Our Lord said this, too: "One should not ordain anyone a priest unless he is familiar with both the Old and the New Testament, because with just one leg no one can go to court or serve for any length of time."
The two sons are the preachers and the lesser brothers, of whom St. Dominic and St. Francis were the first roots. Alas, how much of what they faithfully practiced has been lost! The more that is lost, the weaker the order becomes. The less long it stands, the sooner another son shall be born out of the faithful heart of the eternal Father, who does not want to desert his children in these times.
St. Dominic watched out for his brothers with true devotion, with a friendly face, and with holy wisdom; not carelessly, not with perverse intentions, and not in a cruel manner. The wise man he taught, in addition, to temper all his knowledge with divine simplicity. The simple man he taught true wisdom. Those suffering temptation he helped bear all their interior suffering in secret. The young he taught to hold their tongues; because of this they became outwardly proper and inwardly wise. The sick and the frail he consoled quite lovingly and also showed serious concern for all their distress. They were all very happy that he stayed with them so long, and his sweet company soothed them for all their wearying toil. In its beginnings this order was pure, simple, and full of burning love of God, as well. The pure simplicity God gives to some people is at times so ridiculed by others that the gift in which one finds and chooses God's wisdom is lost. This extinguishes the burning love of God as well.
That member of the order who finds it painful to be highly esteemed and who considers all earthly honor to be a serious temptation cannot desert this way of thinking because of the nobility of his religious spirit that he accepted from God in an attitude of holy submission of his heart to all creatures. Either he will retain the honor in shame and fear, in constant zeal, in compassionate helping, and in cheerful joy, or he must strive with all great wisdom to put down the burden honorably. For the heart of a religious must have calm peace and must blossom forth in love toward the Holy Trinity.
God has given special honor to these two sons in four things. He did this so that they would have no other concern about themselves except to avoid sin. "Rather," our Lord said, "all their concern and striving should be directed toward my people's becoming blessed and holy." The first thing is that they are handsomely welcomed by people. The second is faithful help without payment with the necessities of life. The third is holy wisdom coming from divine truth. The fourth is power in practical matters in Holy Christianity. When one mercilessly drives the brothers to work without gentle counsel, much damage results, about which I must now be silent.
25. Something That One Misses in Heaven in Seven Things; Thereafter Follow Seven Things; the Praise of a Disheartened Person Is Beneficial in Seven Ways
One thing in heaven I miss most of all. It is also the noblest, shines forth toward the Trinity most beautifully, and costs the most in this life as well. This is that one is willing, able, and skillful in praising God well from the heart and in thanking him cheerfully and in raising one's desires aloft and in bringing one's works to fruition while one is in poverty, in disgrace, in loneliness, in times of suffering, in spiritual aridity-which is most difficult of all, while compelled by obedience, and in all kinds of bitterness both within and without. Because of this the soul and body in heaven become so worthy of esteem and praise that they sing more beautifully of love than the others, shine more radiantly in joy than the others, soar higher than the others, and live in greater bliss than the others. They are more finely adorned than the others, have a greater abundance of honor than the others, enjoy greater delight, and drink more deeply in the Holy Trinity than the others.
"Lord God, I ask you: How fragrant do you find this praise and these acts of thanksgiving that a despondent person offers without experiencing any sweetness?"
Now hear what he said: "It rises up majestically, its honor is and shall become manifold; for all that ever was shall yield to it until it arrives at the abode of my Holy Trinity and there performs such marvels that it utterly permeates my Three Persons and stirs, charms, and enamors my whole Trinity. The soul senses quite well the fragrance I possess. I cannot be completely intimate with her unless she is willing to lay herself in utter repose and nakedness in my divine arms, so that I can take delight in her. For it was for this that I surrendered myself into her power-like a child, poor, naked, bare, scorned, and finally into death-that she alone-ah, if she desires it-might be my closest, my dearest companion. And she shall ever more in soul and body soar about and play to her heart's content in my Holy Trinity and drink herself full like the fish in the sea. And all the pain that she suffered for love of me and in imitation of mewhere has it all gone then? Thus shall I prepare for her sweet amusements.
26. How God Praises Himself and Celebrates Himself in Song
Ah, now listen how the Holy Trinity praises itself with its wisdom that has no beginning, with its goodness that has no end, with its everlasting truth, and with its whole eternity. Now harken to that sweetest, most sublime, and bliss-filled voice, as the Holy Trinity sings with full voice within itself from where have flowed forth the sweet voices of all the saints that have sung in heaven and on earth, and shall do so eternally.
The Father's voice recites a hymn of praise to himself: "I am a flowing spring that no one can block; but a man can easily block up his heart with an idle thought, so that the restless Godhead that continually toils without toil cannot flow into his soul."
The Son sings thus: "I am a constantly recurring richness that no one can contain except the boundlessness which always flowed and shall ever flow from God, and which comes again in its fullness with his Son."
The Holy Spirit sings this praise: "I am an insuperable power of truth. This one finds in a person who to his honor perseveres in God, come what may."
Thus does the whole Trinity sing: "I am so strong in my undividedness that no one can ever separate me or shatter me in all my eternity."
27. The Heavenly Father Received His Son, Jesus, with Twelve Words
With these words the heavenly Father received his Son when he had come out of this earthly strife into heavenly peace: "Welcome, my glorious Son, who are I myself, my hand in your works, my honor in your power, my strength in your struggle, my praise in your victory, my will at your resurrection, my marvel at your ascension, my wrath at your judgment. The immaculate bride that you are bringing me shall belong to you and me indivisibly forever. My Godhead is your crown, your humanity is my reconciliation." The Spirit of us both is one will, one counsel, one strength in all things without end and without beginning. Your soul is the most intimate bride of our Three Persons."
Oh, how delightfully the soul of Christ sparkles in the whole Holy Trinity, just like the delightful flashing in the beautiful sun that no one can see who does not have the fairest of eyes.
28. The Seven Crowns of Brother Albert. Disposition Is One Thing, Choice Is Another
Wherever knowledge includes wisdom and love, choice brings fruit; and no one knows whether one is good until one is tempted by evil.
I prayed for the soul of Brother Albert of Minden, and God showed me his excellence. I saw the crowns of seven virgins suspended above his head. I was greatly puzzled how this could be, because he had been a penitent.37 Our Lord said: "He won these crowns because he preserved seven virgins' chastity through much effort simply out of love for me; and all of them shall enhance his dignity eternally, but they shall never touch his body or his soul."
I saw this in heaven: reward, dignity, and crown; and it is not all the same thing. Reward has to do with actions, dignity with virtues, the crown with love. But the reward's abundance is determined by the number of good actions. Dignity is extended by the amount of virtues. The crown shines on high according to the intensity of the fire of love.
Brother Albert told me then that a brother was going to die in six years, but this turned out not to be true. In the seventh year I asked our Lord why t
his was the case. Our Lord said: "He saw the predetermination and not my choice. I choose for my special friends long humiliation for which they are not at fault, and I keep alive in them the holy desire to live longer."
Whenever a person scrutinizes his heart in the light of love, that is, in truth, then he discovers nothing other than that he should by rights be scorned more than anyone else. In this state his desire grows with boundless hunger and draws the person out of himself and into God's will to such an extent that God sees fit to prolong his life and bestows upon him completely new favors, if he is willing to keep and preserve them with diligent care.
29. After Ecstasy with God a Person Would Be Like an Angel If He Were to Follow It, and Concerning the Wickedness of the Devil
If a person were to conduct himself rightly after the ecstasy that comes from God and after the light which he experiences, he would enter into such great delight and such holy knowledge that no heart would be able to bear it. He would thus be like an angel ever in all things united in love with God. He would thus become the hell of the devil and the heaven of God. But when a good person leaves this rapture, God sends the devil to him to tempt him with those things that are hardest of all, so that he might wake him up again. But our dear Lord takes the devil's power away from him and protects the person so that he cannot bring him down. And yet he really thinks that he has been given leave to bring the person down as he would like. This is why he is so busy day and night. Alas for me! This has often happened to me!
God revealed to me such a glorious thing, promising to fulfill it, that because of my worthlessness I did not dare believe it. And so, alas, I did not thank him for it. Then the devil came and wanted to inflict pain on me.
I said: "What do you want? You see quite clearly that God is with me. How dare you torture me in his presence!"
The devil said: "I want now what I have always wanted-to put my chair next to his. Indeed, I would like to drive him from the chair of your soul, if I could, and sit down on it, and I would like heaven, paradise, purgatory, and earth to be one big hell in hell eternal."
And I said: "Don't you wish that all these things were heaven, so that you, too, might receive favor?"
He said: "No, that I can never do."
I said: "Alas, how very miserable you are, that you feel no shame before God!"
He said: "Whoever has anything good about himself is not completely evil, and he who sins loses all sense of shame; for if he felt shame he would not commit any sins. I am as cocky as a fly and land on everything. I spare no one.
30. Twenty Powers of God's Love and Many Kinds of Names
31. Of Ten Powers of Love and That No Creature Can Fully Imagine the Longing of the Soul for God
When you pass through the soul with all these things and she then rises up and begins to fly with the wings of a dove, which are all the virtues, and she then begins to desire with the longing of the eagle, she follows the heat up to heaven, for she finds everything transitory to be cold and tasteless.
Thus do I then speak from the mouth of truth:
is so rich in itself and is in your divine eyes so great-even if you did not know it, Lord, not even all the grains of sand, all the drops of water, all the grass and leaves, stones and wood, all lifeless creatures; in addition, all living creatures: fish, birds, animals, worms, flying and creeping things, devils, heathens, Jews and all your enemies; and more: all your friends, humans, angels, saints-now if all these persons could speak, were willing to, and called out unceasingly till the last day; truly, Lord, as you well know, they could not make clear to you even half of the intensity of my longing and the pain of my suffering and my heart's pursuit and my soul's striving for the fragrance of your balsam, to hang inseparably in your embrace forever.
Indeed, Lady Mary, Mother of God, how did you fare when with your Son you began to experience the love of the eternal Godhead that a soul free of duplicity has in this life, united with the eternal Godhead, and the caresses with which he cherishes her? Lady, you could become weary and your Son would become faint, for the fiery energy of divine love surpasses all human strength.
32. The Sublime End of Sister Mechthild
Now I must, though under duress, write this story that I would gladly pass over in silence, because I greatly fear the stealthy sword thrust of empty glory. But I fear much more, if God gives me my due, that I, poor woman of God, have already kept silent about too much. Misery, fear, and constant suffering of the heart have I borne secretly from childhood regarding a good end. Now, most recently, God has revealed to me that two throngs came down from heaven in procession. These were virgins and angels. The virgins signify virtues with which a person has served God. The angels signify a pure life in which a person has followed God.
Our Lord and his glorious mother followed this delightful procession until the first ones stood before the person's mouth. The path was peaceful; all around it was brighter than the sun from the radiance of the saints who came out of God's bliss. Then the soul said: "Lord, this path suits me just fine, out of all proportion to my worth. But I greatly fear that I shall come out of my body."
Our Lord said: "If that should happen, I shall draw you into my breath, so that you will follow me like you would a magnet."
On both sides of the procession was a throng of devils. There were so many of them that I was unable to encompass them all with my sight. Still, I was not afraid of a single one. They thrashed about with great ferocity and they clawed each other like madmen. The soul was all the more elated when she then saw our Lord before her. In great astonishment she asked our Lord how this could be. Our Lord said: "The elation comes from the positive certainty that you know for certain that all these devils can never, ever keep you from me."
33. How Small Sins Harm Perfection and How Through Them the Devil Draws Close to the Soul
It impedes people in religious life most of all in their pursuit of perfection that they pay so little heed to small sins. I tell you truly: whenever I blunder with a laugh that harms no one, or with an annoyance in my heart that I reveal to no one, or with a bit of impatience at my own suffering, then my soul becomes so dark and my mind so dull and my heart so cold that I must weep in my gloom and lament in misery and amicably beg and strongly desire and humbly recognize all my deficiencies. Only then is the favor granted me in my wretchedness that I may creep back like a beaten dog into the kitchen. Further: when I have a defect about me that is unrecognized and unrepented, there immediately arises a hell stain on my soul. There is no help for it. The devil who is in charge of purgatory, where the sin shall burn, immediately thinks he is seeing his likeness. Terror begins to come over me since I am alone, though my soul had been made free of all terror when I received the gift that one calls conscious love. Then I fall immediately to the ground and say: "Have mercy on me, God" or "Our Father."" And then I return immediately into my sweet paradise out of which the stain had driven me.
34. Five New Saints Sent for the Sake of Bad People and How God Will Hereafter Wash Christianity in His Own Blood
Given the nobility of holiness and the weakness of human nature, I am very surprised that St. Elizabeth was so quickly canonized a saint after having been buried so short a time." Our Lord explained this to me and said: "It is right for messengers to be quick. Elizabeth is and was a messenger whom I sent to wretched women living in castles who were so permeated with lust, so covered with arrogance, and so constantly engulfed in vanity that they by rights should have gone into the abyss. But many a lady followed her example to the extent they could and wanted. I sent St. Dominic as a messenger to unbelievers and as a teacher to the ignorant and as a comfort to the despondent." I sent St. Francis as a messenger to greedy priests and arrogant lay persons.' St. Peter, the recent martyr, is my messenger of blood in which heretical Christianity so miserably lies imprisoned .12 They all say they are pure, but in my eyes they are impure. They say they are faithful, and yet in my eyes they are false. They say they love me, but they love their own fle
sh much more. Whoever wishes to remain with me, let him renounce with St. Peter his earthly body. Hidden guilt ultimately creates public distress."
I, poor wretch, became so bold in my prayers that I acted foolishly and took depraved Christianity into the arms of my soul. I groaned to raise her up. Then our Lord said:
When poor Christianity then stepped before our Lord, she was like a maiden. I looked at her and I noticed that our Lord was looking at her as well. I became very ashamed. Our Lord said: "Now just look! Isn't this maiden clearly the right one for me to love without end in my eternal nuptial bed and for me to take in my lordly arms and gaze upon with my divine eyes? She is blearyeyed in knowledge and her hands are crippled as well. She can hardly do any good works. She hobbles on the feet of her desires, for she seldom and listlessly thinks of me. Her skin is filthy as well, for she is impure and unchaste."
Then the poor spirit" said: "What can be done for her then?" Our Lord said: "I shall wash her in my own blood, and all the blessed who are truly guiltless I shall protect and take unto myself secretly in a holy death. What is more," said our Lord, "Sister Jutta of Sangerhausen I have sent as a messenger to the heathens with her holy prayers and good example."`
Our Lord said this as well: "I hereby send this book as a messenger to all religious people, both the good and the bad; for if the pillars fall, the building cannot remain standing." Truly, I say to you," said our Lord, "in this book my heart's blood is written, which I shall shed again in the last times."
Our Lord told me about three kinds of blood: "The first blood that was shed by Abel, the holy innocents, John the Baptist, and all those who shed their holy innocent blood before the death of our Lord-that was Christ's blood because for his sake they suffered a holy death. The second blood was the blood of the heavenly Father, which Christ poured forth from his innocent heart. The third blood, which shall be shed in Christian faith before the last day, is the blood of the Holy Spirit, for without the Holy Spirit's help no good action has ever been performed. The blood of the martyrs shed for the love of Christ gives participation46 and a crown. The blood of the Father in Christ gives redemption and faith. The last blood in the Holy Spirit gives perseverance and glory."
The Flowing Light of the Godhead Page 19