Visio, quam habuit domina Birgitta in Bethleem, vbi virgo Maria ostendit ei totum modum sui partus, qualiter ipsa peperit gloriosum filium suum, sicut ipsa virgo promiserat eidem domine Birgitte in Roma, antequam iret ad Bethleem per XV annos, vt patet in primo capitulo istius libri vltimi.
Preparation for the Holy Birth
The Virgin Mary prepares herself in the cave at Bethlehem, entering into a state of deep contemplative prayer before the birth.
When I was at the Lord’s manger in Bethlehem, I saw a pregnant virgin who was very beautiful, wearing a white cloak and a thin tunic, through which I could clearly see her virginal body. Her womb was full and quite swollen, for she was already prepared to give birth. A very honorable old man was with her, and they had an ox and a donkey along with them. Once they entered the cave, the old man tied the ox and the donkey to the manger, went back outside, brought a lit candle to the Virgin, fixed it to the wall, and then stepped out again so he wouldn't be present for the birth. The Virgin then took off her shoes, removed the white cloak she had been wearing, and took the veil from her head, setting them aside; she remained in only her tunic, her beautiful hair, like spun gold, flowing down over her shoulders. She then took out two linen cloths and two very clean, fine woolen ones, which she had brought with her to wrap the infant who was about to be born, along with two other small linen pieces to cover and bind his head; she placed them beside her, so she could use them at the proper time. Once everything was ready, the Virgin knelt down with great reverence to pray, her back to the manger and her face lifted toward heaven, turned toward the east. With her hands raised and her eyes fixed on heaven, she stood there as if suspended in an ecstasy of contemplation, intoxicated by divine sweetness.
The Miraculous Nativity
In an instant of divine light, the Son is born, manifesting in purity and splendor while the Virgin remains in a state of grace.
And while she stood there in prayer, I saw the one lying in her womb move, and in an instant, in the blink of an eye, she gave birth to a son from whom such an ineffable light and splendor poured forth that the sun could not be compared to it.✦ The candle the old man had placed there gave off no light at all, because that divine radiance had completely eclipsed the candle's material light. The birth happened so suddenly and instantly that I couldn't perceive or discern how or from what part of her body she gave birth. Yet, I immediately saw that glorious infant lying on the ground, naked and most radiant. His skin was perfectly clean, free from any filth or impurity. I also saw the placenta lying near him, wrapped up and very clean. At that moment, I also heard the songs of angels, of wonderful sweetness and great delight. Immediately, the Virgin’s womb, which had been very swollen before the birth, drew back, and her body then appeared delicate and of wondrous beauty.
The Mother’s Tender Care
Mary adores her newborn Son and provides him with warmth, comfort, and the necessary swaddling.
When the Virgin realized she had already given birth, she immediately bowed her head, joined her hands, and with great modesty and reverence adored the child, saying to him, "Welcome, my God, my Lord, and my Son!" Then the child, crying and shivering from the cold and the hardness of the floor where he lay, turned a little and stretched out his limbs, trying to find some relief and the comfort of his mother. Then the mother took him into her arms and pressed him to her breast, and with her cheek and chest she warmed him with great joy and tender maternal compassion. She sat on the ground and placed her Son in her lap, then carefully took hold of his umbilical cord with her fingers; it was cut immediately, and no fluid or blood came from it. She immediately began to wrap him up carefully, first in linen cloths and then in woolen ones, binding his little body, legs, and arms with a band that had been sewn into the four parts of the outer woolen cloth. Afterward, she wrapped the two linen cloths she had prepared for this purpose around the child's head and bound them in place.
Adoration of the Incarnate Word
Joseph joins in the adoration of the child, and the Holy Family places the infant in the manger with great joy.
When this was finished, the old man entered, and kneeling down to prostrate himself on the ground, he wept for joy as he adored him. At that moment of birth, the Virgin did not change in color or suffer any weakness, nor did she lose any physical strength, as is common for other women in labor; the only change was that her swollen womb returned to the state it had been in before she conceived the child. Then she stood up, holding the child in her arms, and together—she and Joseph—laid him in the manger and knelt down, adoring him with joy and immense gladness.
Read the original Latin
Cum essem ad presepe Domini in Bethleem, vidi quandam virginem pregnantem pulcherrimam valde, indutam albo mantello et subtili tunica, per quam abextra eius carnes virgineas clare cernebam.
Cuius vterus plenus et multum tumidus erat, quia iam parata erat ad pariendum. Cum qua senex quidam honestissimus erat et secum habebant ambo vnum bouem et asinum.
Qui cum intrassent speluncam, senex ille ligatis boue et asino ad presepe exiuit extra et portauit ad virginem candelam accensam fixitque eam in muro et exiuit extra, ne partui personaliter interesset.
Virgo igitur illa tunc discalciauit calciamenta pedum suorum et discooperuit mantellum album, quo cooperiebatur, amouitque velum de capite suo et iuxta se reposuit ea, remanens in sola tunica, capillis pulcherrimis quasi de auro extentis super spatulas.
Que tunc duos panniculos lineos et duos laneos mundissimos et subtiles extraxit, quos secum portabat ad inuoluendum nasciturum infantem, et duos alios paruulos lineos ad cooperiendum et ligandum caput illius, ipsosque posuit iuxta se, vt eis vteretur tempore debito.
Cumque hec omnia sic parata essent, tunc virgo genuflexa est cum magna reuerencia, ponens se ad oracionem, et dorsum versus presepe tenebat, faciem vero ad celum leuatam versus orientem.
Erectis igitur manibus et oculis in celum intentis stabat quasi in extasi contemplacionis suspensa, inebriata diuina dulcedine.
Et sic ea in oracione stante vidi tunc ego mouere iacentem in vtero eius, et illico in momento et ictu oculi peperit filium, a quo tanta lux ineffabilis et splendor exibat, quod sol non esset ei comparabilis.
Neque candela illa, quam posuerat senex, quoquomodo lumen reddebat, quia splendor ille diuinus splendorem materialem candele totaliter annichilauerat.
Et tam subitus et momentaneus erat ille modus pariendi, quod ego non poteram aduertere nec discernere, quomodo vel in quo membro pariebat.
Verumptamen statim vidi illum gloriosum infantem iacentem in terra nudum nitidissimum. Cuius carnes mundissime erant ab omni sorde et immundicia.
Vidi eciam pellem secundinam iacentem prope eum, inuolutam et valde nitidam. Audiui eciam tunc cantus angelorum mirabilis suauitatis et magne dulcedinis.
Et statim venter virginis, qui ante partum tumidissimus erat, retraxit se et videbatur tunc corpus eius mirabilis pulchritudinis et delicatum.
Cum igitur virgo sensit se iam peperisse, statim inclinato capite et iunctis manibus cum magna honestate et reuerencia adorauit puerum et dixit illi: "Bene veneris, Deus meus, Dominus meus et filius meus!"
Et tunc puer plorans et quasi tremens pre frigore et duricia pauimenti, vbi iacebat, voluebat se paululum et extendebat membra, querens inuenire refrigerium et matris fauorem.
Quem tunc mater suscepit in manibus et strinxit eum ad pectus suum, et cum maxilla et pectore calefaciebat eum cum magna leticia et tenera compassione materna.
Que tunc sedens in terra posuit filium in gremio et recepit cum digitis subtiliter vmbilicum eius, qui statim abscisus est, nec inde aliquis liquor aut sanguis exiuit.
Et statim cepit eum inuoluere diligenter, primo in panniculis lineis et postea in laneis et stringens corpusculum, tibias et brachia eius cum fascia, que suta erat in quatuor partes superioris panniculi lanei.
Postea vero inuoluit ligando in capite pueri illos duos panniculos lineos, quos ad hoc paratos habebat.
Hiis igitur completis intrauit senex, et prosternens se ad terram genibus flexis adorando eum plorabat pre gaudio.
Nec tunc in partu virgo illa immutabatur colore vel infirmitate, nec in ea defecit fortitudo aliqua corporalis, sicut in aliis mulieribus parientibus fieri solet, nisi quod venter eius tumidus retraxit se ad priorem statum, in quo erat, antequam puerum conciperet.
Tunc autem surrexit ipsa, habens puerum in vlnis suis, et simul ambo, scilicet ipsa et Ioseph, posuerunt eum in presepio et flexis genibus adorabant eum cum gaudio et immensa leticia.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Cor.15.52 — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet—for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
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