Christus dicit sponse oranti pro quodam rege, quod conetur in regno suo cum consilio spiritualium iustorum, sapientum virorum reparare muros Iherusalem, idest Ecclesie et fidei catholice, qui quasi iam corruerunt spiritualiter. Cuius murus per communitatem christianorum et vasa templi per clerum et religiones designantur.
The Threefold Ruin of the Church
Christ laments the collapse of the Church's spiritual walls, the profanation of its sacred vessels, and the neglect of his commandments.
The Son speaks: "Let the one who has been made my member after being a member of the devil work just as those did who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, who labored to restore the destroyed law, and who gathered up the stolen vessels of the house of God and returned them to their original place." I truly grieve over three things: first, because the wall of Jerusalem has been destroyed. What is the wall of Jerusalem—that is, of my Church—if not the bodies and souls of Christians? For it is from these that my Church must be built. The wall of the Church has collapsed because everyone seeks to carry out their own will instead of mine. They turn their eyes away from me and refuse to hear me calling out to them. My words are unbearable to them, my works seem like vanity, the thought of my passion is repulsive, and my life seems intolerable—and to them, impossible to imitate. Second, I complain that the instruments of my house have been carried off to Babylon.1 And what are the instruments and various vessels of my Church, if not the conduct and way of life of the clergy and those in religious life? The good order and beauty of these things have been taken from my temple to serve the pride of the world and to satisfy personal will and pleasure. My wisdom and teaching are empty to them, and my commandments are a burden. They nullify the promise made to me, they’ve profaned my law and the constitutions of my friends—their own predecessors—and they follow their own inventions, holding them up as law. Third, I complain that the law of my ten commandments has been lost. Doesn't my Gospel say that when someone asked me, 'Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?'✦ I answered him, 'Keep my commandments!'✦ — These are what are now lost and neglected.
A Call to Restoration and Counsel
Christ instructs the king to seek the counsel of the wise and righteous to rebuild the Church and restore the sanctity of the clergy and laity.
Therefore, the king you pray for must gather men who are spiritual and wise with my wisdom. He should consult with those who possess my Spirit, asking them and diligently inquiring according to their counsel how the wall of my Church may be rebuilt among Christians, how honor may be shown to God, how true faith may flourish again, how divine love may burn, and how my Passion may be imprinted upon the hearts of men. He should also ask how the vessels of my house might be restored to their original state—namely, that the clergy and religious, having left behind pride, might embrace humility again; that the incontinent might love chastity; and that the greedy and worldly might abstain from an excessive appetite for the world, so that they may be able to shine for others. Let him also work with strength and wisdom, so that my commands may be held in deeper love. Let him gather together righteous Christians, so that with them he may rebuild what has been torn down. Truly, my Church has drifted so far from me that, if it weren't for the prayers of my Mother intervening, there would be no hope of mercy. But among all the ranks of the laity, soldiers have apostatized more than the rest. The danger and the punishment of these apostates were shown to you before.
Read the original Latin
Filius loquitur: "Is, qui factus est membrum meum de diaboli membro, laboret sicut hii, qui reedificabant muros Iherusalem, qui pro legis destructe reparacione laborabant, qui vtensilia domus Dei abducta congregabant et in locum pristinum restituebant.
Vere conqueror de tribus: primo, quia murus Iherusalem destructus est. Quis est murus Iherusalem, idest ecclesie mee, nisi corpora et anime christianorum? Ex hiis enim edificari debet ecclesia mea.
Cuius murus ecclesie nunc corruerat, quia voluntatem suam omnes perficere querunt et non meam. Auertunt oculos suos a me et nolunt me clamantem audire.
Verba mea sunt eis importabilia, opera mea vana, passio mea abhominabilis ad cogitandum, vita mea intollerabilis et videtur eis impossibilis ad imitandum.
Secundo conqueror, quod instrumenta domus mee asportata sunt in Babilonem. Que sunt instrumenta ecclesie mee et vasa diuersa nisi disposicio et conuersacio clericorum et religiosorum?
Horum bona disposicio et ornatus asportatus est a templo meo ad superbiam mundi et ad voluntatem et delectacionem propriam.
Sapiencia mea et doctrina est eis vana, mandata mea onerosa, promissionem michi factam irritant, legem meam et constitucionem amicorum meorum, predecessorum suorum, prophanauerunt et suas adinuenciones faciunt et habent pro lege.
Tercio conqueror, quod lex decem mandatorum meorum perdita est. Numquid non legitur in euangelio meo, quod, cum vnus interrogaret me dicens: 'Magister, quid faciam, vt vitam eternam habeam?' , respondi ei: 'Serua mandata mea!' ? Que iam nunc perdita et neglecta sunt.
Ideo rex iste, pro quo tu oras, debet congregare viros spirituales sapientes sapiencia mea et eos, qui Spiritum meum habent, interroget et inquirat diligenter secundum consilium eorum, quomodo murus ecclesie mee reedificetur in christianis et honor Deo exhibeatur, fides recta refloreat, caritas diuina ferueat et passio mea in corde hominum imprimatur.
Inquirat eciam, quomodo vasa domus mee restituantur in pristinum statum, scilicet vt clerici et religiosi relicta superbia resumant humilitatem, incontinentes diligant castitatem, cupidi et mundiales abstineant a nimio mundi appetitu, vt lucere possint aliis.
Laboret eciam fortiter et sapienter, vt mandata mea attencius diligantur. Congreget iustos christianos, vt cum eis dirupta reedificet.
Vere ecclesia mea nimis longe recessit a me, in tantum quod, nisi preces matris mee interuenirent, non esset spes misericordie.
Sed inter omnes status laycorum milites plus aliis apostatauerunt. Quorum apostatancium periculum et pena tibi prius ostensa fuerunt."
Scripture echoes
Notes
- 1 ↩The reference to Babylon here functions as a metaphor for the world or a state of spiritual captivity, consistent with the broader context of the text.
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