LXI. De poenitentia pro obstincUione

LXI. De poenitentia pro obstincUione

And from that living light, I heard again a voice speaking to me: "What you see is true." But those who have a stubbornness of mind within themselves should cast it off, and they should disregard the wicked spirits that propose it to them; and to avoid being afflicted by its punishments, they should discipline themselves with fasting and scourging, and by bending their knees, they should make God favorable to them. Regarding the fault of obstinacy, 80. Those who cling to obstinacy within themselves are like the dead; they neither see nor hate, nor are they moved by the inspiration of God. Obstinacy is indeed wicked and corrupt, and it does not want to be softened or moved by that hardness it possesses; rather, just as a mole burrows through the earth, so it also overturns good things, because it finds pleasure only in what it chooses for itself. It is like ash, which, when it spreads and is scattered upward, vanishes, for when it gazes not upon virtuous knowledge but upon immovable wickedness, it is reduced to nothing. Why has God placed tribulations in the world? For he does not have this fear that my servant Job had, who patiently endured everything I allowed to happen to him. And since I loved him so much, I placed many trials upon him, because I recognized his patience and great kindness. His patience flourished, and his kindness rose up to me, because he entrusted me with all that was his, and he did not grow angry with me. But this stubbornness has no fruit; it is hard as stone and dry like the earth, which bears no fruit. What good is it to you if you remain stubborn and unyielding? These things have been said about the souls of the penitent, to be purified and saved, and they are faithful; let the faithful attend to these, and let them keep them in mind for the good of their knowledge. But I also saw the spirits of that multitude, who were all shouting, saying: What good is it to you to consist in one thing? What we seek, we cannot find in one God; and that's why we look everywhere and draw whatever we want to ourselves. These people are urged toward desire, and they show that they are eager for everything. About the purifying punishments for desire. And I saw a great length and breadth and depth of waters, with a tremendous heat of burning fire, in which there were the worst worms and many great spirits. In their punishments, their souls were tormented, those who, while living in the world, had loved desire and had drawn it to themselves in every way. For because of their insatiable desire, which they had within themselves, they felt the heat of those waters; and because of the bitterness of that same desire, they were tormented by those worms; and because of the effort they had made in their vice, they were submerged by those malignant fiery spirits in the smoke of the aforementioned waters. And I saw and understood these things.