Peter Paul Rubens 'Assumption of Our Lady'
Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.
1 Corinthians, 15:20
On one of these same days, the feast of the Assumption of
our Lady while at a monastery of the order of the glorious St. Dominic, I was
reflecting upon the many sins I had in the past confessed in that house and
many things about my wretched life. A rapture came upon me so great that it
almost took me out of myself. I sat down; it still seems to me I couldn't see
the elevation or hear Mass, and afterward I had a scruple about this. It seemed
to me while in this state that I saw myself vested in a white robe of shining
brightness, but at first I didn't see who was clothing me in it. Afterward I
saw our Lady at my right side and my father St. Joseph at the left, for they
were putting that robe on me. I was given to understand that I was now cleansed
of my sins. After being clothed and while experiencing the most marvelous
delight and glory, it seemed to me then that our Lady took me by the hands. She
told me I made her very happy in serving the glorious St. Joseph, that I should
believe that what I was striving for in regard to the monastery would be
accomplished, that the Lord and those two would be greatly served in it, that I
shouldn't fear there would ever be any failure in this matter even though the
obedience which was to be given was not to my liking, because they would watch
over us, and that her Son had already promised us He would be with us, that as
a sign that this was true she was giving me a jewel. It seemed to me she placed
around my neck a very beautiful golden necklace to which was attached a highly
valuable cross. This gold and these stones are incomparably different from
earthly ones. Their beauty is very different from what is imaginable here
below. And the intellect cannot attain to an understanding of the nature of the
robe that the Lord desires to have represented, nor can one imagine its
whiteness; everything here on earth in comparison is like a sketch made from
soot, so to speak. The beauty I saw in our Lady was extraordinary, although
I didn't make out any particular details except the form of her face in general
and that her garment was of the most brilliant white, not dazzling but soft. I
didn't see the glorious St. Joseph so clearly, although I saw indeed that he
was there, as in the visions I mentioned that are not seen. Our Lady seemed
to me to be a very young girl. They were with me a little while; and I was in a
state of wonderful glory and happiness, which in my opinion I had never
experienced and which I did not want to see come to an end; then it seemed to
me I saw them ascend to heaven with a great multitude of angels. I was left in
deep loneliness, although so consoled and elevated and recollected in prayer
and moved to love that I remained some time without being able to stir or
speak, but almost outside myself. I was left with a great impulse to be
dissolved for God and with similar effects. And everything happened in such a
way that I could never doubt, no matter how much I tried, that the vision was
from God. It left me very comforted and with great peace. St Teresa of Avila 'The Book
of Her Life', ch.33.
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