Maria loquitur dicens, quod homo spiritualis, postquam conuertitur labore penitencie et caritatis et contricionis et paciencie, redimere debet priora tempora perdita ad hoc, ut vacuas nuces non offerat Deo.
The Parable of the Empty Nuts
Mary introduces the metaphor of offering nuts to God, explaining that spiritual works must be filled with intention to be acceptable.
Mary says: "When nuts are offered to the Lord, some are occasionally found to be empty; these must be filled so they can become more acceptable to the Lord." It's the same way with spiritual works. Many people perform many good works to lessen their sin, so they won't fall into hell. Yet, before those good works and between them, there were many empty times that must be filled, if there is still time to labor. If not, however, compunction and love make up for everything.
Examples of Spiritual Offerings
Mary illustrates the varying fullness of spiritual offerings through the lives of Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, the Apostles, and herself.
In this way, Mary Magdalene offered nuts to God—that is, good works—though some of those nuts were empty because she had spent long periods of time sinning; yet she made up for all of that through the help of time, patience, and labor. John the Baptist, however, offered God nuts that were practically full, because he served God from his youth, offering Him his entire life. The Apostles, however, offered God nuts that were only half-full, because before their conversion they had spent many years in an imperfect state. But I, the Mother of God, offered nuts that were full and sweeter than honey, because from my youth I was filled with grace and preserved in grace.
The Call to Redeem Time
Mary concludes with a final exhortation to redeem wasted time through patience and the labor of love.
That’s why I say that even though a person’s sin may be forgiven, the time previously wasted must still be redeemed through patience and the labor of love, while they still have time.
Read the original Latin
Maria loquitur: "Vbi presentantur domino nuces, quandoque inter eas alique inueniuntur vacue; que, ut acceptabiliores fiant domino, impleri debent.
Sic eciam in spiritualibus operibus est. Multi faciunt plura opera bona, propter que diminuitur peccatum, ut non incurrant infernum.
Attamen ante illa opera bona et inter ea multa fuerunt tempora vacua, que necesse est ut impleantur, si tempus laborandi fuerit. Sin autem, contricio et caritas omnia supplent.
Sic Maria Magdalena obtulit nuces Deo, id est opera bona, inter quas nuces quedam erant vacue, quia longa tempora habuit ad peccandum; sed omnia illa supplebat iuuante tempore, paciencia et labore.
Sed et Iohannes Baptista obtulit nuces Deo quasi plenas, quia a iuuentute seruiuit Deo offerens ei totum tempus suum.
Apostoli vero obtulerunt Deo nuces quasi semiplenas, quia ante conuersionem suam plura tempora habuerunt imperfecta.
Ego vero, que sum mater Dei, obtuli nuces plenas et dulciores melle, quia a iuuentute mea impleta fui gracia et in gracia conseruata.
Ideo dico, quod quamuis peccatum dimissum sit homini, tamen tempora prius vacua, dum homo tempus habet, redimi debent paciencia et labore caritatis."
Revelationes (Heavenly Revelations) companion
Keep going — one revelation a day
The full 496-chapter Revelationes lives in the Chosen Portion app, served as free daily portions.
Birgitta's revelations arrived over three decades of daily attentiveness, and the Chosen Portion app lets readers receive them the same way — one portion per day.
- Finish the guided path in 8 weeks at roughly 15 minutes a day
- All 8 books, 496 chapters, in modern English — the complete transmitted text
- Daily delivery so a 30-year masterwork becomes a sustainable habit