XLI. Quomodo homo videre coelestia possit

XLI. Quomodo homo videre coelestia possit

And when he contemplates God, he will forget all earthly things, just as a person does not remember how he was born, even though he knows he is born. God shows various miracles to His saints. God shows various miracles to His saints and prophets throughout the ages of the world, so that the soul of man would not wander completely from heavenly desires, but that through faith it might remember some teachings of eternal life; just as He gave lights of the firmament to the sinful man, so that the same man, separated from the light, would not perish entirely in darkness. The prophets and some other saints saw certain miracles and spoke of them, but they did not speak of or see the greatest and most numerous miracles. But the first angel neither sought nor expected the miracles of God, because he wanted to be something on his own, and for this reason he was buried in death. Indeed, through the counsel of the serpent, man chose to be a companion of God in the playful joy of childish ways, and for this reason he was cast into the exile of pain, so that he might together with sorrow come to an end in exile, because he had extended himself in a false opinion toward the eternal God. What miracles did the prophets see? Every creature came into being according to the will of God, and eternal life shone forth from God, and it exists from Him; moreover, beauty and joy, as well as every voice of the fullness of eternal life, come from Him. But these adornments are not made from the material kind mentioned, as has been said, but are enriched by the Divine. Now, O man, who were made from the dust, God adorns you in your works, through which you overcome the snares of the first angel, who became proud because of his great brilliance; hence, he was buried in death, in which God left him, but man was drawn back through himself. And since the serpent deceived man, and since man placed himself in transgression, he is covered with such a veil that he cannot perceive the mysteries of God perfectly, as long as he remains covered by that same veil. Therefore, as long as he holds a right faith, God reveals His miracles to him as if through a window and as if through a mirror.