Fire and Light: The Mystical Pentecost in the Revelations of Venerable Mary of Agreda

Fr. Scott Haynes

On the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ, the promise of the Holy Ghost descended upon the Church in a scene unparalleled in majesty and power. While Sacred Scripture recounts this moment in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-4), Venerable Mary of Agreda, a 17th-century Franciscan nun, was graced with detailed private revelations recorded in her monumental mystical work, The Mystical City of God. Her account not only magnifies the awe and wonder of Pentecost but offers readers a deeper spiritual call to conversion and participation in the divine life of grace.

The Awaiting of the Holy Ghost

Before the miracle, the disciples, numbering 120, gathered in the Cenacle under the guidance and maternal care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Scripture records their constancy in prayer (Acts 1:14), but Mary of Agreda reveals more: Mary was not merely present but was the spiritual engine of the gathering, ardently praying and invoking the fulfillment of Christ’s promise.

She writes:

"She alone was the most pure and most worthy vessel of the Holy Ghost, and through her intercession, the divine Spirit was communicated to the Apostles and disciples" (Mystical City of God, IV).

The Descent: Fire from Heaven

The Holy Ghost came as a rushing wind and visible tongues of fire. But according to Mary of Agreda, the event was marked not only by interior sanctification but also by external cosmic manifestations. She describes thunder, lightning, and atmospheric commotion that reflected the divine energy saturating Jerusalem. Inside the Cenacle, the fire rested above each person, sanctifying not only the Apostles but all those present, including the holy women who had followed Christ. This detail amplifies the Scriptural account by reinforcing the universality of the Spirit’s gifts.

Mary writes:

"This plenitude of wonders and prodigies overflowed and communicated itself also to others outside of the Cenacle" (IV).

Those who had shown even a small amount of compassion toward Christ during His Passion were inwardly moved to repentance and enlightenment, preparing them to receive the preaching of the Gospel.

Divine Retribution: Justice in Jerusalem

Mary of Agreda's vision offers a solemn and terrifying contrast to the grace poured out upon the faithful. While the friends of Christ were exalted, His enemies received divine justice. She recounts that thunder and unnatural darkness disturbed the city, and those who had violently persecuted Jesus suffered immediate punishments. She describes how the servant who had struck Jesus was instantly cast into hell, while others were choked in their own blood.

"Those that had scourged the Lord were suddenly choked in their own blood... The audacious servant... was hurled into hell body and soul," she writes (IV).

Others, not killed, were afflicted with loathsome diseases and mental anguish, punishments that extended to their descendants. Such a bold revelation underscores the solemn truth of divine justice. It echoes the warning of St. Paul:

"Be not deceived, God is not mocked" (Galatians 6:7).

Even hell itself was shaken. According to Mary of Agreda, Lucifer and his demons were tormented for three days, howling in terror as the power of the Spirit disrupted their kingdom. She explains:

"Lucifer and his demons broke forth in fearful howlings, communicating new terror and confusion of torments to all the damned."

The Transformation of the Apostles

Prior to Pentecost, the Apostles were fearful, unsure, and hidden. But the descent of the Holy Ghost radically transformed them. Mary of Agreda vividly portrays the moment in which cowardice was replaced by divine courage. Through the Spirit, their intellects were illumined, their speech sanctified, and their hearts filled with unquenchable zeal. She notes that they immediately began to preach, not only converting the three thousand mentioned in Acts (2:41), but multitudes day after day.

"Throughout the Octave of Pentecost, the Apostles continued without intermission their preaching and their miracles," she records (IV). What is often seen as a single-day miracle becomes, in her telling, a week of uninterrupted evangelistic fervor, supported by divine power and angelic assistance.

Our Lady: Queen of Pentecost

Far from being a silent bystander, Mary is described as the spiritual mother directing and sustaining the Apostolic mission. She prays, sends angels, consoles, and encourages the Apostles. Her role as Mediatrix of all Graces is affirmed in Mary of Agreda’s vision, particularly in her mystical influence over the workings of the Holy Spirit.

Notably, she emphasizes that the gift of tongues and interpretation was granted not only to the Apostles but to the entire company in the Upper Room, including women. This includes Mary Magdalene and her companions, who began teaching and converting other women in Jerusalem. This revelation aligns with the inclusive character of the Church and illustrates how the Spirit pours out gifts on all flesh (cf. Joel 2:28).

Miracles Abound

Miracles did not stop with the descent of fire. As the Apostles preached, the sick were healed, demons expelled, and even the dead were raised. Mary of Agreda writes:

"By the imposition of hands, [the women] cured all the sicknesses, gave sight to the blind, tongue to the mute, motion to the lame, and life to many of the dead."

Thus, the age of miracles had begun, bearing witness to the divine authority of the Gospel.

Voices from the Fathers

The Church Fathers affirm and deepen the understanding of Pentecost. St. Basil the Great proclaimed:

"Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven... our sharing in eternal glory" (On the Holy Spirit).

St. Gregory of Nazianzus contrasted Pentecost with Babel:

"Then the tongues were confounded, but now they are made clear for the benefit of all; the present gifts are more excellent than the ancient."

These voices reinforce the cosmic restoration inaugurated at Pentecost: Babel is reversed, heaven is opened, and the Church begins her mission.

A Call to Holiness

Mary of Agreda does not leave her readers in passive admiration of mystical events. She turns their gaze inward, offering an exhortation to reform. She warns against hypocrisy, the feigning of virtue while harboring vice. She urges:

"Let then mortals, who have sinned against God, undeceive themselves: without penance there shall be no grace, without reform no pardon, without pardon no glory."

This message is timely and timeless. The fire of Pentecost was not meant to remain in the Upper Room; it is a fire meant to consume the world, purify hearts, and animate lives of sanctity. As St. Paul writes,

"Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16).

Conclusion

The mystical vision of Venerable Mary of Agreda amplifies the grandeur of Pentecost with startling spiritual realism. It opens a window into the hidden operations of grace and justice, revealing both the mercy of God poured out in tongues of fire and the justice of God executed against hardened sin. Her account underscores the maternal power of Our Lady, the universality of the Spirit’s gifts, and the urgency of repentance.

To meditate on Pentecost through the eyes of Mary of Agreda is to be reminded that we too are called to participate in this mystery. We are summoned to burn with divine fire, to preach truth, and to witness by holy lives the power of the Holy Ghost.

Let us heed her warning and her encouragement: that grace is never denied to the soul who seeks it, and that the Spirit who came in fire on Pentecost still desires to ignite the hearts of the faithful today.

Bibliography

Mary of Agreda. The Mystical City of God. Vol. IV. Translated by Fiscar Marison. eCatholic2000. https://www.ecatholic2000.com/agreda/vol4/vol4.shtml.

Holy Bible. Douay-Rheims Version. 1899 American Edition.

St. Basil the Great. On the Holy Spirit. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 8. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1895.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus. Oration on Pentecost. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 7. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1894.