Verba angeli ad sponsam de iudicio Dei iusticie contra animam supradictam; et de satisfaccione fienda in hac vita pro ipsa existente in purgatorio.
The Justice of Purgatory
The angel explains the six stages of a soul's failure to live in grace, leading to its purgatorial judgment.
The angel speaks again: "You heard before that, because of the prayers of God's friends, he obtained divine compunction out of love for his sins shortly before death, and this compunction saved him from hell."1 Therefore, after death, God’s justice decreed that he should burn in purgatory for six ages—a duration spanning from the hour he first knowingly committed a mortal sin until the time he repented fruitfully through divine charity—unless he were to obtain help from the world and the friends of God. In the first stage, she didn't love God because of the death of His noble body, nor for the many kinds of suffering He endured—sufferings that Christ Himself bore for no other reason than the salvation of souls. The second stage was that she didn't love her own soul as a Christian ought, nor did she thank God for her baptism and for the fact that she wasn't a Jew or a pagan. The third stage was that she knew well what God commands us to do, yet she had little desire to actually carry it out. The fourth stage was that she knew full well what God forbade for those who wanted to reach heaven, yet she boldly acted against those things, following not the promptings of her conscience but her own carnal desires and will. The fifth stage was that he didn't make use of grace and confession as he should have, even though he had such a long time to do so. The sixth stage was that she cared little for the Body of Christ, unwilling to receive it frequently because she wouldn't refrain from sin, nor did she have the love to receive the Body of Christ until the very end of her life.
The Messenger of Mercy
A heavenly figure appears to the visionary to explain the divine economy of grace and the possibility of intercession.
After this, a figure appeared who looked like a very modest man; his clothes were white and shining like a priest's alb, and he was girded with a linen belt and a red stole around his neck and under his arms. He began his words this way: "You who see these things, pay attention, take note, and commit to your memory what you see and what is being said to you." For you who are living in the world cannot understand the power of God and his establishment of things before time in that way. It’s just like us who are with Him, because things that exist in God in a single instant cannot be grasped by you except through words and analogies suited to the way the world is ordered. I am, therefore, one of those whom this person, now judged to purgatory, honored with their gifts during their life. For this reason, God has given me, out of His grace, the power that if anyone is willing to do what I advise, then the soul of this person could be moved to a higher place. There, the soul attains its true form and feels no other pain than that of someone who has suffered a great illness: though all the pain is gone and he lies there like a man without strength, he still rejoices in the absolute certainty that he will be restored to life.
Five Remedies for the Soul
The angel prescribes five specific acts of charity and prayer to address the five distinct woes of the soul.
So, just as you heard this soul cry out 'woe' five times, I am offering it five consolations.2 The first woe was that it loved God only a little. Therefore, so that she may be freed from this, let thirty chalices be given for her soul, in which the Blood of God is offered and God Himself is more greatly honored. The second woe was that they didn't fear God.3 Therefore, to obtain absolution for this, let thirty priests be chosen—men considered devout by others—and let each of them say thirty Masses whenever they are able.4 Nine for the martyrs, nine for the confessors, nine for all the saints, the twenty-eighth for the angels, the twenty-ninth for holy Mary, and the thirtieth for the Holy Trinity. And let everyone pray intently for this soul, so that the anger of God may be calmed and His justice turned toward mercy. The third reason was for her pride and greed. Therefore, to obtain her release, let thirty poor people be received, whose feet should be washed with humility, and let them be given food, money, and clothing, so that they may be comforted. Both the one washing and those being washed should humbly ask God to forgive this soul for the greed and pride she committed, for the sake of His own humility and His bitter passion. The fourth was the lust of her own flesh. Therefore, if anyone were to give one virgin to a monastery, and likewise one widow and one girl into a true marriage, by providing them with enough of their goods, When they have enough for food and clothing, God will forgive the sin this soul committed in the flesh, because these are the three lives God ordained and chose to exist in the world.
Restoring Order through Penance
The angel addresses the gravity of illicit unions and the power of humble, anonymous penance to secure divine mercy.
The fifth woe was that she committed many sins by causing trouble for many people, specifically by using all her strength to do so. The two people mentioned earlier got married, even though they were just as closely related by blood as if they had been from the same immediate family. He pursued this union more for his own sake than for the sake of the kingdom, and he did it without the Pope’s authorization, in defiance of the holy Church’s commendable order. Because of this very thing, many have become martyrs, so that such things would not be tolerated against God, the holy Church, or Christian morality. If someone, therefore, wanting to clear away such a sin, were to go to the Pope and say, 'A certain person committed such a sin'—without naming the individual—'yet in the end they repented and received absolution without having made amends for the sin;' So, impose whatever penance you wish on me that I can bear, because I'm ready to make amends for that sin. Truly, if no greater penance were imposed on her than a single Our Father, it would still avail that soul for the lessening of her pain in purgatory."
Read the original Latin
Item loquitur angelus: "Tu prius audisti, quod propter preces amicorum Dei ille obtinuit diuinam contricionem ex caritate pro peccatis modicum ante mortem, que contricio separauit eum ab inferno.
Ideo post mortem iudicauit iusticia Dei, quod deberet per sex etates ardere in purgatorio -- quas habuit ab illa hora qua primum scienter mortale peccatum fecit, usque dum ex diuina caritate penituit fructuose -- nisi de mundo et amicis Dei auxilium obtineret.
Prima itaque etas fuit, quod non dilexit Deum propter nobilis corporis eius mortem et propter tribulaciones eius multiformes, quas et ipse Christus tolerauit, non propter aliam causam nisi propter salutem animarum.
Secunda etas fuit, quod non dilexit animam propriam, sicut Christianus debet, nec regraciabatur Deo pro baptismo suo et ex eo, quod non erat Iudeus vel paganus.
Tercia etas fuit, quod bene sciuit, que Deus precipit facere, et ad hec perficienda modicam habuit voluntatem.
Quarta etas fuit, quod bene sciuit, que Deus prohibuit hiis qui ad celum vellent ire, et audacter fecit contra illa, sequens non consciencie sue stimulos sed suum carnalem affectum et voluntatem.
Quinta etas fuit, quod non usus est gracia et confessione, sicut ad illum pertinebat, cum habuit tam longum tempus.
Sexta etas fuit, quod modicum curabat de corpore Christi, nolens illud frequenter recipere, quia a peccato continere noluit nec caritatem habuit recipere corpus Christi antequam in fine vite."
Post ista apparuit quidam quasi homo modestus valde in visu, cuius vestes erant albe et fulgide quasi alba sacerdotalis, cinctus zona linea et stola rubea ad collum et subtus brachia eius.
Qui inchoabat verba sua isto modo: "Tu, que hec vides, attende et nota et memorie tue commenda, que vides et que dicuntur tibi. Vos quippe, qui estis in mundo viuentes, non valetis eo modo intelligere potenciam Dei et eius ante tempora constitucionem
sicut nos, qui cum eo sumus, quia illa que apud Deum sunt in unico puncto, hec apud vos comprehendi non possunt nisi cum verbis et similitudinibus iuxta mundi disposicionem.
Ego itaque sum unus de illis quem iste homo iudicatus ad purgatorium honorauit cum donis suis in vita sua. Ideo dedit michi Deus ex gracia sua, quod si aliquis vellet facere que moneo, tunc anima istius transferri posset in sublimiorem locum,
ubi obtineat veram suam formam et nullam aliam penam senciat, nisi sicut ille pateretur, qui magnum morbum habuisset et omnes dolores abessent iaceretque quasi homo sine viribus, attamen ex hoc gauderet, quod pro certissimo sciret se ad vitam peruenturum.
Propterea sicut tu audisti, quod anima istius clamauit quinquies ve, ideo quinque dico consolatoria sibi. Primum ve fuit, quod Deum modicum dilexit.
Ideo ut ab isto liberetur, dentur pro anima eius XXX calices, in quibus Dei sanguis offeratur et ipse Deus magis honoretur.
Secundum ve fuit, quod non timuit Deum. Ideo pro isto absoluendo eligantur XXX sacerdotes, deuoti iudicio hominum, quorum quilibet dicat XXX missas, quando possunt:
IX de martiribus, IX de confessoribus, IX de sanctis omnibus, vicesimam octauam de angelis, vicesimam nonam de sancta Maria, tricesimam de sancta trinitate.
Et omnes intente orent pro anima istius, ut ira Dei mitigetur et iusticia eius ad misericordiam flectatur.
Tercium ve fuit pro superbia eius et cupiditate. Ideo pro isto absoluendo recipiantur XXX pauperes, quorum pedes lauentur cum humilitate et dentur eis cibaria et pecunia vestesque, quibus consolentur.
Quorum quilibet, tam qui lauat quam qui lauantur, roget Deum humiliter, ut propter humilitatem suam et amaram passionem suam dimittat anime istius cupiditatem et superbiam quam commisit.
Quartum ve fuit luxuria carnis sue. Ideo quicumque daret unam virginem in monasterium et unam viduam similiter unamque puellam in coniugium verum, dando cum eis tantum de bonis,
unde sufficienter ad victum et vestitum subsistant, tunc peccatum anime istius, quod in carne commiserat, dimittet Deus, quia hee sunt tres vite quas Deus in mundo iussit stare et elegit.
Quintum ve fuit, quod multa peccata commisit in plurimorum tribulacione, scilicet quod totas vires adhibuit,
quatenus illi duo prius nominati conuenirent in coniugium, qui non minus quadam consanguinitate erant coniuncti, quam si fuissent ambo de proxima parentela.
Et hanc coniunccionem procurauit plus propter se ipsum quam propter regnum et sine requisicione Pape contra laudabilem sancte Ecclesie disposicionem.
Pro isto itaque facto multi facti fuerunt martires, ne contra Deum et sanctam Ecclesiam seu Christianos mores talia tolerarentur.
Si quis igitur tale peccatum abolere volens iret ad papam dicens: 'Quidam homo tale peccatum commisit,' non exprimendo personam, 'attamen in fine penituit et obtinuit absolucionem non emendato peccato;
imponite igitur michi penitenciam qualemcumque vultis et tolerare possim, quia ego paratus sum pro eo peccatum illud emendare,'
vere, si non esset isti imposita maior penitencia nisi unum Pater Noster, valeret illi anime ad diminucionem pene in purgatorio."
Notes
- 1 ↩The term 'compunction' is used here to denote a sorrow for sin that is deeply pierced by divine grace, rather than mere human regret.
- 2 ↩The Latin 've' is rendered as 'woe' to maintain the sense of lamentation or judgment.
- 3 ↩The Latin 've' here functions as 'woe' or 'cause of grief'.
- 4 ↩The phrase 'deuoti iudicio hominum' suggests priests who have a reputation for piety among the faithful.
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