Seven books, blinders are off, I can see!
There is a shortcut to all this reading, and it will probably give you the most awe-inspiring information, unknown to most people. First, review the New Testament Gospels (Mark, Matthew, John, and Luke), about 80 pages in length. Then read the following six books: Life of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen, all four books in Mystical City of God series by nun Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, and The Way of Divine Love by nun Sister Josefa Menendez.
Fulton Sheen has managed to summarise probably 10 different books and concepts in one of the most beautiful books written about Jesus. Mary of Agreda has given us Mary's biography, 200 pages written by Mary herself, the mother of Jesus; it is more like an autobiography. "Mystical City of God" is the most Church-approved work outside the Bible. In Josefa Menendez's book, Jesus describes his own crucifixion. You would think: "This is crazy!". Well, God created the universe and its laws, so nothing is impossible.
"Mystical City of God"
The first Pope officially to take notice of the "Mystical City of God" was Pope Innocent XI(1611-1689), who, on July 3, 1686, in response to a series of virulent attacks and machinations of some members of the Sorbonne, known to be Jansenists, issued a breve permitting the publication and reading of the "Mystical City of God". Similar decrees were afterward issued by Popes Alexander VIII(1610-1691), Clement XI(1649-1721), and Benedict XIII(1724-1730). Issuing a decree on June 5, 1705, stating the books were free from errors in faith and morals and could be retained and read by all the faithful. They gave entire and unequivocal approval, after having been minutely scrutinized periodically for decades by Rome. These decrees were followed by two decrees of the Congregation of Rites, approved by Benedict XIV(1740-1758) and Clement XIV(1769-1774), in which the authenticity of the "Mystical City of God" as extant and written by the Venerable Servant of God, Mary of Jesus, is officially established. The great pope Benedict XIII, when he was archbishop of Benevent, used these revelations as material for a series of sermons on the Blessed Virgin. On Sept. 26, 1713, the bishop of Ceneda, Italy, objecting to the publication of the "Mystical City of God", was peremptorily ordered by the Holy Office to withdraw his objections as interfering with the decree of Pope Innocent XI for the universal Church. The "Mystical City of God" has thus been approved, by decrees, by all these Popes:
- Pope #240 Innocent XI. (He extended the Holy Name of Mary as a universal feast).
- Pope #241 Alexander VIII.
- Pope #243 Clement XI. (He made the feast of the Immaculate Conception universal).
- Pope #245 Benedict XIII.
- Pope #247 Benedict XIV.
- Pope #249 Clement XIV.
Since the time of Clement XIV (1769-1774), almost every occupant of the Chair of St. Peter has approved the work. In more recent times renewed approbations were given by Popes Pius IX, Leo XIII, St. Pius X, and Pius XI.
Saint John Vianney(1786-1859) had always with him two books, the Bible and the "Mystical City of God".
In 1885, the Bishop of Ratisbon said:
We take pleasure in giving our episcopal approbation... which will surely edify all readers and be the occasion of great spiritual blessings... The recommendations of Toulouse, Slamanca, Alcala and Louvain universities, and of different prominent orders... Cardinal D'Aguirre said that he considers all the studies of 50 years of his previous life as of small consequences in comparison with the doctrines he found in the 'Mystical City of God', which in all things are in harmony with the Holy Scriptures, The Holy Fathers and the Councils of the Church... Venerable Superior-General of St. Sulpice adds: 'Only since I read the revelations of Mary of Agreda do I properly know Jesus and His Holy Mother'... I wish to recommend it to the faithful and especially to our clergy.
A more recent official approbation comes from the Bishop of Tarazona in 1911-12. In fact, in a private audience with the American publisher of The Mystical City of God in 1929, Pope Pius XI thanked and praised him for doing this "great work in honor of the Mother of God" and granted the Apostolic Blessing to all readers and promoters of The Mystical City of God. It is affirmed that no book, other than the Bible itself, has received so many imprimaturs as has The Mystical City of God. (Ibid., pp 122-123). It is a mystery how people, especially priests, can still question this work by Ven. Mary of Agreda and treat it as though there were something dangerous or contrary to the Faith in it.
Approved by the Holy See for almost 300 years! And then placed on hold by Vatican II in 1964**.
The book "Venerable Mother Agreda and the Mariology of Vatican II" by Fr. Enrique LLamas replies to the objections of Vatican II, that Mother Agreda pushes an outdated Mariology. It shows that the genuine teaching of the Second Vatican Council, far from being different from Mother Agreda and her work, is profoundly and expressly anticipated by this jewel of Spanish and Franciscan Mariology (Fr. LLamas, OCD, was the President of the Spanish Mariological Society, Professor emeritus of the Pontifical University of Salamanca, and one of the most experts in Mariology). He gives a demonstration of the compatibility of the Mariology of the "Mystical City of God" and the teaching of the Vatican II. The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, through the Vatican Secretariat of State, said that one may claim that the "Mystical City of God" has no doctrinal errors or heresies in any sense of those terms, nonetheless, it conflicts with the figure of the Mother of God found in the Sacred Scriptures and thus is not compatible with Vatican II's Mariology. Let a theologian clarify,
Why is the figure of Mary in the Scriptures different than the figure of Mary in the "Mystical City of God"? Mary answered this same question in the "Mystical City of God". She wanted the Gospels to be focused on Jesus, and asked John the Apostle to omit her name from his Gospel. She wanted to be in the background and glossed over in the Scriptures to create less confusion; it was not the time for her life to be fully revealed as Christianity was being accepted throughout the world. The "Mystical City of God" has surely revealed Mary's life, fully participant and involved. You bet the figure of Mary in the Scriptures is different, because Mary wished it to be so, with the full support of her Holy Family and Apostles, on earth and in heaven. Let God clarify: "...although her love has been shown and revealed in the last age..." (Saint Bridget, 1360). But I suspect Vatican II needed to hide Mary's life for a while, to create a common ecumenical dialogue with other denominations based solely on Scripture, thus saving the most souls.
So, what makes Mary of Agreda's writings special? It is the holy presence of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Mary of Agreda's body has been incorrupt since then, and medical reports from 1909, with how it appeared in 1989, realised it had absolutely not deteriorated at all in the last eighty years. Miracles were wrought at her tomb too at Agreda, Spain. In October 2022, my spouse and I had a solo trip to Agreda, Spain. We traveled by bus/train and visited the Seven Sorrows church in Lleida, the Pilar of Mary in Zaragoza, the incorrupt body of Mary of Jesus in Agreda, Pamplona, and Our Mother's grotto at Lourdes. During that journey, small miracles happened; the sisters at Agreda's monastery are very blessed!
Mary of Agreda's bilocation (from Spain to America) was a miracle that could only be granted by God, as her physical body was present in two different physical locations. Knowing that demons can only be in one place at a time and fake a holy person for a short, torturous time, especially when they can grab a few Christian souls lost in self-delusion, why would the devil instruct native Americans about Catholic baptism when their souls were already in his possession?
Bilocation makes Mary of Agreda a favoured servant of God, and her writings are accordingly venerable ("The Needle and The Thread" movie better explains Mary of Agreda's bilocations). I would distrust anybody with an opposing viewpoint. In contrast, no pope has ever approved Blessed Emmerich's visions or Valtorta's locutions of Jesus' ministry because they clash with Roman Catholic Church teachings (more about this topic farther down).
**Sadly, these books, although divinely truthful, will never attain proper attention because of a sensitive point. The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception and that "you shall not kill" life after conception. Vatican II knew what was to come: the oral contraceptive pill in the 1960s, intrauterine devices (IUDs) in the 1970s, the legalisation of abortion in 1973, and the morning-after pill in the 1980s. A 'Mystical City of God' quote reads: "For the formation and growth of other human bodies, according to the natural order, many days are necessary in order to organise and fit them for the reception of the rational soul. Thus, for a male child, forty days are required, and for females, eighty days, more or less, according to the natural heat and disposition of the mothers." The moment of the reception of the soul is a mystery that human pride and ignorance would exploit as an excuse for abortion. The Church has the keys to heaven and knows what's best for mankind at any point in time, and our judging of the past by present values is only facilitating more souls to damnation.
"The Way of Divine Love"
Written by Sister Josefa Menendez in 1915, "The Way of Divine Love" is a book that will make you cry, endorsed by Pope Pius XII. Jesus exposes His heart. He talks about His crucifixion, about the Eucharist, his abode in Church waiting for your visit. After reading this book, you may even consider setting up camp inside a Church,
Come all of you to Me and fear not, for I Love you all... I will wash you in My Blood and you shall be made whiter than snow. All of your offences will be submerged in the waters in which I myself shall wash you, nor shall anything whatsoever be able to tear from My Heart its Love for you.
What makes Josefa's writings unique? Let Jesus Himself explain it to a Benedict Monk on Friday, February 13, 2009:
Make the writings of My little Josefa known to the priests I will show you. They will find in them a remedy, a comfort, and a source of confidence in My merciful love. They are not for all; not all are humble enough to hear the message of My Heart, but the broken and the wounded, those devastated by sin will understand them and will rejoice in the message of My love.
Book: In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart - The Journal of a Priest at Prayer by A Benedictine Monk
Most of the above books you can find them in pdf format or audio form. Their links,
Book: Ignatius Catholic Study New Testament-RSV by Ignatius Press
Book: Life of Christ by Sheen, Fulton J.
Book: The Mystical City of God: Part One - The Conception of Agreda, Mary
Book: The Mystical City of God: Part Two - The Incarnation of Agreda, Mary
Book: The Mystical City of God: Part Two - The Transfixion of Agreda, Mary
Book: The Mystical City of God: Part Three - The Coronation of Agreda, Mary
Book: The Way of Divine Love by Sister Josefa Menendez
Heaven, through the mouth of exorcised demons, would like the faithful to also read "The Imitation of Christ" (by Thomas à Kempis) and "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (by Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich). The first book was Saint Thérèse of Lisieux's favorite book. Advice from a series of compiled exorcisms from 1975 to 1978,
Exorcist(priest): Mary of Agreda has spoken of Mary?Beelzebub(demon): (turned towards the priest with an annoyed expression); You have guessed it. Mary of Jesus, in the town of Agreda. We know more about it than men. Yes, we have cursed those books, we fear them! How I was forced to say that! (he grumbles and gives an anxious cry)... So, Mary said she wanted to efface herself. It was entirely through humility that she wanted this...Thousands of sects have appeared: there are among them many who attack the Blessed Virgin savagely, and who attack Catholics solely because they give recognition to this predestined creature... reading the books of this Mary of Jesus of Agreda be recommended from the height of the pulpit. No Catholic family should be without them...Catherine was a great suffering soul... you should give prominence to "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ"... Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin have given and allowed these great visions and revelations to these two great Saints, to this Mary of Jesus and this Catherine Emmerich, so that they would come to the knowledge of the faithful.
Book: Warnings from the Hereafter to the Contemporary Church: Confessions of Hell, literal text of revelations made by demons during exorcisms by Jean Marty at link1, link2 or link3.
Personally, I would also read "The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great" (by St. Gertrude the Great), in which Jesus explains His judgments at death; the three volumes of Jesus' catechism to nun Marie Lataste in the "Letters and Writings of Marie Lataste"; Saint Bridget of Sweden's Revelations (1360); and Saint Faustina's Diary (1938). Leading the reader to the knowledge of spiritual warfare, saints, Mass sacraments, the Passion of Christ, miracles, and exorcism. It is challenging to summarise large amounts of Christian information while keeping in mind the Gospels. After a trip to Spain, Italy, and finally to Israel's religious sites; inspired by the smell of incense: at home (I don't own any), in Capernaum (Israel) as we lost our way through a plantation, and on my way to the Holy Tomb at 6 am in Jerusalem, I continued.