Capitulum XIV
The Fragrant Memory of the Passion
The disciple is invited to cherish the memory of Christ's passion as a source of spiritual sweetness and virtue.
We move from roses to roses, leaving violets behind, and we hurry to seek lilies, while we turn our eyes back to the fruitful seed of certain divine passions—to your fragrant sufferings, O flower of the field and rose without thorns, to be savored with the deepest desire. Through your fruitful and venerable passion, we are abundantly supplied with every spiritual good. Where is our glory? Where is the hope and joy of our hearts? It is in you alone, the highest and truest good, and in the most precious treasure of your passion. Therefore, it delights us to keep such an inestimable treasure in our hearts, to speak of it constantly, and to occupy ourselves with it in mind and body at all times. May it never wither in our hearts, but always bloom anew. You are, therefore, the glorious light of all the churches; you soar on feathered wings, transcending everything that changes, and by touching the hidden depths of divinity, you have entered the abyss of divine clarity with purer eyes. O sweet word, sweeter than honey, a treasure for devoted minds to ponder continually, from which the essence of virtue flows, bringing the abundant joy of salvation to the needy. Similarly, you, heavenly figure, adorned with the sweetness of your discourse, illuminated by the divine majesty of eternal Word, Blessed Bernhard, to whom the incarnate Word, suspended on the cross, was so sweet that you could eloquently express these and similar delightful words: 'I will dwell with my beloved among the breasts of my heart, signifying the bitterness of the Lord's passion.' And this, as you say, is what I said should be pondered. In these things, I have established my perfection.
The Royal Way of the Cross
Meditating on the crucified Christ provides a balanced path through life's joys and sorrows, surpassing all worldly philosophy.
In these, I find fullness. In these, I find the division of salvation. In these, I find an abundance of merits. From these, at times, I receive a healing drink of bitterness. From these, again, a sweet fruit of consolation. This lifts me up in adversity, but brings me low in prosperity; and amid the joys and sorrows of this present life, it provides a safe path as I walk the royal way, guarding me against impending evils on every side. I don't seek what the bride desires, where she rests at noon, whom I embrace in my arms. I don't look for where he is fed at noon, whom I behold as my Savior hanging on the cross. This is more sublime, that is sweeter or more pleasant. The former is bread; the latter is milk. This, I say, is a philosophy more sublime than any: to know Jesus and him crucified. This, I say, I have received from your mouth, O venerable teacher. Furthermore, I gather this main point from these things: whoever desires eternal salvation and great rewards must also aspire to climb the heights of all virtues, to know and understand, to remain steady in both prosperity and adversity, to walk securely along the path, and to long to taste the sweetest drink of your passion and consolation; they must carry you, Jesus—the crucified one—always in their heart. A beautiful necklace, chosen above gold and precious stones, should always be worn between the breasts of the bride, and never be entrusted to forgetfulness. No beautiful girl has ever been adorned with a precious necklace carried in her breast as much as Jesus crucified, enclosed in the mind, adorns the devoted heart. Golden apples on silver platters—that is Jesus Christ in the heart of the one who loves. A solid vessel of gold, adorned with every precious stone, is the fervent heart of the one who is not content with lesser things. Wisdom: The frequent memory of this passion makes the unlearned wise and helps the ignorant and simple progress to mastery. I say that masters are not those who puff themselves up with knowledge, but those whose love builds up.
The Book of Life
The passion is described as a living book that teaches the soul, even when the heart feels dry or hardened.
The Book of Psalms is like a book of life, where you can find everything necessary for salvation. This book, above all the books of philosophers, teaches everything, and is felt to be infused with a certain sweetness. Doesn't it seem that way to you? Do you not now feel that both your mouth and the lips of your heart are abundantly distilling this sweetest honey? When you examine them carefully, don't the individual letters seem to open up like a cell of sweet aromas? Blessed is the one who seriously studies it; for they will progress in contempt of the world and in the love of God, and will gain an increase of all virtues and graces. O precious wisdom, nothing in this life could be sweeter to my heart than this—as you know better than I—than to weep continually for your passion with a devoted heart. But constricted by dryness and a certain hardness, I don't feel the pang of its remembrance as I ought; so teach me, O gentle wisdom of the Father, how I should act in this most precious matter. The memory of my passion should not be made perfunctorily, nor hastily, especially when the time is sufficient and opportune, but with mature, deliberate, and heartfelt remembrance and with a certain tearful compassion. Unless this sweetest wood has been chewed affectionately by the teeth of discretion, its flavor, though immense, will not move you. And if you can't weep with a weeping heart, or grieve with a grieving heart, at least you should rejoice and give thanks with a devoted affection for the many benefits given to you through it freely. But if you aren't moved by the affection of compassion or the desire for gratitude, but feel yourself weighed down by a certain hardness in its remembrance, nonetheless, in the hardness of your heart, strive to recall the memory of this saving passion of Christ in any way, and what you cannot have, commit to His most loving hands.
Medicine for the Soul
The passion serves as a remedy for disordered sadness and a means to satisfy the debt of purgatory.
But keep on asking, keep on knocking, and keep on seeking until you receive. Strike the stone twice with the inner remembrance, and with bodily labor as well, exercising yourself toward piety by extending your hands or eyes toward the crucifix, or by striking your chest, or through devout genuflections, or other similar acts of piety, continuing until the waters of tears flow abundantly, so that your reason may drink the waters of devotion, and your animal body may be kindled into grace from His presence. If perhaps you find yourself stirred by this delightful and sweeter affection for me and a rarer sweetness, indeed because you may be temporarily troubled by temptations, you act much more manfully if you pursue virtue itself not for the delight you experience, but for the virtues themselves and solely for the good pleasure of God with your whole intention, and if you do not follow it out of mere affection. For affection is the joy of beatitude, but exercise is the true practice of virtue. Moreover, frequent meditation on my passion, among countless other things, will especially benefit you in two ways: to repel disordered sadness and to diminish the pain of purgatory. But I will show you how my pain expels the pain of the soul more by example than by word. There was a certain disciple of wisdom, whose name is in the book of life, who was oppressed by a certain disordered sorrow at the beginnings of his conversion so lethally that he could neither read nor pray nor do anything good at that time. One day, while he was sitting in his cell, he was severely pressed by this passion and afflicted by incredible pain, when a voice seemed to come to him from above, saying: "Why are you sitting here idle, wasting away within yourself?" Upon hearing this, the brother rose up and devoted himself to meditating on the passion; and from that time on, healed by this saving medicine, he never again felt such a passion of the soul. I will show you how this most useful meditation can relieve you from the pains of purgatory. Look, the author of nature leaves nothing disordered in its own nature. But divine justice does not let any evil go unpunished, which must be subjected to correction either here or in the future. So when do you think the punishment of a sinner, who is guilty of many crimes, would come to an end if he had not fulfilled even a tiny fraction of the satisfaction required for any mortal sin, and would have to be compelled to pay for it in the fires of purgatory until the very last penny? The expectation of the soul is indeed too long and miserable. The suffering is excessively long and bitter. Enduring pain and immense sorrow, repentance is more severe than any earthly torment. But realize that this punishment could be compensated for with the lightest and briefest satisfaction by anyone who knew how to receive it from the treasure of the immaculate Lamb's passion. This indeed is the most precious treasure, because of the greatest love and the most worthy person, and it stands as sufficient and superabundant; therefore, a person could apply himself to it so devotedly that even if he had to be purified for a thousand years, he would be freed in a short time from all.
The Art of Holy Contrition
The disciple learns the humble steps of contrition and how to invoke the infinite merit of the Redeemer.
Disciple: I ask you, my Lord, to teach me this most useful art, since I am a miserable sinner in great need of it because, alas, my own merits are not enough. Wisdom: If you want to trade a long and bitter punishment in purgatory for one that is light and brief, you should strive to do this. First of all, you must, with a pierced heart and troubled spirit, deeply reflect on the enormity of your sins, confessing against you your injustice to the Lord, bitterly recalling what you have done, whom you have offended, and what you deserve. I have sinned, I say, Lord; I have sinned beyond the number of the sands of the sea. Then you should humbly regard yourself as vile in the eyes of the eternal judge, so that, like the publican, you do not dare to lift your unclean eyes to heaven or to name that glorious name with polluted lips, but rather consider yourself not as a man but as an unclean worm, and treat your satisfactory works as if they were of no importance, and thus, as a miserable and wretched person, wait at the doors for the grace of the judge, saying with a deep groan of your heart: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am not worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants. Afterward, you should extol and magnify the merit of my passion with the utmost affection, reflecting that the redemption is most abundant with me, and that even a single drop of the most precious blood, which flowed abundantly from all parts of my body filled with wounds, would have sufficed for the redemption and satisfaction of the whole world; but I wished to pour it out abundantly as a testament of great love and overflowing mercy, for the comfort of all the miserable. Finally, you should humbly seek the hand of your Helper with fervent affection and ask for the infinite merit of the most merciful Redeemer to support you, never hesitating, because that fountain of mercy flows continuously for the miserable, more readily than you can ask. A gracious and precious word should be received by me and my fellow miserable sinners with the utmost joy, because in your Passion we find so readily the means to wash away sins, to erase penalties, to find grace, and to earn eternal glory. Who will give me even a drop, like a tiny point, of this most precious liquid—the red blood of the unblemished Lamb—to wash away the wounds of my soul? Come now, all my strength, if I can somehow obtain this healing remedy for the salvation of my sins. A drop of dew from the smallest foot of my Lord, a drop of rosy liquid from the royal palace, flowing from the breast, or at least from the smallest puncture of His delicate body: heal and restore the wounds of my sins. Hail, cross, our only hope, drenched in the blood of the Lamb; increase the justice of the pious and grant forgiveness to the guilty.
Conformity to the Suffering Christ
The chapter concludes by explaining the necessity of conforming one's own life and sufferings to the passion of Christ.
O most merciful wisdom, with these comforting words flowing from your sweet mouth, a significant question stirs my soul; how I long for you to ease my affections, as a devout heart earnestly requests. For you have said that through your passion, a sufficient and overflowing satisfaction has been granted to humanity. If this is so, then why is a satisfactory penalty imposed, and why is the quality of the penalty required according to the quality of the fault? Wisdom: For a person to attain the effect of this passion, they must be conformed to it. However, they are conformed through baptism. Thus, those who depart in this way are freed from everything. But those who sin after baptism must be conformed to Christ in His suffering through some form of penalty or passion that they endure themselves; yet this is much less than what would be fitting for their sin, cooperating with the satisfaction already provided. Therefore, let us return to this primary matter of utility, from which we have made such a long digression, drawing upon the abundance of so many mysteries. How should a true disciple of Christ conform himself to His passions?
Read the original Latin
De rosis ad rosas procedimus, et violas relinquendo, ad lylia perquirenda properamus, dum de florifero germine passionum quorundam ho minum divinorum, ad rosiferas passiones tuas, 0 flos campi, et rosa sine spina, etema sapienda, summo cum desiderio rursus cordis oculos retorquemus. Per tuam namque fructiferam ac venerabilem passionem cunctorum nobis spiritualium bonorum materia copiosissime subministratur. Ubi est enim gloriado nostra? Ubi spes et leticia cordis nostri? Revera in te uno, summo, et vero bono, et predosissimo tue passionis thesauro. Et ideo tam inpredabilem thesaurum delectat iugiter in corde retinere, et continue de ipso loqui, ac omni tempore mente et corpore cum ipso occupari.
Utinam quoque et in cordibus nostris numquam marcescat, sed semper rediviva pulluladone novus existat. Felix proinde tu o gloriosum lumen omnium ecdesiarum, qui volatu pennifero mutabilia cuncta supervolans, et archanum divinitatis attingens, abyssum claritatis divine oculis purioribus intuendo introisti, ac verba que non licet homini loqui audisti; et tamen ad yma descendens, affectu quodam mellito, passionis huius ob preconium, de cordis thesauro in medium eructuasti dicens: Nichil arbitratus sum me scire inter vos, nisi Jhesum Cristum et hunc crucifixum. O verbum mellifluum, duldus super mei et favum, devotis mentibus iugiter ruminandum, de quo virtutis liquor emanat, qui miseris largiter gaudia salutis propinat. Similiter et tu celestis figella, suavitate sermonis dulciter perornata, atque verbi etemi divinissima maiestate illuminata, Beatissime Bernharde, cui verbum incarnatum et in cruce suspensum tam duldter sapiebat, ut hec et hiis similia verba suavia dulcissime perorares: Fasciculus inquis cum sponsa dilectus meus michi, inter ubera mea conmorabitur, amaritudinem dominice passionis significans. Et hanc ut ais meditari, dixi sapiendam. Jn hiis iustide michi perfeccionem constitui.
Jn hiis plenitudinem sdende. Jn hiis dividas salutis. Jn hiis copiam meritorum. Ex hiis interdum michi potus salutaris amaritudinis. Ex hiis rursum suavis unedo consoladonis. Hec me erigit in adversis, in prosperis deprimit; et inter leta tristiaque vite presentis, via regia incedentem, tutum prebet ubique ducatum, hinc inde mala inminenda propulsando.
Non requiro sicut sponsa ubi cubet in meridie, quem amplector mea inter ubera conmorantem. Non requiro ubi pascatur in meridie, quem intueor salvatorem in cruce pendentem. Jllud sublimius, istud suavius vel pararius. Panis illud, hoc lac. Hec mea interim sublimior phylosophya, scire Jhesum et hunc crucifixum. Hec inquam ex ore tuo doctor venerande conmendata suscepi.
Ceterum ex hiis 0 sapienda etema hanc michi summam colligo, quod quicumque eternam salutem et premiorum magnitudinem desiderat habere, arcem -quoque cunctarum virtutum optat conscendere, sciendam quoque atque sapiendam optinere, inter prospera et adversa equanimiter stare, securam viam ambulare, et amaritudinem tue passionis, tueque consoladonis potum suavissimum desiderat pregustare: debet te Jhesum, Jhesum inquam crucifixum iugiter in pectore suo portare. 0 monile speciosum, electum super aurum et lapidem predosum, inter sponse ubera iugiter gestandum, nec umquam oblivioni tradendum. Numquam enim formosam puellulam adeo decoravit monile predosum in pectore portatum, quantum Jhesus crucifixus menti inclusus perornat cor devotum. Mala aurea in lectis argenteis, Jhesus Cristus in corde amantis. Vas auri solidum omni lapide predoso adornatum, est pectus fervidum huius no minis contentivum. SAP1ENCIA: Frequens passionis huius memoria indoctum quemque reddit doctissimum, et inperitos ac ydiotas facit proficere in magistros, Magistros inquam non sdentie que inflat, sed caritatis que edificat.
Jpsa est velud quidam liber vite, in quo omnia saluti necessaria inveniuntur. Hic liber pre o mnium phylosophorum libris de omnibus docens, mellea quadam dulcedine perunctus sentitur. Nonne tibi videtur sic esse? Nonne iam et os tuum et labia cordis tui perfusa, favum hunc dulcissimum senciunt ubertim distillare? Nonne singule littere diligenter inspecte, velud aromatum celle tibi videbuntur patuisse? Felix qui eius studio seriose intenderit; quia proficiet in contemptu mundi et in amore dei, cunctarumque virtutum et gratiarum sumet incrementum.
DISCIPULUS: 0 peramabilis sapientia, nil in hac vita dulcius cordi meo existeret, ut tu ipse melius nosti, quam ut passionem tuam iugiter devoto corde deflere possem. Sed prochdolor ariditate et duritia quadam constrictus, ad eius recordationem prout dignum esset non conpungor; et ideo doce o benigna patris sapientia, qualiter etiam agendum michi sit in hac materia tam pretiosa. SAPIENCIA: Memoria passionis mee debet fieri non perfunctorie, nec cum festina acceleratione, maxime cum tempus aderit sufficiens et oportunum, sed cum matura et morosa ac precordiali rememoratione et flebili quadam conpassione. Nisi enim hoc dulcissimum lignum dentibus affectuose discretionis mastieatum fuerit, sapor eius licet inmensus nequaquam movebit. Quod et si quidem flere cum flente, aut dolere cum dolente non potes, saltem affectu devoto de tantis beneficiis tibi per eam gratuito exhibitis gaudere debes et gratias agere. Quod si nec affectu conpassionis nec gratulationis desiderio moveris, sed dura quadam affectione te in eius recordatione deprimi sentis: nichilominus in duritia cordis tui, ad laudem dei, memoriam huius salutifere passionis qualitercumque percurre, et quod a te habere non potes, ipsius manibus piissimis conmittas.
Verumptamen persevera petendo pulsando querendo, donec accipias. Percute bis silicem, interiori videlicet recordatione, et corporali nichilominus labore, teipsum exercens ad pietatem per extensionem manuum seu oculorum ad crucifixum sublevationem vel pectoris tunsionem aut genuflexiones devotas, vel cetera similia pietatis officia, continuando, donec egrediantur aque lacrimarum largissime, ut et ratio bibat devotionis aquas, et corpus animale eius ex presencia accensum, ad gratiam abilitetur. Quod si forsan causaris te affectum hunc delectabilem et dulciorem super mei et favum rarius experiri, nimirum quia forsitan temptationibus interim exercitaris: multo virilius agis, si virtutem ipsam non pro delectatione quam experiaris, sed pro virtutibus ipsis et solo beneplacito dei tota intentione et si non affectione sectaris. Affectus enim beatitudinis est, exercitium vero virtutis. Porro passionis mee frequens meditatio, inter alia innumera, ad duo precipue tibi noveris prodesse solacia, videlicet ad tristitiam inordinatam repellendam et penam purgatorii diminuendam. Qualiter autem dolor meus dolorem animi expellat, exemplo potius quam verbo tibi demonstrabo.
Erat namque quidam discipulus sapientie, cuius nomen sit in libro vite, quem circa conversionis sue initia quedam tristitia inordinata tam letaliter oppressit, ut nec legere vel orare vel quidquam boni pro tunc facere posset Qui dum die quadam in cella residens ab hac passione graviter urgeretur et incredibili dolore affligeretur, facta est ad eum desuper quasi vox intellectualis dicens: Quid hic sedes otiosus, et in teipso tabescens? Surge nunc et meam passionem devote pertracta, et in mea amaritudine tuum devinces dolorem. Quo audito frater ille surrexit, et se ad meditandam passionem contulit; et ex tunc medicina hac salutari sanatus, per eius continuam replicationem nequaquam plus de cetero talem umquam sensit animi passionem. Qualiter autem hec utilissima meditatio penam purgatorii relaxare habeat tibi indicabo. En auctor nature nil inordinatum in sua natura relinquit. Sed nec divina iusticia quidquam mali inpunitum dimittit, quod non aut hic aut in futuro debite subiciat correctioni.
Quando igitur putas finem habitura esset pena alicuius peccatoris, qui multis criminibus obnoxius condignam satisfactionem pro quolibet mortali pro millesima parte non explevisset, quam exsolvere in lotis purgatorii iehennalibus decedens cogeretur, usque ad minimum quadrantem? 0 nimis longa misere anime expectacio. 0 diutina et acerba nimium cruciatio. Dolor perseverans et inmensus, penitentia gravior omni terrestri cruciatu. Sed vide quod hanc penam levissima et brevissima satisfactione conpensare posset, quicumque ipsam de thesauro passionis agni inmaculati sciret recipere. Hic namque thesaurus pretiosissimus propter caritatem maximam personamque dignissimam ac dolorem inmensissimum sufficiens et superhabundans extat; et ideo taliter posset se homo ad hunc applicare, et de eius merito et satisfactione tam devote ad se trahere, ut si mille annis deberet purgari, in brevi de toto liberaretur.
DISCIPULUS: Peto my domine, ut me miserum peccatorem summe indigentem hanc doceas artem utilissimam, propter bonitatem tuam; quia heu propria non sufficiunt merita, ut necessarium valde sit michi respicere ad aliena. SAPIENCIA: Si vis penam purgatorii longam et acerbam in temporalem que levis et brevis est conmutare, hec facere studeas. Primo o mnium debes corde conpuncto et spiritu contribulato, cum gemitu cordis, enormitatem peccatorum tuorum gravissime ponderare, confitendo adversum te iniustitiam tuam domino, amarissime recogitando quid feceris, quem offenderis, quid ve merueris. Peccavi inquiens domine, peccavi super numerum harene maris. Deinde debes teipsum coram oculis eterni iuditis humiliter despicere et vilem estimare, ita ut cum publicano oculos inmundos nec audeas ad celum levare, nec labiis pollutis nomen illud gloriosum nominare, sed neque teipsum hominem sed vermen inmundum estimare, et opera tua satisfactoria quasi nullius momenti sint annichilare, et sic miser et miserabilis ante fores gratiam iudicis expectare, et dicere cum gemitu profundo cordis tui: Pater my peccavi in celum et coram te, et non sum dignus vocari filius tuus; fac michi sicut uni ex mercennariis tuis. Postea meritum passionis mee debes summo cum affectu extollere et magnificare, cogitando quoniam apud me copiosissima est redemptio, et quod minima gutta pretiosissimi sangwinis, qui per omnes partes corporis mei vulneribus repleti largiter effluxit, pro redemptione et satisfactione totius mundi suffecisset; sed copiose ipsum effundere volui in argumentum magni amoris et supereffluentissime pietatis, in solamen omnium miserorum.
Tandem debes humili quidem sed fervido affectu manum auxiliatoris querere, et misericordissimi redemptoris meritum infinitum in subsidium postulare, nichil hesitans, quia pronior est fons ille pietatis misericordiam iugiter scaturiens, ad miserendum, quam tu ad petendum. DISCIPULUS: 0 verbum gratiosum et precipuum michi meisque similibus miseris peccatoribus summa cum exultacione suscipiendum, eo quod in tua passione sic in promptu invenimus unde peccata possumus abluere, penas delere, gratiam invenire, et gloriam promereri sempiternam. 0 quis michi det vel minimam guttam ad instar puncti modicam huius tam pretiosissimi liquoris, rubicundi sangwinis agni inmaculati, in lavachrum vulnerum meorum. Age nunc tota virtus mea, si quomodo possim hoc salutare medicamentum in remedium optinere peccatorum meorum. 0 gutta rorida de minima pedica domini mei egressa, 0 stillicidium roseum de aula regali, foramine scilicet pectorali effluxum, vel saltem de minima punctura corporis delicati egressum, sana et reintegra peccatorum meorum vulnera. 0 crux ave spes unica, sangwine (1 1) delicato perfusa, auge piis iustitiam reisque dona veniam.
0 misericordissima sapiencia hiis te verbis consolatoriis ore mellifluo prosequente, questio non modica animum meum pulsat; quam ut solvas affectus pius devote expostulat. Dixisti enim quod per tuam passionem satisfactio sufficiens et superhabundans humano generi collata est. Quod si ita est, quare igitur pena satisfactoria iniungitur, et secundum qualitatem culpe exigitur qualitas pene? SAPIENCIA: Ad hoc quod homo consequatur effectum passionis huius, oportet ipsum ei configurari. Configuratur autem ei per baptismum. Unde illi ex toto liberantur qui sic decedunt.
Sed oportet quod illi qui post baptismum peccant, configurentur Cristo pacienti per aliquid penalitatis vel passionis, quam in seipsis sustineant: que tamen multo minor sufficit quam esset condigna peccato, cooperante satisfaccione predicta. DISCIPULUS: Redeamus ergo ad hanc materiam utilitate precipuam, de qua tantam digressionem fecimus, occasionem tantorum misteriorum eius ex ubertate sumentes. Quomodo verus Cristi discipulus debet se configurare passionibus ipsius.
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A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
- Daily bite-sized excerpts from the contemplative classics, never a wall of text
- A built-in timed stillness practice that grows from 2 minutes to 10
- Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent