Verba ammonicionis Christi ad sponsam de promissione in tribus domibus fienda et quomodo bona voluntas per panem, premeditacio diuina per potum, sapiencia diuina per edulium designantur et qualiter sapiencia diuina non in litteratura est sed in corde et vita bona.
The Creator's Call to Intimacy
The Lord introduces Himself as the eternal Creator and invites the soul into a spousal relationship.
I myself, the one speaking to you, am the creator of all things and was created by no one. Before me nothing existed, and after me nothing can exist, because I have always been and I always am. I am also the Lord, whose power no one can resist, and from whom all authority and dominion come. I am speaking to you as a husband speaks to his wife:
The Bread of a Good Will
The first house must be filled with a sincere will, which strengthens the soul and purges it of vice.
My bride, we must have three houses. In one of them, there must be bread, drink, and food. But you might ask, "What does this bread signify?" Am I referring to the bread on the altar? Before the words 'This is my body' are spoken, it is certainly bread; but once they are said, it is no longer bread, but my body, which I took from the Virgin and which was truly crucified on the cross. That isn't what I'm referring to here; rather, the bread we must gather into our house is a good and sincere will. Pure, clean bread offers two benefits: first, it strengthens and invigorates your veins, arteries, and nerves; second, it draws out internal impurities, carries them away, and expels them, leaving you cleansed. A pure will works like this: first, it strengthens. For if a person wants nothing but what belongs to God, labors for nothing but the honor of God, and with their whole heart longs to leave this world and be with God, this will strengthens them in goodness, increases their love for God, makes the world seem worthless to them, fortifies their patience, and so strengthens their hope of attaining glory that they cheerfully embrace whatever comes their way. Second, a good will draws out all corruption. What is the corruption that harms the soul, if not pride, greed, and lust? But when the rot of pride or any other vice enters your mind, it leaves if you think like this: Pride is vanity, because it isn't right for the one who receives to be praised for the gifts they've been given, but rather the Giver. Greed is vanity, because everything earthly will be left behind. Self-indulgence is nothing but a stench. That’s why I want no part of it; instead, I choose to follow the will of my God, whose reward will never end and whose blessings never grow old. Then every temptation of pride and greed falls away, and a good will perseveres in what is good.
The Drink of Divine Meditation
The second house requires the drink of divine meditation, which aids spiritual digestion and quenches the thirst of sinful desire.
The drink we must have in our homes is divine meditation in everything we do. For physical drink has two benefits. First, it aids digestion. Whenever you set out to do something good, if you first reflect on it and carefully consider what honor it brings to God, what benefit it offers your neighbor, and what advantage it holds for your soul—and if you refuse to act unless you can discern some divine purpose in your work—then that work will proceed well, much like a good digestion. Then, if any lack of judgment arises while you're working, it's caught much sooner. Then, if anything has gone wrong, it's corrected more quickly, and your work will be right, reasonable, and edifying in the eyes of others. For anyone who doesn't have divine meditation in their work, and who doesn't seek the benefit of their soul and the honor of God, even if their work seems to make progress for a time, in the end—unless their intention is corrected—it will come to nothing. Second, drink quenches thirst. What thirst is worse than the sin of perverse desire and anger? And if a person reflects on what good will come of it, how miserably it ends, and what the reward is if they resist, that wicked thirst is soon extinguished by the grace of God; the fire of divine love and good desire draws near, and joy arises from the fact that they didn't act on the things that came into their mind. The soul looks for ways to avoid the things that would have tripped it up if meditation hadn't come to its aid, and from then on, it becomes more careful about avoiding them. This, my bride, is the drink we must gather into our storehouse.
The Food of True Wisdom
The third house contains the food of divine wisdom, which is found not in books but in a life lived in the fear of God and love of the eternal.
Third, there must be food there. This does two things. First, it gives a better taste in the mouth and agrees better with the body than if there were only bread. Secondly, it makes the flesh more delicate and the blood better than if there were only bread and drink. Spiritual food does the same. But what is this food? It is divine wisdom. For anyone who has a good will—desiring nothing but what belongs to God and divine contemplation, and doing nothing without first knowing that the honor of God is in it—to that person, wisdom tastes very sweet. You might ask, "What is divine wisdom?" There are many simple people who know nothing but one thing—the 'Our Father'—and even that they barely get right.1 Some people have great learning and deep knowledge. Is that divine wisdom? Not at all. For divine wisdom isn't found precisely in books, but in the heart and in a good life.2 Whoever thoughtfully considers the path to death, the nature of death itself, and the judgment that follows death, is truly wise. Whoever casts off the vanity of the world and all that's superfluous, whoever is content with only what's necessary and labors in the love of God as much as they can, possesses the food of wisdom, by which a good will and divine meditation taste all the better. When a person thinks about death and the nakedness that comes with it, and when they weigh the terrible judgment of God—where nothing is hidden and nothing goes unpunished—and when they also consider the instability and vanity of the world, don't they then rejoice and find a sweet taste in their heart for having surrendered their own will to God and for having kept themselves from sin? Doesn't the flesh gain strength and the blood improve—meaning that every weakness of the soul, especially sloth and the breakdown of one's character, is driven away, and the blood of divine love becomes more vibrant? It considers it more reasonable to love things that are eternal than those destined to pass away. Divine wisdom, therefore, isn't found precisely in books, but in good works. For many are wise according to the world and their own desires, yet they are completely foolish when it comes to God’s commands, His will, and the restraint of their own bodies. They aren't wise, but foolish and blind, because they only know things that are bound to pass away and are useful only for a moment. Yet they despise and forget the eternal. Some people are foolish when it comes to the world's pleasures and honors, yet they are wise in considering the things of God, and they are fervent in serving Him. They are truly wise, because God’s command and His will taste sweet to them. These are truly enlightened and have their eyes open, because they are always considering how they might come to the true life and the true light. Others, however, walk in darkness, and it seems more pleasant to them to remain in the dark than to search for the way by which they could come to the light.
The Dwelling of the Beloved
The Lord calls the bride to gather these virtues into her heart, affirming that the righteous soul is His true dwelling place.
Therefore, my bride, let's bring these three things into our homes: a good will, divine meditation, and divine wisdom. These are the things we ought to rejoice in. Although I am instructing you, I still see all my chosen ones in the world within you, because the soul of the righteous is my bride; for I am their Creator and Redeemer.3
Read the original Latin
"Ego ipse, qui loquor tecum, sum creator omnium et a nullo creatus. Ante me nichil erat nec post me aliquid esse poterit, quia ego semper eram et semper sum.
Ego eciam sum Dominus, cuius potencie nullus resistere poterit et a quo est omnis potestas et dominacio.
Ego loquor tibi, sicut vir loquitur ad uxorem suam:
Uxor mea, nos debemus habere tres domos. In una debet esse panis et potus et edulium.
Sed potes querere: 'Quid notat panis iste?' Numquid noto panem, qui in altari est?
Hic utique ante verba illa 'Hoc est corpus meum' panis est, sed dicto verbo illo non est panis sed corpus meum, quod de Virgine sumpsi et in cruce veraciter crucifixum est.
Hunc ego non noto hic, sed panis, quem in domum nostram congregare debemus, est voluntas bona et sincera.
Corporalis panis, si mundus et purus est, duo bona habet: primo confortat et dat venis et arteriis et neruis omnibus fortitudinem, secundo recipit ad se omnem putredinem interiorem et cum hac discedit et in secessum vadit, et homo emundatur.
Sic voluntas pura: primo confortat.
Nam si homo nichil velit nisi que Dei sunt, nichil laborat nisi ad honorem Dei, toto desiderio desiderat exire de mundo et esse cum Deo, hec voluntas confortat hominem in bono, augmentat amorem Dei, facit ei mundum vilescere, pacienciam fortificat et spem glorie adipiscende roborat in tantum, quod omnia adueniencia hilariter amplectitur.
Secundo voluntas bona omnem putredinem extrahit. Que est putredo nocens anime nisi superbia, cupiditas et luxuria?
Sed cum putredo superbie vel alicuius alterius vicii venerit in mentem, tunc discedit, si homo cogitat sic:
'Superbia vana est, quia non decet accipientem laudari de bonis datis sed datorem.
Cupiditas vana est, quia omnia terrena relinquentur.
Luxuria non est nisi fetor. Propterea nolo eam, sed magis volo sequi voluntatem Dei mei, cuius premium non finietur, cuius bona numquam veterascunt.
Tunc omnis superbie et cupiditatis temptacio discedit et voluntas bona in bono perseuerat.
Potus, quem debemus habere in domibus nostris, est diuina premeditacio in omnibus agendis.
Corporalis enim potus duo bona habet. Primo facit bonam digestionem.
Quicumque enim aliqua bona facere proponit, si considerat secum et diligenter reuoluit, priusquam faciat, quis honor Dei ex hoc prouenit, que utilitas ad proximum, que commoditas ad animam, et noluerit facere nisi aliquam utilitatem diuinam in opere suo perpenderit esse, tunc opus illud habebit bonum processum quasi bonam digestionem.
Tunc, si qua indiscrecio in opere faciendo occurrere poterit, cicius deprehenditur.
Tunc, si quid distortum fuerit, cicius corrigitur et opus suum rectum et racionabile et edificatiuum coram hominibus erit.
Nam qui in opere suo diuinam premeditacionem non habet nec utilitatem querit anime et honorem Dei, eciam si opus suum processum habebit ad tempus, in fine tamen, nisi corrigatur intencio, erit in nichilum.
Secundo potus extinguit sitim. Que est sitis peior quam peccatum praue cupiditatis et ire?
Et si homo premeditatur, que inde prouenerit utilitas, quam misere finitur, que remuneracio, si resistitur, mox per graciam Dei extinguitur sitis illa praua, accedit ardor diuine caritatis et boni desiderii, surgit leticia, ex eo quod non fecit ea, que venerunt in mentem eius.
Inquirit occasionem, quomodo ea de cetero poterit cauere, quibus supplantatus fuisset, nisi succurrisset premeditacio, et sollicicior fiet de cetero in cauendo talia.
Hic, sponsa mea, est potus, qui in fiscum nostrum debet congregari.
Tercio debet ibi esse edulium. Hoc facit duo. Primo facit in ore meliorem saporem et melius conuenit corpori quam si esset solus panis.
Secundo facit delicaciorem carnem et meliorem sanguinem quam si esset solus panis et potus.
Sic eciam spirituale edulium facit. Quid est autem edulium hoc? Utique sapiencia diuina.
Quicumque enim habet bonam voluntamen, nichil volens nisi que Dei sunt et diuinam premeditacionem, nichil faciendo, nisi prius nouerit ibi honorem Dei, huic sapit valde bene sapiencia.
Nunc potes querere: 'Que est diuina sapiencia?' Multi enim sunt simplices, qui nesciunt nisi unum, scilicet 'Pater noster', et hoc vix rectum.
Alii sunt magne litterature et profunde sciencie. Numquid est diuina sapiencia? Nequaquam. Diuina enim sapiencia non est precise in litteratura sed in corde et bona vita.
Quicumque cogitat sedule viam ad mortem, qualitatem ipsius mortis et iudicium post mortem, hic sapiens est.
Quicumque abicit a se vanitatem mundi et superflua, quicumque contentatur de solis necessariis et laborat in amore Dei, quantum potest, hic habet edulium sapiencie, quo voluntas bona et diuina premeditacio sapiunt melius.
Quando enim homo cogitat mortem et in morte nuditatem, quando enim homo perpendit iudicium Dei terribile, ubi nichil occultatur, nichil dimittitur impunitum, quando et cogitat mundi instabilitatem et vanitatem, numquid non tunc gaudet et dulciter sapit in corde reliquisse voluntatem suam Deo et abstinuisse se a peccatis?
Numquid non tunc confortatur caro et sanguis melioratur, idest omnis infirmitas anime, scilicet accidia et morum dissolucio, propellitur, sanguis diuine caritatis fit recencior.
Quia considerat racionabilius fore diligenda ea, que eterna sunt, quam que casura.
Ergo diuina sapiencia non est precise in litteratura sed in bono opere. Quia multi sapientes sunt secundum mundum et ad desideria sua, sed omnino insipientes sunt ad Dei mandata et voluntatem eius et refrenacionem corporis sui.
Et hii non sunt sapientes sed insipientes et ceci, quia sciunt ea, que casura sunt et ad momentum utilia. Eterna vero despiciunt et obliuiscuntur.
Alii sunt insipientes ad mundi delectabilia et honorem eius et sapientes ad considerandum, que Dei sunt, feruentes in obsequio eius.
Hii veraciter sapientes sunt, quia sapit eis preceptum Dei et voluntas eius.
Isti veraciter illuminati sunt et apertos habent oculos, quia semper considerant, quomodo veniant ad veram vitam et veram lucem.
Alii vero ambulant in tenebris, et delectabilius eis videtur esse in tenebris quam viam inquirere, per quam venire possent ad lucem.
Propterea, sponsa mea, congregemus in domos nostras hec tria, scilicet bonam voluntatem, premeditacionem diuinam et diuinam sapienciam!
Hec enim sunt, ex quibus letari debemus.
Licet autem te moneo, attamen omnes electos meos in mundo in te noto, quia anima iusti sponsa mea est; ego enim creator sum et redemptor.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'vix rectum' implies a struggle with either the meaning or the proper recitation of the prayer, highlighting the contrast between intellectual complexity and simple, perhaps even struggling, devotion.
- 2 ↩The Latin 'precise' here carries the sense of 'exclusively' or 'strictly'—it is not that books are bad, but that they are not the essence of wisdom.
- 3 ↩The Latin 'Licet autem te moneo' is slightly irregular in its construction; the translation reflects the intended sense of ongoing instruction.
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