Christus dicit sponse, quod, qui scienter detinent male acquisita, non intrabunt in requiem, donec restituantur, exemplo vnius anime, que diu in purgatorio fuerat; qui vero ignoranter, non punientur. Declarat eciam de elemosinis bonorum male acquisitorum, an proficiant largientibus.
The Burden of Unjust Gain
A soul in purgatory reveals that restitution is necessary for liberation from the consequences of ill-gotten wealth.
A person who had been in purgatory for forty years appeared to the bride and said, "I have been severely punished in purgatory for a long time, both for my sins and for those worldly goods you know about."1 I often heard during my lifetime that those goods had been unjustly acquired by my parents, but I didn't care, nor did I make restitution. But when, through God’s inspiration, some of my relatives who had a conscience about it returned those same goods to their rightful owners after my death, I was then freed from purgatory through that act and the prayers of the holy Church.
The Justice of God
Christ clarifies that those who knowingly hold ill-gotten gains are barred from rest, while those who act in ignorance or with a sincere will to restore are treated with mercy.
Then Christ said to his bride, "What are those people thinking—those who hold onto ill-gotten gains, knowing full well what they're doing?" Do they really think they'll enter into my rest? They certainly won't, any more than Lucifer will. But alms given from ill-gotten gains won't help them; instead, they'll be turned to the comfort of the true owners to whom those goods belonged. Those, however, who possess ill-gotten goods in ignorance won't be punished. But those who have the most perfect will to make restitution and do as much as they can in deed don't lose heaven, because God, on account of their good will, will make up for it either in this life or in the next.
Read the original Latin
Quidam, qui quadraginta annis in purgatorio fuerat, apparuit sponse dicens: "Ego propter peccata mea et propter illa bona temporalia tibi nota diu plagatus fui in purgatorio.
Nam audiui frequenter in vita, quod iniuste a meis parentibus quesita fuerunt illa bona, sed ego non curabam nec restituebam.
Cum autem inspirante Deo quidam de parentibus meis habentes conscienciam post mortem meam restituerunt bona eadem dominis suis, tunc ego ex hoc et oracionibus Ecclesie sancte sum liberatus de purgatorio."
Deinde dixit Christus ad sponsam: "Quid credunt homines male fidei possessores, qui detinent iniuste optenta scienter? Numquid quod intrabunt in requiem meam? Certe non magis quam Lucifer.
Sed nec elemosine de male acquisitis proderunt eis, sed proderunt et conuertentur ad consolacionem verorum dominorum, quorum illa bona fuerunt. Illi vero, qui habent ignoranter male acquisita, non punientur.
Sed nec illi amittunt celum, qui voluntatem perfectissimam habent restituendi et faciunt opere, quantum possunt, quia Deus propter voluntatem bonam supplebit vel in presenti seculo vel in futuro."
Notes
- 1 ↩The term 'plagatus' (literally 'struck with blows' or 'wounded') is rendered here as 'severely punished' to capture the sense of purgatorial suffering in a natural, modern register.
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