SR
Chapter 31LiVM.6.31

XXXIV. De ornamentis animarum in coelesti celsiludine.

XXXIV. De ornamentis animarum in coelesti celsiludine.

But that great splendor, which you cannot behold because of its overwhelming brightness, is beyond the grasp of mortal understanding; it comes from the heavenly heights from which Lucifer was cast out with his angels, and it floods and illuminates the glory of paradise, retaining it in the vigor of its greenness and beauty, as you see. In this heavenly height, there are rewards and joys that are prepared for the blessed souls, who with all their heart longed and yearned from earthly things to the heavenly; these have been arranged there from eternity. However, those things are obscured by the dusty veil of human frailty and cannot be fully known, because the temporal cannot grasp the eternal, unless the Father's mercy chooses to reveal them for the glory of Himself and for the benefit of His beloved. For the souls of the saints, there are greater and more splendid adornments prepared there than what can be grasped by fleeting and human estimation; because the elect will be adorned with praise and good works, since they have performed the most brilliant deeds in both soul and body.

Read the original Latin

Sed magnus ille splendor, quem prae nimio fulgore suo intueri non potesy quoniam mortalis intellectus eum capere non valet, de coelesti celsitudine procedit, de qua Lucifer cum angelis suis ejectus est, et claritatem paradisi perfundit et irradiat, ac in vigore viriditatis et pulchritudinis eam, ut vides, retinet.

In hac autem coelesti celsitudine remunerationes et gaudia ilia sunt, quae beatis animabus, quae toto annisu intimae devotionis de terrenis ad coelestia suspirabant et anhelabant, ibi ab aeterno ordinata sunt; quae humanae fragilitati pulvereo tegmine obumbratae ad plenum scienda non sunt, quoniam temporalia ea quae aetema sunt, capere non possunt, nisi quantum paterna clementia, ad gloriam sui et ad profectum fldelium suorum, ea revelare voluerit.

Nam animabus sanctorum plura et majora ornamenta illic praeparata sunt, quam caduca et humana aestimatio capiat; quia electi laude et opere ornabuntur, quoniam anima et corpore lucidissima opera operati sunt.

Liber Vitae Meritorum (Book of the Rewards of Life) companion

Examination is a habit, not an event

The free Chosen Portion app pairs daily readings from Hildegard with a fixed prayer rhythm

Hildegard's rhythm of naming a vice and answering it with virtue continues as short daily examen-style devotionals in the Chosen Portion app

  • A weekly examen you can complete in 15 minutes using Hildegard's 35 pairs
  • Daily readings from the full Book of the Rewards of Life, free in the app
  • All six parts, translated into modern English, at no cost
Chosen Portion — Daily Prayer (free iOS app)