Before
the battle the bible says “And a great
sign appeared in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her
feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev.12:1).
 |
| A woman clothed with the sun |
God
at this point, before the great battle, worked a wonderful mystery in heaven. After
making all the angels, both the good ones and the bad ones who followed Lucifer
to understand and having given to them a sufficiently clear intelligence of the
great mystery of the second person in the trinity becoming man in the womb of
the virgin mother and at the same time remaining as God, He showed them the
image of the most holy Virgin by means of an imaginary vision. It was as it
were a mirror of the wonderful perfection of the handiwork of God in creating
human nature. Although He had already revealed this perfection to the angels in
making known to them the mystery of the hypostatic union, yet He wished to
reveal it to them also in a different manner by showing it to them in a mere
Creature, the most perfect and holy which, next to the humanity of our Lord, He
was to create. It was also a sign for the assurance of the good angels and for
confusion of the bad. They were shown the perfection of the human nature in the
revelation of an image representing a most perfect Woman, in whom the almighty
arm of the Most High would work more wonderfully than in all the rest of the
creatures. For therein He was to deposit the graces and gifts of his right hand
in a higher and more eminent manner. This sign or vision of the Queen of heaven
and of the Mother of Jesus Christ our saviour, was made known and manifested to
all the angels, good and bad, in order that seeing it, they might subject their
will to the pleasure and the commands of God. They saw it therefore before the
good ones chose the good and before the bad ones had turned to evil.
 |
| The good angels in canticles of Praise |
The
good ones at the sign of it broke forth in admiration and in canticles of
praise and from that time on began to defend the honour of the God incarnate
and of his holy Mother, being armed with ardent zeal and with the invincible
shield of that vision.
But Lucifer and his confederates on the other hand conceived implacable hatred and fury against Christ and his most holy Mother. Then happened all that which is described in the twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse.
 |
| The angels were armed with the invisible shield of the woman in the vision |
But Lucifer and his confederates on the other hand conceived implacable hatred and fury against Christ and his most holy Mother. Then happened all that which is described in the twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse.
