faithful witness of the wonders of God. For he was so dead to the world and the flesh that he never desired aught but heavenly things. And so confident was he in God’s promises, that he would constantly exclaim: Would that I could live to see God’s will fulfilled. Most rarely did he go to gatherings of men and their councils, because his whole desire was to obey the will of God, and therefore is his glory now so great. — Lib. vi., c. 59.
CHAPTER VII.
HER LIFE WITH ST. JOSEPH.
The Blessed Virgin speaks.
Know most certainly that before he married me, Joseph knew in the Holy Ghost, that I had vowed my virginity to my God, and was immaculate in thought, word, and deed, and that he espoused me with the intention of serving me, holding me in the light of a sovereign mistress, not a wife. And I knew most certainly in the Holy Ghost that my perpetual virginity would remain intact, although by a
