These things have come out of this fire and flow back into it, each according to God's disposition, in eternal praise.
30. Pure Love Has Four Things
Pure love of God has four things about it: that one be so utterly of one mind with God that whatever might happen to us, except for sin, we thank God devoutly for it.
Secondly, that we use to good effect the gifts we have from God in body and soul.
Thirdly, that we live purely and morally, free of sin.
Fourthly, that we have all virtues in us. Alas, if only I had them and really put them to good use with regard to everything, I would exchange that for all the marvels of contemplation that I ever heard anyone mention. What good are lofty words without works of mercy? What good is love of God when joined to rage against good human beings?
You say: "If God were to give it to me, I would be happy to do it. "38
Now listen here: Virtues are half gifts from God and half our own doing. Whenever God gives us insight, we should put virtues to good use.
31. How God Made the Soul. Concerning Pleasure and Pain. How God Is Like a Sphere
I said in one passage in this book that the Godhead is my Father by nature." You do not understand this, and say: "Everything that God has done with us is completely a matter of grace and not of nature."
You are right, but I am right, too. Consider this analogy. No matter how good a person's eyes are, he can't see farther than a league. No matter how acute a person's mind is, he cannot grasp nonphysical things except with faith, and he gropes around like a blind man in the darkness. The loving soul that loves everything that God loves and hates everything that God hates has one eye that God has illumined. With it she peers into the eternal Godhead and sees how the Godhead has labored in the soul with her nature. He formed her according to himself. He planted her in himself. With her, most of all among all creatures, he united himself. He enclosed her within himself and poured so much of his divine nature into her that she can say nothing else but that with all this oneness he is more than her Father.
The body receives its value from its relationship as brother of the Son of the heavenly Father and from the reward of his toils. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, performed his work with heartfelt love, by suffering poverty, pain, toil, humiliation-even unto his holy death. The Holy Spirit also performed his works, as you say, with his grace and has produced all the gifts that we ever received. These are three different kinds of works, and yet one undivided God performed them in us.
Two things are continually at work on earth and in purgatory through the power of God. One continues to work only in heaven. The second continues to work only in hell. This first is bliss without suffering in heaven. The second is suffering without bliss in hell."
Where was God before he created anything? He was in himself and all things were as present and as manifest to him as they are today. What form did our Lord God have then? Exactly like that of a sphere, and all things were enclosed within God with no lock and no door. The lowest part of the sphere is a bottomless foundation beneath all abysses. The highest part of the sphere is a top above which there is nothing. The circumference of the sphere is an unmeasurable circle." At this point God had not yet become Creator. But when he created all things, did the sphere open? No, it has remained whole and it shall remain whole forever. When God became creator, all creatures became manifest in themselves: human beings in order to love God, to enjoy and know him, and to remain obedient; birds and animals to live according to their nature; inanimate creatures to remain firmly placed in their being. Now listen to this: Whatever we know is absolutely nothing unless we love God properly in all things, just as he himself created all things in properly measured love and offered and taught us love, as well.
32. How We Become Like God, St. Mary, the Angels, and the Saints
To the extent that we love mercy and practice constancy we are like the heavenly Father, who without ceasing performs these things in us.
To the extent that we suffer poverty, humiliation, rejection, and pain here we are like the true Son of God, who endured in complete forbearance all his adversity and suffering.
To the extent that we here flow outward with all the abundance of our heart to give our possessions to the poor and to spend our lives in the service of the sick we are like the Holy Spirit, who is an abundant outpouring of the Father and the Son.
To the extent that we are truthful, temperate, and modest in holy simplicity we are like the Holy Trinity, who is true God and has performed all his works, and still does, in the order proper to them.
To the extent that we are chaste in complete purity, humble in complete submissiveness, ready to serve in all holiness, innocent of all ill will we are like our dear Lady St. Mary, who was ennobled through these virtues, so that she, a virgin, became a mother and, though a mother, remained a virgin, and is alone empress over all creatures.
To the extent that we are kind, friendly, and peace-loving we are like the angels, who never do anything wicked.
To the extent that we lead a holy life in exile and are unconsoled in hardship we are like St. John the Baptist, who has been elevated above many saints.
To the extent that we desire that God be praised, recognize what we have been given, and properly carry out God's will we are like the prophets and the holy fathers, who through great virtue overcame themselves in God.
To the extent that we learn wisdom and through it change other people and stand true to God in all trials we resemble the holy apostles, who went out of themselves even to death.
To the extent that we are patient in all distress and in the measure that we hold fast to our Christian faith, even in the face of death, we resemble the holy martyrs, who have marked out for us through the shedding of their blood the true path to heaven.
To the extent that we resolutely bear the difficulties of Holy Christianity, both those of the living and those of the dead, we are like the holy confessors, who remained watchful in great toil and heard confessions with sympathy.
To the extent that we remain unconquered in battle42 and preserve our maidenly honor we are like the holy virgins, who have not lost true victory.
To the extent that we have deep sorrow and to the extent that we perform many kinds of holy penance we are like those holy widows, who, after sinning, attained such great honor.
To the extent that we have all the virtues about us we are like God and all his saints, who have followed God with complete devotion.
33. Concerning a Strict Chapter43 to Which a Pilgrim Came Who Turned Out to Be a Great Lord
For a long time a certain person used to hold a strict chapter in his heart, considering how he had harmed himself, and the humiliation arising for God because of him. And then he cast out from his heart all the sinful desires of his flesh and put in their place a willingness to suffer all torments for love of God. He cast out all the pleasures he had with friends and relatives and put in their place all the humiliation that those hostile to him wished to inflict on him. He cast out as well all love of wealth and honor that give the sinful world such joy and put in their place all the poverty that one can possibly endure with good counsel.
To this chapter our Lord Jesus Christ came, looking like a poor pilgrim. The person's spirit was so enlightened that he recognized that it was our Lord, and he said: "Hello, dear Pilgrim, where are you coming from?"
He answered: "I am coming from Jerusalem. I was seriously wounded there. I suffered deep humiliation, poverty, and pain. I brought it all to you."
"I thank you for that, very dear Lord; I have certainly experienced that many a day."
Then our Lord took a simple crown, put it on the person's head and said: "This is the crown of poverty, humiliation, and suffering. This crown shall yet be adorned with my own image." Then the pilgrim went away.
The person became sad, and said: "Alas, alas for my dear Pilgrim. I really wanted to talk more with him." Then she44 looked up in the heights and caught sight of him.
He resembled a powerful lord and was surrounded by heavenly delights, and said: "I bless you and greet you. My peace be with you always! Amen."
34. Someone Who Despises the World Should Be Honored with Nine Things
A voice was heard and these words were spoken:
35. How the Soul of One Blessed Speaks to Her Body on the Last Day
36. That John the Baptist Sang Mass for the Poor Girl Was Spiritual Knowledge in the Soul
One cannot grasp divine gifts with merely human understanding. And so they sin who do not keep their spirit open to invisible truth. What one is able to see with the eyes of the flesh, hear with the ears of the flesh, and say with one's fleshly mouth is as utterly different from the open truth of the loving soul as light from wax is from the bright sun.
ThatJohn the Baptist sang mass for the poor girl was not of the flesh; it was so spiritual that only the soul saw it, understood it, and enjoyed it. The body had nothing from it except what it could grasp in its human senses through the nobility of the soul. And this is why the words had to be expressed in human terms.
My Pharisee remarked in response to this description thatJohn the Baptist was a layman. The Most Holy Sacrament in the mass is God's body.' John the Baptist touched this same Son of God in humble trembling fear while leading a holy life of such dignity that he heard the voice of the heavenly Father and caught his words and saw the Holy Spirit and recognized the Son in them both.47 John the Baptist also preached the holy Christian faith openly to all the people and pointed out for the people with his finger the true Son of God who was there present: "Behold the Lamb of God."" Neither pope nor bishop nor priest can ever speak so perfectly the word of God as did John the Baptist, except through our Christian faith which is above human understanding. Was this man really a layman? Prove me wrong, you who are blind! Your lies and your hate shall never be forgiven you without punishment!
37. You Should Praise God, Lament, and Ask for Twelve Things
Blessed are you, dear Lord Jesus Christ, God, Son of the living God! Through the tenets of my faith I know truly that you are here present, true God and true man. In this same name I adore you, Lord, today as my God and my Lord, as my Creator and my Redeemer, as my most dearly Beloved of all men and the most worthy of all lords, now and forever. Lord, heavenly Father, lament to your Holy Trinity that I have sinned before your eyes without fear and without shame. Alas, help me today, generous God, with all your favor, for my heart has been darkened by the habit of sinning. Cleanse my heart today, Lord, of all earthly love; and pour down, Lord, your heavenly flood into my and soul, that I might weep over indignities to you and over how deplorable my sins are.
Lord, I thank you for all the favors that you, dear Lord, have shown us, are showing us and shall show us eternally. I ask you, Lord, heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, that you purify me with your grace of all my sins and protect me from all sin, and that you make me holy for eternal life with all virtues.
I ask you, Lord Jesus Christ, by your holy death and by the pitiful suffering your holy body suffered on the holy cross, that you, Lord, with the eyes of your divine mercy, of your human faithfulness and the favor of the Holy Spirit, deign to look upon all my distress and, at the end, my death. Give me then, Lord, your very own body, that I might receive you, Lord, with true Christian faith, with genuine love, so that your holy body might be and remain the last food of my body and the eternal bread of my poor soul.
I ask you further, dearest Lord, that you might want to comfort my poor soul with your own self and might release me from all enemies. I ask you, dearest Lord Jesus Christ, that you then receive my poor soul into your fatherly hands and take me then in great joy out of this wretched banishment into the land of your blessed Father, where, Lord, I might bless you and praise you with all the saints who are now there present and shall yet come. Grant this to me, dear Lord Jesus Christ, and to all those with me who are kind and faithful to me out of love for you. And come to the aid of those with me, too, who are unkind and unfaithful to me against your wishes, together with all those who, with me, are believing Christians.
I ask you, Lord, for the sake of your own honor that you give us Christians always on the chair in Rome a leader filled with all Christian virtues through which Holy Christianity may expand in love and be freed from all sins and be made holy with all virtues, so that you, dear Lord, might see fit today to free with your almighty hand Jerusalem and all the towns and lands that are oppressed by unjust power, for the sake of your three glorious names."
Together with all the saints I ask you, dearest Jesus Christ, for Christian peace, for a sufficient harvest and for good weather for this land and for all Christian lands. I ask you, dear Lord, that you keep your friends in your service and that you convert your enemies and undermine their wickedness. I ask you, Emperor of all honors and Crown of all princes, Lord Jesus Christ, on behalf of the princes in this land and those of all Christian lands, that you deign today to unite them in your Holy Spirit, so that they never again instigate a sinful war against your will and against their own well-being.
I pray to you, dear Jesus Christ, for all Christians who are today in distress, suffering drought, are sick, in prison, in sadness, in severe poverty. I ask you in your generous kindness that you might so comfort them today that they may never lose your eternal comfort and your blessed favor.
I pray to you, holy Father of heaven, for all Christian souls that depart from their bodies today, that you, merciful God, might be their Preserver and impart to them eternal life. Ah, dear Lord, have mercy on the souls of my father and mother, and on all the souls in purgatory. Free them, Lord, at this hour through your three glorious names. May they rest in peace. Amen.50
I pray to you, dear Lord, for all my companions," that you may give all of us the virtues that purify and sanctify our life for your praise and for the benefit of Holy Christianity. Receive today, Lord, this prayer and my lament, and hear and answer me according to your grace. Amen.
38. No one Can Destroy God's Heaven. Hell Drives God Out
"Alas, dear Lord, almighty God, how long shall I stand here on the earth of my flesh like a stick or a target that people run, hurl, and shoot at, having long ago sullied my honor with cunning and malice?"
Now listen to this reply:
"Alas, Lord, who shall help me that I always travel on the path that, if I slip, I not fall?"
Fear of God shall keep me upright; God's will shall guide me.
39. The Reflection of God's Radiance by Our Lady and Her Power
Oh, oh, oh, three Persons have one name undivided in one God. Gracefully they flow full force toward Mary's countenance, inseparable in one light beam, richly bestowing the bright light of heavenly honors. With an indescribable greeting52 it touches her heart, which shines and glows in such a way that the sublime reflection of the Holy Trinity lingers on her countenance.
In this bright reflection our Lady can well make demands. And yet, if she wants to request something, she does so with humility; for God in his love became man in her humility. Does our Lady need humility in heaven? Only to the extent that she honors God more than herself, submissively together with all the blessed who follow her example.
Our Lady's radiance is illumined by all the pure gifts that she received from God. She is adorned as well with all the virtues perfectly. She is crowned with all dignity. Thus does she flow back into God full of all charm.
How our Lady feels bliss in the Holy Trinity and how God unites himself to her beyond how he does with all pure persons cannot be expressed in words. But to the degree they were united here on earth, our Lady feels bliss in heaven, and, in like measure, our Lord pours into her, beyond what he does with all the other saints. Our Lady has power over all the devils to keep them away from people. And that is why we like to proclaim our Ave Maria in her splendorous presence: so that she might remember us here.
40. Temptation, the World, and a Good End Test Us
No one knows how firml
y he stands until he has been flung into the temptations of the body.
No one knows how strong he is until he is assailed by the wickedness of the world.
No one knows how good he is until he has achieved a good end.
41. How God's Splendor Is Reflected in a Human Being and in the Angels
You53 want me to continue to write, but I cannot. Bliss, glory, brightness, intimate love, truth: these so overwhelm me that I have become dumb, unable to say more of what I know.
And yet: A mirror was seen in heaven before the breast of each soul [and body] .54 In it shines the mirror of the Holy Trinity, giving truth and knowledge of all the virtues the body ever practiced and of all the gifts the soul had ever received on earth. From here the glorious reflection of each and every person shines forth back again into the sublime majesty from which it flowed forth. The radiance of the angels is fiery, bright with love, for they take great delight in our blessedness. They serve us effortlessly and their reward increases while the earth exists. True love of God has the same power in the angels that it does in men. That our serving requires great effort is due to our being sinful.
42. Sister Mechthild Wrote the Following in a Note to Her Brother B., of the Order of Preachers, Saying55
"The greatest j oy in heaven is the will of God. When unwillingness becomes willingness, God's j oy enters into the heart of a sad person. This is the confession of a spiritual person-that one has carelessly scorned a gift that comes from God. We should accept gifts of pain with j oy. We should accept gifts of comfort with fear. Thus we can put all things that come our way to good use.
Dear friend, be in harmony with God, and be happy with his will.
[43. This Writing Flowed out of God's
The writing in this book flowed out of the living Godhead into Sister Mechthild's heart and has been as faithfully set down here as it was given by God, out of her heart and written by her hand. Thanks be to God.]57
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