Heaven and on earth.
Confidence! There will always be people, now and in the future, who request this work, that My servant Mary of Jesus of Agreda was made worthy to receive and to write down. To transmit this work to posterity is My deepest wish and is done for Me, for My joy and satisfaction.
The second thing that you have in front of you, My son, is that you make, save, and secure the spiritual work of your life's writings in a complete edition for posterity, and for the faith, and for the Church. Consult with your life-long friends about your work, because this your work gives enlightenment and support for many people in a difficult and dark time and future.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of March 5, 1976
I bless you, My son, in the hour of My grace and My love.
The future looks dark for you. Your interior struggle for true perception and the way to take in the confusion is known to Me. And so I will enlighten you.
My faithful son Marcel,* who suffers a great deal for the faith, is going on the right path. He is like a light and pillar of truth, which many ordained priests of Mine are betraying. Faith is greater than obedience. Therefore, it is My will that the work for the theological education for priests continues, in the spirit and will of My son Marcel, for the salvation and great help of My one and true Church.
* Marcel Lefebvre
The spirit of the world has infiltrated the Church, and the Spirit of God has abandoned many hearts who were called to proclaim it. They talk about other things and lose themselves in the tricks and snares of Satan. And thus, they corrupt the people and even the children. This I call the killing of souls in children!
This spirit has penetrated the ecclesiastics and monasteries and convents, because the monks and nuns have lost and deserted the spirit of the founders of their orders. They became a scandal for the people and the world. They have not only lost love toward My most holy Mother, but also reverence toward My sacramental presence. Instead, the monks preach about things of the world, of luxury, of a life of pleasure, and the nuns do not talk about the holy angels, and many not even about the most holy Virgin and Mother Mary.
There are places of quiet and of prayers, special shrines in which Mary, My Mother and the Mother of grace, is honored.
It does not matter if it is a cathedral or a chapel – they are places of grace and peace and help and consolation. Some of the faithful still visit such places and return strengthened in faith. But are there not also priests and nuns who do not wish to hear about it, mocking it, and who do not want to pray the Rosary anymore, which is the weapon against Satan? But those people who visit such pious places, who take care of them and set them up, are enclosed in My Heart.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of April 2, 1976
I give My blessing to you, My son, in the night of a special grace.
That My Church has become confused and desolated has a threefold reason: Faith became weak and almost dead in many ordained servants of My Church. Scripture accounts for faith by saying: 'He who does not believe is already judged.' Faith alone gives man meaning to life! Formerly, faith inflamed the hearts of priests, their life, and work! Faith distinguished the saints and enabled them to practice the highest virtues!
If people only knew – as it is revealed to Me by My divine omniscience – how many priests of the higher or lower hierarchy really do not believe anymore, it would be a great shock for everyone. Consider that there are priests who have lost their faith in God and who put up a front for the faithful people, which is a life of pretense and lie.
The second evil that has befallen My one and true Church is that the priesthood became degraded by becoming worldly. Many and ever more priests knowingly and willingly defined the word of adaptation to the world, as spoken in the Council, as 'worldly-minded' and 'the spirit of the world,' which then found entrance into Holy Orders and into the Church. The spirit of the world does not serve God, but Satan. The spirit of the world does not lead to Me, the Savior and Redeemer, but deviates from the path of My imitation. The spirit of the world leads to corruption; it misleads and poisons the youth; the spirit of the world from which My Virgin Mother Mary would like to save all those unfortunates!
But they have lost love for this, My Mother, and have become cold in the interior of their souls. And this is the third evil of their desertion, alas, of so many priests. Did I not say, when I was dying on the Cross, the Cross of redemption, to the Apostle John, whom I loved and who was one of the twelve: 'Behold your Mother.' But this My testament, which means grace and blessing, is forgotten and despised. And that brings a great curse!
My blessing, but a very great blessing, for all those who love My most holy Mother, who pray to Her, and who are zealous in honoring Her.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of May 7, 1976
I bless you, My son, in the hour of grace that I have promised you in the night of your great sorrow.
Wicked is the time, and the powers of Satan are working to destroy My one and true Church and to dissolve the faith and to let it decline into a world of godlessness. Many faithful people are dismayed about this, unhappy and confused.
My one and true Church shall be renewed by priests. Know then: There shall grow up a new generation of young priests. And these priests, repulsed by apostate ecclesiastics, are drawn to the spiritual life of the saints, and they will openly profess themselves as servants of Christ; they shall wear the habit of their vocation and order, and will not have human respect or worldly love.
These priests are trained already in a few places, and they are distinguished by three characteristics: by the life of prayer, by the flame of their Eucharistic love and profoundness, by the devotion and honoring of the Mother of redemption, the eternal Virgin Mother Mary. These three reasons will bring the success of saints to this young generation of priests, and will raise My one and true Church to new splendor and with great vigor.
The generation of today's priests, many of them but not all, claim to create a new image of holiness in realization of the idol of worldly love and of an improvement of a worldly, brotherly humanity without God. Those fools! They deceive themselves and others, and will realize too late, at the threshold of eternity and in the face of the judging God, that they have taken the wrong way, and have become seducers in spite of being priests.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of June 4, 1976
The blessing of My grace and My love be with you, My son.
It has happened to My special satisfaction that all of you have given thanks to the omnipotence of the Heavenly Father at this shrine of My Virgin Mother, Mary, and in a time that does not know how to thank God, Me, the Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost, neither by men nor by many priests, who are the consecrated servants of the altar.
Those priests have become interiorly empty and cold. Their spiritual life is extinguished.
The cross, the symbol of faith, does not mean anything to them, and so they have left the road that follows the cross. They walk the wide road of worldly pleasures, that leads to the eternal abyss.
They do not value the flame, which is called by the faithful the sanctuary lamp. And should the servant of the sanctuary, the priest, not be reminded of the miracle of My love, My love to man, by the sanctuary lamp? And should not the priest especially, exhorted by this lamp, remind the faithful people zealously of the miracle of My love toward men?
But alas, love of My presence in the miraculous Sacrament has died in so many priestly hearts.
Therefore, the number of daily profanations does not mean anything to them, since the introduction of Communion in the hand. My woe to those who turn away from the Blessed Sacrament!
What especially grieves and painfully touches My Divine Heart, is that priests themselves, about which Scripture says that they should 'be holy to their God,' do not value purity, and do not look up to the Immaculate, to Mary, the most pure of all creatures.
Indeed, there are some priests who blaspheme the mystery of the Incarnation by the Holy Ghost in the body of the most holy Virgin, and make themselves so guilty, not only of heresy, but also of the sin against the Holy Ghost; they insult the greatest mystery of Christian and Catholic belief.
Therefore, you should know: Whoever lays hands on and destroys that place, where young men are educated to be priests after the heart and will of God, shall draw down the curse of Heaven and Mine in this time and for all eternity.
A blessing to those, and My blessing, to whoever protects and promotes such a place.
A threefold curse to those who seize such a place wrongly, and who block thus the road to the future priesthood!
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of July 2, 1976
The blessing of My special love and grace be with you, My son, in this holy hour.
For the faithful believer, each affliction is a seed of a new and greater blessing. In the providence of the Heavenly Father, there are days of quietness and rest, such as an illness brings with it, and this is of a holy signification. Before God, suffering is precious in expiation for the sins committed since the Council, by priests and bishops, and also by lay people of My one and true Church.
It has become a calamity for the Church and a severe inner corruption, that the right order in the Church has been abandoned, and that uncalled ones have brought the discipline of God and the Holy Ghost into confusion with their voice, and have destroyed it with their worldly spirit.
A false philosopher* has invaded the Church with a fatal teaching, that the Church, My one and true Church, that is the one and complete work of God, should be governed from beneath. With this, the divine institution was degraded to a mere humanlike state. The one who taught this was not inspired by the spirit of God, but by the spirit of Satan. Here lies the root that led to the dissolution of the faith, and the destruction of the Church.
* Teilhard de Chardin
Why are there not guards, who protect the faith anymore, and consequently the faithful people, the youth and the children, from having their souls murdered? But the ones who stand up against the damaging of the faith are persecuted, and their serious and heavy sorrows are exposed to hate and ridicule. All this cries to Heaven.
Under the mask of 'love,' faith and truth are dismembered and buried. The modernists want to build a religion without God, without prayers, without sacrifice, without the next world, without Heaven and hell, and so take away meaning and dignity from the life of man.
They are seducers, enemies of God and friends of Satan, even if they wear vestments of silk and purple, and they misrepresent their clerical honors in front of the eyes of the people.
In truth, they are unhappy fools, whose life will end in the pool of eternal damnation, and in hopeless distance from God. Woe to their error and guilt, because the victims of the seduction and unbelief are crying to God for vengeance. Wolves in sheep's clothing, that is what they are! My curse follows them on their heel.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of August 6, 1976
I bless you, My son, in the hour of grace and in the midst of all your suffering.
Your other worries are concerning a doubt about the painful situation in which My son Marcel finds himself. He suffers injustice, because of this fight for the faith and because it was an unjust verdict given to him. But there shall come a time in which this injustice will be repaired in time here on earth: this son of Mine is a worthy servant of My one and true Church.
Yet, My visible representative, the successor of Peter, does not know all of the destruction and desolation and confusion in My Church. There are also many bishops who are supposed to be shepherds and protectors, but who are leading an easy life; meanwhile, numerous souls are without guidance and protection, and indeed are exposed to the danger of falling away.
Your third worry concerns the work that you are completing. This work* should be the conclusion of the theological work of your life. This last work of yours shall be discovered by men. But know: Your work, according to My will, shall prove that there is only one true Church of Christ.
* The book 'Religion--Faith--Church'
Have tranquility in your soul, My son, and know at the same time that you too need calm and peace. Your prayers for the blessing of those people … are heard.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of September 3, 1976
My blessing be with you, My son, in this night and hour of My special grace.
To My great sorrow, the honoring of the most holy Virgin Mother and Bride has grown cold within My one and true Church, and it is most painful that among My servants of the Church there are priests and members of the hierarchy who do not love Mary anymore. Those unfortunates have neither comprehended nor considered how deeply and magnificently Mary is united with the greatest mysteries of faith and the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Mary is, of all creation, the most wonderful creature of the Father, who was planned and foreseen from all eternity. She is the only and one child of the Father, the first Divine Person, and therefore She is honored rightly and in truth as 'Queen of the Universe.'
According to the inner, hidden plan of the Divine Trinity, Mary was destined to be the Mother of the Son of God, the second Divine Person. So She became – oh miracle and mystery – the Mother of Redemption and the Mother of My Divine and human nature. Her 'yes,' when She was asked, was the most holy act in the whole human history.
Mary is the Bride of the Holy Ghost, the third Divine Person. From Him, the Holy Ghost – She received Me, the Son – and never from an earthly man. And so She is chosen by the same Holy Ghost to be the true and general Mediatrix of graces. This honor and power was bestowed on Her by the Holy Ghost as an act of bridal love, the love of the Divine Bridegroom toward the most holy Bride.
He who understands and ponders and believes all this, shall merit the ineffable blessing of eternal efficacy from the Holy Trinity.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of October 1, 1976
I bless you, My son, in the night and hour of a special grace and also your work.
My one and true Church is invaded by a dangerous trial, because the faith has dwindled among the people, and it is because of the fault of the priests and the hierarchy. But I say: Christendom without faith is neither the Church nor religion.
Therefore, I am very pleased with My son Marcel, because he has stood up against all misunderstandings and persecutions for the salvation of the faith, and because the Eucharistic sacrifice means for him the most Holy.
But know: Where and whenever at the holy sacrifice an ordained priest says the words of consecration, and is filled with faith during the time of the consecration, this sacrifice is not only valid and honored before the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but also exceedingly pleasing.
Great is My grief that My one and true Church is torn apart. The most holy Sacrament became the play-ball of worldly ideas of unholy priests. The present successor of Saint Peter is witness of the sacrilege of the Blessed Sacrament, that I left to My apostles and to the young Church for grace, and as a miracle, mystery, and testimony.
Sacrileges increase, and even priests – ordained for the service of God – have lost virtues and reverence before the Blessed Sacrament. That holy, consecrated Hosts are treated like ordinary bread crumbs, whisked off the table, profaned, and are trampled upon with feet and even thrown away, draw down from Heaven the wrath of God upon the guilty ones. I curse them with My curse, and say My woe over those apostates who become traitors of the Blessed Sacrament!
But I give My blessing to all those who, with inflamed love for Me, atone, sacrifice, and pray because of these sacrileges, and who invoke My Virgin Mother Mary for protection and intercession in the midst of the darkness in the Church!
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of November 5, 1976
My blessing be with you, My son and also for the work for which the providence of the Father has destined you.
Preserve courage, and do not fall into despair because of sin, injustice and discord, the uncertainty and corruption in the Church and around you.
God is an eternal God, all eternal, and His judgment is an eternal, unchangeable sentence upon each single human, because God created and called man, each man, of all creatures of the visible world for eternity.
The great sin of man today is that he lets himself be blinded and bound by the tide of the world, and is saying that with death, the life of man ends and also everything in him. In the eyes of God, such a teaching is an abomination, and the ones who talk or think this way become irretrievably guilty of the wrath of God, if they do not turn back to God at the last moment, and repent of their unbelief with their whole soul.
But you, know: The doctrine of My one and true Church about the four last things is God's unchangeable truth.
It is so true that man, every man, has to die. It is so true that only the body dies, but that the soul of man continues to live.
So true it is that I, the Redeemer of the world, after My death on the cross of Golgotha, by divine power returned from death to life. It is so true that every man is destined for the resurrection. It is so true, that man shall be judged about his life by Me, to whom the Father has given all power.
It is so true that, in the holy books of God's revelations, the life after death of every man is written down, and it is so true and horrible and magnificent that there is hell and Heaven.
It is a sacrilege and a very great sin that, in the present time, these eternal truths are not accepted by many people and even denied with open and concealed boldness. It is a crime against people and souls that many priests do not believe these truths and reject them with overweening pride, under pretense of human knowledge and science in arrogance and self-esteem, instead of helping and leading souls along the road of life. They made themselves guilty as heretics against children, old people, poor and rich, learned and simple people, which is the dreadful sin of seduction.
My word about death, judgment, hell, and Heaven is the word of God and unchangeable. Therefore, it is written in the holy books: 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,' – in the eternal judgment.
The all-merciful blessing and the infinite love of the judging God shall make happy those who have been firm in faith.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of December 3, 1976
I bless you, My son, in this hour of My grace and My love.
All of you have confidence, courage, and hope! … which you are all drawing from nearness to the Blessed Sacrament and from the unbloody sacrifice of the altar.
This sacrifice has been misrepresented by a very great number of persons in My one and true Church: This holy sacrifice is not celebrated anymore with dignity and in a spirit of belief, in many places. Many priests go without reverence to the altar and only to an 'assembly,' as they say. Many priests regard it as unnecessary to celebrate the daily holy sacrifice, because they do not believe in My true and real presence anymore in the consecrated form of bread and wine. Many priests do not value reverence anymore at the offering of the holy sacrifice, which is fitting for this sacrament.
But those who prepare themselves for the priesthood and enter seminaries under the bishops, enter without a whole and deep faith in the holy consecration; many priestly candidates even cast amorous eyes and thoughts on women for a possible marriage in the future. Therefore, the time is not far away when people will be without priests in many places.
But priests, like My worthy servant Marcel, are persecuted, condemned, and outlawed, because they see the sacramental sacrifice as the truest and holiest, and celebrate the mystery of My body and blood with holy reverence.
This My complaint is a dreadful accusation: Do not thousands and millions of God's people go to the table of the Lord like an ordinary table of daily bread, because their priests have not given to these people the example of reverence. Shocking is the word of My Apostle Paul, who said: 'He who does not distinguish between the body of the Lord and ordinary food, eats and drinks judgment to himself.' This word is irrevocably true, and the judgment will be terrible. He who celebrates or receives My Eucharistic sacrifice and receives My body without belief, reverence, and love shall experience in himself the truth of the last judgment for all eternity, because the word of God is true.
The great disaster in My one and true Church is the desecration of the Blessed Sacrament, because it has gained ground in the whole world since the council of the popes John and Paul, and it provokes the anger of God.
My blessing be with those who have preserved, and still do preserve, faith and reverence before the Blessed Sacrament. This blessing is eternal, and cannot be expressed by words nor comprehended with the senses.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of January 7, 1977
I bless you, My son, with the grace of My holy promise.
In former times, whole Christian nations understood how to put their lives, their thinking and efforts, their hopes and expectations, into the mystery of the most holy Trinity, and to have their legal documents signed in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This mystery, the mystery of the Holy Trinity, was known to your ancestors as the holiest, the deepest, and the highest.
The vestiges of this have become lost, and with it the blessing of the order of law in the lives of Christian nations. Once Christian parents marked the forehead of their children, or husband, and wife when they took leave of each other, with the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, because a great blessing proceeds from this.
At the word 'of the Father,' the Christian should think of God's creation and thank Him, as the Creator! At the name 'of the Son,' the Christian should think of the wisdom of God who has thought out the miracle of the Incarnation and the Redemption! At the name 'of the Holy Ghost,' the Christian may think of spiritual love and undertake to participate in the affection of the Holy Ghost's love in the Church as a member!
Only thus will Christian life and Christendom be sanctified and become an expression and witness of Heaven and eternity.
But how far away are Christians of today and Christendom! And this goes also for priests and servants of the triune God, who hardly know and take notice of the name of the Holy Trinity. Woe to the deterioration of faith and its mysteries!
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of February 4, 1977
The blessing of My grace and My love be with you in this night.
This work took its beginning, as you know, in the night in which you were almost at the end of your natural and human strength, and when you called to Me: 'Lord, I cannot anymore!' and I replied to you with these words: 'You can, in the strength that I give you, to fulfill the will of my Father, not only to build a parish church – the present work but in the coming time, to sacrifice yourself for the salvation of My one and true Church.'
Now the time of this sacrifice and of this grace has come, now that the spirits divide into two camps: the worldly-temporal spirit and the camp of divine-eternal love.
But know: I called men, Apostles, and disciples for the foundation of My Church. They left everything to follow Me, and followed Me, all but one, who fell into sin because of mammon! Numerous men since then have followed Me in truth, and there are still many who follow Me as faithful servants of God and guardians of the sanctuary.
But to others, and their number is large, I would like to call out with sorrow: their number is becoming increasingly larger! – those who have turned away from heavenly and everlasting love and have fallen into worldly-temporal love.
Once I said in a solemn moment: 'My kingdom is not of this world!' He who wants to belong to this kingdom must believe, must persevere in humility, and must foster reverence within.
But now, many servants of God, ordained priests, have turned away from the faith and have preferred human reason to My divine example of humility – all those have left the quiet road of reverence. They speak, of course, about love and use My name, but the love that I mean is extinguished in their hearts. Because they are still priests in name, the mark of indissoluble ordination continues, but their spirit has grown cold; this has made many of the faithful confused and shaken in their belief, and this will be a terrible and enormous responsibility of My servants who have grown cold, because I, who judge in the name of the thrice-holy God, shall demand from them those souls who followed their damnable example.
For the peace of your soul, and for your work you do for the Church, you should know: My servant Marcel is within My love, because of his strong faith, his true humility, and his great reverence.
Words of the Savior
in the Early Morning of March 4, 1977
May My blessing be with you, My son, in the night of My special grace, … in a time which never was before in the decline of My one and true Church. It is a time of confusion of the spirit; it is a time of desecration of the sanctuary; it is a time of desertion and coldness of many of My called servants of the altar.
Your work is to counteract this threefold calamity with the weapon of the word.
The confusion of the spirits becomes evident in the damage of faith, and in the spreading of false revelations. Faith is a grace that is nourished and preserved only by the power of prayer. Whoever sins against faith executes himself, because he is the cause of unbelief, especially in children and youth. Unbelief comes from the sin of pride, in which man opposes the word of God and grace with human reasoning. He who counteracts the desertion and destruction of faith, finds grace.
However, there is also a false faith, which is spread by those who are using their imagination and presumption to deliver untruth and false supernatural messages as the word of God. He who is doing so delivers himself up to the action of the evil spirit, as to the spirit of lies, and sows confusion among the faithful people. Their imagination has two roots: self-deception and arrogance, which tempts them to pretend being favored by God.
Another second disaster in the Church comes from the desecration of the sanctuary. This horrible sin attempts the destruction and profanation of the Eucharistic mystery and miracle.
Those who commit such sins insult My word and My testament, that I have commissioned to My one and true Church, to proclaim and guard. And those who sin against My holy testament, set their mere human reason against My word and the grace of the Holy Ghost, and thus fall into the primeval sin of Satan, which is pride. What should have become the source of their sanctification in their vocation to the altar, becomes their sin against the Holy Ghost. The beginning of this sin is the neglect of prayer.
'Ask and you shall receive' was, and still is, My warning and My teaching.
Small will be the flock of the faithful; but those few, this little flock, will save My Church by their faith and trust, and with the courage of the saints.
Appendix One
A letter was written to Mr. Hauser, the man indicated by Our Lord to be entrusted with the written messages. The letter was answered by Dr. Wilhelm Esche, M.D., a close friend and spiritual son of Rev. Drexel.
Dear Mrs. E. Cattana,
It was Mr. Hauser's wish that I should answer your letter of March 31, 1982, and I do it with pleasure. Mr. Hauser also thought that I, as a close friend of Professor A. Drexel, would perhaps have more detailed memories about him.
May I introduce myself: I am a family man of five, born in 1913, and was imprisoned for eight years in Russia (during World War II), and I am not tired after this prison experience, of doing everything possible for our true Roman Catholic faith. Professor Drexel was also my spiritual advisor.
Five days before his death, on March 9, 1977, I participated in his holy Mass in his house chapel on March 4 and 5, 1977, which were also the first Friday and first Saturday of the month. He said only the Tridentine Mass.
I went to Maria Simma on March 5, 1977, in the afternoon (she lives in Voralberg, Austria), and from there to my friend, Rev. Chaplain Willi Schallinger in Munich, Germany. And here it was that I received from my wife the news about the death of my beloved friend, A. Drexel. When I left him on March 5, 1977, he was healthy and lively. So I hurried back from Munich to his funeral in Batschuns, Voralberg in Austria.
Professor Drexel came from the Austrian province of Voralberg and was forced to flee the Nazis and to go to the state of Liechtenstein, where he was almost caught by the Nazi henchmen, the Gestapo secret police. He was then hiding in a monastery. Later he moved to Egg, which is near Zurich in Switzerland. Impoverished and penniless, he was given a little house, where he could continue to write his books. While in Austria, his precious library was burned by the Nazis.
Professor Drexel was a man helpless in practical life; he was very thin and undernourished, and his clothes were shabby. He was glad to find someone to take care of his needs, his writings, and housekeeping problems in the lay-sister Antonia Meyer. (She was a sister from the leper colony on the island of Borneo.) Indeed, she did take good care of him and was the ruler of everything (besides the house), because Professor Drexel let her do so.
Shortly before his death, Professor Drexel said: “My greatest grief in the hour of death is the dilapidation of the faith in the Roman Catholic Church. My last desire is the reconciliation of Rome with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.”
Albert Drexel is buried beside his priest-brother in Batschuns. At his death, a penitential metal chain was found on the joint of his foot. Since 1922, about the midnight of each First Friday of the month, he had an apparition of Jesus as the Good Shepherd in his house chapel. Sister Antonia Meyer told me that she saw him prostrate on the floor before the tabernacle. Once when she thought that the professor had been too long in the chapel, she herself went to look for him. When she opened the chapel door, she saw the reverend professor outstretched on the floor in adoration.
Only in 1970 did Professor Drexel receive from Jesus the order to leave the written messages with the aged and childless married couple, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Hauser, in Gosheim / Württemberg. To my way of thinking, this meant an already inexplicable omen, or prophetic sign, and it became reality now through the strange behavior of Sister Antonia. As far as I know, the messages to Professor Drexel from 1922 to 1970 are not written down.
When I first found out about the Savior's messages through the mouth of Professor Drexel, I was so deeply moved that I was unable to ask Professor Drexel any questions. Only about a year later, I had the courage to ask Professor Drexel if he did ask our Savior any questions. Then he became very serious and said firmly: “I never ask questions.”
On his own, he told me then that the Savior said the following about Archbishop Lefebvre, and these sentences I remember well, because it was the reason why I became an ardent follower of Archbishop Lefebvre: “Marcel, I bless your faith and the seminary for priests; Ecône is according to the will of God.” Professor Drexel – and I am sure of it – did not have personal contact with Archbishop Lefebvre, because he would have told me about it.
About one and a half to two years after Professor Drexel's death, Mrs. Hauser telephoned me – I knew this couple through Professor Drexel – if I would be able to record the messages by reading them on the tape-recorder. I said that I would do so, and went to Gosheim / Württemberg to get the manuscript. This manuscript contained all the names of people who should be kept out of public view. I taped the manuscript and mentioned only a few names, that were important for the Hauser family.
Therefore, the book Faith Is Greater Than Obedience should be published, with the names withheld. And because I am not a priest, I thought it better to give everything to my priestly friend, the Rev. Chaplain Will Schallinger, who had never known Professor Drexel. He agreed to transcribe the book, went to Gosheim / Württemberg for the proofs and then wrote the book. Through personal contact with the Hauser family and myself, Rev. Schallinger was given more insight about Professor Drexel.
In 1980, I went to Rome, Italy, with a bus of pilgrims. I took the manuscript with me and was able to get it by middlemen, straight to a Polish abbot, who is a friend of the Holy Father and who happened to be in Italy at that time. From there it will reach the Holy Father; it is taking its course. I think that this book may certainly influence the Pope's conservative course; but the Pope has not yet gone so far as to separate the wheat from the chaff. Although the separation of the spirits has already taken place subcutaneously, there are still obstacles that exist, that the Holy Father cannot remove by himself alone, in order to steer towards a conservative course. Some of these obstacles have been removed already with the help of Heaven alone, but more and greater ones are still blocking the way. To speak about it would still be too early. The book now helps many people who have disagreements, and it gives them something to think about.
Professor Drexel was very devoted to Saint Joseph, and he died on a Wednesday, St. Joseph's day.
I met Professor Drexel in 1968. Our friendship increased through intensive letter writing, and through two visits to Egg to see him. In 1970, as a sign of our very close friendship, he offered to drop formality in speaking, and to use the 'du' (informal addressing of a person, like the French tu for vous.) You can imagine how happy it made me. Now I am visiting his grave in Batschuns once a year. Albert will be for us a great intercessor in heaven. After the consecration to the Holy Mother of God (see Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort) we ask for strength from Jesus through Mary, and also through Albert's intercession, to be able to carry the present and coming crosses cheerfully, and to suffer in atonement for the sins of the world, that is in a terrible situation………………………
(signed) Wilhelm Esche
Some Facts about Rev. Albert Drexel
from Albertus Magnus Verein (Organization), E.V. 1979, D-7209 Gosheim Württemberg, Postfach 1245, West Germany.
The Albertus Magnus organization was founded by priests and lay people, in order to spread the book Mystical City of God, the Life of the Virgin Mother of God, by Sister Mary of Jesus of Agreda, and to preserve it for posterity. Professor Drexel printed these books in a new edition. This was the wish of Jesus, as expressed in the revelation of Jan. 5, 1973, and Sept. 6, 1974. They are therefore not a new creation of Professor Drexel.
The visions of Our Lord as the Good Shepherd to Rev. Drexel on each First Friday of the month continued until a few days before his death, on March 9, 1977. He was 87 years old. He also experienced the apparitions when he was traveling. During this time, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., he was in prayer.
The Professor had friendly relations with the former Italian head of state, Alcide De Gasperi, and with the Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss (who was killed by the Nazis of Hitler).
Rev. Drexel's library of 5,000 volumes was burned in Salzburg, Austria, when Hitler invaded this country; with the books there was also destroyed a rare work of old Mexican and Peruvian paintings and writings, which was given to the Professor by Harvard University, U.S.A., for his great work in language research. He had discovered and proved that all languages of the world go back to one original first language (Ursprache).
He was very devoted to Saint Joseph, and this is reflected in the following experience. During his intensive scientific research in Innsbruck, he tried to find a place for an old folks' home. He obtained a loan from a bank for 15,000 Austrian schillings. Through people the devil found access to undermine the Professor's credibility, so that the bank shortened the time of the loan and threatened to sell the old folks' home, if the money were not paid back very quickly. In this great need, Rev. Drexel sought assistance from Saint Joseph, and said a holy Mass in his honor on that particular day. Afterwards, he went downtown to seek help from a lawyer, to extend the loan of the bank. When he turned onto the street where the lawyer lived, there stood at the corner a dignified man with a white beard and wearing a black coat. He tried to pass this man, but he pulled an envelope from his coat pocket and said: “Albert, take this.” Rev. Drexel looked in wonder at this envelope, and wanting to ask him how this man knew him by his first name, he disappeared. When he opened the envelope, he discovered 15,000 Austrian schillings! Instead of going to the lawyer, he went straight to the bank to pay the loan.
About the Author
Professor Albert Drexel (1889—1977) held three doctor degrees as an Austrian scientist of philology and ethnology. Born in Hohenems in the Austrian province of Voralberg, Austria, he was the third of five brothers, who were also priests. He was ordained in 1914.
In 1932, he had a private audience with Pope Pius XI. He taught as professor in the Vatican University for Missions and was later used as an expert in racial questions at the Vatican. Professor Drexel had friendly relations with the former Italian head of state, Alcide De Gasperi, and with the Austrian Chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss, who was killed by the Nazis. He celebrated only the Tridentine Mass.
Professor Drexel died on March 9, 1977, and is buried beside his priest brother in Batschuns, Austria. Professor Drexel's book Faith Is Greater Than Obedience, containing revelations given to him by Our Lord from 1970 to 1977, was published in German and translated into English, French, Spanish and other languages.
His most important works on philology are:
The Structure of the African Languages
Linguistic Atlas
The System of a Philosophy of Language
The Indo-Germanic Languages
Nations of the World
The last-named publication forced him to flee from Austria for a long exile in Liechtenstein, during the occupation of Austria by Hitler during World War II.
Theological works:
Science of Religion: Philosophy of Religion; History of Religion
Basics of Religious Science
The Problems of Christianity
A New Prophet? Teilhard de Chardin, Analysis of an Ideology
The Catholic Book of Faith
Faith Is Greater Than Obedience
From the Meaning of Life
The Mystery of Eternity
God—Salvation—Eternity
Religion—Faith—Church
Asceticism and Mysticism
Dramas:
The Holy Passion – Passion Play
Abel – Drama of a Family
Jeremias – Tragedy of a Nation
Emmanuel – Mystery of Christmas Eve
Magdalen – Drama of a Soul
Francis – Historical Drama
The Savior of Rome: Pius XII – Historical Drama
These books can be obtained only in German. They have not been translated into English, with the exception of Faith Is Greater Than Obedience and The Catholic Book of Faith.
Rev. Albert Drexel celebrating Mass in his house-chapel on March 4, 1977, the first Friday of the month, five days before his death. He said only the Tridentine Mass.
Electronic edition (PDF format) of
Faith Is Greater Than Obedience, provided by:
albertdrexel.20m.com
Appendix Two
Albert Drexel and Victim Souls
On Sept. 6, 1974, Our Lord said: “The world lies in a severe situation. But My great grief and the greatest disaster is that My holy Church is demolished by unfaithful servants and shepherds! Oh! Would that those called to serve souls might understand the teachings of My Virgin Mother Mary, as My servant Mary of Jesus of Agreda wrote them down by heavenly enlightenment, then My sick Church would recover. Oh, would that such souls might multiply, who understand the book Save the World, and The Prayer of Love, and who would offer themselves as victim souls to Me; then My Kingdom would newly blossom in this world.”
On Nov. 5, 1971, Our Lord said: “Woe to the hardening of their hearts! Only the prayers of victim souls are able to turn them away from the path of eternal damnation; otherwise, they will fall, under their own stubborn will. … Only praying, suffering, sacrificing and fighting souls are the instruments of guidance and influence of the Holy Ghost!”
On Nov. 6, 1970, Our Lord said: “I look with great compassion upon the praying people and the victim souls. Their suffering is great in their heart, but magnificent and beautiful shall be the love that is awaiting them at the threshold of eternity. Their number is yet small, but is growing each day.”
Books about Victim Souls
The Story of a Soul, by St. Thérèse of Lisieux. – “I implore thee to choose in this world a legion of little victims of thy love.” Last written words of St. Thérèse
Divine Mercy in My Soul. Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
The Way of Divine Love, by Sister Josefa Menéndez
The Ideal of Reparation, by Raoul Plus, S.J.
Legion of Victim Souls, by María Concepción Zúñiga
( available at: atonementbooklets.20m.com )
Appendix Three
Albert Drexel and Mary of Agreda
On Jan. 5, 1973, Our Lord said: “I bless you, My Son, in the night of My special graces and for the work for which you have been destined by the providence of the Heavenly Father. … Has it not been the providence of the Heavenly Father who has given you the chance to make accessible to the world and to men the most sublime, greatest, and most beautiful work of redemption that has been inspired by heaven and written down by human hands?” [The Mystical City of God, Life of the Virgin Mother of God, by Mary of Agreda]
On Sept. 7, 1973, Our Lord said: “The spirit of degradation and treason passes over to many faithful people, who go without reverence as if they were going to a worldly affair – to receive Holy Communion, and they become guilty before the judgment. If they would only think of My Holy Virgin Mother Mary, and realize with what pure, deep and fervent reverence She received Me from the Holy Ghost, Me the Son of God, in the hour of the Incarnation – then they would feel regret and return to Me! Ponder with what unspeakable respect My servant, Mary of Jesus of Agreda, wrote about it in the works of her revelations.”
On March 6, 1970, Our Lord said: “Did I not tell you that you still have to do some work, work that needs time? The first task is the work that you have undertaken, namely, to glorify My Virgin Mother Mary. By the providence of My heavenly Father, you received an assistant worthy of the special love of the Queen of Heaven and earth. It also pleased Me that you have been busy in finding a suitable book cover for this special work. A special blessing shall be given to this work” [new German edition of The Mystical City of God by Mary of Agreda], “to its increasing distribution, and to its effect on the faithful in My one and true Church.”
Short Biography of Mary of Agreda
DOCTOR Carlos E. Castañeda, illustrious Catholic historian, records that over a period of 11 years, from 1620 to 1631, Mary of Agreda made over 500 visits to America.
Mary of Agreda, also known as Venerable Mary of Jesus of Agreda, was born in Agreda, Spain, in 1602 and died there in 1665. She was one of eleven children of Francisco Coronel and Catalina de Arana. She had a desire for the religious life from early youth. In 1619 she became a Poor Clare Conceptionist at Agreda. Her mother and one sister entered with her. Her father, although 60 years of age, took the Franciscan habit, and thus made her mother's admission possible.
Mary was made abbess at the age of 25 by papal dispensation. Shortly before her election she had experienced many ecstasies.
During one of these ecstasies, Sister Mary was shown on one occasion the whole earth, the different nations thereof, and the small number of souls who knew God, and the vast number who did not belong to the Catholic Church. God revealed to her that of all those living in darkness, the people of New Mexico and surrounding countries were the most disposed to seek His mercy. This caused Sister Mary to beg God for the conversion of these people. God answered that in His eternal decrees, the time was near at hand "when these American peoples would be instructed in the faith."
One day while wrapped in ecstasy, Mary was transported to America, and God commanded her to go among the Indians and teach the faith of Jesus Christ. She spoke in Spanish, yet they understood her as distinctly as if she spoke their native tongue. She understood them, and performed many miracles in proof of the doctrine she taught. When she came out of her ecstasy, she found herself in the same place and position in the convent in Agreda.
The Indians did not know who she was nor whence she came. They did not know her name, but because of the color of the mantle she wore, they called her "Lady in Blue."
Father Pandolphi transcribes from Bishop Samaniego's Biografía de Su Autora de la Mística Ciudad de Dios, that Sister Mary related these wonderful events to her spiritual director with humble sincerity. "In consideration of the many proofs of her holiness which he had received, and the unlimited power of Divine Omnipotence, her confessor did not hesitate to believe that she had been miraculously transported to America, and this opinion was maintained by many other learned persons."
Let us now examine the testimonies of this unique event as recorded in the earliest chronologies of the history of the United States.
Fray Alonzo Benavides is Ordered
To Find the Lady in Blue
FRAY Alonzo de Benavides of the order of St. Francis, Custodia of the missionaries of New Spain, of the territory of New Mexico (from Texas to the Pacific) and later auxiliary bishop of Goa, India, while superior of New Mexico from 1622 to 1630—was ordered by his Excellency, Don Francisco Manzo y Zúñiga, Archbishop elect of Mexico, to find this "Lady in Blue."
Dr. Castañeda reports that the action of the Archbishop stemmed from two reliable reports: one was that of Agreda's confessor, Fray Sebastián Marcilla, who asked his Excellency to investigate the conversion of the Indians of New Mexico by a white woman. This was prompted by Agreda's own confession. The second report was from the missionaries themselves whose apostolate was in New Mexico. They related how the Indians sought them out, under the direction of the "Lady in Blue."
One day in the year 1629, while sitting in the cool shade of the old Isleta Mission, listening to a group of missionaries who had just arrived from Spain, he (Benavides) saw about 50 Indians approaching across the plains. He was soon aware that they were of the strange tribe that had been coming every year for many years, begging him for missionaries to come among them. This time his heart was not heavy, because he would not have to turn them away.
Father Benavides records in his two memorials: 1. To Pope Urban VIII and the other to King Philip IV of Spain—that he asked them whence they came and who had sent them. They replied that they had come a long journey from the southeast from a kingdom called Titlas or Texas which had not yet been visited by the white man. He invited them into the mission house and asked them how they knew where to find the friars. They answered: "A Lady in Blue taught us the religion of Jesus Christ, and told us to come here and ask you for missionaries to come among us." He showed them a picture of a Franciscan nun, Madre Luis de Carrion, who had done marvelous work among the Indians. They declared that her dress was the same, but not her face, "for she was young and beautiful."
In Father Peter Forrestal's translation of Father Benavides' Memorial to King Philip IV, we read that Father Benavides sent Fra Juan de Salas and Fra Diego López back with the Indians. After the long and perilous journey, they were met by the whole tribe of Jumano Indians, carrying two large crosses. Fra Salas reported that he found they did not need catechizing, so well were they instructed in the truths of the faith by their "Lady in Blue." When Fra Salas asked them if they desired baptism, all of them from the chief down to the children raised their hands—the mothers held up the hands of their infants. Then he told how they brought their sick to be cured, and how he and Fra López labored from three o'clock that afternoon all through the night until ten the next day. They cured some 200 of their sick.
Benavides Finds the Lady in Blue in Spain
"She convinced me absolutely"—Benavides
AFTER searching in vain for eight years, Fra Benavides found the "Lady in Blue" not in America, but in his native land of Spain. This was in the year 1630. When he arrived in Madrid he told the motive for his journey to the Superior General of the Order, Father Bernardine of Sienna. Fra Benavides learned that his superior knew that the "Lady in Blue" was Sister María de Jesus of the convent in Agreda. As Superior General he had already examined her cause some eight years ago, and had come to the conclusion that she was the chosen instrument of God in this amazing mission of mercy in America.
Father Bernardine desired to go with Father Benavides to question Sister Mary, but because of urgent official duties, he delegated him to command her "in virtue of holy obedience" to reveal her secret to him, knowing that the humble nun would otherwise wish to conceal it. Taking with him Fra Samaniego, who was then Provincial of Burgos, they went to the convent in the town of Agreda. There in the presence of her confessor, the reluctant Mary was constrained by obedience to tell all.
Like St. Paul, when he was taken up to the third heaven, Mary did not know whether she was taken to New Mexico "in the body or out of the body" to instruct the inhabitants of America. But after questioning her in regard to the various peculiarities of that province, the customs of the different tribes of Indians; the nature of the climate, "she convinced me absolutely by describing to me all the things in New Mexico, as I have seen them myself, as well as by other details which I shall keep within my soul."
In a letter to the missionaries in America, Father Benavides said:
"I give infinite thanks to the Divine Majesty for having placed me, unworthy as I am, among the number enjoying the happy good fortune of your paternities, since you are so deserving of heavenly favor that the angels and our father, Saint Francis aid you. They personally, truly, and actually carry the blessed and blissful Mother María de Jesus, Discalced Franciscan of the Order of Conception, from the town of Agreda, which is in the limits of Castile, to help us with her presence and teaching, in all these provinces and barbarous nations.
"The first time she went to America was in 1620, making more than five hundred journeys (flights) until the year 1631, sometimes making as many as four visits in one day. I should indeed like to tell your paternities in this letter everything, that the venerable mother told me, but it is impossible. Nevertheless, I have written down a great deal of it in a book which I shall bring with me for your consideration.
"Once she took from here a chalice for consecration, and the friars used it for saying Mass and for carrying the Blessed Sacrament in procession. All of this will be found here, as well as many crosses and rosaries that she distributed. She was martyred, receiving many wounds, and her heavenly angels crowned her, wherefore she attained martyrdom from our Lord." (Sic)
Father Benavides asked Sister María to write a letter to the missionaries in America. In praise of this letter Father Benavides says: "I decided to commit it to the eternity of printing." This letter had great influence upon the conversions of the southwest of the United States. Fra Junípero Serra wrote to his biographer, Father Francisco Palóu: "Agreda's prophecy is about to be fulfilled in California."
One line in this famous letter impresses itself upon the mind: "I can assure your paternities that I know with all exactness and light that the blessed ones envy you... If they could forsake their eternal bliss to accompany you in those conversions, they would do it."
Father Benavides continues: "My dear fathers and brothers, all that she told me is more to be retained in the heart than to be recorded. I call God to witness that my esteem for her holiness has been increased more by the noble qualities which I discern in her, than by all the miracles which she has wrought in America. I have also the very habit that she wore when she went there. The veil radiates such a fragrance that it is a comfort to the spirit."
That Agreda really and truly visited America many times is attested to in the logs of the Spanish Conquistadors, the French explorers, and the identical accounts of many Indian tribes. Every authentic history of the Southwest of the United States records this mystic phenomenon, unparalleled in the entire history of the world. As Father Benavides aptly put it: "We should consider ourselves fortunate in being protected by the blessed soul of Mary of Jesus."
The demon had exercised his tyranny over these Indian tribes since the flood of Noah's time. His power over them was so fantastic for so many centuries, that they sacrificed children of their own flesh and blood to him. Is it not logical to assume that the crushing of his head among these heathen nations be even more fantastic? Otherwise God's first prophecy to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:15) would be in vain. Therefore, through the instrument of a woman who was given the greatest knowledge of The Woman, the serpent was crushed by her heel. Venerable Mary's conversions in America were no less spectacular than the conversion of Saul and the miracles of the apostles in the conversion of other nations.
Agreda is Released from Ecstasies
IN 1631 Sister Mary of Agreda asked God to release her of the ecstasies which were causing her so much embarrassing publicity. God answered her prayer.
Of the two great landings in America in 1620—the Pilgrims in the north at Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Agreda in the south—the mystical one has, and will yet have, far greater influence upon the history of the world.
Mary of Agreda writes the Mystical City of God,
the Life of the Mother of God
IN 1627 Sister Mary of Jesus was chosen Abbess of the convent in Agreda. She was not yet 25 years old, therefore her superiors had to seek dispensation from Rome. She held the office of Abbess for the space of 35 years until her death, with the exception of one term of three years from 1632 to 1635.
She dreaded the responsibility of this office, and appealed to the Queen of Heaven and earth to have compassion on her and assist her. The Virgin Mary appeared to her and consoled her with these words:
"My most amiable daughter, be of good cheer. I myself, will be the Mother and Superior of your convent, whom you and your subjects will obey. In all your temptations and tribulations, call upon me; ask my advice, and it shall be granted to you immediately."
Madre Sor María placed a statue of the Blessed Mother in the stall of the Abbess in the choir and at her feet the rule and seal of the monastery. The community prospered under the protection of this queen, and the direction of her favorite daughter. In her deep humility Agreda reserved for herself the lowest and most menial duties of the convent. Her charity shone pre-eminent at the bedside of the sick. At times she insisted, against the judgment of the physician, that the patient be prepared for death, which really happened. The fame of her holiness spread far and wide, and many were attracted to the cloister, even from the nobility of Spain and as far away as the Indies.
When the old Coronel castle became too small for the many new candidates, Madre María undertook the task of building a new monastery. So great was her confidence in the Mystical Superior of the community, that with the small sum of four and a half dollars she began the construction. It was built to accommodate 30 sisters with a very beautiful church attached. This feat is all the more remarkable because before she was elected Abbess, the income of the community scarcely supported 12 nuns.
Madre María is Commanded by God
to Write the Life of the Mother of God
"Whoever explains me, shall have life everlasting."
--Ecclesiasticus 24:31
In the same year that Sister María de Jesus was elected Abbess, God commanded her to write the life of his most holy Mother. Unable to overcome her sense of unworthiness to undertake so sublime a task, Madre María resisted this command for the space of ten years, even though the Blessed Virgin herself repeated this command many times. She explains her resistance in the introduction to the Mystical City. Learned men of renowned sanctity believe this Introduction to be the key to the City and the convincing argument of the authenticity, veracity, humility, and absolute sincerity of Madre María. She states therein: "She (Mary) added the command that I write this history of her life, according as her majesty herself should dictate and inspire me."
During these ten years, God prepared Madre María for this stupendous task, by purifying her in the fires of tribulation, followed by revelations of the highest mysteries of the Trinity, of God made man, and of His Virgin Mother. He permitted Satan to torment her in every way. Afterward He told her that over fifty times Lucifer gathered all his legions in council to devise new stratagems for her defeat, and that if she had been aware of her danger, she would have died. As it was, she became so seriously ill that she lost all her strength. Then, in spirit, she was taken to hell, where she remained for three days. She saw the torments and the horrors, and heard the blasphemies of the damned.
When she was returned, God restored her mind to its former state of tranquility. Then he endowed her intellect with knowledge of rational creation in the triple order of nature, grace and glory. He instructed her in scripture, and gave her so perfect a knowledge of Latin and Spanish, that she could translate the most difficult terms of theology. Then He made her His especial spouse by celebrating the mystical nuptials with her.
After thus being prepared by intimate communication with her Lord and Spouse; by instructions from the Queen of heaven; by frequent raptures; by the help of the angels; by familiar conversations with the two holy virgins, Sts. Agnes and Ursula (whom God appointed to be her companions), and finally, by her zeal for the conversion of America, she was again commanded to write the life of Mary. This time she was unable to resist any longer.
Knowing the meaning of this command, Madre María immediately informed her confessor, Fra Francis Andrea dalla Torre, who had been her wise and prudent director for ten years. Aware of what divine grace had operated in her soul, he commanded her, in virtue of holy obedience, to begin the work at once.
The Blessed Virgin appeared to her and encouraged her with these words: "Remember that the truths which are to be revealed in this history do not proceed from the instrument used to relate them, but from the Author of truth, from whom all truth proceeds. Even though an angel were to write my biography, there would be men who would find some way to calumniate him. Nor need you be wise and learned, otherwise these same men would say that it was the result of human wisdom. God chose a woman, just as He chose me for his greatest work (ad extra) to be His medium for His greater glory. I am especially glad that that woman is you."
In the year 1637 Madre María began writing the Mystical City of God. The first fruit of this writing of the Tree of Life, as theologians call Mary, was wrought in the soul of Agreda. Because of the vast knowledge of the interior and exterior life of the Virgin, she was able to copy in her own life the virtues of the Perfect Imitator of Christ.
King Philip IV, Guardian of María's Manuscript
When Philip IV, King of Spain, heard that Mother Mary of Jesus had written a life of the Virgin Mary, he requested a copy from her. At first she was unwilling, but finally yielded to his entreaty. He was astonished at the depth of doctrine it contained, and submitted it to eminent theologians for examination. One of them said that "he would wager upon a whole room full of theologians, that this woman possessed the divine science."
Another examiner was Fra John de Palma, Commissary General of Spain, who wrote:
"I firmly believe that this book is a supernatural production, for its excellence is such that I doubt if there is a theologian, however eminent he may be, who could translate it into our language. It is indeed wonderful that a creature, who by birth and education is comparatively ignorant, could explain the divine mysteries in terms so clear and precise. Theology has scarcely found sufficient terms in the entire Latin language to explain the things which she knew how to explain in our common language, the things which of their nature are superior to human reasoning, and with such precision that they can be easily comprehended. And many articles of faith, which do not permit reasoning, are explained by her in such a manner that there can be no doubt of their truth."
Two apostolic legates of the Holy See for the Court of Spain, Julius Rospigliose (later Pope Clement IX) and Cardinal Caesar Monti, Archbishop of Milan, examined and wholeheartedly endorsed the Mystical City of God.
Philip IV asked Madre María to advise him in both matters of his soul and of state. For 22 years they corresponded almost daily.
Madre María is Ordered to Burn the Life of Mary
"My thoughts are not your thoughts." --Sacred Scripture
ALL the saints from the Saint of saints down to the least, have experienced opposition, and very often from men of prestige and (humanly speaking) apparently good judgment. God seems to allow false judgments to be made against his chosen ones. In the absence of Father Francis Andrea, her regular confessor, who was called away to Toledo to attend a general chapter, a substitute confessor of imprudent judgment ordered Madre Maria to burn the history of the Life of the Virgin Mary. He declared that women should not presume to write on matters so sublime.
When Father Andrea returned and learned of it, he reprimanded Agreda severely, and commanded her to rewrite it. He knew that Phillip IV had a copy, but judged it prudent to keep this fact a secret.
However, Sor María became seriously ill. Shortly afterwards Father Andrea, who had been her spiritual director for 20 years, died, and the same father who had ordered the burning of her manuscript, the Mystical City, was appointed to be her regular confessor. When he learned that she had other writings, he ordered them burned also, including the daily diary of her visits to America. Three years later he died.
In the year 1650 God provided her with a prudent and learned confessor, Father Andrew de Fuenmayor, who directed Agreda until her glorious death. He not only renewed the precept to rewrite the life of Mary, but commanded sister María to write the history of her own life also. However, in the latter undertaking, very embarrassing and painful to her, she did not get beyond the years of her youth.
In preparation for the second writing of the life of the Queen of heaven, the Virgin Mary taught Sor Maria the three stages or triangle of perfection, as she herself states in the Mystical City, Vol. 3, p. 24.
"By first being my disciple thou shouldst prepare thyself for becoming the disciple of my Son, and both these states should lead thee to the perfect union with the Immutable Being of God. These three stages are favors of peerless value, which place thee in a position to become more perfect than the exalted seraphim."
After permitting her to go through the state which theologians term "mystical death," God revealed to her that as a reward for the first writing of the life of His Most holy Mother, He would raise her to a more sublime state of perfection, by making her an imitator of his Mother. This is the first stage or "novitiate" in the triangle of perfection. Sor María entered upon this period of probation in the year 1652, on the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and made a vow to obey Mary in all her instructions. She made this vow in the hands of the Most Holy Virgin, while absorbed in one of those sublime visions —thus excluding rashness or imprudence, because it was prompted by the Divine Will. From this vow and from the reading of the Virgin Mary's instructions to her after each chapter of her life, we can judge to what heights of holiness Agreda reached. These instructions contain the highest perfection — the words of wisdom from the Personification of Wisdom -after Her Divine Son.
From this stage her Divine Spouse raised her to the imitation of Christ. The law of the Gospels was written in her heart, and Christ Himself offered to be her Teacher.
In the same year, 1652, on the Feast of the Assumption, María de Agreda was introduced to the final stage or apex of the triangle — union with God, in which God dwells in the soul and becomes its life. The exercise of this state consists in an almost continual application to the essence, knowledge, love, worship, and adoration of God, and the intimate communication with Him. Our Lady told her that the teachings of all three stages must be practiced at one and the same time, even after the last has been reached.
In the year 1654 she was taken up before the throne of the Trinity where, in the presence of the Queen of heaven, she solemnly promised to imitate the virtues of her celestial Sovereign. This vision she relates in her autobiography.
Sor María Writes the Life of Mary
a Second Time
"But the plenitude of light has been given to thee, and this has been done, because of the necessities and unhappy state of the world."
-Our Lady to Agreda in The Mystical City of God
On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, in the year of Our Lord 1655, Sor María de Jesus de Agreda began to rewrite the Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Satan invoked all hell against her, for according to her own confession, she could not write a single sentence without experiencing the fury of his attacks. She finished its writing on the sixth of May, 1660, as stated in her biography.
The Lord God Himself praised this work in the following words: "Happy they who find it, and blessed they who shall appreciate its value, rich they who shall come upon this treasure, and blessed and very wise those who shall search into and shall understand its marvels and hidden mysteries."
Pope Benedict XIV considered the re-writing of the Mystical City of God as miraculous:
"We read in history of the life of Sister Mary of Jesus that after she had written the work of The Mystical City of God, a certain confessor commanded her to burn the work. She did so immediately, as she was ordered. Then another confessor who was more experienced in spiritual matters commanded her to re-write the work anew. It happened, not without a miracle, that the same work was re-written by the servant of God, without any discrepancy from the one which was burned previously, except for certain unimportant additions."
The eulogies and declarations of many Popes, cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns, and laymen regarding The Mystical City would fill many volumes. The heart of them all lies in this dual statement made by Rev. Andrew Mendo, S.J., Professor of the University of Salamanca: "Whoever shall read this work with good will shall become learned; and whosoever shall 'pray' and meditate on it, will desire sanctity."
The Last Illness of Mary of Agreda
"The days of thy life in this world are coming to a close."
--Coronation, p. 639
FOR many years Sor María had been preparing for death by prayer, penance, and meditation upon the meaning of death. She would make her confession as though it were her last, and receive Communion as though it were the Viaticum. Often she would retire to a secluded place and open the coffin containing the bones of her father, looking upon it as her own sepulchre. Then in agonizing attitude she would invoke Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and her Guardian Angel to help her in that dreadful hour. She chose Jesus and Mary as the Executors of her last will, entreating them as sovereigns of her soul to dispose of it as they willed, and to grant her a happy death. God sent an angel to prepare her for death, which, it is believed, He foretold to her.
After Easter in the year 1665, María asked her confessor's permission to practice some special exercises in preparation for death. She told her sisters that her death would soon occur. She assembled them in Chapter on a Monday, an act which for 35 years had been held on Friday. After she had given advice to each sister, she told them that this would be the last Chapter she would hold, for soon she would depart from this world. On Wednesday she was stricken with a mortal illness.
When the news of her illness was spread abroad, public prayer and penances were ordered, in the hope that God would prolong her life. Many miraculous images were carried to the convent. All the clergy from surrounding towns marched in solemn procession to the convent. It was a most pathetic spectacle to see that immense gathering, each person weeping as though he were losing his own mother.
At that time, Father Samaniego, her biographer, was Provincial of Burgos, and it seemed that God willed that all of Sor María's superiors should be present at her death, because they were on their way to the Provincial Chapter to be held in Tudela. Father Alonso Salizanes, Superior General of the Order of St. Francis, was inspired to go to Agreda instead of the Chapter. He delayed the Chapter that he might be present at her death, spending many hours daily at her bedside, edified by her piety.
Death and Transition of the Soul of Sor María
"It can be truly said that Venerable Mary of Jesus of Agreda surpasses them all." --Andrew Mendo, S. J.
The last and perhaps the greatest trial of Sor María was similar to the Virgin Mary's own trial after her presentation in the temple at the age of three. The Lord seemed to abandon Sor María during the course of her illness, which lasted from the eve of the Ascension until Pentecost. It is believed that she never lost her baptismal innocence. Yet to hear her accuse herself with such lively compunction, one would think she was the greatest sinner in the world. She confessed several times daily and received Holy Communion every day. When her sisters wept over her, she would tell them that such a vile worm of the earth was not worthy of tears. She was deeply grieved at the demonstrations of esteem for her which were made in Agreda. The seeming abandonment of God made her often repeat: "My soul is sorrowful unto death." Her confessor told the sisters she seemed to have no strength except for fervent acts of contrition.
When she was given Extreme Unction, the serenity of her spirit shone on her countenance, which became beautiful and smiling. She gave her last advice and blessing to each sister saying: "I recommend to you, virtue, virtue, virtue."
On the Feast of Pentecost at the very moment of the day (nine o'clock) when, according to tradition, the Holy Ghost descended upon the Virgin Mary and the Apostles, she, who had enjoyed so many visions, was called to the eternal Beatific Vision. At the moment she died, she was seen radiant with heavenly light in a church in Agreda by John Carrillo, a teacher who frequently communicated with the Venerable María and to whom she had foretold her death. He had just received Communion in the Church of St. Julian of the Franciscan Fathers, when he saw the servant of God surrounded by a globe of light ascending toward heaven.
María died at the age of 63 years on the 24th of May, 1665, having been a nun 46 years, 35 of which she was Abbess. Her sisters testify that in her last moments they heard a most sweet voice repeat: "Come, come, come."
At the last call, Sor María de Jesus de Agreda breathed forth her soul.
Most Rev. Joseph Zimenez Samaniego relates that at the precise hour of her death, Sor María was seen ascending into heaven by persons of eminent perfection in several places far distant from Agreda —thus fulfilling in a pre-eminent degree the promise of the Holy Spirit regarding His Spouse, the Virgin Mary:
"Qui elucidant me, vitam aeternam habebunt." --Ecclus. 24:31
Epilogue
"So shall the last be first, and the first, last." Matt. 24:16 "They who work in me, shall not sin." --Ecclus. 24:31
When the news of the death of Sor María de Jesus was heard throughout Spain, people of all walks of life began to flock to the convent. The sisters were obliged to place her dear remains in the church to satisfy the universal devotion. The crowds became so great that it was necessary to have a guard of soldiers to maintain order. Those who could reach the grate presented rosaries, medals, etc., requesting the sisters to touch them to her precious remains. The veneration paid to her was so great that the Superior General of the Order of St. Francis judged it prudent not to deliver an oration in her honor, for fear the people might be excited to some public demonstration of worship forbidden by the Church.
The Most Rev. Samaniego wrote that "every day the fame of her holiness increases, and it seems that every moment the devotion towards her becomes more fervent. She is called the saintly nun, Sor María de Jesus, by the faithful, from the noblest to the lowest and from the most learned and renowned to the most simple and most ignorant. It is evident that this is an inspiration from the Lord, the Master of hearts."
The principal reason for this veneration was owing to the many miracles attributed to her while she lived, and their stupendous multiplication through the nearly three centuries after her death.
Among the many miracles may be mentioned these few:
The daughter of Nicolosa Franco was afflicted with epilepsy. Her mother took a thread from a piece of cloth which had belonged to Sister Mary, placed it in a glass of water and gave it to her child to drink. She was instantly cured.
While Sor María was still living, a young man named Jerome Abarea, a native of Tudela in Navarra, a professional musician, stopped in Agreda. When he heard about Mother María he cast aspersions upon her virtue of purity. He was immediately afflicted with a paralysis similar to St. Vitus Dance. After repenting of his rash thought he was restored to his former health. From that day forward he never ceased to relate in public the praises of Sister María.
A great number of the cures were effected through the use of rosaries or even a part thereof which had belonged to Sister María. It would disproportion this epilogue to give a full account of each one of these cures.
The devotion of the faithful for Sister Mary of Jesus de Agreda has not diminished in the least degree during the two centuries which have elapsed since her death. She is yet invoked with confidence especially in Spain, France, and Belgium. Every day graces and favors are obtained through her intercession. The truth of this last statement is confirmed by a letter written by Msgr. Cosimus Marrodan J. Rubio, Bishop of Tarrazona, from which the following is taken:
"The nuns of the convent of Agreda, among whom religious discipline flourishes in its primitive rigor, have preserved the sworn testimonies to many of the above mentioned miracles. Among these is the testimony of a poor woman who was afflicted with heart disease. The physicians, after having employed every known remedy but without effect, declared the case hopeless. The woman had recourse to God and with lively confidence implored the intercession of Sister Mary of Jesus. She drank a few drops of water out of the cup which is known as the "cup of the mother," because it was presented to Venerable Mary by King Philip IV. The patient intended to make a nine-day novena, but her favor was granted before the novena was finished. The moment she put the cup to her lips she was restored to perfect health. The doctors testified on oath that her cure could be attributed to nothing but a miracle."
Without doubt Venerable Mary of Agreda's miracle par excellence is the writing of the Life of the Most Holy Mother of God, and the wonders it performs in inspiring to sanctity the souls who read and meditate upon it. Yes, the biography itself is an endless chain of miracles! This statement is entirely consistent with the logical deduction drawn from the study of the voluminous eulogies of the great Popes, cardinals, prelates, eminent theologians and Mariologists, priests, sisters, noblemen, kings, and common people. All the great universities of Europe and all the religious orders of the Church gave the writing enthusiastic praise. During the 17th century it was one of the most popular books in all Europe. To give an account of these eulogies in this brief work is impossible. P.D. Diegus de Silva, Abbot of the order of St. Benedict and Bishop of Guardia, delegated by King Philip IV to examine the first edition of the Mystical City of God, seems to us to sum up the total of all these praises in this sentence:
"With the exception of Sacred Scripture, the heavenly wisdom which it contains has never before been revealed to mortals."
In 1667 when her precious remains were exhumed and found to be incorrupt, permeating the surrounding air with a most sweet fragrance, there was among the many celebrities present Don John of Austria, savior of Christianity from the Turks, whose success in great measure was due to the prayers of Venerable María de Jesus.
Even during her lifetime Venerable María exerted powerful influence upon both Church and State. Father John Gilmary Shea states in his "History of the Catholic Church in the United States:"
"Through her life, Ven. Mary of Agreda petitioned the Holy See to define clearly two points, made de Fide in our times—the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, and the infallibility of the Sovereign Pontiff."
Her famous letter to Pope Alexander VII caused the cessation of hostilities between the two most powerful monarchies in Europe, France and Spain.
Father Samaniego wrote the following regarding her influence upon the government of the only kingdom (Spain) of Europe where the poison of heresy had not spread. In our own day, Spain is the only nation that has defeated Communism. Says Fr. Samaniego:
"God decreed that a poor nun of St. Clare, who was educated in the mountains and secluded in a convent situated in the most remote part of Castille, should be the intimate and immediate adviser of the King of Spain."
Appendix Four
What the Universities of Europe, the Religious Orders and Learned Men Say of the “City of God”
Forty years after the first appearance of the “City of God” the great universities of Europe were called upon to give their opinion about this great work. All the faculties, except the Jansenistic members of the Sorbonne at Paris, published highest recommendations. At the same time the learned men and teachers of each religious order that maintained institutions of learning in Europe, were asked to contribute their opinions. The following religious orders complied: The Augustinians, Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans, Jesuits, Cistercians, Basilians, Trinitarians, Mercedarians, Minims, Hieronymites, Premonstratensians, Reformed Augustinians, Theatines, Minor of the Regular Clergy, all unanimously endorsing the favorable decision previously published by the University of Salamanca. To the approbation of nearly all the Universities and Religious Orders, were then added the high eulogiums of other learned men, Great Divines, Bishops and Princes of the Church and of the Popes and the Roman Congregations. As a sample of what these witnesses said concerning the wonderful “City of God,” we here select the official approbation of the University of Louvain, one of the great Universities of Europe. After pointing out that God's power of giving private revelations to whom He chooses, must not be circumscribed, and after referring to some general rules in regard to private revelations, the document proceeds to say:
Now, while abiding the decision of the Church concerning the revelations, which are given us under the title of The City of God, we, having read the whole work, say and are of the opinion, that the faithful can read it without danger to their faith and without damage to the purity of morals; for there is not found anything within it, which could lead to relaxation or to indiscreet rigor; but on the contrary, we have come to the conclusion that it will be most useful for enlivening and augmenting the piety of the faithful, the veneration of the Most Holy Virgin, and the respect for the Sacred Mysteries.”
“The strong and the weak, the wise and the ignorant, and in fine, all the world will gather richest fruit from the reading of these books: for they contain what is most sublime in theology and in a style so simple, easy and perspicuous that, in order to enter deeply into an understanding of the Holy Mysteries, no more is necessary than to read them with sound judgment.”
“Combined with this simplicity are found many doctrines and valid proofs, free from contradictions and not easily found in other writings. This History explains more than a thousand difficulties in Holy Scripture, in a manner equally natural and wonderful. At every step are encountered exquisite interpretations, until now unknown, and which had been hidden beneath the mere letter, but are laid open in these writings and brought to the light. In short, the whole work is a beautiful web of Scripture passages which, though spun from its different books, are directly and specially woven into a whole for the purpose intended by the Venerable Mother.”
“In addition thererto the instructions given by the Most Holy Virgin at the end of each chapter contain the purest morality, instruct, entertain, and at the same time sweetly inculcate the love of virtue and abhorrence of vice, painting them in the most vivid and natural colors. They do not only convince the intellect, but they contain such a special unction, that they enkindle a sacred ardor in the soul. In meditating upon them one certainly will experience a delight not met with in ordinary writings; and the more they are read the greater is the delight experienced. Finally, the whole work contains something so unwonted and attractive that, once begun, the reading of it can scarcely be relinquished.”
“The novelty and variety found in these writings delight and recreate the reader beyond all that is pleasant in the world, at the same time instructing him and inspiring him with new fervor. All can easily persuade themselves that, if the interior life of Christ Our Lord and of the Most Holy Virgin was not just as described in these books, it could certainly have been like it; and that it would have been well worthy of Them, if it was as it is there depicted. All that is there said is befitting the majesty and humility of Christ, and in correspondence with the holiness of the Virgin and the dignity of the Mother; since there is found nothing in the whole work which was not worthy of both One and the Other.
“Notwithstanding all this, we should not at all wonder if the book met with men who are disposed to be critical; for what book is there that can hope to escape the opposition of the people of our times? God has not even provided that the Sacred Scriptures should be free from such attack among the greater part of the learned of this world. The whole philosophy of the pagans causes them to join the number of those who are opposed to the Cross of Christ Crucified; and among that number are also the libertines of our day.”
“Of course there are certain points in this work which might give rise to apparent difficulties, and some of them occurred, and do occur, to us. But, in accordance with what we have said of the excellence and usefulness of this work, we have come to the conclusion that these few passages must not hinder us from giving it the commendation already given; besides, we must confess that we might possibly be ourselves mistaken in making these objections.”
“This seemed to us the most reasonable course, since in this book there is something more than human. Anything so excellent and sublime cannot be ascribed to an over-excited imagination, since the whole work is consistent throughout. Nor can it be believed to be the work of a perverted mind, for, with a constant equanimity, it treats of the most deeply hidden and abstruse matters without involving itself in any contradictions; though often also it descends to innumerable minute and particular circumstances.”
“There are contained in this work such noble, such devout circumstantial and pertinent discourses, as cannot be the result of mere discursive thought. Nor can it be attributed to the demon; for, from beginning to end, it suggests and breathes nothing but humility, patience and endurance of hardships.”
“Therefore, just as the “City of God” must without a doubt be attributed to the venerable Mother Agreda, who is claimed as its author, so she cannot have composed it without particular help from on high. Our conclusive opinion is, that the City of God, for the good of the public, and for the advantages to be derived therefrom, should be brought forth to the light. This is our judgment, which we submit entirely to the supreme decision of the Holy See, to whom alone belongs the right of finally judging such writings.”
Louvain, 20th of July 1715
(Signed)
Herman Damen,
Doctor, Professor Ordinary and Regent of the Theological Faculty, Don of Saint Peter, President of the College of Arras, Censor of Books, etc.
Anton Parmentier,
Doctor, Professor Ordinary, Regent of the Theological Faculty, President of the Great College of Theologians, etc.
Divine Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary.
Taken verbatim from the Mystical City of God, by Mary of Agreda. Inspriring and beautiful help, for all those who wish to understand the depth and meaning of the Rosary. 600 pgs. Softcover. – $5.00 + 4.00 shipping. J.M.J. Book Company, P.O. Box 15, Necedah, WI 54646 ----- Tel. (608) 565-2516
The Mystical City of God, by Mary of Agreda, is available in PDF format from: www.themostholyrosary.com/mystical-city.htm
The webmaster does not necessarily agree with or support opinions expressed on other websites.
Faith is Greater than Obedience is available in PDF format from: albertdrexel.20m.com
Incorrupt body of Mary of Agreda, in Agreda, Spain
Appendix Five
Value of the Crucifix
On Aug. 2, 1974, Our Lord said to Albert Drexel: "The crucifix, not the empty sign, is the Catholic sign and profession of faith. Blessed are the families in whose houses and lodgings the crucifix is placed, greeted, and honored!”
After touching a crucifix devoutly, St. Gertrude learned that "...if anyone only looks at the image of the Cross of Jesus Christ with a holy intention, God rewards him with such goodness and mercy that he receives in his soul, as in a spotless mirror, an image which is so agreeable that the whole court of Heaven delights therein; and this serves to increase his eternal glory in the life to come, in proportion as he has practiced this act of devotion in this life."
Appendix Six
The Rosary
On Oct. 5, 1973, Our Lord said: “Pray especially to My Virgin Mother Mary. To My great joy I see that many people have taken up saying the Rosary. A great power dwells in this prayer.”
Appendix Seven
Teilhard de Chardin: False Prophet
On July 2, 1976, Our Lord said: “A false philosopher” [Teilhard de Chardin] “has invaded the Church with a fatal teaching, that My one and true Church should be governed from beneath.”
On Aug. 7, 1970, Our Lord said: “And because of the denial of Heaven and the supernatural which are the miracle of grace, they deify nature; therefore, it is My special will that the writing you have done concerning the greatest heresy of the present time and also its originator, must appear in print and spread all over.” [Rev. Drexel's book about Teilhard de Chardin, A New Prophet?]
Professor Drexel's book about Teilhard has not been translated into English. However, there are books and articles in English that demonstrate that Chardin teaches false doctrine. The most well known is Trojan Horse in the City of God, by Dietrich Von Hildebrand. The last chapter is entitled: “Teilhard de Chardin: A False Prophet.” Von Hildebrand's book is available on the internet and at amazon.com
Appendix Eight
Communion in the Hand
On Sept. 1, 1972, Our Lord said: “Know: The measure of the love of God is gauged by the measure of reverence to the mystery of My Eucharistic Presence, and the manner and degree of love of the holy sacrifice, which is the mysterious but truly unbloody renewal and sacramental remembrance of the one and only bloody sacrifice on the cross. Hear My cry: Sacrileges multiply among the faithful, who take the sacrament like ordinary bread in the hand, and with it, they are not aware that this bread is no longer bread, but My Body, Flesh and Blood; it is My unbloody presence! Woe also to this sin! My great Apostle Paul said: He who does not distinguish the body of the Lord from ordinary food, eats and drinks judgment to himself. Why have so many people, in receiving My body in the hand, lost respect toward the Blessed Sacrament?”
On June 4, 1976, Our Lord said: “But alas, love of My presence in the miraculous Sacrament has died in so many priestly hearts. Therefore, the number of daily profanations does not mean anything to them, since the introduction of Communion in the hand. My woe to those who turn away from the Blessed Sacrament!”
On Dec. 3, 1976, Our Lord said: “Do not thousands and millions of God's people go to the table of the Lord like an ordinary table of daily bread, because their priests have not given to these people the example of reverence. Shocking is the word of My Apostle Paul, who said: He who does not distinguish between the body of the Lord and ordinary food, eats and drinks judgment to himself. This word is irrevocably true, and the judgment will be terrible.”
On Sept. 7, 1973, Our Lord said: “The spirit of degradation and treason passes over to many faithful people, who go without reverence as if they were going to a worldly affair – to receive Holy Communion, and they become guilty before the judgment. If they would only think of My Holy Virgin Mother Mary, and realize with what pure, deep and fervent reverence She received Me from the Holy Ghost, Me the Son of God, in the hour of the Incarnation – then they would feel regret and return to Me! Ponder with what unspeakable respect My servant, Mary of Jesus of Agreda, wrote about it in the works of her revelations.”
The reverence with which the Virgin Mary received communion is manifested in the following passage from The Mystical City of God:
This administration of baptism was continued on that day until all were baptized, although there were about five thousand to receive it. While the baptized were making their thanksgiving for this admirable blessing, the Apostles with all the disciples and the faithful spent some time in prayer. All of them prostrated themselves on the ground, adoring the infinite and immutable God, and confessing their own unworthiness of receiving Him in the most august sacrament of the Altar. In this profound humility and adoration they prepared themselves more immediately for Communion. And then they recited the same psalms and prayers which Christ had recited before consecrating, imitating faithfully that sacred function just as they had seen it performed by their divine Master. Saint Peter took in his hands the unleavened bread, and, after raising up his eyes to heaven with admirable devotion, he pronounced over the bread the words of consecration of the most holy body of Christ, as had been done before by the Lord Jesus (II Cor. 11:24). Immediately the Cenacle was filled with the visible splendor of innumerable angels; and this light converged in a most singular manner on the Queen of heaven and earth, and was seen by all those present. Then saint Peter consecrated the chalice and performed all the ceremonies, which Christ had observed with the consecrated body and blood, raising them up for the adoration of all the faithful. The Apostle partook himself of the Sacrament and communicated it to the eleven Apostles as most holy Mary had instructed him. Thereupon, at the hands of saint Peter, the heavenly Mother partook of it, while the celestial spirits there present attended with ineffable reverence. In approaching the altar, the great Lady made three profound prostrations, touching the ground with her face. She returned to her place, and it is impossible to describe in words the effects of this participation of the holy Eucharist in this most exalted of creatures. She was entirely transformed and elevated, completely absorbed in this divine conflagration of the love of her most holy Son, whom She had now received bodily. She remained in a trance, elevated from the floor; but the holy angels shielded Her somewhat from view according to her own wish, in order that the attention of those present might not be unduly attracted by the divine effects apparent in Her. The disciples continued to distribute holy Communion, first to the disciples and then to the others who had been believers before the Ascension. But of the five thousand newly baptized only one thousand received Communion on that day; because not all were entirely prepared or furnished with the insight and attention required for receiving the Lord in this great sacrament and mystery of the Altar. With regard to the manner of Communion in that day, the Apostles observed the distinction of giving to the most holy Mother and the one hundred and twenty, upon whom the Holy Ghost had come, both species, of bread and of wine; but the recently baptized partook only of the species of bread. But this difference was not made because the new faithful were less worthy of the one species than of the other; but because the Apostles knew, that in either one of the species they received the same Object in its entirety, namely the sacramental God; and that there was no precept, and likewise no necessity that each one receive both species. They considered, that there would be great danger of irreverence and other very grave inconveniences to permit the multitude to partake of the species of the blood, while this was not to be feared in the Communion of the few, who then partook of them at that time.
[Taken from Book 7, Ch. 7: THE APOSTLES AND DISCIPLES MEET IN ORDER TO SOLVE SOME DOUBTS, IN PARTICULAR ABOUT THE FORM OF BAPTISM; THEY ADMINISTER THAT SACRAMENT TO THE CATECHUMENS; SAINT PETER CELEBRATES THE FIRST MASS; THE DOINGS OF MARY IN THE MEANWHILE. – Mystical City of God, Life of the Virgin Mother of God, by Mary of Agreda]
On Dec. 3, 1976, Our Lord said: “The great disaster in My one and true Church is the desecration of the Blessed Sacrament, because it has gained ground in the whole world since the council of the popes John and Paul, and it provokes the anger of God. My blessing be with those who have preserved, and still do preserve, faith and reverence before the Blessed Sacrament. This blessing is eternal, and cannot be expressed by words nor comprehended with the senses.”
• Cardinal Canizares calls for Communion on tongue, kneeling (CNA)
In 2012 the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship strongly endorsed the practice of receiving Communion on the tongue, while kneeling. Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera told the Catholic News Agency that the traditional posture is a “sign of adoration that needs to be recovered.” When Catholics receive Communion while standing, they should show their reverence with a bow, the Spanish cardinal said; but in practice few people do that. He said: “I think the entire Church needs to receive Communion while kneeling.”
On March 29, 1969, Our Lord said to Madre Concepción, a Franciscan religious in Mexico City: "Write. Do not keep to yourself, My daughter, neither through fear nor through human respect, what I spoke to you on Sunday, the second day of this month at Holy Mass."
The things Our Lord told me that day are the following. That morning I was walking to the Church of San Francisco (on Madero Ave.) and Jesus said to me: "Hurry! You have to shout very loudly!"
"What, Lord?"
"Many things. Tell everything to everyone. Do not keep anything to yourself, for I do not tell you things for yourself, but for My Church. Send it to your bishop, and let him send everything to My beloved Vicar."
"What things, Lord?"
"Everything I have told you and what I will tell you from now on."
When I heard such an order, I feared it might be the devil and that it was auto-suggestion and that is why I dared to ask His Divine Majesty for proof, proof He gave me immediately. (I may not make this proof known because it is exclusively a matter of conscience.)
Immediately afterwards, when I was in church hearing Holy Mass, Jesus deigned to tell me a formula of how Holy Mass should be heard at present, within the forms that have been made to it. I will make this known later, because it is urgent that I send out this sheet now.
Well, during Mass, at the time of the memento of the dead, Jesus told me this:
"Tell them it disgusts Me that they receive Communion standing and without reverence. Those who receive Communion cynically, giving bad example, the women without veils and naked, offend Me. Tell them that soon fire will come down from Heaven if they do not amend, and they will be burned alive and will be condemned. Because, how will those bodies enter to rejoice on the day of the resurrection, that here below took delight in filth, the filth of sin and of provoking others to sin? It is not right for them to receive Communion standing, nor should those who have received Communion stand, nor should they receive the blessing except on their knees! You must go devoutly to the Table of Communion."
It is very interesting to make known the following that His Divine Majesty also deigned to reveal to me at the time of Holy Mass, at the memento of the dead. He said to me then:
"Now is when you should ask for the eternal rest of all those who have died and have not been able to enter Heaven, held back by their sins. I ask suffrages for those souls! But tell My priests they must say Mass out of devotion and not for money, because I am tired of their avarice and their commercialism." [ atonementbooklets.20m.com ]
Appendix Nine
The Spirit of the World
On April 2, 1976, Our Lord said: “Many and ever more priests knowingly and willingly defined the word of adaptation to the world, as spoken in the Council, as 'worldly-minded' and 'the spirit of the world,' which then found entrance into Holy Orders and into the Church. The spirit of the world does not serve God, but Satan. The spirit of the world does not lead to Me, the Savior and Redeemer, but deviates from the path of My imitation. The spirit of the world leads to corruption; it misleads and poisons the youth; the spirit of the world from which My Virgin Mother Mary would like to save all those unfortunates!”
On June 4, 1971, Our Lord said: “These proud and disloyal ones speak about a religion without the supernatural, without mystery and prayer. They speak only about man and no longer about God! They turn order upside down and give superiority to love of neighbor, but forget, lose, and deny love toward God with outrageous presumption. They try to found a new church in which the world and man mean everything, and God and Heaven nothing.
Such a human church knows neither the angels nor Satan, because of its denial of pure spirits; therefore, they lose the protection of those good spirits and become susceptible to the plans and work of the wicked spirits. This human church is in contradiction to the Church I founded and which began with My apostles and is legitimately guided by the successor of Peter.
That human church, which is not a religion and that cannot be called a religion at all, is the Antichrist. In this church, sin and sensuality reign. In this church, Heaven and hell are denied. This church puts pride on the throne and rejects humility. In this church, divine order is subverted and has opened the door to chaos. In this church, God is replaced by the idol 'man.' In this church, the pictures of saints are banned and destroyed and substituted with false prophets.
In the place of the Immaculate resides the Babylonian harlot.
In this church, the dwelling place of God becomes a temple of sacrileges. But the faithful and loyal Christians follow the call of the Queen of heaven, who gave birth to Me, the Christ, and who leads man to Me, the Christ. Therefore, the ones I have blessed shall remain blessed, because of their zeal and love for Mary, the Apocalyptic Woman.”
On July 2, 1971, Our Lord said: “Oh what fools they are, who not only sell their own soul to Satan, but who become seducers of the faithful and thus sin against the Holy Ghost. These confusers and seducers speak and write much about a new church, of a church that is no longer a religion, but is purely human. I tell you: This is the church of Antichrist. Yes, this church is indeed the Antichrist, the living Antichrist. The founders and followers of this false church are in the service of Satan. In this new church, belief in Me is broken. In this new church, My Eucharistic presence is not the heart and the center. In this new church, there is no longer the written revelation of God, the Holy Bible, but the books of a false knowledge” [writings of Teilhard de Chardin and other false teachers] “which is praised and is put into the hands of Christians to mislead them.
In this new church, there is not anymore Mary, My Virgin Mother, the Mother of the faithful. This new church is fatherless and motherless, because even the Heavenly Father is denied, and as they say, replaced by earthly progress.
In this new church, the saints of My only one and true Church are forgotten, and their pictures thrown out and destroyed. In this new church, the Holy Spirit illumines, warms and acts no more, but the frail and mortal spirit of man, who became the idol.
In this new church, grace does not count, but in its place steps socalled technology, that is the dream and fake opinion and falsehood of a new world. In this new church, their prophets do not speak anymore of sin and judgment, of hell and Heaven, but of the coming Paradise on earth. In this new church, one can no longer find the cross of My redemption, which is salvation, but their happiness lies in sensuality.
This new church is the living Antichrist, the real Babylonian harlot, as My disciple and apostle John has written in the Apocalypse.” [Apocalypse 17:1-7; 15-18]
Appendix Ten
Value of Suffering
On Dec. 7, 1973, Our Lord said: “The prayer of the faithful shall triumph over the talks and gatherings of those who are cold in faith. Yet, those faithful to God are still suffering, but they should know and consider that the sacrifices of their suffering are bringing down blessings upon the Church. Those who suffer this way shall share eternal glorification with Me and the love of My Heart.”
On April 6, 1973, Our Lord said: “Many, yes, numerous persons are suffering under the destruction of the Church, because wolves and foxes have broken into it. But all people do not suffer in the same measure and in the same way. Nevertheless, all must retain the hope that comes from faith, as the Church will not perish.
Indeed, many have fallen away from the Church, and many more shall fall, because they seek their glory in this world and not in the religion of the cross and the Resurrection. They believe that this world makes them happy. But when the few years of their earthly life have passsed, then I, the Judge of the world, shall demand their soul, which they were destined to sanctify and to save. Then they must experience how terrible it is, 'to fall into the hands of the living God.' (Heb. 10:31). Then they shall witness how happy homecoming to the Father is for the children of God, and for each single soul. Did not the Apostle, inspired by the Holy Ghost, call out: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him!” (1 Cor. 2:9).
Appendix Eleven
Veneration of Mary, Angels, and Saints
On Feb. 2, 1973, Our Lord said: “All good, all loyal, all faithful people should consider that they have a Mother, who is the most wonderful creature of all the beings of creation; that they have the angels in their variety of choirs, in their power, and in their mission; and that they have the saints of the Church in their greatness of virtue. Is it not written in Scripture: God is wonderful in His saints! (Ps. 67:36). You should be, in the midst of a world of sin and temptation, joyful children of God, who always and everywhere give witness of a good conscience and the grace and the call to an eternal Heaven.”
There is something ineffable about the saints of My one and true Church. Those saints are My friends, because in their lifetime, they followed Me and led many people to Me. Their souls have entered Heaven, and I have said: In My Father's house there are many mansions. – Our Lord to Albert Drexel: Nov. 2, 1973
On Nov. 2, 1973, Our Lord said: “In this night of my special grace, I bless this dwelling-place, because of the work done here. It is a work to serve the faith and the Church, and at the same time to honor My Virgin Mother Mary, the most holy of all saints. There is something ineffable about the saints of My one and true Church. And it is a matter of accursed wickedness when not only lay people, but also consecrated servants of the altars, remove images of the saints from the dwellingplace of God. Those saints are My friends, because in their lifetime, they followed Me and led many people to Me. Their souls have entered Heaven, and I have said: In My Father's house there are many mansions. (Jn. 14:2)
Those chosen ones of God are not only My friends, who are now eternally happy, but furthermore, they are also advocates of the living, for their wants of body and soul. Their lessons and the examples of their lives are the guide for real Christian living.”
On Sept. 3, 1971, Our Lord said: “Has not My daughter Teresa, a Doctor of the Church, said: 'I would be happy in my conscience, to have brought even only one human soul closer to God.'”
The hard-copy edition of Faith Is Greater Than Obedience is available from: J.M.J. Book Co., P.O. Box 15, Necedah, WI 54646 – tel. 608 565-2516
Faith Is Greater Than Obedience is in the public domain. It may be copied, reproduced, distributed and made known, provided the text is not changed.
May it be for the glory of God
Laus Deo
