Verba Christi ad sponsam de sui immutabilitate necnon et de suorum verborum perfeccione, quamuis statim opera non sequuntur, et quomodo voluntas nostra committenda est in omnibus diuine voluntati.
The Unchanging Truth
Christ assures his bride that his words are immutable and true, even when they appear contradictory to human understanding.
The Son spoke to his bride, saying: "Why are you so troubled because he called my words false?" Am I any worse off because of his insults, or would I be any better off because of his praise? I am, in fact, unchanging; I cannot be diminished or increased, and I have no need of praise. But when people praise me, they’re the ones who benefit—not for my sake, but for their own. No falsehood has ever come from my mouth, for I am the Truth, nor can it ever come from it; because everything I have spoken through the prophets or through my other friends—whether spiritually or physically, just as I intended at the time—will be fulfilled.1 They weren't false just because I said one thing at one time and another at another, or one thing more clearly and another more obscurely; for to test the constancy of your faith and the diligence of my friends, I revealed many things that, according to the different effects of my Spirit, can be understood in different ways by the good and the bad, well or poorly, so that in their various states they might have the means to practice different things in goodness. Just as I took my humanity into my divinity in one person, I sometimes spoke from the perspective of my humanity, insofar as it was subject to my divinity, and at other times from the perspective of my divinity, insofar as it was the creator of my humanity, as is clear in my Gospel. Even though these things might seem contradictory to those who criticize or don't understand, the words were nonetheless true in accordance with the truth.2
The Wisdom of Divine Delay
God explains that he sometimes hides his counsel or delays his promises to test faith and reveal the hearts of men.
It wasn't without reason that I delivered some things obscurely; for it was just that my counsel should be hidden a little from the wicked, so that each of the good might fervently wait for my grace and, through that waiting, obtain their reward—lest, if my counsel had been revealed at a certain time, everyone might have given up on waiting and on love because of the length of time. I also promised many things, which, however, have been withheld from those present because of their ingratitude. If they had turned away from their malice, I certainly would have fulfilled what I promised. Therefore, you shouldn't be troubled that my words are accused of being a lie. What seems impossible to people is possible with me. Even my friends wonder why my actions don't immediately follow my words. There is a reason for this. Wasn't Moses sent to Pharaoh? Yet the signs didn't follow immediately. Why? Because if the signs and wonders had come immediately, Pharaoh’s hardness of heart, the power of God, and the miracles themselves wouldn't have been made manifest. Nevertheless, Pharaoh would still have been condemned for his malice even if Moses hadn't come, though his hardness of heart wasn't as obvious.
Surrendering to the Divine Plowman
Christ calls his bride to trust in his timing and surrender her will entirely to his sovereign direction.
It will happen exactly like this now. Therefore, stand firm. For although a plow is pulled by oxen, it's still guided by the will of the one who directs it. In the same way, even though you hear and know my words, they don't proceed or reach fulfillment according to your will, but according to mine. For I know how the earth is arranged and how it must be cultivated. But you, entrust your entire will to me and say: 'Your will be done!'
Read the original Latin
Filius loquebatur ad sponsam dicens: "Cur sic turbaris ex eo, quod ille dixit verba mea esse falsa? Numquid ego sum eo deterior ex vituperio eius aut fierem eo melior ex laude eius?
Ego nempe immutabilis sum nec minui nec augeri possum, nec ladue indigeo. Sed homo me laudans ex laude mea proficit, non michi sed sibi ipsi.
Nec umquam de ore meo, qui sum veritas, falsitas processit vel procedere potest, quia omnia, quecumque locutus sum per prophetas siue per alios amicos meos, aut spiritualiter aut corporaliter, sicut tunc intellexi, perficientur.
Nec ideo erant falsa, quia unum dixi semel, aliud secundo, unum expressius, aliud obscurius, quia ad probandam fidei mee constanciam et amicorum meorum sollicitudinem multa ostendi, que secundum diuersos effectus spiritus mei diuersimode a bonis et malis intelligi, bene et male, possunt, ut haberent in diuersis statibus, unde diuersi diuersa exercere possent in bono.
Nam sicut in deitatem meam assumpsi humanitatem meam in una persona, sic et quandoque loquebar ex parte humanitatis mee in quantum subiecta erat deitati, quandoque ex parte deitatis, in quantum creatrix erat humanitatis, ut patet ex euangelio meo.
Et sic, quamuis diuersa videantur a calumniantibus et nescientibus, tamen vera erant verba secundum veritatem.
Nec eciam sine causa erat, quod obscure tradidi aliqua, quia sic erat iusticia, ut occultaretur consilium meum aliquantulum a malis et unusquisque bonorum feruenter expectaret graciam meam et pro expectacione optineret premium, ne, si certo tempore consilium meum insinuatum fuisset, omnes ab expectacione et caritate propter longiturnitatem temporis desisterent.
Plurima eciam promisi, que tamen a presentibus propter ingratitudinem subtracta sunt.
Si enim ipsi a malicia sua destitissent, ego utique, quod promiseram, prestitissem. Ideo non debes turbari, quod verba mea arguantur mendacii.
Quod enim impossibile videtur apud homines, hoc possibile est apud me.
Mirantur eciam amici mei, cur non post verba sequentur opera. Hoc enim non est sine causa.
Numquid non Moyses missus erat ad Pharaonem? Non tamen statim sequebantur signa. Quare? Quia, si enim statim signa venissent et opera, non manifesta fuisset duricia Pharaonis nec potencia Dei nec mirabilia ostensa.
Nichilominus tamen Pharao propter maliciam suam damnaretur, eciam si non venisset Moyses, quamuis duricia eius non fuit ita manifesta.
Sic eciam nunc fiet. Propterea state viriliter! Aratrum quippe, quamuis a bobus trahitur, tamen secundum voluntatem regentis regitur.
Sic eciam, quod verba mea audiatis et sciatis, non tamen vadunt vel perficientur secundum voluntatem vestram, sed secundum meam.
Ego enim scio, quomodo terra est disposita et quomodo excolenda. Vos autem omnem voluntatem vestram michi committite et dicite: 'Fiat voluntas tua!'"
Notes
- 1 ↩The phrase 'sicut tunc intellexi' (just as I intended at the time) emphasizes the divine perspective and the specific, purposeful nature of God's communication, which may be understood in different ways by human hearers depending on their spiritual state.
- 2 ↩The Latin 'calumniantibus' suggests those who misinterpret or speak against the truth with malicious intent, while 'nescientibus' refers to those who simply lack the knowledge to understand.
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