Thursday
July 14, 2005
vol 16, no. 195

The Fruits of the City of God

"Beyond doubt, the major fruit of the City of God is the sanctification of souls; many, many Catholics have used the book as a practical means to grow in the love, knowledge and service of God and His Holy Mother. And this fruit is precisely what is sought in the writing of this series of articles on the book."

    "Every tree is known by its fruits" (Luke 6:44). Let us briefly examine a sample of the fruits of the City of God to better know its excellence.

    A major fruit for the Universal Church which Our Lord and Our Lady explicitly desired from the City of God (cf. Conception, pp. 205,245-247), and which has been realized, is the definition of the Immaculate Conception. By Divine Providence, this definition was strongly coupled to that of Papal Infallibility (also strongly upheld in the book), since Our Lady, in saying at Lourdes in 1858, "I am the Immaculate Conception," in essence declared Papal Infallibility also, since the somewhat controversial definition of the Immaculate Conception occurred four years earlier. These facts are of paramount importance for traditional Catholics today, more explicitly the definition of Papal Infallibility since it removes all doubt as to the solidity of the position of those rejecting Modernist inventions and keeping the Faith taught by all the true Popes.

    Only in the Beatific Vision shall be known the profound influence this book has had on theology and Mariology since its first publication.

    Beyond doubt, the major fruit of the City of God is the sanctification of souls; many, many Catholics have used the book as a practical means to grow in the love, knowledge and service of God and His Holy Mother. And this fruit is precisely what is sought in the writing of this series of articles on the book.

    The Louvain approbation says: "The strong and the weak, the wise and the ignorant, and, in fine, all the world will gather richest fruit from the reading of these books, for they contain what is most sublime in theology and in a style so simple, easy and perpicuous that, in order to enter deeply into an under-standing of the holy mysteries, no more is necessary than to read them with sound judgment" (Incarnation, xvi).

    Archbishop Albert, previously quoted last week, reports "the Venerable Superior-General of St. Sulpice, Abbe Emery, adds: 'Only since I read the revelations of Mary of Agreda do I properly know Jesus and His Holy Mother'" (Transfixion, p. xxii). Quite a statement!

    Is not this the very reason for private revelation - to help us to know and love Our Lord and our Queen better?

    Rev. Andrew Mendo, noted Jesuit theologian and professor of the University of Salamanca, said: "Whosoever shall read this work with good will shall become learned; and whosoever shall 'pray' and meditate on it, will desire sanctity." 11

    James Carrico stated: "Without doubt Venerable Mary of Agreda's miracle par excellence is the writing of the Life of the Most Holy Mother of God and the wonders it performs in inspiring to sanctity the souls who read and meditate upon it." 12

    A bit "closer to home" is the life of Father Solanus Casey, Capuchin monk, who for twenty years operated a famous soup kitchen in Detroit and whose reputation for sanctity and miracles continues to grow. Father Casey is said to have "prayed" the City of God on his knees daily for some 53 years, counseling many to read it and to go to Holy Communion often. "Many are the cures of soul and body that people claim were worked in that way." 13

Approbations

    While the full list of approbations and high praises would fill volumes, allow me to mention a few here.

    Besides the Popes and Roman Congregations already mentioned in the first article in this series, 14 "nearly all the Universities and Religious Orders" gave their approbation (Incarnation, p. xv). "Official declaration of the University of Salamanca, issued July 4,1699, that Ciudad in all things harmonizes with orthodox teachings of Catholic theology, this declaration being signed by the theological faculties of practically all the religious orders, namely the Augustinians, Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans, Jesuits, Cistercians, Basilians, Minims, Hieronymites, Premonstratensians, Theatines, the Calced and Discalced Trinitarians, the Reformed Augustinians and the Canons Regular" (Coronation, p. xii).

    "The noted Jesuit theologian, Andreas Mendo, S.J....closely examined Ciudad and confesses that no praise can be equal to its merits" (Coronation, p. xi).

    "'The work is its own highest recommendation words occurring in an official approbation of the Portugeuse Jesuits, Lisbon, March 6, 1680, and signed P. Franciscus de Almada, S.J." (Corontation, p. xii).

    Rev. John de Palma, Commissary General of Spain, wrote:

"I firmly believe that this book is a supernatural production, for its excellence is such that I doubt if there is a theologian, however eminent he may be, who could translate it into our language. It is indeed wonderful that a creature, who by birth and education is comparatively ignorant, could explain the divine mysteries in terms so clear and precise. Theology has scarcely found sufficient terms in the entire Latin language to explain the things which she knew how to explain in our common language, the things which of their nature are superior to human reasoning and with such precision that they can be easily comprehended." 15

    Finally, two approbations which support the assertion that the City of God is the greatest book ever written outside of Holy Scriptures. P.D. Diegus de Silva, General of the Spanish Benedictines and Bishop of Guardia, delegated by King Philip IV to examine the first edition of the book, said:

"With the exception of Sacred Scripture, the heavenly wisdom which it contains has never before been revealed to mortals." 16

    Father Laurent, formerly Provincial of his order, who published Father Samaniego's definitive Life of Venerable Mary, said:

"It is under the dictation of the Mother of Jesus Christ that she retraces the mortal life of the Queen of Heaven; so that this work, fallen from the pen of a simple girl without acquired knowledge, and living in the obscurity of the cloister, is perhaps, the most extraordinary, and the most astonishing book that ever issued from mortal hands." 17

Conclusion

    Why several installments on the excellence of this book? As we have seen, because it is no ordinary book. Completely approved and highly eulogized by the Popes, there has been a veritable contest to see who could heap the highest praises upon it.

    And what is the highest that could be said of it? Exactly what His Excellency Bishop de Silva and Father Laurent said, as quoted above: that the City of God is the greatest book ever written outside of Holy Scriptures! This is a fantastic assertion, yet let us summarize why so many (myself included) believe it with absolute certainty. It is because its purpose, fruits, approbations (including that of the Church), and especially its contents, all uphold the greatest thing which could be said of any book outside of Holy Scripture: That the Immaculate Virgin Mary is its inspirer and author! Who can deny that, if this claim of Venerable Mary Agreda herself is true, this is the greatest book outside of Holy Scriptures? Other books may have been written by saints, but Our Lady is the Queen of All Saints! And though I yield to the judgments of Popes, bishops, and theologians, I must say in all simplicity that I, who am on my eighth reading of all four volumes and have studied it almost daily for some twelve years ,[23 years as of this publishing in 2005] and also having read Holy Scriptures cover to cover and studied many of its books many times over, also having read dozens of the greatest Catholic books ever written, declare that the only way to account for the supernal excellence of the City of God is to take literally this claim, that our Immaculate Queen is its inspirer and author.

    You may scoff at this assertion. You are under absolutely no obligation to read it, or believe any privately-revealed truth in it. Yet if you wish to judge for yourself, I say with Rev. Blatter, "Read and be convinced!" (Coronation, p. xiii). As Almighty God Himself said: "Happy are they who find it, and blessed they who shall appreciate its value, rich they who shall come upon this treasure, and blessed and very wise those who shall search into and shall understand its marvels and hidden mysteries" (Conception, p. 33).

Epilogue

    I do not mean to advocate reading the City of God exclusively; by all means read it conjointly with other good Catholic books. (I read it along with Holy Scriptures, my missal, and at least one other Catholic book.) But countless souls have drawn abundant fruit from it by using it as an Imitation of Mary, a daily guide for helping one imitate the virtues of our Queen.

    So sure am I that you will profit by reading it, I make this "money-back guarantee": if you purchase and read it, and decide that it is not everything you hoped it would be - and more- write to me 18 and I will buy your set back from you at your cost plus 10%.

    In reading it, I also guarantee you will understand the vast importance of the City of God for practicing virtue on a daily basis by imitating Our Lady and becoming more and more her holy slave, and this will be the topic of the next, and final installments in this series.

Tim Duff

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FOOTNOTES:

11 Carrico, p.69, fn.47 (emphasis in original)

12 Ibid., p. 78 (emphasis in original)

13 Ibid., p. 95

14 "In Defense of the City of God," The Reign of Mary, Vol. XXIV, No. 75

15 Carrico, p. 63, fn. 40 (emphasis his)

16 Ibid., p. 78, fn. 53 (emphasis his)

17 Abbe J. A. Boullan, Doctor in Theology, Life of Venerable Maria of Jesus of Agreda (New York, Sadlier, 1860), p. 323 (emphasis in original)

18 My address is: 3798 Everett Ave., Loveland, OH, 45140.

(First Published in Reign of Mary #78, Summer 1994)

For the full volumes of Venerable Mary of Agreda's work on line, see THE MYSTICAL CITY OF GOD

For past articles in Fiat Voluntas Dei, see 2005tim.htm Archives