Verba sancte Agnetis ad sponsam de dilectione habenda ab ipso sponso ad Virginem sub floris figura, et qualiter Virgo gloriosa loquens declarat immensam et eternam pietatem, diuinam contra nostram impietatem et ingratitudinem, et quomodo amici Dei non debent inquietari in tribulationibus.
The Flower of Mercy
St. Agnes describes the Blessed Virgin Mary as a flower of surpassing height, humility, and mercy.
Blessed Agnes speaks to the bride, saying, "Daughter, love the Mother of mercy." For she is like a flower or a reed whose shape is much like a sword. This flower actually has two very sharp ends and a slender point. Yet in height and breadth, it extends beyond all other flowers. It is the same with Mary, the flower and the flower of flowers, who grew in the valley and spread herself out above all the mountains. A flower, I say, that was nurtured in Nazareth and spread itself out into Lebanon. This flower reached a height above all things, because the blessed Queen of Heaven exceeds every creature in dignity and power. Mary also had two sharp edges: the sorrow in her heart during her Son’s passion, and the constancy of her struggle against the devil’s attacks, because she never consented to sin.1 That old man was truly prophesying when he said, "A sword will pierce your own soul." For she endured, in a spiritual sense, as many sword-thrusts as the wounds and blows she foresaw and witnessed in her Son. Beyond that, Mary possessed a surpassing breadth—that is, mercy. For she was, and still is, so loving and merciful that she preferred to suffer every tribulation rather than have souls go unredeemed. Now, however, united with her Son, she doesn't forget her innate goodness, but extends her mercy to everyone—even the worst among us—so that just as the sun illuminates and warms both heaven and earth, no one exists who, if they ask, won't feel the kindness of Mary's sweetness. Mary also possessed a sharp point, which is humility. For through this, she pleased the angel by answering that she was the handmaid who was being chosen to be the Lady. Through this she conceived the Son of God, because she didn't want to please the proud. Through this she ascended to the highest throne, because she loved nothing but God himself. Go forward, then, you channel, and greet the Mother of Mercy, for she has already arrived.
The Channel of the Spirit
Mary identifies herself to St. Agnes as the channel of the Holy Spirit.
Then Mary appeared and answered, "You've spoken the noun, Agnes; now add the adjective." Agnes replied to her: "If I were to say 'most beautiful' or 'most virtuous,' that title by right belongs to no one but you, for you are the mother of everyone's salvation." And the Mother of God answered blessed Agnes, "You've spoken the truth, for I am more powerful than all; therefore, I will add both the adjective and the noun: the channel, that is, of the Holy Spirit."
Divine Mercy Amidst Human Ingratitude
God’s persistent mercy is contrasted with human ingratitude throughout history, from the flood to the wilderness.
But come, you channel, and listen to me. It pains you that this proverb is circulating among people: 'Let's live according to our own desires, because God is easily appeased.' 'Let's use the world and its honors while we can, because the world was made for the sake of man.' Truly, daughter, such talk doesn't come from the love of God, nor does it lead or draw anyone toward the love of God. Yet, because of this, God doesn't forget His love; instead, at every hour, He shows His mercy in the face of human ingratitude. For He is like a craftsman working on a solemn project, who sometimes heats the iron and sometimes cools it. In this way, God—the supreme craftsman who made the world out of nothing—shows His love to Adam and his descendants. But people grew so cold that, regarding God as almost nothing, they committed many enormous sins. Therefore, after showing mercy and giving a gentle warning, God revealed His justice through the flood. After the flood, however, God established His covenant with Abraham, showed him signs of His love, and led his descendants out with great signs and wonders. He gave the law to the people from His own mouth and confirmed His words and commandments with the most evident signs. As time passed and people grew cold, falling into such madness that they even began to worship idols, our merciful God, wanting to set those cold hearts on fire once again, sent His own Son into the world, who taught the true way to heaven and showed us the true humility we are to imitate. Even though many people forget and neglect Him, He still shows and offers the words of His mercy. Yet not everything is accomplished all at once, any more now than it was in the past. Before the flood came, people were warned and waited upon so that they might turn to repentance. In the same way, Israel was tested before entering the Promised Land, and the promise was delayed for a time. God certainly could have led the people out in forty days instead of dragging it out for forty years, but God's justice required that the people's ingratitude be exposed, that God's mercy be made manifest, and that the future people be all the more humbled.
The Eternal Justice of God
The chapter warns against questioning God's eternal justice, which is beyond human comprehension.
Now, if anyone wants to ponder why God would afflict His people in this way, or why any punishment should be eternal when a life for sinning cannot be eternal, that would be a great audacity—just as it is audacious for anyone to try, through mere thought and reason, to understand and grasp how God is eternal. Ultimately, God is eternal and beyond our understanding; in Him exists eternal justice, retribution, and an unfathomable mercy. If God hadn't shown His justice in the first angels, how would we know the justice of the One who judges all things with equity? And if He hadn't shown His mercy again to humanity by creating us and setting us free through countless signs, how would His great goodness and His immense, perfect love ever be known? Therefore, because God is eternal, His justice is eternal in Him—a justice in which there is no addition and no diminution. It’s like someone who plans out their work, deciding exactly how and when to do it. But when God acts in justice or mercy, He reveals it in the very act of fulfilling it, because for Him, the present, the past, and the future are all eternally present.
The Purification of the Friends of God
Friends of God are encouraged to endure tribulations, as these are the means by which God purifies them for eternity.
Therefore, friends of God must stand patiently in the love of God and not be unsettled, even if they see worldly people prospering; for God is like a skilled washerwoman who, when placing a dirty cloth into the churning water so that it may become cleaner and brighter through the motion, carefully guards against the force of the waves, lest the cloth be swept away. In this way, God places His friends in the present life amidst the storms of poverty and tribulation, by which they are purified for eternal life, while He watches over them diligently so that they aren't overwhelmed by excessive sadness or intolerable tribulation.
Read the original Latin
Beata Agnes loquitur sponse dicens: "Filia, dilige matrem misericordie. Ipsa enim similis est flori siue cirpo, cuius figura consimilis est gladio. Qui quidem flos habet duas extremitates acutissimas et cuspidem gracilem. Altitudine vero et latitudine super alios flores se extendit.
Sic Maria flos et florum flos, qui creuit in valle et super omnes montes se dilatauit. Flos, inquam, qui nutriebatur in Nazareth et in Lybanum se diffundebat. Hic flos super omnia habuit altitudinem, quia benedicta regina celi super omnem creaturam excedit dignitate et potestate.
Habuit et ipsa Maria duas acies siue extremitates acutissimas, tribulationem scilicet cordis in passione filij et constantiam certaminis contra incursiones dyaboli, quia numquam peccato consentiebat.
Verum enim prophetabat senex ille, qui dicebat: 'Tuam', inquiens, 'animam pertransibit gladius.' Nam quasi tot ictus gladij sustinuit spiritualiter, quot in filio suo vulnera et plagas preuidebat et videbat. Habuit insuper Maria latitudinem excedentem, hoc est misericordiam.
Nam sic pia et misericors fuit et est, quod maluit omnes tribulationes sufferre quam quod anime non redimerentur. Nunc autem coniuncta filio non obliuiscitur innate bonitatis sue sed ad omnes extendit misericordiam suam eciam ad pessimos, ut sicut sole illuminantur et inflammantur celestia et terrestria, sic ex dulcedine Marie nullus est, qui non per eam, si petitur, sentiat pietatem.
Habuit et Maria cuspidem gracilem, hoc est humilitatem. Per hanc enim placuit angelo respondens se esse ancillam, que eligebatur in dominam. Per hanc concepit filium Dei, quia noluit placere superbis.
Per hanc ascendit ad summum thronum, quia nichil dilexit nisi ipsum Deum. Procede igitur canalis et saluta matrem misericordie, quia iam venit."
Tunc apparens Maria respondit: "Dixisti Agnes substantiuum, adde et adiectiuum." Cui Agnes: "Si dixero 'pulcerrimam' vel 'virtuosissimam', hoc nulli de iure competit nisi tibi, que es mater salutis omnium." Et mater Dei respondit beate Agneti: "Dixisti verum, quia ego sum potentior omnium, ideo addam adiectiuum et substantiuum, canalis scilicet spiritussancti.
Sed veni canalis et audi me. Tu doles ex eo, quod prouerbium istud vertitur inter homines: 'Viuamus secundum libitum nostrum, quia Deus faciliter placatur. Utamur mundo et honore eius dum possumus, quia propter hominem factus est mundus.'
Vere, filia, talis locutio non procedit de caritate Dei nec tendit aut trahit ad caritatem Dei. Verumtamen Deus propter hoc non adhuc obliuiscitur caritatis sue sed omni hora pro ingratitudine hominum ostendit pietatem suam.
Nam ipse similis est fabro fabricanti opus solemne, qui quandoque ignescit ferrum, quandoque infrigidat. Sic Deus faber optimus, qui mundum fecit ex nichilo, ostendit caritatem suam Ade et posteris eius.
Sed refriguerunt in tantum homines, quod Deum quasi pro nichilo reputantes enormia plurima commiserunt. Propterea ostensa misericordia et amonitione benigna precedente ostendit Deus iusticiam per diluuium.
Post vero diluuium posuit Deus fedus suum cum Abraam et ostendit illi signa dilectionis sue et eduxit progeniem eius in signis et mirabilibus maximis. Dedit populo legem de ore proprio et verba sua et precepta signis euidentissimis confirmauit.
Cumque iterum procedente tempore frigesceret populus et in tantam vesaniam prorumperet, quod eciam idola coleret, pius Deus volens iterum ignire frigidos misit mundo filium proprium, qui veram viam ad celum docuit et humilitatem veram imitandam demonstrauit.
Nunc autem a multis nimium oblitus et neglectus est sed tamen adhuc ostendit et exhibet verba misericordie sue. Non autem omnia perficientur simul magis nunc quam prius. Nam antequam veniret diluuium, prius ammonebatur et expectabatur populus ad penitentiam.
Sic et Israel antequam terram promissionis ingrederetur, prius probatus est et ad tempus protracta est promissio. Bene quippe valuisset Deus eduxisse populum in quadraginta diebus et non protraxisse ad xl annos, sed iusticia Dei exigebat, ut ingratitudo populi ostenderetur et misericordia Dei manifestaretur populusque futurus tanto magis humiliaretur.
Nunc autem, si quis cogitare vellet, cur sic Deus affligeret populum suum aut cur pena aliqua debet esse eterna, cum vita ad peccandum non possit esse eterna, magna esset audacia, sicut et ille audax est, qui cogitatione et ratione intelligere et comprehendere nititur, quomodo Deus est eternus.
Denique Deus eternus et incomprehensibilis est et in eo eterna iusticia et retributio est misericordiaque inexcogitabilis; alioquin nisi Deus ostendisset iusticiam suam in primis angelis, quo modo sciretur iusticia eius qui omnia iudicat in equitate?
Et nisi fecisset iterum misericordiam suam cum homine creando eum et liberando infinitis signis, quomodo tanta bonitas eius sciretur et caritas eius tam immensa et tam perfecta. Igitur quia sempiternus est Deus, sempiterna in eo est iusticia, in qua non est additio nec diminutio,
sicut in homine, qui precogitat opus suum facere tali modo et tali die. Deus vero, cum facit iusticiam suam vel misericordiam, perficiendo manifestat eam, quia ab eterno presentia, preterita et futura sunt apud illum.
Propterea amici Dei patienter debent stare in amore Dei et non inquietari, quamuis viderint mundiales prosperari, quia Deus est sicut optima lotrix, que pannum immundum ponens inter procellas, ut ex motione aque fiat purior et candidior, diligenter cauet ictus undarum, ne submergatur pannus.
Sic Deus ponit in presenti amicos suos inter procellas paupertatis et tribulationis, quibus ad eternam vitam purgentur custodiens eos diligenter, ne vel nimia tristicia vel tribulatione intolerabili demergantur."
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'acies' can mean a sharp edge (as of a sword) or a battle line; 'extremitates' clarifies the sense of sharp points or extremes. The translation uses 'sharp edges, or points' to capture both the martial and the piercing nature of her suffering and resolve.
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