Christus loquens sponse dicit ei, quod anima deuota debet habere sicut sponsa os delectabile, aures mundas, oculos pudicos et cor stabile, exponens omnia dicta membra spiritualiter valde pulchre.
The Bride's Mouth: A Mind of Love
Christ instructs the soul to cultivate a mind that is pure, fragrant with the memory of His Passion, and burning with active love.
The Son says, "Like a bride, you must have a delightful mouth, clean ears, modest eyes, and a steady heart." The soul must be prepared in the same way. For its mouth is a clean mind, so that nothing may enter it except what pleases me. Let the mouth—that is, the mind—also be delightful, through the fragrance of good thoughts and the diligent remembrance of my Passion. The mind, too, should be like a mouth that is flushed—that is, burning with divine love—so that it puts into action what it understands. Just as no one wants to kiss a pale mouth, a soul doesn't please me at all unless it performs good works out of a good will alone.
The Palate and Tongue: Fear and Mercy
The soul is taught to balance the fear of judgment and death with the constant, grateful consideration of God's mercy.
The soul must also have two lips, just like a mouth—that is, two affections: one by which it longs for heavenly things, and another by which it scorns all earthly things. The lower palate of the soul should be the fear of death, by which the soul is separated from the body. And what state should it be in then? But the upper palate should be the trembling fear of the terrible judgment. The soul's tongue should move between these two things. And what is the soul's tongue, if not the frequent consideration of my mercy? Therefore, when you consider my mercy—how I created and redeemed you, and how I endure you—think also of how strict a judge I am, who leaves nothing unpunished, and think of how uncertain the hour of death is.1
Eyes, Ears, and a Steady Heart
The soul must maintain spiritual vigilance through modest eyes, clean ears, and a heart that remains steadfast against worldly scorn and fear.
Keep the eyes of your soul simple, like a dove watching for a hawk by the water. In other words, keep your thoughts fixed on my love and my passion, and on the deeds and words of my chosen ones, so you can understand how the devil might try to deceive you and never feel too secure in yourself. Guard your ears, so you aren't drawn into listening to vulgar talk or things meant only for a laugh. Keep your heart steady so you don't fear death; by holding to the faith, don't be ashamed of the world's scorn, and don't be troubled by physical loss for my sake, for I am your God.
Read the original Latin
Filius loquitur: "Tu debes habere sicut sponsa os delectabile, aures mundas, oculos pudicos et cor stabile. Sic et anima debet esse disposita. Eius enim os est mens munda, ut ibi nichil intret, nisi quod michi placet. Sit quoque os, id est mens delectabilis ex odore bone cogitacionis ex sedula memoria mee passionis.
Sit eciam mens sicut os rubicunda, id est feruens diuina caritate, ut que intelligit operetur. Nam sicut os pallidum nullus osculari desiderat, sic nec anima, nisi faciat bona opera ex bona voluntate sola, nequaquam michi placet.
Mens eciam sicut os habere debet duo labia, id est duas affecciones: unam, qua desideret celestia, aliam, qua contempnat omnia terrena. Palatum vero anime inferius debet esse timor mortis, qua separatur anima a corpore. Et qualis tunc teneretur esse constituta? Palatum autem superius sit tremor iudicii terribilis.
Inter hec duo lingua anime versari debet. Que vero est lingua anime nisi frequens consideracio misericordie mee? Ergo, quando consideras misericordiam meam, quomodo te creaui et redemi, quomodo te pacior, cogita eciam, quam districtus iudex sim, qui nichil dimitto impunitum, et cogita, quam incerta est hora mortis.
Oculi anime sint simplices sicut columbe, que iuxta aquas circumspicit accipitrem; id est cogitacio tua semper sit circa caritatem et passionem meam et circa opera et verba electorum meorum, in quibus intelliges, quomodo te Dyabolus decipere poterit, ut nunquam de te sis secura.
Aures tue sint munde, ut scilicet non affectes audire scurrilia vel risu digna. Cor vero sit stabile, ut non timeas mortem; seruando fidem non erubescas de obprobrio mundi, non turberis de dampno corporali propter me, Deum tuum."
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'pacior' here is understood as 'endure' or 'bear with' in the sense of divine patience toward the soul.
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