Christus ostendit sponse, quod anima est vxor Dei, cuius domus est corpus. Quinque vero serui eius per quinque sensus et quinque ancille per quinque virtutes designantur. Dicit eciam Dominus, qualis debet esse bona anima et qualiter adornata. Ostendit insuper, pro quibus peccatis quedam anima vnius defuncti fuit ad purgatorium dampnata, et propter preces cuiusdam sancti dicit, quibus suffragiis poterit a penis liberari.
The Soul as the Bride of God
God describes the soul as His bride, dwelling in the house of the body, which must be kept noble and pure.
The Son speaks: "A certain master took a wife, for whom he built a house, providing her with servants, handmaids, and provisions; and then he himself went away on a journey." Eventually, the lord returned and heard that his wife had been badly slandered, his servants were disobedient, and his handmaids had been disgraced; angered by this, he handed his wife over to judgment, his servants to torturers, and his handmaids to the lash. I am God, the Lord who created the human soul by the power of my divinity and betrothed it to myself as a bride, longing to share with it the unspeakable sweetness of my divinity. I have betrothed her to myself in faith, love, and the perseverance of the virtues. I built a house for this soul when I gave her a mortal body, in which she might be tested and exercised in the virtues. This house—the body—has four characteristics: nobility, mortality, mutability, and corruptibility. The body is noble, then, because God created it and it shares in all the elements, and it will rise again on the last day to eternity. But it is ignoble compared to the soul, because it is made of earth, while the soul is spiritual. Therefore, because the body has a certain nobility, it must be adorned with virtues so that it can be glorified on the day of judgment. The body is also mortal, since it comes from the earth. Therefore, you must be strong against those pleasures which, if you give in to them, cause you to lose God. The body is also changeable, and for that reason, it must be steadied by the reason of the soul. For if it follows its own impulses, it is like the beasts. Fourth, the body is corruptible, so it must always be kept clean, because the devil desires the filth that flees from the protection of the angels. The soul, therefore, is the inhabitant of this house—that is, the body—in which it is sheltered as if in a home, and it is the soul that gives life to the body itself. For without the presence of the soul, the body itself is horrible, foul, and abominable to look at.
Guarding the Senses and Virtues
The soul is provided with five servants (the senses) and five handmaids (the virtues) to maintain order and holiness.
The soul also has five servants who look after the house for its comfort. The first servant, then, is sight, which should act like a good watchman, distinguishing between approaching enemies and friends. But enemies arrive when your eyes long for beautiful faces, the pleasures of the flesh, and things that are harmful and indecent. Friends truly come when it's a delight to see my passion, the works of my friends, and those things that belong to the honor of God. The second servant is hearing, which acts like a good doorkeeper that opens to friends and closes to enemies. It opens to friends when it finds joy in hearing the words of God, and the conversations and works of God's friends; but it closes to enemies when gossip, vulgarity, and empty talk are forbidden. The third servant is the sense of taste for eating and drinking. This servant acts like a good doctor who regulates food for necessity, rather than for excess or pleasure. After all, food should be taken as if it were medicine. Therefore, there are two things to consider regarding taste: namely, that you shouldn't consume too much food, nor too little. For if you eat too much, it causes physical weakness; but if you eat less than you need, it makes you weary in the service of God. The fourth servant is touch. Let this servant be like a good worker: working with his hands honestly to sustain the body, working prudently to tame the illicit desires of the flesh, and working with longing to attain eternal salvation. The fifth servant is the sense of smell for pleasant things. For the sake of an eternal reward, this servant can often go without. Therefore, this servant should act like a good steward, considering whether something is helpful to the soul, whether it's worth it, and whether the body can get along without it. If, however, the soul considers that the body can live and survive without delightful scents, no matter the circumstances, and chooses to abstain from them for God's sake, it earns a great reward from God; for that virtue is highly pleasing to Him, especially when the mind restrains itself even from things that are permitted. Since the soul has these servants, it must also have five handmaids, well-ordered, to guard their mistress and warn her of her dangers.1 The first should be fearful and diligent, so that the Bridegroom isn't offended by any transgression of his commands, and so that the mistress isn't found to be negligent. The second should be devout, so that she seeks nothing but the honor of the Bridegroom and the benefit of her mistress. The third should be modest and steady, so the mistress isn't carried away by joy, nor does she give in when facing adversity. The fourth should be patient and prudent, able to comfort the mistress against any evils that come her way. The fifth should be so modest and pure that nothing improper or careless is found in her thoughts, speech, or actions.
The Adornment of the Soul
God instructs the soul on how to remain beautiful through reason, love, and spiritual nourishment, warning against the disorder caused by fleshly indulgence.
Therefore, if the soul has a house like the one I’ve described, with servants so well-ordered and handmaidens so honest, it’s a shame if the soul itself, as the mistress, isn’t beautiful and devout. I also want to show you the adornment and beauty of the soul. The soul must also be reasonable in discerning what it owes to the body and what it owes to God, because it shares with the angels in reason and love. Therefore, treat your body like a donkey: give it only what it needs to live, keep it moving with work, and discipline it with fear and fasting, all while watching its impulses so you don't give in to the weakness of the flesh to the point where your soul sins against God. Second, the soul should be heavenly, because it bears the image of the heavenly God; therefore, it shouldn't crave or take pleasure in carnal things, lest it be conformed to the image of the devil himself. Third, the soul should be fervent in the love of God, because it's a sister to the angels and is immortal and eternal. Fourth, it should be beautiful in every virtue, because it will eternally see the beauty of God Himself. If, however, it gives in to the flesh, it will be eternally deformed. It’s also necessary for the mistress—that is, the soul—to have food. Its food is the memory of God's benefits, the consideration of His terrible judgments, and delight in His love and His commandments. And so, the soul must be extremely careful to ensure it's never ruled by the flesh, because then everything falls into disorder. At that point, the eyes want to see what's pleasing and harmful, the ears want to hear empty things; it even becomes pleasant to taste sweet things and to labor pointlessly for the sake of the world. Then reason is led astray, impatience takes control, devotion wanes, laxity grows, sin is taken lightly, and the things to come are ignored. Then spiritual food also becomes tasteless to the soul, and everything belonging to God feels like a burden. After all, how can the constant remembrance of God find delight there, where there is only the delight of the flesh? And how can a soul conform to the will of God when it finds pleasure only in worldly things? Or how can truth be distinguished from falsehood when everything that belongs to God feels like a burden? Therefore, regarding a soul so deformed, it can be said that the house of God has become a tributary to the devil and has paid him homage.
The Judgment of a Deceased Soul
The Lord reveals the nine rights by which the devil claims a soul and the nine corresponding torments it suffers in purgatory.
This is the state of the soul of the person who has died. For the devil possesses it by nine rights. First, because it willingly consented to sin. Second, because it despised the dignity and the promise of its baptism. Third, because they didn't care about the grace of their confirmation given by the bishop. Fourth, because they didn't pay attention to the time granted for penance. Fifth, because they didn't fear Me, God, in their actions, nor did they fear My judgments, but instead deliberately turned away from Me. Sixth, because they treated my patience with contempt, as if I didn't exist or as if I had no desire to judge. Seventh, because they cared less about my commandments and counsels than they did about human ones. Eighth, because they didn't thank God from the heart for His blessings, since their hearts were entirely set on the world. Ninth, because my Passion was as good as dead in their hearts. And that is why it now suffers nine torments. The first is that it doesn't endure its suffering out of love, but with a malicious will. The second is that it abandoned the Creator and loved the creature; therefore, every creature will loathe it. The third pain is sorrow, because the soul has left behind and lost everything it loved, and those very things are now against it. The fourth is burning heat and thirst, because it desired passing things more than eternal ones. The fifth is the terror and power of demons, because the soul refused to fear the kind God when it had the chance. The sixth is being deprived of the vision of God, because it failed to see God's patience during its own time. The seventh is despair of forgiveness, because the soul doesn't know whether it will be saved or not. The eighth is the remorse of its conscience, because it left good things undone and did evil. The ninth pain is cold and weeping, because it did not desire the love of God.
The Path to Deliverance
God outlines the nine ways a soul may be liberated from purgatory through faith, prayer, and the intercession of the Church.
However, because that soul had two good things—first, because it held faith in my passion and resisted, as much as it could, those who spoke against me; second, because it loved my mother and the saints and honored them with fasting—therefore, because of the prayers of my friends who are praying for it, I will tell you how it can be saved. First, she will be saved through my passion, because she held to the faith of my Church. Second, because of the offering of my body, for this is the antidote for souls. Third, because of the prayers of my chosen ones who are in heaven. Fourth, because of the good works done in the holy Church. Fifth, because of the prayers of good people living in the world. Sixth, because of alms given from justly acquired goods, and if anything known to be wrongly acquired is restored. Seventh, because of the labors of the righteous who travel as pilgrims for the salvation of souls. Eighth, because of the indulgences granted by the popes. Ninth, because of certain penances undertaken on behalf of souls, which they didn't complete while they were alive. Look, daughter: your patron, Saint Eric—whom this soul served—has earned this revelation for you, because a time is coming when the malice of this world will grow cold, and a zeal for souls will rise up in many hearts.
Read the original Latin
Filius loquitur: "Dominus quidam duxit vxorem, cui edificauit domum, constituens ei seruos et pedissequas et cibaria; et ipse peregre profectus est.
Tandem rediens dominus audiuit vxorem male diffamatam, seruos inobedientes et pedissequas dehonestatas, et iratus de hoc tradidit vxorem iudicio, seruos tortoribus et pedissequas flagellis.
Ego Deus sum dominus ille, qui animam hominis a deitatis mee potencia creatam desponsaui michi in vxorem, desiderans habere cum ea indicibilem dulcedinem deitatis mee.
Desponsaui autem eam in fide et dileccione et perseuerancia virtutum. Huic autem anime edificaui domum, quando ei dedi corpus mortale, in quo probaretur et in virtutibus exerceretur.
Domus vero hec, idest corpus, quatuor proprietates habet, scilicet nobilitatem, mortalitatem, mutabilitatem et corruptibilitatem.
Nobile ergo est corpus, quia a Deo creatum est et participacionem habet cum omnibus elementis, et resurget in die nouissimo ad eternitatem. Sed ignobile est respectu anime, quia de terra est et anima spiritualis.
Ergo, quia corpus quandam nobilitatem habet, ideo debet ornari virtutibus, vt possit in die iudicii glorificari. Est eciam corpus mortale, quia de terra est.
Ideo oportet, quod forte sit contra delectamenta, quibus si succubuerit, amittit Deum. Corpus quoque mutabile est et ideo stabiliri debet racione anime.
Quia si sequitur motus suos, simile est iumentis. Quarto corpus corruptibile est et ideo semper sit mundum, quia dyabolus desiderat immundiciam, que refugit custodiam angelorum.
Habitatrix ergo huius domus, scilicet corporis, est anima, in quo quasi in domo tegitur et viuificat ipsum corpus. Sine presencia enim anime corpus ipsum horridum est et fetidum et abhominabile ad intuendum.
Habet enim eciam anima seruos quinque, qui deseruiunt domui ad solamen. Primis igitur seruus est visus, qui debet esse tamquam bonus speculator, qui discernat inter hostes venientes et amicos.
Tunc autem veniunt hostes, quando oculi desiderant videre pulchras facies et delectabilia carnis et ea, que nociua sunt et inhonesta.
Tunc vero veniunt amici, quando delectat videre passionem meam et opera amicorum meorum et ea, que sunt honoris Dei. Secundus seruus est auditus, qui est quasi bonus hostiarius, qui aperit amicis et claudit inimicis.
Tunc autem aperit amicis, quando delectat audire verba Dei et sermones et opera amicorum Dei; claudit vero hostibus, quando detracciones et scurrilia et inania prohibentur.
Tercius seruus est gustus comedendi et bibendi. Hic est quasi bonus medicus, qui cibaria ordinat ad necessitatem, non ad superfluitatem et delectacionem. Nam alimenta sumenda sunt quasi medicamenta.
Ideo duo consideranda sunt in gustu, scilicet quod cibus nec multus sumatur nec modicus. Si enim multus cibus sumitur, generat infirmitatem; si vero minus debito sumitur, facit tedium in seruicio Dei.
Quartus seruus est tactus. Hic sit quasi bonus laborator, laborando manibus iuste ad sustendandum corpus, laborando prudenter ad domandum illicita carnis, laborando desideranter ad consequendam eternam salutem.
Quintus seruus est odoratus delectabilium. Hic propter mercedem eternam in multis potest abesse. Ideo hic seruus sit quasi bonus dispensator cogitando, si expedit anime, si meretur, si sine eo subsistere potest corpus.
Si vero considerat, quod corpus sine delectabili odoratu, in quibuscumque sit, stare potest et viuere et abstinet se ab eo propter Deum, meretur a Deo magnam mercedem, quia virtus illa multum est placita Deo, quando eciam a licitis animus cohibetur.
Cum ergo anima tales habet seruos, debet eciam habere pedissequas quinque compositas, que dominam custodiant et incautent eam de periculis suis.
Prima sit timorosa et studiosa, ne sponsus offendatur in transgrediendo mandata eius aut ne domina negligens inueniatur. Secunda sit deuota, vt nichil querat nisi honorem sponsi et domine sue vtilitatem.
Tercia sit modesta et stabilis, vt domina nec in gaudio dissoluatur, nec in aduersis succumbat. Quarta sit paciens et prudens, que dominam contra mala adueniencia valeat consolari.
Quinta sit sic pudica et casta, quod nec in cogitatu nec in locucione aut operacione aliquid indecorum vel remissum inueniatur.
Igitur, si anima talem habet domum, sicit dixi, ita compositos seruuos et pedissequas honestas, turpe est, si anima ipsa, que domina est, non sit pulchra et deuota. Ideo ostendere tibi volo eciam anime ornatum et decorem.
Ipsa quoque debet esse racionabilis in discernendo, quid debet corpori et quid Deo, quia participat cum angelis in racione et dileccione.
Ideo habeat carnem sicut asinum, dando ei necessaria vite moderata, excitando eam labore, corripiendo timore et abstinencia et obseruando motus eius, ne sic condescendat infirmitati carnis, quod anima peccet contra Deum.
Secundo anima sit celestis, quia ymaginem habet celestis Dei, et ideo numquam sapiat nec delectetur in carnalibus, ne ymagini ipsius dyaboli conformetur.
Tercio sit feruens caritate Dei, quia soror est angelorum et immortalis et eterna. Quarto sit pulchra in omni virtute, quia pulchritudinem ipsius Dei eternaliter videbit.
Si vero consentit carni, eternaliter erit deformis. Eciam oportet dominam, idest animam, habere cibum. Cuius cibus est memoria beneficiorum Dei, consideracio terribilium iudiciorum eius et delectacio in caritate et mandatis eius.
Et ideo anima diligentissime obseruet, vt numquam regatur a carne, quia tunc omnia deordinantur. Tunc eciam oculi videre volunt placencia et noxia, aures audire inania; placet eciam gustare suauia et laborare inaniter propter mundum.
Tunc eciam racio seducitur, dominatur impaciencia, minuitur deuocio, accrescit remissio, leuigatur culpa et futura non attenduntur.
Tunc eciam vilescit ei cibus spiritualis, et omnia, que Dei sunt, videntur onerosa. Quomodo enim delectari potest ibi iugis memoria Dei, vbi delectacio est carnis?
Aut quomodo anima conformare se valet voluntati Dei, vbi sola ei placent carnalia? Aut quomodo discerni potest verum a falso, vbi sunt ei omnia grauia, que Dei sunt?
Ideo de tali anima sic deformata dici potest, quod domus Dei facta est tributaria dyaboli et ei homagiata.
Talis enim est anima istius defuncti, quem cernis. Nam dyabolus eam nouem iuribus possidet. Primo, quia voluntarie consensit peccato. Secundo, quia spreuit dignitatem et promissum baptismi sui.
Tercio, quia non curauit de gracia confirmacionis sue ab episcopo data. Quarto, quia non attendebat tempus penitencie datum. Quinto, quia non timuit me Deum in operibus suis nec iudicia mea sed ex idustria recessit a me.
Sexto, quia contempsit pacienciam meam, quasi non essem vel quasi quod iudicare nollem. Septimo, quia de preceptis et consiliis meis minus curauit quam de humanis.
Octauo, quia non regraciabatur Deo ex corde pro beneficiis suis, quia cor suum totum erat in mundo. Nono, quia passio mea tota erat quasi mortua in corde suo.
Et ideo nunc patitur nouem penas. Prima est, quia omnia, que patitur, non ex caritate illa patitur sed cum mala voluntate. Secunda est, quia reliquit creatorem et amauit creaturam; ideo omnis creatura abhominabitur eum.
Tercia pena est dolor, quia reliquit et amisit omnia, que amauit, et illa sunt contra eum. Quarta est ardor et sitis, quia plus desiderabat peritura quam eterna.
Quinta est terror et potestas demonum, quia noluit timere benignum Deum, cum valebat. Sexta est carencia visionis Dei, quia non vidit tempore suo pacienciam Dei.
Septima est desperacio de venia, quia nescit, vtrum saluabitur an non. Octaua est remorsus consciencie sue, quia bona omisit et fecit mala. Nona pena est frigus et fletus, quia non desiderabat caritatem Dei.
Verumptamen, quia anima ista duo bona habuit - vnum, quia habuit fidem passionis mee et restitit, quantum potuit, contra eos, qui obloquebantur michi; secundum est, quod dilexit matrem meam et sanctos et ieiuniis eos honorabat - ideo propter preces amicorum meorum orancium pro ea dicam tibi, quomodo saluari possit.
Primo saluabitur propter passionem meam, quia tenuit fidem Ecclesie mee. Secundo propter immolacionem corporis mei, quia hoc est antidotum animarum. Tercio propter preces electorum meorum, qui sunt in celo.
Quarto propter opera bona, que fiunt in Ecclesia sancta. Quinto propter preces bonorum viuencium in mundo. Sexto propter elemosinas factas de bonis iuste acquisitis et si restituuntur ea, que sciuntur male acquisita.
Septimo propter labores iustorum, qui pro salute animarum peregrinantur. Octauo propter indulgencias a pontificibus concessas. Nono propter penitencias aliquas pro animabus assumptas, quas viuentes non compleuerunt.
Ecce filia, hanc reuelacionem promeruit tibi patronus tuus sanctus Ericus, cui hec anima seruiuit, quia veniet tempus, quo refrigescet malicia terre huius et zelus animarum in multorum cordibus consurget."
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin 'incautent' is a rare or non-standard form, likely derived from 'incautus' (unwary/careless), here used as a transitive verb meaning 'to make aware of danger' or 'to warn'.
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