Candlemas Day and Venerable Mary of Agreda

Date: Mon, Mon, 01 Feb 1999 15:15:28 -0500
From: Catholic Dispatch - cdia@catholic-dispatch.com
To: CDIA List Member - member@catholic-dispatch.com
Subject: LENT: Candlemas Day and Venerable Mary of Agreda

Today the Rosary has become such a prominent feature in the lives of Catholics that we can just as easily think of a Catholic with a rosary as we can a carpenter with a saw or a soldier with a bayonet. The Rosary has become both a tool and a weapon for Catholics. It is the spiritual tool which helps a Catholic grow in virtue through its meditation; it is the spiritual weapon used to obtain the grace from God to lessen the influence of the devil and to fight evil in the world.

The Rosary, however, was not always in the Church. Contrary to what some opponents of the Faith suggest, the rosary is not a "doctrine". The Rosary is simply a very efficacious and powerful means of prayer most notably in the form of meditation, accompanied by vocal prayers. Meditation and prayer, of course, are doctrinal. Nor is the rosary to be considered a "sacrament". The rosary, properly speaking, is considered a sacramental. From "A Catholic Dictionary" a sacramental is:

"An action or object which in its performance or use bears some resemblance to a sacrament. They are numerous....If used in accordance with the mind of the Church sacramentals are the means of receiving actual grace to do good and avoid evil, of protection of soul and body, and the remission of venial sin. These effects are entirely dependant upon the mercy of God who regards the prayers of the Church and the good dispositions of those who use them. They therefore differ from the sacraments both in operation and effect; but they are an extension of the sacramental principle of using material objects to signify spiritual truths and processes, and employing the unity in man of matter and spirit."

How did the Rosary come to be such a prominently used sacramental among Catholics? To make a long story short we can see the progression from the convenient use of beads for prayer by monks in the middle ages, to St. Dominic and the Dominican Order promoting the rosary in its present form, to the many papal writings, especially in the last century, which praised and encouraged its use. Clearly it has been by Divine Providence.

Most strikingly do we see the use of the rosary confirmed by the Lord when He sent His Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, to Fatima Portugal in 1917 to warn mankind of sin and the resulting terrible wars and the spreading of error from Russia if man did not do what She said. A main part of the solution given by the Mother of God was the use of the Rosary. The message and apparition was confirmed by God with a predicted and spectacular public miracle witnessed by over 70,000 people. Although this is certainly considered a private revelation, the Church has subsequently approved of it.

The Rosary is so efficacious not just because of the promises which are attached to the use of it with devotion, but apparently because the method itself is so orderly, teaches us many things through its mysteries, and finally because, unlike ordinary vocal prayer, it incorporates meditation which is the lowest form of mental prayer so appropriate for the average Catholic in their beginning of a life of prayer in the spiritual life. So many who have been devoted to this form of prayer, according to Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima, find today that it has gained for them so many graces to help them avoid the heresies that are rampant in the Church, as well as in so many cases avoiding sacraments that are being invalidated and corrupted by so many sinful priests.

Because of distractions in prayer, many people find they need help in meditating on the mysteries. One help is to look at pictures of each mystery while saying the rosary, and/or to concentrate on short sentences pertaining to the mystery. But one of the most efficacious ways to meditate is to become quite familiar with the circumstances of the mystery so that we are able to close our eyes, place the mystery before us so as to more easily sustain our concentration and stir the will to make acts of faith, love, humility, etc., and to form good resolutions.

One mystery we wish to focus on here is the 4th Joyful Mystery - "The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple - His parents offered Him to God." This Feast is held on February 2nd and is also called "the Purification" or "Candlemas Day". Not only is this mystery one of the lesser known mysteries in the life of Our Lord and Lady, but its Feast Day is all but forgotten on our Calendars and replaced in some places with a foolish and superstitious day called "Groundhog Day". A survey in the United States as to how many Catholics have heard of Groundhog Day as opposed to Candlemas Day ought to prove to be a surprising statistic!

Below we present to you not only a more detailed explanation of the mystery of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple, but we do so at the same time by introducing you to an excerpt from a famous writing of Venerable Mary of Agreda called the "Mystical City of God". This nun lived in the 17th century and claims that the Mother of God dictated to her many mysteries about Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother. The style is very sublime, spiritual and learned, and each chapter ends with "Instructions from the Queen of Heaven" concerning what has been dictated.

Below is a sample chapter concerning the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the temple. It is for your edification and help in meditating on that mystery. As a supplement to this we first give you the definition of "private revelation" from "A Catholic Dictionary" and then proceed to quote the gospel for the liturgy of Candlemas Day before presenting the excerpt from Ven. Mary of Agreda.

"REVELATION, PRIVATE. A revelation given by God to an individual for his own benefit or for the benefit of other individuals or a class of persons, as opposed to the universal revelation for all men given to Israel and the Apostles. If the people concerned are reasonably certain that such a revelation has been made, they should believe and act on it, as may outsiders who hear of it and are equally certain; but such certitude is not easily attained and should be submitted to the opinion of a prudent priest. The occurrence of manifest errors in non-essential matters does not prove the falsity or worthlessness of a revelation; such may be due to human misunderstanding or other causes. Some private revelations (e.g., of SS. Bridget of Sweden and Joan of Arc) have been approved by the Church: this only means that they contain nothing contrary to faith and morals and that in addition there is sufficient evidence to justify belief in their authenticity; she does not, and cannot, impose belief in a private revelation and its contents, either on an individual or on the faithful at large. "Even though many of these revelations have been approved, we cannot and we ought not to give them the assent of divine faith, but only that of human faith, according to the dictates of prudence whenever these dictates enable us to decide that they are probable and worthy of pious credence"

(Pope Benedict XIV)." A Catholic Dictionary, Attwater (1954)

The holy Gospel according to St. Luke (2:22-32)

"At that time, after the days of Mary's purification according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried Jesus to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord; as it is written In the law of the Lord, Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord; and to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons. And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was in him: and he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when His parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he also took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, 0 Lord, according to Thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light to the revelation of the gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel."

THE PRESENTATION OF THE INFANT JESUS IN THE TEMPLE AND WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT OCCASION.

596. The sacred humanity of Christ belonged to the eternal Father not only because it was created like other beings, but it was his special property by virtue of the hypostatic union with the person of the Word, for this person of the Word, being his Onlybegotten Son, was engendered of his substance, true God of true God. Nevertheless the eternal Father had decreed, that his Son should be presented to Him in the temple in mysterious compliance with the law, of which Christ our Lord was the end (Rom. 10, 4). It was established for no other purpose than that the just men of the old Testament should perpetually sanctify and offer to the Lord their first-born sons, in the hope that one thus presented might prove to be the Son of God and a Child of the Mother of the expected Messias (Exod. 13, 2). According to our way of thinking his Majesty acted like men, who are apt to repeat and enjoy over and over again a thing which has caused them enjoyment. For although the Father understood and knew all things in his infinite wisdom, He sought pleasure in the offering of the incarnate Word, which by so many titles already belonged to Him.

597. This will of the eternal Father, which was conformable to that of his Son in so far as He was God, was known to the Mother of life and of the human nature of the Word; for She saw that all his interior actions were in unison with the will of his eternal Father. Full of this holy science the great Princess passed the night before his presentation in the temple in divine colloquies. Speaking to the Father She said: "My Lord and God most high, Father of my Lord, a festive day for heaven and earth will be that, in which I shall bring and offer to Thee in thy holy temple the living Host, which is at the same time the Treasure of thy Divinity. Rich, 0 my Lord and God, is this oblation; and Thou canst well pour forth, in return for it, thy mercies upon the human race: pardoning the sinners, that have turned from the straight path, consoling the afflicted, helping the needy, enriching the poor, succoring the weak, enlightening the blind, and meeting those who have strayed away. This is, my Lord, what I ask of thee in offering to Thee thy Onlybegotten, who, by thy merciful condescension is also my Son. If Thou hast given Him to me as a God, I return Him to Thee as God and man; his value is infinite, and what I ask of Thee is much less, In opulence do I return to thy holy temple, from which I departed poor; and my soul shall magnify Thee forever, because thy divine right hand has shown itself toward me so liberal and powerful."

598. On the next morning, the Sun of heaven being now ready to issue from its purest dawning, the Virgin Mary, on whose arms He reclined, and being about to rise up in full view of the world, the heavenly Lady, having provided the turtle-dove and two candles, wrapped Him in swaddling-clothes and betook Herself with saint Joseph from their lodging to the temple. The holy angels, who had come with them from Bethlehem, again formed in procession in corporeal and most beautiful forms , just as has been said concerning the journey of the preceding day. On this occasion however the holy spirits added many other hymns of the sweetest and most entrancing harmony in honor of the infant God, which were heard only by the most pure Mary. Besides the ten thousand, who had formed the procession on the previous day, innumerable others descended from heaven, who, accompanied by those that bore the shields of the holy name of Jesus, formed the guard of honor of the incarnate Word on the occasion of his presentation. These however were not in corporeal shapes and only the heavenly Princess perceived their presence. Having arrived at the temple-gate, the most blessed Mother was filled with new and exalted sentiments of devotion. joining the other women, She bowed and knelt to adore the Lord in spirit and in truth in his holy temple and She presented Herself before the exalted Majesty of God with his Son upon her arms (John 4, 23). Immediately She was immersed in an intellectual vision of the most holy Trinity and She heard a voice issuing from the eternal Father, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matth. 27, 20). Saint Joseph, the most fortunate of men, felt at the same time a new sweetness of the Holy Ghost, which filled him with joy and divine light.

599. The holy high-priest Simeon, moved by the Holy Ghost as explained in the preceding chapter, also entered the temple at that time (Luke 2, 27). Approaching the place where the Queen stood with the Infant Jesus in her arms, he saw both Mother and Child enveloped in splendor and glory. The prophetess Anne, who, as the Evangelist says, had come at the same hour, also saw Mary and her Infant surrounded by this wonderful light. In the joy of their spirit both of them approached the Queen of heaven, and the priest received the Infant Jesus from her arms upon his hands. Raising up his eyes to heaven he offered Him up to the eternal Father, pronouncing at the same time these words so full of mysteries: "Now dost thou dismiss thy servant, 0 Lord, according to thy Word in peace. Because my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: a light for the revelation of the gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel" (Luke 2, 29). It was as if He had said: "Now, Lord, thou wilt release me from the bondage of this mortal body and let me go free and in peace; for until now have I been detained in it by the hope of seeing thy promises fulfilled and by the desire of seeing thy Onlybegotten made man. Now that my eyes have seen thy salvation, the Onlybegotten made man, joined to our nature in order to give it eternal welfare according to the intention and eternal decree of thy infinite wisdom and mercy, I shall enjoy true and secure peace. Now, 0 Lord, Thou hast prepared and placed before all mortals thy divine light that it may shine upon the world and that all who wish may enjoy it throughout the universe and derive therefrom guidance and salvation. For this is the light which is revealed to the gentiles for the glory of thy chosen people of Israel" (John 1, 9, 32).

600. Most holy Mary and saint Joseph heard this canticle of Simeon, wondering at the exalted revelation it contained. The Evangelist calls them in this place the parents of the divine Infant, for such they were in the estimation of the people who were present at this event. Simeon, addressing himself to the most holy Mother of the Infant Jesus, then added: "Behold this Child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed." Thus saint Simeon; and being a priest he gave his blessing to the happy parents of the Child. Then also the prophetess Anne acknowledged the incarnate Word, and full of the Holy Ghost, she spoke of the mysteries of the Messias to many, who were expecting the redemption of Israel. By these two holy old people public testimony of the coming of the Redeemer was given to the world.

601. At the moment when the priest Simeon mentioned the sword and the sign of contradiction, which were prophetical of the passion and death of the Lord, the Child bowed its head. Thereby, and by many interior acts of obedience, Jesus ratified the prophecy of the priest and accepted it as the sentence of the eternal Father pronounced by his minister. All this the loving Mother noticed and understood; She presently began to feel the sorrow predicted by Simeon and thus in advance was She wounded by the sword, of which She had thus been warned. As in a mirror her spirit was made to see all the mysteries included in this prophecy; how her most holy Son was to be the stone of stumbling, the perdition of the unbelievers, and the salvation of the faithful; the fall of the synagogue and the establishment of the Church among the heathens; She foresaw the triumph to be gained over the devils and over death, but also that a great price was to be paid for it, namely the frightful agony and death of the Cross (Colos. 2, 15). She foresaw the boundless opposition and contradiction, which the Lord Jesus was to sustain both personally and in his Church (John 15, 20). At the same time She also saw the glory and excellence of the predestined souls. Most holy Mary knew it all and in the joy and sorrow of her most pure soul, excited by the prophecies of Simeon and these hidden mysteries, She performed heroic acts of virtue. All these sayings and happenings were indelibly impressed upon her memory, and, of all that She understood and experienced, She forgot not the least iota. At all times She looked upon her most holy Son with such a living sorrow, as we, mere human creatures with hearts so full of ingratitude, shall never be able to feel. The holy spouse saint Joseph was by these prophecies also made to see many of the mysteries of the Redemption and of the labors and sufferings of Jesus. But the Lord did not reveal them to him so copiously and openly as they were perceived and understood by his heavenly spouse; for in him these revelations were to serve a different purpose, and besides, saint Joseph was not to be an eye-witness of them during his mortal life.

602. The ceremony of the presentation thus being over, the great Lady kissed the hand of the priest and again asked his blessing. The same She did also to Anne, her former teacher; for her dignity as Mother of God, the highest possible to angels or men, did not prevent Her from these acts of deepest humility. Then, in the company of Saint Joseph, her spouse, and of the fourteen thousand angels in procession, She returned with the divine Infant to her lodging. They remained, as I shall relate farther on, for some days in Jerusalem, in order to satisfy their devotion and during that time She spoke a few times with the priest about the mysteries of the Redemption and of the prophecies above mentioned. Although the words of the most prudent Virgin Mother were few, measured and reserved, they were also so weighty and full of wisdom, that they filled the priest with wonder and excited in him the most exalted and the sweetest sentiments of joy in his soul. The same happened also to the prophetess Anne. Both of them died in the Lord shortly afterwards. The holy Family lodged at the expense of Simeon. During these days the Queen frequented the temple and in it She was visited with many favors and consolations in recompense for the sorrow caused by the prophecies of the priest. In order to heighten their sweetness her most holy Son spoke to Her on one of these days saying: "My dearest Mother and my Dove, dry up thy tears and let thy purest heart be expanded; since it is the will of my Father, that I accept the death of the Cross. I desire that Thou be my companion in my labors and sufferings; I long to undergo them for the souls. who are the works of my hands (Ephes. 2, 10), made according to my image and likeness, in order to make them partakers of my reign and of eternal life in triumph over my enemies (Coloss. 2, 15). This is what Thou thyself dost wish in union with Me." The Mother answered: "O my sweetest Love and Son of my womb, if my accompanying Thee shall include not only the privilege of witnessing and pitying thy sufferings, but also of dying with Thee, so much the greater will be my relief; for it will be a greater suffering for me to live, while seeing Thee die." In these exercises of love and compassion She passed some days, until saint Joseph was advised to fly into Egypt, as I shall relate in the following chapter.

INSTRUCTION WHICH THE MOST HOLY QUEEN MARY GAVE ME.

603. My daughter, the doctrine and example contained in the foregoing chapter will teach thee to strive after the constancy and expansion of heart, by which thou mayest prepare thyself to accept blessings and adversity, the sweet and the bitter with equanimity. O dearest soul! How narrow and unwilling is the human heart toward that which is contrary and distasteful to its earthly inclinations I How it chafes in labors I How impatiently it meets them I How insufferable it deems all that is contrary to its desires I How persistently it forgets, that its Teacher and Master has first accepted sufferings, and has honored and sanctified them in his own Person I It is a great shame, yea a great boldness, on the part of the faithful, that they should abhor suffering, even after my most holy Son did suffer for them and when so many of the just before his Death were led to embrace the cross solely by the hope that Christ would once suffer upon it, although they would never live to see it. And if this want of correspondence is so base in others, consider well, my dearest, how vile it would be in thee, who art so anxious to obtain the grace and the friendship of the Most High; who desirest to merit the name of a spouse and friend of God, who wishest to belong entirely to Him and that He belong entirely to thee, who wishest to be my disciple and that I be thy Teacher, who aspirest to follow and imitate me, as a faithful daughter her mother (Matth. 7, 21). All this must not result in mere sentiment and in empty words, or oft-repeated exclamations of: Lord, Lord; and, when the occasion of tasting the chalice and the cross of suffering is at hand, thou must not turn away in sorrow and affliction from the sufferings, by which the sincerity of a loving and affectionate heart is to be tried.

604. All this would be denying in your actions, what you profess in your words, and it would be a swerving from the path of eternal life: for thou canst not follow Christ, if thou refusest to embrace the cross and rejoice in it, nor shalt thou find me by any other way (Matth. 8, 34). If creatures fail thee, if temptation or trouble assail thee, if the sorrows of death encompass thee (Ps. 17, 5), thou must in no wise be disturbed or disheartened; since nothing displeases my most holy Son or me more than placing a hindrance or misapplying the grace given by Him for thy defense. By misusing it and receiving it in vain, thou yieldest great victory to the demon, who glories much in having disturbed or subjected any soul that calls itself a disciple of Christ and of me; and having once brought thee to default in small things, he will soon oppress thee in greater ones. Confide then in the protection of the Most High and press onward trusting in me. Full of this trust, whenever tribulation comes over thee, fervently exclaim: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? (Psalm 26, 1). He is my Helper, why should I hesitate? I have a Mother, a Queen and Mistress, who will assist me and take care of me in my affliction."

605. In this security seek to preserve interior peace and keep forever in thy view my works and my footsteps for thy imitation. Remember the sorrow, which pierced my heart at the prophecies of Simeon, and how I remained in peace and tranquillity, without any sign of disturbance, although my heart and soul were transfixed by a sword of pain. In every event I sought motives for glorifying and adoring his admirable wisdom. If the transitory labors and sufferings are accepted with joy and with serenity of heart, they spiritualize the creature, they elevate it and furnish it with a divine insight; by which the soul begins to esteem affliction at its proper value and soon finds consolation and the blessings of mortification and of freedom from disorderly passions. This is the teaching of the school of the Redeemer, hidden from those living in Babylon and from those who love vanity (Matth. 11, 25).

1 wish also that thou imitate me in respecting the priests and ministers of the Lord, who in the new law hold a much higher dignity than in the old, since the divine Word has now united Itself with human nature and become the eternal High-Priest according to the order of Melchisedech (Ps. 109, 4). Listen to their words and instructions, as God requires, whose place they take. Consider the power and authority given them in the Gospels, where it is said: "Who hears you, hears Me; who obeys you obeys Me" (Luke 10, 16). Strive after the perfection they teach thee. Ponder and meditate without intermission upon that, which my most holy Son suffered, so that thy soul be a participant in his sorrows. Let the pious memory of his sufferings engender in thee such a disgust and abhorrence of all earthly pleasures that thou despise and forget all that is visible, and instead, follow the Author of eternal life.

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