Our council has discovered a copy of the biography of Venerable. Mary of Agreda, the author of "The Mystical City of God - The Autobiography of Our Blessed Mother Mary". We are in the process of restoring the book for re-publication. Here is a copy of the forward of this book written by Rt. Rev. Msgr. John S. Sabo, Dean of South Bend, Indiana.
There are several reasons why this is an interesting work. It deals with a Spanish woman, at a time when anything Spanish is in disfavor in the United States.
A visitor from Mars would raise an eyebrow at that remark, since, he would say, "Look at all the Spanish who live in your country." No nation has contributed as many names to America. Why even states such as Florida and California, Montana, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico have Spanish names.
Spain has contributed much to the nation. Had it not been for the Spanish Franciscan missionaries, it could well be that the Pacific Coast be Russian.
At a celebration in Massachusetts the Governor of Florida made the remark he later repeated on a television network, "Two hundred years before the Boston Tea Party there was Mass in what is now Florida by the Spaniards."
According to legend among the Indians of the Southwest, a Spanish lady, a nun, taught religion to the Indians about this time. Surely it is worth our while, as Americans, to investigate further when it seems that this pioneer teacher of America was the Venerable Mary of Agreda, who was able to do this only with the gift of bilocation.
As Catholics, when our tastes for reading tempt us with so many things not worth while, we should be willing to learn more about the one who, even though we are unwilling to believe it, is supposed to be writing the life of Our Lady.
Mr. Carrico took the time to study the life of the Ven. Mary of Agreda and in this book gives us the result of his study.
Our council is interested in this book for many reasons. One of them is the fact that this book has the following dedication:
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Dedicated |
