The Monk Who Longed to See Our Lady

Related by Cesarius

A Cistercian monk who was deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary longed to be granted a visit from her, and prayed for this without ceasing. One night he went out into the garden, and as he stood gazing up at heaven and breathing out his longing to see his queen, a beautiful and radiant young woman came down to him and said, "Thomas, would you like to hear me sing?" "Yes, indeed," he answered, and she sang so sweetly that it seemed to him he was already in paradise.

When she had finished she vanished, leaving him aching to know who she was. Soon another lovely young woman appeared and likewise let him hear her sing. This time he could not help asking who she was, and she answered, "The one you saw a little while ago was Catherine, and I am Agnes, both martyrs for Jesus Christ, sent by Our Lady to console you. Give thanks to Mary, and prepare for a greater favor still." Then she too disappeared, leaving him with greater hope of at last seeing his queen. He was not disappointed.

Shortly afterward he saw a great light and felt a new joy flood his heart, for in the midst of that light the Mother of God appeared to him, surrounded by angels and far more beautiful than the two saints before her. She said, "My dear servant and son, I have been pleased with the devotion you have offered me, and I have heard your prayers. You wished to see me; look on me, and I will sing to you as well."

Then the Blessed Virgin began to sing with such sweetness that the monk lost his senses and fell face down on the ground. When the matins bell rang and the monks gathered, Thomas was missing; they searched his cell and the rest of the monastery, and at last found him in the garden, seemingly lifeless. When his superior commanded him to tell what had happened, he came to himself and, under obedience, recounted all the favors the Mother of God had shown him.

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Source:

Simplified retellings of the "example" stories that St. Alphonsus Liguori placed at the end of each section of The Glories of Mary. These are paraphrased in plain modern prose, faithful to the substance of the 1888 English translation. Liguori himself, in his author's "Protest," noted that the miracles and apparitions in the book are offered on human authority only, not as articles of faith.