1. The Crown and the Dignity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Which He Shall Receive After the Last Day
ur Lord, the heavenly Father, in his divine wisdom has stored away many ineffable gifts with which he intends to adorn his chosen children after the last day. Especially for his only begotten Son, Jesus, our Redeemer, has the heavenly Father prepared and fashioned a crown with such rich and exquisite workmanship that all the craftsmen who ever existed, are now, and ever shall be could not fully capture the splendor and rich delights of this crown. The spiritual eyes of the loving soul beheld this crown in limitless eternity and its nature was made known to her. What is this thing called eternity? It is the uncreated wisdom of the infinite Godhead that has neither beginning nor end.
The crown has three arches. The first arch is that of the patriarchs, the second that of the prophets, the third that of Holy Christianity. The crown is formed by the images and decorated with the presence of all the blessed who are destined to possess God's kingdom on the last day. They shall have honor that is portioned out to them according to their works.
The first arch of the crown is fashioned and illumined with the precious stones of the holy interior life and good works the patriarchs ever performed. The arch is also formed by human likeness, body and soul. The first likeness on the arch of the crown is that of St. Stephen, and all the martyrs who ever shed their blood in Christian faith are depicted together with him. Next to this, St. Peter and all God's apostles with him are also depicted; then come all the blessed who followed the teachings of the apostles. Those married people shall also be depicted on this arch, together with their children, who have followed God through good works.
The second arch of the crown is covered with the likenesses of the popes together with all the spiritual fathers to whom God entrusted his sheep. This arch is fashioned with all spiritual authority and decorated with the flowers of Christian teaching.
The third arch of the crown is formed most beautifully of all, with the noble human form of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with him his glorious mother Mary with all her virgins who shall follow the Lamb.' St. John the Baptist is represented there very close to the Lamb, and all those who became Christians under his hands are splendidly represented with him. This arch of the crown is adorned with the natures of all creatures in accordance with the love and affection that the creator had for them when he created all things according to his will.
The crown is garlanded with many knightly shields of mighty Christian faith. The empire shall also be represented on the crown, fashioned and decorated down to the very last peasant, their honor always depending on how well they served God.
At the time of the Antichrist the crown shall be crenelated with many a glorious image, such as that of Elias and Enoch, and many holy martyrs shall be there before them wearing the flowers of the holiness of their life and enhanced by their precious blood.
The crown shall also be dyed in the blood of the Lamb, and shall shine forth and be gilded with the powerful love that broke the sweet heart of Jesus in two. Our heavenly Father created this crown; Jesus Christ earned it; the Holy Spirit fashioned it and hammered it out in fiery love, making it so pliable with the refined skills of the Holy Trinity that it fits our Redeemer Jesus Christ so well and looks so glorious on him that the heavenly Father receives more joy still from his only begotten Son. This has to be, even though the eternal Godhead without a beginning always contained all bliss and joy within itself, does now, and ever shall. And yet it causes him special eternal joy, that he shall gaze with such happiness upon his eternal Son, together with all his followers.
When Jesus Christ has held his last judgment and has served and celebrated his last supper, he shall receive this crown from his Father in great honor and with him all those who in body and soul with great effort have come to the eternal feast. Each soul and body shall see its honor on the crown.
The crown was produced on earth at a great cost-not with gold, nor with silver, nor with jewels; rather, with human toil, with human tears, sweat, and blood, with all the virtues and, finally, with painful death. Angels will not be seen on the crown because they are not human beings. But they shall praise God for the crown with delightful song.
The first choir sings: "We praise you, Lord, because of your glorious law from which have come forth all here present whose likenesses appear on your crown."
The second choir: "We praise you, Lord, with the faith of Abraham and with the fervent longing and prophecies of all the prophets."
The third choir: "We praise you, Lord, with all the wisdom and piety of all your apostles."
The fourth choir: "We praise you, Lord, with the blood and the constancy of all your martyrs."
The fifth choir: "We praise you, Lord, for the holy prayer and Christian teaching of all the baptists and confessors."
The sixth choir: "We praise you, Lord, with the steadfastness of the penitence of your widows."
The seventh choir: "We praise you, Lord, with the chastity of all virgins."
The eighth choir: "We praise you, Lord, with the fruit of your mother and virgin."
The ninth choir: "We praise you, Lord, for your holy death and your glorious life after your death, and for your great outpouring of every gift and every goodness with which, Lord, you have raised us up and admirably ranked us. We praise you, Lord, with your fiery love in which you have made us one."
Above the crown flies the loveliest banner ever seen in this empire. This shall be the holy cross on which Christ suffered his death. The cross has four ends. The bottom end is decorated with bliss brighter than the sun. On the right side beneath the cross the pillar is suspended upright, stained with the blood of the Lamb, festooned and decorated with the nails with which our Lord was wounded. At the top of the tree of the cross hangs suspended the fairest imperial thorn-crown of the realm.
That is the banner of the crown with which Jesus won the victory and returned alive to his Father.
Right after the last day, at the eternal celebration, when God has made all things new, this crown will be revealed and will sit lightly upon the humanity of our Lord to the glory and praise of the Holy Trinity and the joy of all the blessed evermore.
The humanity of our Lord is an intelligible image of his eternal Godhead,2 so that we can grasp the Godhead with the humanity and, like the Holy Trinity, enjoy, hug, kiss, and embrace God in an incomprehensible manner, whom neither heaven nor hell nor purgatory can ever grasp or resist. The eternal Godhead shines forth, lighting up all the blessed who are in its presence and making them ready for love, so that they freely rejoice and live ever free of interior suffering. The humanity of our Lord greets, rejoices, and loves his flesh and his blood without ceasing. Though there is no longer flesh and blood there, still the brotherly kinship is so great that he has to love his human nature in a special way.
The Holy Spirit, too, shares its heavenly outpouring of love, enriching the blessed and so utterly satisfying them that they sing with joy, charmingly laugh and leap with measured step, flow and float along. They soar and climb from choir to choir to the heights of the realm where they gaze into the mirror of eternity' and understand the will and all the works of the Holy Trinity and how they themselves have been formed in body and soul, as they shall remain forever. The soul is formed in the body with human qualities but has a divine shimmer about it and shines through the body as radiant gold shines through pure crystal.
And now comes the end of the crown: The Holy Spirit will be fashioning the crown until the last day. Then the Father and the Son shall reward him for his work. As recompense hey shall give him all the souls and bodies that are assembled in the kingdom of God. There within them the Holy Spirit shall rest eternally, and he shall constantly hail them and fill them with joy. Everything that was ever done or will ever be done for the love of God, everything that was ever endured or forsaken for God's sake shall all blossom forth on the crown. Ah, what a crown! Ah, who can help me become a tiny flower on the crown like the newly
baptized infants who are the tiniest flowers on the crown?
If this description is too long, it is because I take such rich delight in the crown. Actually, I have set down many a long description with few words. I say this to myself: "How much longer, helpless puppy, will you go on yapping? You have to quiet down because I have to keep silent about what is finest."
2. How a Person Prayed for All the Souls on All Souls 'Day
On All Souls' Day I prayed together with Holy Christianity for all the souls that are doing penance in purgatory. Then I saw a purgatory that was like a stove. On the outside it was black; inside it was full of fiery flames. Looking inside I saw how they stood in the flames and burned like a bundle of straw. Then someone was standing next to me who looked like a large angel. I asked him how it was that the souls squeezed themselves outside when the prayers of good people reached them. Some squeezed themselves outside and some were unable to do so. Then he whom I asked answered me: "When they were on earth, they did not want to come to the aid of those who were begging them for help in their distress."
Then my soul was moved to pity because of their power and dignity, and cried to heaven: "Lord God, could I go inside to them and suffer with them so that they might come to you sooner?" Then our Lord revealed that he was the angel standing next to me, and he said: "If you are willing to go in, I shall go in with you." Then our Lord clasped the spirit of this person to himself and brought her inside. When the soul came inside with our Lord, she felt no pain. Then she asked how many of them there were. Our Lord said: "You can't finish counting them, and these are the ones for whom you prayed while they were on earth."
Then I found a person for whom I used to pray thirty years ago. And I was saddened because I had nothing to give him and, because of my wretchedness, I did not dare ask for great things from such a great Lord. Then I said the following words: "0 dear Lord, would you release them?" Then all at once they rose up in great numbers wonderfully whiter than snow, and they floated off toward paradise in pure sweet bliss. There they rested in joy. When they rose out of the fire, they all sang the following psalm: "Praise the Lord, ye children. After that they sang: "We praise you, Lord, for the greatness of your goodness, for the generousness of your gift and for the faithfulness of your help."
Our Lord was still standing next to the place of fire and held the spirit of the person in his embrace. The soul of the person said: "0 Lord, you well know what I desire." This was that she might be at the feet of our Lord in order to thank him.
May this happen to me and to all God's friends and mine. This, alas, did not come about through my efforts, for I consider the entreaties of Holy Christianity to be worth much more than mine.
3. How Beneficial It Is for a Person to Examine His Heart Constantly with Humble Fear
I know of no one so good that it is unnecessary for him to examine his heart constantly, to recognize what dwells within it, and also to criticize with great frequency all his deeds. One should do this with humble fear. God's voice taught me this, for I have never performed any deed so well that I could not have done it better. This is what I criticize myself for.
This is how we should chide our frailty: "Well now, you most wretched of all creatures, how long do you intend to harbor useless habits in your five senses? Our childhood was foolish, our youth became troubled. How we then conquered is clear to God. Alas, in my old age there is, unfortunately, much that I must criticize, for it is unproductive in resplendent deeds and cold as to graces. It is powerless as well, since it does not have youth with which to sustain fiery love of God. It also has no tolerance for pain, so that a small twinge that youth would ignore is quite painful. But proper old age is joyfully patient and trusts in God alone.
Seven years ago a discouraged old person complained to God about this sorry state of things. God gave this reply:
Alas, dear Lord, what good is it that a dog barks if the owner of the house keeps on sleeping? The thief breaks into his house anyway.
And yet the prayer of a pure heart sometimes awakens the dead sinner. Woe, sinner! How bitterly can one weep for you, for you are your own murderer and you are harmful to all goodness and yet a benefit to it. A good person receives great profit when he sees someone weaken or fall into sin. He then looks very carefully around him so that he might not get into that trouble at all. Thus does a good person better himself through evil things. Freely performed good deeds then follow. But a wicked person gets worse when he sees bad examples. He becomes so evil that he looks with contempt upon good deeds and good people. And he is most comfortable with his own perverse wisdom.
My dear Schoolmaster, who taught me this book, silly stupid person though I be, also taught me the following saying: You should not trust someone who is not sincere in what he does. I know an enemy who is a destroyer of divine truth in the human heart. If one gives him room, he writes, with the approval of the person, false wisdom into the person's heart and says: "I am quick to anger and weak by nature." This is not an honorable excuse before God. With the help of grace you should become meek and strong.
"I have no grace." Then in your lack of grace you should call out to the God of grace with humble tears and with constant prayers in holy desire. Then the worm of anger will die. You must do violence to yourself. Then there will be no need for any hurtful force from God or anyone else to come upon you. Then the worm of anger shall be annihilated. If, with God, we want to overcome and drive out our anger and all our imperfections, we simply have to ignore our sinful temptations in secret and outwardly put on a holy, cheerful demeanor.
Alas, wretched brood, as long as we storm around in anger, even if there is anything good about us, we still have to come back to our heart.' Then we must rightly be ashamed. The anger consumed our strength and dried out our flesh, and so we wasted our valuable time when we should have been serving God. Alas, this is an eternal loss! Again, alas! I regret the sinful tears that were shed in haughty anger. The soul becomes so darkened thereby that a person is incapable the whole time of rightly enjoying any good things. But tears of sorrow are so holy. If a great sinner could shed one tear of sorrow for all his sins, he would never go to everlasting hell-if he remained in this disposition.
No matter how small the sins are that a good person commits regularly, which he just won't give up the while he lives-if he dies thus without confession and penance, no matter how holy he is, he will end up in bitter purgatory. For as merciful as God is, he is also at the same time just and angered by all sins. I tell myself that love must dwell in us. Never should we be self-righteous. Then humility will dwell within.
4. Our Lord's Switch
Not long after I arrived at the convent,' I was so terribly afflicted with sickness that my Lady felt pity. So I said to our Lord: "Dear Lord, what is your purpose with this suffering?" And our Lord said this:
"Lord, why is my life sanctified, since I can do so little that is good?"
Then our Lord said: "Your life has become sanctified because my switch never leaves your back."
We praise you, God,' that God is so good.
5. Why the Convent Was Once Undergoing Trials
One should do good to those who one knows are in need of it. For I do not want to have from the convent the good that one withholds from them. This is the explanation: Each one according to his office should in mercy do good to those he knows to be in need.
6. The Chapter Room1° and How a Person Should Examine His Infractions and Weep for Them; Two Golden Pennies and Good Will and Desire
Whoever has this knowledge, let him lament and weep with me. For the chosen children of God frequently take God's body, receiving it in a holy manner. But I have to go to my chapter room accompanied by my burning conscience.
Then I crawl forward like a tiny worm on the ground and hide myself under the grass of my many various omissions all my days. There I sit and cry to heaven: "0 merciful God, grant me that I might today share in the grace that your chosen ones have now received."
There
upon our Lord replied: "Take two golden pennies that weigh the same and go shopping with them. If they are of equal value, they are equally good."
"Alas, dear Lord, how can my wretchedness be equal to your goodness? For I am not the person who could well offer you honor. I have nothing that is suitable for you, and for consolation my soul clings to worthless nothings in the world. And so I am rejected and, alas, corrupt. I am not at all what I have long desired to be."
Our Lord said: "With good will and with holy desire you can make good whatever you want."
7. How a Person May Always Be United with God
For a person to be constantly united with God is heavenly bliss beyond all earthly pleasure. How is this supposed to happen to us? Our longing should constantly accompany all our actions, and we should constantly examine all our actions in Christian faith and from God's point of view, and never be useless. Thus we praise God with all our works for all the works he ever performed on earth for love of us. Then we are united with him in his works on earth with celestial love. After this we shall be spiritually illumined. Then we praise our Lord God with all the gifts that he ever gave us: our body and possessions, friends and relatives, and all the earthly joy that we could desire. In so doing we thank God for all his generous gifts that he ever gave us on earth for body and soul. Then we are united with God in the love of receiving and in humble gratitude. We should thereby press all God's gifts to our heart. Then our heart becomes full of love, our senses are opened, and our soul so resplendent that we look into divine knowledge like someone who sees his own countenance in a bright mirror. Thus can we know God's will in all our actions, so that we glorify God's will and love it whether it brings suffering or comfort; and we are happy about what happens to us, except for sin. This we should weep over and hate, for it is always cursed. Thereby we on earth become united with the saints in heaven because they are the happiest of all about the will of God in heaven.
The Flowing Light of the Godhead Page 24