The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics Read online

  While the others left the scene, I did not want to go away.

  Later my Son was taken down from the Cross. Two men set up three ladders. One reached to His feet, the second came to His arms under the shoulders, and the third reached the middle of His body. Then one of the men climbed up the second ladder and drove the nail out of the one arm. Then he moved the ladder and drove the nail out of the other hand. For the nails extended far beyond the beam of the Cross. Then while he held the body up and slowly came down a bit, the other man went up the ladder that reached to the feet and drove out the nails. When they lowered the body near the ground, one supported it at the head and the other at the feet. But I, who was His Mother, held Him in the middle. Thus we three carried Him to a stone which I had covered with clean linens.

  All my Son’s limbs had become stiff and cold in death, and the Blood which had flowed over them during His Passion adhered to them. But I was indeed consoled that I could touch His body and take Him onto my lap, examine His wounds, and dry up the Blood.

  I took His white body onto my knees. It was like the body of a man suffering from leprosy. His eyes were lifeless and filled with blood. His mouth was as cold as snow. His beard was twisted together like a rope. His face was contracted. He lay on my knees as He had hung on the Cross, like a human body that has been twisted apart in all its limbs.

  I did not want to bend His arms, which had grown so stiff that in trying to fold them on His chest, I was only able to place them over His abdomen. His knees too could not be altogether stretched out, but remained up, as they had stiffened on the Cross.

  Then they laid Him out on some clean linen, and with my cloth I washed His wounds and His limbs. And with my fingers I closed His eyes and His mouth, which were open when He died.

  But I did not sew up the cloth, for I knew for sure that He would not decay in the tomb.

  Then Magdalen and other holy women came up, and also there were many holy angels present, like bright sunbeams, to render honor to their Creator.

  It would be impossible for anyone to describe how sad I was then. I was like a woman who gives birth to a child: after the birth her whole body is quivering, and although her pain is such that she can hardly breath, yet in her heart she feels the greatest possible joy, because she knows that her son which she has borne will never again have to go through that suffering which he has just experienced. Thus, though I felt a grief over the death of my Son that could not be compared to any other, I also rejoiced in my soul, because I knew that my Son would not die again but would live forever. And thus some joy was mingled with my sorrow.

  Then they placed Him in the Tomb.

  Oh, how gladly would I have allowed them to entomb me alive with my Son, if it had been His will! I can truly say that when my Son was entombed, there were two Hearts in one sepulcher. Is there not the saying: where your treasure is, there is also your heart? Therefore my thoughts and my heart were always in the Tomb of my Son.

  After all these things had been accomplished, the good John came and led me to his house.

  So you see, my daughter, what my Son suffered for you.

  Consider therefore how great was my suffering at the Death of my Son, and it will not be hard for you to give up the world.

  XXXII

  The Resurrection

  he Sun had already set when the Blessed Virgin, St. John, and the Holy Women returned to the Cenacle in Jerusalem late on the afternoon of Good Friday.

  Going into the hall in which they had attended the Last Supper on the previous evening, the Mother of God thanked John and her companions for having remained with her throughout the Passion of her Son, and in His name she promised them a special reward for having been so faithful. She also offered herself as a lifelong servant and friend to all the women.

  They acknowledged this favor by kissing her hands and asking for her blessing, which she gave them. Then they begged her to take some rest and food, but Mary replied:

  “My rest and consolation shall be to see my Son and Lord arisen from the dead. Yet you, my dear friends, must satisfy your needs, while I retire alone with my son John.”

  When she was alone in her room with St. John, she fell on her knees and said:

  “Do not forget the words which my Son spoke to us on the cross. You are my master and a priest of God. Henceforth all my joy shall be to serve you until my death, and my consolation shall be to obey you as my superior.”

  John humbly yielded to her wishes, and at her request went to provide some refreshment for the Holy Women, while Mary spent several hours alone in her room, meditating sadly on the Passion of her divine Son.

  The other women—all except the three Marys—took some food and discussed the terrible events of that unforgettable day. They were filled with profound grief as they withdrew to their rooms for the night.

  At midnight the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Women arose and prayed together for a while under a lamp.

  At about four o’clock in the morning of the Sabbath, St. John came to console Mary, and she asked him to find Peter, speak to him kindly, and bring him to see her. John was also to offer friendly greetings to the other Apostles and to give them hope of pardon for having left their Master during His Passion.

  John met Peter coming to the Cenacle after having spent the night weeping and repenting in a cave near the Holy City. They found some of the Apostles and went to the Cenacle.

  Peter alone went in to see Mary first. Falling at her feet, he said with sobs of intense sorrow:

  “I have sinned, Lady. I have sinned before my God, and I have offended my Master and you!”

  The Blessed Virgin knelt beside him and said:

  “Let us ask pardon for your guilt from my Son and your Master.”

  Then she prayed for Peter and reminded him of the Lord’s many acts of mercy toward great sinners and of his own obligation as head of the Apostles to give an example of strength in the faith.

  Next the other Apostles, weeping bitterly, presented themselves before Mary and asked her pardon for having forsaken her Son during His sufferings. The very sight of her caused them to feel perfect contrition for their sins and renewed love for their Master. The Mother of God encouraged them by promising her intercession in obtaining the pardon which they sought, and when they left her, they were inflamed with new fervor and strengthened by new grace.

  They felt an inward reverence for St. John and a feeling of confusion in his presence, as he had been the only Apostle who accompanied his Lord to Calvary. But John showed only love and kindness to them all, and with the simplicity of an unspoiled child he gave place to everyone.

  Throughout the sabbath day the Holy Women either prayed or mourned with the Blessed Virgin in the large hall of the Cenacle. The weak ones among them took a little nourishment, but the rest fasted all day.

  The Mother of God continued to witness in vision the actions of her divine Son after His death. She saw Him visit the patriarchs and souls of the Blessed in Limbo. And now she saw the Saviour, in the company of the patriarchs, hovering above the city, while He showed them the various places where He had suffered during His Passion. As they passed near the Cenacle, Jesus directed their attention to the Blessed Virgin and said to them:

  “There is Mary, My Mother.”

  Early on Easter morning, at the very instant when the holy soul of Christ re-entered and revived His sacred body in the sepulcher, Mary experienced a mystical ecstasy in which her grief and sorrow were transmuted into ineffable joy and bliss. Just at that moment, after knocking, St. John stepped into her oratory, and finding her in the midst of a heavenly splendor and utterly transfigured with supernatural exultation, he understood that his Lord had just then arisen from the tomb.

  Meanwhile the glorious body and soul of the Redeemer came forth from the holy sepulcher shining with all the brilliance of His divinity, and the risen Lord immediately showed Himself to His Blessed Mother, together with all the saints and patriarchs of the Old Testament. He was clothed in a long
, white robe with a mantle that waved gently in the breeze as He advanced, reflecting all the colors of the rainbow, while His large wounds sparkled brightly.

  Mary prostrated herself on the ground and humbly worshiped her resurrected Son until He took her hand, raised her, and drew her to Himself in a marvelous mystical embrace. Then in an ecstasy of fervent joy and love she heard a Voice saying to her: “My beloved, ascend higher!” And at the same time she was given a more profound and intimate vision of the Divinity than she had ever had before.

  Next she turned to the holy patriarchs and the souls of the Blessed, and as they bowed before her, she recognized and spoke to her beloved parents, St. Ann and St. Joachim, her good husband St. Joseph, and her friend St. John the Baptist. All of them honored her as the Mother of the Redeemer of the world. And together they praised the Lord with hymns for His glorious victory over death, until He left them in order to show Himself to Mary Magdalen.

  Later when Mary Magdalen and the others came to Mary and told her about Jesus’ appearing to them, she listened quietly and kindly and strengthened their faith by quoting some of the scriptural prophecies concerning the Resurrection of the Messiah.

  During the week that followed, when Thomas arrived and hesitated to believe that the Master had indeed risen from the dead, the other Apostles went to Mary and complained about his obstinacy. Seeing that they were becoming angry with him, she calmed them by assuring them that Thomas’ disbelief would in the end bring great benefit to others and glory to God, and she urged them to wait and hope and not to be so easily disturbed. Meanwhile she prayed fervently for Thomas, and therefore the Saviour soon enlightened him by allowing him to touch His sacred wounds.

  The Resurrection

  XXXIII

  The Ascension

  ost of the time during the forty days between the Resurrection and the Ascension, the Blessed Virgin remained in seclusion in the Cenacle, where the risen Lord appeared to her and spoke with her frequently. She spent more and more time in prayer and contemplation, praising and adoring God by singing verses of hymns alternately with choirs of angels and saints. But most of all she prayed and fasted for the Apostles and disciples and for the spread of the new Church. She prayed particularly for Peter as head of the Church and for John as her adopted son.

  A few days before the Ascension, the Holy Trinity said to her as she was meditating in a corner of her room:

  “Beloved, ascend higher!”

  Then the eternal Father declared:

  “My Daughter, I entrust and consign to you the Church founded by My only-begotten Son, the new Law of Grace which He has established in the world, and the people which He has redeemed.”

  And the Holy Spirit announced:

  “My Spouse, I communicate to you My Wisdom, and in your heart shall be deposited the mysteries and teachings and all that the Incarnate Word has accomplished in the world.”

  And the Son said to her:

  “My beloved Mother, I go to My Father, and I leave you in My stead. I charge you with the care of My Church. I commend its children and My brethren to you, as the Father has consigned them to Me.”

  Then the Holy Trinity declared to the throng of adoring angels and saints:

  “This is the Protectress of the Church and the Intercessor of the faithful. In her are contained all the mysteries of Our Omnipotence for the salvation of mankind. Whoever shall call upon her from his heart and obtain her intercession, shall secure for himself eternal life. What she asks of Us shall be granted.”

  Hearing herself thus exalted, Mary only humbled herself the more, adoring the Most Holy Trinity and offering herself with ardent love to work in the Church as a faithful and obedient servant of the divine will. And from that day she was endowed with the spiritual care of the Church, the Mystical Body of her divine Son, and became the loving Mother of all its children, until the end of the world.

  On the evening before the Ascension, the Blessed Virgin and the Apostles and disciples assembled in the Cenacle, where the Holy Women had prepared a festival meal, with Mary’s help. Although everyone realized that the Master would soon leave them, only His Mother knew that this was to be their last evening together on earth.

  Mary stood modestly at the entrance of the large hall while Jesus blessed the bread, fish, and vegetables which were distributed to the guests.

  After the meal, the Saviour said to His followers:

  “It is now time that as true and faithful disciples you become teachers of the Faith to all men. I am about to ascend to My Father. But I leave with you in My stead My own Mother as your Protectress, Consoler, and Advocate, and as your Mother whom you are to hear and obey in all things. He who knows My Mother knows Me. He who hears her hears Me. And who honors her honors Me.

  “As supreme head of the Church you will have Peter, for I leave him as My Vicar, and you shall obey him as the chief High Priest.”

  All present were deeply moved, and many were weeping.

  Early on the morning of the Saviour’s last day on earth, He left the Cenacle with His eleven Apostles. Mary, the Holy Women, and about a hundred disciples followed them as they slowly ascended the Mount of Olives.

  When all had gathered on the top of the hill, Jesus stood on a large, flat stone and spoke to them with calm affection.

  Then He said a few words to His Mother. She humbly knelt at His feet and asked Him to give them all His last blessing. As they knelt, Jesus raised His right arm and turning toward the four points of the compass, He slowly and solemnly gave His blessing to the whole world.

  Then the Saviour spread out His hands and directed His gaze toward heaven. His whole body became increasingly luminous. The wounds of His hands glistened, and those of His feet shone brightly. A dazzling multicolored circle of light descended from the sky and completely enveloped Him.

  Lowering His eyes, He looked a last time at His Mother and His friends, who were all deeply moved in this solemn moment. It was a look that they would never forget. It was filled with the utmost kindness and tender love.

  Then He slowly began to ascend into the air, leaving on the stone a distinct impression of His sacred feet. As He rose higher and higher at a somewhat slanting angle, His wounds glowed brightly and His long, white garment shimmered. While the stupefied disciples gazed after Him with intense amazement and awe, His figure with its still gleaming wounds became so small and distant that it could scarcely be distinguished, until finally a cloud took Him out of their sight. During His ascension, a mysterious shower of luminous dewdrops appeared to fall on the crowd.

  After a few moments, as the light became more normal, the dazed and shaken disciples were still staring at the sky in complete silence, when suddenly they heard a strong, clear voice. Looking down at the ground again, they perceived two white-clad angels resembling young men with long hair, standing on a near-by rocky ledge, each holding a staff in his hand, like the prophets of old. Remaining absolutely motionless, the two angels said with one voice to the crowd:

  “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you to heaven, will come in the same way as you have seen Him going up to heaven.”

  The angels then vanished as rapidly as they had come, while all who were present bowed their heads and remained thus for some moments. For now, with a profound shock, they fully realized what had just happened to them: their beloved Saviour had returned to His Father in heaven, leaving them to themselves on earth! Some of them were so grieved and heartbroken that they fell to the ground and wept disconsolately like children. Others began to talk excitedly to one another. Often they looked up into the sky again, as if hoping to catch another glimpse of Jesus. Some were rapt in silent thought and meditation, while others became skeptical and acted as if they did not believe what they had seen.

  Only Mary, Peter, and John were calm and serene, though deeply moved. Mary spoke to John and pointed to the stone, and they saw the footprints of the Saviour in it. Many others came up and knelt
there, bowing their faces down to this spot.

  Then gradually their first sorrow over the sudden separation changed into profound happiness as they understood that their Redeemer was watching over them from the throne of His Father in heaven, and as they also recalled His promise to be with them always. Therefore with great joy they quietly dispersed and returned to the city in small groups.

  Later that day the disciples assembled in the Cenacle for prayer. But they could not help feeling troubled again, because they missed Jesus so keenly. They looked at one another helplessly, like lost children, until they saw how perfectly calm and confident Mary was, and they turned to her for encouragement and inspiration, remembering that Jesus had told them always to go to her when they were troubled, for she would ever be for all of them a mother and a protectress.

  XXXIV