6. If You Would Follow God Rightly, You Should Have Seven Things
Whoever wants to follow God in faithful toil should not stand quietly. He should often rouse himself. He should consider what he was in sin, how he is now in virtue, and what can yet become of him if he falls. He should lament and praise and pray day and night. When the faithful bride awakens, she thinks of her lover. If she cannot possess him then, she begins to weep. Alas, how often this happens spiritually to God's brides!
7. Concerning Seven Obvious Enemies of Our Happiness That Cause Seven Kinds of Harm
Aimless activity is a very harmful trait for us. Bad habits harm us everywhere. Earthly desires blot out in us the holy word of God. Base strife because of self-will brings about in us many a harmful murder. Enmity in our heart drives out the Holy Spirit. An angry temperament robs us of God's intimacy. False holiness can never win out. Pure love of God can never perish. If we are not willing to leave these enemies, they will take from us more than heaven; for if we live holy lives here, it is a pre-heavenly existence. But if we allow these enemies their deceits and their power over us, they rob us of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and they extinguish for us the true light of the genuine love of God. They also blind our eyes to holy understanding and lead us thus blinded into the seven capital sins. Where else does that path lead but to the eternal abyss?
8. Seven Things That All Priests Should Have
The heavenly Father told me seven things that every priest of God should have and said: "They should be innocent in their persons, and the accoutrements for saying mass should be perfect. If there is any doubt about it, one should refrain from it22 and not do it. They should lay aside all fear from themselves and should forget the Jewish law and should eat my Lamb alive and should drink his blood sighing. Thus they can rightly call to mind his great passion. But if he has some personal guilt, then my children eat the Bread of Heaven and Judas goes to hell.21 And if the accoutrements for mass are not perfect, then God's table stands empty and the children's food is taken from them. But if they come into danger of death because of their age, it is better for them that they spill their own blood than his.
9. Concerning the Beginning of All Things That God Created out of Love
O Father of all goodness, I, an unworthy person, thank you for the faithful caring by which you have drawn me out of myself into your wondrous self in such a way that I have heard you in your whole Trinity and have witnessed the exalted decisions that took place before our time when you, Lord, were enclosed within yourself alone and your indescribable bliss was shared by no one. The Three Persons sent forth beautifully the beams of light in unison, each of them illumined by the other while remaining utterly one. The Father was adorned in his Person with the robust character of omnipotence; the Son was equal to the Father in infinite wisdom; and the Holy Spirit was equal to them both in full generosity.
Then the Holy Spirit in his superabundance played for the Father, plucking the Holy Trinity," and said to him: "Lord, dear Father, I shall give you out of yourself generous advice. We no longer wish to go on thus, not bearing fruit. We shall have a created kingdom and you shall form the angels in my image so that they are one spirit with me. For, dear Father, that alone is true joy, that in great love and infinite happiness one gather them in your sight."
The Father said: "You are one spirit with me. What you suggest and want is to my liking."
When the angel was created-you well know how it happened: If the angels' fall had been avoided, man would still have had to be created. The Holy Spirit shared his generosity with the angels, so that they serve us and are happy at the blessedness of us all.
Then the eternal Son spoke with great refinement: "Dear Father, my nature shall also bear fruit. Now that we want to undertake wondrous things, let us make man in my image. Even though I foresee great tragedy, I still shall love man forever."
The Father said: "Son, a powerful desire stirs in my divine breast as well, and I swell in love alone. We shall become fruitful so that we shall be loved in return, and so that our glory in some small way shall be recognized. I shall make a bride for myself who shall greet me with her mouth and wound me with her beauty. Only then does love really begin."
Then the Holy Spirit spoke to the Father: "Yes, dear Father, I shall deliver the bride to your bed."
And the Son spoke: "Father, you well know I shall yet die for love. Still, we want to begin these things joyfully in great holiness."
Then the Holy Trinity bent down to the creation of all things and created us body and soul in infinite love. Adam and Eve were formed and given a noble nature according to the eternal Son, who was born of the Father without a beginning. Then the Son shared with Adam his heavenly wisdom and his earthly power so that he possessed true knowledge and holy understanding in perfect love, and that he might command all earthly creatures. This is now rare indeed for us.
From the goodness of his heart God gave Adam a refined, noble, and delicate lady-that was Eve-and bestowed upon her the loving excellent moderation that his Son possesses to his Father's honor. Their bodies were to be pure, for God created for them no shameful members; and they were clothed with angels' garments. Their children were to be gotten in sacred love just as the rays of the sun play upon the water, though the water remains intact. But when they ate the forbidden food, they became shamefully deformed in their bodies, as is still evident in us. If the Holy Trinity had created us so hideous, we could never be ashamed of our being because of its noble nature.
The heavenly Father bestowed his divine love on the soul and said: "I am the God of gods; you are the goddess of all creatures, and I give you my solemn assurance25 that I shall never reject you. If you do not yourself lose your way, my angels shall serve you forever. I shall give you my Holy Spirit as a chamberlain, so that you may not unknowingly fall into any serious sin. And I give you free will in abundance. Dearest Love above all loves, be prudently on your guard. You shall obey a small commandment, so that you will remember that I am your God."
The unblemished sustenance that God promised them in paradise was supposed to remain in great holiness in their bodies. But when they had eaten the disgusting food that did not agree with their pure bodies, they became so filled with poison that they lost the purity of the angels and forgot their virginal chastity. Then for many a year the soul cried out in great darkness for her Lover. Her voice filled with misery, she cried: "0 Lord, dear One, where has your most delectable love gone? How bitterly have you called your wife and queen a whore! That is the meaning of the prophets .21 0 great Lord, how can you bear this endless distress and do not give the death to our death? If only you were to be born. But, Lord, since all your deeds are perfect, so is your wrath."
Then another council convened in the Holy Trinity. The eternal Father said: "I regret my work. I gave my Holy Trinity such an admirable bride that the highest angels were to be her servants. Indeed, if Lucifer had retained his honor, she would have been his goddess, for to her alone was given the bridal bed. She decided not to remain in my likeness. Now she is ugly and hideously deformed. Who might accept this filth?"
But look! The eternal Son then knelt before his Father and said: "Dear Father, I shall be the one. If you will give me your blessing, I shall take bloody humanity upon myself. I shall anoint man's wounds with the blood of my innocence and shall bind all man's sores with the cloth of wretched disgrace until my end; and I shall, dearest Father, atone to you for human guilt by means of a human death."
Then the Holy Spirit said to the Father: "0 almighty God, we shall form a splendid procession and shall go forth unchanged in great glory down from these heights. I was formerly, after all, Mary's chamberlain."
The Father then bowed to the wills of them both with great love and said to the Holy Spirit: "You shall carry my light before my dear Son into all the hearts that he shall move with my words. And, Son, you shall take up your cross. I shall traverse with you all your paths and I shall give you a pure virgin as your mo
ther so that you might the more gloriously bear up under inglorious humanity."
Then in great joy the grand procession came down to the temple of Solomon.2' There almighty God would be sheltered for nine months.
10. The Passion That the Loving Soul Has from God, and How She Rises and Ascends into Heaven28
This passion is suffered by every soul that in holy moderation of all her activity is truly permeated by genuine love of God.
11. Between God and the Loving Soul All Things Are Beautiful
When the loving soul gazes into the eternal mirror, she says: "Lord, between you and me all things are beautiful; and between the devil and his bride, the damned soul, all things are hideous and horrible indeed. When she remembers dear Jesus, she shudders and all her hellish suffering begins anew."
12. You Should Praise, Thank, Desire, and Beg. Concerning the Lantern and the Light
Oh, dear Lord, how poor I then was when I was not able either to remember all these words nor pray nor love! Yet I strove toward you with my forsaken senses and spoke thus: "Oh, dear Lord, by what means shall I now glorify you?"
And you said to the most worthless person you ever created:
Then the soul asked in reverence: "Dearest, what wonder should I desire?" This I must continue writing, weeping all the while. May God help me, the poorest of humans, that I remain in Jesus!
My Lover then spoke thus: "I shall place the light onto the lantern, and for all those whose eyes look upon the light a special beam shall shine from the light into the eye of their knowledge."
The soul then asked with great submissiveness but without fear: "Dearest, what is the lantern supposed to be?"
Our Lord said: "I am the light and your breast is the lantern."
13. Sixteen Kinds of Love
Lavish love arising from holy mercy drives out empty honor and evil sickness.
True love arising from divine wisdom brings satisfaction and drives out contemptible lust.
Humble love arising from holy simplicity alone conquers pride and brings the soul forcefully into holy knowledge.
Constant love arising from good manners cannot engage in duplicity.
Grand love arising from a bold deed finds for itself good counsel in all things.
Love that has discovered God's intimacy effortlessly blinds the earth.
Bound love of holy habit never rests, yet lives with ease within itself.
Permeating love arising from great overflowing lies completely at rest and finds all things bitter but God alone.
Love that calls out from noble impatience is never silent and has happily forgotten all guilt.
Love that understands God's teaching is quick to incline to a child.
Beautiful love in its exalted power rejuvenates the soul, though the body become old.
Lovely love with guileless gift blots out the surly heart's complaint.
Powerful love of rich delicacies has the sweetest pleasure in God.
Hidden love turns precious treasure from good will into holy deed.
Bright love of playful flood causes the soul sweet distress. It causes her to die without death.
Stormy love arising from great power-that is something no one can grasp.
14. Concerning False Virtues; Whoever Dwells Therein Lives in Lies
I have a teacher; it is the Holy Spirit. He teaches me very gently what he wants. Other things he withholds from me. He speaks thus:
Wisdom without grounding in the Holy Spirit turns in the end into a mountain of arrogance.
Peace without the bond of the Holy Spirit very soon becomes empty frenzy.
Humility without the fire of love ends in open hypocrisy.
Justice without the depth of God's humility immediately turns into fierce hatred.
Poverty with constant cupidity is in itself sinful prodigality.
Dreadful fear caused by real guilt brings repulsive impatience.
Right-seeming conduct with wolfish intent is quickly seen through by the wise.
Holy desire out of full integrity is attained by no one without great effort.
A good life without adversity becomes lazy in pursuing useful things.
Presumptuous virtue without God's gift will be struck down by pride.
Lofty promises not kept by deed are duplicity counseled by the devil.
Sweet consolation without true security of the soul and approval of the Holy Spirit leads in the end to a miserable death.
Great patience without inclining one's heart to God is secret guilt, for all who are not sustained by God's truth in all things shall in great shame slip away from God eternal.
Love that does not have humility as its mother and holy fear as its father is orphaned from all virtues.
15. You Should Approach God's Table with Eight Virtues. By Ransom a Person Released Seventy Thousand Souls from Ghastly Purgatory, Which Is of Many Kinds
O you terribly foolish beguines, how can you be so insolent that you do not tremble before our almighty judge, since you so frequently receive the Body of God out of blind habit. Though I am the least among you, I must feel shame, blush, and tremble.
On a certain holy day I was so troubled that I did not dare receive him, because I was ashamed of my best piety in his eyes. So I asked my very dear One that he deign show me his honor in this matter. He said: "Truly, if you go before me in humble sorrow and holy fear, I shall follow you as the high waters follow the deep millstream. But if you come to me with the blossoming yearning of flowing love, I must go to meet you and caress you with my divine nature as my one and only queen."
I have to make my presence known if I am truly to be able to bring about God's goodness. And that" really does not hold me back any more than it impairs an oven to shove in a full load of white rolls. And so I went to God's table in a noble throng. They watched over me with much concern, but also exposed me to much harsh treatment:
Then I said: "Lord, now you are mine, for you have been given to me today especially in the passage where it says: `A boy is given to us.," Now, Lord, I desire your praise and not my advantage, that today your glorious body might come as consolation to the poor souls.' You are truly mine. Now, Lord, you shall be today a ransom for those imprisoned."
Then she received such power that with his strength she led him, and they came to as grim a place as ever was seen by human eye-a horrifying bath, a mixture of fire and pitch, of muck, smoke, and stench. A thick dark fog was drawn over it like a black hat. The souls were lying in it like toads in filth. Their form was like that of humans, and yet they were spirits and had about them a similarity to the devil. They boiled and roasted all together. They screamed and suffered countless torments because of their flesh, which had plunged them so deep. Flesh had blinded their spirit. This caused them to boil the most. The spirit of the person spoke: "0 Lord, how many are there of these poor beings? You are my real price of ransom. You simply must show mercy."
Our Lord said: "They go beyond human numbering and you cannot comprehend their number as long as your flesh has an earthly share of you. They were all broken vessels and while on earth neglected the spiritual life. They are from all walks of life and from all lands."
Then the human spirit asked: "Alas, dear Lord, where are the hermits? I don't see any of them here."
Our Lord answered: "They sinned in secret. Now they are alone at the bottom, bound together with the devils."
Then the soul of the person became very sad and prostrated herself at the feet of our very dear Lord and yearned powerfully and toiled lovingly and said: "Very dear One, you know full well what I desire."
Our Lord said: "It was right for you to bring me here. I shall not let them go unremembered."
Around them stood an immense throng of devils that tended them in the accursed bath. They also were beyond my reckoning. They rubbed them, washed them, ate them, and were sated; and they struck them with fiery scourges. The spirit of the person spoke to them thus: "Listen, you devourers of sin, look upon this ransom. Is i
t not of such value that you will be satisfied with it?"
At that they all shuddered, quaking in ghastly shame, and said: "Yes, just lead them away. However wretched we may be, we have to speak the truth to you."
Then our Lord from his divine heart fulfilled a delightful wish for the poor souls. In great joy and love they arose. The stranger soul said: "Alas, very dear Lord, where shall they go now?"
He said: "I shall bring them to a mountain covered with flowers. There they shall find more happiness than I know how to express."
Then our Lord served them and was their chamberlain and their very dear companion. Our Lord told me that there were seventy thousand of them. The soul then asked how long their torment had lasted. Our Lord said: "They have been separated from their bodies for thirty years, and for ten more years they would have been in torment, had not such a precious ransom been offered for them."
The devils fled from them and did not dare accept it. "Dear One," said the soul, "how long shall they be here?"
Our Lord answered and said: "As long as seems good to us."
16. After a Gift There Follows a Scourge and After Disgrace Honor
The soul reminded our Lord of his earlier words thus: "Lord, you said there is no gift on earth that does not have a scourge connected with it. You said this to me with your own mouth and have afterward many a time carried through on it with respect to me. You also told me more than six years ago that religious people3" would hold me in great contempt. This they are still doing persistently and have done it viciously at times. Is that, Lord, the wonder I am supposed to long for?"
Our Lord answered and said: "My Father gave me power over his truth and the craft of his holiness; afterward he subjected me to numerous humiliations. Still later he gave me great honor and infinite dignity. In this same way do I wish to give my Holy Trinity to you."
17. The Purgatory of a Religious Person, His Five Kinds of Help out of the Torment, and the Nobility of the Order of Preachers
The Flowing Light of the Godhead Page 11