Verba matris ad filiam, qualiter verba et opera Christi per thesaurum et deitas per castrum et peccata per seras et virtutes per 'muros et pulcritudo mundi et delectatio amicorum per duas fossas mirabiliter designantur et exponuntur, et qualiter se debeat habere episcopus circa curam animarum.
The Fortress of the Divine Treasure
The Mother of God introduces the metaphor of a fortified treasure that represents the life and works of her Son.
The Mother of God speaks to her Son's bride, saying: "That bishop is asking me for his own charity." Therefore, he must do what is most dear to me. For I know the treasure that, whoever possesses it, will never be miserable. Whoever sees Him will never experience tribulation or death. Whoever desires Him will have whatever they long for, with great joy. This treasure, however, is locked inside a strong fortress by four bolts, and that fortress is surrounded by high, thick, and heavy walls. Beyond the walls, however, there are two deep and wide trenches. So, I ask Him to leap across both trenches in one bound, scale the walls in a single step, break all the locks with one blow, and in this way present that most precious thing to me. Now, though, I'll tell you what these things signify.
The Neglect of the Sacred
The treasure of Christ's passion and the Eucharist is neglected due to four specific sins that act as locks upon the soul.
What you call a treasure is something rarely used and rarely moved. This treasure is the words of my dearest Son and his most precious works, which he performed during and before his passion. as well as the miraculous works He performed when the Word was made flesh in my body, and what happens daily at the altar when bread becomes that same flesh at the Word of God. All these things are a most precious treasure, yet they are now so neglected and forgotten that very few people reflect on them or use them for their own progress. Nevertheless, that glorious Body of the Son of God lies within a fortified castle—that is, in the power of His divinity. Just as a fortress defends against enemies, so the power of my Son’s divinity defends the body of his humanity, so that no enemy may harm it. There are actually four sins that keep many people from participating in the goodness and virtue of the Body of Christ. The first is pride and a craving for worldly honors. The second is a craving for worldly possessions. The third is base pleasure, seen in the immoderate indulgence of the body and its most foul gratification. The fourth is anger, envy, and negligence regarding one's own salvation. Too many people love these four things and have made them a habit. Because of this, they are kept far from God. For they see and receive the Body of Christ, yet their soul is as far from God as thieves who want to steal but cannot get close because of strong locks.1
The Bishop's Pastoral Zeal
The bishop is called to exercise divine zeal to break the locks of vice in others, imitating the example of Saint Thomas of England.
That’s why I said he would break the locks with a single blow. The blow, however, signifies a zeal for souls, with which the bishop himself must break down sinners through works of justice born of divine love, so that once the locks of vice are broken, the sinner may be able to reach this precious treasure.2 And although he cannot strike at every sinner, he should do what he is bound to do for those he can reach, especially for those under his own authority, sparing neither small nor great, neither relative nor acquaintance, neither enemy nor friend. That is what the holy Thomas of England did; he endured many trials for the sake of justice and, in the end, met a harsh death because he didn't hesitate to discipline the body with ecclesiastical justice, so that the soul might suffer a lesser penalty. Let this bishop imitate his life, so that everyone who hears him understands that he hates both his own sins and the sins of others. And then such a strike of divine zeal will be heard above all the heavens in the sight of God and the angels, and many will be converted and made better, saying, 'He doesn't hate us,' they say, 'but our sins.' Let us repent, therefore, and we will be friends of God and of ourselves.
Virtues and the Path to God
The three walls of virtue and the two trenches of worldly vanity are explained as the primary obstacles and paths in the spiritual life.
The three walls surrounding the fortress are three virtues. The first is to let go of fleshly pleasures and do the will of God. The second is to prefer suffering insults and losses for the sake of truth and justice, rather than gaining worldly honors and possessions by hiding the truth. The third is not to spare your life or your possessions for the salvation of any Christian. But pay attention to what a person is doing right now. In the end, it seems to them that the walls I mentioned are so high that they couldn't possibly be climbed. That is why the hearts of men—and their souls—don't draw near to that most glorious Body with any constancy, because they are far from God. And that is why I commanded my friend to cross over the walls in a single step. What you call a step is when your feet are separated by a long distance to move your body quickly. There is also a spiritual step. For when the body is on earth and the love of the heart is in heavenly things, Then the three aforementioned walls are overcome, because then it pleases a person, out of consideration for heavenly things, to set aside their own will, to endure rejection and persecution for the sake of justice, and even to die willingly for the honor of God. The two ditches outside the wall are the beauty of the world, the presence of friends, and the pleasures of the world. Many would most gladly rest in these ditches and would never care to see God in heaven. These trenches are wide and deep—wide, because the wills of such people are far and wide from God. They're also deep, because they hold many people in the depths of hell. That’s why these trenches must be crossed in a single leap. For what is a spiritual leap, if not to separate your whole heart from things that are vanity, and to spring up from earthly things into the kingdom of heaven?
The Union of Soul and God
The Mother of God explains how the bishop should present souls to her Son, mirroring the union of the Godhead and humanity.
You see, it's now been shown how the bolts must be broken and the walls leapt over. Now I'll show how this bishop ought to present the most precious thing that has ever existed. For the Godhead has existed from eternity and without beginning, and still does, because it's impossible to find in it any beginning or end. Humanity was truly in my body, and it took flesh and blood from me. Therefore, it is the most precious thing that ever was and is. So, when the soul of a just person receives the Body of God into itself with love, and the Body of God fills that soul, the most precious thing that ever was is there. Even though the Godhead exists in three persons without beginning or end in itself, when the Father sent His Son to me along with the Godhead and the Holy Spirit, He then took His blessed body from me. Now, I will show this same bishop how that most precious thing is to be presented to the Lord. Wherever a friend of God finds a sinner whose words show little love for God and great love for the world, that soul is empty toward God. Therefore, a friend of God should have such love for God that it pains them to see a soul, redeemed by the Creator's blood, acting as an enemy of God; they should feel compassion for that miserable soul, speaking to it with two voices: one to ask God to have mercy on the soul, and the other to show the soul its own danger. If, however, he can bring these two—God, that is, and the soul—into harmony, he then presents to God, with the hands of his own love, a most precious thing; for when the Body of God, which was in me, and the soul of a human being, created by God, come together in one friendship, this is most dear to me. And it’s no wonder. I was there when that noble soldier, my Son, left Jerusalem to face the struggle—a struggle so intense and harsh that every nerve in His arms was stretched to the breaking point. His back was bruised and bloodied, His feet were pierced by nails, and His eyes and ears were filled with blood. He also bowed His head when He gave up His spirit. His heart was pierced by the point of the lance, and so, with the greatest pain, He won over souls. Now, even though He sits in glory and reaches out His arm to humanity, very few are found who present the bride to Him. Therefore, a friend of God shouldn't spare their life or possessions in helping others along with them, and in presenting them to my Son.
A Promise of Eternal Fellowship
The Mother of God pledges her support to the bishop, promising to present his soul to God at the end of his life.
Tell this same bishop that because he seeks me as his dear friend, I want to give him my pledge and bind myself to him in a single bond. For the Body of God, which was in me, will receive his soul into itself with great love, just as the Father was in me with the Son—who held my body and soul within himself—and just as the Holy Spirit, who is in the Father and the Son, was everywhere with me, and who also held my Son within himself; so too will my servant be bound with that same Spirit. When he loves the passion of God and holds His Body most dear in his heart, he will possess the humanity that contains the Godhead both within and outside itself; God is in him and he is in God, just as God is in me and I am in Him. But when my servant and I share one God, then we'll also share one bond of love and the Holy Spirit, who is one God with the Father and the Son. Add one more word to this. If this bishop keeps his promise to me, I'll help him as long as he lives. But at the end of his life, I want to serve him and stand by him, presenting his soul to God and saying, 'O my God, this person served You and obeyed me; therefore, I present his soul to You!' Oh, my daughter, what is a person thinking when they treat their own soul with such contempt? Do you really think God the Father, in His incomprehensible divinity, would have allowed His innocent Son to suffer such a harsh penalty in His humanity, if not for that virtuous delight and affection He has for souls, and for that eternal glory He has prepared for them? This revelation was given regarding the Bishop of Linköping, who was later appointed archbishop. See also the same, Book 6, Chapter 22, which begins, 'That prelate'. The bishop for whom you are weeping has come to a light purgatory. So, know for certain that although he had many who stood in his way while in the world, they have already received their own judgment, and because of his faith and purity, he will glory with me.
Read the original Latin
Mater Dei loquitur ad sponsam filij dicens: "Ille episcopus petit me in suam caritatem. Ideo debet hoc facere, quod est michi carissimum. Ego quippe scio thesaurum, quem qui possederit, numquam erit miser.
Qui videbit eum, numquam sentiet tribulationem et mortem. Quicumque desiderat illum, habebit quidquid appetit cum exultatione. Iste vero thesaurus clausus est in bono castro quatuor seris, quod castrum habet extra se muros altos et spissos et grossos.
Extra vero muros sunt due fosse profunde atque late. Ideo rogo ipsum, ut transiliat ambas fossas uno saltu, ascendat muros uno passu, confringat omnes seras uno ictu et sic presentet michi rem preciosissimam. Nunc autem, quid ista significant, dicam tibi.
Hoc vobiscum vocatur thesaurus, quod raro sumitur in usus et raro mouetur. Hic thesaurus sunt verba carissimi filij mei et eius preciosissima opera, que in passione et ante passionem fecit,
necnon et illa mirabilia opera, que tunc fecit, quando verbum factum est caro in corpore meo et quod, quando in altari cotidie panis eadem fit caro ad verbum Dei.
Hec omnia sunt preciosissimus thesaurus, que ita iam neglecta et oblita sunt, quod paucissimi sunt, qui ea recolunt et eis utantur ad profectum suum. Verumptamen corpus illud gloriosum filij Dei iacet in castro munito; idest in deitatis virtute.
Sicut enim castrum defendit contra inimicos, sic filij mei deitatis potentia defendit humanitatis sue corpus, ut nullus ei noceat hostis. Fere vero quatuor peccata sunt quatuor, quibus excluduntur multi a participatione et bonitate virtutis corporis Christi.
Primum est superbia et cupiditas ad honores mundi. Secundum est cupiditas ad possessiones mundi. Tercium est voluptas feda ad corporis immoderatam impletionem et fetidissimam eius expletionem.
Quartum est ira et inuidia et negligentia proprie salutis. Ista quatuor diligunt et in consuetudine habent nimis multi. Propterea elongantur nimis a Deo. Nam vident corpus Dei et recipiunt, sed anima eorum tam longe est a Deo, sicut fures qui furari desiderant sed appropinquare non valent propter fortes seras.
Et ideo dixi, quod confringeret seras cum uno ictu. Ictus vero significat zelum animarum, quo ipse episcopus confringere debet peccatores cum operibus iusticie ex diuina caritate, ut confractis seris viciorum peccator pertingere valeat ad preciosum hunc thesaurum.
Et quamuis non possit omnes peccatores percutere faciat, ut tenetur que possit et potissime hijs, qui sunt sub manu sua non parcendo paruo vel magno propinquo vel cognato inimico vel amico.
Sic fecit ille sanctus Thomas de Anglia, qui passus est multas tribulationes pro iusticia et in fine occubuit dura morte, quia non pepercit percutere corpora cum iusticia ecclesiastica ad hoc, ut anima minorem penam pateretur.
Cuius vitam imitetur iste episcopus, quatinus omnes audientes intelligant, quod odit peccata propria et aliorum. Et tunc talis ictus zeli diuini audietur super omnes celos in conspectu Dei et angelorum et multi conuertentur et meliorabuntur dicentes: 'Non', inquiunt, 'odit nos sed peccata nostra. Resipiscamus ergo et erimus amici Dei atque sui.'
Tres vero muri, qui ambiunt castrum, sunt tres virtutes. Prima est dimittere delectabilia carnis et facere voluntatem Dei. Secunda est magis velle pati obprobria et damna pro veritate et iusticia quam habere honores et possessiones mundi dissimulando veritatem.
Tercia est, non parcere vite vel bonis pro salute cuiuslibet Christiani. Sed attende, quid nunc facit homo. Denique sibi videtur, quod muri isti predicti ita sunt alti, quod nullo modo possent transcendi.
Propterea corda hominum non appropinquant illi gloriosissimo corpori cum permanentia, nec anime eorum, quia longe sunt a Deo. Et ideo precepi amico meo, quod transcenderet muros uno passu.
Hoc enim vobiscum vocatur passus, quando pedes longa a se separantur distantia ad transferendum celeriter corpus. Sic etiam est spiritualis passus. Cum enim est corpus in terra et caritas cordis in celestibus,
tunc transcenduntur tres predicti muri, quia tunc placet homini ex consideratione celestium dimittere propriam voluntatem, pati repulsam et persecutionem pro iusticia mori eciam libenter pro honore Dei.
Due vero fosse extra murum sunt pulcritudo mundi et presentia et delectatio amicorum mundi. In hijs fossis multi libentissime quiescerent et numquam curarent in celis videre Deum.
Et ideo fosse iste sunt late et profunde, late, quia talium hominum voluntates longe lateque sunt a Deo. Profunde quoque sunt, quia plurimos detinent in profundo infernali.
Propterea fosse iste transcendi debent uno saltu. Quid enim est saltus spiritualis, nisi separare totum cor suum ab hijs, que vana sunt et de terrenis salire in regnum celi?
Ecce nunc ostensum est, quomodo confringende sunt sere et transiliendi muri. Nunc ostendam, quomodo presentare debet episcopus iste rem preciosissimam, que umquam fuit. Deitas quippe ab eterno et sine principio fuit et est, quia non est in ea inuenire principium siue finem.
Humanitas vero fuit in meo corpore et suscepit de me carnem et sanguinem. Ideo ipsa est res preciosissima, que umquam fuit et est. Ergo, quando anima iusti recipit cum caritate corpus Dei in se et corpus Dei implet animam, tunc ibi est preciosissima res, que umquam fuit.
Nam licet deitas est in tribus personis sine principio et sine fine in se, tamen quando pater misit filium suum cum deitate et spiritusancto ad me, tunc sumpsit benedictum corpus suum de me.
Nunc vero ostendam eidem episcopo, quomodo presentanda est domino preciosissima res illa. Ubicumque amicus Dei inuenerit peccatorem, in cuius verbis est modica caritas ad Deum et magna ad mundum, ibi anima vacua est ad Deum.
Propterea amicus Dei habeat caritatem ad Deum dolendo, quod anima redempta sanguine creatoris inimica est Dei, condoleatque misere anime habendo ad eam quasi duas voces; unam, qua roget Deum misereri anime; aliam, qua ostendat anime periculum suum.
Si autem ista duo, Deum scilicet et animam, concordare poterit in unum, tunc manibus dilectionis sue presentat Deo preciosissimam rem, quia, quando corpus Dei, quod fuit in me, et anima hominis a Deo creata conueniunt in unam amiciciam, hoc est michi carissimum. Nec mirum.
Ego enim presens eram, quando miles ille egregius filius meus exiuit de Iherusalem tenere certamen, quod tam forte fuit et durum, quod omnes nerui in brachijs eius extendebantur. Dorsum erat liuidum et sanguinolentum, pedes perforati clauis, oculi et aures plene sanguine.
Collum quoque inclinabatur, quando tradidit spiritum. Cor scindebatur a cuspide lancee et sic cum maximo dolore vicit animas. Qui nunc residens in gloria extendit brachium ad homines sed paucissimi tamen inueniuntur, qui presentant ei sponsam.
Ideo amicus Dei non parcat vite et bonis iuuando alios secum, eosque filio meo presentando.
Dicito adhuc eidem episcopo, quod, quia ipse petit me in suam caram amicam, ideo volo dare ei fidem meam et ligare me cum eo in unum vinculum. Nam corpus Dei, quod fuit in me, recipiet animam eius in se cum magna caritate, ut sicut pater cum filio fuit in me, qui corpus meum et animam habuit in se et sicut spiritussanctus, qui est in patre et filio fuit ubique mecum, qui et filium meum habuit intra secum, sic et famulus meus ligatus erit cum eodem spiritu.
Nam quando ipse diligit passionem Dei et corpus eius habet in corde carissimum, tunc habebit humanitatem, que intra se et extra se habet deitatem et est Deus in eo et ipse in Deo, sicut est in me Deus et ego in eo.
Cum vero famulus meus et ego habemus unum Deum, tunc habebimus et unum vinculum caritatis et spiritum sanctum, qui est cum patre et filio unus Deus.
Adde adhuc unum verbum. Si iste episcopus tenet promissionem suam mecum, ego iuuabo eum, dum viuit. In fine vero vite volo seruire et astare ei presentando animam eius Deo et dicendo sic: 'O, Deus meus, iste seruiuit tibi et obediuit michi, ideo presento tibi animam eius!'
O, filia, quid cogitat homo, qui contemnit animam suam? Numquid Deus pater cum incomprehensibili deitate sua dimisisset innocentem filium suum pati in humanitate tam duram penam, nisi fuisset illa virtuosa delectatio et affectio, quam habet ad animas et illa eterna gloria, quam eis preparauit?"
Hec reuelatio facta est de episcopo Lyncopensi, qui postea factus fuit archiepiscopus. Item de eodem vj libro, capitulo xxij, quod incipit ('Ille prelatus').
Episcopus, pro quo tu ploras, venit ad leue purgatorium. Ideo pro certo scias, quod, quamuis in mundo multos habuit impeditores, iam ipsi reportauerant iudicium suum et ipse propter fidem et mundiciam suam mecum glorietur.
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