Visio Prima
The Vision of the Divine Throne
The visionary receives a revelation of a majestic throne, a golden circle of divine power, and the fall of the proud star.
And I, a human being taken from other humans—one not worthy to be called human because of the transgression of God’s law, and who, when I ought to be just, am unjust, except that I am a creature of God by His grace, which will also save me—I looked toward the east, and there I saw what looked like a single, whole stone of immense width and height, having the color of iron, and above it a white cloud; and above that was placed a round royal throne, on which sat a youth, translucent and of wondrous glory, and of such brightness that I could in no way look at him clearly, having as if in his breast black and muddy mire, wide like a human breast, surrounded by precious stones and pearls. From that same bright one sitting on the throne, a great circle of golden color like the dawn extended—its breadth impossible for me to comprehend—circling from the east to the north, to the west, and to the south, thus reflecting itself back to the east toward that same bright one, having no end. That circle was of such height from the earth that I could not comprehend it, giving off a brightness that was truly terrifying—the color of stone, steel, and fire—extending everywhere according to its breadth upward into the height of heaven and downward into the depth of the abyss, so that I could not see its end. I also saw then, from the secret place of the one sitting on the throne, a great star of much splendor and beauty coming forth, and with it a great multitude of glowing sparks. These, with that star, were all led toward the south; they looked at the one sitting on the throne as if he were a stranger, and turning away from him, they longed more for the north than they wished to look at him. But immediately, in that very turning away of their gaze, they were all extinguished, turned into the blackness of charcoal. And behold, a whirlwind arose from them, which soon cast them from the south back behind the one sitting on the throne toward the north, plunging them into the abyss, so that I could no longer see any of them. But that great brightness which had been drawn away from them, I saw suddenly, at their extinction, return to the one sitting on the throne. And I heard the one who was sitting on the throne saying to me: Write what you see and hear.
The Mystery of the Incarnation
The visionary asks for understanding regarding the divine plan of the Incarnation, and the Lord reveals the role of the Virgin in the mystery of salvation.
And I answered from the inner knowledge of that same vision: "I ask you, my Lord, that you give me understanding, so that I may be able to express these mysteries clearly, and do not abandon me; but confirm me in the dawn of your justice, in which your Son was made manifest. Give me the way to understand how and in what manner I ought to express the divine plan that was ordained in the ancient counsel: how you willed your Son to be incarnate, so that he might become man in time, willing this before every creature in your simplicity and in the fire of the dove—that is, the Holy Spirit—so that your Son himself, rising miraculously like the brilliant form of the sun, might truly be clothed in humanity at the beginning of the head of virginity, having taken on the form of man for the sake of man." And again I heard him saying to me: "Oh, how beautiful are your eyes in this divine narration, while the dawn rises there in the divine counsel." And again I answered from the inner knowledge of that same vision: "I appear to myself in the depths of my soul as ash of ashen rot and as dust of instability; that is why I sit trembling in the shadow like a feather. But do not wipe me from the land of the living as a stranger, because I labor in great sweat in this vision, and because I also often consider myself, in the vileness of my foolish senses which are mine in the flesh, to be in the lowest and most worthless place, so that I am not worthy to be called human, for I am very afraid and do not dare to tell of your mysteries." Oh good and gentle Father, teach me what your will is and what I ought to express. Oh you, awesome Father, and oh you, most sweet one, and oh you, full of all grace, do not abandon me; but preserve me in your mercy. And again I heard the same one saying to me. "Now tell me how you have been taught." I want you to say: 'Even though you are ash.' Speak of the revelation of the Bread who is the Son of God, who is life in fiery love, raising everything dead in soul and body, and loosening the bonds of sin in serene clarity; He Himself is the beginning of the awakening of holiness in man, before it is awakened within him. Hence, the magnificent, glorious, and incomprehensible God also provided a great defense by sending His Son into the purity of virginity, which could not have any variety of stains in its virginity by which it might be softened. There could not be, nor should there have been, any pollution of the flesh in the mind of the Virgin, because she is the slayer and destroyer of the death of the human race, herself unaware—as if deceived in sleep—when the Son of God came in great silence into the dawn, that is, into the humble maiden. Death moved forward as if secure, unaware of the Life that the sweet Virgin carried, because her virginity was hidden from it. For the Virgin herself was poor in earthly riches, because the divine majesty willed to find her that way. Now write about the true knowledge of the Creator in His goodness, like this.
The Fear of the Lord and the Divine Seat
The Lord explains the symbolism of the stone, the throne, and the mire of humanity held within the divine breast.
God, who created all things and ordained humanity for the glory from which the fallen angel and his followers were cast out, is to be honored and feared by every creature with the greatest reverence and awe. It is only right that the Creator of all should be honored by His creation, and that God should be worshipped above all things with the utmost faithfulness. The stone you see certainly signifies this. For it is, in mystery, the greatness of the fear of the Lord, which ought always to rise and endure in the hearts of the faithful with the purest intention. But the fact that you see it as a whole, unbroken, and having the iron color of immense breadth and height, means that this same firm and great magnitude of the fear of the Lord must be held most firmly; for God is to be feared by every creature in its entirety, so that He may be known as the one and true God, since there is none beside Him, nor anyone like Him, in whom there is immense breadth. He is incomprehensible in all things and above all things, and in height; for no one can comprehend the holy divinity, nor reach it with the height of their own understanding, because He is above all things. As for its iron-like color, this means that it is burdensome and difficult for human minds to fear God—a thing very heavy for the softness of fragile dust—because the human creature is rebellious against Him. Above the stone itself, the white cloud is the clear wisdom of the human mind, and placed above it is the royal throne, which is the round, strong, and principal faith circulating among the Christian people to whom God is faithfully known. Where the fear of the Lord takes root, the wisdom of the human mind will also appear, and then, with God providing help, faith will be placed upon this, in which God Himself prepares a resting place for Himself. For when God is feared through the wisdom of the human mind, He is understood in faith; He must be touched with these things, just as a seat touches its Lord. In these things, God prepares a seat for Himself, being supreme above all things. He cannot be comprehended by power or dominion, but resides in unique and pure faith, since He is the one God who is to be believed above all things. Sitting on the throne is a youth, radiant and of marvelous glory, of such brightness that you could never look at him directly. He holds, as if in his breast, a black and muddy mire—as wide as a man's chest—surrounded by precious stones and pearls. This is the one God, reigning over all, shining in goodness and marvelous in his works, whose immense brightness in the depth of his mystery no human can perfectly behold, except insofar as it is grasped and carried by faith. Just as a seat contains and surrounds its master, and is so subject to him that it cannot rise against him, so faith does not desire to look proudly upon God, but only touches him with inward devotion. And as if in his breast—that is, in the wisdom of his mystery—he holds, through the love of his Son, the weak, feeble, and poor mire that is man: black in the blackness of sins, muddy in the pollution of the flesh, and wide according to the likeness of a man's chest. This represents the expansion of the deep and great wisdom in which God himself created man, looking upon those who are in the salvation of the soul through repentance, even if they are kicking against God in their weakness in whatever sin they may be, because they will eventually come to him. These are surrounded by many ornaments of those who rise up among them: like precious stones in great persons who are martyrs and virgins of holiness, and like pearls, who are the innocent and penitent children of redemption. With these, the same mire is greatly adorned, while in the human body such virtues shine, which in God are shining in all brightness. For he who established the breath and life of men looked upon himself. How? Namely, by redemption, when he foreknew in his predestination that his Son would be incarnate, so that in his body every stained variety of sins might be wiped away. And so he also sees the souls that will be justified after the multiplication of superfluous sins while they are still in their bodies, and those that will grow accustomed to walking in the justice of God after the diversity of their errors. He sees how they stand in God, how they desist from much forgetfulness, and how they return from every vice by which they were wounded when they fell into mortal sins. And just as they are seeing that many people have risen from the wandering ways in which they were walking—full of wounds and restored from the death of the filth of sins—so also many come who are so gravely wounded in the bitterness of the sharp pain of sin that they themselves, even in the habit of evil ways in which they sinned beyond measure, are so weary that they cannot breathe any longer in the waves to do the deadly work of adultery, homicide, and the superfluity of all evils.
The Path of Repentance
The Lord illustrates the return of the sinner through the parable of the prodigal son and the necessity of penance.
O miserable ones, don't they come like pilgrims from a far-off land, just as Scripture says in the Gospel, where the younger son said: 'I will get up and go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants'? . This is what it's like. A person who, through the warning of the Holy Spirit, turns back to himself from the fall of sin, says: 'I want to rise up from these unbearable sins, which I can no longer endure, from this heavy guilt. Instead, I will return in the recollection of my mind, weeping and mourning my sins. I will come to my father, who is my father because he created me, and I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven—that is, against the heavenly work that I am, whom you formed in your own will, touching me in the very act of creation so that I, too, should have been heavenly in my actions. But I have made myself shriveled with the foulest deeds, sinning even before you, because I have abandoned the human nature you gave me.' How? In many abominations, I am therefore guilty in my own destruction and before your majesty; and I am not worthy to be called your son, because through the wickedness of my heart, I have led your creature within me into a different way than that for which I was created by you. But now, make me your redeemed servant through the price of the blood of your Son, whom you gave as such a great price that death could never repay it with any compensation. Yet he releases sinners through the penance that was born in the passion of your Son, because I lost the rightful inheritance of children in Adam, who, though created a son, was stripped of the glory of happiness in his justice. Now, however, penance must redeem a person's sins with the blood of your Son. This must be said by those who repeat Adam's fall and afterwards return through repentance, thus reaching salvation; they remember that they heard many warnings narrated from the Scriptures, and about the suffering and blood of their Redeemer, and they remember with groaning that they transgressed when they heard them—warnings they should have studied to understand how to keep the word of God, yet they neglected His law which was established for them to keep, refusing in the setting of the commandment to look at what they ought to do or what they ought to leave aside for the fear of the Lord; yet they come to the truth, remembering what they heard or knew from God, even though they were previously so blinded that they were entirely unwilling to know His justice, so as to turn themselves toward this, that they might prefer it to their sins, when they were spurning it and casting the word of God behind them, rejecting His law. Many of these will be superabundant in good things, so that they are never satisfied, nor is it enough for them to feast in the house of God by celebrating the divine office and working His justice superabundantly, so that they are always weeping and mindful in the sorrows of the evils they committed in past affairs while they were practicing illicit works, passing over the lawful things of the law of God.
The Shepherd and His Flock
The Lord describes His Son as the Good Shepherd who gathers humanity into His bosom, healing them through His wounds.
This is the clay-like mud you see in the heart of the loving Father. How so? Those who believe in the Son of God—who came from the Father's heart into the world—stand near Him, clinging to Him with the same intention they have in their belief. They appear in the heart of the loving Father for this reason: so that no angel or creature might despise humanity, because the Son of the Most High God, having become incarnate, bears the human form within Himself. The blessed angelic choir is indignant toward humanity because it is so deeply stained by sin, while the blessed angels themselves are inviolable, free from any transgression of justice, and always gaze most attentively upon the face of the Father. And what is loved by the Father, they also love in the Son. How so? It is that the Son of God was born as a human being; for I, the Father, placed My Son, born of the Virgin, for the salvation and restoration of humanity, just as My servant, the prophet Isaiah, announces to you. Just as a shepherd will feed his flock with his arm, he will gather the lambs and lift them in his bosom; he himself will carry those that are with young. . This is what it means. Just as a shepherd feeds his flock, so my Son, the good shepherd, will feed his redeemed flock. How? He feeds them with his own law, which he himself planted through me. And so, in his extended power—as if in his arm—because my same Son is human, he will gather the innocent lambs from the guilt of Adam through the innocence of baptism, when the old self with its works is stripped away from them, and he will lift them up in his virtues and in his law into his bosom. How? Specifically, because he lifts them above the heights of the heavens so that they become his members. Therefore, he appears as a man in the inner secret of the Godhead in his own form—a form that neither the angels nor any other creature possesses—because my only-begotten Son assumed the form of a man in virginal flesh for the sake of the redemption of the human race. He himself will even carry the pregnant ones in his own body. How? My Son himself carries humanity in his blood, so that they are made whole through his five wounds; for whatever they have sinned through their five senses, this is wiped away by supreme justice after repentance, since he himself carried them in such a way that he became incarnate, suffered five wounds on the cross, died and was buried, and rose again from the dead. He even reached out his hand to them when he drew them back to himself. How? Specifically, because my Son assumed humanity for those who thought they had perished forever because of Adam's fall. This same Only-Begotten of mine conquered death as well, so that it could no longer hold power over them. He knows them in the power of his own brightness, just as they are to enter into the cleansing of penance. The fact that you see them appearing in the bosom of the Father means that the Son of Man is being brought to perfection with his members in the Father's secret place. How? When the world reaches its end, Christ's chosen ones—who are his members—will also be brought to perfection. Oh, how beautiful he is, as the Psalmist says: 'You are the most handsome of the sons of men.' . This is how it is. The most beautiful beauty shines in Him, in the clearest form, without any stain of sin, without the fluid of human filth, and without any lust for the works of sinful desire that mortal, infirm flesh demands. This never touched Him. And that form of the Son of Man was born in simplicity beyond other men, so that the unharmed Virgin gave birth to her child in ignorance of sin, not knowing herself to have a son in distress. How? Because He felt no contact with sins, He therefore did not know that He had pain in childbirth, but within her, the integrity of her body rejoiced. Oh, how beautiful in form! But let men know that His physical beauty was no greater than what the order of profound wisdom established for the human form, because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—one God in three persons—do not delight in the beauty of the flesh, but in the great humility with which the Son of God clothed Himself in humanity. In the form of the Son of Man, however, there was no blemish, as a man is sometimes distorted by a troublesome face in the diversity of the body, which is in the judgment of God—namely, when the limbs of a man are divided and not rightly ordered, like those of the weak, which is not according to the nature of formation in the body of man, but according to the judgment of God. A strong nature exists in its proper form, but a weak one slips into a distorted, contrary shape—something that had no place in the man who is my Son. But, I say, people are quite diverse in their own members, to the point that they are dark, foul, polluted, leprous, dropsical, and full of vices, even bearing the rust of wickedness through the persuasion of the devil’s art, and they are foolish and hard-hearted toward seeing the good things of the Lord, and they are to be accused and blamed for their great forgetfulness—that they should have worked justice, yet they work evil, and they let go of the good, despising the cross and the martyrdom of their Lord. Yet God the Father looks upon this work of clay with the intention of His own goodness, just as a father looks upon his children when he lifts them into his arms. And because He is God, He holds the love of a devoted father for His children. For in such a way does He have an interior love of heart for humanity, that He sent His Son to the disgrace of the cross like a gentle lamb being led to the slaughter as a victim: so that my Son brought back the lost sheep, which He took from the jaws of the wolf, carrying it upon His own shoulder, having assumed humanity, bearing it through great sufferings when He deigned to die for His sheep. Among those people, however, are many surrounded by ornaments, who are also decorated with the precious adornment of virtues: these are martyrs, virgins, the innocent, and the penitent, and those subject to their masters, as has already been said, and those who make themselves conscious of their own crimes, tormenting themselves in these things with an unconquerable struggle, while they deny in themselves what they are. It is not for us to say who they are or where the elect are, for they are all accounted for. Who is there to whom it might be possible to see into the deep wisdom of the Most High and into the discernment of His knowledge, as to what He holds in the number of those to be saved? His judgments are incomprehensible to all people. You must run, because the kingdom of God is prepared for you. For their reward will be in proportion to the devotion of the faithful who work the justice of God, having been washed in baptism and acknowledged in the faith.
The Incomprehensible Power of God
The Lord explains the golden circle and the terrifying splendor of divine justice that encompasses all creation.
The fact that you see a great circle of golden color, like the dawn, extending from the one sitting on the throne—a circle whose breadth you cannot comprehend in any way—means that the Almighty Father is extending His most powerful authority and His most powerful work, encompassing all things within His own power, with which He is at work in His Son, whom He has always held with Himself in the majesty of the Godhead, and through whom He ordains and perfects all His works before the world and in the world from the beginning, who glows with the most beautiful radiance like the dawn; because the Son was incarnate in the most wise Virgin, whom the dawn signifies, by the inspiration of the finger of God, who is the Holy Spirit, in whom also every work of the Father was accomplished. You cannot comprehend the circuit of this glory by any reasoning, because neither His power nor His works, nor is there any measure of any goodness or power to measure it that exists, or has existed, or ought to come to be in any creature, except that God is inestimable and incomprehensible in His power, and unconquered and wonderful in His work. The same circle, revolving from the east to the north, reflecting itself to the west and south, and returning to the east toward the One on the throne without end, means that the power and work of God circulate, encompassing every creature. How so? All creatures have arisen in the will of the Father, who is one God with the Son and the Holy Spirit, and they all perceive Him in His power. How so? All are perceiving Him in creation, namely, revolving from the east—which is in the rising of all justice—and tending toward the north in the confusion of the devil, and toward the west, where the shadows of death wish to suppress the light of life, yet with the light rising again, the darkness of the shadows having been overcome, and toward the south, where the burning ardor of the justice of God is in the hearts of the faithful, by turning itself at last toward the rising of justice, as if it were returning to the east. What is this? When God's work has been completed in humanity in this world according to the time preordained by God, then the cycle of the world itself will also be fulfilled, perfected at the end of time on the last day; all of God's works will shine forth in His elect, while He sits on a throne that has no end, because God is perfect in His power and in His work, He who was and is and will remain without any beginning of time in His divinity, such that He did not just come to be, but is. And the fact that that circle is of such great height from the earth that you cannot comprehend it means that the heavenly power is so exalted above all the lives of creatures in the sense and intellect of man, and so incomprehensible in all things and above all things, that no creature will be able to measure it with any capacity of sense without it being far more sublime than what it is capable of knowing. This is why the angels also frequently resound with God in their praises. For they see Him in His power and glory, but they cannot comprehend Him even while gazing upon Him perfectly, as if they could reach an end; nor are they ever able to be seized by the weariness of satiety regarding His greatness and beauty. The fact that it radiates from itself a truly terrifying splendor—specifically of stone, steel, and fiery color—means that the divine power reveals its own hard strength in great severity against hidden, unrepentant, and unpunished wickedness, making it formidable and like steel. For God is clear justice, which has no injustice of yielding softness (as it is said, it is unjust that which does not please God, like dust); rather, He is that justice which, as if with steel, has confirmed every other justice, which is much more fragile than His justice, just as iron yields to steel, and also as if with fire, because He is the judicial fire consuming sin on account of every injustice that has never wanted to turn to Him to seek His mercy. God is also like a stone in man, since He is true and just without any change; for just as a stone cannot be turned into softness, so He has no change. He is like steel, specifically in the effectiveness of passing through all things without any change of either place or time, because He is God existing above all things. He is also like fire, since He inflames, kindles, and illuminates all things without the vicissitude of succeeding time in newness, because He is God Himself. And the fact that this splendor extends everywhere according to its own breadth, upward into the height of heaven and downward into the depth of the abyss, so that you cannot see its end, means that the virtue of God's power and work, and His justice and most righteous judgment, have no end anywhere in their incomprehensibility—neither in the heights of heaven nor in the depths of the abyss—that could be grasped by human sense, since He is above all things.
The Fall of Lucifer and the Restoration of Man
The Lord details the pride of Lucifer, his fall into darkness, and the subsequent inheritance of glory given to humanity through Christ.
You also see a great star of immense splendor and beauty coming from the secret place of the One sitting on the throne, followed by a vast multitude of falling sparks. By the command of the almighty Father, Lucifer—the angel who is now Satan—originally came forth adorned with great glory and clothed in much brightness and beauty, along with all the sparks of his host. They once glowed in the brilliance of light, but are now extinguished in the darkness of gloom. Because he was inclined toward evil, he didn't look to me, the only perfect one; instead, trusting in himself, he imagined he could begin whatever he wanted and finish whatever he started. Therefore, the honor he owed to the One sitting on the throne—since he was created through Him—he turned back upon himself, and in that very act, he turned himself toward evil. The fact that, with that star, all those drawn toward the south looked at the one sitting on the throne as if he were a stranger, and turning away from him, they longed more for the north than they wanted to look at him—this means that Lucifer and his entire company, created miserably in the burning goodness of God, stood as if at an angle, in pride, namely, disdaining the one who reigns in heaven; for they all originated in creation, and from the beginning they tasted the impiety that turns itself toward destruction, looking at God not in such a way that they wanted to know him in his goodness, but so that they might exalt themselves above him as if he were a stranger, turning themselves away from his knowledge with burning arrogance, and tending more toward their own fall than they desired to know God in his glory. But the fact that they were all immediately extinguished in that very turning away of their gaze, and thus turned into the blackness of coals, means that while they proudly disdained to know God, Lucifer himself, with all his followers, was extinguished in his malice from the brilliance of the clear splendor with which he had been clothed by divine power, destroying within himself the interior beauty he should have used for good; and reaching out to swallow up impiety, he was so extinguished from the eternal brightness that he fell into eternal destruction. Thus they were all turned into the blackness of coals, the extinguished fire; for with their leader, the devil, stripped of the brightness of their splendor, they were thus extinguished in the destruction of darkness, lacking all glory of blessedness, just as a coal lacks all light of a fiery spark. The fact that a whirlwind arose from them, which soon cast them back from the south—the One sitting on the throne—toward the north, precipitating them into the abyss so that you could no longer see any of them, means that a great gust of impiety rose up in those angels of iniquity when they wanted to prevail over God and oppress Him through pride. He was puffed out into the bitterest blackness of destruction, and He cast them back from the south—that is, from the good—into the forgetfulness of God who rules all things, as if toward the north. There, where they wanted to be proudly exalted, they found confusion and their fall, precipitated by their pride into the abyss of eternal death, which is their destruction, so that they are no longer seen in any brightness. This is just as I spoke through my servant Ezekiel to the southern forest, which should have ardently brought forth the fruit of justice but did not: 'Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and I will burn up in you every green tree and every dry tree; the flame of the burning will not be extinguished, and every face from the south to the north will be burned in it.' And all flesh will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it, and it will not be extinguished. This is how it is. O fool, who in your pride have raised yourself against me—I who have neither beginning nor end—I will see to it that in my zeal the fire of my indignation is kindled within you, by which I will burn up all the greenness you used to start your work, trusting more in your own false strength than in me; because you chose in your foolish knowledge to exist according to your pride, I will burn up in you all that dryness of your sin and the sins of others, since you suggest sin as something good to man, who is but ash, because your suggestion will receive no salvation in you, but will become an eternal fire within you. No reward of salvation remains for you, nor for those who follow you in your example. And that kindling of punishments will not be extinguished in its torments, but will burn up your headlong pride, as if in the face of the desire for the honor you conceived of having in yourself—you who have been cast out from all your glory, rising from the south in the burning, most clear light, and falling into the darkness of the north, that is, of hell. Every person will see this: both the elect and the reprobate will recognize hell, for the elect know it because they have escaped it, while the reprobate know it because they will remain in its punishments, knowing that I, the almighty Lord, kindled it as retribution for your evils, O devil, and it will not be extinguished in your evils nor in those of your followers. Thus, the ruin of diabolical pride cast Satan and his angels into the outer darkness of eternal torments, without any consolation of light, so that no place was found for them in the eternal light. You, O fragile man, trembling and stunned, could see nothing further of them, just as Ezekiel says in my Spirit to the king of Tyre under a mystical meaning: 'All who see you among the nations will be stunned at you.' You were made nothing, and you will not exist forever. This is how it is. All the upright of heart who see you, devil, drunk on vices among those nations who embrace you in the transgression of God's law, will wither away, stunned at your filth, at how you pollute with your suggestion the temple in the building of God, which is man; and therefore you were made nothing through your pride, in which you fell from all the glory of salvation, because you are utterly no strength, in no happiness, and you will not be found having any glory anymore in the eternity of the heavenly ones, because you are confounded among them forever without end. As for that great splendor you saw suddenly withdrawn from them, returning to the One sitting on the throne and then vanishing: this means the clear, great radiance the devil lost through his pride and stubbornness—the moment the germ of death entered him and all his followers (for Lucifer was of a purer light than the other angels)—returned to God the Father from whom it came, and was kept in His secret place. The place of that glorious splendor was not meant to remain empty; God saved it for another light yet to be made. God commanded the devil and all his company to rise up naked, uncovered by flesh, yet He preserved that clear splendor for the clay He formed into man, covering him with the most lowly nature of earth for this very reason: so he wouldn't exalt himself into the likeness of God. The one He had created clear and in great radiance, but not covered in such a fragile and miserable covering as man, could not stand in his own pride, because there is only one God, without beginning and without end, in eternity. That is why pretending to be God is the most wicked of all crimes. Now, however, I, the heavenly God, have kept that illustrious light which I withdrew from the devil because of his evil, carefully hiding it with Me, and I have given it to the clay of the earth which I formed to My own image and likeness. It is just as a man does when his son dies, whose inheritance cannot pass to his own children because he died without heirs; the father draws the son's inheritance to himself and sets it in his mind for another son, not yet born to him, intending to give it to him when he is born of him. The devil fell without an heir—which is a good work in terms of right intention—because he never did or began anything good. For this reason, another received his inheritance, who also fell, yet had an heir: namely, the beginning of obedience. He took it up with devotion, and although he did not complete the work pertaining to it, the grace of God completed that work in the incarnation for the salvation of peoples, for the restoration of a good inheritance. And so man received his inheritance in Christ, because he did not disdain the commandment of God in the beginning, whereas the devil did not desire the service of his Creator in goodness at all, but rather honor in pride; hence he did not receive his glory, but perished in perdition. And just as Goliath rose up, looking down on David, so the devil raised himself up in presumption, wanting to be like the Most High. And just as Goliath ignored David's strength and considered him to be absolutely nothing, despising him, so the devil's accumulated pride despised the humility in the humanity of the Son of God, who, born into the world, sought not his own glory but the glory of the Father in all things. How so? The devil didn't want to follow this example, so that he might submit himself to his Creator just as the Son of God submitted himself to his Father. Yet David cut off Goliath's head by the secret strength of God, as it is written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: 'David, however, took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he placed his weapons in the tabernacle.' This is what it's like. My most strong Son took the spoils and plunder of the devil when He struck down the head of that same ancient serpent. Where? In the womb of the Virgin, who crushed this head. Through whom? Through that same Son of His. What is this compunction? It is holy humility, which, appearing in the Mother and the Son, struck the first beginning of pride, which is the devil's head. And so, the victorious humility of my Son, according to the flesh, brought that very head into the holy Church—which is the vision of peace—showing her that by this most powerful humility, the pride of the devil had been slain; for his most powerful weapons are his many-formed vices, by which he overcame the human race that worshipped him as God, terrifying them with his vicious arts just as weapons are accustomed to terrify men. My Son crushed these, placing them in His tabernacle—that is, in the passion of His body while He suffered on the cross. Hence, He sent this same battle even into the tabernacles, and at the same time into the bodies of the chosen members of His own, so that they too might distribute the devil's weapons with Him. How? Just as He Himself defeated the devil in His Passion, so they too must defeat him by restraining themselves in their desires and refusing to consent to his vices. And following this likeness, just as the glory of Goliath was given to David, so I have given to Adam and his descendants the glory that was taken from the first angel—a glory that confesses Me by keeping My commandments, now that the devil's pride has been destroyed. Whoever has ears sharp enough to hear with an interior sense, let him pant for these words in the burning love of My mirror, and let him write them into the conscience of his own soul.
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Et ego homo sumpta ab aliis hominibus, quae non digna nominari homo propter transgressionem legis Dei, cum deberem esse justa et sim injusta, nisi quod Dei creatura sum ipsius gratia, quae me etiam salvabit: vidi ad orientem, et ecce illic conspexi veluti lapidem unum totum integrum immensae latitudinis atque altitudinis, ferreum colorem habentem, et super ipsum candidam nubem: ac super eam positum regalem thronum rotundum, in quo sedebat juvenis perlucidus mirabilis gloriae, tantaeque claritatis ut nullatenus eum perspicue intueri valerem, habens quasi in pectore suo limum nigrum et lutulentum, latum instar humani pectoris, circumdatum lapidibus pretiosis atque margaritis. Et de ipso lucido sedente in throno protendebant magnus circulus aurei coloris ut aurora (cujus amplitudinem nullo modo comprehendere potui) gyrans ab oriente ad septentrionem, et ad occidentem atque ad meridiem, ita se reflectens ad orientem ad ipsum lucidum, nec ullum habens finem. Et circulus ille erat a terra tantae altitudinis, ut eam comprehendere non possem, ex se reddens splendorem valde terribilem, scilicet lapidei, calybei, igneique coloris undique secundum amplitudinem suam sursum in altitudinem coeli, et deorsum in profundum abyssi ita se extendentem, ut nullum finem ejus videre sufficerem. Vidi etiam tunc de secreto sedentis in throno stellam magnam, plurimi splendoris ac decoris prodeuntem, et cum ea plurimam candentium scintillarum multitudinem, quae cum stella illa omnes eductae ad austrum, inspiciebant sedentem in throno quasi alienum, seque ab eo avertentes magis inhiabant ad aquilonem quam in eum inspicere vellent. Sed statim in ipsa aversione inspectionis suae, omnes exstinctae sunt, sic versae in carbonum nigredinem. Et ecce ventus turbinis ortus est ab ipsis, qui eas mox ab austro retro sedentem in throno projecit ad aquilonem, praecipitans in abyssum, ita ut earum amplius nullam videre valerem. Splendorem autem illum magnum qui eis abstractus est, vidi subito in earum exstinctione reverti ad ipsum sedentem in throno. Et audivi eum qui sedebat in throno mihi dicentem: Scribe quae vides et audis.
Et respondi de interiori scientia ejusdem visionis: Rogo te, mi Domine, ut mihi des intellectum, quatenus possim enarrabiliter proferre haec mystica, et ne derelinquas me; sed confirma me in aurora tuae justitiae, in qua manifestatus est Filius tuus, et da mihi quomodo possim et qualiter debeam proferre divinum consilium, quod in antiquo consilio ordinatum est; quomodo Filium tuum voluisti incarnari, ita ut homo sub tempore fieret, hoc volens ante omnem creaturam in simplicitate tua et in igne columbae scilicet Spiritus sancti, ut ipse Filius tuus, quasi splendida solis forma mirabiliter surgens, in incipiente capite virginitatis veraciter indueretur humanitate propter hominem sumpta hominis forma. Et iterum audivi eum dicentem mihi: O quam pulchri sunt oculi tui in divina narratione, dum ibi consurgit aurora in divino consilio. Et iterum respondi de interiori scientia visionis ipsius: Ego mihi appareo in sinu animi mei, ut cinis cinereae putredinis, et sicut pulvis instabilitatis, unde sedeo pavens in umbra sicut penna; sed ne deleas me de terra viventium ut peregrinam; quia in magno sudore laboro in hac visione, et quia etiam de vilitate mei stulti sensus qui meus est in carne, reputo me frequenter in minimum et in vilissimum locum, ita quod non sim digna vocari homo, quia valde timeo non audens tua mysteria narrare. O bone ac mitis Pater, doce me quae tua voluntas sit, quid debeam proferre. O tu metuende Pater et o tu dulcissime, et o tu plene omnis gratiae, ne derelinquas me: sed conserva me in tua misericordia. Et iterum audivi eumdem mihi dicentem. Nunc dic quomodo edocta es. Volo ut dicas: Quamvis cinis sis.
Dic revelationem panis qui Filius Dei est, qui vita est in igneo amore, omnem mortuum suscitans in anima et corpore, et dissoluta peccata relaxans in serena claritate, ipse initium suscitationis sanctitatis in homine existens, antequam in se exuscitetur. Unde etiam magnificus et gloriosus ac incomprehensibilis Deus dedit magnum praesidium mittens Filium suum in pudicitiam virginitatis, quae non potuit habere ullam varietatem macularum in sua virginitate unde ipsa molliretur. Ibi non potuit nec esse debuit ulla pollutio carnis in mente Virginis, quia interfectrix et mortificatrix mortis generis humani, ipsamet nesciente, ut in somno decepta est, quando Filius Dei in magno silentio venit in auroram, videlicet in humilem puellam. Mors quasi secura processit nesciens vitam, quam illa dulcis Virgo portavit; quia sibi absconsa erat ejus virginitas. Ipsa enim Virgo erat pauper in terrenis opibus; quia divina majestas eam ita invenire voluit. Nunc scribe de vera agnitione Creatoris in bonitate ipsius sic.
Deus qui cuncta creavit et hominem ad gloriam illam de qua perditus angelus cum suis imitatoribus projectus est ordinavit, ab omni creatura sua maximo honore et timore venerandus et metuendus est, quia justum est ut Creatori omnium veneratio a creatura sua exhibeatur, et Deus super omnia fidelissime adoretur. Quod et lapis iste quem vides certissime designat. Ipse est enim in mysterio magnitudo timoris Domini: qui purissima intentione in cordibus fidelium semper oriri et perseverare debet. Sed quod vides eum totum integrum et immensae latitudinis atque altitudinis ferreum colorem habentem, hoc est quod eadem firma et grandis magnitudo timoris Domini firmissime tenenda est, quia Deus metuendus est ab omni creatura in tota integritate, ut cognoscatur unus et verus Deus esse, cum nullus praeter eum est, nec similis illi, in quo est immensa latitudo; quoniam incomprehensibilis est in omnibus et super omnia, et altitudo; cum sanctam divinitatem nullus comprehendere, nec ad eam pertingere cum altitudine sui sensus potest, quia ipsa est super omnia. Quod autem est similitudinis ferrei coloris, hoc est quod onerosum et durum est humanis mentibus Deum timere, illud valde grave existens mollitiei fragilis cineris, quia humana creatura ipsi rebellis est. Super lapidem vero ipsum candida nubes clara sapientia humanae mentis est, ac super eam positus regalis thronus rotundus est fortis et principalis fides circuiens in Christiano populo, cui Deus fideliter cognitus est, quia ubi timor Domini radicat, ibi etiam sapientia humanae mentis superapparebit, et deinde Deo opem afferente, fides super hanc imponetur, in qua ipse Deus sibi requiem parat. Cum enim Deus timetur per sapientiam humanae mentis, in fide intelligitur; quia cum his tangendus est ut sedes tangit Dominum suum. Et tunc in his Deus parat sibi sedem, summus existens super omnia; quia neque potestate neque dominatione comprehendi potest, sed residet in unica et pura fide; quoniam unus est qui credendus Deus super omnia.
Unde sedens in throno juvenis perlucidus, mirabilis gloriae, tantaeque claritatis ut nullatenus eum perspicue valeres intueri, habens quasi in pectore suo limum nigrum et lutulentum latum ut magni hominis pectus, circumdatum lapidibus pretiosis atque margaritis; est super omnia regnans unus Deus, lucens in bonitate, et mirabilis in operibus suis, cujus immensam claritatem in profunditate mysterii sui, nullus hominum perfecte potest intueri, nisi quantum fide comprehenditur atque portatur; sicut sedes continet ac circumdat dominum suum, quae ita illi subjecta est, ut nec se elevare possit contra dominum suum: sic fides non desiderat superbe aspicere in Deum, sed tantum intima devotione tangit eum. Et quasi in pectore suo, id est in sapientia mysterii sui habet per amorem Filii sui infirmum et debilem ac pauperem limum qui homo est, nigrum in nigredine peccatorum, et lutulentum in pollutione carnis, et latum secundum similitudinem pectoris hominis, quod est dilatatio profundae et magnae sapientiae in qua ipse Deus creavit hominem, illes respiciens qui sunt in salvatione animae per poenitentiam, in qualicunque crimine contra Deum sint in sua debilitate calcitrantes, quia tandem ad eum pervenient. Hi sunt circumdati compluribus ornamentis illorum qui inter eos surgunt; ut lapides pretiosi in magnis personis qui sunt martyres ac virgines sanctitatis, et ut margaritae, qui sunt innocentes et poenitentes filii redemptionis, cum quibus idem limus valde ornatus est; dum in humano corpore fulgent tantae virtutes, quae in Deo sunt fulgentes in omni claritate. Nam qui constituit spiraculum et vitam hominum, ille inspexit semetipsum. Quomodo? Scilicet eum redemptione dum praescivit in sua praedestinatione Filium suum incarnari, ita quod in ejus corpore deberet abstergi omnis maculosa varietas criminum. Et sic videt etiam animas quae justificabuntur post multiplicationem superfluorum peccatorum dum adhuc in corporibus suis sunt, et quae consuescent in justitia Dei ambulare post diversitatem errorum suorum qualiter consistant in Deo, ac qualiter desistant de multa oblivione, et quomodo revertantur de unoquoque vitio quo ipsae sunt vulneratae cum in mortalibus ceciderunt peccatis, et sicut sunt videntes quod multi populi surrexerunt de errantibus viis in quibus ambulabant pleni vulneribus in plagis pessimis restaurati de morte feditatis criminum: sic etiam multi veniunt qui in amaritudine acerbi doloris peccati tam graviter sunt vulnerati, quod ipsi etiam in consuetudine malorum morum in quibus supra modum peccaverunt sunt ita tediosi, quod nequeunt ultra respirare in fluctibus, ad operandum mortiferum opus in adulterio, et homicidio et superfluitate omnium malorum.
O miseri, nonne veniunt ipsi quasi peregrini de longinqua regione sicut Scriptura habet in Evangelio, ubi adolescentior filius dixit: Surgam et ibo ad patrem meum et dicam illi: Pater, peccavi in coelum et coram te; jam non sum dignus vocari filius tuus, fac me sicut unum ex mercenariis tuis? . Hoc tale est. Homo qui de lapsu peccati per admonitionem Spiritus sancti revertitur in se, dicit: Volo surgere de importabilibus peccatis quae a me nullatenus sunt sustinenda, de gravi culpa, sed revertar in recordatione mentis meae plangens ac moerens peccata mea: sic veniens ad patrem meum, qui pater meus est, quoniam creavit me, et dicam illi: Pater, peccavi in caelum, id est in coeleste opus quod ego sum, quem formasti in voluntate tua, me sic tangendo in creatione ipsa, quod ego etiam coelestis debui esse in actibus meis, sed feci me contractum cum turpissimis operibus, peccans etiam coram te, quia humanam naturam destitui in me. Quomodo? In multis abominationibus, ideo sum et ego reus in mea perditione et in tua majestate: et non sum dignus nominari filius tuus, quia propter nequitiam cordis mei creaturam tuam duxi in me in alium modum quam a te constitutus sum. Sed nunc fac mihi ut tuo redempto servo in mercede sanguinis Filii tui, qui ipsum dedisti in tantam mercedem quam mors nunquam rependere poterit ulla recompensatione, sed dimittit peccatores per poenitentiam quae in passione Filii tui orta est, quia rectam haereditatem filiorum amisi in Adam, qui creatus filius, in justitia destitutus est gloria felicitatis. Nunc autem debet poenitentia redimere hominis peccata cum sanguine Filii tui.
Istud est dicendum ab iis qui iterant casum Adae et post haec revertuntur per poenitentiam sic pertingentes ad salvationem, et memores sunt quod multas monitiones audierunt, quae de Scripturis sunt narratae et de cruciatu et de sanguine Redemptoris eorum, et recordantur gementes quod transgressi sunt cum auditu, quo cum studio debuerunt percipere quomodo servarent verbum Dei, cum ipsi negligerent legem ejus quae eis erat instituta ad custodiendum, in constitutione praecepti recusantes inspicere quid deberent facere vel quid deberent dimittere propter timorem Domini, qui tamen veniunt ad veritatem, recordantes ea quae audierunt vel sciverunt a Deo, quamvis prius ita caecati essent, quod omnino nollent scire justitiam ipsius, ut se ad hoc declinarent quod ipsam praeponerent peccatis suis, cum spernerent eam et cum rejicerent retro verbum Dei, respuentes legem ejus. Multi de his erunt superabundantes in bonis: ita ut nec satientur, nec eis sufficiat epulari in domo Dei celebrando divinum officium et operando justitiam ejus superabundanter, ita quod semper sunt flentes et memores in doloribus malorum quae in anteactis rebus perpetrarunt dum colebant illicita opera, transeuntes legis Dei licita.
Iste est lutens limus quem vides in pectore pii Patris. Quomodo? Filio Dei qui de corde Patris exivit veniens in mundum, adest credens populus, adhaerens ipsi hac intentione qua credit in cum. Certe propterea sic etiam isti apparent in pectore pii Patris, ut non spernat angelus nec ulla creatura hominem, quia summi Dei Filius incarnatus habet formam hominis in seipso. Beatus enim angelicus chorus propterea in indignatione habet hominem quia nimium sordescit in peccatis suis, cum ipsi beati angeli inviolabiles sint absque ulla transgressione justitiae, semper attentissime videntes faciem Patris. Et quod amatur a Patre: hoc etiam ipsi amant in Filio. Quomodo? Scilicet quod Dei Filius natus est homo, nam ego Pater Filium meum ex Virgine natum posui in salvationem et in restaurationem hominis, ut vobis annuntiat Isaias propheta servus meus.
Sicut pastor gregem suum pascet in brachio suo congregabit agnos et in sinu suo levabit, foetas ispe portabit. . Hoc tale est. Sicut pastor gregem suum pascit, sic pascet Filius meus pastor bonus redemptum gregem suum. Quomodo? Ipse pascit eum lege sua, quam ipsemet per me plantavit. Unde etiam in sua extensa potestate ut in brachio suo; quia idem Filius meus est homo, congregabit innocentes agnos de culpa Adae per innocentiam baptismi, cum ab eis exuitur vetus homo cum operibus suis, et levabit ipsos in virtutibus suis et in lege sua in sinu suo. Quomodo?
Videlicet quia levat eos super excelsa coelorum tali modo quod fiunt membra ejus. Quapropter sic in interiori secreto deitatis apparet homo in forma sua, quod nec angeli habent nec ulla alia creatura, quia Unigenitus meus propter redemptionem generis humani in virginea carne formam assumpsit hominis. Ipse portabit etiam foetas in corpore suo. Quomodo? Ipse Filius meus portat homines in sanguine suo: sic quod salvi facti sunt per quinque vulnera ejus; quia quodcunque peccaverint per quinque sensus suos, hoc abstergetur per summam justitiam post poenitentiam, quoniam ipsemet eos ita portavit, quod incarnatus est, et quod passus est quinque vulnera in cruce, et quod mortuus et sepultus est et quod a mortuis resurrexit. Ipse porrexit etiam ipsis manum suam, cum eos retraxit ad se. Quomodo? Scilicet quia Filius meus assumpsit humanitatem pro illis, qui se putabant propter casum Adae in aeternum periisse.
Idem Unigenitus meus vicit etiam mortem, sic quod non potuit amplius dominari super eos. Unde et ipse ita novit eos in virtute claritatis suae, ut venturi sunt in purgatione poenitentiae. Quod autem eos vides in sinu Patris apparere, hoc est quod Filius hominis perficitur cum membris suis in secreto Patris. Quomodo? Cum enim mundus complebitur, tunc electi etiam Christi qui membra ejus sunt, perficiuntur. O quam pulcher ille est, ut etiam Psalmista ait: Speciosus forma prae filiis hominum. . Hoc tale est.
Pulcherrima pulchritudo fulget in eo clarissimae formae sine ulla macula peccati, et absque liquore humanae feditatis, et sine ulla concupiscentia facti operis in desideriis peccatorum, quae exigit caro mortalis infirmitatis. Hoc nunquam tetigit hunc hominem. Et forma illa Filii hominis nata est in simplicitate prae aliis hominibus, ita quod illaesa Virgo genuit natum suum in ignorantia peccati, se nesciens in aerumna habere filium. Quomodo? Quoniam non sensit ullum contactum in peccatis, ideo ignorabat se habere dolorem in partu, sed intus in ea corporis sui integritas gaudebat. O quam speciosus forma! Sed noscant homines ibi carnalem pulchritudinem non fuisse majorem nisi quatenus ordinatio profundae sapientiae constituit formam hominis, quia Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus unus Deus in tribus personis non delectatur in pulchritudine carnis, sed in magna humilitate qua Filius Dei se induit humanitate. In forma autem filii hominis non erat ulla maculositas, ut aliquando distorquetur homo molesta facie in diversitate corporis, quod est in judicio Dei, scilicet cum membra hominis divisa sunt non recte ordinata ut debilium quod non est secundum naturam formationis in corpore hominis, sed secundum judicium Dei.
Et fortis quidem natura existit in recta formatione, infirma autem defluit in diversitatem formationis contrariae formae, quod non erat opus in homine Filio meo.
Sed, inquam, magna diversitate sint homines in suis membris, ita quod ipsi sunt nigri, foedi, polluti, leprosi, hydropici, et pleni vitiis, habentes etiam rubiginem maleficii in suasione diabolicae artis, et insipientes et duri videre bona Domini, et accusandi atque culpandi de multa oblivione quod justitiam debuerunt operari et operantur malum, ac dimittunt bonum, despicientes crucem et martyrium Domini sui. Deus tamen Pater inspicit intentione suae bonitatis factum opus de limo sicut pater respicit ad filios suos dum eos elevat in sinum suum. Et quoniam ipse Deus est; habet pii patris dilectionem ad filios suos. Tali enim modo est ei interior dilectio cordis ad homines, quod Filium suum misit ad crucis opprobrium quasi agnum mansuetum qui portatur ad victimam occidendus: ita quod Filius meus reportavit perditam ovem, quam e faucibus lupi tulit, supra humerum suum, assumpta humanitate, in magnis eam portans doloribus, cum dignatus est mori pro ovibus suis. In illis autem hominibus sunt multi circumdati ornamentis, qui et decorati sunt pretioso ornatu virtutum: qui sunt martyres, virgines, innocentes et poenitentes ac subjecti magistris suis, ut jam dictum est, et qui seipsos conscios reddunt in criminibus suis, in his se cruciantes cum inexpugnabili certamine, dum negant in seipsis quod sunt. Ibi non est dicendum qui sunt, vel ubi sunt electi; nam omnes computati sunt. Quis est ille cui possibile sit videre in profundam sapientiam Altissimi et in discretionem scientiae ejus quid ipse habeat in numero salvandorum. Incomprehensibilia sunt judicia ejus omnibus hominibus.
Vobis currendum est; quia paratum est vobis regnum Dei. Nam secundum studium fidelium operantium justitiam Dei qui sunt abluti in baptismo cognitique in fide, talis etiam merces eorum erit.
Quod autem vides quod de sedente in throno protenditur magnus circulus aurei coloris ut aurora, cujus amplitudinem nullo modo comprehendere potes, hoc est quod ab omnipotente Patre extenditur fortissima potestas et fortissimum opus ejus omnia comprehendens in potentia ipsius, cum qua est operans in Filio suo quem semper in majestate divinitatis apud se habuit, per eum ordinans ac perficiens omnia opera sua ante mundum et in mundo ab initio, qui pulcherrimi fulgoris velut aurora rubet; quia Filius in sapientissima Virgine quam aurora significat, incarnatus est inspiratione digiti Dei qui Spiritus sanctus est; in quo etiam factum est omne opus Patris. Hujus gloriae circuitum nulla ratione comprehendere vales, quia nec ipsius potestas nec opera, nec ulla est mensura ullius bonitatis, vel potestatis ad illam mensurandam quae sit, vel fuerit, vel fieri debeat in ulla creatura, nisi quod Deus est inestimabilis et incomprehensibilis in potestate sua, et invictus ac mirabilis in opere suo. Et idem circulus gyrans ab oriente ad septentrionem, et ad occidentem atque ad meridiem se reflectens ad orientem ad ipsum sedentem in throno nec habens ullum finem; hoc est quod potestas ac opus Dei circumeunt, comprehendendo omnen creaturam. Quomodo? In voluntate Patris qui cum Filio et Spiritu sancto Deus unus est, ortae sunt omnes creaturae, quae omnes sentiunt eum in potestate. Quomodo? Omnes sunt eum in creatione sentientes scilicet gyrantem ab oriente quod est in ortu omnis justitiae, et tendentem ad septentrionem in confusionem diaboli et ad occidentem ubi tenebrae mortis lucem vitae volunt opprimere, luce tamen iterum resurgente, devicta tenebrarum caligine, et ad meridiem, ubi ardens ardor est justitiae Dei in cordibus fidelium, se convertendo tandem ad ortum justitiae quasi ad orientem se recipit. Quid hoc?
Dum per summam potestatem opus Dei secundum praeordinatum a Deo tempus completum fuerit in hominibus in hoc mundo, tunc etiam implebitur circuitus ipsius mundi, perfectus in fine temporis in novissimo die, refulgebunt omnia opera Dei in electis ejus, sedente in throno non habente finem; quia Deus perfectus est in potestate ac in opere suo, qui erat et est et permanebit absque ulla inceptione ullius temporis in divinitate, ita quod non fuerit sed est. Et quod ille circulus, a terra est tantae altitudinis ut eum comprehendere non possis, hoc est quod superna potestas ita excelsa est super omnes vitas creaturarum in sensu et in intellectu hominis, et ita incomprehensibilis in omnibus et super omnia, quod nulla creatura eam poterit metiri ulla capacitate sensus quin ipsa sit multo sublimior quam ei sit cognoscendum. Unde etiam angeli frequenter resonant Deum in laudibus. Ipsi enim vident eum in sua potestate et gloria; sed non possunt eum perfecte intuentes comprehendere quasi ad finem perveniant, neque unquam valent fastidio satietatis capi tam magnitudinis quam pulchritudinis ejus.
Quod autem ex se reddit splendorem valde terribilem scilicet lapidei, chalybei et ignei coloris, hoc est quod divina potestas ex se demonstrat duram virtutem in magna severitate contra dissimulatam et impoenitentem ac impunitam iniquitatem, formidabilem, et velut chalybeum; quia Deus est perspicua justitia quae non habet ullam injustitiam cedentis mollitiei, (tanquam pulvis, ut dicitur, injustum est quod Deo non placet) sed ipse est illa justitia quae quasi chalybe confirmavit omnem aliam justitiam quae multo fragilior est justitia ejus quam ferrum chalybi cedit, et etiam quasi igneum; quia ipse est judicialis ignis comburens peccatum ob omnem injustitiam quae se nunquam convertere voluit ad illum quaerens ejus misericordiam. Est etiam Deus quasi lapis in homine; quoniam ipse est verus et justus absque ulla mutatione; quia ut lapis in mollitiem non potest converti, ita ille non habet ullam mutationem, et est velut chalybs, scilicet in efficacitate pertransiens omnia absque ulla mutatione ullius aut loci aut temporis, quia ipse est Deus super omnia existens, est etiam quasi ignis; quoniam inflammat et incendit et illuminat omnia absque vicissitudine succedentis temporis in novitate, quia ipse Deus est. Et quod ipse splendor undique secundum amplitudinem suam sursum in altitudinem coeli et deorsum in profundum abyssi ita se extendit ut nullum finem ejus videre possis, hoc est quod virtus potestatis ac operis Dei, et justitia atque rectissimum judicium ejus ubique in incomprehensibilitate sua nec in superioribus coeli, nec in inferioribus abyssi ullum finem habet qui comprehendi possit humano sensu cum super omnia sit.
Vides etiam de secreto sedentis in throno stellam magnam plurimi splendoris ac decoris prodeuntem, et cum ea plurimam multitudinem cadentium scintillarum; quia praecepto omnipotentis Patris Lucifer angelus, qui nunc est Satanas, in ortu suo magna gloria ornatus et multa claritate ac decore vestitus prodiit, et cum eo omnes scintillae sui agminis tunc candentes in lucis fulgore, nunc autem exstinctae in caliginis tenebrositate; quoniam pronus ad malum, non aspexit in me solum perfectum; sed existimabat confidens in seipsum, posse incipere quod vellet, et perficere quod inciperet. Unde quod sedenti in throno debebat honoris quia per eum creatus est, hoc retorsit in seipsum, atque in hoc ipso declinabat se ad malum. Quod vero cum stella illa omnes eductae ad austrum, inspiciebant ipsum sedentem in throno quasi alienam, seque ab eo avertentes magis inhiabant ad aquilonem quam eum inspicere vellent, hoc est quod Lucifer omnisque comitatus ejus miserabiliter creatus in ardente bono Dei constitit, quasi per obliquum, in superbia videlicet dedignans regnantem in coelo; quia ipsi omnes orti in creatione; ab initio gustaverunt impietatem quae ad perditionem se vertit, Deum inspicientes non sic quod eum scire vellent in bonitate, sed quod se super eum velut super alienum vellent elevare, cum flagrante scilicet elatione se a cognitione ejus avertentes, et plus tendentes ad casum suum quam Deum in gloria sua cognoscere desiderarent. Sed quod statim in ipsa aversione inspectionis suae omnes exstinctae sunt sic versae in nigredinem carbonum, hoc est dum Deum superbe dedignarentur scire, ipse Lucifer cum omnibus sequacibus suis in malitia sua exstinctus est a fulgore clari splendoris, quo per divinam potentiam indutus erat, delens in seipso interiorem pulchritudinem, qua debuit usus esse ad bonum; et se porrigens ad deglutiendam impietatem; ita exstinctus est ab aeterna claritate ut caderet in aeternam perditionem. Unde omnes versi sunt in nigredinem carbonum exstincti ignis; quia cum duce suo, scilicet diabolo, exuti claritate sui splendoris sic exstinctae sunt in perditione tenebrositatis, carentes omni gloria beatitudinis, ut carbo caret omni luce igneae scintillae. Quod autem ventus turbinis ortus est ab ipsis, qui eas mox ab austro retro sedentem in throno projecit ad aquilonem praecipitans in abyssum, ita ut earum amplius nullam videre valeres, hoc est quod maximus flatus impietatis erexit se in ipsis angelis iniquitatis, cum Deo vellent praevalere et eum per superbiam opprimere, qui exsufflatus est in amarissimam nigredinem perditionis, et eos de austro, id est de bono projecit retrorsum; quod est in oblivionem Dei cuncta regentis, quasi ad partem aquilonarem, ut ubi superbe exaltari volebant, ibi confusi casum invenirent, propter superbiam suam praecipitati in abyssum mortis aeternae, quae perditio ipsorum est ut in nulla claritate amplius videantur, ut per servum meum Ezechielem saltui meridiano qui ardenter fructum justitiae debuit et non attulit locutus sum dicens: Ecce ego succendam in te ignem, et comburam in te omne lignum viride, et omne lignum aridum; non exstinguetur flamma succensionis et comburetur in eo omnis facies ab austro usque ad aquilonem. Et videbit omnis caro, quia ego Dominus succendi eam, nec exstinguetur . Hoc tale est.
O stulte, qui in superbia tua te erexisti contra me, ego qui nec initium nec finem habeo, faciam ut in zelo meo accendatur in te ignis indignationis meae, per quem comburam in te omnem viriditatem tuam qua voluisti opus incipere, in falso vigore magis confidens in te quam in me; quia elegisti in tua stulta scientia esse secundum superbiam tuam comburamque in te omnem ariditatem illam peccati tui et aliorum perditorum cum peccatum in bono aridum suggeris homini qui cinis est, quia suggestio tua non recipiet in te ullam salvationem; sed fiet in te ignis aeternus. Nec restat ulla tibi muneratio salutis, nec illis qui te sequuntur in exemplo tuo. Et non exstinguetur illa succensio poenarum in suppliciis suis, sed comburet praecipitem superbiam quasi in facie concupiscentiae aspectus honoris quem concepisti velle habere in teipso, qui ejectus es ab omni gloria tua; ab austro scilicet surgens in ardente clarissima luce, et cadens in tenebras aquilonis, id est inferni. Et hoc videbit omnis homo: videlicet electi et reprobi cognoscentes gehennam, quoniam electi eam cognoscunt; quia illam effugerunt; reprobi autem, quoniam cum ea in poenis permanebunt, scientes quia ego Dominus omnipotens succendi eam ad retributionem malorum tuorum, o diabole, nec exstinguetur in malis tuis nec sequentium te. Et sic perditio diabolicae superbiae projecit Satanam et angelos ejus in exteriores tenebras aeternorum tormentorum sine ulla consolatione luminis; ita ut illi nullus sit locus inventus in aeterno lumine, et tu, o fragilis homo horrens et stupens, eorum ultra nihil conspicere potuisti; sicut etiam idem Ezechiel in spiritu meo regi Tyri sub mystica significatione dicit: Omnes qui viderint te in gentibus obstupescent super te. Nihil factus es, et non eris in perpetuum . Hoc tale est. Omnes recti corde qui viderint te, diabole, inebriatum vitiis in illis gentibus qui te amplexantur in praevaricatione legis Dei, arescent obstupescentes in tua sorde, quomodo polluis suggestione tua templum in aedificatione Dei quod homo est; et propterea nihil factus es per superbiam tuam in qua cecidisti ab omni gloria salvationis; quia omnino nullus vigor es, in nulla felicitate, neque eris inventus ullam gloriam amplius habens in aeternitate coelestium, quia tu confusus es in illis in perpetuum sine fine.
Sed quod splendorem illum magnum qui eis abstractus est, vidisti subito in earum exstinctionem reverti ad ipsum sedentem in throno: hoc est quod perspicuus et magnus fulgor quem diabolus propter superbiam et contumaciam suam perdidit cum in ipsum et omnes sequaces ejus intravit germen mortis (erat enim Lucifer purioris luminis quam caeteri angeli) reversus est ad Deum Patrem unde prodierat, servatus in secreto ejus; quia locus gloriae splendoris illius non debuit esse vacuus; sed Deus servavit eum alteri factae luci. Nam ejus quem Deus nudum surgere jussit atque non coopertum carne qui diabolus est cum omni comitatu ejus in splendere tamen clarum; splendorem servavit limo quem formavit in hominem, tegens ipsum vilissima natura terrae, ob idipsum ne se extolleret in similitudinem Dei, quia quem clarum creaverat in multo fulgore sed non coopertum tam fragili et tam misero tegmine quo et homo, hic non potuit stare in elatione sua, quia non est nisi unus Deus sine initio et sine fine in aeternitate. Ac ideo sceleratissimum est prae caeteris criminibus, quo quis se Deo simulat. Nunc autem ego Deus coelestis servavi illustre lumen quod retraxi a diabolo propter malum ejus, hoc diligenter abscondens apud me, et dedi illud limo terrae quem formavi ad imaginem et similitudinem meam, quemadmodum aliquis homo facit, cum filius ejus moritur cujus haereditas non transit in natos ejus; quia absque liberis decessit; haereditatem filii attrahit sibi pater et proponit eam in mente sua alii suo filio nondum sibi nato, daturus eam illi cum natus fuerit ex ipso. Nam diabolus cecidit absque haerede, quod est in recta intentione bonum opus: quia nunquam aliquid boni fecit nec incoepit, et ob hoc accepit alter haereditatem ejus, qui etiam cecidit, habens tamen haeredem, scilicet inceptionem obedientiae; quoniam eam suscepit cum devotione, quamvis opus ad hoc pertinens non perfecerit, sed gratia Dei perfecit illud opus in incarnatione salvationis populorum, in restaurationem bonae haereditatis. Atque ideo recepit homo haereditatem suam in Christo, quia non dedignatus est in initio praeceptum Dei, cum omnino diabolus non desideravit servitium Creatoris sui in bono, sed honorem in superbia: unde non recepit gloriam suam sed in perditione periit.
Et sicut Goliath surrexit despiciens David; ita erexit se diabolus in praesumptionem in seipso, volens similis esse Altissimo. Et ut Goliath ignorans vires David eum prorsus nihili reputans vilipendit, sic cumulata superbia diaboli contempsit humilitatem in humanitate Filii Dei, qui in mundo natus, non gloriam suam sed gloriam Patris per omnia quaesivit. Quomodo? Diabolus non desideravit imitari hoc exemplum, ut se subderet suo Creatori quemadmodum se Filius Dei subdidit suo Patri. Attamen David amputavit caput Goliath in secreta fortitudine Dei, ut Spiritu sancto inspirante scriptum est: Assumens autem David caput Philisthaei attulit illud in Jerusalem, arma vero ejus posuit in tabernaculo . Hoc tale est. Spolia et direptiones diaboli accepit fortissimus Filius meus, cum dejecit caput ejusdem serpentis antiqui. Ubi?
In utero Virginis quae hoc caput contrivit. Per quem? Per eumdem Filium suum. Quae est haec contritio? Sancta humilitas, quae in matre et filio apparens percussit primum initium superbiae, quod est caput diaboli. Et sic Filii mei, secundum carnem, victrix humilitas attulit ipsum caput in sanctam Ecclesiam quae est visio pacis, ei ostendens quod per ipsam fortissimam humilitatem interfecta esset superbia diaboli; fortissima vero arma ejus sunt multiformia ejus vitia, quibus ille superavit genus humanum quod eum pro Deo coluit, sic exterrens in vitiosis artibus suis ut arma exterrere solent homines. Haec confregit Filius meus ponens ea in tabernaculo suo, id est in passionem corporis sui dum pateretur in cruce. Unde ipsam pugnam dimisit etiam in tabernaculis simul in corporibus electorum membrorum suorum: ut et ipsi distribuant arma diaboli cum ipso.
Quomodo? Ut sicut ipse devicit diabolum in passione sua, sic et ipsi eum devincant se constringentes in desideriis, et non sint consentientes vitiis illius. Et secundum similitudinem hanc, ut gloria Goliath data est David: ita gloriam quae ablata est primo angelo, dedi Adae et generi ejus, quod confitetur me servans praecepta mea, interempta superbia diaboli. Qui autem interioris sensus perspicaces audiendi aures habet, hic in ardenti amore speculi mei, ad verba haec anhalet, et ea in conscientia animi sui conscribat.
Scivias (Know the Ways of the Lord) companion
Keep Hildegard in your mornings
Get the free 14-day Scivias reading plan, then continue with daily historic devotionals in the Chosen Portion app.
Hildegard's visions were meant to be read and prayed over daily by her community; Chosen Portion continues that pattern with a curated historic devotional reading each morning.
- Read all three parts of Scivias in curated excerpts — about 15 minutes a day for 14 days
- One reflection question and one short prayer per day, so you never wonder what to do next
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