Ven. Mary of Agreda - The Divine Life of the Most Holy Virgin: From the Mystical City of God

Imprimatur: James Frederic Wood, D.D.
Bishop of Philadelphia
April 25, 1872

Previously published by P. J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, in approximately 1872, under the title The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary or The Divine Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary . Retypeset by TAN Books, an Imprint of Saint Benedict Press, LLC. The type in this book is the property of TAN Books, and, except for brief selections, may not be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. (This restriction applies only to reproduction of this type, not to quotations from the book.) The footnotes herein are from the original 1872 edition, unless otherwise noted.

ISBN: 978-0-89555-596-0

Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 96-61303

Cover illustration by Heinrich Kaiser.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

TAN Books

An Imprint of Saint Benedict Press, LLC

Charlotte, North Carolina

2010

TO THE DIVINE HEART OF JESUS, TO MARY
IMMACULATE, AND TO THE GLORIOUS ST. JOSEPH.

O Jesus! Only Son of the Eternal Father! Divine Redeemer of our souls! By choosing the august Mary from all eternity to be Thy Mother, Thou hast exalted her far above the Angels, and she has thus become the cause of our hope.

Word of God, Who hast loved men to excess, to Whom, if not to Thy Divine Heart, can I worthily present the offering of The Divine Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary? This book has been the source of great blessings to the humble translator; for this reason I dare, although unworthy, supplicate Thee to bless it anew, so that it may bear abundant fruits of benediction in the souls of its readers. Master of Eternal Wisdom! make it, as it has already been, a source of grace in the houses which it shall enter: by it may the sinner be converted and the just become more holy. Thus Thou wilt show how pleasing to Thee are the perfect love and fidelity ever entertained by the Queen of Heaven, for Thee her perfect Model.

O Mother of the Divine Jesus! Immaculate Virgin and Reparatrix! In thy merciful designs on men, thou hast deigned to communicate to us, by means of thy loving daughter and servant, Mary of Jesus of Agreda, The Mystical City, of which I offer thee this faithful abridgment; then, O Queen of Heaven, refuse not to bless it. Thou knowest that, overwhelmed by the infirmities and miseries of my soul, I have turned towards thee by the impulse of grace. Obtain that the trials which the publication of this book has caused me may, by thy powerful intercession, be changed into sources of great benedictions. In fine, it is to this Mystical Life that I owe the grace of being numbered among those who are dear to the Heart of thy Divine Son.

Glorious St. Joseph, whom the august Mary has permitted me to address as Father, thou knowest that to thee I owe my life and honor; to thy intercession, also, I am indebted for remaining faithful to God. Allow me then to place this work in thy hands. O thou who hast so worthily appreciated the Queen of Heaven, deign to obtain that the reading of her admirable life may serve as an instrument for the conversion of sinners and the sanctification of the just.

St. Ann and St. Joachim, worthy parents of the Queen of Heaven, deign to present to her the humble offering of this book. Obtain also that by your efficacious intercession, I may receive the grace of persevering until death in the vocation to which the Divine Jesus, by the mediation of Mary, has so gratuitously predestined and called me.

To Mary of Jesus of Agreda, to the seraph, M. Olier, to St. Teresa, to St. Margaret of Cortona, to St. Catherine of Siena and to St. Gertrude.

Live Jesus, Mary, Joseph.

The Abb J. A. Boullan

The volume which we offer to the public under the title of The Divine Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a faithful abridgment, without change, alteration, or modification of the facts, taken entirely and literally from the celebrated work, The Mystical City, by Mary of Jesus of Agreda. Therefore, all the approbations granted to that admirable book may and ought to be applicable to this.

We append a summary of these divers approbations of which we can warrant the authenticity, having copied them from the acts of the process of the beatification and canonization of the above-mentioned servant of God, Mary of Agreda.

1st. Approbation of the Ordinary of the diocese wherein the servant of God died in the odor of sanctity, and also of the bishop of the place where the work was printed. The bishops are, as we all know, according to the canon law, the first judges of books published within their jurisdiction.

2nd. Approbation of the learned tribunal of the Inquisition in Spain, which, having examined the book word for word, authorized its publication and diffusion among the faithful.

3rd. Approbation of theologians of all religious bodies, Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans and Jesuits, called upon to examine the work. They have eulogized it in the highest terms and recommended it as the fruit of the Spirit of God.

4th. Approbation of the most celebrated universities of foreign lands, Salamanca, Louvain, Toulouse, etc., which after the most minute examinations have declared that the book contains nothing against faith or morals; they have exalted it immeasurably, as Pope Benedict XIV expresses it in his decree of 1748. The University of Paris alone is an exception, because it was, at that time, tainted with Jansenism, to which this work is so adverse.

5th. In fine, Pope Innocent XI, after having placed this work on the Index, August 4th, 1681, because, said the postulator of the cause of canonization, of the contests which it had raised, withdrew it himself three months later, November 9, 1681. This last decree has the force of a universal law of the Church, for in 1713, a bishop having forbidden the reading of this work, the Holy Office declared his prohibition null and obliged him to retract it, as being contrary to the decree of November 9, 1681, which decree, said the Sacred Congregation, has the power of a law throughout the universal Church. We know it is the same in our days. Alexander VIII authorized the reading of this work oraculo vivae vocis. In 1704 Clement IX forbade it to be placed on the Index, and it would be vain to seek for it among the forbidden books.

And in fine, in 1729, with the approbation of Benedict XIII of happy memory, the Sacred Congregation of Rites published a decree which permits the faithful to read and retain it without any other examination. Therefore he who, whatever may be his title, honor, or dignity, presumes to forbid the reading of this work, authorized by the Holy See, would be obliged to retract, even publicly, if necessary.

Thus the cause is decided; pious Reader, accept the book and read it without fear, for Rome, which cannot fail in its examination of doctrine, has spoken.

INTRODUCTION
TO THE SECOND EDITION

Among the pious faithful of the present day there is a holy desire to know everything that may concern the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom God predestined to be the Mother of the Eternal Word, who was to become incarnate for the salvation of men. It seems to us that many souls having an ardent devotion to the august Queen of Heaven will rejoice to read a work which contains a faithful, minute and complete relation of her marvelous life. Therefore, we are well assured of the welcome which this Life will receive from pious Catholics, who justly glory in living in the age of Mary. What a sweet joy shall it be for children devoted to the august Mother to know that which constitutes the glory and grandeur of the incomparable Queen of Angels and men!