Christus loquitur sponse precipiens ei tria, scilicet quod nichil desideret nisi victum et vestitum, quod spiritualia non cupiat habere nisi ad voluntatem Dei, et de nullis contristetur nisi de peccatis suis et aliorum; dicit eciam, quod illi, qui in hac vita peccata sua non emendauerint, grauissime in diuino iudicio punientur.
The Threefold Command of Detachment
Christ instructs the soul on the necessity of detachment from worldly desires and the importance of compunction.
The Son speaks: "I command three things of you: first, that you desire nothing beyond food and clothing; second, that you do not crave spiritual things except in accordance with my will; and third, that you be saddened by nothing except your own sins and the sins of others." If you want to feel true sorrow, consider the severity of my judgment, which you can weigh and fear by looking at someone who has already been judged.
The Lesson of the Reluctant Monk
A cautionary tale of a monk who sought a life of ease but was purified through suffering and divine judgment.
Upon entering the monastery, he had three things in mind: first, that he might live without labor; second, that he might have his daily needs met without anxiety; and third, he thought, 'If the temptation of the flesh takes hold of me, I'll be able to escape it through some opportunity without any physical involvement.' Because of this, he was afflicted in three ways. Because he wanted to live without working, he was forced into labor by words and by blows. Second, he suffered from a lack of food and was left in nakedness. Third, he was so despised by everyone that he couldn't find any pleasure in luxury. When the time for profession arrived, he thought to himself: 'Since I won't be able to live in the world without labor,' he said, 'it's better for me to be in a monastery and labor for God.' Because of this, with his will cooperating, my mercy came to him alongside justice, so that, once purified, he might reach everlasting glory. As soon as he made his profession, he was struck with a severe illness and suffered so deeply that his eyes failed from the pain, he couldn't hear a thing, and he was left helpless in every limb, because he had wanted to live without labor. He suffered even greater deprivation than he had in the world; and although he had finer things, he couldn't eat them, and when his nature required them, he didn't have them. In this way, his nature was also worn away before death, so that he became like a useless log. When he died, he came to judgment like a thief, because he wanted to live the religious life according to his own will rather than to live better; yet, he should not be judged as a thief, because although he was like a child and foolish in his reason and conscience, he still had faith and hope in me, his God, and for that reason, he was judged with mercy. Because their sin couldn't be fully purged through bodily suffering, their soul is still being punished in purgatory as severely as if skin were stripped from bone and pressed in a vice, so that the marrow might be better extracted. What, then, will those people suffer who spend their whole lives in sin, and who have no desire for anything else, nor any wish to change? Woe to them, for they say to me: 'Why did God die, or what good is there in his death?' This is how they repay me: because I redeemed them, because I preserve them, and because I provide them with health and everything they need. And so, I will demand a reckoning from them because they broke the faith they vowed in baptism, and because they sin daily by disregarding my commands; I will not leave even the smallest thing they are bound to in their religious life unpunished.
The Necessity of Full Confession
A brother is guided by Lady Birgitta to confess a long-hidden sin, finding peace and mercy before his death.
This brother had a hidden sin he never wanted to confess. At Christ's command, Lady Birgitta approached him and said, "Repent more deeply, because you have something hidden in your heart that, as long as you keep it locked away, you won't be able to die." He replied to her that he had nothing that hadn't been made public in his confession. And she said, "Examine with what intention you entered the monastery and with what intention you've lived until now, and you'll find the truth in your heart." Then, bursting into tears, he said, "Blessed be God, who sent you to me!" Ever since you spoke from my secret, I've wanted to tell the truth to those who are listening. I have a certain secret in my heart that I never dared to reveal, nor was I able to. Whenever I felt sorrow for other sins, my tongue was almost always tied regarding this one, and a deep sense of shame kept me from confessing the hidden remorse of my heart. So, whenever I made my confession, I found a new way to end my words, saying: 'O Father, I confess to you my guilt for everything I have told you, and also for the things I haven't told you,' believing that through this conclusion all my secrets were forgiven. But now, my lady, if it pleased God, I would gladly tell the whole world the things I have kept hidden in my heart for so long. So he called for a confessor, poured out all those sins with tears, and died that same night.
Read the original Latin
Filius loquitur: "Tria precipio tibi, scilicet nichil desiderare preter victum et vestitum, secundo spiritualia non concupiscere nisi ad voluntatem meam, tercio de nullis contristari nisi de peccatis tuis et aliorum.
Si enim dolere volueris, considera districcionem iudicii mei, quam perpendere et timere poteris in quodam homine iam iudicato.
Qui ingressus monasterium tria habuit in animo, scilicet ut esset sine labore et ut haberet victualia sine sollicitudine; tercio cogitauit: 'Si apprehendet me temptacio carnis, euadere potero per aliquam occasionem sine commixtione.'
Propter que tripliciter afflictus est. Quia enim voluit esse sine labore, ideo verbis et verberibus coactus est ad laborem. Pro secundo paciebatur defectum in victualibus et nuditatem. Tercio fuit despectus ab omnibus in tantum, quod non poterat in luxuria delectari.
Instante vero tempore professionis cogitauit secum sic: 'Quia,' inquit, 'non potero esse in mundo sine labore, ideo melius est michi esse in monasterio et laborare pro Deo.'
Propterea cooperante tali voluntate venit ad eum misericordia mea cum iusticia, ut purgatus veniret ad gloriam sempiternam.
Nam facta professione statim infirmitate graui percussus est et in tantum tribulatus est, quod oculi pre dolore exierunt, aures nichil audierunt et in omnibus membris destitutus est, quia voluit sine labore esse.
Paciebatur et nuditatem maiorem quam in seculo, et cum haberet delicaciora, non poterat ea comedere, et cum natura illa requirebat, non ea habebat. Sic quoque natura eius consumpta fuit ante mortem, quod factus est quasi inhabilis truncus.
Mortuus vero venit ad iudicium quasi fur, quia voluit esse in religione ad voluntatem suam, non ad melius viuendum, sed tamen non debuit iudicari ut fur, quia licet puer et fatuus fuit in racione et consciencia, attamen fidem et spem habebat in me Deum suum, et ideo ad misericordiam iudicatus fuit.
Cuius peccatum, quia in pena corporali ad plenum purgari non potuit, ideo anima eius adhuc ita grauiter punitur in purgatorio ac si cutis extracto osse in prelo poneretur, ut medulla melius extorqueretur.
Quid igitur passuri sunt illi, qui omnem processum vite sue in peccato habent et nichil contrarii habent nec habere volunt? Ve eis, quia ipsi michi dicunt: 'Quare mortuus est Deus, aut que utilitas est in morte eius?' Hoc michi rependunt, quia redemi eos, quia seruo eos, quia do eis sanitatem et necessaria eorum.
Et ideo exquiram ab eis iudicium ex eo, quod fregerunt fidem, quam vouerunt in baptismo, et ex eo, quod cotidie delinquunt contempnendo mandata mea, nec aliquod minimum, ad quod obligantur in religione, dimittam impunitum."
Hic frater occultum habuit peccatum, quod nunquam voluit confiteri. Ad quem ex mandato Christi domina Birgitta accessit dicens: "Penitere," inquit, "attencius, quia est tibi aliquid occultum in corde, quod quamdiu clausum tenueris, mori non poteris."
Cui respondit ille se nichil habere, quod in penitencia non esset publicatum. Et illa: "Inquire," inquit, "qua intencione ingressus es monasterium et qua intencione hucusque vixisti, et inuenies in corde tuo veritatem."
Tunc ille resolutus in lacrimas ait: "Benedictus Deus, qui te misit ad me! Iam enim, ex quo tu ex secreto meo locuta es, dicere volo audientibus veritatem. Ego enim quoddam occultum habeo in corde, quod prodere nunquam audebam nec poteram.
Quia quociens penitui de aliis peccatis, de isto quasi semper lingua mea erat ligata et nimis eciam pudor inuasit me, ne confiterer absconsum remorsum cordis mei.
Ideo, quociens confessionem cordis mei feci, inueni michi nouam conclusionem verborum meorum dicens: 'O, pater, confiteor vobis culpam meam de omnibus, que vobis dixi, et eciam de aliis, que non dixi,' credens per hanc conclusionem omnia secreta mea dimitti.
Sed nunc, domina mea, si placeret Deo, libenter dicerem toti mundo ea, que in corde meo tanto tempore occultaui."
Vocato igitur confessore plene cum lacrimis omnia illa peccata explicauit et eadem nocte mortuus est.
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