Qualiter sponsa videbat dulcissimam virginem Mariam corona et aliis ornamentis inestimabiliter decoratam et quomodo sponse sanctus Iohannes Baptista, quid per coronam etcetera designetur, declarat.
The Vision of the Queen of Heaven
The bride receives a heavenly vision of the Mother of God, followed by the appearance of John the Baptist.
The bride saw the Queen of Heaven, the Mother of God, wearing a priceless, inestimable crown on her head, with hair of wondrous beauty flowing down over her shoulders, a golden tunic shimmering with an indescribable radiance, and a mantle of azure, the color of a clear sky. As the bride was marveling intensely at such a beautiful vision and standing there in such wonder, suspended in a kind of interior awe, blessed John the Baptist appeared to her at once and said to her:
The Symbolism of the Virgin's Attire
John the Baptist explains the spiritual significance of the crown, hair, mantle, and tunic of the Virgin.
“Listen carefully to what this signifies!” The crown signifies that she is Queen and Lady, and Mother of the King of angels. The flowing hair signifies that she is a virgin, most pure and immaculate. The sky-blue mantle signifies that all temporal things were as if dead to her. The golden tunic signifies that she was burning and fervent with divine charity, both inwardly and outwardly.
The Seven Lilies of Virtue
The seven lilies placed in the crown represent the Virgin's virtues, particularly her humility and mercy.
Her Son placed seven lilies in her crown, and between those lilies, He set seven stones. The first lily is her humility; the second, fear; the third, obedience; the fourth, patience; the fifth, stability; the sixth, gentleness, because she is gentle in giving to all who ask; the seventh is mercy in times of need. For in whatever need a person may be, if they call upon her with their whole heart, they will be saved.
The Seven Stones of Grace
The seven precious stones represent the fullness of the Virgin's perfections, concluding with an exhortation to honor her.
Between these shining lilies, her Son placed seven most precious stones. The first stone is a singular excellence of virtue, because there isn't any virtue in any spirit or body that she doesn't possess in a more excellent way. The second stone is perfect purity, because this Queen of Heaven was so pure that not a single stain of sin could ever be found in her, from the moment she entered the world until the very last day of her life. Not even all the devils together could find in her enough impurity to place the tip of a needle. She was truly the purest of all. It wasn't fitting for the King of Glory to dwell in any vessel other than one most pure, most clean, and most chosen above all angels and humans. The third stone was her beauty, because God is constantly praised by His saints for the beauty of this same Mother of His, and the joy of the holy angels and of all holy souls is filled by her beauty. The fourth precious stone of the crown is the wisdom of this same Virgin Mother, for she is filled with all divine wisdom in God, and from her, all wisdom is filled and made perfect. The fifth stone is fortitude, because she is so strong in God that she has the power to overcome everything that has been created and made.1 The sixth stone is her brightness, which is so clear that the angels, who have eyes brighter than light, are illuminated by it, while the demons don't dare to look upon her radiance. The seventh stone is the fullness of all delight and also of spiritual sweetness, which is so full in her that there is no joy that isn't increased by her, no delight that doesn't become fuller and reach perfection through her and through her blessed vision, because she is filled and replenished with grace beyond all the saints. For she is the vessel of purity in which the bread of angels lay, and in which is all sweetness and beauty. Her Son placed these seven stones among the seven lilies in her crown. So, bride of her Son, honor and praise her with all your heart, for she is truly worthy of all praise and honor!
Read the original Latin
Videbat sponsa reginam celi, matrem Dei, habentem preciosam coronam inestimabilem in capite suo et capillos extensos super spatulas admirabilis pulchritudinis, tunicam auream splendore indicibili coruscantem et mantellum de azuro seu sereni celi coloris.
Cumque de tam speciosa visione vehementer admiraretur sponsa et in tali admiracione tota staret quodam interno stupore suspensa, illico apparuit ei beatus Iohannes Baptista, qui ait illi:
"Audi diligenter, quid hoc notat! Corona igitur notat, quod regina et domina est et mater regis angelorum. Capilli protensi, quod virgo est purissima et immaculata. Mantellum celi coloris, quod omnia temporalia erant ei quasi mortua. Tunica aurea notat, quod diuina caritate ardens et feruida fuit interius et exterius.
In corona autem eius posuit filius eius septem lilia et inter hec lilia posuit septem lapides. Primum igitur lilium est eius humilitas, secundum timor, tercium obediencia, quartum paciencia, quintum stabilitas, sextum mititas, quia mitis est dare omnibus petentibus; septimum est misericordia in necessitatibus. In quacumque enim necessitate fuerit homo, si hanc toto corde inuocauerit, saluabitur.
Inter hec fulgencia lilia posuit filius eius septem lapides preciosissimos. Primus lapis est virtuositas singularis, quia non est aliqua virtus in aliquo spiritu siue in corpore aliquo, qua ipsa hanc eandem virtutem non habeat excellencius.
Secundus lapis est perfectissima mundicia, quia ista regina celi sic pura fuit, quod una macula peccati inueniri numquam potuit in ea a principio ingressus eius in mundum usque ad ultimam diem mortis ipsius. Nec omnes diaboli tantam impuritatem reperire poterant in ea, ubi cuspis acus poni posset. Ipsa vere erat purissima. Nam non decuit regem glorie iacere nisi in vase purissimo et mundissimo et electissimo pre omnibus angelis et hominibus.
Tercius lapis fuit pulchritudo eius, quia Deus de pulchritudine eiusdem matris sue iugiter laudatur a sanctis suis et gaudium sanctorum angelorum et omnium sanctarum animarum impletur ex pulchritudine eius.
Quartus lapis preciosus corone est sapiencia eiusdem virginis matris, quia ipsa impleta est omni diuina sapiencia cum Deo et ex ea omnis impletur et perficitur sapiencia.
Quintus lapis est fortitudo, quia ipsa sic est fortis cum Deo, quod omnia, quecumque creata et facta sunt, potest deprimere.
Sextus eciam lapis est claritas eius, que sic clara est, quod angeli, qui habent oculos clariores luce, illuminantur ex ea et demones non audent respicere in claritatem eius.
Septimus lapis est plenitudo omnis delectacionis et eciam spiritualis dulcedinis, que in ea sic plena est, quod non est aliquod gaudium, quod non augeatur ex ea, nulla delectacio, que non plenior fit et perficiatur ex ea et ex eius visione beata, quia ipsa impleta et repleta est gracia ultra omnes sanctos. Ipsa est enim puritatis vas, in quo iacuit panis angelorum et in quo est omnis dulcedo et pulchritudo.
Hos septem lapides posuit filius eius inter hec septem lilia, que erant in corona eius. Ipsam ergo, o sponsa filii eius, honora et lauda toto corde tuo, quia vere ipsa est omni laude et honore digna!"
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'deprimere' literally means to press down or weigh down; in this context, it signifies the power to subdue or overcome created things through the strength of her union with God.
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