Caput LXXI. De extremi judicii die.
The Terror of the Last Day
The heavens and elements will be shaken and dissolved as the Judge arrives in fury and fire.
Even now, gaze on the terror of that day — when the powers of the heavens will be shaken, the elements will dissolve in the heat of fire, the depths will lie open, and every hidden thing will be laid bare. The Judge will come from above, his fury burning, and like the storm of his chariot, to repay vengeance and devastation in a flame of fire.
The Blessed and the Wretched
The blessed are those prepared, while the wretched are consumed by luxury, greed, and pride.
Blessed is the one who is ready to meet him. What will become of wretched hearts then? How wretched will those be whom luxury now defiles, whom greed wastes, whom pride puffs up!
The Separation and the Tribunal
Angels will separate the wicked from the just, and the reader is urged to consider standing before the tribunal and gazing upon the condemned.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the midst of the just — placing these at the right hand, and those at the left. Think now: you will stand before the tribunal between these two companies, and not yet separated to the other side. Turn your eyes now to the left hand of the Judge, and look on that wretched multitude.
Read the original Latin
Jam nunc intuere diei illius terrorem, quando virtutes coelorum movebuntur, elementa ignis calore solventur, patebunt inferi, occulta omnia nudabuntur. Veniet desuper judex iratus, ardens furor ejus, et ut tempestas currus ejus, ut reddat in ira vindictam et vastationem in flamma ignis. Beatus qui paratus est occurrere illi. Quid tunc miseris animis erit? quam tunc miseri erunt, quos nunc luxuria foedat, avaritia dissipat, extollit superbia! Exibunt Angeli, et separabunt malos de medio justorum, istos a dextris, alios a sinistris statuentes. Cogita nunc te ante tribunal inter utramque hanc societatem assistere, et necdum in partem alteram separatam. Deflecte nunc oculos ad sinistram Judicis, et miseram illam multitudinem specta.
De institutione inclusarum (A Rule of Life for a Recluse) companion
A rule only lives if you keep it daily
Chosen Portion gives your new rule its anchor: one free devotional portion every day.
Aelred built his sister's day around fixed times of prayer and meditation; Chosen Portion supplies the fixed daily portion that makes a modern rule of life keepable.
- Anchor your rule with a fixed 10-minute daily portion
- Practice Aelred's threefold meditation with guided daily prompts
- Review and adjust your one-page rule after 30 days of tracked practice