Verba Matris ad filiam passionem sui Filii benedicti per ordinem narrancia; et de forma et pulchritudine eiusdem Filii.
The Scourging at the Pillar
The Mother recounts the initial arrest and the brutal scourging of her Son.
The Mother says: "As my Son’s passion drew near, there were tears in His eyes and sweat on His body from the fear of what He was about to suffer." Soon He was taken from my sight, and I didn't see Him again until He was brought out to be scourged. Then he was dragged to the ground and thrown down so violently and cruelly that his head struck the earth, causing his teeth to clash together; he was struck on his neck and jaw with such force that the sound of the blow reached my ears. Then, at the officer's command, he stripped off his clothes and willingly embraced the pillar, where he was tied with a rope. He was then scourged with barbed whips, the barbs digging in and tearing his flesh—not by pulling it away, but by furrowing his whole body. At the first blow, I was so struck to the heart that I lost my senses, and when I came to myself a while later, I saw his body torn to pieces. For he was completely naked while he was being scourged. Then one of his enemies, with the guards standing by, asked, "Do you intend to kill this man without a trial and make his death your own responsibility?" With that, he cut the binding. Once my Son was released from the pillar, he first turned toward his clothes, but he wasn't even given the time to put them on; instead, as he was being dragged away, he just managed to slip his arms into the sleeves. His footprints where he stood at the pillar were so full of blood that I could easily trace every step he took by the marks of blood; he then wiped his face, which was streaming with blood, with his tunic.
The Way of the Cross
The narrative follows the path to the crucifixion, the preparation of the cross, and the initial nailing of Christ.
Then, having been judged, he is led out carrying his cross, but along the way, someone else is brought in to carry it. Once they arrived at the place of the crucifixion, the hammer and four sharp nails were ready. Soon, under orders, he took off his clothes and covered his private parts with a small cloth, which he even helped to tie on himself, as if finding some comfort in it.1 The cross was fixed in place, and its arms were raised so that the joint of the cross rested between his shoulder blades; the cross offered no headrest for him, and the board bearing the inscription was attached to the arms, rising above his head.2 So, when commanded to the cross, he turned his back; when asked for his hand, he first stretched out his right, and then the other hand was stretched toward the remaining arm of the cross, though it didn't reach it. The feet are also stretched out to their holes, crossed over, and, as if separated below by the shins, are fastened to the cross's beam with two nails through solid bone, just as the hands were. At the first strike of the hammer, I fell into an ecstasy from the pain, and waking, I saw my Son nailed to the cross. I heard people asking one another, "What has he done—theft, robbery, or a lie?" with others answering that he was a liar.
The Final Agony
The Mother describes the crowning with thorns, the cry of abandonment, and the moment of death.
Then they pressed a crown of thorns onto his head so tightly that it reached the middle of his forehead, and many streams of blood from the embedded thorns ran down over his face, filling his hair, his eyes, and his beard, so that he looked like nothing but blood; and he couldn't even see me standing by the cross except by squeezing his eyelids to force the blood out.3 After He had entrusted me to His disciple, He lifted His head, fixed His tear-filled eyes on heaven, and cried out from the depths of His heart, 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?' I could never forget that cry until I reached heaven—a cry he uttered, moved more by my compassion than by his own. Then the color of death spread over the parts visible through the blood; his teeth locked against his jaw, his ribs were so thin they could be counted, and his stomach, its fluids completely spent, was pulled tight against his spine. And now, with his nostrils pinched and his heart near to breaking, his whole body shuddered, and then his beard fell forward onto his chest. Then, completely drained, I collapsed to the ground. With his mouth open, just as he had breathed his last, those watching could see his tongue, his teeth, and the blood in his mouth; his eyes were half-closed and turned downward. The body, now dead, hung slumped; the knees were bent to one side, while the feet, resting on the nails as if on hinges, turned toward the other side.
The Pierced Heart and Burial
The Mother reflects on the piercing of the side and the sorrowful task of preparing her Son's body for the tomb.
Meanwhile, other men standing by said, as if to insult her, "O Mary, your son is dead now." Others, who had a deeper understanding, said, "O Lady, the suffering of your son is now finished, leading to his eternal glory." A short time later, after his side was opened and the lance was withdrawn, blood appeared on the tip that was brownish in color, so that it might be understood from this that his heart had been pierced. That piercing went through my own heart, and it was a wonder that it didn't break as well. As the others left, I couldn't bring myself to go; yet I was already somewhat comforted, because I was able to touch his body now that it had been taken down from the cross, to hold him in my arms, to examine his wounds, and to wipe away the blood. Then, with my own fingers, I closed his mouth and likewise composed his eyes. But his arms were so rigid that I couldn't bend them to rest across his chest; they stayed over his stomach instead. His knees, too, couldn't be straightened, but remained stiff, just as they had hardened on the cross.
The Beauty of the Son
The Mother describes the physical beauty and perfect form of her Son as he appeared during his life on earth.
The Mother speaks again: "You can't see my Son as He is in heaven, but you should know Him as He was in the world, in His body." For He was so beautiful in face that no one who looked upon Him could help but be comforted by the sight of Him, even if they were suffering deep, heartfelt sorrow.4 The righteous were truly comforted by spiritual consolation, but even the wicked were relieved of the world's sadness for as long as they looked upon him. That’s why those who were suffering would often say, 'Let’s go and see the son of Mary, so that we might at least find some relief for a little while.' By his twentieth year, he had reached the full height and strength of a man, standing tall among those of his own time—not fleshy, but robust in sinew and bone. His hair, eyebrows, and beard were a brownish-red; his beard was a palm’s breadth in length across the hand; his forehead was neither prominent nor sunken but straight, and his nose was well-proportioned, neither small nor too large. His eyes were so pure that even his enemies enjoyed looking at him, and his lips were not thick, but a clear red. His chin was neither prominent nor too long, but was graced with a beautiful proportion, and his cheeks were modestly full. His complexion was fair, with a clear reddish tint, and he stood upright. There was no blemish on his entire body, just as those who saw him completely naked and scourged him while he was bound to the pillar testified. No worm ever came upon him, nor was there any tangle or filth in his hair.
Read the original Latin
Mater loquitur: "Imminente passione Filii mei lachrime erant in oculis eius et sudor in corpore pre timore passionis. Et mox a conspectu meo abstractus est nec eum ultra vidi, donec educeretur ad flagellandum.
Tunc autem ad terram ita trahitur et impulsiue prosternitur crudeliter, ut concusso capite dentes colliderentur, et ad collum et maxillam percutitur ita fortiter, ut sonus percussionis ad aures meas perueniret.
Deinde iubente lictore se ipsum vestibus exuit columpnam sponte amplectens, reste ligatur, et flagellis aculeatis infixis aculeis et retractis non auellendo sed sulcando totum corpus eius laceratur.
Ad primum igitur ictum ego quasi corde percusso sensibus abducor et post tempus euigilans corpus eius laceratum video. Toto enim corpore nudus erat, cum flagellaretur.
Tunc unus inimicorum eius assistentibus lictoribus dicebat: 'Vultis hominem hunc sine iudicio occidere et causam mortis eius vestram facere?' Et hec dicens secuit ligamen.
Et iam solutus Filius meus a columpna primum ad vestimenta sua se conuertit, nec tamen spacium induendi se ei conceditur, sed adhuc dum traheretur, brachia sua manicis inseruit.
Vestigiaque eius, in quibus ad columpnam stetit, plena sanguine erant taliter, quod ego bene poteram omnia vestigia eius, que iuit, signo sanguinis agnoscere; qui tunc vultum suum sanguine manantem tunica detersit.
Deinde iudicatus crucem portans educitur, sed in via portans alius substituitur. Peruento igitur ad locum crucifixionis ecce malleus et quatuor claui acuti in promptu sunt; et mox iussus vestes deponit paruumque linteum verendis pretexit, quod et ipse inde quasi consolatus adiuit ad ligandum.
Erat autem crux fixa et brachia crucis eleuata ita, ut nodus crucis inter scapulas esset; nec ullum capiti reclinatorium crux prebebat et tabula tituli utrique brachio super caput eminenti affixa erat.
Ad crucem igitur iussus dorsum vertit et manum postulatus primum dexteram extendit, et inde alia manus ad reliquum cornu non attingens distenditur.
Et pedes similiter ad foramina sua distenduntur cancellatique et quasi infra a tibiis distincti duobus clauis ad crucis stipitem per solidum os, sicut et manus erant, configuntur.
Ad primum igitur ictum ferientis mallei ego ex dolore in extasi fio et euigilans Filium meum confixum video. Colloquentes eciam homines alterum ad alterum audio: 'Quid hic fecit: furtum, rapinam vel mendacium?' aliis respondentibus, quod mendax esset.
Et tunc corona spinea capiti eius artissime imposita fuit, que ad medium frontis descendebat plurimis riuis sanguinis ex aculeis infixis decurrentibus per faciem eius et crines et oculos et barbam replentibus, ut quasi nichil nisi sanguis totus videretur; nec ipse me astantem cruci videre potuit nisi sanguine expresso per ciliorum compressionem.
Me igitur discipulo suo commendata per eum, vocem ex ymo pectoris erecto capite, oculis in celum directis et lacrimantibus, emisit dicens: 'Deus, Deus meus, ut quid me dereliquisti?'
Quam vocem ego nunquam, donec ad celum veni, obliuisci potui, quam plus ex compassione mea quam sua permotus protulit.
Tunc color mortis in partibus, quibus pre sanguine aspici potuit, accessit, dentibus maxille inheserunt, coste vero attenuate dinumerari poterant, venter autem consumptis iam humoribus dorso applicatur.
Et iam in naribus attenuatis, cum cor prope scissionem esset, totum corpus eius contremuit et tunc barba eius super pectus cecidit. Tunc ego exinanita corrui in terram.
Igitur ore aperto, sicut iam exspirauerat, lingua, dentes et sanguis in ore ab aspicientibus videri poterant; et oculi semiclausi deorsum versi erant;
et corpus iam mortuum demissum pendebat, genibus autem in partem unam inclinatis pedes ad partem alteram super clauos quasi cardines declinabant.
Interim vero alii homines astantes quasi insultando dicebant: 'O, Maria, iam filius tuus mortuus est.' Alii, quibus alcior sensus erat, dicebant: 'O, domina, iam pena filii tui ad eternam suam gloriam soluta est.'
Modico autem tempore post aperto latere et extracta lancea sanguis in cuspide quasi brunei coloris apparuit, ut ex hoc intelligeretur cor transfixum. Que punctura cor meum penetrauit et mirum fuit, quod et ipsum non crepuit.
Aliis igitur recedentibus ego recedere non potui sed iam quasi consolata sum, quod corpus eius iam de cruce depositum contingere potui et in sinu recipere, vulnera explorare et extergere sanguinem.
Deinde os eius digiti mei clauserunt et oculos pariter composui. Brachia vero rigencia flectere non potui, ut se super pectus componerent sed super ventrem. Genua quoque extendi non potuerunt sed eminebant, sicut in cruce obriguerunt."
Item loquitur Mater: "Filium meum, qualis est in celo, videre non poteris sed, qualis erat secundum corpus in mundo, cognosce. Ipse enim tam pulcher facie erat, quod nullus videbat eum facie, qui non consolabatur in aspectu eius, eciam si precordialiter dolorem haberet.
Iusti vero spirituali consolacione consolabantur, sed et mali a tristicia seculi tanto tempore, quo eum videbant, releuabantur. Vnde et dolentes dicere consueuerunt: 'Eamus et filium Marie videamus, ut saltem tanto tempore releuemur.'
Anno igitur vicesimo etatis sue in magnitudine et fortitudine virili perfectus erat inter medios moderni temporis magnus, non carnosus sed neruis et ossibus corpulentus.
Capilli eius, supercilia et barba crocea brunea erant, longitudo barbe palme per transuersum manus, frons vero non prominens vel mersa sed recta, nasus equalis non paruus nec nimis magnus.
Oculi vero eius erant tam puri, quod eciam inimici eius delectabantur eum aspicere, labia non spissa sed clare rubencia. Mentum non erat prominens nec nimis longum sed pulchro moderamine venustum, maxille carnibus modeste plenus.
Color eius erat candidus claro rubeo permixtus, statura eius recta. Et in toto corpore suo nulla macula erat, sicut et illi testabantur, qui eum totaliter viderunt nudum et ad columpnam ligatum flagellabant.
Nunquam super eum vermis venit, non perplexitas aut immundicia in capillis."
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'verendis' refers to the private parts; 'quasi consolatus' suggests a small, human act of modesty that provided a moment of relief or dignity in the midst of the ordeal.
- 2 ↩The Latin 'nodus crucis' refers to the intersection of the vertical and horizontal beams.
- 3 ↩The Latin 'ciliorum compressionem' literally refers to the pressing of the eyelashes/eyelids, a detail emphasizing the intensity of the blood flow obscuring his vision.
- 4 ↩The term 'precordialiter' refers to the 'precordia', the region of the heart or chest, often used in medieval devotional language to denote the deepest, most interior seat of emotion or pain.
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