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THE CORONATION 381
angel of such superior essence. But I must remark,
that these hellish foes did not present themselves before
the Lord so as to see Him, being entirely incapable
thereof; but through their knowledge and belief in the
supernatural mysteries, which is conceded to them in a
curtailed yet by them unavoidable measure, they are per
mitted to speak to God. This is what is meant, when
they are mentioned as being in the presence of God to
make complaint or to have converse with Him.
426. The Almighty gave Lucifer permission to go
forth in battle against the most blessed Mother; but the
conditions asked by Satan were unjust, and therefore
many of them were not conceded. The divine Wisdom
furnished those weapons, which were appropriate to each
combatant, in order that the victory of his Mother might
be so much the more glorious and crush the head of this
ancient and poisonous serpent (Gen 3, 15). This battle
was mysterious, no less than its
triumphant issue, as we
shall see in the following chapters; moreover its
myste
rious character is plainly evident in the twelfth chapter
of the Apocalypse and from the other mysteries of which
I have spoken in my explanations of the first part of this
history (Part 1, No. 94). I wish only to state here, that
the divine Providence foreordained all this, not only for
the greater glory of his most holy Mother and for the ex
altation of the divine power and wisdom, but also in order
to bring relief to the Church from the persecutions roused
against it by the demons; and also to bind Himself with
some show of justice to the bestowal of the infinite favors
and blessings which the most holy Mary alone and no
other souls could ever merit for the whole Church. The
Lord continually works in this manner in his Church :
preparing and fortifying some chosen souls, against
which, as members and parts of his holy Church, the
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