Verba monicionis Matris ad filiam, quod homo non debet curam facere in desideriis carnis sed bene refouere corpus in moderatis necessariis; et qualiter homo stat iuxta corpus suum et non in corpore.
The Soul as a Bride at the Veil
The soul is called to remain in a state of constant readiness, treating the body as a veil that must be kept pure.
The Mother says: "You must be like a bride standing before the altar veil, ready at a moment's notice to answer the bridegroom's call and do his will." This veil, then, is your body; it hides the soul and must be continually cleansed, tested, and tried.
Disciplining the Body
The body must be treated with moderate care, providing for its needs while denying its desires to maintain spiritual detachment.
The body is like a donkey that needs moderate food so it doesn't grow unruly, disciplined work so it doesn't grow proud, and constant discipline so it doesn't grow sluggish. Therefore, stand by the antipendium—that is, stand by the body, not in it—not by indulging the flesh in its desires, but by refreshing the body only with what is moderately necessary. Anyone who restricts their body from the pleasure of food, but not from its necessity, stands beside the body rather than within it. Stand also behind the veil, despising the pleasure of the flesh, honoring God, and giving yourself entirely to Him.
The Freedom of Detachment
True spiritual freedom comes from holding the body lightly, allowing the soul to ascend to God without earthly burdens.
This is how those people stood who laid down their bodies like clothing for God’s sake—those who were prepared at every hour for God’s will, whenever it pleased God to call them. For the journey to Him was not long for them, since they always held Him present, nor did heavy burdens weigh down their necks, because they despised all things and were in the world only in body. That is why they flew freely and without hindrance to heaven; nothing held them back except for a certain dry garment, well-disciplined, and once they cast that off, they obtained what they longed for.
The Crown of Perseverance
Through struggle and steady perseverance, the faithful soul overcomes earthly trials to receive an eternal reward.
He fell dangerously, but he rose wisely, defended himself bravely, fought steadily, and stood firm with perseverance. Therefore, he will now be crowned eternally, and he is in the sight of God.
Read the original Latin
Mater loquitur: "Tu debes esse sicut sponsa, que stat ante antipendium, que mox ut vocauerit sponsus parata est ad voluntatem sponsi. Ergo antipendium istud corpus est velans animam, quod continue abluendum est, probandum et temptandum.
Corpus quippe est quasi asinus indigens cibo moderato, ne luxuriet, labore discreto, ne superbiat, flagello continuo, ne lacescat.
Itaque sta iuxta antipendium, id est iuxta corpus non in corpore, faciendo curam carnis in desideriis sed corpus moderatis refouendo necessariis.
Quia ille stat iuxta corpus non in corpore, qui corpus suum refrenat a voluptate ciborum non a necessitate. Sta quoque post antipendium contempnendo voluptatem carnis faciendo honorem Dei et te totam pro Deo impendendo.
Sic steterunt illi qui corpora sua quasi vestimenta strauerunt pro Deo, qui eciam omni hora parati erant ad voluntatem Dei, quando Deo placuit vocare eos,
quia non erat eis longum iter ad eum, quem semper habuerunt presentem, nec grauia onera deprimebant colla eorum, quia omnia contempnentes solo corpore erant in mundo.
Ideo libere euolauerunt et sine impedimento ad celum, quia nichil impediebat eos nisi quoddam aridum indumentum disciplinatum optime, quo exuto obtinuerunt quod desiderabant.
Sic iste cecidit periculose, surrexit sapienter, defendit se viriliter, pugnauit constanter, perstitit perseueranter. Ideo iam coronabitur eternaliter et est in conspectu Dei."
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