The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics

by Raphael Brown

  THE LIFE OF MARY

  As Seen by the Mystics

  The Magnificat

  Raphael Brown

  THE LIFE OF MARY

  AS SEEN BY THE MYSTICS

  Compiled from the Revelations of St. Elizabeth of Schoenau, St. Bridget of Sweden, Ven. Mother Mary of Agreda, and Ven. Anne Catherine Emmerich

  Angelico Press reprint edition © 2014

  This Angelico edition is a retypeset and illustrated republication of the work originally published by The Bruce Pub. Co., Milwaukee, 1951

  All rights reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission.

  For information, address:

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  angelicopress.com

  978-1-62138-047-4

  978-1-62138-048-1 (eBook)

  NIHIL OBSTAT: John A. Schulien, S.T.D.

  CENSOR LIBRORUM

  IMPRIMATUR: Moses E. Kiley

  Archbishop of Milwaukee

  June 8, 1951

  (The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a publication contains no doctrinal or moral error. They are not an endorsement of the content or views expressed.)

  Cover design: Cristy Deming

  CONTENTS

  Foreword

  Introduction

  I

  St. Ann and St. Joachim

  II

  The Nativity of Mary

  III

  Infancy

  IV

  Presentation

  V

  In the Temple

  VI

  The Espousals

  VII

  Preparation for the Annunciation

  VIII

  The Annunciation

  IX

  The Visitation

  X

  Trials

  XI

  Mary and Joseph in Nazareth

  XII

  The Journey to Bethlehem

  XIII

  The Nativity

  XIV

  The Adoration of the Shepherds

  XV

  The Circumcision

  XVI

  The Adoration of the Magi

  XVII

  The Purification

  XVIII

  The Flight to Egypt

  XIX

  The Holy Family in Egypt

  XX

  The Return to Nazareth

  XXI

  The Boy Jesus in the Temple

  XXII

  The Hidden Life in Nazareth

  XXIII

  The Death of St. Joseph

  XXIV

  Preparation for the Public Life

  XXV

  The Wedding at Cana

  XXVI

  Mary During the Public Ministry

  XXVII

  Judas

  XXVIII

  Prelude to the Passion

  XXIX

  Holy Thursday

  XXX

  The Passion

  XXXI

  The Crucifixion

  XXXII

  The Resurrection

  XXXIII

  The Ascension

  XXXIV

  Pentecost and the Early Church

  XXXV

  Mary’s Last Years

  XXXVI

  The Dormition

  XXXVII

  The Assumption and Crowning

  Bibliography

  ILLUSTRATIONS

  The Magnificat

  Jesus Goes Up Alone onto a Mountain to Pray

  The Betrothal of the Holy Virgin and St. Joseph

  The Annunciation

  The Visitation

  Anxious St. Joseph in His Workshop

  The Adoration of the Shepherds

  The Adoration of the Magi

  The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

  The Flight into Egypt

  The Return from Egypt to Nazareth

  Jesus Found in the Temple

  Jesus Walking with His Disciples

  The Wedding at Cana

  Judas Goes to Find the Jews

  Jesus Goes to Bethany

  Jesus Meets His Mother

  The Resurrection

  Mary in Old Age

  Ascension Angels

  The Ascension

  Dedicated to

  Gertrude,

  who helped with

  prayer and counsel.

  Declaration of Obedience

  In conformity with the decrees of Pope Urban VIII concerning the publication of private revelations, I herewith declare that:

  1. While the sources from which this book has been complied have frequently been published with the approval of learned theologians and with the permission of the ordinaries of many dioceses in several countries, I willingly submit all that is contained in this work to the judgment of the Holy See;

  2. In applying the terms “saint” and “venerable” to persons who are neither canonized nor beatified, I wish in no way to anticipate the final decision of the Church; and

  3. For all the private revelations and seemingly supernatural events herein narrated, insofar as they have not received the attestation of the Church, I claim no more than the assent of a merely human credence, according to the dictates of prudence and the principles of mystical theology.

  RAPHAEL BROWN

  Jesus Goes Up Alone onto a Mountain to Pray

  Foreword

  ysticism, especially of the visionary type, has always been a subject of discussion in the Church. Among its manifestations, some few have merited the approval of the prudent, others are looked upon as doubtful, while many have been rejected as false. In certain cases the Church has intervened with a condemnation. Only recently (February 3, 1951) an unofficial but authoritative warning has been uttered by a member of the Roman Curia, Monsignor Alfredo Ottaviani, against the flood of allegedly supernatural events in various parts of the world which tend to substitute a frenzied religiosity for obedience to the Church and reception of the sacraments.

  Even in the case of holy people and when the supernatural character of the phenomena seems sufficiently guaranteed, caution is necessary. The person receiving the favor may not distinguish with enough exactness the period of illumination from that which immediately follows, in which the soul remains in dispositions of the greatest fervor. St. Ignatius Loyola teaches that in this second period “it often happens that by its own thoughts, from its own habits, and in consequence of its conceptions and judgments, whether by the suggestion of the good or evil spirit, the soul makes various resolves and plans which are not inspired immediately by God our Lord.” Although the saint is speaking only of resolves and plans, strong reasons lead us to extend this prudent observation to the content of visions. The imagination working on the memory will inevitably supply details.

  Difficulties of terminology, which are common to all technical literature, also play a role in spiritual writings. St. Robert Bellarmine’s remark still holds good: “Writers on mystical theology are usually blamed by some and praised by others because what they say is not understood in the same way by all.” The visionaries whose writings are used in this volume were women of no special competence in theology but they were possessed of some gifts as writers and especially of lively imaginations. Trying to express in concrete terms their supernatural experiences, they had to borrow a vocabulary from books and persons or, if they were capable of it, forge one of their own. In either case they ran considerable risk of not reproducing faithfully the content of their visions.

  Despite difficulties which are obvious to all who have had some experience in this
thorny field, the Church has never been adverse to the prudent exploitation of the mystical writings of her saintly children. Catholic doctrine on revelation is clear enough to supply the required safeguards. The Church teaches as a revealed dogma that public revelation ceased with the death of the last Apostle over eighteen hundred years ago. The deposit of faith is complete. No further revelation binding all will be forthcoming to the end of time. “Even if an angel from heaven were to preach a gospel other than that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema” (Gal. 1:18). God’s revelation in and through His Son is final. The Church which possesses the fullness of this revelation can alone impose beliefs on the faithful at large and the Church imposes only such as are contained in the Holy Scripture and in divine and apostolic tradition.

  The first law of new revelations is, therefore, that they cannot be really new. They must agree with Holy Scripture and tradition, with morality and the decisions of the Church. Again, a private revelation will rightly be looked on with suspicion if the person receiving it is not approved by a good life, manifested by irreproachable conduct, by the practice of all the virtues of his state of life and especially by humility—and this before, during, and after the favor. Even when satisfied that there is nothing offensive to reason, faith, or morals in a revelation and that the character of the recipient is such as to lend probability to the report, and even if the Church should approve, we accept it with a merely human belief. St. Thomas Aquinas remarks that Catholic faith “rests upon the revelation made to the Apostles and Prophets who wrote the canonical Scriptures but not on a revelation, if any, made to others.” The Church in approving of mystical phenomena affirms that there is nothing against faith or morals in the content of the revelations but does not guarantee their truth. The possibility of error in the facts is not excluded.

  Because of this reserve the attitude of Catholics could, and has not failed to, manifest remarkable divergencies. “We have Moses and the Prophets,” many assert, “and we do not require fresh visions and private revelations.” Others, on the contrary, read such writings with avidity once competent ecclesiastical authority has sanctioned the publication. In this class are found numerous devout Christians of saintly life. To name but one—Matt Talbot, the Dublin workingman, whose solid virtues have greatly edified the Church in our day, was much given to the perusal of this type of spiritual literature. In addition to these two responses to private revelations, there are others which it will not be necessary to specify here.

  Some might think that St. Thérèse of the Infant Jesus, who has taught so many the way of holiness, would be out of sympathy with a point of view which stresses the marvelous in the life of our Blessed Mother. Her little way of humility and love does require that we rejoice in the night of faith and suffering and wait until death for the revelation of God’s glory and that of the Blessed Virgin and the saints. Still the short life of the Little Flower was not devoid of the charismatic element. She was, for example, favored with a vision of the Blessed Virgin. Furthermore, our Blessed Lady’s life differed, in this respect, from that of even the greatest saints.

  We have scriptural testimony that Mary and Joseph had visions. Their many years at Nazareth with Jesus were, in a sense, a long vision of surpassing grandeur which included much intimate revelation. If we were to accept as true all the visions of all the saints, we should still be obliged to judge that their favors, taken together, are not worthy to be compared with those of the Incomparable Virgin. As St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the Doctor of the Church who was preeminent in Mariology, declared, “What wonder is there if God, Who is wonderful in His saints, has shown Himself still more wonderful in His Mother?” It is true, of course, that our Blessed Lady, unlike her divine Son, did not have in this life the beatific vision. She lived, as we her children live, by faith. Indeed she is the model and mistress of faith and of the faithful. We must, however, admit that her faith was aided in many marvelous ways. And we can readily believe that our loving Mother in heaven approves of devout writings long in use in the Church and rightly considered helpful in the spiritual struggle in which all are engaged.

  While some persons may, doubtless, wish that the readers of this book will remember at every page the prudent warning sounded in the Introduction that the work is to be read as a religious novel and not as a fifth Gospel, nevertheless many Catholics and non-Catholics too will be very thankful for this pleasing compilation of vivid narratives of the Blessed Virgin’s life “as seen by” four great mystics of the Church.

  REV. EDWARD A. RYAN, S.J., Dr. En Sc. Hist.

  Professor of Church History

  Woodstock College

  Introduction

  “When both are united [the visions of Mary of Agreda and Anne Catherine Emmerich], we possess the most magnificent contemplations upon the mysteries of the Incarnation of God.”

  DOM PROSPER GUÉRANGER, O.S.B.

  Abbot of Solesmes

  Private Revelations

  ue to the special nature of its sources, The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics is not, does not purport to be, and thus should not be considered a historical biography.

  The study of history is based primarily on contemporaneous written documents. This work, however, has been compiled entirely from the visions and private revelations of St. Elizabeth of Schoenau (1127?–1164), St. Bridget of Sweden (1303–1373), Venerable Mother Mary of Jesus of Agreda (1602–1665), and Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774–1824), as recorded in their writings or in those of their secretaries.

  It is therefore essential, in order properly to evaluate this book, that the reader have a clear understanding of the teachings of the Catholic Church concerning the nature and reliability of private revelations. The following brief outline of the subject is derived from the masterful analysis of the Rev. Auguste Poulain, S.J., in his work entitled The Graces of Interior Prayer, a Treatise on Mystical Theology (St. Louis: B. Herder, 1912), Part IV, “Revelations and Visions.”

  First and most important of all, we must always make a very sharp distinction between: (1) the divinely guaranteed, universal, public Revelation which is contained in the Bible and the Apostolic Tradition of the Church, and (2) the numerous private or special revelations of saintly Christian men and women. The first came to an end with the preaching of the Apostles and is a matter of faith for all Catholics, whereas the second have occurred throughout the history of the Church and do not require belief, even when approved. “It matters little whether or not one believes in St. Bridget’s revelations or those of other saints; these things have nothing to do with faith.”1 “Even when the Church approves them . . . they are not to be used as deciding questions of history . . . philosophy, or theology.”2

  Next we must understand why it is possible that the writings or revelations of some saintly mystics have occasionally contained minor inaccuracies or details which do not agree with similar accounts of other equally holy mystics. This is especially observable when their visions represent historical scenes, such as the life and death of Jesus Christ and His Mother. For instance, St. Bridget and Mary of Agreda differ as to various details of the Nativity. Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich saw the Saviour crucified with three nails, whereas St. Bridget saw four nails. And all three disagree concerning the number of years which the Blessed Virgin lived after the Crucifixion.

  This does not mean that in each case only one mystic saw correctly and the others must have been mistaken. For, as Father Poulain very wisely explains—and the importance of this statement for our work cannot be overstressed:

  When visions represent historic scenes . . . they often have an approximate and probable likeness only. . . . It is a mistake to attribute an absolute accuracy to them. . . . Many saints have, in fact, believed that the event took place exactly as they saw it. But God does not deceive us when He modifies certain details. If He tied Himself down to absolute accuracy in these matters, we should soon be seeking to satisfy in visions an idle desire for erudition in history or archaeology.
He has a nobler aim, that of the soul’s sanctification, and to arouse in her a love of Jesus suffering. He is like a painter who, in order to excite our piety, is content to paint scenes in his own manner, but without departing too far from the truth. (This argument cannot be applied to the historical books of the Bible). . . . God has another reason for modifying certain details. Sometimes He adds them to a historical scene in order to bring out the secret meaning of the mystery. The actual spectators saw nothing similar. . . . We see, therefore, that it is imprudent to seek to remake history by the help of the saints’ revelations.3

  And in his article on the same subject in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Poulain adds: