Die jungfräulichen Seelen in der Welt

Description

lit. "The Virgin Souls in the World "

by a Franciscan Third Order publisher

Unger, O.F.M. Cap., cites this work as "of special indebtedness" to his Mystery of Love for the Single; Meile's is a sort of pastoral complement to it, remedying the problem of how many virgins don't understand/discover the value of virginity until they're much older, if at all.

Josephus Meile—Bishop of Sankt Gallen, Switzerland—was consecrated by Cdl. Pacelli in 1938. b. 1891. †1957.

Joseph Meile, su hls-dhs-dss.ch , Dizionario storico della Svizzera

TXT is DeepL Pro NMT English translation of slightly cleaned-up _djvu.txt file from Archive.org (ZIP), OCRed by ABBYY FineReader. EPUB* is generated from TXT file.

ref:5.9:

At the time of the wedding at Cana , as the Fathers of the Church testify, Mary was married as the new Eve to Christ as the new Adam. The new wine of Cana symbolizes the love that unites the King and the Queen.

Where do "the Fathers of the Church" say the wedding at Cana was that of the New Eve marrying the New Adam?

ref:38:31,34 §"Protection and care of perfect chastity", §§"Overcoming the exaggerated sensuality of time":

For many people today, gender or sexuality is at the center of the intellectual sphere. Their speech and thinking, their behavior and aspirations largely revolve around the relationship of the sexes. Man is seen first and foremost as a sexual being. The play between the sexes is what is interesting and attractive: In novels, in art, in sports, in pleasure, in socializing! Many times the attachment or devotion to people is carried too far, or people are virtually “idolized”. Unchastity is called idolatry in this sense. Man must not become fully attached to other people. For he belongs first of all to God, is connected with God and must remain attached to Him. In order to present this relationship with God pleasantly to man, it is often portrayed as a spousal union.

ref:38.42 (p. 144, PDF p. 141): "Instead of seducing people, one should help them in shamefulness [Schamhaftigkeit, lat. pudicitia, verecundia], so that they can keep their innocence intact."

ref:40.19: "Nothing makes souls more similar and united than suffering together."

ref:51.11: Single women shouldn't passively wait for a ♞ in shining armor to come around; St. Thérèse of Lisieux's mother Zelie Martin learned lace-making before marrying, which supported her even while married:

Misses who do not have a gainful occupation often wait for a marriage to provide them well. Those who want to support themselves are generally more cautious about courting. Providing for oneself through an economic occupation can favor and facilitate the decision to become a virgin.

ref:51.27: Girls should be educated in domestic skills:

If a virgin wants to stay at home with parents or siblings, she should learn the household as a profession. It would be useful to try out this knowledge a little in a foreign country [e.g., au pair]. This should be done early.

ref:57.34:

We also find women who, through marriage and family, have not risen socially, but have become rotten and impoverished. Many virgins go through life more easily alone than those comrades who still have to drag along a husband and children under unfortunate circumstances.

ref:57.35,38: "Married women are […] much more intolerant of single virgins." (cf. citation in ref:40.32: Ps. 117:8 "It is better to trust in the Lord than to rely on men.")

ref:57.52: "Married women occasionally say it quietly: If only we could be alone here and there! It is not easy to be constantly tied to other people." Cf. Zelie Martin (ref:10.192):

I often think of my saintly sister and of her quiet, peaceful life. She works, but not to gain perishable riches; she is active only for Heaven, which she is ever looking forward to and longing for. As for me, I see myself bent towards the earth, toiling with all my strength to amass gold which I cannot take with me, and which I have no desire to take. What could I do with it in the next life? Sometimes I almost regret that I did not become a nun like her, but… immediately I say to myself: “But I would not have my four little girls, and my darling Joseph!” No! it is better for me to toil on, as I am, and to have them with me. Provided that I reach Heaven with my dear Louis, and that I see them all there, even better placed than myself, I shall be happy; I do not ask for anything more.

ref:60.7,16: "Unification of Virgin Souls in One Community":

the bridehood of Christ is not as exclusive as the union among spouses. Not merely a single virgin, but many virgins gather around Christ as brides. In the supernatural realm, it is possible for all to have the same heavenly Bridegroom. The spousal communion with Christ immediately establishes also a certain spousal communion among the virgins. [Mystici corporis Christi §74: "the more ardent the love that binds us to God and to our divine Head, the closer we shall be united to each other in the bonds of charity."] Thus, virginity by its very nature leads to a certain communion.

[…]

In the Holy Scriptures, the virgin souls mostly appear as a community. In heaven above, John sees a closed group of [144k] virgin souls who follow the Lamb [Apoc. 14:3-4]. The group of virgins, which still stays on earth [144k of Apoc. 7:4], is a parallel to the heavenly community circle [of Apoc. 14:3]. The king and queen are accompanied not only by single virgins, but by whole rows of virgins [cf. Ps. 44:15 infra]. In the Gospel, at least five wise virgins gather around Christ and celebrate the wedding feast with their bridegroom in closed company [Mt. 25:1-13]. It is not a coincidence that the virgin souls always form a community. The force that pushes everywhere to a community rests in the nature of the virginal ideals.

ref:65.17:

“The virgins, her companions, follow her to the King as an escort” (Ps 44:15). Mary is the leader of the virgins. As Mary, the sister of Moses, gathered the virgins around her and led them to the Promised Land, so the Mother of God, “the Virgin of virgins,” gathers around her the brides of her divine Son and leads them to the heavenly wedding feast.

ref:67.7,8: §"Virgins as angels among men":

Why do virgins often receive the name of angels when they are engaged in charitable or apostolic work among people? They often appear unexpectedly, at the right moment, as if sent from above, equipped with heavenly goods. Their spousal spirit of faith enables them to have deep insights. They are guided only by holy intentions, without desiring anything earthly. In their hearts they carry secrets of grace, which give them extraordinary powers. They have something of a heavenly being about them, and so they stand before men as messengers of heaven and understand their dignities and offices and tasks primarily religiously and heavenly.

Like the angels, they come suddenly, in the 'thousand cases' where people fail, in the embarrassments where one needs great, almost superhuman help.

ref:77.1,78.1 (pp. 371-2, PDF pp. 368-9):

According to the legend, which was formed around St. George , a dragon is said to have made a wide area unsafe. In order to satisfy the demon, the king be to sacrifice a girl to him every day. The lot decided that the king’s daughter would also have her turn. The despair into which the king fell as a result caused a sensation. George decided to fight the dragon in order to save the king’s daughter. With the lance he wounded the monster so much that it became tame. On the advice of George, the king’s daughter took her belt, tied it around the dragon’s neck and led the evil beast into the city so that all the people could admire the victory. With his sword, the saint finally killed the demon completely. This legend could be interpreted to today’s situation. The demonic dragon is the immorality that threatens people. It penetrates to families, which still felt safe from the dangers. Like St. George, the Church now goes out to destroy the dragon. The belt of virginity has the wonderful power to bind the sensual passions. The virginal example still exerts a powerful effect today. At all times people have believed that perfect chastity makes a person strong in battle and confident of victory. Therefore, we would like to contrast the demonic of the time with the mystical of virginity.

Lady Justice was considered a virgin.
The origin of Virgo constellation is that the world chased virginity away into the sky.