VISIO QUINTA, cap. XII
The Celestial Ladder of Virginity and Grace
A vision of layered heavenly structures — a bright star of virginity, a fiery globe of the Holy Spirit, and equal spaces between them — reveals the perfect harmony of God's judgments, virginity's flowering, and the Spirit's gifts.
And from that same globe, upward to the midpoint of the aforementioned wings, a kind of platform extends, above which a bright white star radiates — because the way is directed from the judgments of God's power to the perfection of his protections — above which virginity flowers, where the incarnate Son of God, born of the Virgin, appears, whom a great multitude, loving virginity and seizing perfection, powerfully follows with devout devotion. And then, between the summit of those same wings, what appears is a fiery globe sending out certain rays from itself, since in the height of the heavenly defenses the Holy Spirit, bestowing many gifts upon his elect, manifests himself. Now from the summit of the aforementioned roundness of the earth up to the forenamed red globe, and from that globe up to the aforementioned bright white star, and from that same star up to the above-named fiery globe, the spaces are equal, because the judgments of God's power and the works of virginity, as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit, do not conflict with one another, but are in harmony with each other under a single governance, since what the grace of the Holy Spirit breathes forth, the works of holiness confirm, and those same divine judgments justly evaluate.
Virginity Fortified by Angelic Guardianship
Star-rays encompassing the paths of virginity signify that chastity, begun in Christ and strengthened by the Spirit, is never without angelic protection and draws the faithful to the Son's sweet humanity.
Between the former wings as well, on each side of the forenamed platform, from the above-named globe around the displayed star up to the forenamed fiery globe, certain distinct rays of stars appear, signifying that in that protection which is on high in the heavens, the paths of virginity are everywhere encompassed, since through unconquered power that same virginity — which began in the Son of God — and through the strength of the Holy Spirit, it is fortified and by no means lacks the guardianship of angelic spirits, because virginity, being the companion of the angels, earns their fellowship. For my Son gathers them to himself through the sweetness of his humanity — those who imitate him with faithful devotion to chastity, and those who, fearing the judgments of God, bring the passion of that same Son of mine into their bodies through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, while they resist the desires of their flesh.
The Unfathomable Torment of the Damned
The souls of the damned suffer alongside the devil in incomprehensible darkness and torment, beyond the grasp of any living mortal.
The souls of the damned are tormented in outer darknesses and in punishments or torments of every kind, along with the devil and his followers — yet where these places are held, and what dreadful torments of hell exist there, no one still living in the body can comprehend.
Read the original Latin
Et ab eodem globo sursum usque ad medietatem praedictarum alarum velut platea extenditur, supra quam quasi stella candida radiat, quia a judiciis potentiae Dei ad perfectionem protectionum ejus via dirigitur, supra quam virginitas floret, ubi incarnatus Dei Filius de Virgine natus apparet, quem maxima multitudo virginitatem diligens, perfectionemque arripiens, pia devotione potenter subsequitur. Et deinde inter summitatem earumdem alarum velut globus igneus quosdam radios de se emittens videtur, quoniam in altitudine supernarum defensionum Spiritus sanctus plurima dona electis suis tribuens se manifestat. A summitate vero praedictae rotunditatis terrae usque ad praefatum globum rubeum, et ab ipso globo usque ad praedictam stellam candidam, et ab eadem stella usque ad supradictum globum igneum, aequalia spatia sunt, quia judicia potentiae Dei et virginitatis opera, necnon sancti Spiritus dona sibi non dissentiunt, sed aequo moderamine sibi concordant, quoniam quod gratia sancti Spiritus exspirat, hoc opera sanctitatis confirmant, eaque divina judicia juste dijudicant. Inter priores quoque alas ex utraque parte praefatae plateae a supradicto globo circa demonstratam stellam usque ad praefatum globum igneum, quasi quidam radii stellarum discreti apparent, significantes quod in protectione illa quae sursum in coelestibus est, itinera virginitatis ubique circumteguntur, cum per invictam potentiam eadem virginitas, quae in Filio Dei incoepit, et per fortitudinem sancti Spiritus munita etiam custodia angelicorum spirituum nullatenus careat, quia virginitas socia angelorum existens, consortium eorum promeretur. Nam Filius meus per suavitatem humanitatis suae illos ad se colligit, qui ipsum fideli devotione castitatis imitantur, et qui judicia Dei metuentes, per inspirationem sancti Spiritus passionem ejusdem Filii mei corporibus suis inferunt, dum concupiscentiis carnis suae resistunt.
De tenebris exterioribus et poenis vel cruciatibus diversi generis in quibus animae damnatorum cum diabolo et ejus sequacibus torquentur, quibus in partibus habeantur, et quod dira inferni tormenta nullus in corpore vivens comprehendere possit.
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