The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics Read online

  Ven. Mother Mary of Agreda:

  Many mysteries pertaining to My Mother . . . are still hidden, especially the interior secrets of her life, and these I wish now to make known. I desire to make known to mortals how much her intercession is worth. If men would now seek to please Me by reverencing, believing, and studying the wonders which are intimately connected with this Mother of Piety, and if they would all begin to solicit her intercession from their whole heart, the world would find some relief.

  Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich:

  I give you these visions, not for yourself; they are given to you in order that they may be recorded. I give you these visions—and I have ever done so—to prove that I shall be with My Church till the end of days. But visions alone sanctify no one; you must practice charity, patience, and all the other virtues.

  I

  St. Ann and St. Joachim

  efore time began, the Holy Trinity decreed that one day, after the creation of the world and of man and after man’s fall, God the Son was to be born of a Virgin Mother. In order that this Mother should be the purest human being who ever lived, Almighty God decreed that she was to be miraculously exempt from all stain of original sin.

  And as a fitting preparation for the Incarnation of the God-Man among men, the Blessed Trinity also planned to train a chosen people to serve and to worship the Lord faithfully in the religion which He Himself revealed to them through their patriarchs and prophets. Thus He taught them to purify their hearts by leading a decent and holy daily life, and to pray for the coming of the Messiah or Saviour that He promised to send them as their King.

  In the course of time, however, most of the Chosen People of Israel were unfaithful to God in many ways. And as they became more and more materialistic, they imagined that the Messiah would appear as a great ruler who would free them by political power from their oppressors, the Romans. But some of the Israelites continued to love and to serve the Lord in humility and detachment from the world, for they knew that the Saviour would come to free men from the oppressor within their own hearts.

  It was from these pure families that, by His grace, God developed and guided the ancestors of His future Mother. They were extremely simple and devout persons, very gentle and peace-loving and charitable. Out of love for God, they always lived a very mortified life. Often the married couples practiced continence over long periods of time, particularly during holy seasons, for their highest ideal was to raise saintly children who in turn would contribute toward bringing salvation to the world. They lived in small rural communities, and they did not engage in business. They worked on the land and tended flocks of sheep; they also had gardens and orchards. They were very conscientious in fulfilling their religious duties. Whenever they had to go to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices in the Temple, they prepared themselves by prayer and fasting and penance. When traveling, they always helped as best they could any sick persons or paupers whom they met. And because they led such an austere and detached life, these good people had to endure the scorn of many of the other Jews.

  Thus Mary’s grandparents inherited from their ancestors a love of humility, chastity, mortification, and the simple life. Her mother, St. Ann, and her father, St. Joachim, were the very finest products of this long line of pure and holy servants of God.

  St. Ann was born in Bethlehem of rich parents who owned many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. But they regularly gave away to the poor a large part of their possessions and kept very little for themselves. After Ann’s birth they moved to a beautiful country estate at Sephoris near Nazareth.

  From her childhood Ann loved to pray and to think about God, but she also grew to be an industrious helper around the home. In fact, while very modest and retiring, she became such a model daughter that other mothers used to tell their young girls to imitate her. And the more she learned about the awaited coming of the Saviour, the more ardently did she pray that God might hasten that happy event.

  Just before her holy mother died, she told Ann that she was a chosen vessel and that she should pray for a worthy husband. Ann was now a comely, sturdy girl in her teens, with all the modest simplicity of a devout peasant maiden. Several young men were hoping to become her husband.

  One day Ann happened to be praying fervently to God to give her a husband who would help her to live according to the Divine Law. And at the very same moment on another farm near Nazareth an unusually pious middle-aged bachelor named Joachim was also praying for God’s help in choosing a wife. Although he knew and greatly admired Ann, he was so extremely humble that he did not dare think she would become his wife.

  When the prayers of St. Ann and St. Joachim were presented by the angels before the throne of the Blessed Trinity, God decreed that this pure couple should unite in marriage and be the parents of the future mother of the Messiah. The Archangel Gabriel was sent to announce this decision to them both.

  He appeared in visible form to Ann while she was praying. He alone of the angels knew her destiny, but all he was allowed to tell her now was: “The Lord give thee His blessing, servant of God! Continue to pray for the coming of the Redeemer and rejoice in the Lord. It is His will that thou accept Joachim as thy husband.”

  Leaving Ann greatly comforted, the Archangel went to Joachim and said to him while he slept: “Blessed be thou by the Lord, Joachim! Persevere in the practice of justice and perfection. The Lord wants thee to take Ann as thy wife. Take care of her, esteem her, for she is dear to Him, and give thanks to God.”

  The very next day, Joachim, who was small, lean, and broad-shouldered, went and asked Ann’s father for the hand of his daughter. And soon the couple were solemnly wedded in a simple open-air ceremony. St. Ann was about twenty-four at the time, and St. Joachim was forty-two.

  They made their home on the estate of Ann’s father. Though they were quite wealthy, they lived very economically and charitably. Each year they divided all their rents and income and sheep into three parts. Then they gave one-third to the Temple for God’s service, one-third to the poor, and they kept only what was left. And yet their flocks and herds continued to increase amazingly. Very often they gave food to poor travelers and lambs to their needy relatives.

  In their home they frequently talked together about God and the coming of the Redeemer, for which they prayed long and fervently. Both Ann and Joachim had been serious even in their youth. Now as they matured, they made a distinguished and devout couple. Neither told the other about the message of the angel.

  In His wisdom Almighty God proceeded to purify them still further by giving them a heavy cross to bear, a cross which only grew heavier as the years passed: they remained childless. Among the Israelites in those times, this was considered not only the greatest misfortune and disgrace socially, but also a clear indication that the Lord thought such a couple unworthy to contribute toward the coming of the Messiah. And so Ann and Joachim had to suffer increasing contempt and even insults from their neighbors and acquaintances. But they took these humiliations with patience and continued to pray that God might bless their marriage with children.

  Seven years passed without an answer to their prayers. Then they decided to move to a smaller farm near Nazareth and to begin a new life, a much more mortified and holy life, in order thus to earn God’s blessing. For in their profound humility they felt that their great affliction was entirely due to their own unworthiness before the Lord. They also increased their charity and gifts to the poor. And they trained themselves in continence, for they always aspired to greater purity. They even took a solemn vow to dedicate their child, if God gave them one, to His service in the Temple.

  Thus they lived through another thirteen long, trying years.

  Then one day when Joachim was offering his sacrifices in the Temple, the priest rebuked and insulted him, saying:

  “Why do you come here, Joachim? Your offerings are not acceptable to the Lord!”

  His face burning with shame, the poor man withdrew to a corner of the Temple and pra
yed:

  “O Lord, my sins merit this disgrace. But as I accept it according to Thy will, do not cast me away. . . .”

  Then with a sore heart he left the city and went to some of his flocks on the distant slopes of Mount Hermon. He was so troubled that he stayed there in prayer and penance for several months without communicating with Ann.

  Through friends she heard about his being reproached by the priest, and this only added to her keen suffering. She often wept, lying flat on the ground in her room.

  Once when she refused to allow a light-headed servant to go out to a party, the girl exclaimed bitterly:

  “God has inflicted a double punishment on you because you are so severe: you are sterile—and now your husband has abandoned you!”

  With a sad heart Ann sent the girl back to her family.

  That evening St. Ann was sitting under a great tree in her garden, reading prayers on a parchment roll and begging God to send Joachim home and to let them have at least one child—she was now forty-four. Then she prayed fervently for the coming of the Messiah, and her thoughts turned to the fortunate family, to the holy mother that God would choose. With a sigh she said to herself:

  “Oh, who shall be worthy to be the servant of her servants?”

  Just then the Archangel Gabriel suddenly appeared before her in a resplendent human form and declared:

  “Ann, servant of God. The Lord has heard thy petitions. If He delays their fulfillment, it is in order to prepare thee and to give thee much more than thou askest. The Most High has resolved to give thee and Joachim holy and wonderful fruit, for those who pray to Him in humble confidence are most agreeable to Him. Now He sends me to give thee joyful news: He chooses thee to be the mother of her who is to give birth to the Redeemer of mankind! Thou shalt bring forth a daughter and she shall be called Mary. She shall be blessed among women and filled with the Holy Ghost. I have announced to Joachim that he shall have a holy daughter, but he does not know that she is to be the Mother of the Messiah. Therefore guard this secret. And now go to the Temple to give thanks to the Lord, and thou shalt meet Joachim at the Golden Gate.”

  Gabriel vanished, and St. Ann’s humble heart was so overflowing with amazement, heavenly joy, and gratitude that the Holy Spirit sustained her lest she faint. She immediately prostrated herself on the ground and for a long time poured out her thanks to God with tears of happiness.

  That night she dreamed that an angel came and wrote the name of Mary in big luminous letters on the wall of her room, and after midnight she awoke and saw the large bright letters. Deeply moved, she kept gazing at them and thinking lovingly of this marvelous daughter Mary until the letters disappeared with the dawn. Then she arose, prepared herself for the trip to Jerusalem, and left with a servant. She was so deeply happy that she looked much younger.

  Meanwhile Joachim had been visited by the Archangel Gabriel during the night while he slept among his flocks. Gabriel told him that Ann was going to give birth to a blessed daughter who was to be consecrated to God, and that he should go and give thanks in the Temple, where he would meet Ann at the Golden Gate. Joachim awoke filled with joyful consolation and hastened to Jerusalem.

  This time the Holy Spirit moved the priests in the Temple to accept Joachim’s offerings courteously, and several of his friends congratulated him. Then two priests led him into the Holy Place and left him there alone, after burning incense on the altar. While Joachim prayed on his knees with his arms extended, a bright angel appeared and told him that his childlessness was not a disgrace but an honor, for the child who was to be born of his wife would be the most perfect flower of the race of Abraham. Next the angel took him into the Holy of Holies, anointed his forehead, and gave him a certain mystic blessing which freed him from all sensuality. Then he led him back to the Holy Place and vanished, as Joachim sank to the floor in an ecstatic trance. Soon the priests found him thus and revived him with marks of respect. When he recovered consciousness, his face was radiant with spiritual joy and he seemed considerably younger. He told the priests that he wanted to meet his wife at the Golden Gate, and they showed him the way, which led through a long, beautifully decorated, and well-lighted underground corridor.

  St. Ann had just made her offering in another part of the Temple and she told a priest that an angel had ordered her to find her husband at the Golden Gate. Accompanied by several devout women (among whom was Anna the Prophetess), St. Ann was taken to the same corridor.

  Thus it happened that near the Golden Gate St. Joachim suddenly perceived his beloved wife coming toward him, her beautiful face shining with joy. They hastened toward each other and embraced with tender emotion.

  Then each told the other what had happened, and together they gave fervent thanks to God for His marvelous answer to all their prayers. As they now renewed their vow to offer their child to His Temple, they seemed to be rapt in a holy ecstasy. A cloud of heavenly light enfolded them, while a great number of angels hovered above them. St. Ann and St. Joachim became luminous. Never had a human couple achieved such supernatural purity of soul. Then suddenly the heavens opened up, and the Blessed Trinity looked down with joy and love on this saintly pair and gave them a special blessing.

  Later St. Ann and St. Joachim left Jerusalem and returned to their home near Nazareth, where they gave a great feast for the poor and distributed alms abundantly.

  Now they were both transfigured with fervor, happiness, and intense gratitude. And very often as they prayed together they wept tears of joy and love.

  Thus did Almighty God prepare and purify Mary’s good parents until the great day at last came when the glorious mystery of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God took place.

  The Blessed Virgin said to St. Bridget of Sweden:

  “It is a truth that I was conceived without original sin and not in sin. A golden hour was my conception. My Son joined my father and my mother in a marriage of such chastity that a purer union has never been seen. Sensuality was extinguished in them. Thus my flesh was formed through divine charity.”

  II

  The Nativity of Mary

  fter God had created Mary’s immaculate soul, He showed it to the choirs of angels in heaven, and they felt intense joy upon seeing its unique beauty.

  Then, as Mary’s soul was infused into her body, her holy mother St. Ann was filled with the Holy Ghost and experienced an extraordinary devotion and happiness. Throughout the rest of her life and especially during the next nine months, she constantly received new graces and enlightenment concerning the great mystery of the Incarnation, and she frequently praised the Lord in canticles of love.

  One night she felt for the first time a slight tremor from the presence of her daughter in her womb. With profound joy she arose, dressed, and told St. Joachim the happy news, and then both gave thanks to God together.

  However, in order to increase her merit, God allowed St. Ann to undergo grievous trials during her pregnancy. Although Satan did not know that her daughter was to be the Mother of the Saviour, he perceived that a strong spiritual influence proceeded from Ann, and therefore he did his best to tempt and disturb and harm her. But she resisted all his attacks with humble fortitude, patience, and prayer. Then the enraged Devil tried to make St. Joachim’s house crash to the ground, but Mary’s protecting angels prevented such an accident from happening. Next, Satan incited some of St. Ann’s women friends to treat her with open scorn and mockery because of her late pregnancy. St. Ann did not permit herself to be upset by this injustice, but in all meekness and humility she bore the insults and acted with still greater kindness toward these women. In the end, as a result of her prayers, they amended their ways.

  Early in September, St. Ann was informed interiorly by the Lord that the time of her daughter’s birth was near. Filled with holy joy, she humbly prayed for a happy deliverance and sent for three of her closest women relatives. When she told St. Joachim, he rejoiced and went among his flocks in order to choose the finest lambs, goats, and bulls, wh
ich he sent to the Temple in care of his servants as an offering of gratitude to the Lord.

  One evening the three women arrived and embraced St. Ann, congratulating her warmly. Standing with them, she poured forth her deep joy and thankfulness in a beautiful spontaneous canticle, which surprised and thrilled her friends. Then, still standing, they took a light meal of bread, fruit, and water, after which they went to lie down and rest.

  St. Ann prayed until nearly midnight, when she woke her relatives and went with them into her oratory and lit the lamps. From a closet she took a small box containing some relics of the Patriarchs of Israel. Then she knelt before her little altar. While she was praying thus, a supernatural light began to fill the room. Noticing it, the three friends threw themselves onto the floor and hid their faces in awe. Soon the dazzling light entirely surrounded St. Ann, making her invisible.

  A moment later she was holding in her hands a beautiful, spotless, radiant baby, which she tenderly wrapped in her cloak and pressed to her heart. With tears of fervent love and joy, she gazed at her child and then, raising her eyes to heaven and holding up the baby, she prayed: