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THE CORONATION 499
the divine power
had not sustained her life for still
greater merit and glory. And if, as is true, She in her
immense charity offered all these works for the Church,
let us consider how much we are in her debt as faithful
children for thus increasing the treasures of help, which
She left at the disposal of us unfortunate children of
Eve.
not be half
And in order that our meditation may
hearted and lukewarm, I will say, that the effects of
her contemplations were often astounding; many times
She wept tears of blood, which covered her whole face;
at other times in her agony She was not only bathed in
perspiration, but in a bloody sweat, running from Her
even to the ground. What is more, sometimes her heart
was wrenched from its natural position by the violence
of her grief; and when She was in such extremes, her
divine Son came from heaven, furnishing Her with new
strength and life to soothe her sorrow and heal the
wounds caused by love of Him, and in order that by
such assistance and comfort, She might continue the
exercises of her compassion.
580. The Lord however wished Her to lay aside these
sorrowful sentiments and affections on the days in which
She commemorated the mystery of his Resurrection,
as I will speak of later on, in order that there might
be maintained the proper relation between cause and
effect. For some of these sorrows were incompatible
with the favors overflowing in their effects upon the
body, yet excluding pain. But She never lost sight of
his sufferings and therefore felt other effects of her com
passion by uniting with her joys, the gratitude for what
the Lord endured. Thus in the sweetness of all the
favors of the Lord his Passion entered as a mixture of
bitterness. She obtained also the consent of the evan
gelist saint John to remain retired in her oratory for
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