Maria d’Agreda Phenomenon of bi-corporeality (bi-location)In a historical brochure that has just been published about the life of
Maria de Jesus d’Agreda, we find a remarkable case of bi-corporeality,
which demonstrates how such phenomena are perfectly accepted by religion.
It is true that to certain people, the religious beliefs are not more
authoritative than the spiritist beliefs, but when these beliefs are supported
by the demonstrations given by Spiritism and by the patent evidence
of their possibility, also provided by Spiritism through a rational theory
which does not breach the laws of nature, and by their reality through
analogous and authentic examples, one has to yield to the evidence and
acknowledge that there are other laws besides the known ones, still in
God’s secrets.
Maria de Jesus was born in Agreda, city of Castela, on April 2nd, 1602
from poor parents of exemplary virtue. At a very young age, she became
the leading nun of the convent Immaculate Conception of Mary, where
she died with airs of sanctity. Here is the report found in her biography:
“Irrespective of how much we wish to summarize, we cannot escape
the need to mention here the exceptional role of missionary and apostle
that Maria d’Agreda has had in New Mexico. Those facts will be reported
and from which there are indisputable proofs, would demonstrate on its
own how elevated her supernatural gifts were, gifts with which God had
enriched her poor life as a servant, and how much she had devoted her
heart to the salvation of her fellow human beings. In her intimate relationship
with God she used to receive a bright light that helped her discover
the whole world, the multitude of people that inhabited that world,
among which there were those who had not found the Church yet and
were living with the imminent danger of losing their lives forever. Before
the risk of losing so many souls, Maria d’Agreda felt as if her heart had
been pierced and in her pain she multiplied her fervent prayers.
God let her know that the people of New Mexico were presented with
fewer obstacles to their religious conversion than other people, and that
it was particularly upon them, that God’s divine mercy wanted them to
expand rapidly. Such knowledge operated as a new spur in the charitable
heart of Maria d’Agreda and from the bottom of her heart she begged for
God’s clemency on behalf of those poor people. God Himself ordered her
to pray and work for that objective. And she did that in such an efficient
way that the Lord, whose reasons are impenetrable, operated in her and
through her one of the greatest wonders that History can report.”
“One day, taken in ecstasy by God, when she was fervently praying
for the salvation of those souls, Maria d’Agreda felt suddenly and unsuspectingly
transported to an unknown and far away region. She found
herself in a climate that was not of Castela and felt herself under a Sun
stronger than usual. Before her, there were people from a race that she
had never met before and God ordered her to preach the law and the holy
faith to them, according to her charitable wishes. The ecstatic of Agreda
obeyed. She preached to those Indians in her Spanish language and the
pagan people understood as if she was preaching in their mother tongue.
Many conversations followed. Returning from the ecstasy that saint creature
was in the same place as in the beginning of the withdrawal.
It was not only once that Maria de Jesus performed that wonderful
role of apostle and missionary together with the native people of New
Mexico. The first ecstasy occurred in 1622, followed by more than 500
ecstasies of the same kind. Maria d’Agreda was continuously in that region
to proceed with her mission. She thought the number of converted
people had increased prodigiously and that the whole nation, having the
king before them, was prepared to embrace Jesus’s faith.”
“She simultaneously saw, but at a great distance, the Spanish
Franciscan who worked in the conversion of that new world, but who
ignored the existence of those people that she had converted. Such consideration
led her to advise the Indians to send some messengers to those
missionaries so that they could come and baptize them. That was how
the divine Providence wanted to give a brilliant manifestation of good
that Maria d’Agreda had done in the New Mexico, through her ecstatic
preaching.”
“One day the Franciscan missionaries that Maria d’Agreda had seen
in spirit at a great distance, saw themselves approached by a bunch of
Indians of a race that they had not yet found in their excursions. The
announced themselves as messengers of their nation, requesting the grace
of baptism with great urgency. The missionaries were surprised by the
arrival of those Indians and even more so by their request, then trying to
understand its origin.”
“The messengers responded that a woman had appeared in their land
long ago, announcing the law of Jesus Christ. They added that the woman
would suddenly disappear, and her whereabouts were then unknown; that
she had helped them to understand the true God and had advised them to
come to the missionaries so that they could bring the grace of sacrament
to the whole nation, a sacrament that rescues the sins and transforms all
people into children of God.”
“The missionaries were even more impressed when they questioned
the Indians about the mysteries of faith and found them perfectly instructed
about everything that is needed for the salvation. The missionaries
got every possible piece of information about the woman but all that the Indians could say was that they had never seen anybody like
that before.”
“However, some descriptive details of her outfit led the missionaries
to suspect that she wore religious clothes. One of them who carried
the picture of Sister Luiza de Carrion, still alive, and whose holiness was
known everywhere in Spain, showed the picture to the Indians thinking
that they could then recognize some features of the woman-apostle.”
“After examining the picture the Indians said that the woman who
had preached them the law of Jesus Christ in reality had a veil like the
one in the picture but whose facial traces were completely different, being
younger and of a great beauty.”
“Then some missionaries left with the Indian messengers, to collect
such an abundant harvest among them. After traveling for a few days they
got to the heart of the tribe where they were welcomed with the strongest
demonstrations of happiness and recognition. During the journey they
noticed that the Christian instruction was complete in all elements of
that race.”
“The tribe chief, who deserved special attention from the servant of
God, wanted to be the first to receive the grace of baptism with his whole
family and in a few days a whole nation followed his example. Despite
all the events, the servant of the Lord who had evangelized those people
was still unknown and there was a saint curiosity and keen impatience
to get to know her. Without doubt, father Alonzo de Benavides who was
a hierarchical superior of the Franciscan missionaries in New Mexico
wanted to tear off the veil of mystery that still covered the name of the
woman-apostle, also willing to return to Spain to discover the retreat of
the unknown religious lady that had prodigiously cooperated with the
salvation of so many souls.
In 1630 he could finally travel to Spain and went directly to Madrid
where his superior was based. Benavides told him about the objective
that made him travel to Europe. The General of the Franciscans knew
Maria de Jesus d’Agreda, and following the duties of his position he had
to examine in details the intimacy of that sister. He knew her holiness as well as the sublimity of her God given paths. He immediately thought
that the privileged woman could well be the woman-apostle that Father
Benavides was talking about and he thus mentioned that to him. The
General then gave him letters making him his Commissioner commanding
Maria d’Agreda to answer in all simplicity the questions that Father
Benavides considered appropriate. With these orders the Commissioner
left to Agreda.”
“The humble sister then found herself forced to reveal everything that
she knew about his mission together with her. Confused while kind at
the same time, she reported to Benavides everything that had happened
in her ecstasies, frankly adding that she was completely uncertain about
the mode by which she operated those things at such a faraway location.
Benavides also questioned her about the details of the places that she had
likely visited so often, then verifying that she was well informed about everything
that was related to New Mexico and its inhabitants. She reported
in minor details the topography of the region, even using the adequate
names, as a traveler would do after having visited those regions. She even
added that she had seen Benavides and the missionaries several times,
indicating the places, the days, times, circumstances and providing particular
details about each one of the missionaries.”
“One can easily imagine Benavides’ relief for having finally found the
privileged soul that God had used to carry out that miraculous operation
upon the inhabitants of New Mexico.”
“Before leaving Agreda, Benavides wanted to write a report about
everything that he had attested, in America and in Agreda, and his conversations
with the servant of God. In the letter he expressed his personal
conviction about the mode through which Maria de Jesus’ presence
had been felt by the native Indians. He tended to believe that the action
had been physical, corporeal. The humble sister had always kept great
reservation about this subject. Despite thousands of indications that led
Benavides to his conclusion and before him the humble servant’s confessor,
they were indications that seemed to confirm a physical change
of place, Maria d’Agreda always insisted on her belief that everything happened in spirit. Out of pure humility she was even tempted to believe
that it was nothing more than pure hallucination since those things were
always unknowingly and involuntary. Her director, however, who knew
the fundamentals of things, thought that the sister was physically transported
in her ecstasies to the places of her evangelical works. He based his
opinion on the physical impressions caused on her by climatic changes
during the long series of works among the Indians, and in the opinion
of several scholars that he thought appropriate to consult with in total
secrecy.
“Whatever is the case, the fact remains as one of the most remarkable
that has ever been reported in the archives of the saints and it is very adequate
to provide a true idea not only about the divine communications
received by Maria d’Agreda, but also her candor and kind honesty.”
