1. In the present chapter we shall interpret the first verse of
chapter XXI of the Apocalypse of Saint John, which in the literal sense
refers to the Messianic Kingdom, but with perfect justifica-tion is
applied to Mary, the Mystical City of God.
2. The verse says: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
For the first heaven and the first earth was gone, and the sea is
now no more". The
phrases "a new heaven" and "a new earth", contain pro-found
and distinct meanings. In
order to attain as complete as possible an explanation and doctrinal
interpretation of the verse, we take as our basis the infallible teaching
magisterially expounded by His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII in Document
XXXVI, where he interprets the first verse of Genesis referring to the
creation of Heaven and Earth, and where he says that Heaven is the Most
Divine Soul of Christ and Earth is the Di-vine Soul of Mary.
Besides, in a secondary sense, he says that the phrase "heaven
and earth" indicates the whole visible creation. In Document XXXIX he adds that the phrase "heaven and
earth" is the whole work of creation, and includes all the invisible
as well as all things visible.
3. Consequently in our dogmatic exposition, we distin-guish various
fundamental meanings of the words "heaven" and "earth".
In the first place, and above all within the invisible creation,
Heaven and Earth are respectively the Most Divine Soul of Christ and the
Divine Soul of Mary, both, in the divine plan destined, through their
respective in-carnations, later on to be within the visible creation;
Christ as the new Heaven and Mary as the new Earth, with the resultant
spiritual and mate-rial renewal of the universe.
4. In another meaning of the word, "heaven" indicates the
whole invisible creation, while the word "earth" indicates all
the visible creation. In
another sense referring to the visible creation, we call
"heaven" all the celestial bodies that form the star-studded
sky. And we call
"earth" this material mass on which we walk, of which God in
Paradise formed the body of the first man Adam and which was created as
the first primordial dwelling place for mankind.
God created the materi-al heaven and earth in utmost natural and
spiritual perfection, modelled on the Heaven and Earth of the invisible
creation, principally the Souls of Christ and Mary.
Paradise was the first earth, replete with every perfection natural
and human, while heaven dwelt on earth through the In-dwelling of the Holy
Ghost in the souls of our first parents, as well as through the
extraordinary grace of the beatific vision and the glorious state of their
bodies. Thus the Terrestrial
Paradise was a reflection of eternal happiness.
5. Through the sin of Adam and Eve, the heaven that dwelt on earth
was lost and the whole universe suf-fered the consequences of man's sin,
being left to corruption and the loss of a large part of its natural
beauty. The Apocalypse refers
to that supernatural and mate-rial state of chaos, as is seen in the light
of a first interpretation of the phrases "the first heaven and the
first earth was gone" and "the sea is now no more".
The word "sea", in regard to the Terrestrial Para-dise,
indicates the ocean of every kind of grace which flooded that gar-den of
delight.
6. After the fall of our first parents, a most potent ray of light
and hope penetrated the thick darkness in the Universe with the first
promise of Redemption while there was entrusted to mankind on the part of
God, the Sacrament of the Triple Benediction.
In this was present the Divine Soul of Mary, and, through the
Divine Espousal, the Most Divine Soul of Christ, and consequently the Most
Holy Trinity, - that is to say a new way for heaven to be on earth,
although its virtue was only applied to a limited number of privi-leged
cases practically, re-stricted to the Chosen People.
7. In the light of the Holy Ghost, we affirm and define that the
Most Divine Soul of Christ entrusted to Abel the Just the custody of the
Triple Benediction, and that he then received his sanctification.
The doctrine on the sanctification of Abel is found in the
following words of Christ: "That upon you may come all the just blood
that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the Just,
..." (Matt. XXIII: 35). At
the death of this first martyr, the Triple Benediction passed in to the
custody of Adam, who at the time had performed more than two cen-turies of
severe penance in expiation of his sin, and, now become worthy of so
singular a grace, received at that moment the indwelling of the Holy
Ghost, both he and his spouse, Eve.
8. The sanctification of Adam is inferred in the Book of Wisdom
from the words that refer to him: "And she (Wisdom) brought him out
of his sin and gave him power to govern all things" (Wisdom X: 2). God had first pardoned the sin of Adam and that of his spouse
Eve after their fall, granting them im-perfect justifying grace, given
their great expression of sorrow. Many
years later they were sanctified by the Tri-ple Benediction. Reflecting further on the meaning of the biblical
ex-pression, we see how the Holy Ghost inspired the words "his
sin" rather than "his sins" in order to exclude the
interpreta-tion that his first and only sin was forgiven, and nothing
more, - when, in fact the stain of sin in Adam was also effaced through
Sanctifying Grace, without his los-ing the state of fallen nature with
consequent transmission of the stain of origin to all mankind, with the
exception of Mary. At the
death of Adam the Triple Benediction passed into the custody of Seth, who
thus was sanctified. At his
death it was entrusted to Henoch, father of Ma-thusala.
When Henoch was translated to the Planet of Mary, he took with him
the Triple Benediction, which, shortly
before the flood, was taken by the Most Holy Trinity and entrusted to the
Patriarch Noe. The reason why
the earth was deprived of the Most Holy Mystery during that time was the
great corruption of men which extended everywhere in the most unbridled
manner and which brought down upon them the chastisement of God.
We take the occasion to define the presanctific-ation of Mathusala,
son of Henoch, in his mother's womb, in the eighth month.
9. No one need be surprised if the Holy Ghost has re-served for
this chapter dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the doctrine
on the sanctification of our first parents, Adam and Eve. It was precisely they who heard directly from the mouth of
God the first promise of the Redemp-tion in which there was mentioned the
Woman, Mary, the New Eve, given that Salvation would come to us through
the Immacu-late Conception. There
you behold extraordinary proof of the love and mercy of the Divine Mary
for poor sinners! Adam and
Eve are, before all others, "the sinners", since in them all
mankind sinned. It was
logical then, given the repentance and correspondence with grace of our
first parents after their sin, that Mary grant them the exalted privile-ge
of sanctification through the virtue of the very Mystery that contained
their own germinal elements from before the fall, which, in union with the
Divine Soul of Mary constituted the Sacrament of the Triple Benedic-tion.
10. Adam and Eve were the first who heard speak of the Mystery of
the Immaculate Conception and of its supreme importance, won-derfully
expressed in the words: "I will put enmities between thee and the
Woman, and between thy lineage and her lineage: she shall crush thy head,
and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel" (Gen. III: 15).
And this they heard, eyes cast to the ground in compunction acknowledgement of the enormity, malice and shame of their
sin. The words of God did not
fail to find echo in the souls of Adam and Eve, but rather produced the
fruit of contrition and conse-quently works of penance and satisfaction.
The Soul of Mary responded as only She knew how to do, restoring to
them, through Sanctifying Grace, participation in the Divine Nature which
they had lost by sin. Thus
the Virgin Mary mani-fested Her sentiments of special predilection for our
first parents, since Her Divine Soul dwelt with their uncontaminated
germinal elements. And
besides, thousands of years later Her Soul would acquire, according to the
flesh, family relationship with them, since the Immaculate state of Her
Body had its ori-gin in the glorious germinal elements of Adam and Eve.
11. The sanctifications of the first pair were fruit of the
anticipated application of the Sacrifice of Christ and Mary on Cal-vary
and manifestation of God's compassion for poor sinners.
For God does not regard the malice and multi-tude of sins, but
rather shows mer-cy to those who express their sorrow, which was the case
with Adam and Eve. Therefore
the Church in her liturgy exclaims with vehement joy: "Oh felix culpa
quae tale ac tantum meruit
habere Redemptorem!", "Oh happy fault that won for us such and
so great a Redeemer!" Because the Redemp-tion is the greatest proof of Divine Love,
exceeding in grace all human iniquity.
12. In the little parcel of land that God wished to re-serve for
Himself by raising up the People of Israel to form the Ancient Church,
there were not lacking Priests, Patriarchs and Holy Prophets, just men,
valiant captains and heroic women. Many
of these received Sanctifying Grace, becoming luminous points in the dark
firmament of a uni-verse subject to the slavery of Satan.
In a certain sense Israel was a new earth where dwelt a new heaven.
13. Continuing our interpretation of verse 1 of chapter XXI of the
Apocalypse, we enter now fully in the Mystery of the Immacu-late
Conception, principal subject of the present chapter.
Saint John, having mentioned the grandiose renovation of the Church
during the Mes-sianic age and, above all, in the Messianic Kingdom, wishes
also to let us see that all that grandeur has its origin in the Immaculate
Concep-tion of Mary, grandeur communicated to us through Her, who Herself,
purely a creature, is that prime grandeur.
Confining ourselves in our interpretation to the period between the
Mystery of the Immaculate Conception and the Incarnation of the Word, we
see there a "New Earth". The
New Earth is Mary Most Holy, the New Eve, She who never knew sin or
blemish, the Woman made very Sanctity, the one full of Grace.
As She was Mother of Grace, the earth, with Her Immaculate
Conception, began to feel its own beauty restored in the eyes of God, the
Creator, while new horizo-ns of light were opening up, and the reign of
grace, now close at hand, was already throbbing in the hearts of many.
Mary is a "New Earth" because from Her Virginal Body was
formed the Most Holy Body of Christ, the New Adam, with certain likeness
to the first Adam, whose body was taken from the virgin earth, that is,
before sin spoiled it.
14. Mankind was in a state of subjection to the rule of Satan, but
when the Divine Mary hardly began to dwell in the womb of Saint Anne, the
ocean of iniquity, in which men were buried, was lightened by the Dawning
of Grace. There already,
before waiting until the consummation of the Sacrifice on Calvary, with
all propriety we apply the phrase of Saint Paul; "Ubi autem abundavit
delictum, superabundavit gra-tia", "Where sin abounded, grace
did more abound" (Rom. V: 20). For
now there lives on earth "The One Full of Grace", She who
possesses in Her-self more grace than the whole of creation many times
over. With the Im-maculate
Conception of Mary Most Holy, there began the decisive prostra-tion of the
serpent of Para-dise. The devil began, in supreme measure, to lose his strength and
empire in the world, which till then he had held in tyrannical
enslavement. For that reason
also Saint John, referring to the consequences of the Mystery of the
Immaculate Conception of Mary, says: "For the first heaven and the
first earth were gone, and
the sea is now no more".
15. Mary is a "New Earth", since in Her is con-tained the
Glory of the Most Holy Trinity. Never,
before the Incarnation of the Word, had been known on earth in truly human
flesh a beacon light more splendid and sublime than the Most Holy Person
of Mary. But Mary is not
willing to keep to Herself the ocean of grace that floods Her whole
be-ing, but rather harbours within Her Mystical Body, which also is the
New Earth, the Church of that time, called with all propriety, the Church
of Mary, Precursor of the Church of Christ.
The Divine Mary wishes to make of the hearts of all men a new
heaven, by engendering them in Grace.
Therefore She demands that the Son of the Most High come quickly to
Her virginal womb, since through His Incarnation and sublime Nativity,
there will shine over the earth the most power-ful Sun ever known, the
Divine Humanity of Christ, the Incarnate Word, the New Heaven formed out
of the New Earth.
16. From the moment of the Incarnation of the Word, the phrase
"a new heaven" also signifies the Most Pure and Virginal Womb of
Mary where the Incarnate Word abode, where He dwelt with all complacency.
The phrase indicates principally God Himself made Man, since that
was God's new way of manifesting and giving Himself to mankind in order to
make men participants in the Divine Nature through Sanctifying Grace,
which is the New Heaven in souls.
17. A "New Heaven" and a "New Earth", are the
Mystical Body of Christ, formed of Flesh, Blood, Created Soul and
Uncreated Soul. In the Body
of the Church Militant we distinguish two aspects, the one visible, that
is, the members themselves, hierarchically organized in union with the
Pope as their head; the other invisible, that is, the physical Body of
Christ contained by concomitance with that of Mary in the Drop of Blood of
Our Divine Lady, the Drop of Blood that is the Singular Sacrament present
in the hearts of the members in the state of grace of the Church, all
together forming one sole Body with Christ, the Mystical Body.
The Blood of the Mystical Body of Christ is the Blood of Jesus
contained in the Drop of Blood of Mary, the Drop that unites us all and
grafts us all in Christ, making us His blood relations and participants in
His Divine Nature. The
Created Soul is the Mystical Soul, the Espou-sal of the Souls of Christ
and Mary. The Uncreated Soul
is the Holy Ghost, Sanctifier and Vivifier of souls.
18. The Most Holy Eucharist is also a New Heaven and a New Earth in
sacramental form, since, in this sacra-ment, the Divine Per-son of Christ
is present and, through concomitance, the Most Holy Person of Mary.
19. Holy Mass, the Sacraments and the Ministerial Priesthood are
also examples of a New Heaven and a New Earth.
The Priest is the Mystical Heart which, through Holy Mass, gives
life and strength to the Church, communicating grace through the
Sacraments, which are the arter-ies that carry the vivifying blood
to all the Mystical Body of Christ.
20. With the Redemption, the darkness that enveloped the earth was
dispelled and the Sun of Grace flooded the Universe with light. Satan was enchained and put down under the wood of the Cross.
Heaven was no longer closed, as it had been through Adam's sin, and
Christ in His Glorious Ascension opens wide the gates, breaking the seal
God had set there. The earth was no longer a wasteland without Sanctifying
Grace. Calvary then is a New
Heaven and New Earth. Therefore
Saint John, in the Apocalypse, referring to the fruits of Redemption says,
with ad-ditional motive: "For the first heaven and the first earth
were gone, and the sea is now no more".
21. It remains for us to consider the Messianic Kingdom, life on
earth which in the proper sense is the New Heaven and the New Earth,
through the possession of more grace, light and fecundity than had ever
the Paradise of our first parents; while all satanic power is eter-nally
excluded by the total and definitive triumph of Christ on earth in His
Second Coming in Glory.
22. We also extend our interpretation to the happiness of the
Blessed, since Eternal Happiness is the culmination of the New Heaven and
the New Earth.
23. Saint John, writing with eagle quill, soars sublimely in his
vision, penetrating the great mysteries in Sacred Scripture. Of these we select and set apart for his Apocalypse some of
the more pertinent and choicest passages referring to Mary, concentrating
them in a brief but sublime verse: "And I John saw the Holy City, the
new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
adorned for her spouse" (Apoc. XXI: 2).
The expressions used in this verse are found spread in other pages
of the Bible:
24. The Holy Prophet David, in Psalm LXXXVI, with most delicate
imagery sings the glories of Mary, Mystical City of God, and solace of the
exquisite honeycomb that enfolds within itself all Divine Wisdom.
25. The Holy City was constituted at the very moment of creation of
the Divine Soul of Mary, since She was fully within the In-finite Glory
and embraced within Herself all its immensity.
Thus She was constituted the Mystical City of the Trinity, where
God perpetually dwells. This
sublime doctrine is wonderfully contained, in the light of our
interpretation, in the first verse of the Psalm of David mentioned a-bove:
"Her foundations are in the Holy Mountains".
The Soul of Mary was firmly established and secured in the Divinity
through Espousal with the Soul of Christ, having been created in the
mountain heights of the Di-vine Essence, participating thus in the nature
or essence of God and in His infinite perfection in the highest grade
possible to a pure creature. From
the moment of the creation of
Her Divine Soul, Mary took possession of the Omnipotence, the Wisdom and
the Love of the Three Divine Persons.
The "Holy Mountains" also signify the high, unscalable
ramparts that surround the Mystical City of God, which is Mary, and that
exalt Her im-measur-ably beyond all other creatures.
These Holy Mountains manifest Mary's holiness and preeminent
participation in the Hypostatic Order, and in the Omnipotence, the
Omnipresence and Omniscience of God.
There-fore the Psalmist exclaims with vehement joy: "Glorious
things are said of thee, O City of God" (Ps. LXXXVI: 3).
26. With the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Holy City, the
Heavenly Jerusalem came down from heaven, and the Mystical Body of Mary or
New Jerusalem was constituted. The
Song of Songs in beautiful poetic imagery extols the sublime spiritual and
bodily beauty of Mary. It
proclaims Her the most beautiful among women, pure and without stain,
perpetual Virgin, the one dove of predilection, chosen Spouse of God; and
distinguishes the fecundity of the Mystical Body of Mary, which is called
there "fountain of gardens, well of living waters".
27. The Holy Prophet David also sings the glories of the Immaculate
Conception of Mary in one of his psalms of highest inspi-ration, one that
we apply to this sublime Mystery. The
lovely figure of Mary is distin-guished in phrases that extol the beauty
of Her Immaculate Body surpassing that of all others, and that proclaim
the extension to that Immaculate Body of all the glories with which Her
Soul was created, expressed in the words: "grace is poured out on thy
lips" (Ps. XLIV: 3).
28. All this most high and unequalled perfection of Mary is
proclaimed by the universal choir of all creatures with words of utmost
wonder and praise in order to express all Her matchless glory: "One
is my dove, my perfect one ... They saw her ... and declared her most
blessed ... and they praised her ... Who is she that cometh forth as the
dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in
battle array?" (Cant. VI: 8, 9).
It is Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God.
