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Union With Our Lady
Mahan Writings of
Ven, Marie Petyt oF St, Zértsa.
'Cranslatcb by
Rev.Oiomas E, Mc Ginnis, QCarm,S€C
the Scapular Press, N.Y.C,

.

Union With Our Lady
Marian Writings <£
Ven,Marie Pefyt ofSETertsa
translated by
Rev.thomas E,McGinnis, O,Carmri$x:.C,
The Scapular Press, N.V-C,

Union With Our Lady
MARIAN WRITINGS
of
THE VENERABLE MARY PETYT OF ST. TERESA,

T. O. CARM.

TRANSLATED AND ARRANGED

by
REV. THOMAS E. McGINNIS, O.CARM., S.T.L.

THE SCAPULAR PRESS

3

CONTENTS
PAGE

PREFACE _______________________

5

INTRODUCTION............. ..................... .............

7

THE LIFE AND MARIAN WRITINGS

OF MARY PETYT.................

13

SCHEMA OF THE DOCTRINE

ON THE MARIAN LIFE__________________ 62
MEDITATIONS ____________ ____ _____ ___ __________ 63

Imprimi Potest:
Patrick W. Russell, O. Carm.
Prior Provincial
Nihil Obstat:
Romaeus W. O’Brien, O. Carm.
Censor Deputatus
Imprimator:
Patrick A. O’Boyle, D.D.
Archbishop of Washington

Washington, D. C., June 21, 1954

Oeacîdifîsd

MARIA

PREFACE
At the beginning of the Marian Year, we published a work

which was intended to make available to sincere souls the rich treas­

ures of Carmelite Marian devotion through the writings of Venerable
Michael of St. Augustine, Belgian Carmelite of the seventeenth

century. The present work, published as the Marian Year draws to
a close, has much the same purpose. But here we present in transla­

tion the writings of Venerable Mary Petyt of St. Teresa, a lay Third
Order Carmelite, who was a spiritual daughter of Father Michael.

We do not feel that this is mere repetition, for Father Michael and
Mary Petyt approach the subject of Marian devotion from different
points of view: Father Michael presents a theory of Marian devotion;

Mary Petyt presents a description of Marian devotion in actual prac­
tice within the depths of her own soul. Time and time again spiritual
writers discussing the subject of Our Lady’s position in the life of the
soul refer both to Father Michael and to Mary Petyt, also known as

Sister Mary of St. Teresa, her name in the Secular Third Order. Hence
it seemed to us most desirable that English-speaking lovers of Our
Lady should have the Marian classics of each of these Carmelites

available for their prayerful study.
The main part of the present work is, of course, the translation
of Mary Petyt’s Marian writings. These writings are selections from

her letters to Father Michael, who was the first to publish them.
Instead of following the numbering of the letters as given by him,
however, we have thought it best to refer to the reflections as simply

"Selection One, Two, etc.” By way of preparation, we have prefixed

a short examination of the spiritual life and its development, laying

particular emphasis on the place of Our Blessed Lady and the need
for mental prayer. We have returned to these two points at the con5

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elusion of the work, by adding several Marian meditations, based on
the texts of Mary Petyt, and suitable for use at mental prayer. Imme­

diately after the translation and before the meditations, we have given
the Marian doctrine of Mary Petyt and her spiritual director in

schematic form, hoping that this may aid study and understanding.

In one of her letters, Mary Petyt prays that Our Blessed Lady
may raise up many souls to know and love her, souls who will join

in singing the praises of their heavenly Queen and Mother. That

same desire has motivated our efforts. The Marian Year, it is true,
draws to a close. But is not the Marian Era at hand? Every sincere
Christian must learn to be led to the fulfillment of his spiritual destiny
by the hand of his Lady. God wills it. We feel that Mary Petyt,

through her Marian writings, can help to teach souls that lesson.
May this little work in some way repay Our Blessed Lady for
many graces received, and may it be to Her a token of our filial love,

reverence, and obedience.

Thomas E. McGinnis, O.Carm.

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INTRODUCTION
The Ideal of Perfection
It is a sobering thought to remember that Our Blessed Lord
epitomized the entire doctrinal content of his famous Sermon on the
Mount by saying: You, therefore, are to be perfect, even as your
heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:48) He addressed those words
to all his listeners, not simply to a select group of initiated souls. And
they are words which set before sincere Christians of all times the very
highest spiritual ideal imaginable. The Christian is to take for his
model of spiritual perfection not another human, no matter how
perfect, but the infinitely holy God Himself.

But how is it possible to attain so lofty an ideal? We can rest
assured, first of all, that Our Blessed Lord would not have established
such an ideal without placing its achievement within our grasp, for,
as St. Augustine loved to insist: "God does not command the im­
possible.” And a little reflection will reveal to us the marvelous means
which Our Lord has placed at our disposal to realize the perfection of
life which He demands of us. In the first place, He has given us a
share in the very nature of God, He has given us the source or prin­
ciple from which Godlike actions can flow, by giving us the wonderful
gift of sanctifying grace. This grace raises us above our natural con­
dition. It makes us capable of knowing and loving God as He knows
and loves Himself. It places us in the position of God’s adopted
children. This is not flight of fancy—it is the teaching of Scripture
itself. St. Peter, for example, has written: "He has granted us the
very great and precious promises, so that through them you may
become partakers of the divine nature. (2 Pet. 1:4) And St. Paul
added: "But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son . . .
that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons,
God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba,
Father.” (Gal. 4:5-6) Hence it is that the cultivation of a life of
perfection after the model of our heavenly Father lies in the cultiva­
tion of our life of grace.
Our Blessed Lord has not been negligent in providing means for
this cultivation, for to this end He has instituted the entire sacra­
mental system. Thus in the sacrament of Baptism, the new and super­
natural life of grace is imparted to us for the first time, and we begin
to reflect the perfection of God Himself. The sacrament of Confirma­
tion strengthens the dominion of the forces of grace over the direction
of our life. Should we have the misfortune to lose the life of grace,
as we can in this vale of tears, the sacrament of Penance restores it
7

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to us. The Blessed Sacrament is our spiritual food, constantly nourish­
ing the life of grace within us and preparing it to flower into the
light of eternal glory. Distinctive graces for the various states in
life are ours through the sacraments of Matrimony and Holy Orders.
And finally, as we prepare to meet the Judge of the living and the
dead, the sacrament of Extreme Unction comes to remove the battle­
scars left on our soul by years of warfare against the powers of evil,
thus making the spiritual beauty of our soul appear in the fullness
of its splendor.

Personal Relationship With Jesus
Another element is necessary, however, if we are to fulfill Our
Lord’s injunction to be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect.
Our life of grace, in addition to its growth through the sacraments,
must also develop through our personal contact with Jesus, Our
Savior. In fact, this personal contact with Jesus is what disposes us
so that the sacraments and the sacrifice of the Mass may have a
greater effect for good upon the life of our soul. Now by this per­
sonal contact with Our Lord is meant the constant effort to realize
our complete dependence upon Him, who has merited every grace
for us and through whom every grace is given to us. By this personal
contact with Our Lord is meant the constant effort to realize that
Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us: that as the Scriptures say, no one
has at any time seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom
of the Father, he has revealed him. (cf. John 1:18) By this personal
contact with Our Lord is meant the constant effort to study the
message of His life and to imitate His virtues, remembering that God
became man in order to teach us how He wishes men to live. By this
personal contact with Our Lord, finally and most importantly, is
meant the constant effort to assimilate the mind of Christ, to use St.
Paul’s expression: the effort to view our own particular life-situation
through the eyes of Christ. Why is this so vitally important and
necessary? Because, if our life of grace is to develop according to
God’s designs, then it must develop through every phase of our activ­
ity. Its development must not be limited to our formal expressions of
religion. The whole of our life must be a kind of "sacrament” nourish­
ing grace within us. The whole of our life actually is such a "sacra­
ment” in God’s plan. But we need the eyes of Christ in order to see
that plan clearly and allow it to have its "sacramental” effect upon
our life of grace. We need the mind of Christ in order to realize that
our life is really all "of a piece” from God’s point of view and that
every part of that life—our joys and our sorrows, our work and our
8

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relaxation, our loves and our losses—is meant to contribute, ultimately,
to our spiritual development.
How are we to go about establishing this personal contact with
Our Lord ? How are we to accomplish the task of making the mind of
Christ our own, the task of adopting the attitude of Christ in the
face of our own life-circumstances? The answer is prayer, particularly
that kind of prayer which is called mental prayer or meditation.

Mental Prayer
Perhaps that sounds frightening—mental prayer. Somewhere in
the back of our mind, perhaps, is the concept that mental prayer is a
spiritual exercise which requires the skill of a Trappist monk or a
Carmelite nun. Still, if we stop to consider just what is meant by
mental prayer, we shall discover that we have been practicing it, even
without realizing it, since childhood. Mental prayer, obviously, is
distinguished from vocal prayer—but not because in the one we use
words and in the other we do not. On the contrary, we can use as
many words as we like in mental prayer. The difference is this: in
vocal prayer we recite some prayer composed by another person, like
the Our Father, the Memorare, the Prayer for the Marian Year, and
our effort is to bring our mind and our will into harmony with the
ideas and sentiments expressed in the prayer. When we say, for
example. “Thy will be done,” we try to realize what God’s will is
for us and we devote ourselves once more to the accomplishment of
that will. In mental prayer, on the other hand, we do not use a
prayer-formula prepared by someone else; we simply express to God
in our own words whatever sentiments fill our hearts at the moment.
Thus, for example, when we went to the altar-rail and poured out
our hearts to God about the necessity of our passing an examination,
about the awful consequences if we failed-—we were already practicing
mental prayer. When we asked the Blessed Virgin to cure a sick
parent, explaining to Her the heartbreak we would feel at the death
of someone so dear to us, we were already practicing mental prayer.
And now when we beg Our Lord after Holy Communion to rid us of
our deeply-rooted faults—our pride, our impatience, our disobedience
—we are practicing mental prayer.
To cultivate that personal contact with Our Lord which is so
essential for our life as Christians, we must make such mental prayer,
such simple and loving conversation with Jesus, a habit. What shall
we talk about? His life and our life. We shall discuss with Our Lord
the spiritual and eternal message which lies hidden in each event of
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His earthly life and which is meant to direct us in our life. We shall
listen to each word which fell from His lips and learn from Him how
that word applies to us. We shall observe His virtues and ask His
help to imitate them. We will talk with Him, for instance, of His
birth at Bethlehem, and we will realize that the cold and darkness
of the cave, the roughness of the straw, the inhospitality of the towns­
people represent the suffering which must come to every man from
the circumstances of life in a fallen world and from the bad will and
ignorance of men. But we will understand that such suffering can
cause us no real evil, because it cannot harm our soul. On the con­
trary, it can be a source of great spiritual good to us, if only we try
to accept suffering as Our Lord did at Bethlehem—with resignation
and love, and in a spirit of sacrifice. We will talk with Jesus about
His hidden life at Nazareth, and with Him we will learn to appreciate
the dignity and beauty of the common, ordinary, routine work and
labor which fill our days as they once filled His. We will learn that
we can achieve true human greatness, true holiness and union with
God, if we try to perform our work as Our Lord did His at Nazareth,
out of a deep love for God. We will hear Our Lord say, "Learn from
me, for I am meek and humble of heart,” and we will understand
that humility is the fundamental virtue which determines the "char­
acter” of Our Lord’s spirituality. He will teach us that humility is
simply the constant acknowledgment in practical life of our true
position of utter dependence upon God: “I am He who is, you are
she who is not,” as God said once to St. Catherine of Siena.

Of course, if our practice of mental prayer is to be successful,
then we shall have to become familiar with the life of Our Lord
through reading. We can never read the New Testament enough, as
we will readily admit. And in order to derive full benefit from this
inspired book, we might add to our reading list such works as In
the Likeness of Christ and Progress through Mental Prayer, both by
Father Edward Leen, C.S.Sp. The present writer feels that, at the
very least, the sincere Christian should divide one half-hour a day
between the work of mental prayer and spiritual reading, if he hopes
to reap the spiritual benefits of sanctifying personal contact with
Jesus. Finally, we must always remember that, when we reflect upon
the life of Our Lord and converse with Him about it, we are not
coming into contact with someone who is merely a model for our
imitation. We are coming into contact with someone who is a real,
concrete source of the supernatural grace we need to put His teaching
into practice. He is far more eager than we can imagine to enable us
to come close to Him, to assimilate His mental attitude, and to form
our life on the pattern of His own.
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Our Lady’s Place in the Spiritual Lije

When we make a prayerful effort to study the life of Our Lord
in order to model our own life upon it, we cannot help but notice
the role filled in His life by Mary, His Mother. And, instructed by
the voice of Catholic doctrine and tradition, we realize that Mary
must have a corresponding role in the development of our spiritual
life. Just as Mary is the Mother of Our Lord in the physical order, so
is She Our Mother in the spiritual order. Just as God willed to come
to us through Mary, so we are to return to God through Mary. Just as
Christ is our great Mediator, our great link with God the Father, so
Mary is our Mediatrix, our great link with Christ Himself. Mary, in
constant subordination to Her Son, shared in every phase of the work
of redemption. She merited saving grace for us by Her participation in
the sacrifice of Calvary, and even now She constantly communicates
grace to us, still in subordination to Christ. Thus the miracle at the
marriage feast of Cana in Galilee, worked at Mary’s intercession, was
simply the first in a long series of benefits which have come to man­
kind from God through Mary. Our spiritual life, our life of grace is,
in a word, dependent upon Mary for its existence and for its progress,
whether we are conscious of this fact or not. However, if our life of
grace is to develop along the lines traced out in God’s plan, then we
must make an effort to be conscious of Mary’s position and to show
Her, in our concrete activities and attitudes, that we acknowledge this
position. We must, in other words, come into personal contact with
Our Blessed Lady just as we must come into personal contact with
Our Lord. And we do that, once again, principally through mental
prayer: by making the life and the words and the virtues of Our
Lady the subject of our prayerful thought, by making them the subject
of our simple and loving conversation with Her.
Saints and holy souls down through the ages have been eloquent
in their praise of devotion to Our Lady. They have referred to this
devotion as a short road to holiness. They have pointed out how Mary
helps us to make progress: She lightens our spiritual and temporal
trials by Her presence and She obtains for us a greater degree of
charity, which renders our simplest actions more meritorious and more
pleasing to God. She leads the sincere and generous soul from love
of Our Lord’s humanity to the contemplation of His divinity and
thence to union with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Elsewhere we
have presented the teaching of the Carmelite, Venerable Michael of
St. Augustine, a clear and inspiring analysis of Marian devotion in
the development of the spiritual life. (cf. Life with Mary, New York,
1953) A spiritual disciple of Father Michael was one Mary Petyt, a
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woman who, under his wise direction, attained to the heights of the
spiritual life in union with Our Blessed Lady. In the form of letters
written to Father Michael, Mary Petyt, or Sister Mary of St. Teresa
(her name as a Carmelite tertiary) has left us an account of her
spiritual experiences. Selections from her letters which discuss her
perception of Our Lady’s role in the spiritual life, we here present in
translation. Father Reypens, Professor of Spiritual Theology in the
Theological College of the Society of Jesus at Louvain, has referred
to the work of Mary Petyt as "the most developed and the most precise
testimony that we know of at this moment concerning a conscious
intervention of Mary” in the higher stages of the spiritual life. What
we must remember is that Our Blessed Lady plays Her intimate role
in our spiritual life, too, even though we remain most often uncon­
scious of it. She raises up a soul like Mary Petyt from time to time
in order to remind us of this reality and in order to let us see to what
a high degree of union with God she can lead us if we place ourselves
under Her guidance. A careful study of the writings of Mary Petyt
will make us realize that, hand in hand with Our Blessed Lady, we
can fulfill the injunction of our Lord to be perfect, even as our
Heavenly Father is perfect.

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THE LIFE AND THE MARIAN WRITINGS

of
VENERABLE MARY PETYT OF ST. TERESA

Mary Petyt was born at Hazebrouch in the Southern-Netherlands
on the first of January, 1623, a girl of very pliant personality. She
experienced periods of sincere religious fervor: for example, at the
age of ten she made a vow of chastity. And yet at other times she
was entranced with the attractions of the world: beautiful clothes,
dances, romantic novels. When she was sixteen she undertook a pil­
grimage to Our Lady of Lisle with the questionable motive "that Our
Lady might make her more pretty and graceful.” But Our Lady had
other designs for her, and at Lisle grace touched the generous soul
of Mary Petyt. She then understood the vanity of the world and she
conceived the desire of becoming a religious.
Two years later, in 1641, she was admitted to the convent of the
Regular Canonesses of Saint Augustine at Ghent. But her goal had not
yet been attained. After spending eight months there as a postulant
and five months as a novice, Mary was forced to leave because of an
eye ailment which prevented her from reading the Divine Office.
Instead of returning to her home, however, she took up residence in
Ghent at a house of the so-called Beguines, a group of pious laywomen living in community but without the vows of religion. Desiring
still more solitude and silence than this house could afford, Mary Petyt
persuaded a certain Carmelite priest to act as her spiritual director,
and, together with a companion, she took the vows of the Third
Order Secular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, receiving the name of
Mary of St. Teresa.

Within a few years, however, their Carmelite confessor was
transferred to another city; and in 1646 they chose as their spiritual
director another Carmelite, Father Michael of St. Augustine, author of
several works on the spiritual life and one of the guiding lights of
the Reform of Touraine in the Belgian Province of the Order. It was
under the wise and stable direction of Father Michael that Mary Petyt
of St. Teresa reached the highest peaks of the spiritual life. Father
Michael seems to have understood immediately the possibilities as well
as the dangers for this generous, affective soul. He told her that
"until now, you have built in the heights; you must build into the
depths.” And so he instructed her accordingly, in the basic virtues and
fundamental attitudes of the spiritual life.
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Finally, in 1657, Mary moved to a small house attached to the
Carmelite Church in Malines, Belgium—a house that was called "The
Hermitage,” not because Mary Petyt became a hermit or lived the
life of a hermit, but because some hermits had once lived in it. Here,
according to a manner of life proposed by Michael of St. Augustine
and approved by the General of the Order, Mary lived as a recluse
until her death, observing in its entirety the primitive Rule of the
Carmelite Order.

In obedience to Father Michael’s directions, Mary began writing,
in 1668, her autobiography, which we may consider as a kind of
spiritual diary. Herein can be found the development of her spiritual
life. These notes are of exceeding interest and even of importance to
the knowledge of the higher stages of the spiritual life; for they are
the reflections of the mystic herself, each written only a short time
after the mystical experience to which it refers, and recounting that
experience with remarkable clarity and exactitude.
All the writings of Mary Petyt of St. Teresa point to the practical
consequence that the soul should be free not only from all sensible
images and activities, which are an impediment to the union of the
spirit with God, but even from the love and thoughts of any creature,
if not in direct relation with God. Only in this way will that condition
be reached under which God can freely work His wonders in the soul.
It was especially in 1668 that Mary wrote her reflections concern­
ing union with Our Blessed Lady. These notes are probably the best
of all that has been written on this point, and they were certainly used
by Father Michael of St. Augustine in his famous treatise on the
Marian life which we have presented elsewhere. For Mary of St.
Teresa, the Marian life begins with the constant consideration of the
virtues of Our Lady. Contemplating those virtues, she becomes con­
scious of their source: namely, Our Lady’s union with God himself.
And from that moment Our Lady becomes for her the great contem­
plative, the mistress of the entire life of prayer, and the means by
which she is prepared for the so-called mystical marriage with Jesus.
But Our Lady is more than a mere bond linking the soul with God;
She is the mirror in which God Himself is revealed and discovered.

Mary Petyt underwent much suffering during her lifetime. She
had her share of physical suffering. But her keenest suffering was
mental and spiritual: she was misjudged by her fellow-humans and
vicious rumors were spread abroad concerning her manner of life. She
bore those sufferings for the love of God and her dear Mother Mary,
and at the end she was amply consoled and rewarded by them. She
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died in peace and in the odor of sanctity on the feast of All Saints
in the year 1677.
*

*

*

1. The Blessed Virgin appears to her, teaches her a more spotless way
of life, and comforts her.
One night, during my sleep, our lovable Mother came close to me.
She was carrying the Infant Jesus in Her left arm. Child and Mother
looked at me lovingly, and with smiling faces. They spoke very com­
forting and friendly words to me; yet I no longer remember clearly
exactly what They said. I do know, however, that our lovable Mother
gave me some advice regarding a more perfect purity, a more complete
detachment, and also regarding the renunciation of every creature.
Other of Her words helped to console me and to strengthen me.
I then said to myself: "It is not possible that this is an illusion;
I am not now dreaming. Therefore I must make note of this in order
to answer the demands of obedience.” Afterwards, however, I did
not wish to concern myself with this experience; I wanted to consider
it as an altogether ordinary dream. Still the memory of it remained
much more vivid than the memory of such a dream. In fact, I have
sometimes dreamed of such beautiful things without feeling impelled
to record them, as I am doing now.
2. The Blessed Virgin appears to her during the Divine Office.

On the morning of the Vigil of Pentecost, during the recitation
of the Office, I thought I saw, in the depth of my soul, our lovable
Mother. She was present among us and seemed to listen to our chant
with a special joy, with delight and pleasure. So it seemed to me, for
the look which She fixed upon us was one full of friendship; and She
was smiling, above all when we came to the antiphons, versicules,
and orations which are especially designed to sing Her praises and
Her perfections.
This presence caused in me a sentiment of reverence towards Her
Majesty, together with sentiments of very tender and respectful love.
At seeing Her thus, my spirit leapt with an almost excessive joy and
happiness. And I said: Sweet Mother, since Your Majesty seems
pleased at this praise which we offer here to You, why do You not
raise up a greater number of souls who would serve You in this very
same manner and who would sing Your praises in all purity of heart?
And I seemed to feel a certain hope that some such souls would come
in the future. Yet I was not entirely certain that this would happen.
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3. She is shown how to conform herself to the example of Jesus and
Mary in the things in which nature finds a certain pleasure.
The soul perceives sometimes that its innermost part begins to
establish itself in a certain higher region and sets out to live in God,
detached from all created things. At other times, however, the faithful
soul is shown how it must behave in situations which delight nature or
which please the sensible faculties. (It is to be understood, of course,
that this advice concerns occasions when necessity, propriety, or discre­
tion demands the acceptance of these particular situations.) In such
situations one must use great prudence and take particular care to
raise the delights of sense to the level of the spirit. Only by detaching
itself immediately from all attachment of affection will the soul be
able to enjoy these things in God.

This applies to everything which in any way delights the sense
of taste, sight, hearing, smell. Would that the soul who seeks God in
all purity might here learn how our lovable Mother and the Child
Jesus acted in these circumstances! As was fitting, they ate ordinary
food. They were present at the nuptials in Cana of Galilee without in
any way disturbing the calm in the depth of their souls. Our lovable
Mother displayed a tender, maternal love for Her Son. She fondled
Him; She kissed Him; She held Him in Her arms. And the Infant
Jesus acted in like manner, conforming Himself to the nature of every
other baby: sucking His Mother’s milk, allowing Himself to be carried
and caressed in Her arms. He was in every way like any tiny, innocent
babe, although He was the Wisdom of the Father. May it be granted
us ever to use creatures after the example of Jesus and Mary: in a
spiritual way and for God.
4. The Blessed Virgin invites her to receive Holy Communion, saying
that Jesus wishes it.
Once when our lovable Mother showed Herself to me, smiling at
me in Her affectionate way, I asked Her what was Her pleasure in
my regard: Should I continue to write some more lines out of obedi­
ence, or should I rather betake myself to Church, as was my custom?
She deigned to answer me thus: "Go; hasten to receive my Son.”
I fell at Her feet, my face to the ground, and I begged Her to give
me Her maternal blessing. Then, filled as I was with respect, reverence,
and love, I heard Her add: "My Son desires to come to you and to
take His repose in your heart.”
During my preparation for Holy Communion, this dear Mother
remained present in the depth of my soul. She was carrying Her Child
in Her left arm. But after a time She set the Child upright on Her
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knees, His face turned towards me. And He smiled at me, stretching
out His arms towards me in a gesture of tender affection.

When I had received Holy Communion, I no longer felt within
me the presence of this dear Mother. Only the sweet Infant Jesus was
present in the secret recesses of my heart, and there I made Him
welcome, caressing Him and protesting my love for Him.

5. How she honors and prays to the Blessed Virgin, in God.
As for my love, my knowledge of divine things, the lights which
I receive concerning revealed truths, my supernatural attractions—all
this, it seems to me, is drawn from its source, which is the Unity of
the Divine Being, although it sometimes flows superabundantly into
my soul. Yet such a superabundant flood does not distract the soul
from this Unity, for in all things the soul sees, recognizes, and tastes
the one Divine Unity, in a mysterious and wonderful manner. The
strength and the light of God alone aid the soul and raise it up to
this level.

In like manner, it is in the Divine Being as in a mirror that I
behold, honor, and love our all-lovable Mother, and that I pray to Her.
I behold Her as making but one with this Divine Mirror, with this
ineffable Being. And so when I kneel before one of Her statues and
implore Her help for some intention towards which I feel an inner
attraction—for the welfare of souls, the needs of my country, or
something similar—soon Her image becomes present in this interior
mirror, where She is contained together with all other creatures. Af
other times I seem able, in some manner, to penetrate beneath the
exterior image, noticing nothing corporal, and I behold her totally
contained in the hidden depth of my spirit.

6. A tender love impels her towards Jesus and Mary. Mary appears
to adopt her as her child and teaches her the way of perfection.
All one’s powers should be occupied with deiform objects; the
loiver powers being subject to the higher, and the higher to God.
It is an extremely tender love which I feel for Jesus and for His
dear Mother, who is my Mother also. And this kind of love gives
me great familiarity with Jesus, great ease in His company. With Him
I am like a spouse, full of tenderness and affection. And the feeling He
evidences for me in return also appears to be full of affection. The
same is true of my dear Mother. She seems to have adopted me as
Her child; She instructs me in perfection and in purity of spirit, so
that I may become more pleasing to Jesus. And She leads me to the
love of Jesus and to loving commerce with Him.
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My interior faculties seem to have no power of operation, despite
their object, except that power which the action at hand demands;
and in exercising this power I am directed by the indication of the
Divine Will or by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Such a condition
results from the great, or rather from the total submission of the
inferior part to the superior, and of the superior to God. As I have
experienced it, God has taken possession of the whole man: He moves
him, guides him, dominates him. He guards me from all the corruption
of nature as long as I remain faithful in answering His interior lights
and attractions. And it is as easy for me to do this as it is to open
and shut my eyes.
7. During the Office, the Blessed Virgin appears to her and acts with

her in a very motherly manner. She chooses the Blessed Virgin as
the Mother of her Religious Family.
On the fourth of February, 1659, if I remember correctly, during
the Office I enjoyed in the depth of my soul a very pleasant and
consoling visit from our lovable Mother. It was exactly like the affec­
tionate greeting of a dear, kind mother, full of tender caresses.

Since then I have experienced, as for a mother, a love both tender
and sweet, yet full of respect. This gentle inclination tends towards
Mary in a way which is both very real and very spiritual. And it
appears to be rather infused and passively received than elaborated by
my own personal industry. I feel urged to enthrone Mary as the
Mother General of this house. All the daughters who shall come here
and be confided to my care, I shall place in Her bosom, so that they
may be nourished there with that divine spirit of humility, solitude,
mortification, purity and detachment, which She possesses in all its
plenitude.
I also feel impelled to consecrate to Her this place in which our
new manner of life is beginning, and to place it under Her direction.
What is more, it appears to me that this is pleasing to Her and that
She willingly accepts the office of Mother and Governess of this
blessed family. Sweet and most lovable Mother, how great an attrac­
tion for you and confidence in your power has your love succeeded in
implanting within me!
You see, the activity of the Holy Spirit now seems to be such
that my soul can ask nothing effectively of its Beloved, can hope for
nothing from Him, except through the mediation and the intercession
of its most dear Mother. This is what I perceived during prayer, while
I felt urged to intercede for a young monk who, tempted by the
Enemy, had left the convent with the intention of abandoning the re18

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ligious life. I thought I saw him in spirit, and it was our lovable
Mother who was leading him back to the convent.
8. The Blessed Virgin appears with the Infant Jesus. She reveals her­
self again, full of majesty and love, and assures her that her
presence is real.
After Holy Communion on Candlemas Day, 1666, when I was
greatly uplifted in spirit and recollected in detachment from my own
self and from all creatures, I again experienced a manifestation of our
lovable Mother, carrying the Child Jesus. She seemed to entrust Him
to me, so that I might hold Him and so that He might take His
repose in my arms. Very tenderly I kissed Him; and He, in turn,
smiled at me; He carressed me and played with me as innocent little
babes are wont to do in the arms of their mother.
For some time also, I rested my head upon the knees of this very
dear Mother, who was appearing to me in an indescribable majesty
and great beauty. I turned towards Her and contemplated Her with
a deep, respectful love, mixed with nothing of the sentimental. For all
this took place in a very abstract manner, in the depth of the soul.
Yet it is true that, while resting on Her knees, I felt some sentiments
of childlike and innocent playfulness, as a small child feels towards
its mother.

Some time after Holy Communion on the thirteenth of February,
while I was absorbed in great interior silence, our lovable Mother
appeared quite suddenly—I know not how. She showed Herself pres­
ent to the secret depth of the soul. And I had a most certain and most
vivid perception of presence. This manifestation and contemplation
were produced suddenly, without my having thought about them pre­
viously, or imagined anything of the kind. Without knowing or doing
anything, the depth of the soul feels drawn from its profundity, from·
its silence and simplicity, and finds itself set upon a height which is
no less silent, no less simple. The first state is an intimate repose in
God; the second, a lofty contemplation, after the manner of rapture
or absorbed attention. Time then passes without one’s being aware
of it. I forget even to return home; I have no more remembrance of
time or of place; and when I return somewhat to myself, I suffer at
having to leave. For then I have but one desire; to be able to remain
in this state.
At the same moment, I saw clearly that this was not the work of
the imagination—no more than that which happened on Candlemas
Day was the work of the imagination. How ugly now appear all the
the statues and paintings which depict our lovable Mother! Rather
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than devotion, they inspire nausea, especially now that the recollection
is still fresh of the magnificent beauty and majesty whose image re­
mains in my memory.

9. She receives lights on the subject of Christ’s Incarnation. The
Blessed Virgin visits her and adopts her as her daughter.
On the vigil of the Annunciation in 1668, there was impressed
upon the depth of my soul a light concerning the subject of the mar­
velous excellence of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God
in the most holy flesh of a Virgin. I saw how our lovable Mother was
bathed in an ineffable divine brightness, and in light, glory, joy and
happiness. She communicated to me something of the ardor of Her
love and the joy which filled Her soul to overflowing when the Eternal
Word was conceived within her.

The excellence and the wonder of this mystery were, therefore,
shown to me, although it was not possible for me to express anything
of it. The depth of my soul felt as if drawn up to a certain height.
And the contemplation of this mystery was carried on with an un­
believable feeling of admiration, respect, and adoration, for it was
centered entirely on the Unity of God. Never before had I penetrated
or understood this mystery so thoroughly. There resulted within me
a new ardor of love, admiration, and respect for my lovable Mother,
since I saw how God had esteemed her and raised her up. The Divine
Majesty had loved Her to the point of deigning to repose within Her
flesh and to take His human nature from Her.

Yet the sight of Her excellence, Her exaltation, and Her majesty
does not affiright me or restrain me. I dare to turn to Her with the
tenderness and simplicity of a child. I love her as a child loves the most
loving Mother; I speak childlike words to Her and rest on Her knees.
She allows me to do so, and She strengthens my confidence by making
me realize that She has deigned to adopt me as Her child. Happiness
and joy! What evil could befall me now?
During the course of this prayer, our dear Mother seemed to
reveal herself in the depth of my soul, carrying the Child Jesus in
Her arms. She was of uncomparable beauty, delicate and lovable. She
appeared to be asking Her Child to bless me—me, His unworthy
spouse. And He gave me His blessing, smiling at me gently. From this
moment, my heart has been filled with a more tender love for this
dear Mother and Her dear Child. Constantly I feel drawn to rest
innocently in Her arms and, like a tired child, there to sleep. How
sweet is Her name: Mary!
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10. She sees the Blessed Virgin carrying the Infant Jesus. Good affec­
tions and other effects of this vision.
On April 22, 1668, our lovable Mother appeared to me during
the course of my prayer. She was carrying the Infant Jesus in Her arms.
And I noticed in this vision that, in an instant, my entire being was
changed: it was raised up to God and became on fire with love for
God and for this dear Mother. I was totally bathed with light and
with a new brightness.
When this vision came to an end, I remained completely disposed
for the love of union and fusion in the Divine Being, in great simplic­
ity and solitude of spirit—although before this vision I had been
rather in aridity and somewhat distracted in my feelings. In an instant,
I had felt my soul surrounded, as it were, and filled by its Beloved.
It was a tender love which had wounded me, and I felt gently drawn
towards the practice of all the virtues.
As long as the presence of my lovable Mother lasts, I perceive
within myself an exceptional and childlike candor. My loving atten­
tions, my sighs, the movements of my filial affection are then full of
sweetness, of innocent tenderness, and of love; but they are also full
of profound respect and of a boundless confidence in Her for all that
I desire and petition, both for myself and for others. Also, She seems
to be agreeable to all that I recommend to Her and ask of Her. She
manifests this to me by some sign or interior communication.
Simply by contemplating Her I feel instructed and stimulated to
pursue a purity constantly more perfect and a more complete simplicity
of spirit; likewise, I receive a clearer knowledge of what I must do or
omit in various circumstances in order the better to fulfill Her will
and that of my Beloved. And from this I also acquire a complete certi­
tude concerning many things, which I cannot specify exactly today.
What is certain is that I then perceive in an experimental way that
I am being attracted by a good spirit, and this knowledge gives to my
soul a truly great and profound peace.
This revelation of my lovable Mother lasted, perhaps, a quarter
of an hour. When it had passed, it left no longing, no impatience to
receive these graces more often or to enjoy them for longer intervals
of time. My soul is soothed and completely satisfied in its sleep of love
in the supreme Good.

11. The most tender remembrance of Jesus and Mary. She rests on the
knees of the Blessed Virgin and in the arms of Jesus. Her love
for St. Joseph. In all things, she preserves her humility.
I experience a real sweetness, a satisfaction of soul and nature
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when I pronounce, with my lips or in my heart, the holy names: Jesus
and Mary. Often I repeat them: “Jesus, Jesus, my Beloved, my only
Beloved; Jesus, Jesus, my Life and my All. Mary, gentle Mary, my
very dear Mother.” It seems to me that these sweet names are almost
constantly within me, in my heart. I cannot cease being occupied with
them, clinging to them, speaking these names in a very gentle feeling
of tender love, full of respect.
However, this experience is not always accompanied by such
clearly defined words. At times I say only half of them before my
spirit enjoys a sleep of love, as it were, in the arms of Jesus or upon
Mary’s knees. This comes to pass in the solitary depths of the spirit,
usually with suspension of the senses.

My dearest Mother seems not to be satisfied with simply drawing
me to the perpetual love of Herself and to a very pure, tender, and
faithful love of Jesus. It is not enough for her to adopt me as her
child. She seems to desire, in addition, that I also love Her dear spouse,
Saint Joseph. She effectively implants this love in my heart, so that my
love and the inclination of my soul have these three Persons as object,
although by a simple regard and in unity of spirit. They are, all three,
constantly united in my heart and in my love.
Despite all these favors, I feel interiorly drawn to a profound
humility, to the annihilation of all things within myself. I must rely on
nothing, imagine nothing, take complacency in no gift, grace, or favor
from the Beloved, my dear Mother, or my loving Father. I must leave
all that to God, as if nothing were given to me, so that I may remain
completely hidden in my nothingness.

12. She experiences an interior attraction towards the delightful de­
votion to the names of Jesus and Mary. She is shown how to love
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and how to converse in spirit with them.
The most holy names of Jesus and Mary are sweeter to my taste
than honey: so sweet, gentle, and delightful that I seem able to taste
their flavor on my lips. The simple remembrance of them, reflection
upon them, or their mental repetition are like small, subtle flames
which penetrate and pierce the heart, gently wounding it with love.
I do not arrive at this devotion by my own efforts or by any fanciful
flight of spirit. No, it is the Divine Spirit who leads and directs me,
gently and simply, in the most secret depths of my heart.
I am learning more and more how to collect all these experiences
in the depth of my soul, almost without any intervention of the senses.
It is the same with this tendency, this outpouring of love towards Jesus,
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Mary, and Joseph. This, too, is now much more completely held within
the spirit alone; it is purer, more detached, more elevated; there is in
it less of emotion and of natural pleasure. Yet I must suppress these
latter things even more completely. I contemplate Jesus, Mary, and
Joseph and enjoy their presence in the depth of my soul, seeing them
as united for all eternity to the Divine Being with whom they are
totally permeated.
At present, these Three show themselves to me all together, with­
out there being introduced the least intermediary in my contemplation
of the Divine Being. For he, as it were, overshadows them and fills
them. They seem, in some way, to be absorbed in him, and it is thus
they present themselves. So true is this, that it is impossible for me to
lose the presence of God, even for an instant, when I consider them or
raise up my love to them. In them, I see and love nothing except God
alone and that which is divine. The remembrance of them in no way
prevents me from remaining in God. It in no way detracts from my
simplicity of spirit.

Thus I have come to understand how the blessed in heaven can
see and love each other in God without impeding their beatific vision,
their joy and their love. I have learned by experience that it is the
same here.
13. The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph teach her of a most exalted
purity. Her love and her experience of the presence of the Virgin
and St. Joseph are diminished as the result of certain imperfec­
tions. How she fails in obedience to them by seizing her own
liberty.
The interior purity which they teach me is so exceptionally ex­
alted that it is impossible for me to express it. But when I conform
myself exactly to what they show me, then my entire inner nature
becomes like a pure mirror, like a crystal which, from moment to
moment, receives divine impressions, movements of love, and wonder­
ful lights on the knowledge of God and of the divine truths. My inner
nature seems to be truly a throne upon which God rests and takes
His pleasure. But when I am less exact, and when I forget this punc­
tual submission and obedience to my lovable Mother and Father,
straightway the gentle, tender love I bear them diminishes, as does my
filial respect. Their presence is thus obscured, until I confess my fault
in profound humility and with a contrite heart.

For instance, I allowed myself to speak to Sister T. concerning
myself and the graces and interior instructions I was receiving. And
immediately my lovable Mother rebuked me, because such behavior
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was contrary to the teaching She had given me: namely, never to
speak of myself or of the graces I received. It was not that there was
matter or substance for a sin against humility; yet such a manner of
acting was not good. Besides, my lovable Mother desires that my hu­
mility be perfect, that there be nothing lacking to it, and that it not
be darkened by even a shadow of what is opposed to it. Moreover,
since she showed me that I must remain entirely detached from my
own self, it follows that I must lose the memory of all that comes to
pass or has already come to pass within me: I must not reflect upon
it and I must be on my guard in future to say nothing whatsoever
about it.
But your Reverence must not think that this rigorous obedience,
this submission to my dear Mother and Father, this constant attention
to their good pleasure and to their directions—that all of this, I say,
deprives me in any way of my free will or my holy liberty of spirit.
It in no way restricts my spirit, or hems it in. Rather should you know
that, in all this, I enjoy an exalted liberty and sweetness of spirit. For
holy liberty consists precisely in no longer disposing freely of oneself
and in no longer desiring to do so. I consider it a true slavery to have
to return to my own liberty; I fear it more than death.
It has been shown to me, moreover, that I am guilty of a certain
kind of injustice when I follow my own liberty, and that I must accuse
myself of this in confession: for I no longer have ownership, so to
speak, of my own self, having given myself entirely to my Beloved,
and to my dear Mother and Father, in order to live henceforth in
accordance with their good pleasure. I even bound myself to this by
vow. And, although this promise was not made to bind under pain
of sin—since this was not asked of me—yet it obliges me very strictly,
for its sanction is nothing else than love which, for me, "is stern as
death, relentless as the nether-world.”

In this sense, I no longer have any right over myself; I no longer
belong to myself. And I can say in truth with the holy prophet David:
"My tongue is the pen of a ready scribe.” In very truth, my tongue,
all my members, my senses, and all the powers of my soul are, or
ought to be, but so many pens with which my Beloved and my dear
Mother and Father write: so many pens which they direct as they will,
just as the teacher guides the hand and the pen of the child who is
learning to write.
14. She tries to explain more clearly the mode of this presence of the
Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph.
I feel compelled to describe somewhat more clearly, in as far as I
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am able, the manner in which I have been favored in these recent days
by the presence of my dear Mother and Father, and to explain how
I have perceived their movements, their admonitions, and their gentle
influence.
The glance of my soul was constantly focused upon Them, and
the remembrance and image of Them were, so to speak, imprinted in
my intellect and consciousness, in a habitual and necessary manner,
without the least activity on my part. I had done nothing in thought
or in deed to attain this effect; the whole thing seemed to occur in a
natural, necessary manner, just as water might flow from a spring.
If I understand it rightly, they became present to the superior part of
my soul, before I could think of Them, and without any expectation.
But there the impression was so powerful that even had I made efforts
to distract myself or to lose this contemplation, this experience, it
seems that I could not have succeeded. (Unless, of course, I had done
something which would displease Them for, when that happens, Their
presence begins to fade, and then disappears—and with it the gentle
tenderness, and the innocent, respectful love.)
What I saw was a form, an image, at once distinct and indistinct.
At one and the same time, the contemplation was clear and obscure.
I know not how to make this understood. It would seem to bear some
likeness to a revelation of this lovable Mother and Father received
and described by St. Teresa. The Saint took no special notice of any
particular feature of Their persons, but considered in one simple
glance, to the full satisfaction of her soul, the person of her dear
Mother.

My contemplation was so simple that it would have been impos­
sible for me to consider the one apart from the other. The two were
as one; yet this unity was twofold. Besides, this simple gaze was con­
tained within the unity of the Divine Being.

15. She enjoys the presence of Mary and Joseph in a more abstract
manner. The reality of this vision is manifested by its fruits.
It appears to me that they are now withholding from me that
manner of presence and motions which can be perceived by the senses.
The experience is now more deeply rooted in my soul and takes place
in a more abstract manner. They have not withdrawn Their presence,
but, as it seems to me, I perceive Them in a more lofty fashion and in
a way less familiar to the senses. Doubtless They have led me to the
goal towards which the former manifestations were tending. In fact,
Their instructions and gentle inspirations seem to have made me
capable of, seem to have disposed me for and even to have brought
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me to a more intimate and more lofty union of love with my Divine
Friend. And my heart has been deeply wounded by His love. They
have made me more intimate with Him; and more than ever have
They implanted Their own manner of being in me, their nature and
their spirit: for I experience within myself, in my entire being, a
divine transformation such as is impossible for me to express. This is
proof sufficient for me that what occurred on St. Joseph’s Day was
not an illusion.

My soul is completely filled with excellent virtues, particularly
generosity, kindness, love and mercy. With all my heart I am drawn
to pardon my enemies and those who have wronged me, to love them
and pray for them, to speak well of them and to excuse them, to take
pity on them and to bear them good will and affection, to forget the
evil and the injury they have done me and to pray God that these
be not imputed to them as sin, etc.
I feel equally impelled to mortification and to a holy hatred of
myself; I feel drawn to destroy all self-love and to have no kindness,
no attention for myself, to have no care for my own person and not
to suffer others to care for me or show concern for me. When this
latter happens, I am put to shame and made even more humble.
Knowing myself to be unworthy, I assign myself in all things the
poorest and the lowest part.
In return, I experience a gentle inclination to please others, to
procure them what is useful, commodious, and agreeable. I deprive
myself of such things as if they were due to others rather than to me.
I feel inclined, out of charity, to perform humble and servile chores,
ones which are abject and unclean, so that others may be free of them
and have their burden lightened.
In all this I discover and taste a spiritual flavor, a satisfaction of
soul, for holy love impels me to bear the burdens of others with them.
However, I believe that I do not yet possess these virtues in their most
perfect degree and that they should grow within me in proportion to
the growth of my intellectual enlightenment.
Such is the transformation which has taken place within me as
regards my external dealings with my neighbor. My interior transfor­
mation, however, is no less important.

16. The Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph appear to her, revealing to her
Their exceptional purity. She receives light on the subject of Their
eminence.
On the vigil of the feast of the Most Holy Trinity in 1668, during
night prayers, it seemed to me that our lovable Mother and St. Joseph
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appeared in the depth of my soul. They revealed to me and made me
understand the ineffable purity, both interior and exterior, and the
ardor of divine love with which God had favored them during their
earthly life. I saw how they had cooperated constantly in order to
increase these gifts and to allow them to develop to an almost infinite
degree. Nevertheless I saw that St. Joseph was constituted in a lesser
degree of purity and love than was our dear Mother.
This revelation took place suddenly, and it was brief, hardly
lasting for the space of a Hail Mary. Yet concerning the subject of
their virtues, their merits, and the loftiness of the graces to which God
had raised them, my mind received within this short space of time
more light and understanding than it could have acquired during long
years in any other manner.

All this has greatly increased my admiration and love for this
most pure Virgin full of grace and for St. Joseph, Her dear spouse;
it has increased my confidence in Them and my devotion to Them.
It strongly urges me to follow Them, although from afar off and
according to my feeble powers, along the pathway of Their intense
interior purity and Their ardent and constant love of God.

My dear Mother had appeared to me clothed in a robe, brilliant
as the snow. She was a young girl, about eighteen or twenty, full of
beauty, dignity, and perfection. This reminded me somewhat of the
representations of the Immaculate Conception, in which the Virgin is
not holding the Infant Jesus.
17. She experiences the presence of her lovable Mother. Wounded by
love, she sees Her in a state of beauty and majesty.
On the feast of Our Lady of the Snows in 1668, during morning
prayers, I had no other occupation nor was I conscious of any other
operation of my soul aside from the contemplation of an especially
delightful presence of my dear Mother at the highest point of my soul.

During this time, I was filled with a new heavenly light, which
poured its rays upon me. I was surrounded by it, just as if I were in
the very heart of the sun itself. Yet this did not attract my attention
in any exceptional way. My heart seemed to have received a new
wound, as from a flame of the love of God and of my very dear
Mother. This Mother appeared as indescribably beautiful, and the
brilliance of Her majesty could have dimmed the splendor of the sun.

This experience lasted for rather a long time, and yet no word
was spoken. I simply contemplated Her, with a calm and affectionate
gaze, filled with admiration and tenderness. This contemplation had
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been a gift to me. It was not the result of any natural activity or
operation. This contemplation, so brilliant yet so simple, was of such
a purity that it would not tolerate even the slightest movement of my
lower powers. These could only have obscured the vision. I had to
abandon myself completely, remaining in a purely receptive state for
whatever it might please God to accomplish within me.

My lovable Mother said nothing to me; She did not even caress
me. Yet Her gaze was full of affection, friendship, and love. I was
fully comforted simply by the sight of Her sweet presence in God.
She was enclosed within the All, completely covered by His shadow.
I always see Her in such a union.
18. She is favored with several visits from the Blessed Virgin and is
thereby inflamed with love. She sees Mary present in choir during
the chanting of the Salve Regina. She asks Her blessing and re­
joices in the fact that she belongs to the Order.
Today I noted the following, so that your Reverence can examine
it together with the rest. My lovable Mother heaps Her graces and
favors upon me. I could never have thought to hope for such things.
At present I am favored by a great number of visits from my dear
Mother, who treats me very familiarly. And my love for Her has
thereby been wonderfully increased. This love is not simply a gentle
tenderness, a childlike and innocent affection—such would be expected
—but it is a love which burns and which wounds. It well-nigh mad­
dens me, and I become, as it were, intoxicated when I consider the
tender and affectionate way I am received by my dear Mother, and
when I consider that she seems to have adopted me as Her beloved
child.
But is She not truly my dearest Mother, now that I almost melt
with love for Her? Two days ago She let me rest and sleep in Her
bosom for at least an hour, perhaps even longer. She consoled me in
a very evident manner. She delivered me from a temptation of the
devil in a manner both apparent and remarkable.

On the eleventh of August, 1668, while the religious were chant­
ing the Hail, Holy Queen and the Litany, I experienced a particular
joy and contentment of heart because I seemed to see our most tender
Mother there among Her dear Brothers. She was greatly pleased, and
the praise, gratitude, and respectful devotion paid to Her seemed to
delight Her immensely.
When I saw this, I prayed to this sweet Mother to the end that,
since She found so much satisfaction in all of this, She might deign
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to bestow upon each of the religious, as a reward, Her maternal bless­
ing, that divine grace might grow within each of them, and that each
of them might continue in Her service with all purity of heart, with
love and devotion. In this fashion She would derive an ever greater
pleasure and satisfaction from each one of them.
Full of gratitude, I rejoiced that this lovable Mother had called
me to be a part of such an Order. I saw well with what a special love
She cherished this Order, because it is so dedicated to Her veneration
and Her love, because it celebrates Her feasts with such devotion and
respectful familiarity, such as befit Her true children and Brothers.
For this reason did I feel so happy at being able, like the others, to
take refuge under Her maternal protection; at being a member, no
matter how insignificant, of the Order; at being a small shoot of this
Vine of Carmel, on which I should love to bring forth fruits in super­
abundance for the pleasure of my Beloved and His lovable Mother.

19. She is, as it were, consumed with the love of Jesus and Mary.
She takes her rest and sleep in the bosom of her dear Mother, and
her soul is satisfied.
All during Matins on the twelfth of August, 1668, I was lifted
up and made a prisoner—I know not how—in the love of my Beloved
and His dear Mother. The process of this love was simple, yet it was
all-absorbing. This might well be called a manner of loving without
manner and measure; for it seemed that my soul passed long hours
in it, even days, without feeling any exhaustion and also without being
able to say afterwards what it had done during that time, what God
had done to it, or even what it had thought. It remembered only that
during this time it had rested gently and slept the sleep of love in the
bosom of its dearest Mother, like an innocent babe. Yet the soul feels
the sweetness of refreshment; it is satisfied and can desire nothing
better than to take its repose in this manner. Even the body seems to
conform itself to this state of a babe who takes its repose without even
being conscious of it.
This state of repose lasted during the entire Office. Since I knew
this Office by heart, its recitation in no way interfered with this state
I mention. It even seemed to me that someone else was reciting, not I.
Still, sometimes at the antiphons and versicles I seemed to wake from
this gentle slumber and set about glorifying, praising, and invoking so
tender a Mother with an altogether special joy of heart. Then I would
fall once again into that gentle slumber.
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20. From all these operations of Marian love, no images remain in

her memory, because she adheres to this love in a deiform manner,
without seeking any personal satisfaction. There always remains
within her soul a spark of love for her dearly Beloved and for
His dearest Mother.
When these experiences, in which the spirit receives so much
sweetness, have passed, this same spirit remains very much detached
from them. Just as if nothing had happened, it retains no images.
What is more, it is necessary that such be the case; and if it were not,
I should have to labor hard to make it so. For I am never allowed to
possess within my spirit the least imagination which might be an
attachment, or the least natural sentiment of possession, no matter
how good and holy might be the object in question. For such conduct
would disturb my purity of heart. The representation of good and
holy things is merely tolerated, and that exceptionally, so that God
might thereby mould the soul through His supernatural grace and
inspirations—never further than this.
Aside from such times, the spirit must hold itself aloof from the
senses. It must then remain in a profound solitude, so that it may
contemplate and adore the All and give Him its complete adherence.
This contemplation is achieved by a simple and pure glance of faith
and by a loving conformity of will tending to the sole and sovereign
Good, our higest goal.
Always after the experiences that I have described above, love is
greatly increased. There remains constantly in the depth of my soul a
spark of a very tender inclination of love towards my lovable Mother
and the Child Jesus. This love becomes habitual and, so to say, essen­
tial—in such wise that, at the least occasion, as when I hear Her praises
sung or sing them myself, or even when I catch sight of Her statue,
my love immediately wells up, tender, childlike, and gentle. The blood
seems to rush to my heart, and that heart leaps with joy and content­
ment. I blush, as if I had been taken with a spiritual drunkenness,
just as someone madly in love blushes when his beloved is praised
in his presence.
But aside from times like this, all must be peaceful, hidden, in­
terior, completely disposed for recollection in which there is union
with God without intermediary, and in which one can live in God
alone.
21. Her zeal for the glory of Mary and her filial confidence. Afraid of

being deceived, she sees herself led by the Blessed Virgin into a
profound solitude, where she is delivered from Satan and trans­
formed in God.
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Another result of these experiences is the increase of my zeal and
ardor to spread Mary’s cult and Her glory. I should like to draw the
whole world to Her love, to Her service and devotion; I wish that all
in their spiritual or temporal needs, would gently and lovingly have
recourse to Her, with all confidence, like a child fleeing to its dearly
loved and loving Mother.
This growth of zeal and ardor within me is of such a kind that,
in all the situations which present themselves every day, my soul feels
instinctively drawn, in an outburst of love and filial confidence, to turn
towards Her and to confide all needs to Her, its own needs and the
needs of its neighbors.
I have been seized by a great fear of having been deceived, little
by little, by the devil, so that I may find myself with empty hands at
the end of my life. Greatly depressed, I let my heavy soul take refuge
near my dearest Mother. Like a little child, I told Her of my sufferings
with great confidence. And suddenly I saw myself as a little child
whom this most lovable Mother held by the hand. And I was led into
an immense and profound solitude of spirit, where the devil has no
access, where he cannot reach out to torment me, to trouble or tempt
me.
When I was well settled there, my dear Mother disappeared.
But I remained there, greatly consoled and strengthened, in complete
certainty that this had been no illusion. I should be prepared to die
attesting the truth of this fact. In a single moment I felt so strong,
so full of courage, that I could have withstood all the demons of hell.
I no longer dreaded their malice, their snares, the violence that they
can do a soul; I attached no more importance to them than I should to
the bite of a fly.
In a single step I had come to recollection in simplicity and quiet,
followed by a firm adherence to God, without intermediary. It was a
union achieved with all the powers of my soul, inflamed as they were
with divine love. Through this union, my soul was, as it were, inserted
and dissolved in God, to the point at which it was no longer conscious
of itself, being absorbed, so to say, and transformed in its Beloved.
*

*

*

22. The Blessed Virgin commands her to explain in what the "Marian

Life” consists. There exists a more perfect degree of the spiritual
life than the simple union with God, the Sovereign Good.
I believe that my dearest Mother is commanding me to explain
at some greater length what it has often been freely given me to ex­
perience of this life in Mary, or "Marian Life.” Today I clearly see
that I did wrong when I retracted and modified what I had written to
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your Reverence concerning a higher degree of the spiritual life than
the degree of simple union with God: the degree to which my dearest
Mother has made me ascend. For it is actually as I wrote to your
Reverence: through the grace of God, one can still rise several steps
higher in the state of perfection, despite the state of pure and simple
union with God or the Supreme Good.

Without a doubt it is true that, according to the usual manner of
expressing it, God is our sole and final end. In obtaining this end, in
contemplating and enjoying this Supreme Good, there is contained the
soul’s complete happiness, whether in this life or in the next. In this
sense, the soul can neither aspire nor attain to anything higher.
But in another sense the soul can aspire to something more, can
tend to something higher, and this in a manner which bears some
analogy to the condition of the blessed in heaven. The Saints possess,
each of them, one glory, one happiness, one satisfaction which comes
to them from the contemplation, love, and fruition of the Divine Face
and the Divine Being. The light of glory and of sanctifying love
pierces them through and makes them resplendent; and it is in this
that their supreme happiness and beatitude consist. Yet certain Saints
and Blessed, it is commonly known, receive a glory and happiness over
and above that described already, a glory and happiness that is to a
certain extent supplementary, each one according to the measure of
his merits or according to the providence of God.

A similar situation comes to pass in this life, when certain souls
are favored with supplementary gifts, graces, and favors, through
which, if I may so speak, they become like the Saints and arrive at a
more lofty manner of life in union with God. In this sense, such a
situation constitutes a higher degree of spiritual life than the degree
of simple mystical union, and hence one may truly speak of a more
eminent degree. That which I experience of this life in Mary, or
Marian life, seems to me to be a twofold life, just as life in Christ,
or the Christiform life, is twofold.
23. The Marian life consists in repose in Mary, in enjoyment of and

union with Mary. It coexists with the divine life, for it considers
Mary in Her union with God. It is proper to the children of
Mary’s special love.
Here I should like to define more precisely how I understand this
life to be doubly divine, and how it constitutes a degree of spiritual
life somewhat superior to the life of pure and simple union with God
alone. This simple union can be compared to essential glory; the other
can better be compared to that superadded or accidental glory with
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which certain of the blessed are favored over and above the essential
glory granted to all without distinction.

Sometimes I am shown and given a life of the spirit in Mary, a
repose in Mary, an enjoyment of Mary, a union with Mary.
Here is how this comes about. It happens that my soul, turned
completely towards God and adhering to Him in contemplation and
fruition of His absolutely simple Being, experiences at the same time
a like adherence to Mary, a like contemplation and enjoyment of Mary
in so far as She is one with God and united to Him. Tasting God,
I taste Mary also, as if She were only one with God and not in any
way distinct from Him. Thus God and Mary seem to be for the soul
but one object, in much the same way as the Holy Humanity of Christ
is one sole object of contemplation, viewed as united to the divine
nature in the unity of one Person.
It is true that there is no personal union with the deity realized
in Mary as there is in Christ; yet union with God, holy and gratuitous
as it is, is realized in Mary in an immeasurably more excellent manner
than in the most eminent among all other creatures. To the soul which
contemplates this mystery, God reveals Mary as being perfectly one
with Himself, as being united to Him in such a way that no intermedi­
ary can be perceived in the union. I seem able, therefore, to kiss and
embrace Mary in a marvelous dissolution of my being in Her and in
God, at one and the same time. At times also it seems that I am taken
captive and enclosed within Her most pure heart. I become mad with
love for Mary and for God at once, and I abandon myself entirely
to this union. Thus is realized a divine life, at once twofold and
simple, which brings about a pure, lofty, and perfect manner of loving
our holy Mother; yet this life is little known by experience. This life
for Mary and in Mary and, at the same time, for and in God, is
properly reserved for Her true lovers, for Her darling children whom
she has chosen.

It in no way astonishes me that our St. Peter Thomas was con­
stantly occupied with this lovable Mother, that he had for Her so
singular a love and attraction that he seemed unable to forget Her
even for an instant. His heart and all the powers of his soul were
completely saturated, as it were, with the knowledge of Mary, with
Her memory and Her love. And whatever he did, whether he spoke,
or ate, or drank, he did in this love and under Mary’s sweet name.
Therefore it was with justice that he received this dear name of Mary
imprinted upon his heart. For the habit he developed of thus bearing
Mary in his heart and of loving Her with a burning love caused him,
as it were, to be dissolved in Mary, to be united to Her and, for a
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time, to be transformed in Her. By love this Saint was transformed,
was lost in Her and in God at one and the same time, for he never
contemplated the one without the other.
24. The Marian life derives its excellence from Mary’s union with
God and from Her participation in the divine perfections. The
nature of Mary’s union with God.
The Marian life—this life in Mary, with and for Mary—draws
all its nobility, its eminence and perfection from the union with God
which the Blessed Virgin enjoys, and also from the superabundant
share which Mary has of divine grace and the divine perfections. She
possesses this grace and perfection in a manner which man can neither
express nor conceive, more eminently than any other created being.
Therefore the Marian life derives its nobility and excellence, as
from the inexhaustable abyss of God Himself, by contemplating, lov­
ing, and embracing Mary in so far as She is seen as being filled, over­
shadowed, and transluminated by the divinity to which She is united.
Were there not this simultaneity in contemplation, then the
Marian life would become less delicate and less perfect. For if one
were to contemplate and love Mary, if one were to be drawn towards
Mary just as one is attracted towards an ordinary creature, then there
would of necessity be produced a species of purely natural love, or
love of the senses, and this kind of love would, in turn, interpose an
intermediary between the soul and God, thus leading the soul towards
a certain multiplicity. For love is determined, so to speak, by the object
loved. Only when the object loved is supernatural and purely spiritual
is love for it is also a supernatural and purely spiritual love.
There is in my soul a light, as it were, which makes me understand
why my dear Mother is more closely united with God, more filled with
the Divine Being than any other creature and why, consequently, she
shares in the attributes and perfections of God more perfectly than
do the greatest Saints and the most eminent among the angelic spirits.
The reason is that God has made Her worthy to conceive within Her
virginal womb, the Eternal Word of the Father. Since this Word re­
posed within Her for nine months, Her nature and soul and body
were divinized; they became, as it were, divine, wholly absorbed in
God. Her body and soul were transformed in Him, by virtue of the
powerful bond of love which the Word bore for Mary and which She
bore in return for Him—an immeasurable and incomprehensible love.

25. God reveals to her the incomparable excellence of Mary. He tells
her how Mary has been constituted Mediatrix between Himself
and mankind.
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My Beloved has made me see and understand, through eyes en­
lightened by faith, the excellence of Mary, Her incomprehensible dig­
nity, Her power and Her authority. For God has constituted Her for
all eternity as the Mediatrix between His Majesty and mankind, as
mankind’s advocate and one who will appease the divine justice. It
is evident to me that God has made Mary the Dispensatrix of all His
graces and favors to men, so that absolutely nothing comes down from
heaven to man save through the hands of this holy Mother. God has
wished to magnify Mary through these prerogatives, because He has
found Her among all women worthy to be His Mother. For this reason
He has made Her so like to Himself, He has so clothed Her with
the divine attributes, He has so united Her with His Father, that She
appears to be, as it were, only one with God.
This explains why our heart burns so ardently with love for Mary,
and why one feels, especially on Her festivals, a certain warmth of
heart and breast—a warmth so extraordinary and beyond the natural.
And so I am not able to lose the memory of Her for a single moment
during the day, no more than I can lose the memory of God. And thus
it happens that I lose myself in Her through love, I dissolve within
Her and am, so to speak, consumed. For this love, at once powerful,
ardent, strong and yet completely interior, leads me to forget myself
and everything created; and the interior flames of this love raise up
both my soul and my body.

My happiness at seeing Her power, majesty, and dignity is so
great—my joy at seeing how She is so dearly loved by God is so
immense, that I know not what to do or say in order to praise and
thank God and the Blessed Virgin in some proportion to the light and
knowledge that I receive. But, realizing my incapability, I remain in
deep silence and in the repose of love. For the spirit falters in wonder
and admiration before the immensity of this mystery which surpasses
comprehension; it is conquered and taken captive, and the will is left
alone in its task of loving.

26. The gentle life in Mary, and the sweetness of Her name. The
powerful effect upon the demon.
God in His goodness has granted me also the grace of breathing
gently, as it were, in Mary, of living in Her and experiencing a won­
derful sweetness when I hear or pronounce Her dear name, and even
when I merely think of it. So true is this that my heart and soul seem
to dissolve with tenderness and deep pleasure. And so, not being able
to leave off repeating this name, either with my lips or in my heart
and mind, I discover such a spiritual pleasure, joy, and happiness that
it seems as if a new flame springs from my heart at every moment.
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That is why I rejoiced so and praised God for the institution of
the glorious feast of Mary’s Holy Name, above all for the special favor
granted to our Order of being able to celebrate this feast with such
solemnity. Yet I felt some sadness at seeing what little devotion and
zeal some people show, especially some of my spiritual daughters and
sisters who appear so very slightly impressed by the solemn functions
of this feast.
On that feast day, I was given to see clearly how Satan was torn
with rage, hatred and spite because this glorious name was so honored.
And this vision increased my joy and contentment, and it made me
renew my thanksgiving to God who had inspired all these things.
Mocking Satan, I said to him: O Beast, how you must regret the fact
that this young Virgin has crushed your head and taken away your
power! You can do nothing further, and, from the moment that this
Virgin chooses to invoke Her power and authority, you are like a
poor, weak fly. Cursed and damned Beast, you cannot prevent Her
from being exalted, honored, and revered. You can do nothing against
Her or against those who love Her and place their confidence in Her.
I glory in Her power over you. I fear neither your deceit nor your
violence, both now and at the hour of my death. For I hope then,
as now, to bear Her holy name engraved upon my heart; and when
you see my heart covered by this divine zeal, you will not dare
approach it.
27. In this life, she is transformed in Mary by the union of love.

I was granted a still more clear understanding of this life in and
for Mary. It has now taken on a more general aspect, and the practice
of it has become more general than it was previously. Here are the
words in which I find the light needed to explain what I understand
and experience in all of this. The words are these: "A soul is of more
value through the love infused into it than through any activity it can
produce by itself.” This statement confirms all that I have written
until now on the subject of the Marian life, and it is according to this
statement that one must understand the joy and union and transforma­
tion of which I have spoken. For it belongs to the nature of love to
unite the lover with the object of His love. And thus love so unites
the lover and his beloved that they seem, in time, to become one single
object. It is in this sense that love, tender and violent, burning and
unifying, leads the soul who loves Mary to live in Her, to be dis­
solved in Her—leads the soul to union with Mary and to all the other
transforming effects of this Marian life. And all of this happens in
its fullest perfection when the Divine Spirit himself directs this love
and stimulates it.
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Thus when the Eternal Father sends the spirit of his Son into
our hearts, crying: "Abba, Father,” and when this Spirit produces a
tender, childlike love for our Father in heaven, then this same Spirit
of the Son produces within us a tender and childlike love for our
dearest, our most lovable Mother. And, in this sense, the Eternal
Father also sends the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying: "Mary,
Mother!” For it is one and the same Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who
arouses in our hearts filial love for God and for Mary, in the same
manner in which He aroused such love in the heart of Jesus Himself.
This entire Marian life is, of course, shrouded in mystery. Yet each
one will have practical experience of what I mean, according to the
measure of his love.

28. More precise information on the graces and privileges granted by
God to Mary, who has been made as perfect as a creature can
possibly be.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the nineteenth and twentieth of
September, 1668, it pleased the goodness of God to make us under­
stand more clearly the grandeur, the eminent dignity, the power and
authority of our lovable Mother, and at the same time to see the in­
comprehensible and ineffable love which God bears Her. From this
abyss of love remaining in His heart, God has drawn forth such a
superabundance of graces, privileges, and prerogatives that it would
scarcely be possible for him, if one may so speak, to grant more to any
creature than He has granted to Mary, or to make any creature more
beautiful, exalted, and noble than He has made Mary. And in this
sense the power, wisdom and goodness of God could not produce any
more pure, more lovely, more eminent creature than Mary, His Mother
and ours.

This is why the angel Gabriel did well in greeting Mary thus:
Hail, full of grace. She is, in truth, so filled with grace that the
superabundance of it overflows upon us in this vale of tears. Her
fullness waters the ground of our souls with an abundance of grace
which arouses us, aids us, strengthens us, and enables us to persevere.
This grace makes the soil of our soul fertile, makes it able to produce
virtuous and meritorious works, both necessary and useful for the
salvation of our souls.

29. All graces come to us through Mary, who never forgets us.
What a multitude of graces I behold coming to us and being
distributed to us by the sweet hand of Mary. I seem to see that God
places the salvation of every man in the hands of this lovable Mother.
Yet I see at the same time that all the efforts of this Mother have but
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one object, to lead all men to their eternal beatitude. And despite the
fact that She lives in the supreme enjoyment and vision of the Divine
Being, Mary never forgets our misery and our needs. Her gaze, full
of compassion, tenderness, and maternal affection, is constantly turned
towards us, to assist and console us in peril, physical as well as spir­
itual, provided that we implore Her with confidence.

The eagle, though his flight is lofty and his eyes always fixed upon
the sun, never forgets his little ones. Constantly he turns towards them
to see if they are in any need, to see if, perchance, a bird of prey is
near to molest them. The conduct of our Mother is like this, and this
conduct urges us to serve Her, to honor and love Her with all the
tenderness of a childlike love.

This knowledge has caused my admiration and love for my sweet
Mother to increase and to become more firm, more simple and more
pure. My heart is, as it were, wounded by a flame of love which ele­
vates the soul, until love be consummated. Each new aspect of the
marvels which God accomplished in Her or of the love God bears for
Her carries the soul to a new height of wonder, from which it con­
templates these things with burning heart, remaining absorbed. The
spirit, moreover, finds itself unable to comprehend the marvels which
are here revealed.
But this love, not yet having reached its apex, wells up from the
secret recesses of the heart, wishing to shout its wondering admiration.
It searches for words which could express the greatness and the dignity
of this dear Mother, for words which could fittingly praise and magnify
Her. And thus love says strange things to praise the dearly beloved,
like the earthly lover who knows not what else to invent in order to
describe the beauty of his loved one.
A further illumination was granted me in which my Beloved made
me see that God is more pleased with Mary than with all the other
Saints and that, consequently, He bears a greater love for Her than
for all the Saints taken together.
30. The Marian Life can be practiced with as much simplicity as the
life in God alone, by a simple love of God and Mary.
The grace of God has also granted me to experience that this life
in, with, and for Mary and, at the same time, in and with and for God
can be practiced with a simplicity, and inner contemplation, and ab­
sorption of spirit almost as great as in the life for the pure Deity alone.
Thus at these moments there remain in the soul few, if any, represen­
tations of Mary, since the soul has accustomed itself to consider Mary
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in Her union with God. In perfect peace, simplicity, and intimate
tenderness, my faculties of memory, understanding, and will concern
themselves with Mary and God at one and the same time, so that my
soul can scarcely realize the nature of the thoughts which fill it. Yet
in a confused manner the soul does realize that its memory is con­
cerned with a simple recollection of God and of Mary; its under­
standing, with a fundamental, pure, and simple knowledge or contem­
plation of the presence of God and of Mary in God; its will, with a
tender and spiritual adherence to God and Mary through love.
I should call this love "spiritual,” because it seems to be operative
in the higher part of the soul, quite detached from the lower powers
of the senses, and thus more proportioned to the intimate union with
God and with Mary in God.
In truth, the powers of the soul, in an eminent and perfect man­
ner, having no other care than the thought, the knowledge, and the
love of God and Mary, direct the soul to such an intimate and firm
union with God and Mary that these three seem to become only one:
God, Mary and the soul, as if they were all three dissolved into a
single being.

Such is the final or supreme goal to which a soul can attain in
tire practice of the Marian life. Such is the unique fruit, or better the
principal effect, of this exercise of love. Mary becomes a means to unite
the soul to God; She becomes, even more so, a strong bond keeping
the soul united to God. And thus She nourishes the loving soul, allow­
ing it to attain more surely and more perfectly to the unitive and
contemplative life, to the transforming life in God, and She enables
it to persevere therein.
31. The mistake of a great number of persons who feel that the prac­
tice of this Marian life is not spiritual enough.
The life in Mary is not pleasing to the greater number of mystical
and contemplative souls. They are of a different opinion than I, as if
the Marian life were a hindrance to a more pure union with God, to
silent prayer, and the like. As they understand the Marian life and
picture it to themselves, it seems a thing too material, too common,
because they do not grasp the true and simple manner of practicing it
within the depths of the soul.
Despite everything, it is really the spirit which leads the Marian
life and directs it, even though this contemplation and love seem to
be somewhat mixed with the operations of the sensitive powers. There
exists not the slightest barrier between the soul and the pure Being
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of God. What is more, the Marian life affords a special aid to the
soul, enabling it to reach God more easily and to be established in Him
more firmly—and this for reasons of which I shall speak further on.
These lofty mystics should study the lives of the Saints, even of
those who have reached the greatest heights of the mystical and con­
templative life, like St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, St. Teresa, St. Mary
Magdalen dei Pazzi, and many others. They will clearly see that these
Saints were also remarkable for their devotion to our lovable Mother
and for their Marian lives; they will see that such a tender and child­
like love for Mary created no hindrance to their divine life in God.
And the reason for this is that the Spirit of God acted within them to
perfect their Marian lives, without making their union with God any
less immediate, but rather in such a way that this union with God
found new nourishment and new help.

32. How the spirit of Jesus and the spirit of Mary possess the soul
and work within it.
I must speak here once again of one of the wonders I experience
concerning this life in Mary and in God. Through the habit of keeping
my dearest Mother present in my heart and in my affections, it seems
that my spirit is directed, inhabited, and possessed by the spirit of
Mary, in all actions and omissions. It seems that Mary accomplishes
actions through me, just as, before, the spirit of Jesus seemed to direct
my soul and be its life, possessing the soul as His own.

At that time the spirit of Jesus performed all my actions through
me, and, under His guidance and direction I was passive. I had an
experimental knowledge of the life of Jesus, and that life was mani­
fested in me.
It is in almost the same manner that the spirit of Mary seems to
live within me today, directing the powers of my soul, moving them in
all acts and omissions, and causing them to live in God in a new way,
never before experienced. Mary thus appears as our life, or as a gentle
breeze in and through which we inhale the very lifebreath of God
Himself, in a more noble manner than ever before.

If I say "in a more noble manner,” this is to indicate that the life
in God, in and through Mary, is a life more proportionate to our feeble
capacity. For, as long as our soul remains united to our mortal body,
our spiritual sight remains too weak to contemplate God in all His
brightness, such as He is in Himself, and we can contemplate Him only
through the light of faith.
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But when we receive the grace of contemplating and loving God
in and through Mary who is so closely united to God, then God reveals
himself to us in and through Her, as in a mirror. And thus these re­
flections of the Deity are better proportioned to the limited power and
feeble vision of our spiritual understanding. And in this manner it is
easier for us to persevere for a longer time in the contemplation and
enjoyment of God, and also to understand more clearly and distinctly
His divine attributes and perfections.

A man, for example, might be curious to see the sun in greater
detail. He dares not fix his gaze upon the full force of the sun’s ray,
for thus he would risk losing or damaging his sight. His eyesight is
too weak to face the full splendor and glare of the sun. Hence he
takes a mirror, in which he can distinctly see the image of the sun
and its bright rays, without risk of harm. Why? Because the mirror
tempers the power of these rays and reflects them in proportion to the
man’s strength of vision. Yet the man sees the sun as distinctly as if
there were no intermediary interposed between it and his eye. He does
not see merely the mirror; he sees the sun as well, and his eyes do
not distinguish between the mirror and the sun.

This example applies to our vision of God and our dear Mother.
These must be considered as one single object of contemplation: God
in Mary and Mary in God. No distinction must be drawn. And then
we shall realize that Mary is a spotless mirror in which God reveals
Himself to us with all His divine perfections and in all His profound
mysteries, in a way that the feeble power of our mind can grasp and
understand.
33. Progress in the Marian life. Mary brings about life in God within
the soul.
The supernatural life of the soul in and for Mary, by Mary, and
with Mary, continues to grow to an ever greater perfection and sta­
bility. That which I taste and experience is especially wonderful, and,
for my part, I have never read or heard of anything like it.

If I may so speak, it seems that this lovable Mother is the life
of my soul, the soul of my soul. In a manner which is certainly evident
to me, She produces and nourishes the life of the soul in God by a
perceptible influx of graces which go before the soul, arouse it to
action, strengthen and accompany it in action, and allow it to persevere
in this life in God with greater constancy and purity.

This influx of grace which gives life to the soul seems to proceed
so directly from the loving heart and hands of Mary, seems to be given
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by Her so independently and without God’s collaboration (although,
in reality, Mary is in constant dependence upon God), that She appears
to us as the absolute Mistress of the divine treasures, from which She
takes what She pleases in order to adorn our souls and render them
beautiful in the sight of God. It is true that God has wished to honor
this lovable Mother and has exalted Her to the position where She has
been established in absolute power as Mother and Queen of the
Treasure of His divine graces. She possesses them forever under Her
absolute power and authority.
34. The direction given the soul by Mary makes itself felt unmistak­
ably. The intellectual realization of the presence of Mary.
The maternal love and favors of this dear Mother for us now
appear with such clarity that there can be no suspicion of an illusion
or of any admixture of merely natural feelings. She has taken me under
Her maternal guidance and direction, much as the school mistress
guides the hand of the child when she teaches him to write. When he
is learning, the child moves his hand only as his teacher directs and
guides it; he lets himself be moved and led by the hand of his pro­
fessor.
I am placed, in the same way, entirely under the authority of this
dearest Mother, who leads and directs me; and my gaze rests upon Her
always, so that I may do in all things that which pleases Her most
and that which She desires. And She, in turn, deigns to show me
clearly exactly what She does desire in such or such a circumstance,
whether it be a question of the performance or the omission of a
certain action. It would be almost impossible for me to act otherwise,
since She remains constantly before me, leading and instructing me in
the path of the spirit and in the perfect practice of the virtues, urging
me on by Her sweet, motherly smile. And thus not for a moment do
I lose the feeling of Her presence and of the presence of God.

This intellectual realization of Mary’s presence and influence is
far removed from anything base and introduces into the soul neither
multiplicity nor intermediary. The whole experience takes place in
tranquil simplicity.

35. A filial attitude towards Mary, and the promise to obey Her. The
soul perceives more clearly the direction of Our Lady, pointing
out how to practice the virtues in a more perfect manner.
Our mind and heart are turned towards Her, and, like the mind
and heart of a loving and innocent child, they are drawn to please this
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dear Mother and to obey Her; they are drawn to seek no object, to
command no powers of body or soul, except as She ordains, urges,
and guides.

Today it seemed that She inspired me and demanded of me that
I make Her a complete offering, a total gift, a sacrifice of my whole
being—heart, body, and soul, with all its faculties. And this I did.
I completely relinquished ownership of myself and gave that self
entirely to Her, so that it might be as property no longer belonging to
me but to Her. I then made a kind of vow of obedience, promising to
be attentive in all things to obey Her will, Her inspirations, and to
follow the guidance it might please Her to give me (presupposing,
of course, the consent of my Spiritual Director).
Since I made that offering, I can feel Her direction much more
sensibly, much more clearly and certainly; She guides me in all that I
must do or omit, as if She were leading me by the hand towards one or
another object. When I must change my occupation or vary my manner
of action, my heart turns spontaneously towards this lovable Mother
with tenderness, affection, respect, and obedience; this movement of my
heart is like the quick glance of a child towards Her, seeking to know
if such a thing pleases Her and if, consequently, it pleases Her beloved
Son, who is one with Her.

I seem to experience the help of this dear Mother in the same
way as St. Teresa experienced the help of St. Joseph, when her interior
life had gone slightly awry and this great Saint corrected it. My lovable
Mother acts in the same way for me, with affection and motherly solici­
tude. She gives me infused light, the better to know and practice the
virtues. Whenever I do something that is at odds with perfection—be
it even the slightest shadow cast upon some virtue, especially humility,
purity of heart, and pure love of God—She shows me how to correct
myself, giving me abundant light and prudence. Likewise, when my
interior purity is somewhat diminished through some admixture of the
lower powers or through my having considered creatures as too far
removed from the Divine Unity and Simplicity, She shows me how to
simplify my considerations, how to purify my soul in God, and how
to detach it from all that is not God Himself or is not at least Godlike.
It seems that a ray comes forth from Her maternal heart, giving me
the light by which to perceive these things and the will to carry them
out in practice.

36. The presence of Mary and the repose of love in Her.
During prayer, I see Mary closer to me, on my right side. Some­
times I rest in Her arms; sometimes, upon Her knees; but always with
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feelings of a very tender love which burns and wounds. Often I ex­
perience a sudden and passionate vehemence of love, with leaping of
the heart and other emotional manifestations. Yet all of this is easily
tempered, provided one does not afford it too much nourishment.

My Mother also teaches me precisely how I must comport myself
in the presence of God and also that, in the possession and enjoyment
of God alone, I must introduce no intermediary. In other words, I
must allow nothing in my interior life which is not purely concerned
with God or with Herself.
Sometimes the vision and the memory of this lovable Mother
disappear or weaken, as is the case when a small child, falling asleep
in the arms of his mother, loses his consciousness of her presence and
his memory of her. But despite this the soul, thanks to its loving and
intimate adherence to God alone, and thanks to the peace and recol­
lection of all its powers in profound silence, falls into the sleep of
love, in a very pure and simple manner. In this sleep it forgets itself
and is occupied in an absorbing manner with the Divine Being, gently
and lovingly falling asleep in Him.

37. Perseverence in the practice of the Marian life results in rendering
the soul conformed to Mary.
By a grace that I received outside the time of prayer, this lovable
Mother was shown to me as a model or example, so that, in my life
and in all my actions, I might copy Her life and Her virtues. The per­
fection of Her nature and of Her virtues are clearly shown to me; for,
fixing my gaze upon Mary, I see the ensemble of Her excellent virtues
such as I have never before known them.

This vision was produced very simply in the spirit, not by any
reflection or discourse of reason, but by a simple regard, by a loving
intuition of the truth which is shown to me and imprinted in me as
in a mirror. When I contemplate this lovable Mother, I see at the same
time all that is included within Her, as in a mirror without stain.
If this favor were to continue, it seems that I should breathe the
very life-breath of Mary, and drink in Her nature and Her virtues,
so that I should become like Her in many ways. (Always according to
the human manner of speaking, for no one, of course, can attain to the
perfection of Her virtues.) Yet it does seem to me that, if this experi­
ence were to continue, my nature would gradually be completely
transformed.

I should then be so good, so gentle, so lovable, so humble, so
generous and charitable to everyone, without exception. And since my
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poverty would forbid me from expressing this generosity and charity
in a material way, I should have to carry these virtues even more deeply
rooted within me and develop a desire to help everyone in need,
according to my power. I should pray to my Beloved and to His
Mother to raise up some soul who could provide this help efficiently.
Even though my nature has already been somewhat transformed in
these matters, yet it should have to be still more completely trans­
formed if I were to assimilate the nature and the spirit of my Mother
like a small child, so that I might resemble Her in as far as She can
be imitated.

Perhaps it will still happen that I shall carry out some task care­
lessly, or forget something in my practice of continual contemplation,
or in my practice of reproducing Her life and virtues; I may even be
lacking in submission and attention to Her direction, guidance, and
inspiration. But the moment I notice myself straying, I will throw
myself humbly at the feet of this dear Mother and beg Her pardon.
Then I can continue on with just as much peace, love, and confidence
as before, without feeling more distant from Her as a result of my
failure. For it appears to me that, in this new life, I am like a small
child who often falls and stumbles when walking, because His tiny feet
are weak. Yet, little by little he gains greater assurance.

38. Under the inspiration of the Blessed Virgin, she adopts the custom
of asking Her blessing before meals. A more intimate presence of
Mary in the soul, even outside the times of prayer.
This lovable Mother seems to desire that, before I take anything
to eat or drink, I present these things to Her and humbly ask Her to
bless them, to the end that they may provide a holy nourishment for
my body, thus purifying it from every inclination to evil and enabling
me to arrive once more at the primitive innocence of Adam.
I have begun this practice and have taught it to others. And I
practice it with a very lively faith, with great confidence and love,
since it seems so evident to me that my lovable Mother wishes and
commands it.

Perhaps someone will think that I am here acting in a less spir­
itual manner than before; but this is of importance. For it is one,
same spirit which accomplishes all things with and through me, with­
out any solicitude on my part. And this custom flows quite naturally
from the depth of my spirit, just as if I were being compelled by a
strong but gentle necessity. Moreover, I preserve always a great liberty
of spirit; I am without attachments and I am ready at every moment to
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conform to the directions of my Mother concerning all acts and
omissions, without having any preference for one course of action
or another.

Today, the fourth of October, 1668, in the intellectual vision that
I enjoy of my dearest Mother, there seem to be less imaginative ele­
ments present. The whole process seems more spiritual and more
simple. Mary is present in my mind and heart by a tender love, by an
affectionate adherence of spirit, and in a more peaceful and intimate
way, free from every image. Now, in truth, my soul feels drawn to
remain in the intimate enjoyment of God present within me, and God
manifests Himself to me in a completely new manner. All during the
time of prayer, I rest in the joy of this Supreme God, and I burn
with love.
And then, outside the time of prayer, my love mounts anew to­
wards my dearest Mother. Whenever I come upon one of Her images,
I cannot pass without greeting it affectionately, my heart full of joy.
I say: "Hail, Queen, Mother of Mercy; our life, our sweetness, our
hope . . .”; or again: "Hail, Daughter of God the Father, Mother of
God the Son, Spouse of God the Holy Spirit; Hail, Temple of the
Most Blessed Trinity . . .”

All this takes place with a profound understanding of the sense
of these words and of the mysteries hidden beneath them; and this
understanding causes in me a wonderful satisfaction, a sweet pleasure
and enjoyment.
Reflecting on the incomparable goodness and bounty of this dear
Mother towards me, I am forced to sink into the deepest humility and
confusion. For, all undeserved, I have received such great graces and
favors. And this reflection gives rise to a greater admiration, through
which my love and affection for Her are redoubled. My heart bursts,
so to speak, with thanks and it cries: "My very dear Mother, by Dove,
the sweetest and most beautiful of all Women, the most excellent of
all creatures! Most kind, more eminent, most powerful after God
Himself! How greatly I rejoice in your happiness and in the fact that
you are what you are! Would that I could make you loved by all men!”
39. A new manner of living in God and in Mary, purely spiritual,
which might be called "essential life in God and in Mary.”
I have been taught another manner of living in God and in Mary.
It is no longer the sweet and experimental manner I have spoken of
above, but one based purely on the certitude of faith and on poverty
of spirit. This new manner of life produces, by its strength and con­
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stancy, the perfection of the virtues, but it is no longer nourished by
a gentle influx of sensible graces, tender love, and so on. It is as if I
were told: "Mount higher, my love; rise above sentiment, above ex­
perience and above sweetness; forsake images; rise above it all, so that
you may attain, without the incitement of sensible graces, to an essen­
tial life in God and in Mary, your lovable Mother.” I seem to see that
the former manner was but a kind of child’s play, that my soul
should no longer deign to consider. For, taught by this clear light to
distinguish what is the better part, my soul has received such wisdom
that it has become, as it were, enamoured of this life of poverty, of
this life bereft of help and consolation. My soul feels now so strong
and courageous that it would willingly ask the Beloved to deprive it
of all sweetness and comfort, just as a young child might desire to be
weaned from his mother’s breast in order to be nourished with more
substantial food. On the other hand, my supreme indifference and my
submission to the good pleasure of my Beloved and His dearest
Mother leave me almost without will and without desires.
I believe that my Beloved has given me this knowledge for two
reasons. First, so that I may no longer rely upon anything, no longer
attach any importance to anything, even if it should please God to
grant me twice as many delightful and sensible graces. Second, so that
I might be kept in complete detachment, free from even the most
subtle attachment to a particular manner of life; so that, in perfect
liberty of spirit, I might always be ready to adopt immediately what­
ever form of action the Divine Spirit suggests, conforming myself
always to the desires of my Beloved and His dear Mother. My inner
life must be like wax, ready to receive the impression of various seals,
without in any way resisting these impressions, since they are the work
of the Spirit.

40. The continuation of the Marian life in the true daughter of Mary,
who is guided by Her in all things.
My life in Mary and, through Her, in God, continues within me.
Just as before, it is a life of humility, submission, and obedience, and
I remain like a child under the guidance and authority of my dearest
Mother, as I have described above.
Today the disposition of my soul was, above all, one of loving
repose in Her maternal arms, on Her breast, on Her knees: a rest most
innocent and tender. And my heart was wounded with love. My desire
is then so intense to please my dearest Mother in all things, to do
always what She likes best. Within my soul there is the most devoted
attention, in order that I might perceive the very slightest interior
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indication of her preferences. My heart is ready to seek any object
according to the desire of this dear Mother, and I fear neither work,
nor trouble, nor difficulty, nor suffering of any kind

How deeply do I feel enamoured of Her when I think of Her
great kindness and Her motherly love for us ! Today my love was such
a burning fire, it was so violent within me, that I nearly cried aloud
and acted like someone half-mad or drunk. Had this furnace of love
increased its heat even the slightest bit, I should have been forced to
cool my breast, since I could not have sustained a fire of love stronger
than that which, as I say, was leading me to outward manifestations.
What a power this divine love gives to the soul for undertaking even
heroic works demanded by the Beloved and His dear Mother and for
accomplishing Their wishes in the slightest matters also. This love,
I feel, could make one pass through barriers of flame or lines of armor!
I am always conscious of the action of Mary’s spirit, inciting me,
commanding me, directing me, in almost everything that I do or omit·.
Towards Her I turn the respectful and innocent gaze of the child,
wishing to please Her in everything, no matter how slight. And hence
I can say in all truth that this dear Mother is mine and that I am Hers.
She is entirely for me, and I am entirely for Her, because I belong to
Her and no longer to myself.

41. A visit of the Blessed Virgin in a still more lovable and familiar
manner.
On the twenty-sixth of October, 1668, I was in a great state of
anxiety and disturbance, for I learned that, through the intervention
of a certain party, I was gaining the esteem of people. After some
hours, this dear Mother revealed Herself to me in the depths of my
soul; She drew me to Herself in a loving and motherly manner, invit­
ing me to rest upon Her knees. I did so and was gently fondled and
caressed by Her, like a favorite child. I was completely consoled by
Her presence, and all my former sufferings soon ceased to cause pain
in my heart. What is more, this kind Mother made me see that sorrow
and fear over being honored and esteemed by people was pleasing to
Her, not displeasing. In fact, one should have such fear and sorrow;
the absence of these sentiments would be a fault.
It was so ineffably delightful and consoling for me to rest on the
knees of my Mother, that all delight and consolation which can be
derived from mankind seemed to be bitter or tasteless. This dear
Mother told me that I should keep myself aloof from people so that,
in perfect silence and solitude, I might be able to carry on my com­
merce with Her. She told me that She intended, henceforward, to show
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Herself especially loving and familiar in Her dealings with me, just
like a tender Mother with her dearly-beloved child.

42. Drawn to live in Mary, the soul remains enchanted with this life.
On the fifth of April, 1669, I again received the inspiration to
live in Mary, by Mary, and for Mary, and at the same time in God,
by and for God, as I have explained above.
I am united to Her in a very lofty manner, in a purely spiritual
manner. And there seems to be no intermediary in my union with God,
for Mary appears as forming but one with Him. In a word, my soul
and God and Mary are no longer three but one, and hence my soul
is absorbed, very simply but very deeply, in God and in Mary. This
experience takes place, above all, at the time of prayer, and it is now
more than ever accompanied by certain ecstatic effects: now, more than
in the past, there are such things as insensibility and paralysis of the
body, suspension of the faculties, sleep of these faculties, and the like.
My soul seems to be led, as it were, outside of my body, so that I am
somewhat confused, particularly when I receive Holy Communion:
I find it difficult to regain control over myself, and I hardly have the
presence of mind or the strength of body even to open my mouth.
Yet this state does not continue very long.

This experience commonly begins with a certain superabundant
motion of love for God and for our dear Mother: there follow joyous
outbursts of my emotions and a kind of exaltation of heart; and then
I am completely overcome by a love as powerful as it is gentle. And
by this love I become, as it were, spiritually intoxicated—or at least I
become very joyful in spirit, as if all the powers of my soul, lower as
well as higher, had been fully fed and had had their thirst completely
slaked.
43. The enjoyment of God and of Mary, as united. Often Jesus, Mary,
and Joseph become one single object of contemplation, through
their union.
This enjoyment of and union with God and Mary takes place, as
it were, without images, because it takes place in a very lofty manner.
It is thus almost completely spiritual, far removed from anything
which could be considered within the realm of imagination or emo­
tions. There remains only an intensely spiritual remembrance of God
and of Mary, who is united to God. And in keeping with this contemplation, which reveals Mary as one with God, my love also flows en­
tirely towards God and entirely towards Mary, as towards one single
and simple object.
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This same thing occurs in my everyday life, as often as I lift a
loving glance to God, eager to do His will in all things. For this
glance reaches my dearest Mother at the same time, and in great
peace, simplicity, and interior conviction. Consequently, this seems to
me to be a perpetual contemplation, a perpetual enjoyment of and
union with God and Mary in God. For my soul, as it were, can no
longer be withheld from this contemplation; and my memory, my will,
and my understanding adhere to God and to Mary essentially, just as if
the remembrance of them, the love and thought of them were locked
within the soul.
It is no longer possible for me to express in words or to explain
the manner in which I feel myself to be possessed and inhabited by
the spirit of Mary and to be led by it. The manner in which I receive
the powerful influence of Her spirit within my soul, must also remain
unwritten.

At times my kind father Saint Joseph is included in this experi­
ence, but not too often. The things which are coming to pass within
me are truly marvelous, things of which I have never heard or read.
It would seem difficult even to believe them, if one did not have per­
sonal experience of them. And yet they are true. My dearly Beloved
knows that I do not lie.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are often so simply and so spiritually
before my mind’s eye, so simply and spiritually present to my memory
and my will, that it would seem that these three are but one. For in
Them is realized a marvelous concord of will and of love—and not
merely concord, but an ineffable union in the bond of love and in the
power of the spirit. And so these three are one and the same spirit,
for Mary and Joseph are clothed and filled with the divine and human
spirit of Jesus and, consequently, united to Him and one with Him.
And it is thus that They form the object of my interior gaze and
the adherence of my love. It seems to me that there is here, so to
speak, a second holy trinity: three who are but one, not essentially by
their nature, but through the sharing of grace and through a transfor­
mation wrought by the Spirit of God Himself.

44. Lights concerning the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Vir­
gin Mary. Her desire for the proclamation of this dogma.
On the twelfth of November, 1668, realizing that preparations
were already underway for the celebration of the feast of the Immacu­
late Conception, I was filled with a great delight and my heart seemed
to overflow with joy. Then my dearly Beloved and His dear Mother
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made me see clearly the truth of this mystery: that Mary, through the
grace of the omnipotent God, was conceived without the slightest stain
of sin. For God, having chosen Her from all eternity as His Mother,
did not permit that She be soiled by sin even for an instant.

My kind Mother made me grasp the truth of this with certainty
and without fear of the slightest doubt so that I am ready even now
(this revelation took place seventeen days ago) to shed my lifeblood
to witness to it and defend it.
Hence it seems astonishing to me that there should still be some
who do not accept with all their hearts this truth of the Immaculate
Conception of Our Lady. There came to me a burning desire to pray
God that He inspire the Pope to delay no longer and to proclaim this
truth as a dogma of our holy faith.

Sometimes God acts in different manners on the powers of my
soul. Then I remain passive, resolved to submit to the measureless
grandeur of God. Suddenly He fills me with a tender and childlike
love for my dearest Mother and He teaches me words of loving ad­
miration. He confirms the lights I received a year ago concerning the
lofty mystery of the Immaculate Conception.
I know not why I have so much zeal and attraction and devotion
for this particular mystery, more than for any other feast of my dear
Mother. During the days before the feast and on the day itself I
experience a heavenly joy which fills my entire being and manifests
itself even outwardly. My sisters have not failed to notice this, for
I am like one bereft of reason through this love for my tender Mother,
whom I call "my Dove,” in a feeling of the most filial affection.

All of this seems to produce a new spirit within me and to bestow
a great increase of grace upon me, impelling me to love Jesus and
Mary above all. And this love leads me to please them as perfectly as
I can, in things exterior as well as in things interior. Moreover, it
inspires me to imitate Their virtues in a perfect manner. From this
there results an ardent zeal for all that concerns them: a zeal for souls
in general, and a special zeal for the welfare of our holy Order, since
it is particularly devoted to this dear Mother and is Her very own
Order.

45. A repetition of Mary’s intervention. The soul understands that
Mary is always ready to help it.
On the feast of St. Agatha in 1669, my kind Mother appeared to
me again. This apparition began in the morning while I was reciting
Office, and it continued during the prayer which followed. It began
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to manifest itself by a sudden and spontaneous invocation, more sweet
and tender than I had made for some time; and all the while I felt the
innocent attraction of a child for my dearest Mother.
This presence was both new for me and supremely pleasing, for it
seems that I had not seen Her near me for at least two months, nor
had I felt Her gentle presence or Her kind, maternal goodness. And
yet I believe that I enjoyed this grace often before I became betrothed
to my dearly Beloved.

Now I understand clearly that, if She had interrupted Her visits
and made Her presence less frequently felt, it was not through any
diminution of maternal affection. Nor was it any fault of mine that
made Her withdraw from me. Without a doubt, I did give Her cause
to turn away from me occasionally through my daily imperfections and
because, in all my deeds and omissions, I have not always behaved as
purely and spiritually as I had been directed by Her several months
before. But in spite of this, the extraordinary kindness and motherly
love which She appears to have for me would have kept Her from
viewing my deficiencies with too much displeasure and severity. For
She knows the frailty of human nature, and She knows that, through
the grace of God, the intentions of my heart were always pure. And
still She kept Herself aloof and visited me no longer; She offered me
no succour and, in a word, She seemed to act differently than She had
in the past, as if all that She had done in the past were no longer
necessary. And hence She left me alone with my divine Betrothed.
Yet as soon as the slightest need arises for Her to show Her
motherly affection, to offer Her care and assistance, then I realize that
She has not forgotten me, that Her motherly eyes remain fixed upon
me. At the slightest peril, at the first assault of the Evil One, She is
ready to help me, console me, and instruct me; She is ready to comfort
me and to arm me against all the snares and attacks of the Enemy and
of my own corrupt nature which, after all, is an enemy as well.
It is for Her praise and glory that I tell you these things which
have become so clear to me, so that your Reverence may praise and
thank Her with me. But my purpose is also that your Reverence may
find in all this a new incitement to devotion and hence have great
confidence in this kind Mother, seeking like a small child, very simply
and lovingly, a refuge near to Her, bringing to Her all your interior
and exterior needs. I have learned that this manner of acting pleases
Her very much.

46. A confrmation and justification of this intervention of Mary.
Dear Reverend Father, I cannot feel for a single moment that in
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all this there could be hidden some snare of the Enemy or that the
whole experience might be a simple outgrowth of my own imagination.
The reality seems as far removed from any such evil or deception as
heaven is from earth. And for this firm conviction I have several
reasons, which I now wish to explain to you.
First of all, it is impossible that this has been produced by my
mind or my imagination, for, during all this period, these faculties
have been darting forth, so to speak, in sallies: they have seemed to be
occupied with other things, unusual things, and to be somewhat dis­
tracted. This disposition, naturally, caused me some concern; it was
most unpleasant, since I was not able to maintain these faculties in
calm and in contemplation. It seemed to me unreasonable and dis­
respectful that, at the very moment when I was receiving these graces
and experiencing the kind and majestic presence of Mary, these powers
should be dissipated; it seemed proper that they should, on the con­
trary, be extremely attentive, contemplative, and silent. And yet it was,
without a doubt, pleasing to my Beloved that my mind and imagina­
tion should behave in this way, for I was thus able to distinguish more
clearly between what was the result of my own proper industry and
what was the result of grace. And hence I could explain it all much
more cearly and convincingly to your Reverence.

Thenceforward I gave free rein to these faculties and I tried not
to concern myself with them any longer. I remained with my affection
turned towards my dear little Mother in all simplicity and tenderness.
At times I rested on Her knees and at times on Her breast, just as
little children do when their mother takes them in her arms. I spoke
to Her in sweet and tender love-—and yet my words seemed not to be
pronounced and to be only half formed.

Among other things I said: "My sweet little Mother, where have
you been all this time? You have not been near me for so long a time!
How is it that you do not come to me any more as you used to ? Am I
no longer your child? Are you no longer my dear Mother?” Her
replies to me took the form of certain knowledge infused into my
heart and soul, assuring me that all was well and that, in case of need,
She would still help me as She was doing at this very moment, like
the loving Mother that She is.

47. Supplication to Mary. Light received concerning a more perfect
state of interior purity and humility.
I besought Her urgently that She deign to teach me how to please
my Betrothed more perfectly, saying to Her: "Good Mother, you know
what pleases my Beloved best; you know what is His will. Place
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within me, dear Mother, your spirit of submission, so that I may not
use the divine graces and favors badly and so that I may not waste
them. Make me ever pleasing to my dear Beloved.”
I often so spoke to Her in this childlike way, although I com­
monly did not formulate my ideas so clearly. It did not seem necessary
to expose my childlike wishes and desires in full detail, for love knows
well how to make itself understood and this kind Mother, who sees
into the depth of the heart, well knows those who love Her and what
are their desires for God. And thus my soul was entrusted to Her
motherly care and love, in complete confidence that She would accom­
plish everything that had to be done, without it being necessary for
me to say many words. What is more, to speak much would not be
becoming to the well-educated and obedient child. It is enough for
the soul to know that its Mother is full of good will and motherly
love and that, when the moment arrives, She will know how to act
as a true Mother.

This infused knowledge which I seemed to receive from my dear­
est Mother helped very much to give me a greater and more perfect
humility and to simplify the operation of my interior faculties. It also
gave rise to further knowledge which it is difficult for me to put into
words. I have been able to retain this knowledge only in substance;
but I was allowed to glimpse an interior purity more perfect than that
to which we can attain here below, yet a purity which can always be
increased, as is the case with the love of God and the knowledge of
oneself.
She seemed to teach me to keep secret the graces and favors of
God: I should also be careful not to say certain things which might
lead to praise. I should never appear proud of anything, even though
innocently and inadvertently, for the Evil One would find in such
pride the opportunity to tempt and attack me. She made me realize
that I had been careless in this regard at times, and that I must correct
myself in the future through greater attention and prudence.

This has impelled me to beseech your Reverence not to tell any­
one, as long as I shall live, about the graces and favors which God
has showered upon me, unless it is necessary to do so in order to
obtain the counsel of a wise and experienced man. Discretion must
always be used, for otherwise people would come to know and my
soul would certainly be damaged. It would be exceedingly painful
to me should such a thing happen through any fault of yours. If I
seem to insist on this over-much, it is simply because I know that I
am not very humble.
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48. Confirmation of the reality of these Marian instructions through
their effects.
What assures me still more completely that this is not a snare of
the Enemy is that my soul has experienced truly divine effects and an
eminently virtuous disposition, which have continued to endure. The
effects are these: a humble and peaceful love for this dear Mother, a
gentle feeling of being reduced to nothingness and borne towards
humility and submission, a strict surveillance of myself, an indiffer­
ence towards myself and a high esteem for others. In a word, I feel
instructed and drawn to love God and this sweet Mother with a
most pure love and to shut my heart and my feelings against every­
thing that is not God.

There has come to me also a new love, such as never existed
within me before, a new life, a new filial attraction and loving respect
for this dear Mother. With new reverence and devotion do I glorify
Her exceptional greatness and Her power with God, for I seem
constantly to receive new graces and a new insight which better enables
me to grasp the truth and conform my life to it.

These are effects which the Evil One would not wish to produce
within a soul, anymore than the profound peace which I felt and
still continue to feel: a peace which has left me with the very pure
and very calm conviction that I have no inclination except towards
God and towards this dear Mother.
Another result was a loving confusion at the thought that this
most exalted Queen of Heaven, this virginal Mother of God, estab­
lished in such great majesty, has deigned to abase Herself in coming
down to me, a miserable worm who have never in any way merited
these favors from Her.

49. During a temptation to vain glory, she takes refuge in Mary, who
reveals Her presence to the soul and confirms the certainty of this
manifestation.
One evening my soul was heavy and oppressed because I had
experienced, in an unaccustomed way, spontaneous feelings of vain
pleasure or vain glory. This frightened me, for I felt that the state
of my soul was not good; I felt that I was falling back in the matter
of humility and in the realization of my own nothingness. Truthfully,
never before that evening could I have spoken of such feelings. Then
this thought came to me: "How is it possible that this kind Mother,
who has made me so often and on so many different occasions expe­
rience Her help, who deigned to cure me of a grave illness—how is
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it possible that She would not show Her Motherly affection for me
even more clearly now by delivering me from this malady and torment
of soul?” (Six days before, as I shall explain later, She had cured me
of a serious illness.)

I then began to pray very humbly and to importune Her with a
loving insistence, like an innocent child. I gently complained to Her
and explained the afflicted and anxious state of my soul; I told Her
how I feared that these vain thoughts might hurt my soul by damaging
my humility and my love of God, thus leading me to displease my
Beloved. I did not cease bewailing my sorry condition.
During the Office in the morning, I felt her gentle presence in
the depth of my soul—for it is only the gaze of my soul that perceives
her—and she was very close to me. As I have said, this visit consoled
me greatly; it reassured me and instructed me, leaving within my soul
very evident fruits which, since that time, have never ceased to grow.

Today, when I was going to prayer, the Evil One appeared to
tempt me, whispering to me that, in the revelation which I have just
explained, I had been deceived, and so on. I saw well where these
thoughts came from. They came from without, although mixed with a
certain fear of mind, but they did not come from the depths of my
soul. This was an added proof of their origin. Yet I still persisted
in asking my Beloved whether all this had been an illusion. And He
assured me with such certainty that it would have been impossible
for me to desire stronger proof of its reality. He made an inner light
burn within me and bathe my soul in so gentle and delightful a
manner that I know not with what I could compare it. It seemed this
light was like a bond which bound me to God, uniting me to Him
in an intimate and sweet peace. At once all doubts and afterthoughts
disappeared, and my spirit received solid witness that I was a child
of God, according to the words of the Apostle: "The Spirit gives
testimony to our spirit that we are the children of God.”

Besides this, I experienced once again in a clear manner that
God was truly present within me. I seemed to be completely filled with
God; nothing seemed to exist within me save God alone. And under­
standing that I possessed the All-Good within myself, I was completely
satisfied and consoled, and it was impossible for me to desire anything
more. What a sweet spirit of peace and humility within me since
this happened! What eminent purity of heart! What scorn of myself
and of all creatures that are not God!
How clearly my Beloved has revealed His goodness and His con­
cern to help me, console me, and comfort me. How grateful and
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faithful ought I to be. And what confidence ought I to have in Him
and in my gentle Mother!

50. Fearing that illness will lead her to make her interior life less
spiritual, she beseeches the Blessed Virgin to restore her health,
and she finds that she is cured.
On the Feast of St. John Chrysostom, the twenty-seventh of
January, 1669, I felt that my spirit was heavy and crushed down,
as it were, in the wake of a new illness. I had had this illness for
some time, but it was now growing worse from day to day, and it
caused me great discomfort because, in the first place, it caused my
Sisters great concern and they were most attentive to satisfy all my
natural desires, and most eager to relieve my suffering. I feared that
all of this would be only feeding fuel to the fire of my corrupt nature
and presenting an obstacle to my spiritual advancement. Again, I am
still so imperfect that, on such occasions, I am concerned too much
with myself and worry too much about myself. Then I realize that,
through self-love, I have been drawn to myself inordinately and that
I am full of personal worries, much more than the spirit wishes to
allow.
Here is what my illness was. From the moment that I took any
food at all, I found myself like one whose body was burned by a
great fever, while around him the weather is cold. All my strength
left me, to the point that it was impossible for me to go from place to
place without feeling extreme pain in my chest, and excessive difficulty
in breathing, as happens with someone who is at the point of dying.
Then according to my custom, I had recourse in a childlike
manner to my kind Mother. I complained gently, and I told her my
fear that the Evil One might find great advantage in all this, as I have
just explained. I was not sick enough to be under constant care, for
my illness lasted only for some hours, after which my condition
became normal again. But my Sisters could not understand that. Then
I said: "Dear Mother, please instruct me; please make me either
completely sick or completely well. It is impossible for me to con­
tinue living in this manner, for my soul is being weakened in its love
for God and its tendency towards Him on account of the imperfec­
tions which are penetrating within it, and which it cannot stop.”

After that, I no longer experienced anything like what I have
described above, and to this moment, I feel that I have been com­
pletely delivered from that illness. Hence I am convinced that my
dear, kind Mother cured me. May She be blessed forever. Amen. This
is the eighth of February, 1669.
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51. She is completely left to her own resources and offers herself to
God to serve Him without reward. She gently complains to her
kind Mother that She no longer visits her.
Several days before the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary in 1669, I felt myself completely left to my own re­
sources. I often find myself in such torment of soul, in such sadness
and bodily suffering that the whole world seems to be rushing in
upon me. My spirit was as if caught in a vise or crushed beneath a
press. I dreaded the hours of mealtime, because eating brought about
acute pain in my mouth. It even happened that I could not control
myself and that tears ran down my cheeks as I ate.
I said to my Beloved: "I know, my Loved One, that this is simply
an invention of love, that you treat me in this way to test my affection.
Now you hide yourself, but only to the end that your return and the
sight of your face will be even sweeter to me. I am content. Since
it no longer pleases you to receive me as your spouse, I consent to this
privation until the end of my life. I am prepared to pass this life
like a good and brave soldier, serving your Majesty at my own ex­
pense and without receiving the recompense of your loving caresses.
Heretofore, you were at my service, if I may so speak. But now it is
I who serve you, and purely through love.”

Considering the state in which I now find myself, it is surprising
that, for so long, I have received nothing from my dear Mother and
have not perceived her presence. I ask myself if something could
have made her withdraw from me. True, I still felt her within
my heart, with calm and affection. But She seemed rather like a
mother who is far away, and from whom no news is now received.
Nevertheless, I consoled myself saying: “My dear Mother is satisfied
that her Son is near me; and if her presence were necessary, I have no
doubt that she would come at once and appear to me as She used to
do, because She has so promised me.”

52. Transformation in God and in Mary. Life in God through Mary.
On the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, I felt within
myself the kindling of a flame of love for Her and for God, and my
heart was wounded by it. While I was preparing myself for Holy
Communion, the thought came to me to unite myself with her in
God. It seemed that I was transformed in God and, at the same time,
in Mary, in a very lofty and spiritual manner which it is impossible
for me to explain precisely. I felt that I was completely possessed
by God and by Mary; I felt that I received the supernatural life in
my soul from God, through Mary, so that I seemed to live, to act,
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and to love through God and through Mary. God, Mary, my soul—
these three seemed to be fused together, made into one single being by
love.

When I was about to receive Holy Communion, I saw my dear
Mother near me, to my right, and also her dear Son, Jesus; he was
directly in front of me. I gave my heart to this lovable Mother, so
that She might deign to give it to Jesus, my Betrothed. I gently
prayed that She would grant me the grace of renewing my mystical
marriage with her only Son, my Beloved. And, without knowing how
this had been done, I perceived that my right hand had been placed
within the right hand of Jesus. And I understood that this was the
renewal of a real marriage with Him, as I have described in greater
detail elsewhere. When I actually received Holy Communion, this
imaginative vision of Jesus and Mary disappeared, and I remained
in deep, and passive union with the Eternal Good. The most holy
Mother of God, our dear Mother, seemed to be included in this
union, in an eminently simple and spiritual manner, in such a way
that no imaginative representation of her remained in my soul.
It appears that all this is produced directly by God, without any
admixture of my own operations, for it is produced in too pure a
manner. I notice that it would be impossible for me now to have or
to form even the slightest imaginative representation of this kind
Mother. But the enjoyment of her which was given to me by God
came by means of abstract thought, by a pure act of the intellect,
and by the love of union in God and in herself.

53. Her love for the Blessed Virgin is renewed at the thought of
this grace. In thanksgiving, she offers to God the Person and the
merits of the Word Incarnate and of her dear Mother. She prays
that the effects of her mystical marriage will perdure, and she
foresees the manner of her death.
On the vigil of the Visitation in 1670, as well as on the Feast
itself, I felt a new ardor of love for my dear Mother because I re­
called that it was on this day, a year before, that She had obtained for
me the signal grace of renewing my solemn nuptials with Jesus, my
dearly Beloved.
At the remembrance of this grace, profound gratitude arose from
my heart towards this kind Mother and towards Jesus himself, who
had deigned to accept me as His spouse, although I am so miserable
a creature. Then I exchanged many loving words with Him, although
the memory of them is not now clear. And I perceived within my
soul a great number of divine communications, which are also now
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blurred in my memory. All that I do know is that I was like a furnace
of divine love; my being was consumed in God without being de­
stroyed, for I still exist and have not undergone the death of the
flesh, which would be so pleasing to me.

I then sought what I might offer to my Beloved in gratitude
for such a favor. And I realized that nothing would be more pleasing
to God than to offer Him his own Divine Being, together with the
merits of the Word Incarnate and the love and merits of my lovable
Mother.

The spirit of love burst forth within me and demanded that my
nuptial faith and love be strengthened forever. And this actually
seemed to take place. Is it possible that the time of my dissolution
is approaching? For the flames of love are springing forth again with
great violence and, moreover, today the manner of my death was very
vividly depicted to me. It seemed as if I were in the act of dying.
Would that it might be given to me, and to all, to depart from life
in this manner, out of love for God and for Mary. What a joy it
would be to die in this way.

54. The reason why the Blessed Virgin scarcely visits her any more.
One day I was presenting our food to this sweet Mother, so that
She might bless it. And while I was doing this, as She herself had
taught me, the thought occurred to me that this sweet Mother did not
come to visit me as often as before. I was surprised that I was not
enjoying her presence or her instruction or her affectionate words
with any frequency. Yet my love for her was as tender and innocent,
as gentle and childlike as ever. Then this answer to my question came
to me interiorly: "When this lovable Mother was constantly with you,
guiding you in the path of her virtues, that was to prepare you for
the mystical marriage with her most dear Son. Now that this marriage
has been accomplished, She stands aside and allows the bride to
converse alone with the Bridegroom, as is only fitting.”
To tell the truth, since this union has really been brought about,
my soul is commonly alone with its Beloved. My dear Mother and
the Angels seem to remain, as it were, outside.

55. She enjoys the Being of God more intensely. The possession of
God is achieved in the superior part of the soul. She is completely
abstracted in this simple vision of God, is more passive than
active. Her tender affection for her dear Mother is here sus­
pended.
The manner of living in God wherein, through His grace, God
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has set me for some time, is an intimate enjoyment of the Divine
Being, in a lofty eminence of light and peace. This manner of enjoy­
ing God and experiencing divine things cannot even be compared
with any of the preceding manners. Here, God reveals Himself in a
more lofty light. He allows the soul to understand and to experience
wonderful things in himself, things which cannot afterwards be re­
membered or expressed in words. While this enjoyment lasts, however,
the soul would fluently speak to those who would understand, reveal­
ing how God is an abyss of wonders.
During this time, the soul realizes that it is filled by God and
completely possessed by Him. He invades it so suddenly, and re­
duces it to such complete submission that it can no longer perceive
anything within itself save God alone, and that which God pleases
to reveal to it. How great and marvelous is this union with God!
All this takes place in the higher part of the soul, and has
nothing in common with the lower powers. The operation of the
understanding itself seems to be, for the most part, suspended, and
there remains only a simple gaze, which serves for the contemplation
of God in great tranquility. It takes place in a manner more passive
than active, and the principal work is assigned to the power of love
and transformation, since this is more apt for the perception and the
possession of God.
I do not think I have ever experienced a manner of enjoying
God in the depths of my soul which is so simple, so peaceful, so
profound, and which is so free from the activities common to the
lower powers. I feel so strange that it appears that there are two
distinct persons within me.
The spirit, feeling so detached from the lower powers, wishes
to have nothing more to do with these, unless it should please God
to indicate another manner of divine life in which these powers would
have a part to play.

During all the time of this silent enjoyment of the Divine Being,
all filial affection and sensible devotion for the sweet Mother, are
suspended, as well as all other activities of the spirit and of love,
no matter what their object. Yet all these activities remain, in some
manner, hidden within. They are really there, but during this time
they do not manifest themselves, for such manifestations would be
useless. They serve no purpose and are not pleasing to God during
the nuptial feasts, for then God offers Himself as the sole nourish­
ment for the soul. This is why everything which is inferior to God,
must disappear at these moments.
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Schema of the Marian Doctrine of Mary Petyt of St. Teresa
and Michael of St. Augustine, her Spiritual Director.
1.

Basis of the Marian life.
a. Mary s Divine and Spiritual Maternity;
b. Mary’s Queenship.

Principle of this Life.
Supernatural grace, obtained for us and given to us by Mary, the
Mediatrix and Dispensatrix of all Grace.

2.

3.

Purpose of the Marian Life.
To conform one’s self in all things to Mary’s will, which is one
with the will of God, and thereby to contribute to the honor and glory
of God and our Lady.

4.

Sources of the Marian Life.
There are two sources: 1) A habit acquired through many and
frequent acts of loving attention to Mary, obedience to Her, and
consideration of Her prerogatives.
2) A spontaneously infused gift from the
Holy Spirit.
Practice of the Marian Life.
Loving remembrance of Mary, after the manner of the Practice
of the Presence of God, plus effort to do Mary’s will, and to repro­
duce her virtues.

5.

Characteristics of the Marian Life.
1) A constant remembrance of Mary and inclination towards
Her, as in the Practice of the Presence of God.
2) The soul’s affections and thoughts find their term simul­
taneously in Mary and in God, so that it seems that neither Mary
nor God can be forgotten.
(These characeristics are found despite the source from which the
Marian life arises)

6.

When the source is an acquired habit, then the relations of the
soul to Mary are reserved and rather sober.
When the source is the infused gift of the Holy Spirit, then
1) The main characteristic is spontaneity, and this results in most
childlike relationships of the soul with Mary. 2) The soul expe­
riences the rightful place which Mary should hold in its striving
for union with God. 3) Interior lights are received as to Mary’s
excellence and grandeur, and the result is a much greater and more
profound love for Her.
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MEDITATIONS FOR MENTAL PRAYER
BASED UPON THE
WRITINGS OF MARY PETYT OF ST. TERESA

Earlier in this work, we have tried to explain the meaning and
the purpose of that form of prayer which is called mental. We saw
that it means simply a loving and intimate conversation with God,
with our Lord, or with our Blessed Lady. We saw that its purpose
is to establish and strengthen the bond of close friendship between
our Lord or our Lady and ourselves through a daily and a personal
contact. If we wonder, then, how to go about practicing mental
prayer, we need only recall this meaning and purpose. For an ordi­
nary conversation, we must in some way be present to the person with
whom we are talking. There is this same need for the conversation
of mental prayer. Now God, we know, is present everywhere, and
He dwells in a special manner in the soul which possesses sanctifying
grace. Our Blessed Lord, even in his humanity, is present in the
tabernacle. Our Blessed Lady is present because She is constantly,
in her position as the Mediatrix and Dispensatrix of grace, com­
municating supernatural help to us. What is more, as our Spiritual
Mother, She has a right to know of all our needs, a right to know
every thought or word or sigh, which we direct to Her. And God
gives Her this knowledge. All that we need do, therefore, at the be­
ginning of our mental prayer, is to advert to this presence of God, of
our Lord, or of our Lady, and realize that, by their superior knowl­
edge and love, they are far closer, far more present to us than any
earthly companion could ever be.
Then we need a subject for conversation. Often this will suggest
itself spontaneously by reason of our present needs or sentiments, by
reason of a certain feast day, and the like. At other times, it is well
to have a subject which we can prepare by reading and reflection.
It is to help answer this need that the following short Marian reflec­
tions, based on the writings of Mary Petyt, have been added.

Once we have withdrawn our minds from other occupations
in order to realize the presence of God, or our Lady, and have
selected some subject for prayerful conversation, then it only remains
for us to think, speak, and listen. It is well, in concluding our mental
prayer, to summarize the substance of it in some one thought or
aspiration which we can recall from time to time during the day.
In this way, we will increase the spiritual fruits of our mental prayer,
and we will more perfectly establish that personal contact with our
Lord and our Lady which is so essential for the progress of our super­
natural life of grace.
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First Meditation: Our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary gives
great pleasure to Her.
(Selection Two, page 15, should be read)

When our Blessed Lady, bearing God within Her womb, went

to visit her cousin Elizabeth, she pronounced her famous Magnificat, in

which she said: Henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed.

(Luke 1:48) Were an unknown girl, from an unknown village, to
speak thus today, we should laugh at her. Yet Mary was an unknown
girl from an unknown village. She spoke, however, inspired by God.

She had reason for expecting honor from all men at all times, for
She had been chosen to be God’s own Mother.
Our Lady’s prophecy has been fulfilled. In every age since the

birth of the Church, Christians have chanted her praises and thereby

given her joy. She knows that all praise given to her is referred, ulti­
mately, to God the Father, whose daughter She is, to God the Holy

Ghost, whose Spouse She is, and to God the Son, whose Mother She
is—to God who regarded the lowliness of his handmaid. (Luke 1:48)
It is a great consolation to know that my love and devotion give

joy to the heart of our Blessed Lady. I can, therefore, repay her some­
what for all that She has suffered on my account. I must pray, like

Mary Petyt of St. Teresa, that God will raise up many sincere
servants of his dear Mother. But most of all, I must examine my own
devotion to see if it is as sincere and generous as it should be. I must

pray to our Lady herself to teach me how to perfect my devotion and
thereby please her more.
Today, as I take my meals, I will rejoice that my devotion gives

pleasure to our Lady, and I will ask her for an increase of that devo­
tion.
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Second Meditation: The Imitation of our Blessed Lady
(Selection Sixteen, pages 26-27, should be read)
The great St. Augustine pointed out long ago that the test of true
devotion is imitation. Devotion without imitation is a false devotion,
or rather, it is no devotion at all. How does my devotion to the
Blessed Virgin stand up against this test? Is my devotion a somewhat
materialistic, mathematical affair: so many prayers said, and so on?
Or do I make a sincere effort to model my life upon the life of my
dear Mother?
Our Lady seems to speak to us in the words of St. Paul: Follow
my example, I entreat you, as 1 follow the example of Christ. (1 Cor.
4:16) I have left an example and a lesson for each one of you to
imitate, no matter what your condition of life may be. Are you a
virgin? You can learn from me how to preserve your virginal purity
unsullied. Are you a married person ? I have left you a perfect example
of marital love and affection. I have left you an example of sub­
mission and obedience to your partner in life. Are you a parent?
From me you can learn to bestow more care upon your children than

upon yourself. Whether you suffer and are sad, or rejoice and are
glad, I am your model. I teach you how to share your lot, whatever

it may be, with God. Are you a priest? More than any priest, I pos­
sessed the spirit of the priesthood, the spirit of sacrifice, and I shared
more intimately and more perfectly in the sacrifice of Christ than any

priest could ever hope to share. In all the circumstances of your life,
I am a sure guide to follow. You have only to fix your eyes upon me

to learn the true way of God and to the holiness which God expects
of you.
As I go about my daily work today, I shall make a special effort

to keep our Lady in mind, and to share the dispositions which she
felt as she performed her own daily tasks.
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Third Meditation: The Imitation of our Blessed Lady (II)
At times, the imitation of our Blessed Lady seems to be an im­
possible task. Mary was perfectly sinless. From the first moment of
her life until the last, she was the friend of God. She lived in unique
circumstances: for thirty-three years, she shared the companionship of
Jesus Christ himself.

Yet there is always one aspect in which Mary can be an example,
an inspiration for each one of us, even for those who are the most
humble and mediocre in matters spiritual. We can and must try to
imitate Mary in her Christianity, in her religion: in her devotion, that
is, to Jesus Christ.

All Mary’s religion was summed up in devotion to Jesus Christ.
She was a Christian through and through, a Christian in the full sense
of the term. She embodied in herself the spirit of christianty, and we
are invited by the Church to have Mary’s religion, to model our
Christianity upon hers.

Like Mary, I am called to love God, and that is why my life
should center around Jesus. I recall those pictures of Mary in which
She holds the child Jesus loosely in her arms. It is as if she were say­
ing: This child is my whole life. Love and devotion to Him is the
explanation of my life. But I am ready to give him to you, so that He
can be your life also, so that your life, too, can be a life of constant
love and devotion to Him. That will mean that you shall have to be
faithful to all His commands, and to the laws of His Church. You
shall have to learn to carry the cross with Him as I did, and to offer
up your life with Him in the morning Mass. You shall have to learn
to enter into His own mind and heart by the graces that He will give
you in Holy Communion. You shall have to learn to be faithful
in all the duties of your state in life, whatever it may be. You shall
have to learn to serve Him without counting the cost—to work for
Him, slave for Him, and have only one ambition in life; namely,
to promote God’s cause and serve His interests. But if you do all this
—and He will make you able to do it by His powerful grace—why
then you will be imitating me; you will be my faithful and devoted
child, living after the example of your Mother.
Dear Mother Mary, help me to love Jesus as you loved Him,
and to follow your advice: Do whatever He tells you. (John 2:5)
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Fourth Meditation: Submission to the will of God

(Selection Thirteen, pages 23-24, should be read)

The words which provide the key to the understanding of our

Blessed Lady’s spiritual beauty, are those which She spoke to the
Angel Gabriel: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me
according to thy word. (Luke 1:38) Our Lady constantly submitted

to the will and good pleasure of God. And thereby she achieved true
human and spiritual greatness.

Often I make a very fundamental mistake. I draw up my own

plans for a "successful” life, for a life which will lead me to holiness
and happiness and salvation, and I think of God as some congenial
person sitting in the background, ready to help me carry out those
plans if I ask Him. In reality, the situation is exactly the contrary. God
has His plans for my life, for the smallest circumstances of that life.
And it is only when I bring myself into accord with God’s plan that
I can achieve true “success”—true happiness and holiness. How do I
bring myself into accord with God’s plan? By submitting, in a spirit
of love and resignation, to His will and good pleasure as shown to me
in the circumstances of my daily life.

The plan of God is often dark and mysterious to me. His plan
may include sickness and failure. It may assign a task to which, hu­
manly speaking, I am unequal. It may include poverty, or the constant
struggle to survive and to support my dependents. Yet it is by making
the effort and sacrifice necessary to accept God’s plan that I can be
really happy and work out my holiness. God’s plan for Mary must
have puzzled her, and it included much suffering. She accepted it,
however, with love and resignation.
I shall ask my Mother Mary for new insight into the plan of
God for my life. As I begin each new task today, I shall try to say,

with Mary: Be it done to me according to thy word.
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Fifth Meditation: Pleasure and Spiritual Progress
(Selection Three, page 16, should be read)

From things which we have heard or read, we may have con­
cluded that a spiritual life, a life in which we pursue the goal of
holiness and union with God, is a rather dreary and unpleasant life.

We may even feel somewhat guilty after we have enjoyed some form
of legitimate recreation and relaxation, judging that this has been

time lost to the work of spiritual advancement.
If so, we are making a mistake. Jesus and Mary have taught us a

different lesson from the example of their lives. They lived as

thoroughly normal people. They worked, and prayed, and suffered, it
is true. But they also enjoyed friendship and love. They took advan­
tage of the simple pleasures which their humble means could afford.

They must have looked forward to the yearly trip to Jerusalem among
friends and relations. The marriage feast at Cana was certainly not
the only such celebration which they attended with joy.

Jesus and Mary came to teach me how to live. They have shown
me that every part of my life—not merely work and suffering and

prayer, but relaxation and pleasure as well—is holy and can con­
tribute to my life of union with God. I can take Jesus and Mary for

my friends and companions not only when I suffer, but also when I
rejoice. All that brings joy into my life is a reflection of the infinite

goodness of God, and hence I should be brought closer to God by
pleasure.

Today, I shall make a special effort to share my joys and pleasures,
as simple as they may be, with Jesus and Mary. I shall try to realize

how much more wonderful than these, must be the God who made
them.
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Sixth Meditation: Need for Mortification

Ask any child in elementary school for the formula for becoming

a saint, and he will promptly answer: prayer and sacrifice. We would
have said the same, many years ago. And we do pray. But did we
ever reach a practical realization of the need for sacrifice in our lives ?
Do we understand that, if we can find God even in our pleasures, we

must find Him in sacrifice, or, as it is called, mortification. For our

Lord has said: If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny him­
self, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

Why this need for mortification? Because unless we occasionally

say No to ourselves, even in lawful matters, we shall not be able to

say No when it is a question of sin. Our will must be trained to deny
itself and seek God. We train it by the sacrifice of mortification.

But mortification does not mean simply "no sugar in my morning

coffee.” It is something far deeper than that. It is an attitude of mind
and soul. It means seeking what God wants, not what I want, in

every phase of life. I want recognition, success, applause, sympathy,

ease, and contentment. Failure, misunderstanding, illness, suffering,
are often in God’s plan. Effort and sacrifice are always in His plan:
the effort and sacrifice needed to apply myself wholeheartedly to the

duties of my state or position in life. That is real mortification.
The best mortifications, the ones most fruitful for my spiritual
progress, are those which God sends me through the circumstances of

my life. If I accept them well, they enable me truly to deny self and to
emphasize God in my life. Still, as a reminder, I should perform some

daily, self-imposed mortification, even something as simple as that

"no sugar in my morning coffee.”
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Seventh Meditation: Holy Communion
(Selection Four, pages 16-17, should be read)

To live the life of holiness, grace is necessary. Without the con­
stant help of grace, our lower nature, weakened by orginal sin, will
lead us to abandon our efforts. God is always willing to communicate
this necessary grace to us, and He uses the Sacraments as His instru­
ments, in much the same way as we use a pen to write with.
If we wish to live in close friendship with God and Our Lady,
therefore, we must keep close to the Sacraments, especially the Sacra­
ment of Penance and the Holy Eucharist.

It is not enough simply to receive our Lord often in Holy Com­
munion. I must receive Him with the proper dispositions. I must
make a suitable preparation and thanksgiving. For God gives His
grace only where He finds vessels empty to receive it. I must bring to
Holy Communion a deep faith in the real presence of Jesus, a deep
confidence in His desire and power to bless me.
My natural food must be digested if it is to benefit me. So my

supernatural food of Holy Communion must be spiritually "digested.”

How can I so "digest” this spiritual food? By remaining quiet for a
few moments after I receive our Lord and trying to assimilate His

mind: trying to penetrate into His manner of judging things, into His
sense of values, by asking His help to live according to His standards.
It is said that King Henry VIII used to receive Holy Communion

each day. He would never have reached so sorry a state if he had
made a sincere effort to "digest” his spiritual food: to assimilate the
mind as well as the body of Christ.
Three times today I shall pause in my work, and in union with

our Lady, I will make a spiritual Communion with the same disposi­
tions which should fill my heart when I receive sacramentally.
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Eighth Meditation: The Sacrifice of the Mass

The Holy Eucharist is not merely a Sacrament. It is also a sacrifice.
And as a sacrifice, it is the central act of our holy religion. The sacri­
fice of the Mass does not exist simply to provide us with Holy
Communion. It is the other way round. Holy Communion exists to
enable us to share in the sacrifice of the Mass, by bringing us into
an ever closer union with the Divine Victim of the sacrifice.
For the Mass, as a sacrifice, is not simply our Lord’s sacrifice.
It is our sacrifice, too. Our bodies and souls, our joys and sorrows,
our lives are meant to become part of the material of the sacrifice,
together with the body and soul, the joys and sorrows, the life of
Jesus himself. When we make that offering at Mass, then all our
ordinary actions become holy things, worthy to be offered to God
the Father together with the actions of his only-begotten Son.

When we consider the sacrifice of the Mass in this light, we can
see how the whole of our lives should simply be an effort to live up
to what we say to God during the Mass: an effort to make the neces­
sary sacrifice to live in a manner worthy of someone who has been
officially dedicated, together with Jesus, to the love and service of
God the Father.

Many Christians are failures at Christianity, not because they do
not assist at Mass, but because they never make the wholehearted
offering of themselves which the Mass demands. And hence they have
no ideal to strive after in their daily activities. To use the example of
King Henry VIII once more, he assisted at three Masses every day. It
is obvious, however, that he did not share the dispositions of sacrifice.
We can imagine, on the other hand, with what perfect disposi­
tions Our Blessed Lady assisted at the daily Mass offered by St. John
the Apostle. We should ask Her to teach us how to assist at our
next Mass with the proper spirit of sacrifice.
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Ninth Meditation: Consecration to Mary

(Selection Seven, pages 18-19, should be read)
The entire world has been consecrated to Mary by an official act
of Pope Pius XII. It remains, however, for each soul to consecrate

itself, and to make every effort to live its consecration.

We must realize, first of all, that consecration to Mary means
more than the simple recitation of a formula. Consecration to Mary

is meant to affect our daily living, and to affect it in a very vital way.
Consecration to Mary must make us direct our every word and deed
to her honor and glory. It must make us willing to leave all things
in her hands: our goods of body and soul, our future of success or

failure, of health and happiness or of sickness and sorrow. Consecra­
tion to Mary must make us strive at every moment to make our life—

even though it is a common, ordinary human life, as Mary’s life was—

to make that life something worthy to be presented in homage to the
Mother of God: therefore, something free from sin, something of
faithful loyalty to Christ, something of deep, childlike love.
Dear Mother Mary, I rejoice that I am your child, consecrated

to your love and service. I am sorry that my consecration has not, here­
tofore, exercised a more profound influence upon my life. Forgive
me, and obtain for me the grace to live, in future, in a manner worthy

of someone who has been consecrated to you.

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Tenth Meditation: Mary’s Order

(Selection Eighteen, pages 28-29, should be read)
There is one Religious Order which, above all others, has always
been recognized as distinctively Marian in its life and spirit. It is the

Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel:
the Carmelite Order. The Carmelite Order is officially dedicated to

Mary. All that it does is done for her honor and glory. What is more,
the members of the Order take the life of Mary as their model and

guide. Their constant effort is to reproduce her virtues.
Mary herself has designated the Carmelite Order as Her own
by Her gift of the Scapular. The Scapular was always a part of the
Carmelite religious habit. But Our Lady made it the principal part:

She made it the official sign of souls consecrated to Her, the official
insignia of the children of Her special love.
Everyone who wears the Brown Scapular is affiliated to the

Carmelite Order. He becomes a special child of Our Lady. His life,
like the life of every Carmelite, is to be one dedicated to her honor

and glory. He also shares in the prayers and good works of all

Carmelites and Scapular wearers all over the world.
Thank you, my dear Mother Mary, for making me one of your

own through the Brown Scapular. It is a constant sign to me of my

dedication to you. It is a constant sign to you of my love and allegiance.
Awake or asleep, I am clearly marked as someone who belongs to you.

With Mary Petyt of St. Teresa, I pray for the Carmelite Order,

your own Order. May it ever flourish. May it lead countless souls
to heaven through the Brown Scapular, through consecration to you

and imitation of your virtues.
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Eleventh Meditation: Mary’s Union with God
(Selection Twenty-three, pages 32-34, should be read)

The basis of our Blessed Lady’s dignity, and hence the basis of
the special veneration which is her due, is Her lofty and intimate

union with God. The union of the two natures, divine and human, in
the person of the Word of God alone surpasses Mary’s union with

God. For Mary is united to God as his Mother.
Mary’s position as the Mother of God is the root of all her
other privileges. The fact that Mary was to be the Mother of God

was the reason why she was conceived immaculately. Her position

as Mother of God won for Her the special grace of being preserved,
throughout her life, from all stain of sin and imperfection. Her
dignity as Mother of God would not suffer Her body to corrupt in
the grave, and hence She was assumed, body and soul, into heaven.

And it is because Mary is the Mother of God that She now reigns as
Queen of heaven and earth, to whom we owe all our allegiance.

In my devotion to Mary, I must always keep in mind this funda­
mental dignity which She possesses. If I do, then my devotion to Her
will be based on the solid foundation of Catholic dogma, and I need
not fear error or mere sentimentality.

This dignity of Mary’s also teaches me that the true dignity of
every human person rests, ultimately, upon that person’s union with

God. I must learn to make my judgments accordingly, and not to be
misled by appearances. I must also renew my own zeal to deepen

my union with God, for this is the whole purpose of my life.
As I say the Hail Mary today, I shall pay special attention to
the words: Holy Mary, Mother of God.
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Twelfth Meditation: Our Lady’s Guidance
(Selection Thirty-five, pages 42-43, should be read)

Many problems and difficulties arise when we are trying to live
a spiritual life and advance in holiness, particularily if we do not have
the safeguards and benefits of the religious life and the priesthood.
And this is no matter for wonder or surprise. First of all, the devil
is constantly on the alert to prevent souls from reaching the goal of
intimate friendship with God. Then, too, our fallen nature almost
spontaneously revolts at the efforts required of it in the service and
love of God.
Perhaps one of the greatest and also one of the most common
problems that generous souls in the world experience, is the problem
of reconciling a life of holiness with all the duties and demands which
their position in the world places upon them. They feel, at times,
that they are being asked by God to unite two things which are con­
tradictory to each other, and so they become discouraged and cease to
try. They begin to think that the life of holiness must be restricted
to the monastery and the cloister. They begin to think that their lot
as lay people places the ideal of sanctity completely beyond their
reach.

In the place of the problems of leading a spiritual life, I need
advice, guidance and direction. For these, I must go to Mary. The
Scriptures present Her as one who does solve intricate problems, as
one who brings a solution to dilemmas, and who resolves apparent
paradoxes. In Mary, for example, virginity and maternity were united.
Although redeemed by the death of her Son, She herself was the
Co-Redemptrix of the rest of mankind. At Cana, Jesus said his hour
had not yet come. It came with Mary’s intercessory prayer. It is
through that same intercessory prayer that I will receive guidance
and direction—that I will receive the solution of whatever problems
confront me in my efforts to strive after real holiness.
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