Caput 8
The Inquirer's Questions
A seeker questions the Judge regarding the hidden nature of divine glory, the saints, the pains of hell, and the demons.
The same religious man who appeared before in his own rank appeared again, saying: "O Judge, I ask you: Why do you allow gods to be placed in temples and to receive honor just as you do, when your kingdom is nobler than everything else?" Also, why don't you make your glory visible to people in this life, so they might desire it more fervently? Also, since your saints and angels are nobler and holier than all other creatures, why don't people see them in this life? Also, since the pains of hell are incomparably horrible, why don't you make them visible to people in this life, so that they might be avoided? "Also, since demons are incomparably deformed and horrible, why don't they appear visibly to people, because then no one would follow them or consent to them?"
The Justice of Hidden Things
The Judge explains that human free will and the necessity of faith require that God remain hidden from those who choose worldly idols.
The Judge replied, "Friend, I am God, the creator of all things, and I do no more injustice to the wicked than to the good, because I am justice itself." Therefore, it is my justice that entry into heaven must be obtained through steady faith, reasonable hope, and fervent love. Therefore, whatever you love more and more fervently in your heart, that is what you think about most often and what you worship most diligently. It’s the same with the gods placed in temples; even though they aren’t gods or creators—since there is only one Creator, namely Me, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—they are still loved more by the people who own those temples and by others than I am, because they want to prosper in this world, not to live with Me. If I were to annihilate the things that people love more than me, and allow myself to be worshipped against their will, I would certainly be doing them an injustice by taking away their free will and their desires. Because they don't have faith in me and find something else in their hearts more delightful than me, I reasonably allow them to carry out in action what they love and desire in their minds. Because they love the creature more than me, the Creator—whom they could reasonably know through signs and deeds if they were willing to use their reason—they are blinded; therefore, their creature is cursed, and their idols are cursed. They will be put to shame and judged for their own foolishness, because they refuse to understand how sweet I am—I, their God, who created and redeemed humanity out of burning love.
The Mercy of Concealment
The Judge reveals that the glory of heaven and the horrors of hell are hidden to protect human frailty and to ensure that love, rather than fear, remains the motive for faith.
As for why my glory isn't seen, I answer: My glory is ineffable, and in its sweetness and goodness, it is beyond all comparison. If my glory were seen as it truly is, a human body, being corruptible, would weaken and fail, just like the senses of those who saw my glory on the mountain; the body would also fail from the joy of the soul, becoming unable to work or perform physical tasks.1 Because there’s no entry into heaven without the labor of love, and so that faith may have its reward and the body may be capable of labor, my glory is hidden for a time, so that through desire and faith it may be seen more happily and more fully forever. As for why the saints aren't seen as they truly are, I answer: if my saints were seen openly and spoke visibly, they would be honored just as I am, and then faith would have no merit. The frailty of the flesh wouldn't be enough to see them, and my justice doesn't want such great brightness to be looked upon by such great frailty. This is why my saints aren't heard or seen as they truly are: so that all honor may be given to me, and so that you may know there is no one who should be loved above me. However, if my saints do sometimes appear, they aren't seen in the form of glory in which they truly exist, but rather in a form that hides the fullness of their power—a form in which they can be seen without disturbing your physical senses. As for why the pains of hell aren't seen, I answer: if they were seen as they truly are, a person would be completely frozen by fear and would seek heavenly things out of fear, not out of love. And because no one should seek heavenly joy out of fear of punishment, but rather out of divine love, these punishments are hidden for now. Just as the good and holy cannot taste that ineffable joy until the soul is separated from the body, neither can the wicked feel the pains of hell; instead, they only experience them once the soul is separated from the body—experiencing through suffering what they refused to consider through understanding when they had the chance. As for why demons don't appear in visible form, I answer: if their horrific deformity were seen as it truly is, the soul of the one seeing them would be driven out of its senses by the very sight, the whole body would shake like someone trembling, the heart itself would be completely emptied by fear and die, and the feet would no longer be able to support the rest of the body. Therefore, so that the soul may remain steady in its senses, the heart may stay alert in my love, and the body may be strong enough to labor in my service, the deformity of demons is hidden—and so that their malice and efforts may be restrained.
Read the original Latin
Item apparuit religiosus qui supra in gradu suo dicens: "O iudex, quero a te: Cur permittis, quod dii ponantur in templis et habere honorem sicut tu ipse, cum regnum tuum nobilius sit super omne?"
"Item cur non facis videri ab hominibus in hac vita gloriam tuam, vt feruencius desideretur ab eis?"
"Item, cum sancti et angeli tui nobiliores et sancciores sint super omnes creaturas, cur non videntur ab hominibus in hac vita?"
"Item, cum inferni pene sunt incomparabiliter horribiles, cur non facis videri eas ab hominibus in hac vita, vt fugiantur?"
"Item, cum demones incomparabiliter sint deformes et horribiles, cur non apparent visibiles hominibus, quia tunc nullus eos sequeretur nec consentiret eis?"
Respondit iudex: "Amice, ego sum Deus creator omnium, qui non maiorem iniuriam malo facio quam bono, quia ipsa iusticia sum.
Ergo iusticia mea est, quod ingressus in celum optineri debet per stabilem fidem et racionabilem spem et feruentem caritatem.
Itaque omne, quod in corde plus et feruencius diligitur, hoc cogitatur frequencius et adoratur diligencius.
Sic et dii, qui ponuntur in templis, licet non sint dii nec creatores, quia non est nisi vnus solus creator, scilicet ego Deus Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus, attamen a possessoribus templorum et hominibus magis diliguntur quam ego, vt prosperentur in mundo, non vt viuant mecum.
Ideo, si ego annichilarem ea, que homines plus me diligunt, et me contra voluntatem eorum adorari permitterem, facerem vtique eis iniuriam, auferendo eis liberum arbitrium et desiderium eorum.
Ideo, quia in me non habent fidem et in eorum corde est aliquid delectabilius me, propterea racionabiliter permitto, vt, quod diligunt et appetunt mente, et opere exterius perficiant.
Et quia creaturam plus quam me creatorem diligunt, quem ex signis et factis probabiliter cognoscere possunt, si racione vti vellent, ideo, quia excecati sunt, maledicta est creatura eorum et maledicta sunt ydola ipsorum.
Et ipsi confundentur et diiudicabuntur propter stulticiam suam, quia intelligere nolunt, quam dulcis sum ego eorum Deus, qui ex caritate feruenti hominem creaui et redemi."
"Item, cur non videtur gloria mea, respondeo: Gloria mea ineffabilis est et suauitate et bonitate incomparabilis omnibus.
Si itaque gloria mea, sicut est, videretur, corpus ipsum hominis corruptibile infirmaretur et deficeret sicut sensus illorum, qui in monte gloriam meam viderunt; corpus quoque pre leticia anime a labore deficeret et ad exercicia corporalia non sufficeret.
Propterea, quia sine labore caritatis non est ingressus in celum et vt fides habeat premium et corpus ad laborem sit sufficiens, ideo gloria mea occultatur ad tempus, vt ex desiderio et fide eo felicius et copiosius perpetuo videatur."
"Item, cur sancti non videntur, sicut sunt, respondeo: Si sancti mei viderentur aperte et visibiliter loquerentur, honor eis impenderetur sicut michi et tunc fides non haberet meritum.
Nec fragilitas carnis sufficeret ad videndum eos sed nec iusticia mea vult, vt tanta claritas a tanta fragilitate conspiciatur.
Ideo sancti mei non audiuntur nec videntur, vt sunt, quatenus omnis honor exhibeatur michi et vt homo sciat neminem supra me esse diligendum.
Verumptamen si sancti mei quandoque apparent, non tamen in ea forma glorie, in qua veraciter sunt, videntur sed in ea forma occultata plenitudine virtutis, in qua videri absque perturbacione corporalis intelligencie possunt."
"Item, cur pene inferni non videntur, respondeo: Si pene inferni, sicut sunt, viderentur visibiliter, homo ex timore totus frigesceret et celestia ex timore, non ex amore inquireret.
Et quia nullus appetere debet celeste gaudium ex timore pene sed ex caritate diuina, ideo nunc occultantur pene.
Quippe sicut boni et sancti illud ineffabile gaudium ante separacionem corporis et anime, quale sit, degustare nequeunt, sic nec mali penas, sed separata anima a corpore senciunt experiencia, que noluerunt probare intelligencia, cum potuerunt."
"Item, cur demones non apparent visibiles, respondeo: Si eorum horribilis deformitas videretur, vt est, anima videntis ex ipso visu extra sensum fieret corpusque totum quasi hominis tremuli contremisceret, cor eciam totum timore exinanitum moreretur nec pedes sufficerent sustentare membra reliqua.
Ideo, vt anima in suo sensu stabilis permaneat corque inuigilet in amore meo et corpus ad laborandum in seruicio meo sufficiat, occultatur demonum deformitas, et vt restringatur demonum malicia et conatus."
Notes
- 1 ↩The reference to those who saw the glory on the mountain alludes to the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:6), where the disciples fell on their faces, overcome by the vision.
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