VISIO DECIMA, cap. III
Love Seated on the Wheel of God's Will
The figure of love is shown resting in the perfection of God's sovereign will, adorned with the virtues that flow from it.
But what you see again in the middle of the same wheel, on the line mentioned before — an image of the love once named for you, sitting, yet now appearing in a different adornment than you had seen before — this means that in that perfection by which the power of God subjects all things to itself, love is joined to the will of God as if resting, since love fulfills every will of God, now adorned with this, now with that adornment, because the virtues that are worked in people display love as adorned with a certain beauty, since all good things come to be through love.
The Radiant Face and Merciful Garment
Love's sun-like face calls the heart to fix its intention on God, while its purple tunic urges the practice of mercy toward all who ask.
For its face shines like the sun, warning that a person should fix every intention of their heart on the true sun; but its tunic gleams like purple, so that a person, making for themselves a garment from the bowels of mercy, may come to the aid of everyone who asks, as much as they can.
The Golden Necklace of Obedience
The jeweled golden necklace signifies the yoke of subjection adorned with virtues, modeled on Christ's obedience to the Father even unto death.
And it has a golden necklace adorned with precious stones around its neck, signifying that a person who imposes the yoke of subjection upon themselves should adorn it with blessed virtues, so that in all things humbled, they may show themselves truly subjected to God, just as the Son of God obeyed his own Father even to the death of the flesh through all things.✦
Shoes of Lightning and the Journey in Truth
The lightning-bright shoes call the believer to walk in the light of truth and follow Christ's footsteps, offering righteous examples to others.
It is also clothed with shoes that give back the brightness of lightning from themselves, so that all the stages of a person's journey may be in the light of truth, and so that a person following in the footsteps of Christ may faithfully offer examples of righteousness to others.
The Crystal Tablet and the Recapitulation of Creation
A crystal tablet appears before the image of love, and as love gazes upon it, a brief recapitulation of the creation of heaven, earth, angels, and humanity is given.
As for the tablet, transparent as crystal, appearing before the image of love: what it signifies is that while that same image gazes upon the tablet, the line of its seat is set in motion — and there follows a brief recapitulation of the creation of heaven, earth, angels, and humanity.
Read the original Latin
Quod autem in medio ejusdem rotae in praefata linea iterum vides imaginem, quae charitas tibi prius denominata est sedentem, alio tamen ornatu eam nunc apparentem quam prius vidisses; hoc est quod in perfectione illa qua potestas Dei omnia sibi subjicit, voluntati Dei charitas quasi quiescendo conjuncta est, quoniam charitas omnem voluntatem Dei adimplet, nunc isto, nunc illo ornatu decorata, quia virtutes quae in hominibus operantur, charitatem velut quodam decore ornatam demonstrant, cum omnia bona per charitatem fiant. Nam facies ejus ut sol lucet, monens ut homo omnem intentionem cordis sui in verum solem figat; tunica autem ipsius ut purpura fulget, quatenus homo cum visceribus misericordiae indumentum sibi faciens, unicuique petenti quantum potuerit subveniat. Et torquem auream pretiosis lapidibus decoratam circa collum suum habet, innuens ut homo jugum subjectionis sibi imponens, cum beatis virtutibus illud adornet, ita ut in omnibus humiliatus Deo se veraciter subjectum esse ostendat, quemadmodum et Filius Dei Patri suo usque ad mortem carnis per omnia obedivit. Calceamentis quoque claritatem fulguris ex se reddentibus induta est, quatenus omnia itineris hominis in lumine veritatis sint, et ut homo vestigia Christi sequens aliis exempla rectitudinis fideliter praebeat.
De tabula instar crystalli perlucida ante imaginem charitatis apparente, et quid significet quod, ipsa imagine eamdem tabulam inspiciente, linea sessionis ejus movetur; et brevis repetitio de creatione coeli, terrae, angelorum et hominis.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Phil.2.8 — And he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
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