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THE CORONATION 433
order that the Apostles in the Cenacle might not become
aware of her absence. They bore Her up with the
splendor and magnificence described by me on other oc
casions, and on this occasion it was even greater on
account of the designs of the Lord. When Mary arrived
in a region of the air far removed from the earth, the
almighty Lord commanded Lucifer and all his hellish
hosts to come into the presence of the Queen into those
higher regions. Immediately all of them came before
Her and She saw them and knew them all just as they
were and the condition they were in. The sight was some
what painful to her, because the demons are so abomi
nable and disgusting; but She was armed with divine
virtue, so that She could not be harmed by this horrible
and execrable sight. Not so the demons; for the Lord
gave them to understand by an especial insight the great
ness and superiority of that Woman, whom they were
persecuting as their Enemy. They were made to per
ceive how foolishly presumptuous they had been in their
attempts against Her. To their still greater terror they
saw that She carried in her bosom the sacramental Christ
and that the whole Divinity held Her as it were envel
oped in its Omnipotence for their humiliation, overthrow
and destruction.
491. The demons moreover heard a voice proceeding
from the Deity itself, saying: "With this shield of my
powerful arm, invincible and strong, I shall always de
fend my Church. This Woman shall crush the head
of the ancient serpent (Gen. 3, 15), and shall forever
triumph over its
haughty pride for the glory of my holy
name." All these and other mysteries of the most holy
Mary the demons perceived and understood while they
were gathered around Her in dismay. So great
was the despair and crushing pain which they felt,
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