CIUDAD to - the Catholic Kingdom!

430 CITY OF GOD
council of which I shall speak; and from that time on the
pure grain of evangelical truth was separated from the
dried and barren stubble of the mosaic ceremonies, as
it is to this day in our holy mother the Church. All
this the most blessed Mary procured through her merits
and her prayers. She knew, in the meanwhile, that
saint Paul and saint Barnaby were hastening from Antioch
to Jerusalem in order to confer with saint Peter and,
as related by saint Luke in the fifteenth chapter of the
Acts of the Apostles, solve the difficulties raised by the
Jews.
487. Saint Paul and saint Barnaby were aware of th6
return of the Queen of heaven when they came to Jeru
salem. In his ardent desire of seeing Her saint Paul
with saint Barnaby, at once sought her presence, and
they cast themselves at her feet, shedding abundant tears
of joy. Not less was the joy of the heavenly Mother at
meeting these Apostles, toward whom She bore an es
pecial love in the Lord on account of their zealous labors
for the exaltation of God s name and the spread of the
faith. The Mistress of the humble desired them to
present themselves first to saint Peter and the rest, and
last to Her, judging Herself to be the least of all crea
tures. But they, preserving the proper order in their
reverence and love, thought that none should be preferred
to Her who was the Mother of God, the Mistress of all
creation and the beginning of all our happiness. The
great Lady prostrated Herself before saint Paul and
Barnaby, kissed their hands and asked for their bless
ing. On this occasion saint Paul was favored with a
wonderful ecstatic abstraction, in which were revealed
to him great mysteries and prerogatives of this mystical
City of God, the Blessed Mary, and he saw Her as it
were completely invested with the Divinity.
More Free Items at www.catholickingdom.com