De sancto Patricio et quattuor sibi notis episcopis
The Vision of Saint Patrick and His Bishops
The soul looks back and sees Saint Patrick, the apostle of the Irish, accompanied by a great crowd of bishops, including four she knows personally.
She, indeed, looking back, saw Saint Patrick, the apostle of the Irish, with a great crowd of bishops. Among them were four bishops known to her: Celestine, Artianachanus the archbishop, and Malachy, who succeeded the aforementioned man as archbishop. He, coming to Rome in the time of Pope Innocent, was sent as legate by the bishop.
Malachy the Builder and Lover of the Poor
Malachy, appointed archbishop, gave everything to holy monasteries and the poor, building and providing for fifty-four congregations of monks, canons, and nuns.
and he was appointed archbishop; he distributed everything he possibly could to holy monasteries and to the poor. This man was a builder. Fifty-four of congregations of monks of canons of nuns to whom he provided everything they needed.
Three Bishops Shining in Holiness
The soul sees Christian of Lyon, Malachy's brother, a man of self-control and voluntary poverty; Nemia of Cluan, simple and modest; and one who excelled in wisdom and chastity.
And he kept nothing at all for himself. There too he saw Christian, the bishop of Lyon. the uterine brother of the aforementioned Malachy. a man of remarkable self-control, and a lover of voluntary poverty, and Nemia, the bishop of the city of Cluan, a simple and modest man, and one who shone above others in wisdom and chastity.
The Soul Recognizes the Four Bishops
The soul recognizes the four bishops she has seen.
These four. He recognized the bishops.
The Empty Seat Prepared for a Living Brother
Near the bishops stands a wonderfully adorned empty seat; at the soul's question, Malachy explains it belongs to a brother still alive, who will occupy it when he departs the body.
Near them was also a seat, wonderfully adorned, in which no one sat. The soul said, 'Whose is this seat, or why does it stand empty like this?' Malachias answered: 'This seat belongs to one of our brothers, who hasn't yet departed from the body. But when he has departed, he will sit in such a seat.'
The Angel Returns to Guide the Soul
While the soul delights in all she has seen, the guiding angel reappears and gently addresses her.
But while the soul took great delight in all these things, the angel of the Lord who had gone before her appeared; and gently addressing her, he said,
Read the original Latin
Illa vero respiciens vidit sanctum Patricium Hyberniensium apostolum cum magna turba episcoporum. inter quos. quattuor. sibi notos ipsa vidit episcopos; videlicet Celestinum Artianachanum archiepiscopum. et Malachiam. qui predicto viro successit in archiepiscopatu. qui Romam tempore Innocentii pape veniens. ab episcopo legatus.
et archiepiscopus constitutus est; qui omnia quecumque habere poterat sanctis cenobiis et pauperibus dividebat. Hic constructor extitit. quinquaginta quattuor. congregationum. monachorum. canonicorum. sanctimonalium. quibus omnia necessaria providebat.
et nichil omnino sibi retinebat. Ibi etiam vidit Christianum Lugdunensem episcopum. ipsius predicti Malachie fratrem uterinum. mire continentie virum. et voluntane paupertatis amatorem. et Nemiam Cluanensis civitatis antistitem. virum simplicem atque modestum. sapientia quoque atque castitate pre ceteris fulgentem.
Hos. quattuor. cognovit episcopos.
Erat quoque iuxta illos unum sedile mirabiliter ornatum; in quo nemo sedebat. Dixit autem anima. 'Cuius est istud sedile; aut quare sic vacat?' Respondit ei Malachias dicens. 'Ista sella est cuiusdam de fratribus nostris. qui nondum migravit a corpore. sed dum migraverit in tali sede sedebit.'
Sed cum in his omnibus anima esset valde delectata affuit angelus domini qui eam antecedebat; et blande alloquens illam dicebat.
Visions of Tondal (Les Visions du chevalier Tondal) companion
Tondal came back and changed how he lived daily. That's the whole point.
Chosen Portion builds the daily practice Tondal's vision demanded: a morning reading that keeps eternity in view.
The Visio was written 'for the edification of many' as a spur to daily amendment of life, and Chosen Portion supplies that daily spur with a morning reading and evening examen.
- A daily portion from historic texts on living well and dying well
- The complete 27-chapter Visions of Tondal in modern readable English
- A built-in daily examen prompt — 2 minutes at day's end