THE GLORIOUS AND HAPPY TRANSITION OF THE MOST HOLY MARY
During this quietness Jesus Christ descended from heaven on a throne of ineffable glory, accompanied by all the saints and innumerable angels, and the house of the Cenacle (upper room house) was filled with glory.
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| He descended on a throne of ineffable Glory |
The most blessed Mary adored
the Lord and kissed his feet. Prostrate before Him She made the last and most
profound act of faith and humility in her mortal life. On this occasion the
most pure Creature, the Queen of the heavens, shrank within Herself and lowered
Herself to the earth more profoundly than all men together ever have or ever
will humiliate themselves for all their sins. Her divine Son gave Her his
blessing and in the presence of the courtiers of heaven spoke to Her these
words:
She prostrated before Her son Jesus Christ and adored Him
“My dearest Mother, whom I have chosen for
my dwelling place, the hour is come in which thou art to pass from the life of
this death and of the world into the glory of my Father and mine, where thou
shalt possess the throne prepared for thee at my right hand and enjoy it
through all eternity. And since, by my power and as my Mother, I have caused
thee to enter the world free and exempt from sin, therefore also death shall
have no tight or permission to touch thee at thy exit from this world. If thou
wishest not to pass through it, come with Me now to partake of my glory, which
thou hast merited.”
The most prudent Mother prostrated Herself at the feet of her Son and
with a joyous countenance answered: “My Son and my
Lord, I beseech Thee let thy mother and thy servant enter into eternal life by
the common portal of natural death, like the other children of Adam. Thou, who
art my true God, hast suffered death without being obliged to do so; it is
proper that, as I have followed Thee in life, so I follow Thee also in death.” Christ the Saviour
approved of the decision and the sacrifice of his most blessed Mother, and
consented to its fulfilment. Then all the angels began to sing in celestial
harmony some of the verses of the Canticles of Solomon and other new ones.
Although only Saint John and some of the Apostles were enlightened as to the
presence of Christ the Saviour, yet the others felt in their interior its
divine and powerful effects; but the music was heard as well by the Apostles
and disciples, as by many others of the faithful there present. A divine
fragrance also spread about, which penetrated even to the street. The house of
the Cenacle was filled with a wonderful effulgence, visible to all, and the
Lord ordained that multitudes of the people of Jerusalem gathered in the streets
as witnesses to this new miracle.
When the angels began their music, the most blessed Mary reclined back upon her couch or bed. Her tunic was folded about her sacred body, her hands were joined and her eyes fixed upon her divine Son, and She was entirely inflamed with the fire of divine love. And as the angels intoned those verses of the second chapter of the Canticles: “Surge, propera, arnica mea,” that is to say: “Arise, haste, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come, the winter has passed,” etc., She pronounced those words of her Son on the Cross: “Into thy hands, 0 Lord, I commend my spirit.” Then She closed her virginal eyes and expired.
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| She closed Her virginal eyes and expired |
The sickness which took away her life was love, without any other weakness or accidental intervention of whatever kind. She died at the moment when the divine power suspended the assistance, which until then had counteracted the sensible ardours of her burning love of God. As soon as this miraculous assistance was withdrawn, the fire of her love consumed the life-humours of her heart and thus caused the cessation of her earthly existence.
Then this most pure Soul passed from her virginal body to be placed in
boundless glory, on the throne at the right hand of her divine Son. Immediately
the music of the angels seemed to withdraw to the upper air; for that whole
procession of angels and saints accompanied the King and Queen to the empyrean
heavens. The sacred body of the most blessed Mary, which had been the temple
and sanctuary of God in life, continued to shine with an effulgent light and
breathed forth such a wonderful and unheard of fragrance, that all the
bystanders were filled with interior and exterior sweetness. The thousand
angels of her guard remained to watch over the inestimable treasure of her
virginal body. The Apostles and disciples, amid the tears and the joy of the
wonders they had seen, were absorbed in admiration for some time, and then sang
many hymns and psalms in honour of the most blessed Mary now departed.
The beauty of Her body after death and about to bring forth effulgent light
