THE DIALOGUE OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA
Translated by Algar Thorold
"Man is placed above all creatures, and not beneath them, and he cannot be satisfied
or content except in something greater than himself. Greater than himself there is
nothing but Myself, the Eternal God. Therefore I alone can satisfy him, and, because
he is deprived of this satisfaction by his guilt, he remains in continual torment and
pain. Weeping follows pain, and when he begins to weep, the wind strikes the tree
of self-love, which he has made the principle of all his being." (Page 203). This work
was dictated by Saint Catherine of Siena during a state of ecstasy while in dialogue
with God the Father. Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) was declared a Doctor of
the Church on October 4, 1970.
                                           2
  THE DIALOGUE OF THE SERAPHIC VIRGIN
                     CATHERINE OF SIENA
        DICTATED BY HER, WHILE IN A STATE OF ECSTASY,
              TO HER SECRETARIES, AND COMPLETED
                    IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1370
                                TOGETHER WITH
            AN ACCOUNT OF HER DEATH BY AN EYE-WITNESS
  TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL ITALIAN, AND PRECEDED BY AN
       INTRODUCTION ON THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE SAINT, BY
                          ALGAR THOROLD
                       A NEW AND ABRIDGED EDITION
Originally published in 1907 by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., London.
       Scanned and edited by Harry Plantinga, [email protected], 1994.
                 The language has been modernized by replacing
                the archaic singular with the modern equivalent.
                        This etext is in the public domain.
                                3
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
A TREATISE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
A TREATISE OF DISCRETION
A TREATISE OF PRAYER
A TREATISE OF OBEDIENCE
                                             4
THE DIALOGUE OF
ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA
INTRODUCTION
It would be hard to say whether the Age of the Saints, le moyen âge énorme et
délicat, has suffered more at the hands of friends or foes. It is at least certain that the
medieval period affects those who approach it in the manner of a powerful
personality who may awaken love or hatred, but cannot be passed over with
indifference. When the contempt of the eighteenth century for the subject, the
result of that century's lack of historic imagination, was thawed by the somewhat
rhetorical enthusiasm of Chateaubriand and of the Romanticists beyond the Rhine,
hostility gave place to an undiscriminating admiration. The shadows fell out of the
picture; the medieval time became a golden age when heaven and earth visibly
mingled, when Christian society reached the zenith of perfection which constituted
it a model for all succeeding ages. Then came the German professors with all the
paraphernalia of scientific history, and, looking through their instruments, we, who
are not Germans, have come to take a more critical and, perhaps, a juster view of
the matter. The Germans, too, have had disciples of other nations, and though
conclusions on special points may differ, in every country now at a certain level of
education, the same views prevail as to the principles on which historical
investigation should be conducted. And yet, while no one with a reputation to lose
would venture on any personal heresy as to the standards of legitimate evidence,
the same facts still seem to lead different minds to differing appreciations. For
history, written solely ad narrandum, is not history; the historian's task is not over
when he has disinterred facts and established dates: it is then that the most delicate
part of his work begins. History, to be worthy of the name, must produce the
illusion of living men and women, and, in order to do this successfully, must be
based, not only upon insight into human nature in general, but also upon personal
appreciation of the particular men and women engaged in the episodes with which
it deals. With facts as such, there can indeed be no tampering; but for the
determination of their significance, of their value, as illustrative of a course of
policy or of the character of those who were responsible for their occurrence, we
have to depend in great measure on the personality of the historian. It is evident
that a man who lacks the sympathetic power to enter into the character that he
attempts to delineate, will hardly be able to make that character live for us. For in
Art as well as Life, sympathy is power.
Now, while this is true of all history whatever, it is perhaps truer of the history of
the middle ages than of that of any more recent period, nor is the reason of this far
                                              5
to seek. The middle ages were a period fruitful in great individuals who molded
society, to an extent that perhaps no succeeding period has been. In modern times
the formula, an abstraction such as "Capital" or the "Rights of Man" has largely
taken the place of the individual as a plastic force. The one great Tyrant of the
nineteenth century found his opportunity in the anarchy which followed the
French Revolution. The spoil was then necessarily to the strong. But even
Napoleon was conquered at last rather by a conspiracy of the slowly developing
anonymous forces of his time than by the superior skill or strength of an individual
rival. The lion could hardly have been caught in such meshes in the trecento. Then,
the fate of populations was bound up with the animosities of princes, and, in order
to understand the state of Europe at any particular moment of that period, it is
necessary to understand the state of soul of the individuals who happened, at the
time, to be the political stakeholders.
It must not be thought, however, that the personality of the prince was the only
power in the medieval state, for the prince himself was held to be ultimately
amenable to an idea, which so infinitely transcended earthly distinctions as to level
them all in relation to itself. Religion was in those days a mental and social force
which we, in spite of the petulant acerbity of modern theological controversies,
have difficulty in realizing. Prince and serf would one day appear as suppliants
before the Judgment-seat of Christ, and the theory of medieval Christianity was
considerably in favor of the serf. The Father of Christendom, at once Priest and
King, anointed and consecrated as the social exponent of the Divine Justice, could
not, in his own person, escape its rigors, but must, one day, render an account of his
stewardship. Nor did the medieval mind, distinguishing between the office and the
individual, by any means shrink from contemplating the fate of the faithless
steward. In a "Last Judgment" by Angelico at Florence, the ministers of justice seem
to have a special joy in hurrying off to the pit popes and cardinals and other
ecclesiastics.
For it is an insufficient criticism that has led some to suppose that the medieval
Church weighed on the conscience of Christendom solely, or even primarily, as an
arbitrary fact: that the priesthood, aided by the ignorance of the people, succeeded in
establishing a monstrous claim to control the destinies of the soul by quasi-magical
agencies and the powers of excommunication. Nothing can be further from the
truth. Probably at no period has the Christian conscience realized more profoundly
that the whole external fabric of Catholicism, its sacraments, its priesthood, its
discipline, was but the phenomenal expression, necessary and sacred in its place, of
the Idea of Christianity, that the vitality of that Idea was the life by which the
Church lived, and that by that Idea all Christians, priests as well as laymen, rulers as
well as subjects, would at the last be judged. When Savonarola replied to the Papal
Legate, who, in his confusion, committed the blunder of adding to the formula of
excommunication from the Church Militant, a sentence of exclusion from the
Church Triumphant, "You cannot do it," he was in the tradition of medieval
orthodoxy. Moreover, even though the strict logic of her theory might have
required it, the hierarchical Church was not considered as the sole manifestation of
the Divine Will to Christendom. The unanimity with which the Christian idea was
accepted in those times made the saint a well-known type of human character just
as nowadays we have the millionaire or the philanthropist. Now the saint,
although under the same ecclesiastical dispensation as other Christians, was
                                             6
conceived to have his own special relations with God, which amounted almost to a
personal revelation. In particular he was held to be exempt from many of the
limitations of fallen humanity. His prayers were of certain efficacy; the customary
uniformities of experience were thought to be constantly transcended by the power
that dwelt within him; he was often accepted by the people as the bearer to
Christendom of a Divine message over and above the revelation of which the
hierarchy was the legitimate guardian. Not infrequently indeed that message was
one of warning or correction to the hierarchy. Sabatier points out truly that the
medieval saints occupied much the same relation to the ecclesiastical system as the
Prophets of Israel had done, under the older dispensation, to the Jewish Priesthood.
They came out of their hermitages or cloisters, and with lips touched by coal from
the altar denounced iniquity wherever they found it, even in the highest places. It is
needless to say that they were not revolutionaries -- had they been so indeed the
state of Europe might have been very different today; for them, as for other
Christians, the organization of the Church was Divine; it was by the sacred
responsibilities of his office that they judged the unworthy pastor.
An apt illustration of this attitude occurs in the life of the Blessed Colomba of Rieti.
Colomba, who was a simple peasant, was called to the unusual vocation of
preaching. The local representatives of the Holy Office, alarmed at the novelty,
imprisoned her and took the opportunity of a visit of Alexander VI. to the
neighboring town of Perugia to bring her before his Holiness for examination.
When the saint was brought into the Pope's presence, she reverently kissed the hem
of his garment, and, being overcome with devotion at the sight of the Vicar of
Christ, fell into an ecstasy, during which she invoked the Divine judgment on the
sins of Rodrigo Borgia. It was useless to attempt to stop her; she was beyond the
control of inquisitor or guards; the Pope had to hear her out. He did so; proclaimed
her complete orthodoxy, and set her free with every mark of reverence. In this
highly characteristic episode scholastic logic appears, for once, to have been justified,
at perilous odds, of her children. . . .
                                           * * *
Midway between sky and earth hangs a City Beautiful: Siena, Vetus Civitas Virginis.
The town seems to have descended as a bride from airy regions, and lightly settled
on the summits of three hills which it crowns with domes and clustering towers. As
seen from the vineyards which clothe the slopes of the hills or with its crenellated
wall and slender-necked Campanile silhouetted against the evening sky from the
neighboring heights of Belcaro, the city is familiar to students of the early Italian
painters. It forms the fantastic and solemn background of many a masterpiece of the
trecentisti, and seems the only possible home, if home they can have on earth, of
the glorified persons who occupy the foreground. It would create no surprise to
come, while walking round the ancient walls, suddenly, at a turn in the road, on
one of the sacred groups so familiarly recurrent to the memory in such an
environment: often indeed one experiences a curious illusion when a passing friar
happens for a moment to "compose" with cypress and crumbling archway.
Siena, once the successful rival of Florence in commerce, war, and politics, has,
fortunately for the more vital interests which it represents, long desisted from such
minor matters. Its worldly ruin has been complete for more than five hundred
years; in truth the town has never recovered from the plague which, in the far-off
                                              7
days of 1348, carried off 80,000 of its population. Grassy mounds within the city walls
mark the shrinking of the town since the date of their erection, and Mr. Murray
gives its present population at less than 23,000. The free Ghibelline Republic which,
on that memorable 4th of September 1260, defeated, with the help of Pisa, at Monte
Aperto, the combined forces of the Guelf party in Tuscany, has now, after centuries
of servitude to Spaniard and Austrian, to be content with the somewhat pinchbeck
dignity of an Italian Prefettura. At least the architectural degradation which has
overtaken Florence at the hands of her modern rulers has been as yet, in great
measure, spared to Siena. Even the railway has had the grace to conceal its presence
in the folds of olive which enwrap the base of the hill on which the city is set.
Once inside the rose-colored walls, as we pass up the narrow, roughly paved streets
between lines of palaces, some grim and massive like Casa Tolomei, built in 1205,
others delicate specimens of Italian Gothic like the Palazzo Saracini, others again
illustrating the combination of grace and strength which marked the domestic
architecture of the Renaissance at its prime, like the Palazzo Piccolomini, we find
ourselves in a world very remote indeed from anything with which the experience
of our own utilitarian century makes us familiar. And yet, as we rub our eyes,
unmistakably a world of facts, though of facts, as it were, visibly interpreted by the
deeper truth of an art whose insistent presence is on all sides of us. Here is Casa
Tolomei, a huge cube of rough-hewn stone stained to the color of tarnished silver
with age, once the home of that Madonna Pia whose story lives forever in the verse
of Dante. Who shall distinguish between her actual tale of days and the immortal
life given her by the poet? In her moment of suffering at least she has been made
eternal. And not far from that ancient fortress-home, in a winding alley that can
hardly be called a street, is another house of medieval Siena -- no palace this time,
but a small tradesman's dwelling. In the fourteenth century it belonged to Set
Giacomo Benincasa, a dyer. Part of it has now been converted into a chapel, over the
door of which are inscribed the words: Sponsae Xti Katerinae Domus. Here, on
March 5, 1347, being Palm Sunday, was born Giacomo's daughter Caterina, who still
lives one of the purest glories of the Christian Church under the name of St.
Catherine of Siena. More than 500 years have passed since the daughter of the
Siennese dyer entered into the rest of that sublime and touching symbolism under
which the Church half veils and half reveals her teaching as to the destiny of man.
Another case, but how profoundly more significant than that of poor Madonna Pia,
of the intertwining of the world of fact with the deeper truth of art.
St. Catherine was born at the same time as a twin-sister, who did not survive. Her
parents, Giacomo and Lapa Benincasa, were simple townspeople, prosperous, and
apparently deserving their reputation for piety. Lapa, the daughter of one Mucio
Piagenti, a now wholly forgotten poet, bore twenty-five children to her husband, of
whom thirteen only appear to have grown up. This large family lived together in
the manner still obtaining in Italy, in the little house, till the death of Giacomo in
1368.
There are stirring pages enough in Christian hagiology. Who can read unmoved of
the struggles towards his ideal of an Augustine or a Loyola, or of the heroic courage
of a Theresa, affirming against all human odds the divinity of her mission, and
justifying, after years of labor, her incredible assertions by the steadfastness of her
will? There are other pages in the lives of the saints, less dramatic, it may be, but
                                             8
breathing, nevertheless, a naïve grace and poetry all their own: the childhood of
those servants of Christ who have borne His yoke from the dawn of their days
forms their charming theme. Here the blasting illuminations of the Revelation are
toned down to a soft and tender glow, in which the curves and lines of natural
humanity do but seem more pathetically human. The hymn at Lauds for the Feast
of the Holy Innocents represents those unconscious martyrs as playing with their
palms and crowns under the very altar of Heaven: --
        "Vos prima Christi victima
         Grex immolatorum tener
        Aram sub ipsam simplices
        Palma et coronis luditis!"
And so these other saintly babies play at hermits or monasteries instead of the
soldiers and housekeeping beloved of more secular-minded infants. Heaven
condescends to their pious revels: we are told of the Blessed Hermann Joseph, the
Premonstratensian, that his infantile sports were joyously shared by the Divine
Child Himself. He would be a morose pedant indeed who should wish to rationalize
this white mythology. The tiny Catherine was no exception to the rest of her
canonized brothers and sisters. At the age of five it was her custom on the staircase
to kneel and repeat a "Hail Mary" at each step, a devotion so pleasing to the angels,
that they would frequently carry her up or down without letting her feet touch the
ground, much to the alarm of her mother, who confided to Father Raymond of
Capua, the Dominican confessor of the family, her fears of an accident. Nor were
these phenomena the only reward of her infant piety. From the day that she could
walk she became very popular among her numerous relatives and her parents'
friends, who gave her the pet name of Euphrosyne, to signify the grief-dispelling
effect of her conversation, and who were constantly inviting her to their houses on
some pretext or other. Sent one morning on an errand to the house of her married
sister Bonaventura, she was favored with a beautiful vision which, as it has an
important symbolical bearing on the great task of her after-life, I will relate in Father
Raymond's words, slightly abridging their prolixity.
"So it happened that Catherine, being arrived at the age of six, went one day with
her brother Stephen, who was a little older than herself, to the house of their sister
Bonaventura, who was married to one Niccolò, as has been mentioned above, in
order to carry something or give some message from their mother Lapa. Their
mother's errand accomplished, while they were on the way back from their sister's
house to their own and were passing along a certain valley, called by the people
Valle Piatta, the holy child, lifting her eyes, saw on the opposite side above the
Church of the Preaching Friars a most beautiful room, adorned with regal
magnificence, in which was seated, on an imperial throne, Jesus Christ, the Savior
of the world, clothed in pontifical vestments, and wearing on His head a papal tiara;
with Him were the princes of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, and the holy evangelist
John. Astounded at such a sight, Catherine stood still, and with fixed and
immovable look, gazed, full of love, on her Savior, who, appearing in so marvelous
a manner, in order sweetly to gain her love to Himself, fixed on her the eyes of His
Majesty, and, with a tender smile, lifted over her His right hand, and, making the
sign of the Holy Cross in the manner of a bishop, left with her the gift of His eternal
benediction. The grace of this gift was so efficacious, that Catherine, beside herself,
                                               9
and transformed into Him upon whom she gazed with such love, forgetting not
only the road she was on, but also herself, although naturally a timid child, stood
still for a space with lifted and immovable eyes in the public road, where men and
beasts were continually passing, and would certainly have continued to stand there
as long as the vision lasted, had she not been violently diverted by others. But while
the Lord was working these marvels, the child Stephen, leaving her standing still,
continued his way down hill, thinking that she was following, but, seeing her
immovable in the distance and paying no heed to his calls, he returned and pulled
her with his hands, saying: 'What are you doing here? why do you not come?' Then
Catherine, as if waking from a heavy sleep, lowered her eyes and said: 'Oh, if you
had seen what I see, you would not distract me from so sweet a vision!' and lifted
her eyes again on high; but the vision had entirely disappeared, according to the will
of Him who had granted it, and she, not being able to endure this without pain,
began with tears to reproach herself for having turned her eyes to earth." Such was
the "call" of St. Catherine of Siena, and, to a mind intent on mystical significance,
the appearance of Christ, in the semblance of His Vicar, may fitly appear to
symbolize the great mission of her after-life to the Holy See.
                                            * * *
Much might be said of the action of Catherine on her generation. Few individuals
perhaps have ever led so active a life or have succeeded in leaving so remarkable an
imprint of their personality on the events of their time. Catherine the Peacemaker
reconciles warring factions of her native city and heals an international feud
between Florence and the Holy See. Catherine the Consoler pours the balm of her
gentle spirit into the lacerated souls of the suffering wherever she finds them, in the
condemned cell or in the hospital ward. She is one of the most voluminous of
letter-writers, keeping up a constant correspondence with a band of disciples, male
and female, all over Italy, and last, but not least, with the distant Pope at Avignon.
Her lot was cast on evil days for the Church and the Peninsula. The trecento, the
apogee of the middle ages was over. Francis and Dominic had come and gone, and
though Franciscans and Dominicans remained and numbered saints among their
ranks, still the first fervor of the original inspiration was a brightness that had fled.
The moral state of the secular clergy was, according to Catherine herself, too often
one of the deepest degradation, while, in the absence of the Pontiff, the States of the
Church were governed by papal legates, mostly men of blood and lust, who ground
the starving people under their heel. Assuredly it was not from Christian bishops
who would have disgraced Islam that their subjects could learn the path of peace.
The Pope's residence at Avignon, the Babylonish Captivity, as it was called, may
have seemed, at the time when his departure from Rome was resolved upon, a wise
measure of temporary retreat before the anarchy which was raging round the city of
St. Peter. But not many years passed before it became evident that Philip the Fair, the
astute adviser to whose counsel -- and possibly more than counsel -- Clement had
submitted in leaving Rome, was the only one who profited by the exile of the Pope.
Whatever the truth may be about the details of Clement's election, so far as his
subservience to the French king went, he might have remained Archbishop of
Bordeaux to the end of his days. He accepted for his relations costly presents from
Philip; he placed the papal authority at his service in the gravely suspicious matter
of the suppression of the Templars. Gradually the Holy See in exile lost its
                                             10
ecumenical character and became more and more the vassal of the French crown.
Such a decline in its position could not fail to affect even its doctrinal prestige. It was
well enough in theory to apply to the situation such maxims as Ubi Petrus ibi
Ecclesia, or, as the Avignonese doctors paraphrased it, Ubi Papa ibi Roma; but, in
practice, Christendom grew shy of a French Pope, living under the eye and power of
the French king. The Romans, who had always treated the Pope badly, were furious
when at last they had driven him away, and gratified their spite by insulting their
exiled rulers. Nothing could exceed their contempt for the Popes of Avignon, who,
as a matter of fact, though weak and compliant, were in their personal characters
worthy ecclesiastics. They gave no credit to John XXII. for his genuine zeal in the
cause of learning, or the energy with which he restored ecclesiastical studies in the
Western Schools. For Benedict XII., a retiring and abstemious student, they invented
the phrase: bibere papaliter -- to drink like the Pope. Clement VI. they called poco
religioso, forgetting his noble charity at the time of the plague, and also the fact that
Rome herself had produced not a few popes whose lives furnished a singular
commentary on the ethics of the Gospel.
The real danger ahead to Christendom was the possibility of an Italian anti-Pope
who should fortify his position by recourse to the heretical elements scattered
through the peninsula. Those elements were grave and numerous. The Fraticelli or
Spiritual Franciscans, although crushed for the time by the iron hand of Pope
Boniface, rather flourished than otherwise under persecution. These dangerous
heretics had inherited a garbled version of the mysticism of Joachim of Flora, which
constituted a doctrine perhaps more radically revolutionary than that of any heretics
before or since. It amounted to belief in a new revelation of the Spirit, which was to
supersede the dispensation of the Son as that had taken the place of the dispensation
of the Father. According to the Eternal Gospel of Gerard of San Domino, who had
derived it, not without much adroit manipulation, from the writings of Abbot
Joachim, the Roman Church was on the eve of destruction, and it was the duty of
the Spirituali, the saints who had received the new dispensation, to fly from the
contamination of her communion. An anti-Pope who should have rallied to his
allegiance these elements of schism would have been a dangerous rival to a French
Pope residing in distant Avignon, however legitimate his title. Nor was there
wanting outside Italy matter for grave anxiety. Germs of heresy were fermenting
north of the Alps; the preaching of Wycliffe, the semi-Islamism of the Hungarian
Beghards, the Theism of the Patarini of Dalmatia, the erotic mysticism of the
Adamites of Paris, indicated a widespread anarchy in the minds of Christians.
Moreover, the spiritual difficulties of the Pope were complicated by his temporal
preoccupations. For good or ill, it had come to be essential to the action of the Holy
See that the successor of the penniless fisherman should have his place among the
princes of the earth.
The papal monarchy had come about, as most things come about in this world, by
what seems to have been the inevitable force of circumstances. The decay of the
Imperial power in Italy due to the practical abandonment of the Western Empire --
for the ruler of Constantinople lived at too great a distance to be an effective
Emperor of the West -- had resulted in a natural increase of secular importance to
the See of Rome. To the genius of Pope Gregory I., one of the few men whom their
fellows have named both Saint and Great, was due the development of the political
situation thus created in Italy.
                                             11
Chief and greatest of bishops in his day was St. Gregory the Great. Seldom, if ever,
has the papal dignity been sustained with such lofty enthusiasm, such sagacious
political insight. Himself a Roman of Rome, Romano di Roma, as those who
possess that privilege still call themselves today, the instinct of government was his
by hereditary right. He had the defects as well as the qualities of the statesman. His
theological writings, which are voluminous and verbose, are marked rather by a
sort of canonized common sense than by exalted flights of spirituality. His
missionary enterprise was characterized by a shrewd and gracious condescension to
the limitations of human nature. Thus he counsels St. Augustine, who had
consulted him as to the best means of extirpating the pagan customs of our English
forefathers, to deal gently with these ancient survivals. He ruled that the celebration
of the Festivals of the Sabots should if possible be held at the times and places at
which the people had been in the habit of meeting together to worship the gods.
They would thus come to associate the new religion with their traditional merry-
makings, and their conversion would be gradually, and as it were unconsciously,
effected. It was a kindly and statesmanlike thought. In this way Gregory may truly be
looked upon as the founder of popular Catholicism, that "pensive use and wont
religion," not assuredly in the entirety of its details Christian, but at least profoundly
Catholic, as weaving together in the web of its own secular experience of man so
large a proportion of the many-colored threads that have at any time attached his
hopes and fears to the mysterious unknown which surrounds him. No miracle is
needed to explain the political ascendancy which such a man inevitably came to
acquire in an Italy deserted by the Empire, and, but for him and the organization
which depended on him, at the mercy of the invading Lombard. More and more,
people came to look on the Pope as their temporal ruler no less than as their
spiritual father. In many cases, indeed, his was the only government they knew.
Kings and nobles had conferred much property on the Roman Church. By the end
of the sixth century the Bishop of Rome held, by the right of such donations to his
See, large tracts of country, not only in Italy, but also in Sicily, Corsica, Gaul, and
even Asia and Africa. Gregory successfully defended his Italian property against the
invaders, and came to the relief of the starving population with corn from Sicily
and Africa, thus laying deep in the hearts of the people the foundations of the
secular power of the Papacy.
It would be an unnecessary digression from our subject to work out in detail the
stages by which the Pope came to take his place first as the Italian vicar of a distant
emperor, and at length, as the result of astute statecraft and the necessities of the
case, among the princes of Europe, as their chief and arbiter. So much as has been
said was, however, necessary for the comprehension of the task with which
Catherine measured, for the time, successfully her strength. It was given to the
Popolana of Siena, by the effect of her eloquence in persuading the wavering will of
the Pope to return to his See, to bring about what was, for the moment, the only
possible solution of that Roman question, which, hanging perpetually round the
skirts of the Bride of Christ, seems at every step to impede her victorious advance.
                                           * * *
Nevertheless, it is neither the intrinsic importance nor the social consequences of
her actions that constitute the true greatness of St. Catherine. Great ends may be
pursued by essentially small means, in an aridity and narrowness of temper that
                                               12
goes far to discount their actual achievement. History, and in particular the history
of the Church, is not wanting in such instances. Savonarola set great ends before
himself -- the freedom of his country and the regeneration of the state; but the spirit
in which he pursued them excludes him from that Pantheon of gracious souls in
which humanity enshrines its true benefactors. "Soul, as a quality of style, is a fact,"
and the soul of St. Catherine's gesta expressed itself in a "style" so winning, so
sweetly reasonable, as to make her the dearest of friends to all who had the privilege
of intimate association with her, and a permanent source of refreshment to the
human spirit. She intuitively perceived life under the highest possible forms, the
forms of Beauty and Love. Truth and Goodness were, she thought, means for the
achievement of those two supreme ends. The sheer beauty of the soul "in a state of
Grace" is a point on which she constantly dwells, hanging it as a bait before those
whom she would induce to turn from evil. Similarly the ugliness of sin, as much as
its wickedness, should warn us of its true nature. Love, that love of man for man
which, in deepest truth, is, in the words of the writer of the First Epistle of St. John,
God Himself, is, at once, the highest achievement of man and his supreme and
satisfying beatitude. The Symbols of Catholic theology were to her the necessary and
fitting means of transit, so to speak. See, in the following pages, the fine allegory of
the Bridge of the Sacred Humanity, of the soul in viâ on its dusty pilgrimage
towards those gleaming heights of vision. "Truth" was to her the handmaid of the
spiritualized imagination, not, as too often in these days of the twilight of the soul,
its tyrant and its gaoler. Many of those who pass lives of unremitting preoccupation
with the problems of truth and goodness are wearied and cumbered with much
serving. We honor them, and rightly; but if they have nothing but this to offer us,
our hearts do not run to meet them, as they fly to the embrace of those rare souls
who inhabit a serener, more pellucid atmosphere. Among these spirits of the air, St.
Catherine has taken a permanent and foremost place. She is among the few guides
of humanity who have the perfect manner, the irresistible attractiveness, of that
positive purity of heart, which not only sees God, but diffuses Him, as by some
natural law of refraction, over the hearts of men. The Divine nuptials, about which
the mystics tell us so much, have been accomplished in her, Nature and Grace have
lain down together, and the mysteries of her religion seem but the natural
expression of a perfectly balanced character, an unquenchable love and a deathless
will.
                                             * * *
The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena was dictated to her secretaries by the Saint in
ecstasy. Apart from the extraordinary circumstances of its production, this work has
a special interest.
The composition of the Siennese dyer's daughter, whose will, purified and
sublimated by prayer, imposed itself on popes and princes, is an almost unique
specimen of what may be called "ecclesiastical" mysticism; for its special value lies
in the fact that from first to last it is nothing more than a mystical exposition of the
creeds taught to every child in the Catholic poor-schools. Her insight is sometimes
very wonderful. How subtle, for instance, is the analysis of the state of the "worldly
man" who loves God for his own pleasure or profit! The special snares of the
devout are cut through by the keen logic of one who has experienced and
                                             13
triumphed over them. Terrible, again, is the retribution prophesied to the
"unworthy ministers of the Blood."
And so every well-known form of Christian life, healthy or parasitic, is treated of,
detailed, analyzed incisively, remorselessly, and then subsumed under the general
conception of God's infinite loving-kindness and mercy.
The great mystics have usually taken as their starting-point what, to most, is the
goal hardly to be reached; their own treatment of the preliminary stages of
spirituality is frequently conventional and jejune. Compare, for instance, the first
book with the two succeeding ones, of Ruysbrock's Ornement des Noces spirituelles,
that unique breviary of the Christian Platonician. Another result of their having
done so is that, with certain noble exceptions, the literature of this subject has fallen
into the hands of a class of writers, or rather purveyors, well-intentioned no doubt,
but not endowed with the higher spiritual and mental faculties, whom it is not
unfair to describe as the feuilletonistes of piety. Such works, brightly bound, are
appropriately exposed for sale in the Roman shop-windows, among the gaudy objets
de religion they so much resemble. To keep healthy and raise the tone of devotional
literature is surely an eighth spiritual work of mercy. St. Philip Neri's advice in the
matter was to prefer those writers whose names were preceded by the title of Saint.
In the Dialogo we have a great saint, one of the most extraordinary women who
ever lived, treating, in a manner so simple and familiar as at times to become
almost colloquial, of the elements of practical Christianity. Passages occur frequently
of lofty eloquence, and also of such literary perfection that this book is held by critics
to be one of the classics of the age and land which produced Boccaccio and Petrarch.
To-day, in the streets of Siena, the same Tuscan idiom can be heard, hardly altered
since the days of St. Catherine.
One word as to the translation. I have almost always followed the text of Gigli, a
learned Siennese ecclesiastic, who edited the complete works of St. Catherine in the
last century. His is the latest edition printed of the Dialogo. Once or twice I have
preferred the cinquecento Venetian editor. My aim has been to translate as literally
as possible, and at the same time to preserve the characteristic rhythm of the
sentences, so suggestive in its way of the sing-song articulation of the Siennese of
today. St. Catherine has no style as such; she introduces a metaphor and forgets it;
the sea, a vine, and a plough will often appear in the same sentence, sometimes in
the same phrase. In such cases I have occasionally taken the liberty of adhering to
the first simile when the confusion of metaphor in the original involves hopeless
obscurity of expression.
V IAREGGIO , September 1906.
                                             14
A TREATISE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
How a soul, elevated by desire of the honor of God, and of the salvation of her
        neighbors, exercising herself in humble prayer, after she had seen the union
        of the soul, through love, with God, asked of God four requests.
The soul, who is lifted by a very great and yearning desire for the honor of God and
the salvation of souls, begins by exercising herself, for a certain space of time, in the
ordinary virtues, remaining in the cell of self-knowledge, in order to know better
the goodness of God towards her. This she does because knowledge must precede
love, and only when she has attained love, can she strive to follow and to clothe
herself with the truth. But, in no way, does the creature receive such a taste of the
truth, or so brilliant a light therefrom, as by means of humble and continuous
prayer, founded on knowledge of herself and of God; because prayer, exercising her
in the above way, unites with God the soul that follows the footprints of Christ
Crucified, and thus, by desire and affection, and union of love, makes her another
Himself. Christ would seem to have meant this, when He said: To him who will
love Me and will observe My commandment, will I manifest Myself; and he shall be
one thing with Me and I with him. In several places we find similar words, by
which we can see that it is, indeed, through the effect of love, that the soul becomes
another Himself. That this may be seen more clearly, I will mention what I
remember having heard from a handmaid of God, namely, that, when she was
lifted up in prayer, with great elevation of mind, God was not wont to conceal, from
the eye of her intellect, the love which He had for His servants, but rather to
manifest it; and, that among other things, He used to say: "Open the eye of your
intellect, and gaze into Me, and you shall see the beauty of My rational creature. And
look at those creatures who, among the beauties which I have given to the soul,
creating her in My image and similitude, are clothed with the nuptial garment (that
is, the garment of love), adorned with many virtues, by which they are united with
Me through love. And yet I tell you, if you should ask Me, who these are, I should
reply" (said the sweet and amorous Word of God) "they are another Myself,
inasmuch as they have lost and denied their own will, and are clothed with Mine,
are united to Mine, are conformed to Mine." It is therefore true, indeed, that the
soul unites herself with God by the affection of love.
So, that soul, wishing to know and follow the truth more manfully, and lifting her
desires first for herself -- for she considered that a soul could not be of use, whether
in doctrine, example, or prayer, to her neighbor, if she did not first profit herself,
that is, if she did not acquire virtue in herself -- addressed four requests to the
Supreme and Eternal Father. The first was for herself; the second for the
reformation of the Holy Church; the third a general prayer for the whole world, and
in particular for the peace of Christians who rebel, with much lewdness and
persecution, against the Holy Church; in the fourth and last, she besought the
Divine Providence to provide for things in general, and in particular, for a certain
case with which she was concerned.
                                             15
How the desire of this soul grew when God showed her the neediness of the world.
This desire was great and continuous, but grew much more, when the First Truth
showed her the neediness of the world, and in what a tempest of offense against
God it lay. And she had understood this the better from a letter, which she had
received from the spiritual Father of her soul, in which he explained to her the
penalties and intolerable dolor caused by offenses against God, and the loss of souls,
and the persecutions of Holy Church.
All this lighted the fire of her holy desire with grief for the offenses, and with the
joy of the lively hope, with which she waited for God to provide against such great
evils. And, since the soul seems, in such communion, sweetly to bind herself fast
within herself and with God, and knows better His truth, inasmuch as the soul is
then in God, and God in the soul, as the fish is in the sea, and the sea in the fish, she
desired the arrival of the morning (for the morrow was a feast of Mary) in order to
hear Mass. And, when the morning came, and the hour of the Mass, she sought
with anxious desire her accustomed place; and, with a great knowledge of herself,
being ashamed of her own imperfection, appearing to herself to be the cause of all
the evil that was happening throughout the world, conceiving a hatred and
displeasure against herself, and a feeling of holy justice, with which knowledge,
hatred, and justice, she purified the stains which seemed to her to cover her guilty
soul, she said: "O Eternal Father, I accuse myself before You, in order that You may
punish me for my sins in this finite life, and, inasmuch as my sins are the cause of
the sufferings which my neighbor must endure, I implore You, in Your kindness, to
punish them in my person."
How finite works are not sufficient for punishment or recompense without the
        perpetual affection of love.
Then, the Eternal Truth seized and drew more strongly to Himself her desire, doing
as He did in the Old Testament, for when the sacrifice was offered to God, a fire
descended and drew to Him the sacrifice that was acceptable to Him; so did the sweet
Truth to that soul, in sending down the fire of the clemency of the Holy Spirit,
seizing the sacrifice of desire that she made of herself, saying: "Do you not know,
dear daughter, that all the sufferings, which the soul endures, or can endure, in this
life, are insufficient to punish one smallest fault, because the offense, being done to
Me, who am the Infinite Good, calls for an infinite satisfaction? However, I wish
that you should know, that not all the pains that are given to men in this life are
given as punishments, but as corrections, in order to chastise a son when he offends;
though it is true that both the guilt and the penalty can be expiated by the desire of
the soul, that is, by true contrition, not through the finite pain endured, but through
the infinite desire; because God, who is infinite, wishes for infinite love and infinite
grief. Infinite grief I wish from My creature in two ways: in one way, through her
sorrow for her own sins, which she has committed against Me her Creator; in the
other way, through her sorrow for the sins which she sees her neighbors commit
against Me. Of such as these, inasmuch as they have infinite desire, that is, are
joined to Me by an affection of love, and therefore grieve when they offend Me, or
                                             16
see Me offended, their every pain, whether spiritual or corporeal, from wherever it
may come, receives infinite merit, and satisfies for a guilt which deserved an
infinite penalty, although their works are finite and done in finite time; but,
inasmuch as they possess the virtue of desire, and sustain their suffering with
desire, and contrition, and infinite displeasure against their guilt, their pain is held
worthy. Paul explained this when he said: If I had the tongues of angels, and if I
knew the things of the future and gave my body to be burned, and have not love, it
would be worth nothing to me. The glorious Apostle thus shows that finite works
are not valid, either as punishment or recompense, without the condiment of the
affection of love."
How desire and contrition of heart satisfies, both for the guilt and the penalty in
       oneself and in others; and how sometimes it satisfies for the guilt only, and
       not the penalty.
"I have shown you, dearest daughter, that the guilt is not punished in this finite
time by any pain which is sustained purely as such. And I say, that the guilt is
punished by the pain which is endured through the desire, love, and contrition of
the heart; not by virtue of the pain, but by virtue of the desire of the soul; inasmuch
as desire and every virtue is of value, and has life in itself, through Christ crucified,
My only begotten Son, in so far as the soul has drawn her love from Him, and
virtuously follows His virtues, that is, His Footprints. In this way, and in no other,
are virtues of value, and in this way, pains satisfy for the fault, by the sweet and
intimate love acquired in the knowledge of My goodness, and in the bitterness and
contrition of heart acquired by knowledge of one's self and one's own thoughts.
And this knowledge generates a hatred and displeasure against sin, and against the
soul's own sensuality, through which, she deems herself worthy of pains and
unworthy of reward."
The sweet Truth continued: "See how, by contrition of the heart, together with love,
with true patience, and with true humility, deeming themselves worthy of pain and
unworthy of reward, such souls endure the patient humility in which consists the
above-mentioned satisfaction. You ask me, then, for pains, so that I may receive
satisfaction for the offenses, which are done against Me by My Creatures, and you
further ask the will to know and love Me, who am the Supreme Truth. Wherefore I
reply that this is the way, if you will arrive at a perfect knowledge and enjoyment of
Me, the Eternal Truth, that you should never go outside the knowledge of yourself,
and, by humbling yourself in the valley of humility, you will know Me and
yourself, from which knowledge you will draw all that is necessary. No virtue, my
daughter, can have life in itself except through charity, and humility, which is the
foster-mother and nurse of charity. In self-knowledge, then, you will humble
yourself, seeing that, in yourself, you do not even exist; for your very being, as you
will learn, is derived from Me, since I have loved both you and others before you
were in existence; and that, through the ineffable love which I had for you, wishing
to re-create you to Grace, I have washed you, and re-created you in the Blood of My
only-begotten Son, spilt with so great a fire of love. This Blood teaches the truth to
him, who, by self-knowledge, dissipates the cloud of self-love, and in no other way
can he learn. Then the soul will inflame herself in this knowledge of Me with an
                                             17
ineffable love, through which love she continues in constant pain; not, however, a
pain which afflicts or dries up the soul, but one which rather fattens her; for since
she has known My truth, and her own faults, and the ingratitude of men, she
endures intolerable suffering, grieving because she loves Me; for, if she did not love
Me, she would not be obliged to do so; whence it follows immediately, that it is right
for you, and My other servants who have learnt My truth in this way, to sustain,
even unto death, many tribulations and injuries and insults in word and deed, for
the glory and praise of My Name; thus will you endure and suffer pains. Do you,
therefore, and My other servants, carry yourselves with true patience, with grief for
your sins, and with love of virtue for the glory and praise of My Name. If you act
thus, I will satisfy for your sins, and for those of My other servants, inasmuch as the
pains which you will endure will be sufficient, through the virtue of love, for
satisfaction and reward, both in you and in others. In yourself you will receive the
fruit of life, when the stains of your ignorance are effaced, and I shall not remember
that you ever offended Me. In others I will satisfy through the love and affection
which you have to Me, and I will give to them according to the disposition with
which they will receive My gifts. In particular, to those who dispose themselves,
humbly and with reverence, to receive the doctrine of My servants, will I remit both
guilt and penalty, since they will thus come to true knowledge and contrition for
their sins. So that, by means of prayer, and their desire of serving Me, they receive
the fruit of grace, receiving it humbly in greater or less degree, according to the
extent of their exercise of virtue and grace in general. I say then, that, through your
desires, they will receive remission for their sins. See, however, the condition,
namely, that their obstinacy should not be so great in their despair as to condemn
them through contempt of the Blood, which, with such sweetness, has restored
them.
"What fruit do they receive?
"The fruit which I destine for them, constrained by the prayers of My servants, is
that I give them light, and that I wake up in them the hound of conscience, and
make them smell the odor of virtue, and take delight in the conversation of My
servants.
"Sometimes I allow the world to show them what it is, so that, feeling its diverse
and various passions, they may know how little stability it has, and may come to lift
their desire beyond it, and seek their native country, which is the Eternal Life. And
so I draw them by these, and by many other ways, for the eye cannot see, nor the
tongue relate, nor the heart think, how many are the roads and ways which I use,
through love alone, to lead them back to grace, so that My truth may be fulfilled in
them. I am constrained to do so by that inestimable love of Mine, by which I created
them, and by the love, desire, and grief of My servants, since I am no despiser of
their tears, and sweat, and humble prayers; rather I accept them, inasmuch as I am
He who give them this love for the good of souls and grief for their loss. But I do
not, in general, grant to these others, for whom they pray, satisfaction for the penalty
due to them, but, only for their guilt, since they are not disposed, on their side, to
receive, with perfect love, My love, and that of My servants. They do not receive
their grief with bitterness, and perfect contrition for the sins they have committed,
but with imperfect love and contrition, wherefore they have not, as others,
remission of the penalty, but only of the guilt; because such complete satisfaction
                                             18
requires proper dispositions on both sides, both in him that gives and him that
receives. Wherefore, since they are imperfect, they receive imperfectly the perfection
of the desires of those who offer them to Me, for their sakes, with suffering; and,
inasmuch as I told you that they do receive remission, this is indeed the truth, that,
by that way which I have told you, that is, by the light of conscience, and by other
things, satisfaction is made for their guilt; for, beginning to learn, they vomit forth
the corruption of their sins, and so receive the gift of grace.
"These are they who are in a state of ordinary charity, wherefore, if they have
trouble, they receive it in the guise of correction, and do not resist over much the
clemency of the Holy Spirit, but, coming out of their sin, they receive the life of
grace. But if, like fools, they are ungrateful, and ignore Me and the labors of My
servants done for them, that which was given them, through mercy, turns to their
own ruin and judgment, not through defect of mercy, nor through defect of him
who implored the mercy for the ingrate, but solely through the man's own
wretchedness and hardness, with which, with the hands of his free will, he has
covered his heart, as it were, with a diamond, which, if it be not broken by the
Blood, can in no way be broken. And yet, I say to you, that, in spite of his hardness of
heart, he can use his free will while he has time, praying for the Blood of My Son,
and let him with his own hand apply It to the diamond over his heart and shiver it,
and he will receive the imprint of the Blood which has been paid for him. But, if he
delays until the time be past, he has no remedy, because he has not used the dowry
which I gave him, giving him memory so as to remember My benefits, intellect, so
as to see and know the truth, affection, so that he should love Me, the Eternal Truth,
whom he would have known through the use of his intellect. This is the dowry
which I have given you all, and which ought to render fruit to Me, the Father; but, if
a man barters and sells it to the devil, the devil, if he choose, has a right to seize on
everything that he has acquired in this life. And, filling his memory with the
delights of sin, and with the recollection of shameful pride, avarice, self-love,
hatred, and unkindness to his neighbors (being also a persecutor of My servants),
with these miseries, he has obscured his intellect by his disordinate will. Let such as
these receive the eternal pains, with their horrible stench, inasmuch as they have
not satisfied for their sins with contrition and displeasure of their guilt. Now,
therefore, you have understood how suffering satisfies for guilt by perfect contrition,
not through the finite pain; and such as have this contrition in perfection satisfy not
only for the guilt, but also for the penalty which follows the guilt, as I have already
said when speaking in general; and if they satisfy for the guilt alone, that is, if,
having abandoned mortal sin, they receive grace, and have not sufficient contrition
and love to satisfy for the penalty also, they go to the pains of Purgatory, passing
through the second and last means of satisfaction.
"So you see that satisfaction is made, through the desire of the soul united to Me,
who am the Infinite Good, in greater or less degree, according to the measure of
love, obtained by the desire and prayer of the recipient. Wherefore, with that very
same measure with which a man measures to Me, do he receive in himself the
measure of My goodness. Labor, therefore, to increase the fire of your desire, and let
not a moment pass without crying to Me with humble voice, or without continual
prayers before Me for your neighbors. I say this to you and to the father of your soul,
whom I have given you on earth. Bear yourselves with manful courage, and make
yourselves dead to all your own sensuality."
                                             19
How very pleasing to God is the willing desire to suffer for Him.
"Very pleasing to Me, dearest daughter, is the willing desire to bear every pain and
fatigue, even unto death, for the salvation of souls, for the more the soul endures,
the more she shows that she loves Me; loving Me she comes to know more of My
truth, and the more she knows, the more pain and intolerable grief she feels at the
offenses committed against Me. You asked Me to sustain you, and to punish the
faults of others in you, and you did not remark that you were really asking for love,
light, and knowledge of the truth, since I have already told you that, by the increase
of love, grows grief and pain, wherefore he that grows in love grows in grief.
Therefore, I say to you all, that you should ask, and it will be given you, for I deny
nothing to him who asks of Me in truth. Consider that the love of divine charity is
so closely joined in the soul with perfect patience, that neither can leave the soul
without the other. For this reason (if the soul elect to love Me) she should elect to
endure pains for Me in whatever mode or circumstance I may send them to her.
Patience cannot be proved in any other way than by suffering, and patience is united
with love as has been said. Therefore bear yourselves with manly courage, for,
unless you do so, you will not prove yourselves to be spouses of My Truth, and
faithful children, nor of the company of those who relish the taste of My honor, and
the salvation of souls."
How every virtue and every defect is obtained by means of our neighbor.
"I wish also that you should know that every virtue is obtained by means of your
neighbor, and likewise, every defect; he, therefore, who stands in hatred of Me, does
an injury to his neighbor, and to himself, who is his own chief neighbor, and this
injury is both general and particular. It is general because you are obliged to love
your neighbor as yourself, and loving him, you ought to help him spiritually, with
prayer, counseling him with words, and assisting him both spiritually and
temporally, according to the need in which he may be, at least with your goodwill if
you have nothing else. A man therefore, who does not love, does not help him, and
thereby does himself an injury; for he cuts off from himself grace, and injures his
neighbor, by depriving him of the benefit of the prayers and of the sweet desires that
he is bound to offer for him to Me. Thus, every act of help that he performs should
proceed from the charity which he has through love of Me. And every evil also, is
done by means of his neighbor, for, if he do not love Me, he cannot be in charity
with his neighbor; and thus, all evils derive from the soul's deprivation of love of
Me and her neighbor; whence, inasmuch as such a man does no good, it follows that
he must do evil. To whom does he evil? First of all to himself, and then to his
neighbor, not against Me, for no evil can touch Me, except in so far as I count done
to Me that which he does to himself. To himself he does the injury of sin, which
deprives him of grace, and worse than this he cannot do to his neighbor. Him he
injures in not paying him the debt, which he owes him, of love, with which he
ought to help him by means of prayer and holy desire offered to Me for him. This is
an assistance which is owed in general to every rational creature; but its usefulness
is more particular when it is done to those who are close at hand, under your eyes,
                                              20
as to whom, I say, you are all obliged to help one another by word and doctrine, and
the example of good works, and in every other respect in which your neighbor may
be seen to be in need; counseling him exactly as you would yourselves, without any
passion of self-love; and he (a man not loving God) does not do this, because he has
no love towards his neighbor; and, by not doing it, he does him, as you see, a special
injury. And he does him evil, not only by not doing him the good that he might do
him, but by doing him a positive injury and a constant evil. In this way sin causes a
physical and a mental injury. The mental injury is already done when the sinner
has conceived pleasure in the idea of sin, and hatred of virtue, that is, pleasure from
sensual self-love, which has deprived him of the affection of love which he ought
to have towards Me, and his neighbor, as has been said. And, after he has conceived,
he brings forth one sin after another against his neighbor, according to the diverse
ways which may please his perverse sensual will. Sometimes it is seen that he
brings forth cruelty, and that both in general and in particular.
"His general cruelty is to see himself and other creatures in danger of death and
damnation through privation of grace, and so cruel is he that he reminds neither
himself nor others of the love of virtue and hatred of vice. Being thus cruel he may
wish to extend his cruelty still further, that is, not content with not giving an
example of virtue, the villain also usurps the office of the demons, tempting,
according to his power, his fellow-creatures to abandon virtue for vice; this is cruelty
towards his neighbors, for he makes himself an instrument to destroy life and to
give death. Cruelty towards the body has its origin in cupidity, which not only
prevents a man from helping his neighbor, but causes him to seize the goods of
others, robbing the poor creatures; sometimes this is done by the arbitrary use of
power, and at other times by cheating and fraud, his neighbor being forced to
redeem, to his own loss, his own goods, and often indeed his own person.
"Oh, miserable vice of cruelty, which will deprive the man who practices it of all
mercy, unless he turn to kindness and benevolence towards his neighbor!
"Sometimes the sinner brings forth insults on which often follows murder;
sometimes also impurity against the person of his neighbor, by which he becomes a
brute beast full of stench, and in this case he does not poison one only, but whoever
approaches him, with love or in conversation, is poisoned.
"Against whom does pride bring forth evils? Against the neighbor, through love of
one's own reputation, whence comes hatred of the neighbor, reputing one's self to
be greater than he; and in this way is injury done to him. And if a man be in a
position of authority, he produces also injustice and cruelty and becomes a retailer
of the flesh of men. Oh, dearest daughter, grieve for the offense against Me, and
weep over these corpses, so that, by prayer, the bands of their death may be loosened!
"See now, that, in all places and in all kinds of people, sin is always produced against
the neighbor, and through his medium; in no other way could sin ever be
committed either secret or open. A secret sin is when you deprive your neighbor of
that which you ought to give him; an open sin is where you perform positive acts of
sin, as I have related to you. It is, therefore, indeed the truth that every sin done
against Me, is done through the medium of the neighbor."
                                             21
How virtues are accomplished by means of our neighbor, and how it is that virtues
       differ to such an extent in creatures.
"I have told you how all sins are accomplished by means of your neighbor, through
the principles which I exposed to you, that is, because men are deprived of the
affection of love, which gives light to every virtue. In the same way self-love, which
destroys charity and affection towards the neighbor, is the principle and foundation
of every evil. All scandals, hatred, cruelty, and every sort of trouble proceed from
this perverse root of self-love, which has poisoned the entire world, and weakened
the mystical body of the Holy Church, and the universal body of the believers in the
Christian religion; and, therefore, I said to you, that it was in the neighbor, that is to
say in the love of him, that all virtues were founded; and, truly indeed did I say to
you, that charity gives life to all the virtues, because no virtue can be obtained
without charity, which is the pure love of Me.
"Wherefore, when the soul knows herself, as we have said above, she finds
humility and hatred of her own sensual passion, for she learns the perverse law,
which is bound up in her members, and which ever fights against the spirit. And,
therefore, arising with hatred of her own sensuality, crushing it under the heel of
reason, with great earnestness, she discovers in herself the bounty of My goodness,
through the many benefits which she has received from Me, all of which she
considers again in herself. She attributes to Me, through humility, the knowledge
which she has obtained of herself, knowing that, by My grace, I have drawn her out
of darkness and lifted her up into the light of true knowledge. When she has
recognized My goodness, she loves it without any medium, and yet at the same time
with a medium, that is to say, without the medium of herself or of any advantage
accruing to herself, and with the medium of virtue, which she has conceived
through love of Me, because she sees that, in no other way, can she become grateful
and acceptable to Me, but by conceiving, hatred of sin and love of virtue; and, when
she has thus conceived by the affection of love, she immediately is delivered of fruit
for her neighbor, because, in no other way, can she act out the truth she has
conceived in herself, but, loving Me in truth, in the same truth she serves her
neighbor.
"And it cannot be otherwise, because love of Me and of her neighbor are one and
the same thing, and, so far as the soul loves Me, she loves her neighbor, because
love towards him issues from Me. This is the means which I have given you, that
you may exercise and prove your virtue therewith; because, inasmuch as you can do
Me no profit, you should do it to your neighbor. This proves that you possess Me by
grace in your soul, producing much fruit for your neighbor and making prayers to
Me, seeking with sweet and amorous desire My honor and the salvation of souls.
The soul, enamored of My truth, never ceases to serve the whole world in general,
and more or less in a particular case according to the disposition of the recipient and
the ardent desire of the donor, as I have shown above, when I declared to you that
the endurance of suffering alone, without desire, was not sufficient to punish a
fault.
"When she has discovered the advantage of this unitive love in Me, by means of
which, she truly loves herself, extending her desire for the salvation of the whole
world, thus coming to the aid of its neediness, she strives, inasmuch as she has done
good to herself by the conception of virtue, from which she has drawn the life of
                                             22
grace, to fix her eye on the needs of her neighbor in particular. Wherefore, when she
has discovered, through the affection of love, the state of all rational creatures in
general, she helps those who are at hand, according to the various graces which I
have entrusted to her to administer; one she helps with doctrine, that is, with
words, giving sincere counsel without any respect of persons, another with the
example of a good life, and this indeed all give to their neighbor, the edification of a
holy and honorable life. These are the virtues, and many others, too many to
enumerate, which are brought forth in the love of the neighbor; but, although I
have given them in such a different way, that is to say not all to one, but to one, one
virtue, and to another, another, it so happens that it is impossible to have one,
without having them all, because all the virtues are bound together. Wherefore,
learn, that, in many cases I give one virtue, to be as it were the chief of the others,
that is to say, to one I will give principally love, to another justice, to another
humility, to one a lively faith, to another prudence or temperance, or patience, to
another fortitude. These, and many other virtues, I place, indifferently, in the souls
of many creatures; it happens, therefore, that the particular one so placed in the soul
becomes the principal object of its virtue; the soul disposing herself, for her chief
conversation, to this rather than to other virtues, and, by the effect of this virtue, the
soul draws to herself all the other virtues, which, as has been said, are all bound
together in the affection of love; and so with many gifts and graces of virtue, and not
only in the case of spiritual things but also of temporal. I use the word temporal for
the things necessary to the physical life of man; all these I have given indifferently,
and I have not placed them all in one soul, in order that man should, perforce, have
material for love of his fellow. I could easily have created men possessed of all that
they should need both for body and soul, but I wish that one should have need of
the other, and that they should be My ministers to administer the graces and the
gifts that they have received from Me. Whether man will or no, he cannot help
making an act of love. It is true, however, that that act, unless made through love of
Me, profits him nothing so far as grace is concerned. See then, that I have made men
My ministers, and placed them in diverse stations and various ranks, in order that
they may make use of the virtue of love.
"Wherefore, I show you that in My house are many mansions, and that I wish for
no other thing than love, for in the love of Me is fulfilled and completed the love of
the neighbor, and the law observed. For he, only, can be of use in his state of life,
who is bound to Me with this love."
How virtues are proved and fortified by their contraries.
"Up to the present, I have taught you how a man may serve his neighbor, and
manifest, by that service, the love which he has towards Me.
"Now I wish to tell you further, that a man proves his patience on his neighbor,
when he receives injuries from him.
"Similarly, he proves his humility on a proud man, his faith on an infidel, his true
hope on one who despairs, his justice on the unjust, his kindness on the cruel, his
gentleness and benignity on the irascible. Good men produce and prove all their
virtues on their neighbor, just as perverse men all their vices; thus, if you consider
                                               23
well, humility is proved on pride in this way. The humble man extinguishes pride,
because a proud man can do no harm to a humble one; neither can the infidelity of
a wicked man, who neither loves Me, nor hopes in Me, when brought forth against
one who is faithful to Me, do him any harm; his infidelity does not diminish the
faith or the hope of him who has conceived his faith and hope through love of Me,
it rather fortifies it, and proves it in the love he feels for his neighbor. For, he sees
that the infidel is unfaithful, because he is without hope in Me, and in My servant,
because he does not love Me, placing his faith and hope rather in his own
sensuality, which is all that he loves. My faithful servant does not leave him
because he does not faithfully love Me, or because he does not constantly seek, with
hope in Me, for his salvation, inasmuch as he sees clearly the causes of his infidelity
and lack of hope. The virtue of faith is proved in these and other ways. Wherefore,
to those, who need the proof of it, My servant proves his faith in himself and in his
neighbor, and so, justice is not diminished by the wicked man's injustice, but is
rather proved, that is to say, the justice of a just man. Similarly, the virtues of
patience, benignity, and kindness manifest themselves in a time of wrath by the
same sweet patience in My servants, and envy, vexation, and hatred demonstrate
their love, and hunger and desire for the salvation of souls. I say, also, to you, that,
not only is virtue proved in those who render good for evil, but, that many times a
good man gives back fiery coals of love, which dispel the hatred and rancor of heart
of the angry, and so from hatred often comes benevolence, and that this is by virtue
of the love and perfect patience which is in him, who sustains the anger of the
wicked, bearing and supporting his defects. If you will observe the virtues of
fortitude and perseverance, these virtues are proved by the long endurance of the
injuries and detractions of wicked men, who, whether by injuries or by flattery,
constantly endeavor to turn a man aside from following the road and the doctrine
of truth. Wherefore, in all these things, the virtue of fortitude conceived within the
soul, perseveres with strength, and, in addition proves itself externally upon the
neighbor, as I have said to you; and, if fortitude were not able to make that good
proof of itself, being tested by many contrarieties, it would not be a serious virtue
founded in truth."
                                            24
A TREATISE OF DISCRETION
How the affection should not place reliance chiefly on penance, but rather on
         virtues; and how discretion receives life from humility, and renders to each
         man his due.
"These are the holy and sweet works which I seek from My servants; these are the
proved intrinsic virtues of the soul, as I have told you. They not only consist of
those virtues which are done by means of the body, that is, with an exterior act, or
with diverse and varied penances, which are the instruments of virtue; works of
penance performed alone without the above-mentioned virtues would please Me
little; often, indeed, if the soul perform not her penance with discretion, that is to
say, if her affection be placed principally in the penance she has undertaken, her
perfection will be impeded; she should rather place reliance on the affection of love,
with a holy hatred of herself, accompanied by true humility and perfect patience,
together with the other intrinsic virtues of the soul, with hunger and desire for My
honor and the salvation of souls. For these virtues demonstrate that the will is
dead, and continually slays its own sensuality through the affection of love of
virtue. With this discretion, then, should the soul perform her penance, that is, she
should place her principal affection in virtue rather than in penance. Penance
should be but the means to increase virtue according to the needs of the individual,
and according to what the soul sees she can do in the measure of her own
possibility. Otherwise, if the soul place her foundation on penance she will
contaminate her own perfection, because her penance will not be done in the light
of knowledge of herself and of My goodness, with discretion, and she will not seize
hold of My truth; neither loving that which I love, nor hating that which I hate.
This virtue of discretion is no other than a true knowledge which the soul should
have of herself and of Me, and in this knowledge is virtue rooted. Discretion is the
only child of self-knowledge, and, wedding with charity, has indeed many other
descendants, as a tree which has many branches; but that which gives life to the tree,
to its branches, and its root, is the ground of humility, in which it is planted, which
humility is the foster-mother and nurse of charity, by whose means this tree
remains in the perpetual calm of discretion. Because otherwise the tree would not
produce the virtue of discretion, or any fruit of life, if it were not planted in the
virtue of humility, because humility proceeds from self-knowledge. And I have
already said to you, that the root of discretion is a real knowledge of self and of My
goodness, by which the soul immediately, and discreetly, renders to each one his
due. Chiefly to Me in rendering praise and glory to My Name, and in referring to Me
the graces and the gifts which she sees and knows she has received from Me; and
rendering to herself that which she sees herself to have merited, knowing that she
does not even exist of herself, and attributing to Me, and not to herself, her being,
which she knows she has received by grace from Me, and every other grace which
she has received besides.
"And she seems to herself to be ungrateful for so many benefits, and negligent, in
that she has not made the most of her time, and the graces she has received, and so
                                              25
seems to herself worthy of suffering; wherefore she becomes odious and displeasing
to herself through her guilt. And this founds the virtue of discretion on knowledge
of self, that is, on true humility, for, were this humility not in the soul, the soul
would be indiscreet, indiscretion being founded on pride, as discretion is on
humility.
"An indiscreet soul robs Me of the honor due to Me, and attributes it to herself,
through vainglory, and that which is really her own she imputes to Me, grieving
and murmuring concerning My mysteries, with which I work in her soul and in
those of My other creatures; wherefore everything in Me and in her neighbor is
cause of scandal to her. Contrariwise those who possess the virtue of discretion. For,
when they have rendered what is due to Me and to themselves, they proceed to
render to their neighbor their principal debt of love, and of humble and continuous
prayer, which all should pay to each other, and further, the debt of doctrine, and
example of a holy and honorable life, counseling and helping others according to
their needs for salvation, as I said to you above. Whatever rank a man be in,
whether that of a noble, a prelate, or a servant, if he have this virtue, everything
that he does to his neighbor is done discreetly and lovingly, because these virtues
are bound and mingled together, and both planted in the ground of humility which
proceeds from self-knowledge."
A parable showing how love, humility, and discretion are united; and how the soul
        should conform herself to this parable.
"Do you know how these three virtues stand together? It is, as if a circle were drawn
on the surface of the earth, and a tree, with an off-shoot joined to its side, grew in
the center of the circle. The tree is nourished in the earth contained in the diameter
of the circle, for if the tree were out of the earth it would die, and give no fruit. Now,
consider, in the same way, that the soul is a tree existing by love, and that it can live
by nothing else than love; and, that if this soul have not in very truth the divine
love of perfect charity, she cannot produce fruit of life, but only of death. It is
necessary then, that the root of this tree, that is the affection of the soul, should grow
in, and issue from the circle of true self-knowledge which is contained in Me, who
have neither beginning nor end, like the circumference of the circle, for, turn as you
will within a circle, inasmuch as the circumference has neither end nor beginning,
you always remain within it.
"This knowledge of yourself and of Me is found in the earth of true humility, which
is as wide as the diameter of the circle, that is as the knowledge of self and of Me (for,
otherwise, the circle would not be without end and beginning, but would have its
beginning in knowledge of self, and its end in confusion, if this knowledge were not
contained in Me). Then the tree of love feeds itself on humility, bringing forth from
its side the off-shoot of true discretion, in the way that I have already told you, from
the heart of the tree, that is the affection of love which is in the soul, and the
patience, which proves that I am in the soul and the soul in Me. This tree then, so
sweetly planted, produces fragrant blossoms of virtue, with many scents of great
variety, inasmuch as the soul renders fruit of grace and of utility to her neighbor,
according to the zeal of those who come to receive fruit from My servants; and to
                                             26
Me she renders the sweet odor of glory and praise to My Name, and so fulfills the
object of her creation.
"In this way, therefore, she reaches the term of her being, that is Myself, her God,
who am Eternal Life. And these fruits cannot be taken from her without her will,
inasmuch as they are all flavored with discretion, because they are all united, as has
been said above."
How penance and other corporal exercises are to be taken as instruments for
        arriving at virtue, and not as the principal affection of the soul; and of the
        light of discretion in various other modes and operations.
"These are the fruits and the works which I seek from the soul, the proving,
namely, of virtue in the time of need. And yet some time ago, if you remember,
when you were desirous of doing great penance for My sake, asking, 'What can I do
to endure suffering for You, oh Lord?' I replied to you, speaking in your mind, 'I
take delight in few words and many works.' I wished to show you that he who
merely calls on me with the sound of words, saying: 'Lord, Lord, I would do
something for You,' and he, who desires for My sake to mortify his body with many
penances, and not his own will, did not give Me much pleasure; but that I desired
the manifold works of manly endurance with patience, together with the other
virtues, which I have mentioned to you above, intrinsic to the soul, all of which
must be in activity in order to obtain fruits worthy of grace. All other works,
founded on any other principle than this, I judge to be a mere calling with words,
because they are finite works, and I, who am Infinite, seek infinite works, that is an
infinite perfection of love.
"I wish therefore that the works of penance, and of other corporal exercises, should
be observed merely as means, and not as the fundamental affection of the soul. For,
if the principal affection of the soul were placed in penance, I should receive a finite
thing like a word, which, when it has issued from the mouth, is no more, unless it
have issued with affection of the soul, which conceives and brings forth virtue in
truth; that is, unless the finite operation, which I have called a word, should be
joined with the affection or love, in which case it would be grateful and pleasant to
Me. And this is because such a work would not be alone, but accompanied by true
discretion, using corporal works as means, and not as the principal foundation; for it
would not be becoming that that principal foundation should be placed in penance
only, or in any exterior corporal act, such works being finite, since they are done in
finite time, and also because it is often profitable that the creature omit them, and
even that she be made to do so.
"Wherefore, when the soul omits them through necessity, being unable through
various circumstances to complete an action which she has begun, or, as may
frequently happen, through obedience at the order of her director, it is well; since, if
she continued then to do them, she not only would receive no merit, but would
offend Me; thus you see that they are merely finite. She ought, therefore, to adopt
them as a means, and not as an end. For, if she takes them as an end she will be
obliged, some time or other, to leave them, and will then remain empty. This, My
trumpeter, the glorious Paul, taught you when he said in his epistle, that you
                                              27
should mortify the body and destroy self-will, knowing, that is to say, how to keep
the rein on the body, macerating the flesh whenever it should wish to combat the
spirit, but the will should be dead and annihilated in everything, and subject to My
will, and this slaying of the will is that due which, as I told you, the virtue of
discretion renders to the soul, that is to say, hatred and disgust of her own offenses
and sensuality, which are acquired by self-knowledge. This is the knife which slays
and cuts off all self-love founded in self-will. These then are they who give Me not
only words but manifold works, and in these I take delight. And then I said that I
desired few words, and many actions; by the use of the word 'many' I assign no
particular number to you, because the affection of the soul, founded in love, which
gives life to all the virtues and good works, should increase infinitely, and yet I do
not, by this, exclude words, I merely said that I wished few of them, showing you
that every actual operation, as such, was finite, and therefore I called them of little
account; but they please Me when they are performed as the instruments of virtue,
and not as a principal end in themselves.
"However, no one should judge that he has greater perfection, because he performs
great penances, and gives himself in excess to the slaying of his body, than he who
does less, inasmuch as neither virtue nor merit consists therein; for otherwise he
would be in an evil case, who, from some legitimate reason, was unable to do actual
penance. Merit consists in the virtue of love alone, flavored with the light of true
discretion, without which the soul is worth nothing. And this love should be
directed to Me endlessly, boundlessly, since I am the Supreme and Eternal Truth.
The soul can therefore place neither laws nor limits to her love for Me; but her love
for her neighbor, on the contrary, is ordered in certain conditions. The light of
discretion (which proceeds from love, as I have told you) gives to the neighbor a
conditioned love, one that, being ordered aright, does not cause the injury of sin to
self in order to be useful to others, for, if one single sin were committed to save the
whole world from Hell, or to obtain one great virtue, the motive would not be a
rightly ordered or discreet love, but rather indiscreet, for it is not lawful to perform
even one act of great virtue and profit to others, by means of the guilt of sin. Holy
discretion ordains that the soul should direct all her powers to My service with a
manly zeal, and, that she should love her neighbor with such devotion that she
would lay down a thousand times, if it were possible, the life of her body for the
salvation of souls, enduring pains and torments so that her neighbor may have the
life of grace, and giving her temporal substance for the profit and relief of his body.
"This is the supreme office of discretion which proceeds from charity. So you see
how discreetly every soul, who wishes for grace, should pay her debts, that is, should
love Me with an infinite love and without measure, but her neighbor with
measure, with a restricted love, as I have said, not doing herself the injury of sin in
order to be useful to others. This is St. Paul's counsel to you when he says that
charity ought to be concerned first with self, otherwise it will never be of perfect
utility to others. Because, when perfection is not in the soul, everything which the
soul does for itself and for others is imperfect. It would not, therefore, be just that
creatures, who are finite and created by Me, should be saved through offense done to
Me, who am the Infinite Good. The more serious the fault is in such a case, the less
fruit will the action produce; therefore, in no way should you ever incur the guilt of
sin.
                                             28
"And this true love knows well, because she carries with herself the light of holy
discretion, that light which dissipates all darkness, takes away ignorance, and is the
condiment of every instrument of virtue. Holy discretion is a prudence which
cannot be cheated, a fortitude which cannot be beaten, a perseverance from end to
end, stretching from Heaven to earth, that is, from knowledge of Me to knowledge
of self, and from love of Me to love of others. And the soul escapes dangers by her
true humility, and, by her prudence, flies all the nets of the world and its creatures,
and, with unarmed hands, that is through much endurance, discomfits the devil
and the flesh with this sweet and glorious light; knowing, by it, her own fragility,
she renders to her weakness its due of hatred.
"Wherefore she has trampled on the world, and placed it under the feet of her
affection, despising it, and holding it vile, and thus becoming lord of it, holding it as
folly. And the men of the world cannot take her virtues from such a soul, but all
their persecutions increase her virtues and prove them, which virtues have been at
first conceived by the virtue of love, as has been said, and then are proved on her
neighbor, and bring forth their fruit on him. Thus have I shown you, that, if virtue
were not visible and did not shine in the time of trial, it would not have been truly
conceived; for, I have already told you, that perfect virtue cannot exist and give fruit
except by means of the neighbor, even as a woman, who has conceived a child, if she
do not bring it forth, so that it may appear before the eyes of men, deprives her
husband of his fame of paternity. It is the same with Me, who am the Spouse of the
soul, if she do not produce the child of virtue, in the love of her neighbor, showing
her child to him who is in need, both in general and in particular, as I have said to
you before, so I declare now that, in truth, she has not conceived virtue at all; and
this is also true of the vices, all of which are committed by means of the neighbor."
How this soul grew by means of the divine response, and how her sorrows grew
        less, and how she prayed to God for the Holy Church, and for her own people.
"Then that soul, thirsting and burning with the very great desire that she had
conceived on learning the ineffable love of God, shown in His great goodness, and,
seeing the breadth of His charity, that, with such sweetness, He had deigned to reply
to her request and to satisfy it, giving hope to the sorrow which she had conceived,
on account of offenses against God, and the damage of the Holy Church, and
through His own mercy, which she saw through self-knowledge, diminished, and
yet, at the same time, increased her sorrow.
"For, the Supreme and Eternal Father, in manifesting the way of perfection, showed
her anew her own guilt, and the loss of souls, as has been said more fully above.
Also because in the knowledge which the soul obtains of herself, she knows more of
God, and knowing the goodness of God in herself, the sweet mirror of God, she
knows her own dignity and indignity. Her dignity is that of her creation, seeing that
she is the image of God, and this has been given her by grace, and not as her due. In
that same mirror of the goodness of God, the soul knows her own indignity, which
is the consequence of her own fault. Wherefore, as a man more readily sees spots on
his face when he looks in a mirror, so, the soul who, with true knowledge of self,
rises with desire, and gazes with the eye of the intellect at herself in the sweet mirror
of God, knows better the stains of her own face, by the purity which she sees in Him.
                                            29
"Wherefore, because light and knowledge increased in that soul in the aforesaid
way, a sweet sorrow grew in her, and at the same time, her sorrow was diminished
by the hope which the Supreme Truth gave her, and, as fire grows when it is fed
with wood, so grew the fire in that soul to such an extent that it was no longer
possible for the body to endure it without the departure of the soul; so that, had she
not been surrounded by the strength of Him who is the Supreme Strength, it would
not have been possible for her to have lived any longer. This soul then, being
purified by the fire of divine love, which she found in the knowledge of herself and
of God, and her hunger for the salvation of the whole world, and for the
reformation of the Holy Church, having grown with her hope of obtaining the
same, rose with confidence before the Supreme Father, showing Him the leprosy of
the Holy Church, and the misery of the world, saying, as if with the words of Moses,
'My Lord, turn the eyes of Your mercy upon Your people, and upon the mystical
body of the Holy Church, for You will be the more glorified if You pardon so many
creatures, and give to them the light of knowledge, since all will render You praise
when they see themselves escape through Your infinite goodness from the clouds of
mortal sin, and from eternal damnation; and then You will not only be praised by
my wretched self, who have so much offended You, and who am the cause and the
instrument of all this evil, for which reason I pray Your divine and eternal love to
take Your revenge on me, and to do mercy to Your people, and never will I depart
from before Your presence until I see that you grant them mercy. For what is it to
me if I have life, and Your people death, and the clouds of darkness cover Your
spouse, when it is my own sins, and not those of Your other creatures, that are the
principal cause of this? I desire, then, and beg of You, by Your grace, that You have
mercy on Your people, and I adjure You that You do this by Your uncreated love
which moved You Yourself to create man in Your image and similitude, saying,
"Let us make man in our own image," and this You did, oh eternal Trinity, that
man might participate in everything belonging to You, the most high and eternal
Trinity.'
"Wherefore You gave him memory in order to receive Your benefits, by which he
participates in the power of the Eternal Father; and intellect that he might know,
seeing Your goodness, and so might participate in the wisdom of Your only-begotten
Son; and will, that he might love that which his intellect has seen and known of
Your truth, thus participating in the clemency of Your Holy Spirit. What reason had
You for creating man in such dignity? The inestimable love with which You saw
Your creature in Yourself, and became enamored of him, for You created him
through love, and destined him to be such that he might taste and enjoy Your
Eternal Good. I see therefore that through his sin he lost this dignity in which You
originally placed him, and by his rebellion against You, fell into a state of war with
Your kindness, that is to say, we all became Your enemies.
"Therefore, You, moved by that same fire of love with which You created him,
willingly gave man a means of reconciliation, so that after the great rebellion into
which he had fallen, there should come a great peace; and so You gave him the
only-begotten Word, Your Son, to be the Mediator between us and You. He was our
Justice, for He took on Himself all our offenses and injustices, and performed Your
obedience, Eternal Father, which You imposed on Him, when You clothed Him
with our humanity, our human nature and likeness. Oh, abyss of love! What heart
can help breaking when it sees such dignity as Yours descend to such lowliness as
                                             30
our humanity? We are Your image, and You have become ours, by this union
which You have accomplished with man, veiling the Eternal Deity with the cloud
of woe, and the corrupted clay of Adam. For what reason? -- Love. Wherefore, You,
O God, have become man, and man has become God. By this ineffable love of Yours,
therefore, I constrain You, and implore You that You do mercy to Your creatures."
How God grieves over the Christian people, and particularly over His ministers;
       and touches on the subject of the Sacrament of Christ's Body, and the benefit
       of the Incarnation.
Then God, turning the eye of His mercy towards her, allowing Himself to be
constrained by her tears, and bound by the chain of her holy desire, replied with
lamentation -- "My sweetest daughter, your tears constrain Me, because they are
joined with My love, and fall for love of Me, and your painful desires force Me to
answer you; but marvel, and see how My spouse has defiled her face, and become
leprous, on account of her filthiness and self-love, and swollen with the pride and
avarice of those who feed on their own sin.
"What I say of the universal body and the mystical body of the Holy Church (that is
to say the Christian religion) I also say of My ministers, who stand and feed at the
breasts of Holy Church; and, not only should they feed themselves, but it is also
their duty to feed and hold to those breasts the universal body of Christian people,
and also any other people who should wish to leave the darkness of their infidelity,
and bind themselves as members to My Church. See then with what ignorance and
darkness, and ingratitude, are administered, and with what filthy hands are handled
this glorious milk and blood of My spouse, and with what presumption and
irreverence they are received. Wherefore, that which really gives life, often gives,
through the defects of those who receive it, death; that is to say, the precious Blood
of My only-begotten Son, which destroyed death and darkness, and gave life and
truth, and confounded falsehood. For I give this Blood and use It for salvation and
perfection in the case of that man who disposes himself properly to receive it, for It
gives life and adorns the soul with every grace, in proportion to the disposition and
affection of him who receives It; similarly It gives death to him who receives It
unworthily, living in iniquity and in the darkness of mortal sin; to him, I say, It
gives death and not life; not through defect of the Blood, nor through defect of the
minister, though there might be great evil in him, because his evil would not spoil
nor defile the Blood nor diminish Its grace and virtue, nor does an evil minister do
harm to him to whom he gives the Blood, but to himself he does the harm of guilt,
which will be followed by punishment, unless he correct himself with contrition
and repentance. I say then that the Blood does harm to him who receives it
unworthily, not through defect of the Blood, nor of the minister, but through his
own evil disposition and defect inasmuch as he has befouled his mind and body
with such impurity and misery, and has been so cruel to himself and his neighbor.
He has used cruelty to himself, depriving himself of grace, trampling under the feet
of his affection the fruit of the Blood which he had received in Holy Baptism, when
the stain of original sin was taken from him by virtue of the Blood, which stain he
drew from his origin, when he was generated by his father and mother.
                                             31
"Wherefore I gave My Word, My only-begotten Son, because the whole stuff of
human generation was corrupted through the sin of the first man Adam.
Wherefore, all of you, vessels made of this stuff, were corrupted and not disposed to
the possession of eternal life -- so I, with My dignity, joined Myself to the baseness of
your human generation, in order to restore it to grace which you had lost by sin; for
I was incapable of suffering, and yet, on account of guilt, My divine justice
demanded suffering. But man was not sufficient to satisfy it, for, even if he had
satisfied to a certain extent, he could only have satisfied for himself, and not for
other rational creatures, besides which, neither for himself, nor for others, could
man satisfy, his sin having been committed against Me, who am the Infinite Good.
Wishing, however, to restore man, who was enfeebled, and could not satisfy for the
above reason, I sent My Word, My own Son, clothed in your own very nature, the
corrupted clay of Adam, in order that He might endure suffering in that self-same
nature in which man had offended, suffering in His body even to the opprobrious
death of the Cross, and so He satisfied My justice and My divine mercy. For My
mercy willed to make satisfaction for the sin of man and to dispose him to that good
for which I had created him. This human nature, joined with the divine nature,
was sufficient to satisfy for the whole human race, not only on account of the pain
which it sustained in its finite nature, that is in the flesh of Adam, but by virtue of
the Eternal Deity, the divine and infinite nature joined to it. The two natures being
thus joined together, I received and accepted the sacrifice of My only-begotten Son,
kneaded into one dough with the divine nature, by the fire of divine love which
was the fetter which held him fastened and nailed to the Cross in this way. Thus
human nature was sufficient to satisfy for guilt, but only by virtue of the divine
nature. And in this way was destroyed the stain of Adam's sin, only the mark of it
remaining behind, that is an inclination to sin, and to every sort of corporeal defect,
like the cicatrice which remains when a man is healed of a wound. In this way the
original fault of Adam was able still to cause a fatal stain; wherefore the coming of
the great Physician, that is to say, of My only-begotten Son, cured this invalid, He
drinking this bitter medicine, which man could not drink on account of his great
weakness, like a foster-mother who takes medicine instead of her suckling, because
she is grown up and strong, and the child is not fit to endure its bitterness. He was
man's foster-mother, enduring, with the greatness and strength of the Deity united
with your nature, the bitter medicine of the painful death of the Cross, to give life to
you little ones debilitated by guilt. I say therefore that the mark alone of original sin
remains, which sin you take from your father and your mother when you were
generated by them. But this mark is removed from the soul, though not altogether,
by Holy Baptism, which has the virtue of communicating the life of grace by means
of that glorious and precious Blood. Wherefore, at the moment that the soul
receives Holy Baptism, original sin is taken away from her, and grace is infused into
her, and that inclination to sin, which remains from the original corruption, as has
been said, is indeed a source of weakness, but the soul can keep the bridle on it if she
choose. Then the vessel of the soul is disposed to receive and increase in herself
grace, more or less, according as it pleases her to dispose herself willingly with
affection, and desire of loving and serving Me; and, in the same way, she can
dispose herself to evil as to good, in spite of her having received grace in Holy
Baptism. Wherefore when the time of discretion is come, the soul can, by her free
will, make choice either of good or evil, according as it pleases her will; and so great
                                             32
is this liberty that man has, and so strong has this liberty been made by virtue of this
glorious Blood, that no demon or creature can constrain him to one smallest fault
without his free consent. He has been redeemed from slavery, and made free in
order that he might govern his own sensuality, and obtain the end for which he was
created. Oh, miserable man, who delights to remain in the mud like a brute, and
does not learn this great benefit which he has received from Me! A benefit so great,
that the poor wretched creature full of such ignorance could receive no greater."
How sin is more gravely punished after the Passion of Christ than before; and how
        God promises to do mercy to the world, and to the Holy Church, by means of
        the prayers and sufferings of His servants.
"And I wish you to know, My daughter, that, although I have re-created and
restored to the life of grace, the human race, through the Blood of My only-begotten
Son, as I have said, men are not grateful, but, going from bad to worse, and from
guilt to guilt, even persecuting Me with many injuries, taking so little account of the
graces which I have given them, and continue to give them, that, not only do they
not attribute what they have received to grace, but seem to themselves on occasion
to receive injuries from Me, as if I desired anything else than their sanctification.
"I say to you that they will be more hard-hearted, and worthy of more punishment,
and will, indeed, be punished more severely, now that they have received
redemption in the Blood of My Son, than they would have been before that
redemption took place -- that is, before the stain of Adam's sin had been taken away.
It is right that he who receives more should render more, and should be under great
obligations to Him from whom he receives more.
"Man, then, was closely bound to Me through his being which I have given him,
creating him in My own image and similitude; for which reason, he was bound to
render Me glory, but he deprived Me of it, and wished to give it to himself. Thus he
came to transgress My obedience imposed on him, and became My enemy. And I,
with My humility, destroyed his pride, humiliating the divine nature, and taking
your humanity, and, freeing you from the service of the devil, I made you free. And,
not only did I give you liberty, but, if you examine, you will see that man has
become God, and God has become man, through the union of the divine with the
human nature. This is the debt which they have incurred -- that is to say, the
treasure of the Blood, by which they have been procreated to grace. See, therefore,
how much more they owe after the redemption than before. For they are now
obliged to render Me glory and praise by following in the steps of My Incarnate
Word, My only-begotten Son, for then they repay Me the debt of love both of Myself
and of their neighbor, with true and genuine virtue, as I have said to you above, and
if they do not do it, the greater their debt, the greater will be the offense they fall
into, and therefore, by divine justice, the greater their suffering in eternal
damnation.
"A false Christian is punished more than a pagan, and the deathless fire of divine
justice consumes him more, that is, afflicts him more, and, in his affliction, he feels
himself being consumed by the worm of conscience, though, in truth, he is not
consumed, because the damned do not lose their being through any torment which
                                             33
they receive. Wherefore I say to you, that they ask for death and cannot have it, for
they cannot lose their being; the existence of grace they lose, through their fault, but
not their natural existence. Therefore guilt is more gravely punished after the
Redemption of the Blood than before, because man received more; but sinners
neither seem to perceive this, nor to pay any attention to their own sins, and so
become My enemies, though I have reconciled them, by means of the Blood of My
Son. But there is a remedy with which I appease My wrath -- that is to say, by means
of My servants, if they are jealous to constrain Me by their desire. You see, therefore,
that you have bound Me with this bond which I have given you, because I wished to
do mercy to the world.
"Therefore I give My servants hunger and desire for My honor, and the salvation of
souls, so that, constrained by their tears, I may mitigate the fury of My divine justice.
Take, therefore, your tears and your sweat, drawn from the fountain of My divine
love, and, with them, wash the face of My spouse.
"I promise you, that, by this means, her beauty will be restored to her, not by the
knife nor by cruelty, but peacefully, by humble and continued prayer, by the sweat
and the tears shed by the fiery desire of My servants, and thus will I fulfill your
desire if you, on your part, endure much, casting the light of your patience into the
darkness of perverse man, not fearing the world's persecutions, for I will protect
you, and My Providence shall never fail you in the slightest need."
How the road to Heaven being broken through the disobedience of Adam, God
       made of His Son a Bridge by which man could pass.
"Wherefore I have told you that I have made a Bridge of My Word, of My only-
begotten Son, and this is the truth. I wish that you, My children, should know that
the road was broken by the sin and disobedience of Adam, in such a way, that no
one could arrive at Eternal Life. Wherefore men did not render Me glory in the way
in which they ought to have, as they did not participate in that Good for which I had
created them, and My truth was not fulfilled. This truth is that I have created man
to My own image and similitude, in order that he might have Eternal Life, and
might partake of Me, and taste My supreme and eternal sweetness and goodness.
But, after sin had closed Heaven and bolted the doors of mercy, the soul of man
produced thorns and prickly brambles, and My creature found in himself rebellion
against himself.
"And the flesh immediately began to war against the Spirit, and, losing the state of
innocence, became a foul animal, and all created things rebelled against man,
whereas they would have been obedient to him, had he remained in the state in
which I had placed him. He, not remaining therein, transgressed My obedience, and
merited eternal death in soul and body. And, as soon as he had sinned, a
tempestuous flood arose, which ever buffets him with its waves, bringing him
weariness and trouble from himself, the devil, and the world. Every one was
drowned in the flood, because no one, with his own justice alone, could arrive at
Eternal Life. And so, wishing to remedy your great evils, I have given you the
Bridge of My Son, in order that, passing across the flood, you may not be drowned,
which flood is the tempestuous sea of this dark life. See, therefore, under what
                                             34
obligations the creature is to Me, and how ignorant he is, not to take the remedy
which I have offered, but to be willing to drown."
How God induces the soul to look at the greatness of this Bridge, inasmuch as it
        reaches from earth to Heaven.
"Open, my daughter, the eye of your intellect, and you will see the accepted and the
ignorant, the imperfect, and also the perfect who follow Me in truth, so that you
may grieve over the damnation of the ignorant, and rejoice over the perfection of
My beloved servants.
"You will see further how those bear themselves who walk in the light, and those
who walk in the darkness. I also wish you to look at the Bridge of My only-begotten
Son, and see the greatness thereof, for it reaches from Heaven to earth, that is, that
the earth of your humanity is joined to the greatness of the Deity thereby. I say then
that this Bridge reaches from Heaven to earth, and constitutes the union which I
have made with man.
"This was necessary, in order to reform the road which was broken, as I said to you,
in order that man should pass through the bitterness of the world, and arrive at life;
but the Bridge could not be made of earth sufficiently large to span the flood and
give you Eternal Life, because the earth of human nature was not sufficient to satisfy
for guilt, to remove the stain of Adam's sin. Which stain corrupted the whole
human race and gave out a stench, as I have said to you above. It was, therefore,
necessary to join human nature with the height of My nature, the Eternal Deity, so
that it might be sufficient to satisfy for the whole human race, so that human nature
should sustain the punishment, and that the Divine nature, united with the
human, should make acceptable the sacrifice of My only Son, offered to Me to take
death from you and to give you life.
"So the height of the Divinity, humbled to the earth, and joined with your
humanity, made the Bridge and reformed the road. Why was this done? In order
that man might come to his true happiness with the angels. And observe, that it is
not enough, in order that you should have life, that My Son should have made you
this Bridge, unless you walk thereon."
How this soul prays God to show her those who cross by the aforesaid Bridge, and
        those who do not.
Then this soul exclaimed with ardent love, -- "Oh, inestimable Charity, sweet above
all sweetness! Who would not be inflamed by such great love? What heart can help
breaking at such tenderness? It seems, oh, Abyss of Charity, as if you were mad with
love of Your creature, as if You could not live without him, and yet You are our
God who have no heed of us, Your greatness does not increase through our good,
for You are unchangeable, and our evil causes You no harm, for You are the
Supreme and Eternal Goodness. What moves You to do us such mercy through
pure love, and on account of no debt that You owed us, or need that You had of us?
We are rather Your guilty and malignant debtors. Wherefore, if I understand aright,
Oh, Supreme and Eternal Truth, I am the thief and You have been punished for me.
                                              35
For I see Your Word, Your Son, fastened and nailed to the Cross, of which You have
made me a Bridge, as You have shown me, Your miserable servant, for which
reason, my heart is bursting, and yet cannot burst, through the hunger and the
desire which it has conceived towards You. I remember, my Lord, that You were
willing to show me who are those who go by the Bridge and those who do not;
should it please Your goodness to manifest this to me, willingly would I see and
hear it."
How this Bridge has three steps, which signify the three states of the soul; and how,
        being lifted on high, yet it is not separated from the earth; and how these
        words are to be understood: "If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all
        things unto Me."
Then the Eternal God, to enamor and excite that soul still more for the salvation of
souls, replied to her, and said: "First, as I have shown you that for which you
wished, and ask Me, I will now explain to you the nature of this Bridge. I have told
you, My daughter, that the Bridge reaches from Heaven to earth; this is through the
union which I have made with man, whom I formed of the clay of the earth. Now
learn that this Bridge, My only-begotten Son, has three steps, of which two were
made with the wood of the most Holy Cross, and the third still retains the great
bitterness He tasted, when He was given gall and vinegar to drink. In these three
steps you will recognize three states of the soul, which I will explain to you below.
The feet of the soul, signifying her affection, are the first step, for the feet carry the
body as the affection carries the soul. Wherefore these pierced Feet are steps by
which you can arrive at His Side, Which manifests to you the secret of His Heart,
because the soul, rising on the steps of her affection, commences to taste the love of
His Heart, gazing into that open Heart of My Son, with the eye of the intellect, and
finds It consumed with ineffable love. I say consumed, because He does not love you
for His own profit, because you can be of no profit to Him, He being one and the
same thing with Me. Then the soul is filled with love, seeing herself so much loved.
Having passed the second step, the soul reaches out to the third -- that is -- to the
Mouth, where she finds peace from the terrible war she has been waging with her
sin. On the first step, then, lifting her feet from the affections of the earth, the soul
strips herself of vice; on the second she fills herself with love and virtue; and on the
third she tastes peace. So the Bridge has three steps, in order that, climbing past the
first and the second, you may reach the last, which is lifted on high, so that the
water, running beneath, may not touch it; for, in My Son, was no venom of sin.
This Bridge is lifted on high, and yet, at the same time, joined to the earth. Do you
know when it was lifted on high? When My Son was lifted up on the wood of the
most Holy Cross, the Divine nature remaining joined to the lowliness of the earth
of your humanity.
"For this reason I said to you that, being lifted on high, He was not lifted out of the
earth, for the Divine nature is united and kneaded into one thing with it. And there
was no one who could go on the Bridge until It had been lifted on high, wherefore
He said, -- 'Si exaltatus fuero a terra omnia traham ad me ipsum,' that is, 'If I am
lifted on high I will draw all things to Me.' My Goodness, seeing that in no other
way could you be drawn to Me, I sent Him in order that He should be lifted on high
                                              36
on the wood of the Cross, making of it an anvil on which My Son, born of human
generation, should be re-made, in order to free you from death, and to restore you to
the life of grace; wherefore He drew everything to Himself by this means, namely, by
showing the ineffable love, with which I love you, the heart of man being always
attracted by love. Greater love, then, I could not show you, than to lay down My life
for you; perforce, then, My Son was treated in this way by love, in order that
ignorant man should be unable to resist being drawn to Me.
"In very truth, then, My Son said, that, being lifted on high, He would draw all
things to Him. And this is to be understood in two ways. Firstly, that, when the
heart of man is drawn by the affection of love, as I have said, it is drawn together
with all the powers of his soul, that is, with the Memory, the Intellect, and the Will;
now, when these three powers are harmoniously joined together in My Name, all
the other operations which the man performs, whether in deed or thought, are
pleasing, and joined together by the effect of love, because love is lifted on high,
following the Sorrowful Crucified One; so My Truth said well, 'If I am lifted on
high,' &c., meaning, that if the heart and the powers of the soul are drawn to Him,
all the actions are also drawn to Him. Secondly, everything has been created for the
service of man, to serve the necessities of rational creatures, and the rational
creature has not been made for them, but for Me, in order to serve Me with all his
heart, and with all his affection. See, then, that man being drawn, everything else is
drawn with him, because everything else has been made for him. It was therefore
necessary that the Bridge should be lifted on high, and have steps, in order that it
might be climbed with greater facility."
How this Bridge is built of stones which signify virtues; and how on the Bridge is a
        hostelry where food is given to the travelers; and how he who goes over the
        Bridge goes to life, while he who goes under It goes to perdition and death.
"This Bridge is built of stones, so that, if the rain come, it may not impede the
traveler. Do you know what these stones are? They are the stones of true and sincere
virtues. These stones were not built into the walls before the Passion of My Son, and
therefore even those who attempted to walk by the road of virtue were prevented
from arriving at their journey's end, because Heaven was not yet unlocked with the
key of the Blood, and the rain of Justice did not let them pass; but, after the stones
were made, and built up on the Body of My sweet Son, My Word, of whom I have
spoken to you, He, who was Himself the Bridge, moistened the mortar for its
building with His Blood. That is, His Blood was united with the mortar of divinity,
and with the fortitude, and the fire of love; and, by My power, these stones of the
virtues were built into a wall, upon Him as the foundation, for there is no virtue
which has not been proved in Him, and from Him all virtues have their life.
Wherefore no one can have the virtue given by a life of grace, but from Him, that is,
without following the footsteps of His doctrine. He has built a wall of the virtues,
planting them as living stones, and cementing them with His Blood, so that every
believer may walk speedily, and without any servile fear of the rain of Divine
justice, for he is sheltered by the mercy which descended from Heaven in the
Incarnation of this My Son. How was Heaven opened? With the key of His Blood;
so you see that the Bridge is walled and roofed with Mercy. His also is the Hostelry
                                             37
in the Garden of the Holy Church, which keeps and ministers the Bread of Life, and
gives to drink of the Blood, so that My creatures, journeying on their pilgrimage,
may not, through weariness, faint by the way; and for this reason My love has
ordained that the Blood and the Body of My only-begotten Son, wholly God and
wholly man, may be ministered to you. The pilgrim, having passed the Bridge,
arrives at the door which is part of the Bridge, at which all must enter, wherefore He
says: 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, he who follows Me does not walk in
darkness, but in light.' And in another place My Truth says, 'That no man can come
to Me if not by Him,' and so indeed it is. Therefore He says of Himself that He is the
Road, and this is the truth, and I have already shown you that He is a Road in the
form of the Bridge. And He says that He is the Truth, and so He is, because He is
united with Me who am the Truth, and he who follows Him, walks in the Truth,
and in Life, because he who follows this Truth receives the life of grace, and cannot
faint from hunger, because the Truth has become your food, nor fall in the darkness,
because He is light without any falsehood. And, with that Truth, He confounded
and destroyed the lie that the Devil told to Eve, with which he broke up the road to
Heaven, and the Truth brought the pieces together again, and cemented them with
His Blood. Wherefore, those who follow this road are the sons of the Truth, because
they follow the Truth, and pass through the door of Truth and find themselves
united to Me, who am the Door and the Road and at the same time Infinite Peace.
"But he, who walks not on this road, goes under the Bridge, in the river where there
are no stones, only water, and since there are no supports in the water, no one can
travel that way without drowning; thus have come to pass the sins, and the
condition of the world. Wherefore, if the affection is not placed on the stones, but is
placed, with disordinate love, on creatures, loving them, and being kept by them far
from Me, the soul drowns, for creatures are like water that continually runs past,
and man also passes continually like the river, although it seems to him that he
stands still and the creatures that he loves pass by, and yet he is passing himself
continually to the end of his journey -- death! And he would gladly retain himself
(that is his life, and the things that he loves), but he does not succeed, either,
through death, by which he has to leave them, or through my disposition, by which
these created things are taken from the sight of My creatures. Such as these follow a
lie, walking on the road of falsehood, and are sons of the Devil, who is the Father of
Lies; and, because they pass by the door of falsehood, they receive eternal
damnation. So then you see, that I have shown you both Truth and Falsehood, that
is, My road which is Truth, and the Devil's which is Falsehood."
How traveling on both of these roads, that is the Bridge and the River, is fatiguing;
        and of the delight which the soul feels in traveling by the Bridge.
"These are the two roads, and both are hard to travel. Wonder, then, at the
ignorance and blindness of man, who, having a Road made for him, which causes
such delight to those who use It, that every bitterness becomes sweet, and every
burden light, yet prefers to walk over the water. For those who cross by the Bridge,
being still in the darkness of the body, find light, and, being mortal, find immortal
life, tasting, through love, the light of Eternal Truth which promises refreshment to
him who wearies himself for Me, who am grateful and just, and render to every
                                             38
man according as he deserves. Wherefore every good deed is rewarded, and every
fault is punished. The tongue would not be sufficient to relate the delight felt by
him who goes on this road, for, even in this life, he tastes and participates in that
good which has been prepared for him in eternal life. He, therefore, is a fool indeed,
who despises so great a good, and chooses rather to receive in this life, the earnest
money of Hell, walking by the lower road with great toil, and without any
refreshment or advantage. Wherefore, through their sins, they are deprived of Me,
who am the Supreme and Eternal Good. Truly then have you reason for grief, and I
will that you and My other servants remain in continual bitterness of soul at the
offense done to Me, and in compassion for the ignorant, and the loss of those who,
in their ignorance, thus offend Me. Now you have seen and heard about this Bridge,
how it is, and this I have told you in order to explain My words, that My only-
begotten Son was a Bridge. And thus, you see that He is the Truth, made in the way
that I have shown you, that is -- by the union of height and lowliness."
How this Bridge, having reached to Heaven on the day of the Ascension, did not for
        that reason have the earth.
"When My only-begotten Son returned to Me, forty days after the resurrection, this
Bridge, namely Himself, arose from the earth, that is, from among the conversation
of men, and ascended into Heaven by virtue of the Divine Nature and sat at the
right hand of Me, the Eternal Father, as the angels said, on the day of the Ascension,
to the disciples, standing like dead men, their hearts lifted on high, and ascended
into Heaven with the wisdom of My Son -- 'Do not stand here any longer, for He is
seated at the right hand of the Father!' When He, then, had thus ascended on high,
and returned to Me the Father, I sent the Master, that is the Holy Spirit, who came to
you with My power and the wisdom of My Son, and with His own clemency, which
is the essence of the Holy Spirit. He is one thing with Me, the Father, and with My
Son. And He built up the road of the doctrine which My Truth had left in the world.
Thus, though the bodily presence of My Son left you, His doctrine remained, and
the virtue of the stones founded upon this doctrine, which is the way made for you
by this Bridge. For first, He practiced this doctrine and made the road by His actions,
giving you His doctrine by example rather than by words; for He practiced, first
Himself, what He afterwards taught you, then the clemency of the Holy Spirit made
you certain of the doctrine, fortifying the minds of the disciples to confess the truth,
and to announce this road, that is, the doctrine of Christ crucified, reproving, by this
means, the world of its injustice and false judgment, of which injustice and false
judgment, I will in time discourse to you at greater length.
"This much I have said to you in order that there might be no cloud of darkness in
the mind of your hearers, that is, that they may know that of this Body of Christ I
made a Bridge by the union of the divine with the human nature, for this is the
truth.
"This Bridge, taking its point of departure in you, rose into Heaven, and was the one
road which was taught you by the example and life of the Truth. What has now
remained of all this, and where is the road to be found? I will tell you, that is, I will
rather tell those who might fall into ignorance on this point. I tell you that this way
of His doctrine, of which I have spoken to you, confirmed by the Apostles, declared
                                            39
by the blood of the martyrs, illuminated by the light of doctors, confessed by the
confessors, narrated in all its love by the Evangelists, all of whom stand as witnesses
to confess the Truth, is found in the mystical body of the Holy Church. These
witnesses are like the light placed on a candlestick, to show forth the way of the
Truth which leads to life with a perfect light, as I have said to you, and, as they
themselves say to you, with proof, since they have proved in their own cases, that
every person may, if he will, be illuminated to know the Truth, unless he choose to
deprive his reason of light by his inordinate self-love. It is, indeed, the truth that His
doctrine is true, and has remained like a lifeboat to draw the soul out of the
tempestuous sea and to conduct her to the port of salvation.
"Wherefore, first I gave you the Bridge of My Son living and conversing in very
deed amongst men, and when He, the living Bridge, left you, there remained the
Bridge and the road of His doctrine, as has been said, His doctrine being joined with
My power and with His wisdom, and with the clemency of the Holy Spirit. This
power of Mine gives the virtue of fortitude to whoever follows this road, wisdom
gives him light, so that, in this road, he may recognize the truth, and the Holy Spirit
gives him love, which consumes and takes away all sensitive love out of the soul,
leaving there only the love of virtue. Thus, in both ways, both actually and through
His doctrine, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; that is, the Bridge which leads
you to the height of Heaven. This is what He meant when He said, 'I came from the
Father, and I return to the Father, and shall return to you'; that is to say, 'My Father
sent Me to you, and made Me your Bridge, so that you might be saved from the
river and attain to life.' Then He says, 'I will return to you, I will not leave you
orphans, but will send you the Paraclete' -- as if My Truth should say, 'I will go to
the Father and return; that is, that when the Holy Spirit shall come, who is called
the Paraclete, He will show you more clearly, and will confirm you in the way of
truth, that I have given you.' He said that He would return, and He did return,
because the Holy Spirit came not alone, but with the power of the Father, and the
wisdom of the Son, and the clemency of His own Essence.
"See then how He returns, not in actual flesh and blood, but, as I have said, building
the road of His doctrine, with His power, which road cannot be destroyed or taken
away from him who wishes to follow it, because it is firm and stable, and proceeds
from Me, who am immovable.
"Manfully, then, should you follow this road, without any cloud of doubt, but with
the light of faith which has been given you as a principle in Holy Baptism.
"Now I have fully shown to you the Bridge as it actually is, and the doctrine, which
is one and the same thing with it. And I have shown it to the ignorant, in order that
they may see where this road of Truth is, and where stand those who teach it; and I
have explained that they are the Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Evangelists, and
Holy Doctors, placed like lanterns in the Holy Church.
"And I have shown how My Son, returning to Me, none the less, returned to you,
not in His bodily presence, but by His power, when the Holy Spirit came upon the
disciples, as I have said. For in His bodily presence He will not return until the last
Day of Judgment, when He will come again with My Majesty and Divine Power to
judge the world, to render good to the virtuous, and reward them for their labors,
                                             40
both in body and soul, and to dispense the evil of eternal death to those who have
lived wickedly in the world.
"And now I wish to tell you that which I, the Truth, promised you, that is, to show
you the perfect, the imperfect, and the supremely perfect; and the wicked, who,
through their iniquities, drown in the river, attaining to punishment and torment;
wherefore I say to you, My dearest sons, walk over the Bridge, and not underneath
it, because underneath is not the way of truth, but the way of falsehood, by which
walk the wicked, of whom I will presently speak to you. These are those sinners for
whom I beg you to pray to Me, and for whom I ask in addition your tears and sweat,
in order that they may receive mercy from Me."
How this soul wondering at the mercy of God, relates many gifts and graces given to
        the human race.
Then this soul, as it were, like one intoxicated, could not contain herself, but
standing before the face of God, exclaimed, "How great is the Eternal Mercy with
which You cover the sins of Your creatures! I do not wonder that You say of those
who abandon mortal sin and return to You, 'I do not remember that you have ever
offended Me.' Oh, ineffable Mercy! I do not wonder that You say this to those who
are converted, when You say of those who persecute You, 'I wish you to pray for
such, in order that I may do them mercy.' Oh, Mercy, who proceeds from Your
Eternal Father, the Divinity who governs with Your power the whole world, by You
were we created, in You were we re-created in the Blood of Your Son. Your Mercy
preserves us, Your Mercy caused Your Son to do battle for us, hanging by His arms
on the wood of the Cross, life and death battling together; then life confounded the
death of our sin, and the death of our sin destroyed the bodily life of the Immaculate
Lamb. Which was finally conquered? Death! By what means? Mercy! Your Mercy
gives light and life, by which Your clemency is known in all Your creatures, both the
just and the unjust. In the height of Heaven Your Mercy shines, that is, in Your
saints. If I turn to the earth, it abounds with Your Mercy. In the darkness of Hell
Your Mercy shines, for the damned do not receive the pains they deserve; with Your
Mercy You temper Justice. By Mercy You have washed us in the Blood, and by Mercy
You wish to converse with Your creatures. Oh, Loving Madman! was it not enough
for You to become Incarnate, that You must also die? Was not death enough, that
You must also descend into Limbo, taking thence the holy fathers to fulfill Your
Mercy and Your Truth in them? Because Your goodness promises a reward to them
that serve You in truth, You descended to Limbo, to withdraw from their pain Your
servants, and give them the fruit of their labors. Your Mercy constrains You to give
even more to man, namely, to leave Yourself to him in food, so that we, weak ones,
should have comfort, and the ignorant commemorating You, should not lose the
memory of Your benefits. Wherefore every day You give Yourself to man,
representing Yourself in the Sacrament of the Altar, in the body of Your Holy
Church. What has done this? Your Mercy. Oh, Divine Mercy! My heart suffocates in
thinking of you, for on every side to which I turn my thought, I find nothing but
mercy. Oh, Eternal Father! Forgive my ignorance, that I presume thus to chatter to
You, but the love of Your Mercy will be my excuse before the Face of Your loving-
kindness."
                                            41
Of the baseness of those who pass by the river under the Bridge; and how the soul,
        that passes underneath, is called by God the tree of death, whose roots are
        held in four vices.
After this soul had refreshed a little her heart in the mercy of God, by these words,
she humbly waited for the fulfillment of the promise made to her, and God
continuing His discourse said: "Dearest daughter, you have spoken before Me of My
mercy, because I gave it you to taste and to see in the word which I spoke to you
when I said: 'these are those for whom I pray you to intercede with Me,' but know,
that My mercy is without any comparison, far more than you can see, because your
sight is imperfect, and My mercy perfect and infinite, so that there can be no
comparison between the two, except what may be between a finite and an infinite
thing. But I have wished that you should taste this mercy, and also the dignity of
man, which I have shown you above, so that you might know better the cruelty of
those wicked men who travel below the Bridge. Open the eye of your intellect, and
wonder at those who voluntarily drown themselves, and at the baseness to which
they are fallen by their fault, from which cause, they have first become weak, and
this was when they conceived mortal sin in their minds, for they then bring it forth,
and lose the life of grace. And, as a corpse which can have no feeling or movement
of itself, but only when it is moved and lifted by others, so those, who are drowned
in the stream of disordinate love of the world, are dead to grace. Wherefore because
they are dead their memory takes no heed of My mercy. The eye of their intellect
sees not and knows not My Truth, because their feeling is dead, that is, their intellect
has no object before it but themselves, with the dead love of their own sensuality,
and so their will is dead to My will because it loves nothing but dead things. These
three powers then being dead, all the soul's operations both in deed and thought are
dead as far as grace is concerned. For the soul cannot defend herself against her
enemies, nor help herself through her own power, but only so far as she is helped by
Me. It is true indeed, that every time that this corpse, in whom only free-will has
remained (which remains as long as the mortal body lives), asks My help, he can
have it, but never can he help himself; he has become insupportable to himself,
and, wishing to govern the world, is governed by that which is not, that is by sin, for
sin in itself is nothing, and such men have become the servants and slaves of sin. I
have made them trees of love with the life of grace which they received in Holy
Baptism; and they have become trees of death, because they are dead, as I have
already said to you. Do you know how this tree finds such roots? In the height of
pride, which is nourished by their own sensitive self-love. Its branch is their own
impatience, and its offshoot indiscretion: these are the four principal vices which
destroy the soul of him who is a tree of death, because he has not drawn life from
grace. Inside the tree is nourished the worm of conscience, which, while man lives
in mortal sin, is blinded by self-love, and therefore felt but little; the fruits of this
tree are mortal, for they have drawn their nourishment, which should have been
humility, from the roots of pride, and the miserable soul is full of ingratitude,
whence proceeds every evil. But if she were grateful for the benefits she has
received, she would know Me, and knowing Me would know herself, and so would
remain in My love: but she, as if blind, goes groping down the river, and she does
not see that the water does not support her."
                                            42
How the fruits of this tree are as diverse as are the sins; and first, of the sin of
        sensuality.
"The fruits of this death-giving tree, are as diverse as sins are diverse. See that some
of these fruits are the food of beasts who live impurely, using their body and their
mind like a swine who wallows in mud, for in the same way they wallow in the
mire of sensuality. Oh, ugly soul, where have you left your dignity? You were made
sister to the angels, and now you are become a brute beast. To such misery come
sinners, notwithstanding that they are sustained by Me, who am Supreme Purity,
notwithstanding that the very devils, whose friends and servants they have become,
cannot endure the sight of such filthy actions. Neither does any sin, abominable as it
may be, take away the light of the intellect from man, so much as does this one. This
the philosophers knew, not by the light of grace, because they had it not, but because
nature gave them the light to know that this sin obscured the intellect, and for that
reason they preserved themselves in continence the better to study. Thus also they
flung away their riches in order that the thought of them should not occupy their
heart. Not so does the ignorant and false Christian, who has lost grace by sin."
How the fruit of others is avarice; and of the evils that proceed from it.
"A fruit of the earth belongs to some others, who are covetous misers, acting like
the mole, who always feeds on earth till death, and when they arrive at death they
find no remedy. Such as these, with their meanness, despise My generosity, selling
time to their neighbor. They are cruel usurers, and robbers of their neighbor; because
in their memory they have not the remembrance of My mercy, for if they had it they
would not be cruel to themselves or to their neighbor; on the contrary, they would
be compassionate and merciful to themselves, practicing the virtues on their
neighbor and succoring him charitably. Oh, how many are the evils that come of
this cursed sin of avarice, how many homicides and thefts, and how much pillage
with unlawful gain, and cruelty of heart and injustice! It kills the soul and makes
her the slave of riches, so that she cares not to observe My commandments.
"A miser loves no one except for his own profit. Avarice proceeds from and feeds
pride, the one follows from the other, because the miser always carries with him the
thought of his own reputation, and thus avarice, which is immediately combined
with pride, full of its own opinions, goes on from bad to worse. It is a fire which
always germinates the smoke of vainglory and vanity of heart, and boasting in that
which does not belong to it. It is a root which has many branches, and the principal
one is that which makes a man care for his own reputation, from whence proceeds
his desire to be greater than his neighbor. It also brings forth the deceitful heart that
is neither pure nor liberal, but is double, making a man show one thing with his
tongue, while he has another in his heart, and making him conceal the truth and
tell lies for his own profit. And it produces envy, which is a worm that is always
gnawing, and does not let the miser have any happiness out of his own or others'
good. How will these wicked ones in so wretched a state give of their substance to
the poor, when they rob others? How will they draw their foul soul out of the mire,
when they themselves put it there? Sometimes even do they become so brutish,
                                            43
that they do not consider their children and relations, and cause them to fall with
them into great misery. And, nevertheless, in My mercy I sustain them, I do not
command the earth to swallow them up, that they may repent of their sins. Would
they then give their life for the salvation of souls, when they will not give their
substance? Would they give their affections when they are gnawed with envy? Oh,
miserable vices that destroy the heaven of the soul. Heaven I call her (the soul)
because so I made her, living in her at first by grace, and hiding Myself within her,
and making of her a mansion through affection of love. Now she has separated
herself from Me, like an adulteress, loving herself, and creatures more than Me, and
has made a god of herself, persecuting Me with many and diverse sins. And this she
does because she does not consider the benefit of the Blood that was shed with so
great Fire of Love."
How some others hold positions of authority, and bring forth fruits of injustice.
"There are others who hold their heads high by their position of authority, and who
bear the banner of injustice -- using injustice against Me, God, and against their
neighbor, and against themselves -- to themselves by not paying the debt of virtue,
and towards Me by not paying the debt of honor in glorifying and praising My
Name, which debt they are bound to pay. But they, like thieves, steal what is Mine,
and give it to the service of their own sensuality. So that they commit injustice
towards Me and towards themselves, like blind and ignorant men who do not
recognize Me in themselves on account of self-love, like the Jews and the ministers
of the Law who, with envy and self-love, blinded themselves so that they did not
recognize the Truth, My only-begotten Son, and rendered not His due to the Eternal
Truth, who was amongst them, as said My Truth: 'The Kingdom of God is among
you.' But they knew it not, because, in the aforesaid way, they had lost the light of
reason, and so they did not pay their debt of honor and glory to Me, and to Him,
who was one thing with Me, and like blind ones committed injustice, persecuting
Him with much ignominy, even to the death of the Cross.
"Thus are such as these unjust to themselves, to Me, and to their neighbor, unjustly
selling the flesh of their dependents, and of any person who falls into their hands."
How through these and through other defects, one falls into false judgment; and of
       the indignity to which one comes.
"By these and by other sins men fall into false judgment, as I will explain to you
below. They are continually being scandalized by My works, which are all just, and
all performed in truth through love and mercy. With this false judgment, and with
the poison of envy and pride, the works of My Son were slandered and unjustly
judged, and with lies did His enemies say: 'This man works by virtue of Beelzebub.'
Thus wicked men, standing in self-love, impurity, pride, and avarice, and founded
in envy, and in perverse rashness with impatience, are forever scandalized at Me
and at My servants, whom they judge to be feignedly practicing the virtues, because
their heart is rotten, and, having spoiled their taste, good things seem evil to them,
and bad things, that is to say disorderly living, seem good to them. Oh, how blind is
the human generation in that it considers not its own dignity! From being great you
                                              44
have become small, from a ruler you have become a slave, and that in the vilest
service that can be had, because you are the servant and slave of sin, and are become
like unto that which you do serve.
"Sin is nothing. You, then, have become nothing; it has deprived you of life, and
given you death. This life and power were given you by the Word, My only-begotten
Son, the glorious Bridge, He drawing you from out of your servitude when you
were servants of the devil, Himself becoming as a servant to take you out of
servitude, imposing on Himself obedience to do away the disobedience of Adam,
and humbling Himself to the shameful death of the Cross to confound pride. By His
death He destroyed every vice, so that no one could say that any vice remained that
was not punished and beaten out with pains, as I said to you above, when I said that
of His Body He had made an anvil. All the remedies are ready to save men from
eternal death, and they despise the Blood, and have trampled It under the feet of
their disordinate affection; and it is for this injustice and false judgment that the
world is reproved, and will be reproved on the Last Day of Judgment.
"This was meant by My Truth when He said: 'I will send the Paraclete, who will
reprove the world of injustice and false judgment.' And it was reproved when I sent
the Holy Spirit on the Apostles."
Of the words that Christ said: "I will send the Holy Spirit, who will reprove the
       world of injustice and of false judgment;" and how one of these reproofs is
       continuous.
"There are three reproofs. One was given when the Holy Spirit came upon the
disciples, who, as it is said, being fortified by My power, and illuminated by the
wisdom of My beloved Son, received all in the plenitude of the Holy Spirit. Then
the Holy Spirit, who is one thing with Me and with My Son, reproved the world by
the mouth of the Apostles, with the doctrine of My Truth. They and all others, who
are descended from them, following the truth which they understand through the
same means, reprove the world.
"This is that continuous reproof that I make to the world by means of the Holy
Scriptures, and My servants, putting the Holy Spirit on their tongues to announce
My truth, even as the Devil puts himself on the tongues of his servants, that is to
say, of those who pass through the river in iniquity. This is that sweet reproof that I
have fixed forever, in the aforesaid way, out of My most great affection of love for
the salvation of souls. And they cannot say 'I had no one who reproved me,'
because the truth is revealed to them showing them vice and virtue. And I have
made them see the fruit of virtue, and the hurtfulness of vice, to give them love
and holy fear with hatred of vice and love of virtue, and this truth has not been
shown them by an angel, so that they cannot say, 'the angel is a blessed spirit who
cannot offend, and feels not the vexations of the flesh as we do, neither the
heaviness of our body,' because the Incarnate Word of My Truth has been given to
them with your mortal flesh.
"Who were the others who followed this Word? Mortal creatures, susceptible of
pain like you, having the same opposition of the flesh to the Spirit, as had the
glorious Paul, My standard-bearer, and many other saints who, by one thing or
                                             45
another, have been tormented. Which torments I permitted for the increase of grace
and virtue in their souls. Thus, they were born in sin like you, and nourished with
a like food, and I am God now as then. My power is not weakened, and cannot
become weak. So that I can and will succor him who wishes to be succored by Me.
Man wants My succor when he comes out of the river, and walks by the Bridge,
following the doctrine of My Truth. Thus no one has any excuse, because both
reproof and truth are constantly given to them. Wherefore, if they do not amend
while they have time, they will be condemned by the second condemnation which
will take place at the extremity of death, when My Justice will cry to them, 'Rise, you
dead, and come to judgment!' That is to say, 'You, who are dead to grace, and have
reached the moment of your corporal death, arise and come before the Supreme
Judge with your injustice and false judgment, and with the extinguished light of
faith which you received burning in Holy Baptism (and which you have blown out
with the wind of pride), and with the vanity of your heart, with which you set your
sails to winds which were contrary to your salvation, for with the wind of self-
esteem, you filled the sail of self-love.' Thus you hastened down the stream of the
delights and dignities of the world at your own will, following your fragile flesh and
the temptations of the devil, who, with the sail of your own will set, has led you
along the underway which is a running stream, and so has brought you with
himself to eternal damnation."
Of the second reproof of injustice, and of false judgment, in general and in
        particular.
"This second reproof, dearest daughter, is indeed a condemnation, for the soul has
arrived at the end, where there can be no remedy, for she is at the extremity of
death, where is the worm of conscience, which I told you was blinded self-love.
Now at the time of death, since she cannot get out of My hands, she begins to see,
and therefore is gnawed with remorse, seeing that her own sin has brought her into
so great evil. But if the soul have light to know and grieve for her fault, not on
account of the pain of Hell that follows upon it, but on account of pain at her offense
against Me, who am Supreme and Eternal Good, still she can find mercy. But if she
pass the Bridge of death without light, and alone, with the worm of conscience,
without the hope of the Blood, and bewailing herself more on account of her first
condemnation than on account of My displeasure, she arrives at eternal damnation.
And then she is reproved cruelly by My Justice of injustice and of false judgment,
and not so much of general injustice and false judgment which she has practiced
generally in all her works, but much more on account of the particular injustice and
false judgment which she practices at the end, in judging her misery greater than
My mercy. This is that sin which is neither pardoned here nor there, because the
soul would not be pardoned, depreciating My mercy. Therefore is this last sin graver
to Me than all the other sins that the soul has committed. Wherefore the despair of
Judas displeased Me more, and was more grave to My Son than was his betrayal of
Him. So that they are reproved of this false judgment, which is to have held their
sin to be greater than My mercy, and, on that account, are they punished with the
devils, and eternally tortured with them. And they are reproved of injustice because
they grieve more over their condemnation than over My displeasure, and do not
                                            46
render to Me that which is Mine, and to themselves that which is theirs. For to Me,
they ought to render love, and to themselves bitterness, with contrition of heart,
and offer it to Me, for the offense they have done Me. And they do the contrary
because they give to themselves love, pitying themselves, and grieving on account
of the pain they expect for their sin; so you see that they are guilty of injustice and
false judgment, and are punished for the one and the other together. Wherefore,
they, having depreciated My mercy, I with justice send them, with their cruel
servant, sensuality, and the cruel tyrant the Devil, whose servants they made
themselves through their own sensuality, so that, together, they are punished and
tormented, as together they have offended Me. Tormented, I say, by My ministering
devils whom My judgment has appointed to torment those who have done evil."
Of the four principal torments of the damned, from which follow all the others; and
        particularly of the foulness of the Devil.
"My daughter, the tongue is not sufficient to narrate the pain of these poor souls. As
there are three principal vices, namely: self-love, whence proceeds the second, that
is love of reputation, whence proceeds the third, that is pride, with injustice and
cruelty, and with other filthiness and iniquitous sins, that follow upon these. So I
say to you, that in Hell, the souls have four principal torments, out of which
proceed all the other torments. The first is, that they see themselves deprived of the
vision of Me, which is such pain to them, that, were it possible, they would rather
choose the fire, and the tortures and torments, and to see Me, than to be without the
torments and not to see Me.
"This first pain revives in them, then, the second, the worm of Conscience, which
gnaws unceasingly, seeing that the soul is deprived of Me, and of the conversation
of the angels, through her sin, made worthy of the conversation and sight of the
devils, which vision of the Devil is the third pain and redoubles to them their every
toil. As the saints exult in the sight of Me, refreshing themselves with joyousness in
the fruit of their toils borne for Me with such abundance of love, and displeasure of
themselves, so does the sight of the Devil revive these wretched ones to torments,
because in seeing him they know themselves more, that is to say, they know that, by
their own sin, they have made themselves worthy of him. And so the worm of
Conscience gnaws more and more, and the fire of this Conscience never ceases to
burn. And the sight is more painful to them, because they see him in his own form,
which is so horrible that the heart of man could not imagine it. And if you
remember well, you know that I showed him to you in his own form for a little
space of time, hardly a moment, and you chose (after you had returned to yourself)
rather to walk on a road of fire, even until the Day of Judgment, than to see him
again. With all this that you have seen, even you do not know well how horrible he
is, because, by Divine justice, he appears more horrible to the soul that is deprived of
Me, and more or less according to the gravity of her sin. The fourth torment that
they have is the fire. This fire burns and does not consume, for the being of the soul
cannot be consumed, because it is not a material thing that fire can consume. But I,
by Divine justice, have permitted the fire to burn them with torments, so that it
torments them, without consuming them, with the greatest pains in diverse ways
according to the diversity of their sins, to some more, and to some less, according to
                                            47
the gravity of their fault. Out of these four torments issue all others, such as cold
and heat and gnashing of the teeth and many others. Now because they did not
amend themselves after the first reproof that they had of injustice and false
judgment, neither in the second, which was that, in death, they would not hope in
Me, nor grieve for the offense done to Me, but only for their own pain, have they
thus so miserably received Eternal Punishment."
Of the third reproof which is made on the Day of Judgment.
"Now it remains to tell of the third reproof which is on the Last Day of Judgment.
Already I have told you of two, and now, so that you may see how greatly man
deceives himself, I will tell you of the third -- of the General Judgment, when the
pain of the miserable soul is renewed and increased by the union that the soul will
make with the body, with an intolerable reproof, which will generate in it confusion
and shame. Know that, in the Last Day of Judgment, when will come the Word --
My Son, with My Divine Majesty to reprove the world with Divine Power, He will
not come like a poor one, as when He was born, coming in the womb of the Virgin,
and being born in a stable amongst the animals, and then dying between two
thieves. Then I concealed My power in Him, letting Him suffer pain and torment
like man, not that My divine nature was therefore separated from human nature,
but I let Him suffer like man to satisfy for your guilt. He will not come thus in that
last moment, but He will come, with power, to reprove in His Own Person, and will
render to everyone his due, and there will be no one in that Day who will not
tremble. To the miserable ones who are damned, His aspect will cause such torment
and terror that the tongue cannot describe it. To the just it will cause the fear of
reverence with great joy; not that His face changes, because He is unchangeable,
being one thing with Me according to the divine nature, and, according to the
human nature, His face was unchangeable, after it took the glory of the
Resurrection. But, to the eye of the damned, it will appear such, on account of their
terrible and darkened vision, that, as the sun which is so bright, appears all darkness
to the infirm eye, but to the healthy eye light (and it is not the defect of the light that
makes it appear other to the blind than to the illuminated one, but the defect of the
eye which is infirm), so will the condemned ones see His countenance in darkness,
in confusion, and in hatred, not through defect of My Divine Majesty, with which
He will come to judge the world, but through their own defect."
How the damned cannot desire any good.
"And their hatred is so great that they cannot will or desire any good, but they
continually blaspheme Me. And do you know why they cannot desire good?
Because the life of man ended, free-will is bound. Wherefore they cannot merit,
having lost, as they have, the time to do so. If they finish their life, dying in hatred
with the guilt of mortal sin, their souls, by divine justice, remain forever bound
with the bonds of hatred, and forever obstinate in that evil, in which, therefore,
being gnawed by themselves, their pains always increase, especially the pains of
those who have been the cause of damnation to others, as that rich man, who was
damned, demonstrated to you when he begged the favor that Lazarus might go to
                                              48
his brothers, who were in the world, to tell them of his pains. This, certainly, he did
not do out of love or compassion for his brothers, for he was deprived of love and
could not desire good, either for My honor or their salvation, because, as I have
already told you, the damned souls cannot do any good to their neighbor, and they
blaspheme Me, because their life ended in hatred of Me and of virtue. But why then
did he do it? He did it because he was the eldest, and had nourished them up in the
same miseries in which he had lived, so that he was the cause of their damnation,
and he saw pain increased to himself, on account of their damnation when they
should arrive in torment together with him, to be gnawed forever by hatred,
because in hatred they finished their lives."
Of the glory of the Blessed.
"Similarly, the just soul, for whom life finishes in the affection of charity and the
bonds of love, cannot increase in virtue, time having come to naught, but she can
always love with that affection with which she comes to Me, and that measure that
is measured to her. She always desires Me, and loves Me, and her desire is not in
vain -- being hungry, she is satisfied, and being satisfied, she has hunger, but the
tediousness of satiety and the pain of hunger are far from her. In love, the Blessed
rejoice in My eternal vision, participating in that good that I have in Myself,
everyone according to his measure, that is that, with that measure of love, with
which they have come to Me, is it measured to them. Because they have lived in
love of Me and of the neighbor, united together with the general love, and the
particular, which, moreover, both proceed from the same love. And they rejoice and
exult, participating in each other's good with the affection of love, besides the
universal good that they enjoy altogether. And they rejoice and exult with the
angels with whom they are placed, according to their diverse and various virtues in
the world, being all bound in the bonds of love. And they have a special
participation with those whom they closely loved with particular affection in the
world, with which affection they grew in grace, increasing virtue, and the one was
the occasion to the other of manifesting the glory and praise of My name, in
themselves and in their neighbor; and, in the life everlasting, they have not lost
their love, but have it still, participating closely, with more abundance, the one with
the other, their love being added to the universal good, and I would not that you
should think that they have this particular good, of which I have told you, for
themselves alone, for it is not so, but it is shared by all the proved citizens, My
beloved sons, and all the angels -- for, when the soul arrives at eternal life, all
participate in the good of that soul, and the soul in their good. Not that her vessel or
theirs can increase, nor that there be need to fill it, because it is full, but they have an
exultation, a mirthfulness, a jubilee, a joyousness in themselves, which is refreshed
by the knowledge that they have found in that soul. They see that, by My mercy, she
is raised from the earth with the plenitude of grace, and therefore they exult in Me
in the good of that soul, which good she has received through My goodness.
"And that soul rejoices in Me, and in the souls, and in the blessed spirits, seeing and
tasting in them the beauty and the sweetness of My love. And their desires forever
cry out to Me, for the salvation of the whole world. And because their life ended in
the love of the neighbor, they have not left it behind, but, with it, they will pass
                                             49
through the Door, My only-begotten Son in the way that I will relate to you. So you
see that in those bonds of love in which they finished their life, they go on and
remain eternally. They are conformed so entirely to My will, that they cannot desire
except what I desire, because their free-will is bound in the bond of love, in such a
way that, time failing them, and, dying in a state of grace, they cannot sin any more.
And their will is so united with Mine, that a father or a mother seeing their son, or
a son seeing his father or his mother in Hell, do not trouble themselves, and even
are contented to see them punished as My enemies. Wherefore in nothing do they
disagree with Me, and their desires are all satisfied. The desire of the blessed is to see
My honor in you wayfarers, who are pilgrims, forever running on towards the term
of death. In their desire for My honor, they desire your salvation, and always pray to
Me for you, which desire is fulfilled by Me, when you ignorant ones do not resist My
mercy. They have a desire too, to regain the gifts of their body, but this desire does
not afflict them, as they do not actually feel it, but they rejoice in tasting the desire,
from the certainty they feel of having it fulfilled. Their desire does not afflict them,
because, though they have it not yet fulfilled, no bliss is thereby lacking to them.
Wherefore they feel not the pain of desire. And think not, that the bliss of the body
after the resurrection gives more bliss to the soul, for, if this were so, it would follow
that, until they had the body, they had imperfect bliss, which cannot be, because no
perfection is lacking to them. So it is not the body that gives bliss to the soul, but the
soul will give bliss to the body, because the soul will give of her abundance, and will
re-clothe herself on the Last Day of Judgment, in the garments of her own flesh
which she had quitted. For, as the soul is made immortal, stayed and established in
Me, so the body in that union becomes immortal, and, having lost heaviness, is
made fine and light. Wherefore, know that the glorified body can pass through a
wall, and that neither water nor fire can injure it, not by virtue of itself, but by
virtue of the soul, which virtue is of Me, given to her by grace, and by the ineffable
love with which I created her in My image and likeness. The eye of your intellect is
not sufficient to see, nor your ear to hear, nor your tongue to tell of the good of the
Blessed. Oh, how much delight they have in seeing Me, who am every good! Oh,
how much delight they will have in being with the glorified body, though, not
having that delight from now to the general Judgment, they have not, on that
account, pain, because no bliss is lacking to them, the soul being satisfied in herself,
and, as I have told you, the body will participate in this bliss.
"I told you of the happiness which the glorified body would take in the glorified
humanity of My only-begotten Son, which gives you assurance of your resurrection.
There, they exult in His wounds, which have remained fresh, and the Scars in His
Body are preserved, and continually cry for mercy for you, to Me, the Supreme and
Eternal Father. And they are all conformed with Him, in joyousness and mirth, and
you will all be conformed with Him, eye with eye, and hand with hand, and with
the whole Body of the sweet Word My Son, and, dwelling in Me, you will dwell in
Him, because He is one thing with Me. But their bodily eye, as I told you, will
delight itself in the glorified humanity of the Word, My only-begotten Son. Why so?
Because their life finished in the affection of My love, and therefore will this delight
endure for them eternally. Not that they can work any good, but they rejoice and
delight in that good which they have brought with them, that is, they cannot do any
meritorious act, by which they could merit anything, because in this life alone can
they merit and sin, according as they please, with free-will.
                                             50
"These then do not await, with fear, the Divine judgment, but with joy, and the Face
of My Son will not seem to them terrible, or full of hatred, because they finished
their lives in love and affection for Me, and good-will towards their neighbor. So
you see then, that the transformation is not in His Face, when He comes to judge
with My Divine Majesty, but in the vision of those who will be judged by Him. To
the damned He will appear with hatred and with justice. And to the saved with
love and mercy."
How, after the General Judgment, the pain of the damned will increase.
"I have told you of the dignity of the Righteous, so that you may the better know the
misery of the damned. For this is another of their pains, namely, the vision of the
bliss of the righteous, which is to them an increase of pain, as, to the righteous, the
damnation of the damned is an increase of exultation in My goodness. As light is
seen better near darkness, and darkness near light, so the sight of the Blessed
increases their pain. With pain they await the Last Day of Judgment, because they
see, following it, an increase of pain to themselves. And so will it be, because when
that terrible voice shall say to them, 'Arise, you dead, and come to judgment,' the
soul will return with the body, in the just to be glorified, and in the damned to be
tortured eternally. And the aspect of My Truth, and of all the blessed ones will
reproach them greatly, and make them ashamed, and the worm of conscience will
gnaw the pith of the tree, that is the soul, and also the bark outside, which is the
body. They will be reproached by the Blood that was shed for them, and by the works
of mercy, spiritual and temporal, which I did for them by means of My Son, and
which they should have done for their neighbor, as is contained in the Holy Gospel.
They will be reproved for their cruelty towards their neighbor, for their pride and
self-love, for their filthiness and avarice; and when they see the mercy that they
have received from Me, their reproof will seem to be intensified in harshness. At
the time of death, the soul only is reproved, but, at the General Judgment, the soul
is reproved together with the body, because the body has been the companion and
instrument of the soul -- to do good and evil according as the free-will pleased.
Every work, good or bad, is done by means of the body. And, therefore, justly, My
daughter, glory and infinite good are rendered to My elect ones with their glorified
body, rewarding them for the toils they bore for Me, together with the soul. And to
the perverse ones will be rendered eternal pains by means of their body, because
their body was the instrument of evil. Wherefore, being their body, restored, their
pains will revive and increase at the aspect of My Son, their miserable sensuality
with its filthiness, in the vision of their nature (that is, the humanity of Christ),
united with the purity of My Deity, and of this mass of their Adam nature raised
above all the choirs of Angels, and themselves, by their own fault, sunk into the
depths of Hell. And they will see generosity and mercy shining in the blessed ones,
who receive the fruit of the Blood of the Lamb, the pains that they have borne
remaining as ornaments on their bodies, like the dye upon the cloth, not by virtue
of the body but only out of the fullness of the soul, representing in the body the fruit
of its labor, because it was the companion of the soul in the working of virtue. As in
the mirror is represented the face of the man, so in the body is represented the fruit
of bodily toils, in the way that I have told you.
                                             51
"The pain and confusion of the darkened ones, on seeing so great a dignity (of
which they are deprived), will increase, and their bodies will appear the sign of the
wickedness they have committed, with pain and torture. And when they hear that
terrible speech, 'Go, cursed ones, to the Eternal Fire,' the soul and the body will go to
be with the Devil without any remedy or hope -- each one being wrapped up in
diverse filth of earth, according to his evil works. The miser with the filth of
avarice, wrapping himself up with the worldly substance which he loved
disordinately, and the burning in the fire; the cruel one with cruelty; the foul man
with foulness and miserable concupiscence; the unjust with his injustice; the
envious with envy; and the hater of his neighbor with hatred. And inordinate self-
love, whence were born all their ills, will be burnt with intolerable pain, as the head
and principle of every evil, in company with pride. So that body and soul together
will be punished in diverse ways. Thus miserably do they arrive at their end who go
by the lower way, that is, by the river, not turning back to see their sins and My
Mercy. And they arrive at the Gate of the Lie, because they follow the doctrine of the
Devil, who is the Father of Lies; and this Devil is their Door, through which they go
to Eternal Damnation, as has been said, as the elect and My sons, keeping by the way
above, that is by the Bridge, follow the Way of Truth, and this Truth is the Door, and
therefore said My Truth, 'No one can go to the Father but by Me.' He is the Door and
the Way through which they pass to enter the Sea Pacific. It is the contrary for those
who have kept the Way of the Lie, which leads them to the water of death. And it is
to this that the Devil calls them, and they are as blind and mad, and do not perceive
it, because they have lost the light of faith. The Devil says, as it were, to them:
'Whosoever thirsts for the water of death, let him come and I will give it to him.'"
Of the use of temptations, and how every soul in her extremity sees her final place
        either of pain or of glory, before she is separated from the body.
"The Devil, dearest daughter, is the instrument of My Justice to torment the souls
who have miserably offended Me. And I have set him in this life to tempt and
molest My creatures, not for My creatures to be conquered, but that they may
conquer, proving their virtue, and receive from Me the glory of victory. And no one
should fear any battle or temptation of the Devil that may come to him, because I
have made My creatures strong, and have given them strength of will, fortified in
the Blood of my Son, which will, neither Devil nor creature can move, because it is
yours, given by Me. You therefore, with free arbitration, can hold it or leave it,
according as you please. It is an arm, which, if you place it in the hands of the Devil,
straightway becomes a knife, with which he strikes you and slays you. But if man do
not give this knife of his will into the hands of the Devil, that is, if he do not
consent to his temptations and molestations, he will never be injured by the guilt of
sin in any temptation, but will even be fortified by it, when the eye of his intellect is
opened to see My love which allowed him to be tempted, so as to arrive at virtue, by
being proved. For one does not arrive at virtue except through knowledge of self,
and knowledge of Me, which knowledge is more perfectly acquired in the time of
temptation, because then man knows himself to be nothing, being unable to lift off
himself the pains and vexations which he would flee; and he knows Me in his will,
which is fortified by My goodness, so that it does not yield to these thoughts. And he
has seen that My love permits these temptations, for the devil is weak, and by
                                             52
himself can do nothing, unless I allow him. And I let him tempt, through love, and
not through hatred, that you may conquer, and not that you may be conquered, and
that you may come to a perfect knowledge of yourself, and of Me, and that virtue
may be proved, for it is not proved except by its contrary. You see, then, that he is my
Minister to torture the damned in Hell, and in this life, to exercise and prove virtue
in the soul. Not that it is the intention of the Devil to prove virtue in you (for he
has not love), but rather to deprive you of it, and this he cannot do, if you do not
wish it. Now you see, then, how great is the foolishness of men in making
themselves feeble, when I have made them strong, and in putting themselves into
the hands of the Devil. Wherefore, know, that at the moment of death, they, having
passed their life under the lordship of the Devil (not that they were forced to do so,
for as I told you they cannot be forced, but they voluntarily put themselves into his
hands), and, arriving at the extremity of their death under this perverse lordship,
they await no other judgment than that of their own conscience, and desperately,
despairingly, come to eternal damnation. Wherefore Hell, through their hate,
surges up to them in the extremity of death, and before they get there, they take hold
of it, by means of their lord the Devil. As the righteous, who have lived in charity
and died in love, if they have lived perfectly in virtue, illuminated with the light of
faith, with perfect hope in the Blood of the Lamb, when the extremity of death
comes, see the good which I have prepared for them, and embrace it with the arms
of love, holding fast with pressure of love to Me, the Supreme and Eternal Good.
And so they taste eternal life before they have left the mortal body, that is, before the
soul be separated from the body. Others who have passed their lives, and have
arrived at the last extremity of death with an ordinary charity (not in that great
perfection), embrace My mercy with the same light of faith and hope that had those
perfect ones, but, in them, it is imperfect, for, because they were imperfect, they
constrained My mercy, counting My mercy greater than their sins. The wicked
sinners do the contrary, for, seeing, with desperation, their destination, they
embrace it with hatred, as I told you. So that neither the one nor the other waits for
judgment, but, in departing this life, they receive every one their place, as I have
told you, and they taste it and possess it before they depart from the body, at the
extremity of death -- the damned with hatred and with despair, and the perfect ones
with love and the light of faith and with the hope of the Blood. And the imperfect
arrive at the place of Purgatory, with mercy and the same faith."
How the Devil gets hold of souls, under pretense of some good: and, how those are
        deceived who keep by the river, and not by the aforesaid Bridge, for, wishing
        to fly pains, they fall into them; and of the vision of a tree, that this soul once
        had.
"I have told you that the Devil invites men to the water of death, that is, to that
which he has, and, blinding them with the pleasures and conditions of the world,
he catches them with the hook of pleasure, under the pretense of good, because in
no other way could he catch them, for they would not allow themselves to be caught
if they saw that no good or pleasure to themselves were to be obtained thereby. For
the soul, from her nature, always relishes good, though it is true that the soul,
blinded by self-love, does not know and discern what is true good, and of profit to
the soul and to the body. And, therefore, the Devil, seeing them blinded by self-love,
                                             53
iniquitously places before them diverse and various delights, colored so as to have
the appearance of some benefit or good; and he gives to everyone according to his
condition and those principal vices to which he sees him to be most disposed -- of
one kind to the secular, of another to the religious, and others to prelates and
noblemen, according to their different conditions. I have told you this, because I
now speak to you of those who drown themselves in the river, and who care for
nothing but themselves, to love themselves to My injury, and I will relate to you
their end.
"Now I want to show you how they deceive themselves, and how, wishing to flee
troubles, they fall into them. For, because it seems to them that following Me, that
is, walking by the way of the Bridge, the Word, My Son, is great toil, they draw back,
fearing the thorn. This is because they are blinded and do not know or see the Truth,
as, you know, I showed you in the beginning of your life, when you prayed Me to
have mercy on the world, and draw it out of the darkness of mortal sin. You know
that I then showed you Myself under the figure of a Tree, of which you saw neither
the beginning nor the end, so that you did not see that the roots were united with
the earth of your humanity. At the foot of the Tree, if you remember well, there was
a certain thorn, from which thorn all those who love their own sensuality kept
away, and ran to a mountain of Lolla, in which you figured to yourself all the
delights of the world. That Lolla seemed to be of corn and was not, and, therefore, as
you saw, many souls thereon died of hunger, and many, recognizing the deceits of
the world, returned to the Tree and passed the thorn, which is the deliberation of
the will. Which deliberation, before it is made, is a thorn which appears to man to
stand in the way of following the Truth. And conscience always fights on one side,
and sensuality on the other; but as soon as he, with hatred and displeasure of
himself, manfully makes up his mind, saying, 'I wish to follow Christ crucified,' he
breaks at once the thorn, and finds inestimable sweetness, as I showed you then,
some finding more and some less, according to their disposition and desire. And
you know that then I said to you, 'I am your God, unmoving and unchangeable,'
and I do not draw away from any creature who wants to come to Me. I have shown
them the Truth, making Myself visible to them, and I have shown them what it is
to love anything without Me. But they, as if blinded by the fog of disordinate love,
know neither Me nor themselves. You see how deceived they are, choosing rather
to die of hunger than to pass a little thorn. And they cannot escape enduring pain,
for no one can pass through this life without a cross, far less those who travel by the
lower way. Not that My servants pass without pain, but their pain is alleviated. And
because -- by sin, as I said to you above -- the world germinates thorns and
tribulations, and because this river flows with tempestuous waters, I gave you the
Bridge, so that you might not be drowned.
"I have shown you how they are deceived by a disordinate fear, and how I am your
God, immovable, who am not an Acceptor of persons but of holy desire. And this I
have shown you under the figure of the Tree, as I told you."
                                             54
How, the world having germinated thorns, who those are whom they do not harm;
        although no one passes this life without pain.
"Now I want to show you to whom the thorns and tribulations, that the world
germinated through sin, do harm, and to whom they do not. And as, so far, I have
shown you the damnation of sinners, together with My goodness, and have told
you how they are deceived by their own sensuality, now I wish to tell you how it is
only they themselves who are injured by the thorns. No one born passes this life
without pain, bodily or mental. Bodily pain My servants bear, but their minds are
free, that is, they do not feel the weariness of the pain; for their will is accorded with
Mine, and it is the will that gives trouble to man. Pain of mind and of body have
those, of whom I have narrated to you, who, in this life, taste the earnest money of
hell, as My servants taste the earnest money of eternal life. Do you know what is the
special good of the blessed ones? It is having their desire filled with what they
desire; wherefore desiring Me, they have Me, and taste Me without any revolt, for
they have left the burden of the body, which was a law that opposed the spirit, and
came between it and the perfect knowledge of the Truth, preventing it from seeing
Me face to face. But after the soul has left the weight of the body, her desire is full,
for, desiring to see Me, she sees Me, in which vision is her bliss; and seeing she
knows, and knowing she loves, and loving she tastes Me, Supreme and Eternal
Good, and, in tasting Me, she is satisfied, and her desire is fulfilled, that is, the desire
she had to see and know Me; wherefore desiring she has, and having she desires.
And as I told you pain is far from the desire, and weariness from the satisfaction of
it. So you see that My servants are blessed principally in seeing and in knowing Me,
in which vision and knowledge their will is fulfilled, for they have that which they
desired to have, and so are they satisfied. Wherefore I told you that the tasting of
eternal life consisted especially in having that which the will desires, and thus being
satisfied; but know that the will is satisfied in seeing and knowing Me, as I have told
you. In this life then, they taste the earnest money of eternal life, tasting the above,
with which I have told you they will be satisfied.
"But how have they the earnest money in this present life? I reply to you, they have
it in seeing My goodness in themselves, and in the knowledge of My Truth, which
knowledge, the intellect (which is the eye of the soul) illuminated in Me, possesses.
This eye has the pupil of the most holy faith, which light of faith enables the soul to
discern, to know, and to follow the way and the doctrine of My Truth -- the Word
Incarnate; and without this pupil of faith she would not see, except as a man who
has the form of the eye, but who has covered the pupil (which causes the eye to see)
with a cloth. So the pupil of the intellect is faith, and if the soul has covered it with
the cloth of infidelity, drawn over it by self-love, she does not see, but only has the
form of the eye without the light, because she has hidden it. Thus you see, that in
seeing they know, and in knowing they love, and in loving they deny and lose their
self-will. Their own will lost, they clothe themselves in Mine, and I will nothing but
your sanctification. At once they set to, turning their back to the way below, and
begin to ascend by the Bridge, and pass over the thorns, which do not hurt them,
their feet being shod with the affection of My love. For I told you that My servants
suffered corporally but not mentally, because the sensitive will, which gives pain
and afflicts the mind of the creature, is dead. Wherefore, the will not being there,
neither is there any pain. They bear everything with reverence, deeming
themselves favored in having tribulation for My sake, and they desire nothing but
                                            55
what I desire. If I allow the Devil to trouble them, permitting temptations to prove
them in virtue, as I told you above, they resist with their will fortified in Me,
humiliating themselves, and deeming themselves unworthy of peace and quiet of
mind and deserving of pain, and so they proceed with cheerfulness and self-
knowledge, without painful affliction. And if tribulations on man's account, or
infirmity, or poverty, or change of worldly condition, or loss of children, or of other
much loved creatures (all of which are thorns that the earth produced after sin)
come upon them, they endure them all with the light of reason and holy faith,
looking to Me, who am the Supreme Good, and who cannot desire other than good,
for which I permit these tribulations through love, and not through hatred. And
they that love Me recognize this, and, examining themselves, they see their sins,
and understand by the light of faith, that good must be rewarded and evil punished.
And they see that every little sin merits infinite pain, because it is against Me, who
am Infinite Good, wherefore they deem themselves favored because I wish to
punish them in this life, and in this finite time; they drive away sin with contrition
of heart, and with perfect patience do they merit, and their labors are rewarded with
infinite good. Hereafter they know that all labor in this life is small, on account of
the shortness of time. Time is as the point of a needle and no more; and, when time
has passed labor is ended, therefore you see that the labor is small. They endure with
patience, and the thorns they pass through do not touch their heart, because their
heart is drawn out of them and united to Me by the affection of love. It is a good
truth then that these do taste eternal life, receiving the earnest money of it in this
life, and that, though they walk on thorns, they are not pricked, because as I told
you, they have known My Supreme Goodness, and sought for it where it was to be
found, that is in the Word, My only-begotten son."
How this soul was in great bitterness, on account of the blindness of those who are
        drowned below in the river.
Then that soul, tormented by desire, considering her own imperfections and those
of others, was saddened to hear of and to see the great blindness of creatures,
notwithstanding the great goodness of God, in having placed nothing in this life, no
matter in what condition, that could be an impediment to the salvation of creatures,
but rather arranged for the exercising and proving of virtue in them. And,
notwithstanding all this, she saw them, through self-love and disordinate affection,
go under by the river and arrive at eternal damnation, and many who were in the
river and had begun to come out, turn back again, scandalized at her, because they
had heard of the sweet goodness of GOD, who had deigned to manifest Himself to
her. And, for this, she was in bitterness, and fixing the eye of her intellect on the
Eternal Father, she said: "Oh, Inestimable Love, great is the delusion of Your
creatures. I would that, when it is pleasing to Your Goodness, You would more
clearly explain to me the three steps figured in the Body of Your only Son, and what
method should be used so as to come entirely out of the depths and to keep the way
of Your Truth, and who are those who ascend the staircase."
                                               56
How the three steps figured in the Bridge, that is, in the Son of GOD, signify the
        three powers of the soul.
Then the Divine Goodness, regarding with the eye of His mercy, the hunger and
desire of that soul, said: "Oh, My most delightful daughter, I am not a Despiser, but
the Fulfiller of holy desire, and therefore I will show and declare to you that which
you ask Me. You ask Me to explain to you the figure of three steps, and to tell you
what method they who want to come out of the river must use, to be able to ascend
the Bridge. And, although above, in relating to you the delusion and blindness of
men, tasting in this life the earnest-money of Hell, and, as martyrs of the Devil,
receiving damnation, I showed you the methods they should use; nevertheless,
now I will declare it to you more fully, satisfying your desire. You know that every
evil is founded in self-love, and that self-love is a cloud that takes away the light of
reason, which reason holds in itself the light of faith, and one is not lost without the
other. The soul I created in My image and similitude, giving her memory, intellect,
and will. The intellect is the most noble part of the soul, and is moved by the
affection, and nourishes it, and the hand of love -- that is, the affection -- fills the
memory with the remembrance of Me and of the benefits received, which it does
with care and gratitude, and so one power spurs on another, and the soul is
nourished in the life of grace.
"The soul cannot live without love, but always wants to love something, because
she is made of love, and, by love, I created her. And therefore I told you that the
affection moved the intellect, saying, as it were, 'I will love, because the food on
which I feed is love.' Then the intellect, feeling itself awakened by the affection, says,
as it were, 'If you will love, I will give you that which you can love.' And at once it
arises, considering carefully the dignity of the soul, and the indignity into which she
has fallen through sin. In the dignity of her being it tastes My inestimable goodness,
and the increate charity with which I created her, and, in contemplating her misery,
it discovers and tastes My mercy, and sees how, through mercy, I have lent her time
and drawn her out of darkness. Then the affection nourishes itself in love, opening
the mouth of holy desire, with which it eats hatred and displeasure of its own
sensuality, united with true humility and perfect patience, which it drew from holy
hatred. The virtues conceived, they give birth to themselves perfectly and
imperfectly, according as the soul exercises perfection in herself, as I will tell you
below. So, on the contrary, if the sensual affection wants to love sensual things, the
eye of the intellect set before itself for its sole object transitory things, with self-love,
displeasure of virtue, and love of vice, whence she draws pride and impatience, and
the memory is filled with nothing but that which the affection presents to it. This
love so dazzles the eye of the intellect that it can discern and see nothing but such
glittering objects. It is the very brightness of the things that causes the intellect to
perceive them and the affection to love them; for had worldly things no such
brightness there would be no sin, for man, by his nature, cannot desire anything but
good, and vice, appearing to him thus, under color of the soul's good, causes him to
sin. But, because the eye, on account of its blindness, does not discern, and knows
not the truth, it errs, seeking good and delights there where they are not.
"I have already told you that the delights of the world, without Me, are venomous
thorns, and, that the vision of the intellect is deluded by them, and the affection of
the will is deluded into loving them, and the memory into retaining remembrance
                                             57
of them. The unity of these powers of the soul is so great that I cannot be offended by
one without all the others offending Me at the same time, because the one presents
to the other, as I told you, good or evil, according to the pleasure of the free will.
This free will is bound to the affection, and it moves as it pleases, either with the
light of reason or without it. Your reason is attached to Me when your will does not,
by disordinate love, cut it off from Me; you have also in you the law of perversity,
that continually fights against the Spirit. You have, then, two parts in you --
sensuality and reason. Sensuality is appointed to be the servant, so that, with the
instrument of the body, you may prove and exercise the virtues. The soul is free,
liberated from sin by the Blood of My Son, and she cannot be dominated unless she
consent with her will, which is controlled by her free choice, and when this free
choice agrees with the will, it becomes one thing with it. And I tell you truly, that,
when the soul undertakes to gather together, with the hand of free choice, her
powers in My Name, then are assembled all the actions, both spiritual and temporal,
that the creature can do, and free choice gets rid of sensuality and binds itself with
reason. I, then, by grace, rest in the midst of them; and this is what My truth, the
Word Incarnate, meant, when He said: 'When there are two or three or more
gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.' And this is the
truth. I have already told you that no one could come to Me except by Him, and
therefore I made of Him a Bridge with three steps. And those three steps figure, as I
will narrate to you below, the three states of the soul."
How if the three aforesaid powers are not united, there cannot be perseverance,
        without which no man arrives at his end.
"I have explained to you the figure of the three steps, in general, as the three powers
of the soul, and no one who wishes to pass by the Bridge and doctrine of My Truth
can mount one without the other, and the soul cannot persevere except by the
union of her three powers. Of which I told you above, when you asked Me, how the
voyagers could come out of the river. There are two goals, and, for the attainment of
either, perseverance is needful -- they are vice and virtue. If you desire to arrive at
life, you must persevere in virtue, and if you would have eternal death, you must
persevere in vice. Thus it is with perseverance that they who want life arrive at Me
who am Life, and with perseverance that they who taste the water of death arrive at
the Devil."
An exposition on Christ's words: "Whosoever thirsts, let him come to Me and
        drink."
"You were all invited, generally and in particular, by My Truth, when He cried in
the Temple, saying: 'Whosoever thirsts, let him come to Me and drink, for I am the
Fountain of the Water of Life.' He did not say 'Go to the Father and drink,' but He
said 'Come to Me.' He spoke thus, because in Me, the Father, there can be no pain,
but in My Son there can be pain. And you, while you are pilgrims and wayfarers in
this mortal life, cannot be without pain, because the earth, through sin, brought
forth thorns. And why did He say 'Let him come to Me and drink'? Because
whoever follows His doctrine, whether in the most perfect way or by dwelling in the
                                            58
life of common charity, finds to drink, tasting the fruit of the Blood, through the
union of the Divine nature with the human nature. And you, finding yourselves in
Him, find yourselves also in Me, who am the Sea Pacific, because I am one thing
with Him, and He with Me. So that you are invited to the Fountain of Living Water
of Grace, and it is right for you, with perseverance, to keep by Him who is made for
you a Bridge, not being turned back by any contrary wind that may arise, either of
prosperity or adversity, and to persevere till you find Me, who am the Giver of the
Water of Life, by means of this sweet and amorous Word, My only-begotten Son.
And why did He say: 'I am the Fountain of Living Water'? Because He was the
Fountain which contained Me, the Giver of the Living Water, by means of the
union of the Divine with the human nature. Why did He say 'Come to Me and
drink'? Because you cannot pass this mortal life without pain, and in Me, the
Father, there can be no pain, but in Him there can be pain, and therefore of Him did
I make for you a Bridge. No one can come to Me except by Him, as He told you in
the words: 'No one can come to the Father except by Me.'
"Now you have seen to what way you should keep, and how, namely with
perseverance, otherwise you shall not drink, for perseverance receives the crown of
glory and victory in the life everlasting."
The general method by which every rational creature can come out of the sea of the
        world, and go by the aforesaid holy Bridge.
"I will now return to the three steps, which you must climb in order to issue from
the river without drowning, and attain to the Living Water, to which you are
invited, and to desire My Presence in the midst of you. For in this way, in which you
should follow, I am in your midst, reposing, by grace, in your souls. In order to have
desire to mount the steps, you must have thirst, because only those who thirst are
invited: 'Whosoever thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.' He who has no thirst
will not persevere, for either fatigue causes him to stop, or pleasure, and he does not
care to carry the vessel with which he may get the water, and neither does he care
for the company, and alone he cannot go, and he turns back at the smallest prick of
persecution, for he loves it not. He is afraid because he is alone; were he
accompanied he would not fear, and had he ascended the three steps he would not
have been alone, and would, therefore, have been secure. You must then have
thirst and gather yourselves together, as it is said, 'two or three or more.'
"Why is it said 'two or three or more'? Because there are not two without three, nor
three without two, neither three nor two without more. The number one is
excluded, for, unless a man has a companion, I cannot be in the midst; this is no
indifferent trifle, for he who is wrapped up in self-love is solitary.
"Why is he solitary? Because he is separated from My grace and the love of his
neighbor, and being, by sin, deprived of Me, he turns to that which is naught,
because I am He that is. So that he who is solitary, that is, who is alone in self-love,
is not mentioned by My Truth and is not acceptable to Me. He says then: 'If there be
two or three or more gathered together in My name, I will be in the midst of them.'
I said to you that two were not without three, nor three without two, and so it is.
You know that the commandments of the Law are completely contained in two, and
                                              59
if these two are not observed the Law is not observed. The two commandments are
to love Me above everything, and your neighbor as yourself, which two are the
beginning, the middle and the end of the Law. These two cannot be gathered
together in My Name, without three, that is without the congregation of the powers
of the soul, the memory, the intellect, and the will; the memory to retain the
remembrance of My benefits and My goodness, the intellect to gaze into the ineffable
love, which I have shown you by means of My only-begotten Son, whom I have
placed as the object of the vision of your intellect, so that, in Him, you behold the
fire of My charity, and the will to love and desire Me, who am your End. When
these virtues and powers of the soul are congregated together in My Name, I am in
the midst of them by grace, and a man, who is full of My love and that of his
neighbor, suddenly finds himself the companion of many and royal virtues. Then
the appetite of the soul is disposed to thirst. Thirst, I say, for virtue, and the honor of
My Name and salvation of souls, and his every other thirst is spent and dead, and
he then proceeds securely without any servile fear, having ascended the first step of
the affection, for the affection, stripped of self-love, mounts above itself and above
transitory things, or, if he will still hold them, he does so according to My will -- that
is, with a holy and true fear, and love of virtue. He then finds that he has attained to
the second step -- that is, to the light of the intellect, which is, through Christ
crucified, mirrored in cordial love of Me, for through Him have I shown My love to
man. He finds peace and quiet, because the memory is filled with My love. You
know that an empty thing, when touched, resounds, but not so when it is full. So
memory, being filled with the light of the intellect, and the affection with love, on
being moved by the tribulations or delights of the world, will not resound with
disordinate merriment or with impatience, because they are full of Me, who am
every good.
"Having climbed the three steps, he finds that the three powers of the soul have
been gathered together by his reason in My Name. And his soul, having gathered
together the two commandments, that is love of Me and of the neighbor, finds
herself accompanied by Me, who am her strength and security, and walks safely
because I am in the midst of her. Wherefore then he follows on with anxious desire,
thirsting after the way of Truth, in which way he finds the Fountain of the Water of
Life, through his thirst for My honor and his own salvation and that of his
neighbor, without which thirst he would not be able to arrive at the Fountain. He
walks on, carrying the vessel of the heart, emptied of every affection and disordinate
love of the world, but filled immediately it is emptied with other things, for nothing
can remain empty, and, being without disordinate love for transitory things, it is
filled with love of celestial things, and sweet Divine love, with which he arrives at
the Fountain of the Water of Life, and passes through the Door of Christ crucified,
and tastes the Water of Life, finding himself in Me, the Sea Pacific."
How this devoted soul looking in the Divine mirror saw the creatures going in
        diverse ways.
Then that soul, tormented with intense desire, gazing into the sweet Divine mirror,
saw creatures setting out to attain their end in diverse ways and with diverse
considerations. She saw that many began to mount, feeling themselves pricked by
                                              60
servile fear, that is, fearing their own personal pain, and she saw others, practicing
this first state, arriving at the second state, but few she saw who arrived at the
greatest perfection.
How servile fear is not sufficient, without the love of virtue, to give eternal life; and
        how the law of fear and that of love are united.
Then the goodness of God, wishing to satisfy the desire of that soul, said, "Do you
see those? They have arisen with servile fear from the vomit of mortal sin, but, if
they do not arise with love of virtue, servile fear alone is not sufficient to give
eternal life. But love with holy fear is sufficient, because the law is founded in love
and holy fear. The old law was the law of fear, that was given by Me to Moses, by
which law they who committed sin suffered the penalty of it. The new law is the
law of love, given by the Word of My only-begotten Son, and is founded in love
alone. The new law does not break the old law, but rather fulfills it, as said My
Truth, 'I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.' And He united the law of fear
with that of love. Through love was taken away the imperfection of the fear of the
penalty, and the perfection of holy fear remained, that is, the fear of offending, not
on account of one's own damnation, but of offending Me, who am Supreme Good.
So that the imperfect law was made perfect with the law of love. Wherefore, after
the car of the fire of My only-begotten Son came and brought the fire of My charity
into your humanity with abundance of mercy, the penalty of the sins committed by
humanity was taken away, that is, he who offended was no longer punished
suddenly, as was of old given and ordained in the law of Moses.
"There is, therefore, no need for servile fear; and this does not mean that sin is not
punished, but that the punishment is reserved, unless, that is to say, the person
punish himself in this life with perfect contrition. For, in the other life, the soul is
separated from the body, wherefore while man lives is his time for mercy, but when
he is dead comes the time of justice. He ought, then, to arise from servile fear, and
arrive at love and holy fear of Me, otherwise there is no remedy against his falling
back again into the river, and reaching the waters of tribulation, and seeking the
thorns of consolation, for all consolations are thorns that pierce the soul who loves
them disordinately."
How, by exercising oneself in servile fear, which is the state of imperfection, by
        which is meant the first step of the holy Bridge, one arrives at the second step,
        which is the state of perfection.
"I told you that no one could go by the Bridge or come out of the river without
climbing the three steps, which is the truth. There are some who climb imperfectly,
and some perfectly, and some climb with the greatest perfection. The first are those
who are moved by servile fear, and have climbed so far being imperfectly gathered
together; that is to say, the soul, having seen the punishment which follows her sin,
climbs; and gathers together her memory to recollect her vice, her intellect to see the
punishment which she expects to receive for her fault, and her will to move her to
hate that fault. And let us consider this to be the first step and the first gathering
together of the powers of the soul, which should be exercised by the light of the
                                             61
intellect with the pupil of the eye of holy faith, which looks, not only at the
punishment of sin, but at the fruit of virtue, and the love which I bear to the soul,
so that she may climb with love and affection, and stripped of servile fear. And
doing so, such souls will become faithful and not unfaithful servants, serving Me
through love and not through fear, and if, with hatred of sin, they employ their
minds to dig out the root of their self-love with prudence, constancy, and
perseverance they will succeed in doing so. But there are many who begin their
course climbing so slowly, and render their debt to Me by such small degrees, and
with such negligence and ignorance, that they suddenly faint, and every little breeze
catches their sails, and turns their prow backwards. Wherefore, because they
imperfectly climb to the first Step of the Bridge of Christ crucified, they do not arrive
at the second step of His Heart."
Of the imperfection of those who love GOD for their own profit, delight, and
       consolation.
"Some there are who have become faithful servants, serving Me with fidelity
without servile fear of punishment, but rather with love. This very love, however,
if they serve Me with a view to their own profit, or the delight and pleasure which
they find in Me, is imperfect. Do you know what proves the imperfection of this
love? The withdrawal of the consolations which they found in Me, and the
insufficiency and short duration of their love for their neighbor, which grows weak
by degrees, and oftentimes disappears. Towards Me their love grows weak when, on
occasion, in order to exercise them in virtue and raise them above their
imperfection, I withdraw from their minds My consolation and allow them to fall
into battles and perplexities. This I do so that, coming to perfect self-knowledge, they
may know that of themselves they are nothing and have no grace, and accordingly
in time of battle fly to Me, as their Benefactor, seeking Me alone, with true humility,
for which purpose I treat them thus, without drawing from them consolation
indeed, but not grace. At such a time these weak ones, of whom I speak, relax their
energy, impatiently turning backwards, and sometimes abandon, under color of
virtue, many of their exercises, saying to themselves, This labor does not profit me.
All this they do, because they feel themselves deprived of mental consolation. Such
a soul acts imperfectly, for she has not yet unwound the bandage of spiritual self-
love, for, had she unwound it she would see that, in truth, everything proceeds
from Me, that no leaf of a tree falls to the ground without My providence, and that
what I give and promise to My creatures, I give and promise to them for their
sanctification, which is the good and the end for which I created them. My creatures
should see and know that I wish nothing but their good, through the Blood of My
only-begotten Son, in which they are washed from their iniquities. By this Blood
they are enabled to know My Truth, how, in order to give them eternal life, I created
them in My image and likeness and re-created them to grace with the Blood of My
Son, making them sons of adoption. But, since they are imperfect, they make use of
Me only for their own profit, relaxing their love for their neighbor. Thus, those in
the first state come to naught through the fear of enduring pain, and those in the
second, because they slacken their pace, ceasing to render service to their neighbor,
and withdrawing their charity if they see their own profit or consolation withdrawn
from them: this happens because their love was originally impure, for they gave to
                                             62
their neighbor the same imperfect love which they gave to Me, that is to say, a love
based only on desire of their own advantage. If, through a desire for perfection, they
do not recognize this imperfection of theirs, it is impossible that they should not
turn back. For those who desire Eternal Life, a pure love, prescinding from
themselves, is necessary, for it is not enough for eternal life to fly sin from fear of
punishment, or to embrace virtue from the motive of one's own advantage. Sin
should be abandoned because it is displeasing to Me, and virtue should be loved for
My sake. It is true that, generally speaking, every person is first called in this way,
but this is because the soul herself is at first imperfect, from which imperfection she
must advance to perfection, either while she lives, by a generous love to Me with a
pure and virtuous heart that takes no thought for herself, or, at least, in the
moment of death, recognizing her own imperfection, with the purpose, had she but
time, of serving Me, irrespectively of herself. It was with this imperfect love that S.
Peter loved the sweet and good Jesus, My only-begotten Son, enjoying most
pleasantly His sweet conversation, but, when the time of trouble came, he failed,
and so disgraceful was his fall, that, not only could he not bear any pain himself, but
his terror of the very approach of pain caused him to fall, and deny the Lord, with
the words, 'I have never known Him.' The soul who has climbed this step with
servile fear and mercenary love alone, falls into many troubles. Such souls should
arise and become sons, and serve Me, irrespective of themselves, for I, who am the
Rewarder of every labor, render to each man according to his state and his labor;
wherefore, if these souls do not abandon the exercise of holy prayer and their other
good works, but go on, with perseverance, to increase their virtues, they will arrive
at the state of filial love, because I respond to them with the same love, with which
they love Me, so that, if they love Me, as a servant does his master, I pay them their
wages according to their deserts, but I do not reveal Myself to them, because secrets
are revealed to a friend, who has become one thing with his friend, and not to a
servant. Yet it is true, that a servant may so advance by the virtuous love, which he
bears to his master, as to become a very dear friend, and so do some of these of
whom I have spoken, but while they remain in the state of mercenary love, I do not
manifest Myself to them. If they, through displeasure at their imperfection, and love
of virtue, dig up, with hatred, the root of spiritual self-love, and mount to the
throne of conscience, reasoning with themselves, so as to quell the motions of
servile fear in their heart, and to correct mercenary love by the light of the holy
faith, they will be so pleasing to Me, that they will attain to the love of the friend.
And I will manifest Myself to them, as My Truth said in these words: 'He who loves
Me shall be one thing with Me and I with him, and I will manifest Myself to him
and we will dwell together.' This is the state of two dear friends, for though they are
two in body, yet they are one in soul through the affection of love, because love
transforms the lover into the object loved, and where two friends have one soul,
there can be no secret between them, wherefore My Truth said: 'I will come and we
will dwell together,' and this is the truth."
Of the way in which GOD manifests Himself to the soul who loves Him.
"Do you know how I manifest Myself to the soul who loves Me in truth, and
follows the doctrine of My sweet and amorous Word? In many is My virtue
manifested in the soul in proportion to her desire, but I make three special
                                             63
manifestations. The first manifestation of My virtue, that is to say, of My love and
charity in the soul, is made through the Word of My Son, and shown in the Blood,
which He spilled with such fire of love. Now this charity is manifested in two ways;
first, in general, to ordinary people, that is to those who live in the ordinary grace of
God. It is manifested to them by the many and diverse benefits which they receive
from Me. The second mode of manifestation, which is developed from the first, is
peculiar to those who have become My friends in the way mentioned above, and is
known through a sentiment of the soul, by which they taste, know, prove, and feel
it. This second manifestation, however, is in men themselves; they manifesting Me,
through the affection of their love. For though I am no Acceptor of creatures, I am
an Acceptor of holy desires, and Myself in the soul in that precise degree of
perfection which she seeks in Me. Sometimes I manifest Myself (and this is also a
part of the second manifestation) by endowing men with the spirit of prophecy,
showing them the things of the future. This I do in many and diverse ways,
according as I see need in the soul herself and in other creatures. At other times the
third manifestation takes place. I then form in the mind the presence of the Truth,
My only-begotten Son, in many ways, according to the will and the desire of the
soul. Sometimes she seeks Me in prayer, wishing to know My power, and I satisfy
her by causing her to taste and see My virtue. Sometimes she seeks Me in the
wisdom of My Son, and I satisfy her by placing His wisdom before the eye of her
intellect, sometimes in the clemency of the Holy Spirit and then My Goodness
causes her to taste the fire of Divine charity, and to conceive the true and royal
virtues, which are founded on the pure love of her neighbor."
Why Christ did not say "I will manifest My Father," but "I will manifest myself."
"You see now how truly My Word spoke, when He said: 'He who loves Me shall be
one thing with Me.' Because, by following His doctrine with the affection of love,
you are united with Him, and, being united with Him, you are united with Me,
because We are one thing together. And so it is that I manifest Myself to you,
because We are one and the same thing together. Wherefore if My Truth said, 'I will
manifest Myself to you,' He said the truth, because, in manifesting Himself, He
manifested Me, and, in manifesting Me, He manifested Himself. But why did He
not say, 'I will manifest My Father to you'? For three reasons in particular. First,
because He wished to show that He and I are not separate from each other, on which
account He also made the following reply to S. Philip, when he said to Him, 'S h o w
us the Father, and it is enough for us.' My Word said, 'Who sees Me sees the Father,
and who sees the Father sees Me.' This He said because He was one thing with Me,
and that which He had, He had from Me, I having nothing from Him; wherefore,
again, He said to Judas, 'My doctrine is not Mine, but My Father's who sent Me,'
because My Son proceeds from Me, not I from Him, though I with Him and He with
Me are but one thing. For this reason He did not say 'I will manifest the Father,' but
'I will manifest Myself,' being one thing with the Father. The second reason was
because, in manifesting Himself to you, He did not present to you anything He had
not received from Me, the Father. These words, then, mean, the Father has
manifested Himself to Me, because I am one thing with Him, and I will manifest to
you, by means of Myself, Me and Him. The third reason was, because I, being
invisible, could not be seen by you, until you should be separated from your bodies.
                                               64
Then, indeed, will you see Me, your GOD, and My Son, the Word, face to face. From
now until after the general Resurrection, when your humanity will be conformed
with the humanity of the Eternal Word, according to what I told you in the treatise
of the Resurrection, you can see Me, with the eye of the intellect alone, for, as I am,
you cannot see Me now. Wherefore I veiled the Divine nature with your humanity,
so that you might see Me through that medium. I, the Invisible, made Myself, as it
were, visible by sending you the Word, My Son, veiled in the flesh of your
humanity. He manifested Me to you. Therefore it was that He did not say 'I will
manifest the Father to you,' but rather, 'I will manifest Myself to you,' as if He
should say, 'According as My Father manifests himself to Me, will I manifest myself
to you, for in this manifestation of Himself, He manifests Me.' Now therefore you
understand why He did not say 'I will manifest the Father to you.' Both, because
such a vision is impossible for you, while yet in the mortal body, and because He is
one thing with Me."
How the soul, after having mounted the first step of the Bridge, should proceed to
        mount the second.
"You have now seen how excellent is the state of him who has attained to the love
of a friend; climbing with the foot of affection, he has reached the secret of the Heart,
which is the second of the three steps figured in the Body of My Son. I have told you
what was meant by the three powers of the soul, and now I will show you how they
signify the three states, through which the soul passes. Before treating of the third
state, I wish to show you how a man becomes a friend and how, from a friend, he
grows into a son, attaining to filial love, and how a man may know if he has become
a friend. And first of how a man arrives at being a friend. In the beginning, a man
serves Me imperfectly through servile fear, but, by exercise and perseverance, he
arrives at the love of delight, finding his own delight and profit in Me. This is a
necessary stage, by which he must pass, who would attain to perfect love, to the love
that is of friend and son. I call filial love perfect, because thereby, a man receives his
inheritance from Me, the Eternal Father, and because a son's love includes that of a
friend, which is why I told you that a friend grows into a son. What means does he
take to arrive thereat? I will tell you. Every perfection and every virtue proceeds
from charity, and charity is nourished by humility, which results from the
knowledge and holy hatred of self, that is, sensuality. To arrive thereat, a man must
persevere, and remain in the cellar of self-knowledge in which he will learn My
mercy, in the Blood of My only-begotten Son, drawing to Himself, with this love,
My divine charity, exercising himself in the extirpation of his perverse self-will,
both spiritual and temporal, hiding himself in his own house, as did Peter, who,
after the sin of denying My Son, began to weep. Yet his lamentations were imperfect
and remained so, until after the forty days, that is until after the Ascension. But
when My Truth returned to Me, in His humanity, Peter and the others concealed
themselves in the house, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, which My Truth
had promised them. They remained barred in from fear, because the soul always
fears until she arrives at true love. But when they had persevered in fasting and in
humble and continual prayer, until they had received the abundance of the Holy
Spirit, they lost their fear, and followed and preached Christ crucified. So also the
soul, who wishes to arrive at this perfection, after she has risen from the guilt of
                                             65
mortal sin, recognizing it for what it is, begins to weep from fear of the penalty,
whence she rises to the consideration of My mercy, in which contemplation, she
finds her own pleasure and profit. This is an imperfect state, and I, in order to
develop perfection in the soul, after the forty days, that is after these two states,
withdraw Myself from time to time, not in grace but in feeling. My Truth showed
you this when He said to the disciples 'I will go and will return to you.'
"Everything that He said was said primarily, and in particular, to the disciples, but
referred in general to the whole present and future, to those, that is to say, who
should come after. He said 'I will go and will return to you;' and so it was, for, when
the Holy Spirit returned upon the disciples, He also returned, as I told you above, for
the Holy Spirit did not return alone, but came with My power, and the wisdom of
the Son, who is one thing with Me, and with His own clemency, which proceeds
from Me the Father, and from the Son. Now, as I told you, in order to raise the soul
from imperfection, I withdraw Myself from her sentiment, depriving her of former
consolations. When she was in the guilt of mortal sin, she had separated herself
from Me, and I deprived her of grace through her own guilt, because that guilt had
barred the door of her desires. Wherefore the sun of grace did not shine, not
through its own defect, but through the defect of the creature, who bars the door of
desire. When she knows herself and her darkness, she opens the window and
vomits her filth, by holy confession. Then I, having returned to the soul by grace,
withdraw Myself from her by sentiment, which I do in order to humiliate her, and
cause her to seek Me in truth, and to prove her in the light of faith, so that she come
to prudence. Then, if she love Me without thought of self, and with lively faith and
with hatred of her own sensuality, she rejoices in the time of trouble, deeming
herself unworthy of peace and quietness of mind. Now comes the second of the
three things of which I told you, that is to say: how the soul arrives at perfection,
and what she does when she is perfect. This is what she does. Though she perceives
that I have withdrawn Myself, she does not, on that account, look back, but
perseveres with humility in her exercises, remaining barred in the house of self-
knowledge, and, continuing to dwell therein, awaits, with lively faith, the coming of
the Holy Spirit, that is of Me, who am the fire of charity. How does she await me?
Not in idleness, but in watching and continued prayer, and not only with physical,
but also with intellectual watching, that is, with the eye of her mind alert, and,
watching with the light of faith, she extirpates, with hatred, the wandering thoughts
of her heart, looking for the affection of My charity, and knowing that I desire
nothing but her sanctification, which is certified to her in the Blood of My Son. As
long as her eye thus watches, illumined by the knowledge of Me and of herself, she
continues to pray with the prayer of holy desire, which is a continued prayer, and
also with actual prayer, which she practices at the appointed times, according to the
orders of Holy Church. This is what the soul does in order to rise from imperfection
and arrive at perfection, and it is to this end, namely that she may arrive at
perfection, that I withdraw from her, not by grace but by sentiment. Once more do I
leave her, so that she may see and know her defects, so that, feeling herself deprived
of consolation and afflicted by pain, she may recognize her own weakness, and learn
how incapable she is of stability or perseverance, thus cutting down to the very root
of spiritual self-love, for this should be the end and purpose of all her self-
knowledge, to rise above herself, mounting the throne of conscience, and not
permitting the sentiment of imperfect love to turn again in its death-struggle, but,
                                             66
with correction and reproof, digging up the root of self-love, with the knife of self-
hatred and the love of virtue."
How an imperfect lover of GOD loves his neighbor also imperfectly, and of the signs
        of this imperfect love.
"And I would have you know that just as every imperfection and perfection is
acquired from Me, so is it manifested by means of the neighbor. And simple souls,
who often love creatures with spiritual love, know this well, for, if they have
received My love sincerely without any self-regarding considerations, they satisfy
the thirst of their love for their neighbor equally sincerely. If a man carry away the
vessel which he has filled at the fountain and then drink of it, the vessel becomes
empty, but if he keep his vessel standing in the fountain, while he drinks, it always
remains full. So the love of the neighbor, whether spiritual or temporal, should be
drunk in Me, without any self-regarding considerations. I require that you should
love Me with the same love with which I love you. This indeed you cannot do,
because I loved you without being loved. All the love which you have for Me you
owe to Me, so that it is not of grace that you love Me, but because you ought to do so.
While I love you of grace, and not because I owe you My love. Therefore to Me, in
person, you cannot repay the love which I require of you, and I have placed you in
the midst of your fellows, that you may do to them that which you cannot do to Me,
that is to say, that you may love your neighbor of free grace, without expecting any
return from him, and what you do to him, I count as done to Me, which My Truth
showed forth when He said to Paul, My persecutor -- 'Saul, Saul, why persecute you
Me?' This He said, judging that Paul persecuted Him in His faithful. This love must
be sincere, because it is with the same love with which you love Me, that you must
love your neighbor. Do you know how the imperfection of spiritual love for the
creature is shown? It is shown when the lover feels pain if it appear to him that the
object of his love does not satisfy or return his love, or when he sees the beloved
one's conversation turned aside from him, or himself deprived of consolation, or
another loved more than he. In these and in many other ways can it be seen that his
neighborly love is still imperfect, and that, though his love was originally drawn
from Me, the Fountain of all love, he took the vessel out of the water, in order to
drink from it. It is because his love for Me is still imperfect, that his neighborly love
is so weak, and because the root of self-love has not been properly dug out.
Wherefore I often permit such a love to exist, so that the soul may in this way come
to the knowledge of her own imperfection, and for the same reason do I withdraw
myself from the soul by sentiment, that she may be thus led to enclose herself in the
house of self-knowledge, where is acquired every perfection. After which I return
into her with more light and with more knowledge of My Truth, in proportion to
the degree in which she refers to grace the power of slaying her own will. And she
never ceases to cultivate the vine of her soul, and to root out the thorns of evil
thoughts, replacing them with the stones of virtues, cemented together in the Blood
of Christ crucified, which she has found on her journey across the Bridge of Christ,
My only-begotten Son. For I told you, if you remember, that upon the Bridge, that is,
upon the doctrine of My Truth, were built up the stones, based upon the virtue of
His Blood, for it is in virtue of this Blood that the virtues give life."
                                              67
A TREATISE OF PRAYER
Of the means which the soul takes to arrive at pure and generous love; and here
       begins the Treatise of Prayer.
" W HEN the soul has passed through the doctrine of Christ crucified, with true love
of virtue and hatred of vice, and has arrived at the house of self-knowledge and
entered therein, she remains, with her door barred, in watching and constant prayer,
separated entirely from the consolations of the world. Why does she thus shut
herself in? She does so from fear, knowing her own imperfections, and also from
the desire, which she has, of arriving at pure and generous love. And because she
sees and knows well that in no other way can she arrive thereat, she waits, with a
lively faith for My arrival, through increase of grace in her. How is a lively faith to
be recognized? By perseverance in virtue, and by the fact that the soul never turns
back for anything, whatever it be, nor rises from holy prayer, for any reason except
(note well) for obedience or charity's sake. For no other reason ought she to leave off
prayer, for, during the time ordained for prayer, the Devil is wont to arrive in the
soul, causing much more conflict and trouble than when the soul is not occupied in
prayer. This he does in order that holy prayer may become tedious to the soul,
tempting her often with these words: 'This prayer avails you nothing, for you need
attend to nothing except your vocal prayers.' He acts thus in order that, becoming
wearied and confused in mind, she may abandon the exercise of prayer, which is a
weapon with which the soul can defend herself from every adversary, if grasped
with the hand of love, by the arm of free choice in the light of the Holy Faith."
Here, touching something concerning the Sacrament of the Body of Christ, the
       complete doctrine is given; and how the soul proceeds from vocal to mental
       prayer, and a vision is related which this devout soul once received.
"Know, dearest daughter, how, by humble, continual, and faithful prayer, the soul
acquires, with time and perseverance, every virtue. Wherefore should she
persevere and never abandon prayer, either through the illusion of the Devil or her
own fragility, that is to say, either on account of any thought or movement coming
from her own body, or of the words of any creature. The Devil often places himself
upon the tongues of creatures, causing them to chatter nonsensically, with the
purpose of preventing the prayer of the soul. All of this she should pass by, by
means of the virtue of perseverance. Oh, how sweet and pleasant to that soul and to
Me is holy prayer, made in the house of knowledge of self and of Me, opening the
eye of the intellect to the light of faith, and the affections to the abundance of My
charity, which was made visible to you, through My visible only-begotten Son, who
showed it to you with His blood! Which Blood inebriates the soul and clothes her
with the fire of divine charity, giving her the food of the Sacrament [which is placed
in the tavern of the mystical body of the Holy Church] that is to say, the food of the
                                              68
Body and Blood of My Son, wholly God and wholly man, administered to you by the
hand of My vicar, who holds the key of the Blood. This is that tavern, which I
mentioned to you, standing on the Bridge, to provide food and comfort for the
travelers and the pilgrims, who pass by the way of the doctrine of My Truth, lest
they should faint through weakness. This food strengthens little or much, according
to the desire of the recipient, whether he receives sacramentally or virtually. He
receives sacramentally when he actually communicates with the Blessed Sacrament.
He receives virtually when he communicates, both by desire of communion, and by
contemplation of the Blood of Christ crucified, communicating, as it were,
sacramentally, with the affection of love, which is to be tasted in the Blood which, as
the soul sees, was shed through love. On seeing this the soul becomes inebriated,
and blazes with holy desire and satisfies herself, becoming full of love for Me and
for her neighbor. Where can this be acquired? In the house of self-knowledge with
holy prayer, where imperfections are lost, even as Peter and the disciples, while they
remained in watching and prayer, lost their imperfection and acquired perfection.
By what means is this acquired? By perseverance seasoned with the most holy faith.
"But do not think that the soul receives such ardor and nourishment from prayer, if
she pray only vocally, as do many souls whose prayers are rather words than love.
Such as these give heed to nothing except to completing Psalms and saying many
paternosters. And when they have once completed their appointed tale, they do not
appear to think of anything further, but seem to place devout attention and love in
merely vocal recitation, which the soul is not required to do, for, in doing only this,
she bears but little fruit, which pleases Me but little. But if you ask Me, whether the
soul should abandon vocal prayer, since it does not seem to all that they are called to
mental prayer, I should reply 'No.' The soul should advance by degrees, and I know
well that, just as the soul is at first imperfect and afterwards perfect, so also is it with
her prayer. She should nevertheless continue in vocal prayer, while she is yet
imperfect, so as not to fall into idleness. But she should not say her vocal prayers
without joining them to mental prayer, that is to say, that while she is reciting, she
should endeavor to elevate her mind in My love, with the consideration of her own
defects and of the Blood of My only-begotten Son, wherein she finds the breadth of
My charity and the remission of her sins. And this she should do, so that self-
knowledge and the consideration of her own defects should make her recognize My
goodness in herself and continue her exercises with true humility. I do not wish
defects to be considered in particular, but in general, so that the mind may not be
contaminated by the remembrance of particular and hideous sins. But, as I said, I do
not wish the soul to consider her sins, either in general or in particular, without
also remembering the Blood and the broadness of My mercy, for fear that otherwise
she should be brought to confusion. And together with confusion would come the
Devil, who has caused it, under color of contrition and displeasure of sin, and so she
would arrive at eternal damnation, not only on account of her confusion, but also
through the despair which would come to her, because she did not seize the arm of
My mercy. This is one of the subtle devices with which the Devil deludes My
servants, and, in order to escape from his deceit, and to be pleasing to Me, you must
enlarge your hearts and affections in My boundless mercy, with true humility. You
know that the pride of the Devil cannot resist the humble mind, nor can any
confusion of spirit be greater than the broadness of My good mercy, if the soul will
only truly hope therein. Wherefore it was, if you remember rightly, that, once,
                                             69
when the Devil wished to overthrow you, by confusion, wishing to prove to you
that your life had been deluded, and that you had not followed My will, you did that
which was your duty, which My goodness (which is never withheld from him who
will receive it) gave you strength to do, that is you rose, humbly trusting in My
mercy, and saying: 'I confess to my Creator that my life has indeed been passed in
darkness, but I will hide myself in the wounds of Christ crucified, and bathe myself
in His Blood and so shall my iniquities be consumed, and with desire will I rejoice
in my Creator.' You remember that then the Devil fled, and, turning round to the
opposite side, he endeavored to inflate you with pride, saying: 'You are perfect and
pleasing to God, and there is no more need for you to afflict yourself or to lament
your sins.' And once more I gave you the light to see your true path, namely,
humiliation of yourself, and you answered the Devil with these words: 'Wretch that
I am, John the Baptist never sinned and was sanctified in his mother's womb. And I
have committed so many sins, and have hardly begun to know them with grief and
true contrition, seeing who God is, who is offended by me, and who I am, who
offend Him.' Then the Devil, not being able to resist your humble hope in My
goodness, said to you: 'Cursed that you are, for I can find no way to take you. If I put
you down through confusion, you rise to Heaven on the wings of mercy, and if I
raise you on high, you humble yourself down to Hell, and when I go into Hell you
persecute me, so that I will return to you no more, because you strike me with the
stick of charity.' The soul, therefore, should season the knowledge of herself with
the knowledge of My goodness, and then vocal prayer will be of use to the soul who
makes it, and pleasing to Me, and she will arrive, from the vocal imperfect prayer,
exercised with perseverance, at perfect mental prayer; but if she simply aims at
completing her tale, and, for vocal abandons mental prayer, she will never arrive at
it. Sometimes the soul will be so ignorant that, having resolved to say so many
prayers vocally, and I, visiting her mind sometimes in one way, and sometimes in
another, in a flash of self-knowledge or of contrition for sin, sometimes in the
broadness of My charity, and sometimes by placing before her mind, in diverse ways,
according to My pleasure and the desire of the soul, the presence of My Truth, she
(the soul), in order to complete her tale, will abandon My visitation, that she feels,
as it were, by conscience, rather than abandon that which she had begun. She should
not do so, for, in so doing, she yields to a deception of the Devil. The moment she
feels her mind disposed by My visitation, in the many ways I have told you, she
should abandon vocal prayer; then, My visitation past, if there be time, she can
resume the vocal prayers which she had resolved to say, but if she has not time to
complete them, she ought not on that account to be troubled or suffer annoyance
and confusion of mind; of course provided that it were not the Divine office which
clerics and religious are bound and obliged to say under penalty of offending Me, for,
they must, until death, say their office. But if they, at the hour appointed for saying
it, should feel their minds drawn and raised by desire, they should so arrange as to
say it before or after My visitation, so that the debt of rendering the office be not
omitted. But, in any other case, vocal prayer should be immediately abandoned for
the said cause. Vocal prayer, made in the way that I have told you, will enable the
soul to arrive at perfection, and therefore she should not abandon it, but use it in
the way that I have told you.
And so, with exercise in perseverance, she will taste prayer in truth, and the food of
the Blood of My only-begotten Son, and therefore I told you that some
                                              70
communicated virtually with the Body and Blood of Christ, although not
sacramentally; that is, they communicate in the affection of charity, which they taste
by means of holy prayer, little or much, according to the affection with which they
pray. They who proceed with little prudence and without method, taste little, and
they who proceed with much, taste much. For the more the soul tries to loosen her
affection from herself, and fasten it in Me with the light of the intellect, the more
she knows; and the more she knows, the more she loves, and, loving much, she
tastes much. You see then, that perfect prayer is not attained to through many
words, but through affection of desire, the soul raising herself to Me, with
knowledge of herself and of My mercy, seasoned the one with the other. Thus she
will exercise together mental and vocal prayer, for, even as the active and
contemplative life is one, so are they. Although vocal or mental prayer can be
understood in many and diverse ways, for I have told you that a holy desire is a
continual prayer, in this sense that a good and holy will disposes itself with desire to
the occasion actually appointed for prayer in addition to the continual prayer of holy
desire, wherefore vocal prayer will be made at the appointed time by the soul who
remains firm in a habitual holy will, and will sometimes be continued beyond the
appointed time, according as charity commands for the salvation of the neighbor, if
the soul see him to be in need, and also her own necessities according to the state in
which I have placed her. Each one, according to his condition, ought to exert himself
for the salvation of souls, for this exercise lies at the root of a holy will, and
whatever he may contribute, by words or deeds, towards the salvation of his
neighbor, is virtually a prayer, although it does not replace a prayer which one
should make oneself at the appointed season, as My glorious standard-bearer Paul
said, in the words, 'He who ceases not to work ceases not to pray.' It was for this
reason that I told you that prayer was made in many ways, that is, that actual prayer
may be united with mental prayer if made with the affection of charity, which
charity is itself continual prayer. I have now told you how mental prayer is reached
by exercise and perseverance, and by leaving vocal prayer for mental when I visit
the soul. I have also spoken to you of common prayer, that is, of vocal prayer in
general, made outside of ordained times, and of the prayers of good-will, and how
every exercise, whether performed in oneself or in one's neighbor, with good-will,
is prayer. The enclosed soul should therefore spur herself on with prayer, and when
she has arrived at friendly and filial love she does so. Unless the soul keep to this
path, she will always remain tepid and imperfect, and will only love Me and her
neighbor in proportion to the pleasure which she finds in My service."
Of the method by which the soul separates herself from imperfect love, and attains
        to perfect love, friendly and filial.
"Hitherto I have shown you in many ways how the soul raises herself from
imperfection and attains to perfection, which she does after she has attained to
friendly and filial love. I tell you that she arrives at perfect love by means of
perseverance, barring herself into the House of Self-Knowledge, which knowledge
of self requires to be seasoned with knowledge of Me, lest it bring the soul to
confusion, for it would cause the soul to hate her own sensitive pleasure and the
delight of her own consolations. But from this hatred, founded in humility, she will
draw patience, with which she will become strong against the attacks of the Devil,
                                             71
against the persecutions of man, and towards Me, when, for her good, I withdraw
delight from her mind. And if her sensuality, through malevolence, should lift its
head against reason, the judgment of conscience should rise against it, and, with
hatred of it, hold out reason against it, not allowing such evil emotions to get by it.
Though sometimes the soul who lives in holy hatred corrects and reproves herself,
not only for those things that are against reason, but also for things that in reality
come from Me, which is what My sweet servant S. Gregory meant, when he said
that a holy and pure conscience made sin where there was no sin, that is, that
through purity of conscience, it saw sin where there was no sin.
"Now the soul who wishes to rise above imperfection should await My Providence
in the House of Self-Knowledge, with the light of faith, as did the disciples, who
remained in the house in perseverance and in watching, and in humble and
continual prayer, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. She should remain fasting
and watching, the eye of her intellect fastened on the doctrine of My Truth, and she
will become humble because she will know herself in humble and continual prayer
and holy and true desire."
Of the signs by which the soul knows she has arrived at perfect love.
"It now remains to be told you how it can be seen that souls have arrived at perfect
love. This is seen by the same sign that was given to the holy disciples after they had
received the Holy Spirit, when they came forth from the house, and fearlessly
announced the doctrine of My Word, My only-begotten Son, not fearing pain, but
rather glorying therein. They did not mind going before the tyrants of the world, to
announce to them the truth, for the glory and praise of My Name. So the soul, who
has awaited Me in self-knowledge as I have told you, receives Me, on My return to
her, with the fire of charity, in which charity, while still remaining in the house
with perseverance, she conceives the virtues by affection of love, participating in My
power; with which power and virtues she overrules and conquers her own
sensitive passions, and through which charity she participates in the wisdom of My
Son, in which she sees and knows, with the eye of her intellect, My Truth and the
deceptions of spiritual self-love, that is, the imperfect love of her own consolations,
as has been said, and she knows also the malice and deceit of the devil, which he
practices on those souls who are bound by that imperfect love. She therefore arises,
with hatred of that imperfection and with love of perfection, and, through this
charity, which is of the Holy Spirit, she participates in His will, fortifying her own to
be willing to suffer pain, and, coming out of the house through My Name, she
brings forth the virtues on her neighbor. Not that by coming out to bring forth the
virtues, I mean that she issues out of the House of Self-Knowledge, but that, in the
time of the neighbor's necessity she loses that fear of being deprived of her own
consolations, and so issues forth to give birth to those virtues which she has
conceived through affection of love. The souls, who have thus come forth, have
reached the fourth state, that is, from the third state, which is a perfect state, in
which they taste charity and give birth to it on their neighbors, they have arrived at
the fourth state, which is one of perfect union with Me. The two last-mentioned
states are united, that is to say, one cannot be without the other, for there cannot be
                                             72
love of Me, without love of the neighbor, nor love of the neighbor without love of
Me."
How they who are imperfect desire to follow the Father alone, but they who are
       perfect desire to follow the Son. And of a vision, which this holy soul had,
       concerning diverse baptisms, and of many other beautiful and useful things.
"As I have told you, these latter have issued forth from the house, which is a sign
that they have arisen from imperfection and arrived at perfection. Open the eye of
your intellect and see them running by the Bridge of the doctrine of Christ crucified,
which was their rule, way, and doctrine. They place none other before the eye of
their intellect than Christ crucified, not the Father, as they do who are in imperfect
love and do not wish to suffer pain, but only to have the delight which they find in
Me. But they, as if drunken with love and burning with it, have gathered together
and ascended the three steps, which I figured to you as the three powers of the soul,
and also the three actual steps, figured to you as in the Body of My only Son, Christ
crucified, by which steps the soul, as I told you, ascended, first climbing to the Feet,
with the feet of the soul's affection, from thence arriving at the Side, where she
found the secret of the Heart and knew the baptism of water, which has virtue
through the Blood, and where I dispose the soul to receive grace, uniting and
kneading her together in the Blood. Where did the soul know of this her dignity, in
being kneaded and united with the Blood of the Lamb, receiving the grace in Holy
Baptism, in virtue of the Blood? In the Side, where she knew the fire of divine
Charity, and so, if you remember well, My Truth manifested to you, when you
asked, saying: 'Sweet and Immaculate Lamb, You were dead when Your side was
opened. Why then did You want to be struck and have Your heart divided?' And
He replied to you, telling you that there was occasion enough for it; but the principal
part of what He said I will tell you. He said: Because My desire towards the human
generation was ended, and I had finished the actual work of bearing pain and
torment, and yet I had not been able to show, by finite things, because My love was
infinite, how much more love I had, I wished you to see the secret of the Heart,
showing it to you open, so that you might see how much more I loved than I could
show you by finite pain. I poured from it Blood and Water, to show you the baptism
of water, which is received in virtue of the Blood. I also showed the baptism of love
in two ways, first in those who are baptized in their blood, shed for Me, which has
virtue through My Blood, even if they have not been able to have Holy Baptism,
and also in those who are baptized in fire, not being able to have Holy Baptism, but
desiring it with the affection of love. There is no baptism of fire without the Blood,
because the Blood is steeped in and kneaded with the fire of Divine charity, because,
through love was It shed. There is yet another way by which the soul receives the
baptism of Blood, speaking, as it were, under a figure, and this way the Divine
charity provided, knowing the infirmity and fragility of man, through which he
offends, not that he is obliged, through his fragility and infirmity, to commit sin
unless he wish to do so; but, falling, as he will, into the guilt of mortal sin, by which
he loses the grace which he drew from Holy Baptism in virtue of the Blood, it was
necessary to leave a continual baptism of Blood. This the Divine charity provided in
the Sacrament of Holy Confession, the soul receiving the Baptism of Blood, with
contrition of heart, confessing, when able, to My ministers, who hold the keys of the
                                               73
Blood, sprinkling It, in absolution, upon the face of the soul. But, if the soul be
unable to confess, contrition of heart is sufficient for this baptism, the hand of My
clemency giving you the fruit of this precious Blood. But if you are able to confess, I
wish you to do so, and if you are able to, and do not, you will be deprived of the fruit
of the Blood. It is true that, in the last extremity, a man, desiring to confess and not
being able to, will receive the fruit of this baptism, of which I have been speaking.
But let no one be so mad as so to arrange his deeds, that, in the hope of receiving it,
he puts off confessing until the last extremity of death, when he may not be able to
do so. In which case, it is not at all certain that I shall not say to him, in My Divine
Justice: 'You did not remember Me in the time of your life, when you could, now
will I not remember you in your death.'
"You see then that these Baptisms, which you should all receive until the last
moment, are continual, and though My works, that is the pains of the Cross were
finite, the fruit of them which you receive in Baptism, through Me, are infinite.
This is in virtue of the infinite Divine nature, united with the finite human nature,
which human nature endures pain in Me, the Word, clothed with your humanity.
But because the one nature is steeped in and united with the other, the Eternal Deity
drew to Himself the pain, which I suffered with so much fire and love. And
therefore can this operation be called infinite, not that My pain, neither the actuality
of the body be infinite, nor the pain of the desire that I had to complete your
redemption, because it was terminated and finished on the Cross, when the Soul
was separated from the Body; but the fruit, which came out of the pain and desire
for your salvation, is infinite, and therefore you receive it infinitely. Had it not been
infinite, the whole human generation could not have been restored to grace, neither
the past, the present, nor the future. This I manifested in the opening of My Side,
where is found the secret of the Heart, showing that I loved more than I could show,
with finite pain. I showed to you that My love was infinite. How? By the Baptism of
Blood, united with the fire of My charity, and by the general baptism, given to
Christians, and to whomsoever will receive it, and by the baptism of water, united
with the Blood and the fire, wherein the soul is steeped. And, in order to show this,
it was necessary for the Blood to come out of My Side. Now I have shown you (said
My Truth to you) what you asked of Me."
How worldly people render glory and praise to GOD, whether they will or no.
"And so perfect is her vision that she sees the glory and praise of My Name, not so
much in the angelic nature as in the human, for, whether worldly people will or no,
they render glory and praise to My Name, not that they do so in the way they
should, loving Me above everything, but that My mercy shines in them, in that, in
the abundance of My charity, I give them time, and do not order the earth to open
and swallow them up on account of their sins. I even wait for them, and command
the earth to give them of her fruits, the sun to give them light and warmth, and the
sky to move above them. And in all things created and made for them, I use My
charity and mercy, withdrawing neither on account of their sins. I even give equally
to the sinner and the righteous man, and often more to the sinner than to the
righteous man, because the righteous man is able to endure privation, and I take
from him the goods of the world that he may the more abundantly enjoy the goods
                                             74
of heaven. So that in worldly men My mercy and charity shine, and they render
praise and glory to My Name, even when they persecute My servants; for they prove
in them the virtues of patience and charity, causing them to suffer humbly and offer
to Me their persecutions and injuries, thus turning them into My praise and glory.
"So that, whether they will or no, worldly people render to My Name praise and
glory, even when they intend to do Me infamy and wrong."
How even the devils render glory and praise to GOD.
"Sinners, such as those of whom I have just spoken, are placed in this life in order
to augment virtues in My servants, as the devils are in Hell as My justiciars and
augmenters of My Glory; that is, My instruments of justice towards the damned, and
the augmenters of My Glory in My creatures, who are wayfarers and pilgrims on
their journey to reach Me, their End. They augment in them the virtues in diverse
ways, exercising them with many temptations and vexations, causing them to
injure one another and take one another's property, and not for the motive of
making them receive injury or be deprived of their property, but only to deprive
them of charity. But in thinking to deprive My servants, they fortify them, proving
in them the virtues of patience, fortitude, and perseverance. Thus they render praise
and glory to My Name, and My Truth is fulfilled in them, which Truth created
them for the praise and glory of Me, Eternal Father, and that they might participate
in My beauty. But, rebelling against Me in their pride, they fell and lost their vision
of Me, wherefore they rendered not to Me glory through the affection of love, and I,
Eternal Truth, have placed them as instruments to exercise My servants in virtue in
this life and as justiciars to those who go, for their sins, to the pains of Purgatory. So
you see that My Truth is fulfilled in them, that is, that they render Me glory, not as
citizens of life eternal, of which they are deprived by their sins, but as My justiciars,
manifesting justice upon the damned, and upon those in Purgatory."
How the soul, after she has passed through this life, sees fully the praise and glory of
        My Name in everything, and, though, in her the pain of desire is ended, the
        desire is not.
"Thus in all things created, in all rational creatures, and in the devils is seen the
glory and praise of My Name. Who can see it? The soul who is denuded of the body
and has reached Me, her End, sees it clearly, and, in seeing, knows the truth. Seeing
Me, the Eternal Father, she loves, and loving, she is satisfied. Satisfied, she knows
the Truth, and her will is stayed in My Will, bound and made stable, so that in
nothing can it suffer pain, because it has that which it desired to have, before the
soul saw Me, namely, the glory and praise of My Name. She now, in truth, sees it
completely in My saints, in the blessed spirits, and in all creatures and things, even
in the devils, as I told you. And although she also sees the injury done to Me, which
before caused her sorrow, it no longer now can give her pain, but only compassion,
because she loves without pain, and prays to Me continually with affection of love,
that I will have mercy on the world. Pain in her is ended, but not love, as the
tortured desire, which My Word, the Son, had borne from the beginning when I
sent Him into the world, terminated on the Cross in His painful death, but His love
                                             75
-- no. For had the affection of My charity, which I showed you by means of Him,
been terminated and ended then, you would not be, because by love you are made,
and had My love been drawn back, that is, had I not loved your being, you could not
be, but My love created you, and My love possesses you, because I am one thing with
My Truth, and He, the Word Incarnate with Me. You see then, that the saints and
every soul in Eternal Life have desire for the salvation of souls without pain,
because pain ended in their death, but not so the affection of love.
"Thus, as if drunk with the Blood of the Immaculate Lamb, and clothed in the love
of the neighbor, they pass through the Narrow Gate, bathed in the Blood of Christ
crucified, and they find themselves in Me, the Sea Pacific, raised from imperfection,
far from satiety, and arrived at perfection, satisfied by every good."
How after Saint Paul was drawn to the glory of the blessed, he desired to be loosened
        from the body, as they do, who have reached the aforesaid third and fourth
        states.
"Paul, then, had seen and tasted this good, when I drew him up into the third
heaven, that is into the height of the Trinity, where he tasted and knew My Truth,
receiving fully the Holy Spirit, and learning the doctrine of My Truth, the Word
Incarnate. The soul of Paul was clothed, through feeling and union, in Me, Eternal
Father, like the blessed ones in Eternal Life, except that his soul was not separated
from his body, except through this feeling and union. But it being pleasing to My
Goodness to make of him a vessel of election in the abyss of Me, Eternal Trinity, I
dispossessed him of Myself, because on Me can no pain fall, and I wished him to
suffer for My name; therefore I placed before him, as an object for the eyes of his
intellect, Christ crucified, clothing him with the garment of His doctrine, binding
and fettering him with the clemency of the Holy Spirit and inflaming him with the
fire of charity. He became a vessel, disposed and reformed by My Goodness, and, on
being struck, made no resistance, but said: 'My Lord, what do You wish me to do?
Show me that which it is Your pleasure for me to do, and I will do it.' Which I
answered when I placed before him Christ crucified, clothing him with the doctrine
of My charity. I illuminated him perfectly with the light of true contrition, by which
he extirpated his defects, and founded him in My charity."
How the soul who finds herself in the unitive state desires infinitely to have the
        barren earthly state and unite herself to GOD.
"And when I depart from the soul in the aforesaid way that the body may return a
little to its corporal sentiment, the soul, on account of the union which she had
made with Me, is impatient in her life, being deprived of union with Me, and the
conversation of the Immortals, who render glory to Me, and finding herself, amid
the conversation of mortals, and seeing them so miserably offending Me. This
vision of My offense is the torture which such souls always have, and which, with
the desire to see Me, renders their life insupportable to them. Nevertheless, as their
will is not their own, but becomes one with Mine, they cannot desire other than
what I desire, and though they desire to come and be with Me, they are contented to
remain, if I desire them to remain, with their pain, for the greater praise and glory of
                                             76
My Name and the salvation of souls. So that in nothing are they in discord with My
Will; but they run their course with ecstatic desire, clothed in Christ crucified, and
keeping by the Bridge of His doctrine, glorying in His shame and pains. Inasmuch as
they appear to be suffering they are rejoicing, because the enduring of many
tribulations is to them a relief in the desire which they have for death, for
oftentimes the desire and the will to suffer pain mitigates the pain caused them by
their desire to quit the body. These not only endure with patience, as I told you they
did, who are in the third state, but they glory, through My Name, in bearing much
tribulation. In bearing tribulation they find pleasure, and not having it they suffer
pain, fearing that I reward not their well-doing or that the sacrifice of their desires is
not pleasing to Me; but when I permit to them many tribulations they rejoice, seeing
themselves clothed with the suffering and shame of Christ crucified. Wherefore
were it possible for them to have virtue without toil they would not want it. They
would rather delight in the Cross, with Christ, acquiring it with pain, than in any
other way obtain Eternal Life. Why? Because they are inflamed and steeped in the
Blood, where they find the blaze of My charity, which charity is a fire proceeding
from Me, ravishing their heart and mind and making their sacrifices acceptable.
Wherefore, the eye of the intellect is lifted up and gazes into My Deity, when the
affection behind the intellect is nourished and united with Me. This is a sight which
I grant to the soul, infused with grace, who, in truth, loves and serves Me."
How they, who are arrived at the aforesaid unitive state, have the eye of their
       intellect illuminated by supernatural light infused by grace. And how it is
       better to go for counsel for the salvation of the soul, to a humble and holy
       conscience than to a proud lettered man.
"With this light that is given to the eye of the intellect, Thomas Aquinas saw Me,
wherefore he acquired the light of much science; also Augustine, Jerome, and the
doctors, and my saints. They were illuminated by My Truth to know and
understand My Truth in darkness. By My Truth I mean the Holy Scripture, which
seemed dark because it was not understood; not through any defect of the Scriptures,
but of them who heard them, and did not understand them. Wherefore I sent this
light to illuminate the blind and coarse understanding, uplifting the eye of the
intellect to know the Truth. And I, Fire, Acceptor of sacrifices, ravishing away from
them their darkness, give the light; not a natural light, but a supernatural, so that,
though in darkness, they know the Truth. Wherefore that, which at first appeared to
be dark, now appears with the most perfect light, to the gross or subtle mind; and
everyone receives according as he is capable or disposed to know Me, for I do not
despise dispositions. So you see that the eye of the intellect has received
supernatural light, infused by grace, by which the doctors and saints knew light in
darkness, and of darkness made light. The intellect was, before the Scriptures were
formed, wherefore, from the intellect came science, because in seeing they discerned.
It was thus that the holy prophets and fathers understood, who prophesied of the
coming and death of My Son, and the Apostles, after the coming of the Holy Spirit,
which gave them that supernatural light. The evangelists, doctors, professors,
virgins, and martyrs were all likewise illuminated by the aforesaid perfect light. And
everyone has had the illumination of this light according as he needed it for his
salvation or that of others, or for the exposition of the Scriptures. The doctors of the
                                             77
holy science had it, expounding the doctrine of My Truth, the preaching of the
Apostles, and the Gospels of the Evangelists. The martyrs had it, declaring in their
blood the Most Holy Faith, the fruit and the treasure of the Blood of the Lamb. The
virgins had it in the affection of charity and purity. To the obedient ones is declared,
by it, the obedience of the Word, showing them the perfection of obedience, which
shines in my Truth, who for the obedience that I imposed upon Him, ran to the
opprobrious death of the Cross. This light is to be seen in the Old and New
Testament; in the Old, by it, were seen by the eye of the intellect, and known the
prophecies of the holy prophets. In the New Testament of the evangelical life, how
is the Gospel declared to the faithful? By this same light. And because the New
Testament proceeded from the same light, the new law did not break the old law;
rather are the two laws bound together, the imperfection of the old law, founded in
fear alone, being taken from it, by the coming of the Word of My only-begotten Son,
with the law of Love, completing the old law by giving it love, and replacing the fear
of penalty by holy fear. And, therefore, said My Truth to the disciples, to show that
He was not a breaker of laws: 'I came not to dissolve the law, but to fulfill it.' It is
almost as if My Truth would say to them -- The Law is now imperfect, but with My
Blood I will make it perfect, and I will fill it up with what it lacks, taking away the
fear of penalty, and founding it in love and holy fear. How was this declared to be
the Truth? By this same supernatural light, which was and is given by grace to all,
who will receive it? Every light that comes from Holy Scripture comes and came
from this supernatural light. Ignorant and proud men of science were blind
notwithstanding this light, because their pride and the cloud of self-love had
covered up and put out the light. Wherefore they understood the Holy Scripture
rather literally than with understanding, and taste only the letter of it, still desiring
many other books; and they get not to the marrow of it, because they have deprived
themselves of the light, with which is found and expounded the Scripture; and they
are annoyed and murmur, because they find much in it that appears to them gross
and idiotic. And, nevertheless, they appear to be much illuminated in their
knowledge of Scripture, as if they had studied it for long; and this is not remarkable,
because they have of course the natural light from whence proceeds science. But
because they have lost the supernatural light, infused by grace, they neither see nor
know My Goodness, nor the grace of My servants. Wherefore, I say to you, that it is
much better to go for counsel for the salvation of the soul, to a holy and upright
conscience, than to a proud lettered man, learned in much science, because such a
one can only offer what he has himself, and, because of his darkness, it may appear
to you, that, from what he says, the Scriptures offer darkness. The contrary will you
find with My servants, because they offer the light that is in them, with hunger and
desire for the soul's salvation. This I have told you, my sweetest daughter, that you
might know the perfection of this unitive state, when the eye of the intellect is
ravished by the fire of My charity, in which charity it receives the supernatural light.
With this light the souls in the unitive state love Me, because love follows the
intellect, and the more it knows the more can it love. Thus the one feeds the other,
and, with this light, they both arrive at the Eternal Vision of Me, where they see and
taste Me, in Truth, the soul being separated from the body, as I told you when I
spoke to you of the blissfulness that the soul received in Me. This state is most
excellent, when the soul, being yet in the mortal body, tastes bliss with the
immortals, and oftentimes she arrives at so great a union that she scarcely knows
                                             78
whether she be in the body or out of it; and tastes the earnest-money of Eternal Life,
both because she is united with Me, and because her will is dead in Christ, by which
death her union was made with Me, and in no other way could she perfectly have
done so. Therefore do they taste life eternal, deprived of the hell of their own will,
which gives to man the earnest-money of damnation, if he yield to it."
How this devout soul seeks knowledge from God concerning the state and fruit of
       tears.
Then this soul, yearning with very great desire, and rising as one intoxicated both by
the union which she had had with God, and by what she had heard and tasted of the
Supreme and Sweet Truth, yearned with grief over the ignorance of creatures, in
that they did not know their Benefactor, or the affection of the love of God. And
nevertheless she had joy from the hope of the promise that the Truth of God had
made to her, teaching her the way she was to direct her will (and the other servants
of God as well as herself) in order that He should do mercy to the world. And, lifting
up the eye of her intellect upon the sweet Truth, to whom she remained united,
wishing to know somewhat of the aforesaid states of the soul of which God had
spoken to her, and seeing that the soul passes through these states with tears, she
wished to learn from the Truth concerning the different kinds of tears, and how
they came to be, and whence they proceeded, and the fruit that resulted from
weeping. Wishing then to know this from the Sweet, Supreme and First Truth, as to
the manner of being and reason of the aforesaid tears, and inasmuch as the truth
cannot be learnt from any other than from the Truth Himself, and nothing can be
learnt in the Truth but what is seen by the eye of the intellect, she made her request
of the Truth. For it is necessary for him who is lifted with desire to learn the Truth
with the light of faith.
Wherefore, knowing that she had not forgotten the teaching which the Truth, that
is, God, had given her, that in no other way could she learn about the different states
and fruits of tears, she rose out of herself, exceeding every limit of her nature with
the greatness of her desire. And, with the light of a lively faith, she opened the eye
of her intellect upon the Eternal Truth, in whom she saw and knew the Truth, in
the matter of her request, for God Himself manifested it to her, and condescending
in His benignity to her burning desire, fulfilled her petition.
How there are five kinds of tears.
Then said the Supreme and Sweet Truth of God, "Oh, beloved and dearest daughter,
you beg knowledge of the reasons and fruits of tears, and I have not despised your
desire; open well the eye of your intellect and I will show you, among the aforesaid
states of the soul, of which I have told you, concerning the imperfect tears caused by
fear; but first rather of the tears of wicked men of the world. These are the tears of
damnation. The former are those of fear, and belong to men who abandon sin from
fear of punishment, and weep for fear. The third are the tears of those who, having
abandoned sin, are beginning to serve and taste Me, and weep for very sweetness;
but since their love is imperfect, so also is their weeping, as I have told you. The
fourth are the tears of those who have arrived at the perfect love of their neighbor,
                                                79
loving Me without any regard whatsoever for themselves. These weep and their
weeping is perfect. The fifth are joined to the fourth and are tears of sweetness let
fall with great peace, as I will explain to you. I will tell you also of the tears of fire,
without bodily tears of the eyes, which satisfy those who often would desire to weep
and cannot. And I wish you to know that all these various graces may exist in one
soul, who, rising from fear and imperfect love, reaches perfect love in the unitive
state. Now I will begin to tell you of these tears in the following way."
Of the difference of these tears, arising from the explanation of the aforesaid state of
       the soul.
"I wish you to know that every tear proceeds from the heart, for there is no member
of the body that will satisfy the heart so much as the eye. If the heart is in pain the
eye manifests it. And if the pain be sensual the eye drops hearty tears which
engender death, because proceeding from the heart, they are caused by a disordinate
love distinct from the love of Me; for such love, being disordinate and an offense to
Me, receives the meed of mortal pain and tears. It is true that their guilt and grief are
more or less heavy, according to the measure of their disordinate love. And these
form that first class, who have the tears of death, of whom I have spoken to you,
and will speak again. Now, begin to consider the tears which give the
commencement of life, the tears, that is, of those who, knowing their guilt, set to
weeping for fear of the penalty they have incurred.
"These are both hearty and sensual tears, because the soul, not having yet arrived at
perfect hatred of its guilt on account of the offense thereby done to Me, abandons it
with a hearty grief for the penalty which follows the sin committed, while the eye
weeps in order to satisfy the grief of the heart.
"But the soul, exercising herself in virtue, begins to lose her fear, knowing that fear
alone is not sufficient to give her eternal life, as I have already told you when
speaking of the second stage of the soul. And so she proceeds, with love, to know
herself and My goodness in her, and begins to take hope in My mercy in which her
heart feels joy. Sorrow for her grief, mingled with the joy of her hope in My mercy,
causes her eye to weep, which tears issue from the very fountain of her heart.
"But, inasmuch as she has not yet arrived at great perfection, she often drops
sensual tears, and if you ask Me why, I reply: Because the root of self-love is not
sensual love, for that has already been removed, as has been said, but it is a spiritual
love with which the soul desires spiritual consolations or loves some creature
spiritually. (I have spoken to you at length regarding the imperfections of such
souls.) Wherefore, when such a soul is deprived of the thing she loves, that is,
internal or external consolation, the internal being the consolation received from
Me, the external being that which she had from the creature, and when temptations
and the persecutions of men come on her, her heart is full of grief. And, as soon as
the eye feels the grief and suffering of the heart, she begins to weep with a tender
and compassionate sorrow, pitying herself with the spiritual compassion of self-
love; for her self-will is not yet crushed and destroyed in everything, and in this way
she lets fall sensual tears -- tears, that is, of spiritual passion. But, growing, and
exercising herself in the light of self-knowledge, she conceives displeasure at herself
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and finally perfect self-hatred. From this she draws true knowledge of My goodness
with a fire of love, and she begins to unite herself to Me, and to conform her will to
Mine and so to feel joy and compassion. Joy in herself through the affection of love,
and compassion for her neighbor, as I told you in speaking of the third stage.
Immediately her eye, wishing to satisfy the heart, cries with hearty love for Me and
for her neighbor, grieving solely for My offense and her neighbor's loss, and not for
any penalty or loss due to herself; for she does not think of herself, but only of
rendering glory and praise to My Name, and, in an ecstasy of desire, she joyfully
takes the food prepared for her on the table of the Holy Cross, thus conforming
herself to the humble, patient, and immaculate Lamb, My only-begotten Son, of
whom I made a Bridge, as I have said. Having thus sweetly traveled by that Bridge,
following the doctrine of My sweet Truth, enduring with true and sweet patience
every pain and trouble which I have permitted to be inflicted upon her for her
salvation, having manfully received them all, not choosing them according to her
own tastes, but accepting them according to Mine, and not only, as I said, enduring
them with patience, but sustaining them with joy, she counts it glory to be
persecuted for My Name's sake in whatever she may have to suffer. Then the soul
arrives at such delight and tranquillity of mind that no tongue can tell it. Having
crossed the river by means of the Eternal Word, that is, by the doctrine of My only-
begotten Son, and, having fixed the eye of her intellect on Me, the Sweet Supreme
Truth, having seen the Truth, knows it; and knowing it, loves it. Drawing her
affection after her intellect, she tastes My Eternal Deity, and she knows and sees the
Divine nature united to your humanity.
"Then she reposes in Me, the Sea Pacific, and her heart is united to Me in love, as I
told you when speaking of the fourth and unitive state. When she thus feels Me,
the Eternal Deity, her eyes let fall tears of sweetness, tears indeed of milk,
nourishing the soul in true patience; an odoriferous ointment are these tears,
shedding odors of great sweetness.
"Oh, best beloved daughter, how glorious is that soul who has indeed been able to
pass from the stormy ocean to Me, the Sea Pacific, and in that Sea, which is Myself,
the Supreme and Eternal Deity, to fill the pitcher of her heart. And her eye, the
conduit of her heart, endeavors to satisfy her heart-pangs, and so sheds tears. This is
the last stage in which the soul is blessed and sorrowful.
"Blessed she is through the union which she feels herself to have with Me, tasting
the divine love; sorrowful through the offenses which she sees done to My
goodness and greatness, for she has seen and tasted the bitterness of this in her self-
knowledge, by which self-knowledge, together with her knowledge of Me, she
arrived at the final stage. Yet this sorrow is no impediment to the unitive state,
which produces tears of great sweetness through self-knowledge, gained in love of
the neighbor, in which exercise the soul discovers the plaint of My divine mercy,
and grief at the offenses caused to her neighbor, weeping with those who weep, and
rejoicing with those who rejoice -- that is, who live in My love. Over these the soul
rejoices, seeing glory and praise rendered Me by My servants, so that the third kind
of grief does not prevent the fourth, that is, the final grief belonging to the unitive
state; they rather give savor to each other, for, had not this last grief (in which the
soul finds such union with Me), developed from the grief belonging to the third
state of neighborly love, it would not be perfect. Therefore it is necessary that the
                                            81
one should flavor the other, else the soul would come to a state of presumption,
induced by the subtle breeze of love of her own reputation, and would fall at once,
vomited from the heights to the depths. Therefore it is necessary to bear with others
and practice continually love to one's neighbor, together with true knowledge of
oneself.
"In this way will she feel the fire of My love in herself, because love of her neighbor
is developed out of love of Me -- that is, out of that learning which the soul obtained
by knowing herself and My goodness in her. When, therefore, she sees herself to be
ineffably loved by Me, she loves every rational creature with the self-same love with
which she sees herself to be loved. And, for this reason, the soul that knows Me
immediately expands to the love of her neighbor, because she sees that I love that
neighbor ineffably, and so, herself, loves the object which she sees Me to have loved
still more. She further knows that she can be of no use to Me and can in no way
repay Me that pure love with which she feels herself to be loved by Me, and
therefore endeavors to repay it through the medium which I have given her,
namely, her neighbor, who is the medium through which you can all serve Me. For,
as I have said to you, you can perform all virtues by means of your neighbor, I
having given you all creatures, in general and in particular, according to the diverse
graces each has received from Me, to be ministered unto by you; you should
therefore love them with the same pure love with which I have loved you. That
pure love cannot be returned directly to Me, because I have loved you without being
Myself loved, and without any consideration of Myself whatsoever, for I loved you
without being loved by you -- before you existed; it was, indeed, love that moved Me
to create you to My own image and similitude. This love you cannot repay to Me,
but you can pay it to My rational creature, loving your neighbor without being loved
by him and without consideration of your own advantage, whether spiritual or
temporal, but loving him solely for the praise and glory of My Name, because he has
been loved by Me.
"Thus will you fulfill the commandment of the law, to love Me above everything,
and your neighbor as yourselves.
"True indeed is it that this height cannot be reached without passing through the
second stage, namely the second stage of union which becomes the third (and final)
stage. Nor can it be preserved when it has been reached if the soul abandon the
affection from which it has been developed, the affection to which the second class
of tears belongs. It is therefore impossible to fulfill the law given by Me, the Eternal
God, without fulfilling that of your neighbor, for these two laws are the feet of your
affection by which the precepts and counsels are observed, which were given you, as
I have told you, by My Truth, Christ crucified. These two states united nourish your
soul in virtue, making her to grow in the perfection of virtue and in the unitive
state. Not that the other state is changed because this further state has been reached,
for this further state does but increase the riches of grace in new and various gifts
and admirable elevations of the mind, in the knowledge of the truth, as I said to
you, which, though it is mortal, appears immortal because the soul's perception of
her own sensuality is mortified and her will is dead through the union which she
has attained with Me.
"Oh, how sweet is the taste of this union to the soul, for, in tasting it, she sees My
secrets! Wherefore she often receives the spirit of prophecy, knowing the things of
                                              82
the future. This is the effect of My Goodness, but the humble soul should despise
such things, not indeed in so far as they are given her by My love, but in so far as she
desires them by reason of her appetite for consolation, considering herself unworthy
of peace and quiet of mind, in order to nourish virtue within her soul. In such a
case let her not remain in the second stage, but return to the valley of self-
knowledge. I give her this light, My grace permitting, so that she may ever grow in
virtue. For the soul is never so perfect in this life that she cannot attain to a higher
perfection of love. My only-begotten Son, your Captain, was the only One who could
increase in no perfection, because He was one thing with Me, and I with Him,
wherefore His soul was blessed through union with the Divine nature. But do you,
His pilgrim-members, be ever ready to grow in greater perfection, not indeed to
another stage, for as I have said, you have now reached the last, but to that further
grade of perfection in the last stage, which may please you by means of My Grace."
How the four stages of the soul, to which belong the five aforesaid states of tears,
        produce tears of infinite value: and how God wishes to be served as the
        Infinite, and not as anything finite.
"These five states are like five principal canals which are filled with abundant tears
of infinite value, all of which give life if they are disciplined in virtue, as I have said
to you. You ask how their value can be infinite. I do not say that in this life your
tears can become infinite, but I call them infinite, on account of the infinite desire of
your soul from which they proceed. I have already told you how tears come from
the heart, and how the heart distributes them to the eye, having gathered them in
its own fiery desire. As, when green wood is on the fire, the moisture it contains
groans on account of the heat, because the wood is green, so does the heart, made
green again by the renovation of grace drawn into itself among its self-love which
dries up the soul, so that fiery desire and tears are united. And inasmuch as desire is
never ended, it is never satisfied in this life, but the more the soul loves the less she
seems to herself to love. Thus is holy desire, which is founded in love, exercised,
and with this desire the eye weeps. But when the soul is separated from the body
and has reached Me, her End, she does not on that account abandon desire, so as to
no longer yearn for Me or love her neighbor, for love has entered into her like a
woman bearing the fruits of all other virtues. It is true that suffering is over and
ended, as I have said to you, for the soul that desires Me possesses Me in very truth,
without any fear of ever losing that which she has so long desired; but, in this way,
hunger is kept up, because those who are hungry are satisfied, and as soon as they
are satisfied hunger again; in this way their satiety is without disgust, and their
hunger without suffering, for, in Me, no perfection is wanting.
"Thus is your desire infinite, otherwise it would be worth nothing, nor would any
virtue of yours have any life if you served Me with anything finite. For I, who am
the Infinite God, wish to be served by you with infinite service, and the only infinite
thing you possess is the affection and desire of your souls. In this sense I said that
there were tears of infinite value, and this is true as regards their mode, of which I
have spoken, namely, of the infinite desire which is united to the tears. When the
soul leaves the body the tears remain behind, but the affection of love has drawn to
itself the fruit of the tears, and consumed it, as happens in the case of the water in
                                             83
your furnace. The water has not really been taken out of the furnace, but the heat of
the fire has consumed it and drawn it into itself. Thus the soul, having arrived at
tasting the fire of My divine charity, and having passed from this life in a state of
love towards Me and her neighbor, having further possessed that unitive love
which caused her tears to fall, does not cease to offer Me her blessed desires, tearful
indeed, though without pain or physical weeping, for physical tears have
evaporated in the furnace, becoming tears of fire of the Holy Spirit. You see then
how tears are infinite, how, as regards the tears shed in this life only, no tongue can
tell what different sorrows may cause them. I have now told you the difference
between four of these states of tears."
Of the fruit of worldly men's tears.
"It remains for Me to tell you of the fruit produced by tears shed with desire, and
received into the soul. But first will I speak to you of that first class of men whom I
mentioned at the beginning of this My discourse; those, that is, who live miserably
in the world, making a god of created things and of their own sensuality, from
which comes damage to their body and soul. I said to you that every tear proceeded
from the heart, and this is the truth, for the heart grieves in proportion to the love it
feels. So worldly men weep when their heart feels pain, that is, when they are
deprived of something which they loved.
"But many and diverse are their complainings. Do you know how many? There are
as many as there exist different loves. And inasmuch as the root of self-love is
corrupt, everything that grows from it is corrupt also. Self-love is a tree on which
grow nothing but fruits of death, putrid flowers, stained leaves, branches bowed
down, and struck by various winds. This is the tree of the soul. For you are all trees
of love, and without love you cannot live, for you have been made by Me for love.
The soul who lives virtuously, places the root of her tree in the valley of true
humility; but those who live thus miserably are planted on the mountain of pride,
whence it follows that since the root of the tree is badly planted, the tree can bear no
fruits of life but only of death. Their fruits are their actions, which are all poisoned
by many and diverse kinds of sin, and if they should produce some good fruit
among their actions, even it will be spoiled by the foulness of its root, for no good
actions done by a soul in mortal sin are of value for eternal life, for they are not
done in grace. Let not, however, such a soul abandon on this account its good works,
forevery good deed is rewarded, and every evil deed punished. A good action
performed out of a state of grace is not sufficient to merit eternal life, as has been
said, but My Justice, My Divine Goodness, grants an incomplete reward, imperfect as
the action which obtains it. Often such a man is rewarded in temporal matters;
sometimes I give him more time in which to repent, as I have already said to you in
another place. This also will I sometimes do, I grant him the life of grace by means
of My servants who are pleasing and acceptable to Me. I acted in this way with My
glorious apostle Paul, who abandoned his infidelity, and the persecutions he
directed against the Christians, at the prayer of St. Stephen. See truly, therefore, that,
in whatever state a man may be, he should never stop doing good.
"I said to you that the flowers of this tree were putrid, and so in truth they are. Its
flowers are the stinking thoughts of the heart, displeasing to Me, and full of hatred
                                            84
and unkindness towards their neighbor. So if a man be a thief, he robs Me of honor,
and takes it himself. This flower stinks less than that of false judgment, which is of
two kinds. The first with regard to Me, by which men judge My secret judgments,
gauging falsely all My mysteries, that is, judging that which I did in love, to have
been done in hatred; that which I did in truth to have been done in falsehood; that
which I give them for life, to have been given them for death. They condemn and
judge everything according to their weak intellect; for they have blinded the eye of
their intellect with sensual self-love, and hidden the pupil of the most holy Faith,
which they will not allow to see or know the Truth. The second kind of false
judgment is directed against a man's neighbor, from which often come many evils,
because the wretched man wishes to set himself up as the judge of the affections and
heart of other rational creatures, when he does not yet know himself. And, for an
action which he may see, or for a word he may hear, he will judge the affection of
the heart. My servants always judge well, because they are founded on Me, the
Supreme Good; but such as these always judge badly, for they are founded on evil.
Such critics as these cause hatreds, murders, unhappinesses of all kinds to their
neighbors, and remove themselves far away from the love of My servants' virtue.
"Truly these fruits follow the leaves, which are the words which issue from their
mouth in insult to Me and the Blood of My only-begotten Son, and in hatred to
their neighbors. And they think of nothing else but cursing and condemning My
works, and blaspheming and saying evil of every rational creature, according as
their judgment may suggest to them. The unfortunate creatures do not remember
that the tongue is made only to give honor to Me, and to confess sins, and to be used
in love of virtue, and for the salvation of the neighbor. These are the stained leaves
of that most miserable fault, because the heart from which they proceeded was not
clean, but all spotted with duplicity and misery. How much danger, apart from the
spiritual privation of grace to the soul, of temporal loss may not occur! For you have
all heard and seen how, through words alone, have come revolutions of states, and
destructions of cities, and many homicides and other evils, a word having entered
the heart of the listener, and having passed through a space not large enough for a
knife.
"I say that this tree has seven branches drooping to the earth, on which grow the
flowers and leaves in the way I have told you. These branches are the seven mortal
sins which are full of many and diverse wickednesses, contained in the roots and
trunk of self-love and of pride, which first made both branches and flowers of many
thoughts, the leaves of words, and the fruits of wicked deeds. They stand drooping
to the earth because the branches of mortal sin can turn no other way than to the
earth, the fragile disordinate substance of the world. Do not marvel, they can turn
no way but that in which they can be fed by the earth; for their hunger is insatiable,
and the earth is unable to satisfy them. They are insatiable and unbearable to
themselves, and it is conformable to their state that they should always be unquiet,
longing and desiring that thing which they have to satiety. This is the reason why
such satiety cannot content them, because they (who are infinite in their being) are
always desiring something finite; because their being will never end, though their
life to grace ends when they commit mortal sin.
"Man is placed above all creatures, and not beneath them, and he cannot be satisfied
or content except in something greater than himself. Greater than himself there is
                                             85
nothing but Myself, the Eternal God. Therefore I alone can satisfy him, and, because
he is deprived of this satisfaction by his guilt, he remains in continual torment and
pain. Weeping follows pain, and when he begins to weep the wind strikes the tree of
self-love, which he has made the principle of all his being."
How this devout soul, thanking God for His explanation of the above-mentioned
       states of tears, makes three petitions.
Then this soul, eager with the greatness of her desire, through the sweetness of the
explanation and satisfaction which she had received from the Truth, concerning the
state of tears, said as one enamored -- "Thanks, thanks be to You, Supreme and
Eternal Father, Satisfier of holy desires, and Lover of our Salvation, who, through
Your Love, gave us Love Himself, in the time of our warfare with You, in the
person of Your only-begotten Son. By this abyss of Your fiery Love, I beg of You grace
and mercy that I may come to You truly in the light, and not flee far in darkness
away from Your doctrine, of which You have clearly demonstrated to me the truth,
so that, by the light thereof, I perceive two other points, concerning which I fear that
they are, or may become, stumbling-blocks to me. I beg, Eternal Father, that, before I
leave the subject of these states of tears, You would explain these points also to me.
The first is -- when a person desirous of serving You, comes to me, or to some other
servant of Yours to ask for counsel, how should I teach him? I know, Sweet and
Eternal God, that You replied above to this question -- 'I am He who takes delight in
few words and many deeds.' Nevertheless, if it please Your Goodness to grant me a
few more words on the subject, it will cause me the greatest pleasure. And also, if on
some occasion, when I am praying for Your creatures, and in particular for Your
servants, and I seem to see the subjects of my prayer, in one I find (in the course of
my prayer) a well-disposed mind, a soul rejoicing in You; and in another, as it might
seem to me, a mind full of darkness; have I the right, O Eternal Father, to judge the
one soul to be in light, and the other in darkness? Or, supposing I should see that
the one lives in great penance, and the other does not, should I be right to judge that
he who does the greater penance has the higher perfection? I pray You, so that I may
not be deceived through my limited vision, that You would declare to me in detail,
what You have already said in general on this matter. The second request I have to
make is, that You will explain further to me about the sign which You said the soul
received on being visited by You -- the sign which revealed Your Presence. If I
remember well, oh, Eternal Truth, You said that the soul remained in joy and
courageous virtue. I would gladly know whether this joy can consist with the
delusion of the passion of spiritual self-love; for if it were so, I would humbly
confine myself to the sign of virtue. These are the things which I beg You to tell me,
so that I may serve You and my neighbor in truth, and not fall into false judgment
concerning Your creatures and servants. For it seems to me that the habit of judging
keeps the soul far from You, so I do not wish to fall into this snare."
                                              86
How the light of reason is necessary to every soul that wishes to serve God in truth;
        and first of the light of reason in general.
Then the Eternal God, delighting in the thirst and hunger of that soul, and in the
purity of her heart, and the desire with which she longed to serve Him, turned the
eye of His benignity and mercy upon her, saying -- "Oh, best-beloved, dearest and
sweetest daughter, my spouse! rise out of yourself, and open the eye of your intellect
to see Me, the Infinite Goodness, and the ineffable love which I have towards you
and My other servants. And open the ear of the desire which you feel towards Me,
and remember, that if you do not see, you can not hear, that is to say, that the soul
that does not see into My Truth with the eye of her intellect, cannot hear or know
My Truth, wherefore in order that you may the better know it, rise above the
feelings of your senses.
"And I, who take delight in your request, will satisfy your demand. Not that you can
increase My delight, for I am the cause of you and of your increase; not those of
Mine. Yet the very pleasure that I take in the work of My own hands causes Me
delight."
Then that soul obeyed and rose out of herself, in order to learn the true solution of
her difficulty. And the Eternal God said to her, "In order that you may the better
understand what I shall say to you, I shall revert to the beginning of your request
concerning the three lights which issue from Me, the True Light. The first is a
general light dwelling in those who live in ordinary charity. (I shall repeat to you
here many things concerning these lights, which I have already told you, in spite of
My having done so, in order that your creeping intelligence may better understand
that which you wish to know.) The other two lights dwell in those who, having
abandoned the world, desire perfection. Besides this I will explain to you your
request, telling you in great detail that which I have already pointed out to you in
general. You know, as I have told you, that, without the light, no one can walk in
the truth, that is, without the light of reason, which light of reason you draw from
Me the True Light, by means of the eye of your intellect and the light of faith which I
have given you in holy baptism, though you may have lost it by your own defects.
For, in baptism, and through the mediation of the Blood of My only-begotten Son,
you have received the form of faith; which faith you exercise in virtue by the light
of reason, which gives you life and causes you to walk in the path of truth, and, by
its means, to arrive at Me, the True Light, for, without it, you would plunge into
darkness.
"It is necessary for you to have two lights derived from this primary light, and to
these two I will also add a third. The first lightens you all to know the transitory
nature of the things of the world, all of which pass like the wind. But this you
cannot know thoroughly, unless you first recognize your own fragility, how strong
is your inclination, through the law of perversity with which your members are
bound, to rebel against Me, your Creator (not that by this law any man can be
constrained to commit any, even the smallest sin, against his will, but that this law
of perversity fights lustily against the spirit). I did not impose this law upon you, in
order that My rational creature should be conquered by it, but in order that he
should prove and increase the virtue of his soul, because virtue cannot be proved,
                                              87
except by its contrary. Sensuality is contrary to the spirit, and yet, by means of
sensuality, the soul is able to prove the love which she has for Me, her Creator. How
does she prove it? When, with anger and displeasure, she rises against herself. This
law has also been imposed in order to preserve the soul in true humility.
Wherefore you see that, while I created the soul to Mine own image and similitude,
placing her in such dignity and beauty, I caused her to be accompanied by the vilest
of all things, imposing on her the law of perversity, imprisoning her in a body,
formed of the vilest substance of the earth, so that, seeing in what her true beauty
consisted, she should not raise her head in pride against Me. Wherefore, to one who
possesses this light, the fragility of his body is a cause of humiliation to the soul, and
is in no way matter for pride, but rather for true and perfect humility. So that this
law does not constrain you to any sin by its strivings, but supplies a reason to make
you know yourselves and the instability of the world. This should be seen by the eye
of the intellect, with light of the holy faith, of which I said to you that it was the
pupil of the eye. This is that light which is necessary in general to every rational
creature, whatever may be his condition, who wishes to participate in the life of
grace, in the fruit of the Blood of the immaculate Lamb. This is the ordinary light,
that is, the light which all persons must possess, as has been said, for, without it, the
soul would be in a state of damnation. And, for this reason, because the soul, being
without the light, is not in a state of grace, inasmuch as, not having the light, she
does not know the evil of her sin or its cause, and therefore cannot avoid or hate it.
"And similarly if the soul know not good, and the reason of good, that is to say
virtue, she cannot love or desire either Me, who am the Essential Good, or virtue,
which I have given you as an instrument and means for you to receive My grace,
and Myself the True Good. See then how necessary is this light, for your sins consist
in nothing else than in loving that which I hate, and in hating that which I love. I
love virtue and hate vice; he who loves vice and hates virtue offends Me, and is
deprived of My grace. Such a one walks as if blind, for he knows not the cause of
vice, that is, his sensual self-love, nor does he hate himself on account of it; he is
ignorant of vice and of the evil which follows it: he is ignorant of virtue and of Me,
who am the cause of his obtaining life-giving virtue; he is ignorant of his own
dignity, which he should maintain by advancing to grace, by means of virtue. See,
therefore, how his ignorance is the cause of all his evil, and how you also need this
light, as has been said."
Of those who have placed their desire rather in the mortification of the body than in
        the destruction of their own will; and of the second light, more perfect than
        the former general one.
"When the soul has arrived at the attainment of the general light, of which I have
spoken, she should not remain contented, because, as long as you are pilgrims in
this life, you are capable of growth, and he who does not go forward, by that very
fact, is turning back. She should either grow in the general light, which she has
acquired through My Grace, or anxiously strive to attain to the second and perfect
light, leaving the imperfect and reaching the perfect. For, if the soul truly have light,
she will wish to arrive at perfection. In this second perfect light are to be found two
kinds of perfection; for they may be called perfect who have abandoned the general
                                             88
way of living of the world. One perfection is that of those who give themselves up
wholly to the castigation of the body, doing great and severe penance. These, in
order that their sensuality may not rebel against their reason, have placed their
desire rather in the mortification of the body than in the destruction of their self-
will, as I have explained to you in another place. These feed their souls at the table
of penance, and are good and perfect, if their penance be illuminated by discretion,
and founded on Me, if, that is to say, they act with true knowledge of themselves
and of Me, with great humility, and wholly conformed to the judgment of My Will,
and not to that of the will of man. But, if they were not thus clothed with My Will,
in true humility, they would often offend against their own perfection, esteeming
themselves the judges of those who do not walk in the same path. Do you know
why this would happen to them? Because they have placed all their labor and desire
in the mortification of the body, rather than in the destruction of their own will.
Such as these wish always to choose their own times, and places, and consolations,
after their own fashion, and also the persecutions of the world and of the Devil, as I
have narrated to you in speaking of the second state of perfection.
"They say, cheating themselves with the delusion of their own self-will, which I
have already called their spiritual self-will, 'I wish to have that consolation, and not
these battles, or these temptations of the Devil, not, indeed, for my own pleasure,
but in order to please God the more, and in order to retain Him the more in my soul
through grace; because it seems to me that I should possess Him more, and serve
Him better in that way than in this.' And this is the way the soul often fails into
trouble, and becomes tedious and insupportable to herself; thus injuring her own
perfection; yet she does not perceive it, nor that, within her, lurks the stench of
pride, and there she lies. Now, if the soul were not in this condition, but were truly
humble and not presumptuous, she would be illuminated to see that I, the Primary
and Sweet Truth, grant condition, and time, and place, and consolations, and
tribulations as they may be needed for your salvation, and to complete the
perfection to which I have elected the soul. And she would see that I give
everything through love, and that therefore, with love and reverence, should she
receive everything, which is what the souls in the second state do, and, by doing so,
arrive at the third state. Of whom I will now speak to you, explaining to you the
nature of these two states which stand in the most perfect light."
Of the third and most perfect state, and of reason, and of the works done by the soul
       who has arrived at this light. And of a beautiful vision which this devout
       soul once received, in which the method of arriving at perfect purity is fully
       treated, and the means to avoid judging our neighbor is spoken of.
"Those who belong to the third state, which immediately follows the last, having
arrived at this glorious light, are perfect in every condition in which they may be,
and receive every event which I permit to happen to them with due reverence, as I
have mentioned to you when speaking of the third and unitive state of the soul.
These deem themselves worthy of the troubles and stumbling-blocks caused them
by the world, and of the privation of their own consolation, and indeed of whatever
circumstance happens to them. And inasmuch as they deem themselves worthy of
trouble, so also do they deem themselves unworthy of the fruit which they receive
                                            89
after their trouble. They have known and tasted in the light My Eternal Will, which
wishes naught else but your good, and gives and permits these troubles in order that
you should be sanctified in Me. Wherefore the soul having known My Will, clothes
herself with it, and fixes her attention on nothing else except seeing in what way she
can preserve and increase her perfection to the glory and praise of My Name,
opening the eye of her intellect and fixing it in the light of faith upon Christ
crucified, My only-begotten Son, loving and following His doctrine, which is the
rule of the road for perfect and imperfect alike. And see, how My Truth, the Lamb,
who became enamored of her when He saw her, gives the soul the doctrine of
perfection. She knows what this perfection is, having seen it practiced by the sweet
and amorous Word, My only-begotten Son, who was fed at the table of holy desire,
seeking the honor of Me, the Eternal Father, and your salvation. And, inflamed
with this desire, He ran, with great eagerness, to the shameful death of the Cross,
and accomplished the obedience which was imposed on Him by Me, His Father, not
shunning labors or insults or withdrawing on account of your ingratitude or
ignorance of so great a benefit, or because of the persecutions of the Jews, or on
account of the insults, derision, grumbling, and shouting of the people. But all this
He passed through like the true Captain and Knight that He was, whom I had placed
on the battle-field to deliver you from the hands of the Devil, so that you might be
free, and drawn out of the most terrible slavery in which you could ever be, and also
to teach you His road, His doctrine, and His rule, so that you might open the Door of
Me, Eternal Life, with the key of His precious Blood, shed with such fire of love,
with such hatred of your sins. It was as if the sweet and amorous Word, My Son,
should have said to you: 'Behold, I have made the road, and opened the door with
My Blood.' Do not you then be negligent to follow, laying yourselves down to rest in
self-love and ignorance of the road, presuming to choose to serve Me in your own
way, instead of in the way which I have made straight for you by means of My
Truth, the Incarnate Word, and built up with His Blood. Rise up then, promptly,
and follow Him, for no one can reach Me, the Father, if not by Him; He is the Way
and the Door by which you must enter into Me, the Sea Pacific.
"When therefore the soul has arrived at seeing, knowing, and tasting, in its full
sweetness, this light, she runs, as one enamored and inflamed with love, to the table
of holy desire; she does not see herself in herself, seeking her own consolation
either spiritual or temporal, but, like one who has placed his all in this light and
knowledge, and has destroyed his own will, she shuns no labor from whatever
source it comes, but rather enduring the troubles, the insults, the temptations of the
Devil, and the murmurings of men, eats at the table of the most holy Cross, the food
of the honor of Me, the Eternal God, and of the salvation of souls; seeking no
reward, either from Me or from creatures, because she is stripped of mercenary love,
that is of love for Me based on interested motives, and is clothed in perfect light,
loving Me in perfect purity, with no other regard than for the praise and glory of My
Name, serving neither Me for her own delight, nor her neighbor for her own profit,
but purely through love alone. Such as these have lost themselves, and have
stripped themselves of the Old Man, that is of their own sensuality, and, having
clothed themselves with the New Man, the sweet Christ Jesus, My Truth, follow
Him manfully. These are they who sit at the table of holy desire, having been more
anxious to slay their own will than to slay and mortify their own body. They have
indeed mortified their body, though not as an end in itself, but as a means which
                                             90
helps them to stay their own will, as I said to you when explaining that sentence
that I wished few words and many deeds, and so ought you to do. Their principal
desire should be to slay their own will, so that it may not seek or wish anything else
than to follow My sweet Truth, Christ crucified, seeking the honor and glory of My
Name and the salvation of souls. Those who are in this sweet light know it, and
remain constantly in peace and quiet, and no one scandalizes them, for they have
cut away that thing by which stumbling-blocks are caused, namely their own will.
And all the persecutions, with which the world and the Devil can attack them, slide
under their feet, standing, as they do, in the waters of many tribulations and
temptations, and do not hurt them, for they remain attached to Me by the umbilical
cord of fiery desire. Such a man rejoices in everything, nor does he make himself
judge of My servants, or of any rational creature, but rejoices in every condition and
in every manner of holiness which he sees, saying: 'Thanks be to You, Eternal
Father, who have in Your House many mansions.' And he rejoices more in the
different ways of holiness which he sees, than if he were to see all traveling by one
road, because, in this way, he perceives the greatness of My Goodness become more
manifest, and thus, rejoicing, draws from all the fragrance of the rose. And not only
in the case of good, but even when he sees something evidently sinful, he does not
fall into judgment, but rather into true and holy compassion, interceding with Me
for sinners and saying, with perfect humility: 'To-day it is your turn, and tomorrow
it will be mine unless the Divine Grace preserve me.'
"Enamor yourself, dearest daughter, of this sweet and excellent state, and gaze at
those who run in this glorious light and holiness, for they have holy minds, and eat
at the table of holy desire, and, with the light, have arrived at feeding on the food of
souls, that is, the honor of Me, the Eternal Father, being clothed with burning love
in the sweet garment of My Lamb, My only-begotten Son, namely His doctrine.
These do not lose their time in passing false judgments, either on My servants or
the servants of the world, and they are never scandalized by any murmurings of
men, either for their own sake or that of others. That is to say, in their own case they
are content to endure anything for My Name's sake; and when an injury is done to
some one else, they endure it with compassion of this injured neighbor, and
without murmuring against him who caused the injury, or him who received it,
because their love is not disordinate, but has been ordered in Me, the Eternal God.
"And, since their love is so ordered, these souls, my dearest daughter, never take
offense from those they love, nor from any rational creature, their will being dead
and not alive, wherefore they never assume the right to judge the will of men, but
only the will of My Clemency. These observe the doctrine which, as you know, was
given you by My Truth at the beginning of your life, when you were thinking in
what way you could arrive at perfect purity, and were praying to Me with a great
desire of doing so. You know what was replied to you, while you were asleep,
concerning this holy desire, and that the words resounded not only in your mind,
but also in your ear. So much so, that, if you remember truly, you returned to your
waking body, when My Truth said, 'Will you arrive at perfect purity, and be freed
from stumbling-blocks, so that your mind may not be scandalized by anything?'
Unite yourself always to Me by the affection of love, for I am the Supreme and
Eternal Purity. I am that Fire which purifies the soul, and the closer the soul is to
Me, the purer she becomes, and the further she is from Me, the more does her
purity leave her; which is the reason why men of the world fall into such iniquities,
                                               91
for they are separated from Me, while the soul, who, without any medium, unites
herself directly to Me, participates in My Purity. Another thing is necessary for you
to arrive at this union and purity, namely, that you should never judge the will of
man in anything that you may see done or said by any creature whatsoever, either to
yourself or to others. My will alone should you consider, both in them and in
yourself. And, if you should see evident sins or defects, draw out of those thorns the
rose, that is to say, offer them to Me, with holy compassion. In the case of injuries
done to yourself, judge that My will permits this in order to prove virtue in
yourself, and in My other servants, esteeming that he who acts thus does so as the
instrument of My will; perceiving, moreover, that such apparent sinners may
frequently have a good intention, for no one can judge the secrets of the heart of
man. That which you do not see you should not judge in your mind, even though it
may externally be open mortal sin, seeing nothing in others, but My will, not in
order to judge, but, as has been said, with holy compassion. In this way you will
arrive at perfect purity, because acting thus, your mind will not be scandalized,
either in Me or in your neighbor. Otherwise you fall into contempt of your
neighbor, if you judge his evil will towards you, instead of My will acting in him.
Such contempt and scandal separates the soul from Me, and prevents perfection,
and, in some cases, deprives a man of grace, more or less according to the gravity of
his contempt, and the hatred which his judgment has conceived against his
neighbor.
"A different reward is received by the soul who perceives only My will, which, as
has been said, wishes nothing else but your good; so that everything which I give or
permit to happen to you, I give so that you may arrive at the end for which I created
you. And because the soul remains always in the love of her neighbor, she remains
always in Mine, and thus remains united to Me. Wherefore, in order to arrive at
purity, you must entreat Me to do three things: to grant you to be united to Me by
the affection of love, retaining in your memory the benefits you have received from
Me; and with the eye of your intellect to see the affection of My love, with which I
love you inestimably; and in the will of others to discern My will only, and not their
evil will, for I am their Judge, not you, and, in doing this, you will arrive at all
perfection.
"This was the doctrine given to you by My Truth, if you remember well. Now I tell
you, dearest daughter, that such as these, who have learnt this doctrine, taste the
earnest of eternal life in this life; and, if you have well retained this doctrine, you
will not fall into the snares of the Devil, because you will recognize them in the case
about which you have asked Me.
"But, nevertheless, in order to satisfy your desire more clearly, I will tell you and
show you how men should never discern by judgment, but with holy compassion."
In what way they, who stand in the above-mentioned third most perfect light,
       receive the earnest of eternal lift in this life.
"Why did I say to you that they received the earnest of eternal life? I say that they
receive the earnest-money, but not the full payment, because they wait to receive it
in Me, the Eternal Life, where they have life without death, and satiety without
                                                92
disgust, and hunger without pain, for from that divine hunger pain is far away, and
though they have what they desire, disgust is far from satiety, for I am the flawless
Food of Life. It is true that, in this life, they receive the earnest, and taste it in this
way, namely that the soul begins to hunger for the honor of the Eternal God, and for
the food of the salvation of other souls, and being hungry, she eats, that is to say,
nourishes herself with love of her neighbor, which causes her hunger and desire,
for the love of the neighbor is a food which never satiates him who feeds on it, the
eater being insatiable and always remains hungry. So this earnest-money is a
commencement of a guarantee which is given to man, in virtue of which he expects
one day to receive his payment, not through the perfection of the earnest-money in
itself, but through faith, through the certitude which he has of reaching the
completion of his being and receiving his payment. Wherefore this enamored soul,
clothed in My Truth, having already received in this life the earnest of My love, and
of her neighbor's, is not yet perfect, but expects perfection in immortal life. I say that
this earnest is not perfect, because the soul who tastes it has not, as yet, the
perfection which would prevent her feeling pain in herself, or in others. In herself,
through the offense done to Me by the law of perversity which is bound in her
members and struggles against the spirit, and in others by the offense of her
neighbor. She has indeed, in a sense, a perfect grace, but not that perfection of My
saints, who have arrived at Me, Eternal Life, for, as has been said, their desires are
without suffering, and yours are not. These servants of Mine, as I have said to you
in another place, who nourish themselves at this table of holy desire, are blessed
and full of grief, even as My only-begotten Son was, on the wood of the holy Cross,
because, while His flesh was in grief and torment, His soul was blessed through its
union with the divine nature. In like manner these are blessed by the union of their
holy desire towards Me, clothed, as has been said, in My sweet Will, and they are full
of grief through compassion for their neighbor, and because they afflict their own
self-love, depriving it of sensual delights and consolations."
How this soul, rendering thanks to God, humiliates herself; then she prays for the
        whole world and particularly for the mystical body of the holy Church, and
        for her spiritual children, and for the two fathers of her soul; and, after these
        things, she asks to hear something about the defects of the ministers of the
        holy Church.
Then that soul, as if, in truth, inebriated, seemed beside herself, as if the feelings of
the body were alienated through the union of love which she had made with her
Creator, and as if, in elevation of mind, she had gazed into the eternal truth with
the eye of her intellect, and, having recognized the truth, had become enamored of
it, and said, "Oh! Supreme and Eternal Goodness of God, who am I, miserable one,
that You, Supreme and Eternal Father, have manifested to me Your Truth, and the
hidden deceits of the Devil, and the deceitfulness of personal feeling, so that I, and
others in this life of pilgrimage, may know how to avoid being deceived by the
Devil or ourselves! What moved you to do it? Love, because You loved me,
without my having loved You. Oh, Fire of Love! Thanks, thanks be to You, Eternal
Father! I am imperfect and full of darkness, and You, Perfection and Light, have
shown to me perfection, and the resplendent way of the doctrine of Your only-
begotten Son. I was dead, and You have brought me to life. I was sick, and You have
                                            93
given me medicine, and not only the medicine of the Blood which You gave for the
diseased human race in the person of Your Son, but also a medicine against a secret
infirmity that I knew not of, in this precept that, in no way, can I judge any rational
creature, and particularly Your servants, upon whom oftentimes I, as one blind and
sick with this infirmity, passed judgment under the pretext of Your honor and the
salvation of souls. Wherefore, I thank You, Supreme and Eternal Good, that, in the
manifesting of Your truth and the deceitfulness of the Devil, and our own passions,
You have made me know my infirmity. Wherefore I beseech You, through grace
and mercy, that, from today henceforward, I may never again wander from the path
of Your doctrine, given by Your goodness to me and to whoever wishes to follow it,
because without You is nothing done. To You, then, Eternal Father, do I have
recourse and flee, and I do not beseech You for myself alone, Father, but for the
whole world, and particularly for the mystical body of the holy Church, that this
truth given to me, miserable one, by You, Eternal Truth, may shine in Your
ministers; and also I beseech You especially for all those whom You have given me,
and whom You have made one thing with me, and whom I love with a particular
love, because they will be my refreshment to the glory and praise of Your Name,
when I see them running on this sweet and straight road, pure, and dead to their
own will and opinion, and without any passing judgment on their neighbor, or
causing him any scandal or murmuring. And I pray You, Sweetest Love, that not
one of them may be taken from me by the hand of the infernal Devil, so that at last
they may arrive at You, their End, Eternal Father.
"Also I make another petition to You for my two fathers, the supports whom You
have placed on the earth to guard and instruct me, miserable infirm one, from the
beginning of my conversion until now, that You unite them, and of two bodies
make one soul, and that they attend to nothing else than to complete in themselves,
and in the mysteries that You have placed in their hands, the glory and praise of
Your Name, and the salvation of souls, and that I, an unworthy and miserable
slave, and no daughter, may behave to them with due reverence and holy fear, for
love of You, in a way that will be to Your honor, and their peace and quiet, and to
the edification of the neighbor. I now know for certain, Eternal Truth, that You will
not despise the desire of the petitions that I have made to You, because I know, from
seeing what it has pleased You to manifest, and still more from proof, that You are
the Acceptor of holy desires. I, Your unworthy servant, will strive, according as You
will give me grace, to observe Your commandments and Your doctrine. Now, O
Eternal Father, I remember a word which you said to me in speaking of the
ministers of the holy Church, to the effect that You would speak to me more
distinctly, in some other place, of the sins which they commit today; wherefore if it
should please Your goodness to tell me anything of this matter, I will gladly hear it,
so as to have material for increasing my grief, compassion, and anxious desire for
their salvation; for I remember that You said, that, on account of the endurance and
tears, the grief, and sweat and prayers of Your servants, You would reform the holy
Church, and comfort her with good and holy pastors. I ask You this in order that
these sentiments may increase in me."
                                              94
How God renders this soul attentive to prayer, replying to one of the above-
       mentioned petitions.
Then the Eternal God, turning the eye of His mercy upon this soul, not despising
her desire, but granting her requests, proceeded to satisfy the last petition, which she
had made concerning His promise, saying, "Oh! best beloved and dearest daughter, I
will fulfill your desire in this request, in order that, on your side, you may not sin
through ignorance or negligence; for a fault of yours would be more serious and
worthy of graver reproof now than before, because you have learnt more of My
truth; wherefore apply yourself attentively to pray for all rational creatures, for the
mystical body of the holy Church, and for those friends whom I have given you,
whom you love with particular love, and be careful not to be negligent in giving
them the benefit of your prayers, and the example of your life, and the teaching of
your words, reproving vice and encouraging virtue according to your power.
"Concerning the supports which I have given you, of whom you spoke to Me, know
that you are, in truth, a means by which they may each receive, according to their
needs and fitness. And as I, your Creator, grant you the opportunity, for without Me
you can do nothing, I will fulfill your desires, but do not you fail, or they either, in
your hope in Me. My Providence will never fail you, and every man, if he be
humble, shall receive that which he is fit to receive; and every minister, that which
I have given him to administer, each in his own way, according to what he has
received and will receive from My goodness."
Of the dignity of the priest; and of the Sacrament of the Body of Christ; and of
       worthy and unworthy communicants.
"Now I will reply to that which you asked Me concerning the ministers of the holy
Church, and, in order that you may the better understand the truth, open the eye of
your intellect, and look at their excellence and the dignity in which I have placed
them. And, since one thing is better known by means of contrast with its contrary, I
will show you the dignity of those who use virtuously the treasure I have placed in
their hands; and, in this way, you will the better see the misery of those who today
are suckled at the breast of My Spouse." Then this soul obediently contemplated the
truth, in which she saw virtue resplendent in those who truly taste it. Then said the
Eternal God: "I will first, dearest daughter, speak to you of the dignity of priests,
having placed them where they are through My Goodness, over and above the
general love which I have had to My creatures, creating you in My image and
similitude and re-creating you all to the life of grace in the Blood of My only-
begotten Son, whence you have arrived at such excellence, through the union
which I made of My Deity with human nature; so that in this you have greater
dignity and excellence than the angels, for I took your human nature and not that of
the angels. Wherefore, as I have said to you, I, God, have become man, and man has
become God by the union of My Divine Nature with your human nature. This
greatness is given in general to all rational creatures, but, among these I have
especially chosen My ministers for the sake of your salvation, so that, through them,
the Blood of the humble and immaculate Lamb, My only-begotten Son, may be
administered to you. To them have I given the Sun to administer, giving them the
light of science and the heat of Divine Love, united together in the color of the Body
                                            95
and Blood of My Son, whose Body is a Sun, because He is one thing with Me, the
True Sun, in such a way that He cannot be separated or divided from Me, as in the
case of the natural sun, in which heat and light cannot be separated, so perfect is
their union; for, the sun, never leaving its orbit, lights the whole world and warms
whoever wishes to be warmed by it, and is not defiled by any impurity on which it
shines, for its light and heat and color are united.
"So this Word, My Son, with His most sweet Blood, is one Sun, all God and all man,
because He is one thing with Me and I with Him. My power is not separated from
His wisdom, nor the fiery heat of the Holy Spirit from Me, the Father, or from Him,
the Son; for He is one thing with us, the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and
the Son, and We together forming one and the same Sun; that is to say, I, the
Eternal God, am that Sun whence have proceeded the Son and the Holy Spirit. To
the Holy Spirit is attributed fire and to the Son wisdom, by which wisdom My
ministers receive the light of grace, so that they may administer this light to others,
with gratitude for the benefits received from Me, the Eternal Father, following the
doctrine of the Eternal Wisdom, My only-begotten Son. This is that Light, which has
the color of your humanity, color and light being closely united. Thus was the light
of My Divinity united to the color of your humanity, which color shone brightly
when it became perfect through its union with the Divine nature, and, by this
means of the Incarnate Word mixed with the Light of My Divine nature and the
fiery heat of the Holy Spirit, have you received the Light. Whom have I entrusted
with its administration?
"My ministers in the mystical body of the holy Church, so that you may have life,
receiving His Body in food and His Blood in drink. I have said to you that this Body
is, as it were, a Sun. Wherefore, you cannot receive the Body without the Blood, or
the Blood or the Body without the Soul of the Incarnate Word; nor the Soul, nor the
Body, without the Divinity of Me, the Eternal God, because none of these can be
separated from each other, as I said to you in another place that the Divine nature
never left the human nature, either by death or from any other cause. So that you
receive the whole Divine Essence in that most Sweet Sacrament concealed under
the whiteness of the bread; for as the sun cannot be divided into light, heat, and
color, the whole of God and the whole of man cannot be separated under the white
mantle of the host; for even if the host should be divided into a million particles (if
it were possible) in each particle should I be present, whole God and whole Man.
When you break a mirror the reflection to be seen in it is not broken; similarly,
when the host is divided God and man are not divided, but remain in each particle.
Nor is the Sacrament diminished in itself, except as far as may be in the following
example.
"If you have a light, and the whole world should come to you in order to take light
from it -- the light itself does not diminish -- and yet each person has it all. It is true
that everyone participates more or less in this light, according to the substance into
which each one receives the fire. I will develop this metaphor further that you may
the better understand Me. Suppose that there are many who bring their candles, one
weighing an ounce, others two or six ounces, or a pound, or even more, and light
them in the flame, in each candle, whether large or small, is the whole light, that is
to say, the heat, the color, and the flame; nevertheless you would judge that he
whose candle weighs an ounce has less of the light than he whose candle weighs a
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pound. Now the same thing happens to those who receive this Sacrament. Each one
carries his own candle, that is the holy desire, with which he receives this
Sacrament, which of itself is without light, and lights it by receiving this Sacrament.
I say without light, because of yourselves you can do nothing, though I have given
you the material, with which you can receive this light and feed it. The material is
love, for through love I created you, and without love you cannot live.
"Your being, given to you through love, has received the right disposition in holy
baptism, which you receive in virtue of the Blood of the Word, for, in no other way,
could you participate in this light; you would be like a candle with no wick inside it,
which cannot burn or receive light, if you have not received in your souls the wick
which catches this Divine Flame, that is to say, the Holy Faith, which you receive, by
grace, in baptism, united with the disposition of your soul created by Me, so fitted for
love, that, without love, which is her very food, she cannot live. Where does the
soul united in this way obtain light? At the fire of My Divine love, loving and
fearing Me, and following the Doctrine of My Truth. It is true that the soul becomes
more or less lighted according to the material which it brings to the fire; for
although you all have one and the same material, in that you are all created to My
image and similitude, and, being Christians, possess the light of holy baptism, each
of you may grow in love and virtue by the help of My grace, as may please you. Not
that you change the form of what I have given you, but that you increase your
strength in love, and your free-will, by using it while you have time, for when time
is past you can no longer do so. So that you can increase in love, as has been said,
coming with love to receive this Sweet and Glorious Light, which I have given you
as Food for your service, through My ministers, and you receive this Light according
to the love and fiery desire with which you approach It.
"The Light Itself you receive entire, as I have said (in the example of those, who in
spite of the difference in weight of their candles, all receive the entire light), and not
divided, because It cannot be divided, as has been said, either on account of any
imperfection of yours who receive, or of the minister; but you personally participate
in this light, that is in the grace which you receive in this Sacrament, according to
the holy desire with which you dispose yourselves to receive it. He who should go
to this sweet Sacrament in the guilt of mortal sin, will receive no grace therefrom,
though he actually receive the whole of God and the whole of Man. Do you know
the condition of the soul who receives unworthily? She is like a candle on which
water has fallen, which can do nothing but crackle when brought near the flame, for
no sooner has the fire touched it, than it is extinguished, and nothing remains but
smoke; so this soul has cast the water of guilt within her mind upon the candle
which she received in holy baptism, which has drenched the wick of the grace of
baptism, and, not having heated it at the fire of true contrition and confession, goes
to the table of the altar to receive this Light with her body, and not with her mind,
wherefore the Light, since the soul is not disposed as she should be for so great a
mystery, does not remain by grace in that soul, but leaves her, and, in the soul,
remains only greater confusion, for her light is extinguished and her sin increased
by her darkness. Of the Sacrament she feels nothing but the crackling of a
remorseful conscience, not through the defect of the Light Itself, for that can receive
no hurt, but on account of the water that was in the soul, which impeded her proper
disposition so that she could not receive the Light. See, therefore, that in no way can
this Light, united with its heat and its color, be divided, either by the scanty desire of
                                              97
the soul when she receives the Sacrament, or by any defect which may be in the
soul, or by any defect of him who administers it, as I told you of the sun which is not
defiled by shining on anything foul, so the sweet Light of this Sacrament cannot be
defiled, divided, or diminished in any way, nor can it be detached from its orbit.
"If all the world should receive in communion the Light and Heat of this Sun, the
Word, My only-begotten Son, would not be separated from Me -- the True Sun, His
Eternal Father -- because in His mystical Body, the holy Church, He is administered
to whoever will receive Him. He remains wholly with Me, and yet you have Him,
whole God and whole man, as I told you, in the metaphor of the light, that, if all the
world came to take light from it, each would have it entire, and yet it would remain
whole."
How the bodily sentiments are all deceived in the aforesaid Sacrament, but not
        those of the soul; therefore it is, with the latter, that one must see, taste, and
        touch It; and of a beautiful vision this soul had upon this subject.
"Oh, dearest daughter, open well the eye of your intellect and gaze into the abyss of
My love, for there is no rational creature whose heart would not melt for love in
contemplating and considering, among the other benefits she receives from Me, the
special Gift that she receives in the Sacrament.
"And with what eye, dearest daughter, should you and others look at this mystery,
and how should you touch it? Not only with the bodily sight and touch, because in
this Sacrament all bodily perceptions fail.
"The eye can only see, and the hand can only touch, the white substance of the
bread, and the taste can only taste the savor of the bread, so that the grosser bodily
sentiments are deceived; but the soul cannot be deceived in her sentiments unless
she wish to be -- that is, unless she let the light of the most holy faith be taken away
from her by infidelity.
"How is this Sacrament to be truly tasted, seen, and touched? With the sentiment of
the soul. With what eye is It to be seen? With the eye of the intellect if within it is
the pupil of the most holy faith. This eye sees in that whiteness whole God and
whole man, the Divine nature united with the human nature, the Body, the Soul,
and the Blood of Christ, the Soul united to the Body, the Body and the Soul united
with My Divine nature, not detached from Me, as I revealed to you, if you
remember well, almost in the beginning of your life; and not so much at first
through the eye of your intellect as through your bodily eye, although the light
being so great your bodily eyes lost their vision, and only the sight of the eye of your
intellect remained. I showed it to you for your enlightenment in the battle that the
Devil had been waging against you in this Sacrament; and to make you increase in
love in the light of the most holy faith.
"You know that you went one morning to church at sunrise to hear Mass, having
beforehand been tormented by the Devil, and you placed yourself upright at the
Altar of the Crucifix, while the priest went to the Altar of Mary; you stood there to
consider your sin, fearing to have offended Me through the vexation which the
Devil had been causing you, and to consider My love, which had made you worthy
to hear Mass, seeing that you deemed yourself unworthy to enter into My holy
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temple. When the minister came to consecrate, you raised your eyes above his head
while he was saying the words of consecration, and I manifested Myself to you, and
you saw issue from My breast a light, like a ray from the sun, which proceeds from
the circle of the sun without being separated from it, out of the midst of which light
came a dove and hovered over the host, in virtue of the words which the minister
was saying. But sight remained alone in the eye of your intellect, because your bodily
sight was not strong enough to stand the light, and in that place you saw and tasted
the Abyss of the Trinity, whole God and whole man concealed and veiled in that
whiteness that you saw in the bread; and you perceived that the seeing of the Light
and the presence of the Word, which you saw intellectually in the whiteness of the
bread, did not prevent you seeing at the same time the actual whiteness of the bread,
the one vision did not prevent the other vision, that is to say, the sight of the God-
Man revealed in the bread did not prevent the sight of the bread, for neither its
whiteness, nor its touch, nor its savor were taken away. This was shown you by My
goodness, as I have said to you. The eye of the intellect had the true vision, using
the pupil of the holy faith, for this eye should be your principal means of vision,
inasmuch as it cannot be deceived; wherefore, with it you should look on this
Sacrament. How do you touch It? By the hand of love. With this hand alone can
you touch that which the eye of the intellect has recognized in this Sacrament. The
soul touches Me with the hand of love, as if to certify to herself that which she has
seen and known through faith. How do you taste It? With the palate of holy desire.
The corporal palate tastes only the savor of the bread; but the palate of the soul,
which is holy desire, tastes God and Man. See, therefore, that the perceptions of the
body are deluded, but not those of the soul, for she is illuminated and assured in her
own perceptions, for she touches with the hand of love that which the eye of her
intellect has seen with the pupil of holy faith; and with her palate -- that is, with
fiery desire -- she tastes My Burning Charity, My Ineffable Love, with which I have
made her worthy to receive the tremendous mystery of this Sacrament and the
Grace which is contained therein. See, therefore, that you should receive and look
on this Sacrament, not only with bodily perceptions, but rather with your spiritual
perceptions, disposing your soul in the way that has been said, to receive, and taste,
and see this Sacrament."
Of the excellent state of the soul who receives the sacrament in grace.
"See, dearest daughter, in what an excellent state is the soul who receives, as she
should, this Bread of Life, this Food of the Angels. By receiving this Sacrament she
dwells in Me and I in her, as the fish in the sea, and the sea in the fish -- thus do I
dwell in the soul, and the soul in Me -- the Sea Pacific. In that soul grace dwells, for,
since she has received this Bread of Life in a state of grace, My grace remains in her,
after the accidents of bread have been consumed. I leave you the imprint of grace, as
does a seal, which, when lifted from the hot wax upon which it has been impressed,
leaves behind its imprint, so the virtue of this Sacrament remains in the soul, that
is to say, the heat of My Divine charity, and the clemency of the Holy Spirit. There
also remains to you the wisdom of My only-begotten Son, by which the eye of your
intellect has been illuminated to see and to know the doctrine of My Truth, and,
together with this wisdom, you participate in My strength and power, which
strengthen the soul against her sensual self-love, against the Devil, and against the
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world. You see then that the imprint remains, when the seal has been taken away,
that is, when the material accidents of the bread, having been consumed, this True
Sun has returned to Its Center, not that it was ever really separated from It, but
constantly united to Me. The Abyss of My loving desire for your salvation has given
you, through My dispensation and Divine Providence, coming to the help of your
needs, the sweet Truth as Food in this life, where you are pilgrims and travelers, so
that you may have refreshment, and not forget the benefit of the Blood. See then
how straitly you are constrained and obliged to render Me love, because I love you
so much, and, being the Supreme and Eternal Goodness, deserve your love."
How the things which have been said about the excellence of this Sacrament, have
        been said that we might know better the dignity of priests; and how God
        demands in them greater purity than in other creatures.
"I have told you all this, dearest daughter, that you may the better recognize the
dignity to which I have called My ministers, so that your grief at their miseries may
be more intense. If they themselves considered their own dignity they would not be
in the darkness of mortal sin, or defile the face of their soul. They would not only
see their offenses against Me, but also, that, if they gave their bodies to be burned,
they would not repay the tremendous grace and favor which they have received,
inasmuch as no greater dignity exists in this life. They are My anointed ones, and I
call them My Christs, because I have given them the office of administering Me to
you, and have placed them like fragrant flowers in the mystical body of the holy
Church. The angel himself has no such dignity, for I have given it to those men
whom I have chosen for My ministers, and whom I have appointed as earthly
angels in this life. In all souls I demand purity and charity, that they should love Me
and their neighbor, helping him by the ministration of prayer, as I said to you in
another place. But far more do I demand purity in My ministers, and love towards
Me, and towards their fellow-creatures, administering to them the Body and Blood
of My only-begotten Son, with the fire of charity, and a hunger for the salvation of
souls, for the glory and honor of My Name. Even as these ministers require
cleanness in the chalice in which this Sacrifice is made, even so do I require the
purity and cleanness of their heart and soul and mind. And I wish their body to be
preserved, as the instrument of the soul in perfect charity; and I do not wish them to
feed upon and wallow in the mire of filth, or to be inflated by pride, seeking great
prelacies, or to be cruel to themselves or to their fellow-creatures, because they
cannot use cruelty to themselves without being cruel to their fellow-creatures; for, if
by sin they are cruel to themselves, they are cruel to the souls of their neighbors, in
that they do not give them an example of life, nor care to draw them out of the
hands of the Devil, nor to administer to them the Body and Blood of My only-
begotten Son, and Me the True Light, as I told you, and the other Sacraments of the
holy Church. So that, in being cruel to themselves, they are cruel to others."
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Of the excellence, virtues, and holy works of virtuous and holy ministers; and how
        such are like the sun.
"I will now speak to you, in order to give a little refreshment to your soul, and to
mitigate your grief at the darkness of these miserable subjects, of the holy life of
some of My ministers, of whom I have spoken to you, who are like the sun, for the
odor of their virtues mitigates the stench of the vices of the others, and the light
thereof shines in their darkness. And, by means of this light, will you the better be
able to understand the darkness and sins of My unworthy ministers. Open then the
eye of your intellect and gaze at the Sun of Justice, and you will see those glorious
ministers, who, through ministering the Sun, have become like to It, as I told you of
Peter, the prince of the Apostles, who received the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. I
say the same of these others, who have administered, in the garden of the holy
Church, the Light, that is to say, the Body and the Blood of My only-begotten Son,
who is Himself the undivided Sun, as has been said, and all the Sacraments of the
holy Church, which all give life in virtue of the Blood. Each one, placed in a
different rank, has administered, according to his state, the grace of the Holy Spirit.
With what have they administered it? With the light of grace, which they have
drawn from this True Light. With light alone? No; because the light cannot be
separated from the warmth and color of grace, wherefore a man must either have
the light, warmth, and color of grace, or none at all. A man in mortal sin is deprived
of the life of grace, and he who is in grace has illuminated the eye of his intellect to
know Me, who gave him both grace and the virtue which preserves it, and, in that
light, he knows the misery and the reason of sin, that is to say, his own self-love, on
which account he hates it, and thereby receives the warmth of Divine love into his
affection, which follows his intellect, and he receives the color of this glorious Light,
following the doctrine of My sweet Truth, by which his memory is filled with the
benefit of the Blood. You see, therefore, that no one can receive the light without
receiving the warmth and the color, for they are united together and are one thing;
wherefore he cannot, as I have said to you, have one power of his soul so ordered as
to receive Me, the True Sun, unless all three powers of his soul are brought together
and ordered in My Name. For, as soon as the eye of the intellect lifts itself with the
pupil of faith above sensual vision in the contemplation of Me, affection follows it,
loving that which the intellect sees and knows, and the memory is filled with that
which the affection loves; and, as soon as these powers are thus disposed, the soul
participates in Me, the Sun who illuminates her with My power, and with the
wisdom of My only-begotten Son, and the fiery clemency of the Holy Spirit. See,
then, that these have taken on them the condition of the Sun, for, having clothed
themselves, and filled the power of their soul with Me, the true Sun, they become
like Me. The Sun illuminates them and causes the earth of their souls to germinate
with Its heat. Thus do My sweet ministers, elected and anointed and placed in the
mystical body of the holy Church, in order to administer Me, the Sun, that is to say,
the Body and Blood of My only-begotten Son, together with the other Sacraments,
which draw their life from this Blood; this they do in two ways, actually, in
administering the Sacraments, and spiritually, by shedding forth in the mystical
body of the holy Church, the light of supernatural science, together with the color of
an honorable and holy life, following the doctrine of My Truth, which they
administer in the ardent love with which they cause barren souls to bear fruit,
illuminating them with the light of their science, and driving away the darkness of
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their mortal sin and infidelity, by the example of their holy and regular life, and
reforming the lives of those who live in disorder and darkness of sin, and in
coldness, through the privation of charity. So you see that they are the Sun, because
they have taken the condition of the Sun from Me, the True Sun, because, through
affection of love, they are one thing with Me, and I with them, as I narrated to you
in another place, and each one has given light in the holy Church, according to the
position to which I have elected him: Peter with preaching and doctrine, and in the
end with blood; Gregory with science, and holy scripture, and with the mirror of his
life; Sylvester, against the infidels, and with disputation and proving of the most
holy faith, which he made in word and in deed, receiving virtue from Me. If you
turn to Augustine, and to the glorious Thomas and Jerome, and the others, you will
see how much light they have thrown over this spouse, extirpating error, like lamps
placed upon the candelabra, with true and perfect humility. And, as if famished for
such food, they feed upon My honor, and the salvation of souls, upon the table of
the most holy Cross. The martyrs, indeed, with blood, which blood cast up sweet
perfume before My countenance; and, with the perfume of blood, and of the virtues,
and with the light of science, they brought forth fruit in this spouse and extended
the faith, and, by their means, the light of the most holy faith was rekindled in the
darkened. And prelates, placed in the position of the prelacy of Christ on earth,
offered Me the sacrifice of justice with holy and upright lives. The pearl of justice,
with true humility, and most ardent love, shone in them, and in their subjects, with
the light of discretion. In them, principally because they justly paid Me My due, in
rendering glory and praise to My Name, and, to their own sensuality, hatred and
displeasure, despising vice and embracing virtue, with love of Me and of their
neighbor. With humility they trampled on pride, and, with purity of heart and of
body, came, like angels, to the table of the altar, and, with sincerity of mind,
celebrated, burning in the furnace of love. And, because they first had done justice to
themselves, they therefore did justice to those under them, wishing to see them live
virtuously, and correcting them without any servile fear, because they were not
thinking of themselves, but solely of My honor and the salvation of souls, like good
shepherds, followers of the Good Shepherd, My Truth, whom I gave you to lead
your sheep, having willed that He should give His life for you. These have followed
His footsteps, and therefore did they correct them, and did not let their members
become putrid for want of correcting, but they charitably corrected them with the
unction of benignity, and with the sharpness of fire, cauterizing the wound of sin
with reproof and penance, little or much, according to the graveness of the fault.
And, in order to correct it and to speak the truth, they did not even fear death. They
were true gardeners who, with care and holy tears, took away the thorns of mortal
sins, and planted plants odoriferous of virtue. Wherefore, those under them lived
in holy, true fear, and grew up like sweet smelling flowers in the mystic body of the
holy Church (because they were not deprived of correction, and so were not guilty of
sin), for My gardeners corrected them without any servile fear, being free from it,
and without any sin, for they balanced exactly the scales of holy justice, reproving
humbly and without human respect. And this justice was and is that pearl which
shines in them, and which gave peace and light in the minds of the people and
caused holy fear to be with them, and unity of hearts. And I would that you know
that, more darkness and division have come into the world amongst seculars and
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religious and the clergy and pastors of the holy Church, through the lack of the light
of justice, and the advent of the darkness of injustice, than from any other causes.
"Neither the civil law, nor the divine law, can be kept in any degree without holy
justice, because he who is not corrected, and does not correct others, becomes like a
limb which putrefies, and corrupts the whole body, because the bad physician, when
it had already begun to corrupt, placed ointment immediately upon it, without
having first burnt the wound. So, were the prelate, or any other lord having
subjects, on seeing one putrefying from the corruption of mortal sin, to apply to him
the ointment of soft words of encouragement alone, without reproof, he would
never cure him, but the putrefaction would rather spread to the other members,
who, with him, form one body under the same pastor. But if he were a physician,
good and true to those souls, as were those glorious pastors of old, he would not
give salving ointment without the fire of reproof. And, were the member still to
remain obstinate in his evil doing, he would cut him off from the congregation in
order that he corrupt not the other members with the putrefaction of mortal sin.
But they act not so today, but, in cases of evil doing, they even pretend not to see.
And do you know why? The root of self-love is alive in them, wherefore they bear
perverted and servile fear. Because they fear to lose their position or their temporal
goods, or their prelacy, they do not correct, but act like blind ones, in that they see
not the real way by which their position is to be kept. If they would only see that it is
by holy justice they would be able to maintain it; but they do not, because they are
deprived of light. But, thinking to preserve their position with injustice, they do not
reprove the faults of those under them; and they are deluded by their own sensitive
self-love, or by their desire for lordship and prelacy, and they correct not the faults
they should correct in others, because the same or greater ones are their own. They
feel themselves comprehended in the guilt, and they therefore lose all ardor and
security, and, fettered by servile fear, they make believe not to see. And, moreover, if
they do see they do not correct, but allow themselves to be bound over with
flattering words and with many presents, and they themselves find the excuse for
the guilty ones not to be punished. In such as these are fulfilled the words spoken by
My Truth, saying: 'These are blind and leaders of the blind, and if the blind lead the
blind, they both fall into the ditch.' My sweet ministers, of whom I spoke to you,
who have the properties and condition of the sun, did not, and do not (if there be
any now) act so. And they are truly suns, as I have told you, because in them is no
darkness of sin, or of ignorance, because they follow the doctrine of My Truth. They
are not tepid, because they burn in the furnace of My love, and because they are
despisers of the grandeurs, positions, and delights of the world. They fear not to
correct, for he who does not desire lordship or prelacy will not fear to lose it, and
will reprove manfully, and he whose conscience does not reprove him of guilt, does
not fear.
"And therefore this pearl of justice was not dimmed in My anointed ones, My
Christs (of whom I have narrated to you), but was resplendent in them, wherefore
they embraced voluntary poverty, and sought out vileness with profound humility,
and cared not for scorn or villainies, or the detractions of men, or insult, or
opprobrium, or pain, or torment.
"They were cursed, and they blessed, and, with true patience, they bore themselves
like terrestrial angels, not by nature, but by their ministry, and the supernatural
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grace given to them, of administering the Body and Blood of My only-begotten Son.
And they are truly angels. Because, as the angel, which I give you to be your
guardian, ministers to you holy and good inspirations, so were these ministers
angels, and were given by My goodness to be guardians, and therefore had they their
eye continually over those under them, like real guardian angels, inspiring in their
hearts holy and good thoughts, and offering up for them before Me, sweet and
amorous desires with continual prayer, and the doctrine of words, and with
example of life. So you see that they are angels, placed by My burning love, like
lanterns in the mystic body of the holy Church, to be your guardians, so that you
blind ones may have guides to direct you into the way of truth, giving you good
inspirations, with prayers and example of life, and doctrine as I said. With how
much humility did they govern those under them, and converse with them! With
how much hope and lively faith, and therefore with liberality, did they distribute to
the poor the substance of the holy Church, not fearing, or caring if for them and
their subjects temporal substance diminished. And they scarcely observed that
which they were really bound to do, that is, to distribute the temporal substance to
their own necessity being the poor in the Church. They saved nothing, and after
their death there remained no money at all, and there were some even who, for the
sake of the poor, left the Church in debt. This was because through the largeness of
their charity, and of the hope that they had placed in My Providence, they were
without servile fear that anything should diminish to them, either spiritual or
temporal.
"The sign that a creature hopes in Me and not in himself, is that he does not fear
with a servile fear. They who hope in themselves are the ones who fear, and are
afraid of their own shadow, and doubt lest the sky and earth fade away before them.
With such fears as these, and a perverted hope in their own small knowledge, they
spend so much miserable solicitude in acquiring and preserving temporal things,
that they turn their back on the spiritual, caring not for them. But they, miserable,
faithless, proud ones consider not that I alone am He who provides all things
necessary for the soul and the body, and that with the same measure that My
creatures hope in Me, will My providence be measured to them. The miserable
presumptuous ones do not regard the fact that I am He who is, and they are they
who are not, and that they have received their being, and every other additional
grace, from My Goodness. And therefore his labor may be reputed to be in vain, who
watches the city if it be not guarded by Me. All his labor will be vain, if he thinks by
his labor or solicitude to keep it, because I alone keep it. It is true that I desire you to
use your being, and exercise the graces which I have bestowed upon you, in virtue
using the free-will which I have given you, with the light of reason, because though
I created you without your help I will not save you without it. I loved you before
you were, and those My beloved ones saw and knew this, and therefore they loved
Me ineffably, and through their love hoped so greatly in Me that they feared
nothing. Sylvester feared not when he stood before the Emperor Constantine
disputing with those twelve Jews before the whole crowd, but with lively faith he
believed that I being for him, no one could be against him; and in the same way the
others all lost their every fear, because they were not alone but were accompanied,
because being in the enjoyment of love, they were in Me, and from Me they
acquired the light of the wisdom of My only-begotten Son, and from Me they
received the faculty to be strong and powerful against the princes and tyrants of the
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world, and from Me they had the fire of the Holy Spirit, sharing the clemency and
burning love of that Spirit.
"This love was and is the companion of whosoever desires it, with the light of faith,
with hope, with fortitude, true patience and long perseverance even until death. So
you see that because they were not alone but were accompanied they feared nothing.
He only who feels himself to be alone, and hopes in himself, deprived of the
affection of love, fears, and is afraid of every little thing, because he alone is without
Me who give supreme security to the soul who possesses Me through the affection
of love. And of this did those glorious ones, My beloved, have full experience, for
nothing could injure their souls; but they on the contrary could injure men and the
devils, who oftentimes remained bound by the virtue and power that I had given
My servants over them. This was because I responded to the love, faith, and hope
they had placed in Me. Your tongue would not be sufficient to relate their virtues,
neither the eye of your intellect to see the fruit which they receive in everlasting
life, and that all will receive who follow in their footsteps. They are like precious
stones, and as such do they stand in My presence, because I have received their labor
and poverty and the light which they shed with the odor of virtues in the mystic
body of the holy Church. And in the life eternal I have placed them in the greatest
dignity, and they receive blessing and glory in My sight, because they gave the
example of an honorable and holy life, and with light administered the Light of the
Body and Blood of My only-begotten Son, and all the Sacraments. And these My
anointed ones and ministers are peculiarly beloved by Me, on account of the dignity
which I placed in them, and because this Treasure which I placed in their hands they
did not hide through negligence and ignorance, but rather recognized it to be from
Me, and exercised it with care and profound humility with true and real virtues;
and because I, for the salvation of souls, having placed them in so much excellency
they never rested like good shepherds from putting the sheep into the fold of the
holy Church, and even out of love and hunger for souls they gave themselves to
die, to get them out of the hands of the devil. They made themselves infirm with
those who were infirm, so that they might not be overcome with despair, and to
give them more courage in exposing their infirmity, they would oftentimes lend
countenance to their infirmity and say, 'I, too, am infirm with you.' They wept with
those who wept, and rejoiced with those who rejoiced; and thus sweetly they knew
to give everyone his nourishment, preserving the good and rejoicing in their
virtues, not being gnawed by envy, but expanded with the broadness of love for
their neighbors, and those under them. They drew the imperfect ones out of
imperfection, themselves becoming imperfect and infirm with them, as I told you,
with true and holy compassion, and correcting them and giving them penance for
the sins they committed -- they through love endured their penance -- together with
them. For through love, they who gave the penance, bore more pain than they who
received it; and there were even those who actually performed the penance, and
especially when they had seen that it had appeared particularly difficult to the
penitent. Wherefore by that act the difficulty became changed into sweetness.
"Oh! My beloved ones, they made themselves subjects, being prelates, they made
themselves servants, being lords, they made themselves infirm, being whole, and
without infirmity and the leprosy of mortal sin, being strong they made themselves
weak, with the foolish and simple they showed themselves simple, and with the
small insignificant. And so with love they knew how to be all things to all men, and
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to give to each one his nourishment. What caused them to do thus? The hunger
and desire for My honor and the salvation of souls which they had conceived in Me.
They ran to feed on it at the table of the holy Cross, not fleeing from or refusing any
labor, but with zeal for souls and for the good of the holy Church and the spread of
the faith, they put themselves in the midst of the thorns of tribulation, and exposed
themselves to every peril with true patience, offering incense odoriferous with
anxious desires, and humble and continual prayers. With tears and sweat they
anointed the wounds of their neighbor, that is the wounds of the guilt of mortal sin,
which latter were perfectly cured, the ointment so made, being received in
humility."
A brief repetition of the preceding chapter; and of the reverence which should be
       paid to priests, whether they are good or bad.
"I have shown you, dearest daughter, a sample of the excellence of good priests (for
what I have shown you is only a sample of what that excellence really is), and I have
told you of the dignity in which I have placed them, having elected them for My
ministers, on account of which dignity and authority I do not wish them to be
punished by the hand of seculars on account of any personal defect, for those who
punish them offend Me miserably. But I wish seculars to hold them in due
reverence, not for their own sakes, as I have said, but for Mine, by reason of the
authority which I have given them. Wherefore this reverence should never
diminish in the case of priests whose virtue grows weak, any more than in the case
of those virtuous ones of whose goodness I have spoken to you; for all alike have
been appointed ministers of the Sun -- that is of the Body and Blood of My Son, and
of the other Sacraments.
"This dignity belongs to good and bad alike -- all have the Sun to administer, as has
been said, and perfect priests are themselves in a condition of light, that is to say,
they illuminate and warm their neighbors through their love. And with this heat
they cause virtues to spring up and bear fruit in the souls of their subjects. I have
appointed them to be in very truth your guardian angels to protect you; to inspire
your hearts with good thoughts by their holy prayers, and to teach you My doctrine
reflected in the mirror of their life, and to serve you by administering to you the
holy Sacraments, thus serving you, watching over you, and inspiring you with good
and holy thoughts as does an angel.
"See, then, that besides the dignity to which I have appointed them, how worthy
they are of being loved; when they also possess the adornment of virtue, as did
those of whom I spoke to you, which are all bound and obliged to possess, and in
what great reverence you should hold them, for they are My beloved children and
shine each as a sun in the mystical body of the holy Church by their virtues,
forevery virtuous man is worthy of love, and these all the more by reason of the
ministry which I have placed in their hands. You should love them therefore by
reason of the virtue and dignity of the Sacrament, and by reason of that very virtue
and dignity you should hate the defects of those who live miserably in sin, but not
on that account appoint yourselves their judges, which I forbid, because they are My
Christs, and you ought to love and reverence the authority which I have given
them. You know well that if a filthy and badly dressed person brought you a great
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treasure from which you obtained life, you would not hate the bearer, however
ragged and filthy he might be, through love of the treasure and of the lord who sent
it to you. His state would indeed displease you, and you would be anxious through
love of his master that he should be cleansed from his foulness and properly
clothed. This, then, is your duty according to the demands of charity, and thus I wish
you to act with regard to such badly ordered priests, who themselves filthy and
clothed in garments ragged with vice through their separation from My love, bring
you great Treasures -- that is to say, the Sacraments of the holy Church -- from
which you obtain the life of grace, receiving Them worthily (in spite of the great
defects there may be in them) through love of Me, the Eternal God, who send them
to you, and through love of that life of grace which you receive from the great
treasure, by which they administer to you the whole of God and the whole of Man,
that is to say, the Body and Blood of My Son united to My Divine nature. Their sins
indeed should displease you, and you should hate them, and strive with love and
holy prayer to re-clothe them, washing away their foulness with your tears -- that is
to say, that you should offer them before Me with tears and great desire, that I may
re-clothe them in My goodness, with the garment of charity. Know well that I wish
to do them grace, if only they will dispose themselves to receive it, and you to pray
for it; for it is not according to My will that they should administer to you the Sun
being themselves in darkness, not that they should be stripped of the garment of
virtue, foully living in dishonor; on the contrary I have given them to you, and
appointed them to be earthly angels and suns, as I have said. It not being My will
that they should be in this state, you should pray for them, and not judge them,
leaving their judgment to Me. And I, moved by your prayers, will do them mercy if
they will only receive it, but if they do not correct their life, their dignity will be the
cause of their ruin. For if they do not accept the breadth of My mercy, I, the Supreme
Judge, shall terribly condemn them at their last extremity, and they will be sent to
the eternal fire."
Of the difference between the death of a just man and that of a sinner, and first of
         the death of the just man.
"Having told you how the world and the devils accuse these wretches, which is
indeed the truth, I wish to speak to you in more detail on this point (so that you
may have greater compassion on these poor wretches), telling you how different are
the struggles of the soul of a just man to those of a sinner, and how different are
their deaths, and how the peace of the just man's death is greater or less according to
the perfection of his soul. For I wish you to know that all the sufferings which
rational creatures endure depend on their will, because if their will were in
accordance with mine they would endure no suffering, not that they would have no
labors on that account, but because labors cause no suffering to a will which gladly
endures them, seeing that they are ordained by My will. Such men as these wage
war with the world, the Devil, and their own sensuality through holy hatred of
themselves. Wherefore when they come to the point of death, they die peacefully,
because they have vanquished their enemies during their life. The world cannot
accuse such a man, because he saw through its deceptions and therefore renounced
it with all its delights. His sensual fragility and his body do not accuse him, because
he bound sensuality like a slave with the rein of reason, macerating his flesh with
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penance, with watchings, and humble and continual prayer. The will of his senses
he slew with hatred and dislike of vice, and with love of virtue. He has entirely lost
all tenderness for his body, which tenderness and love between the soul and the
body makes death seem difficult, and on account of it man naturally fears death; but
since the virtue of a just and perfect man transcends nature, extinguishing his
natural fear and overcoming it with holy hatred of himself and desire of arriving at
his last end, his natural tenderness cannot make war on him, and his conscience
remains in peace; for during his life his conscience kept a good guard, warning him
when enemies were coming to attack the city of his soul, like a watch-dog which
stands at the door, and when it sees enemies warns the guards by its barking, for in
this way the dog of conscience warns the sentry of reason, and the reason together
with the free-will know by the light of the intellect whether the stranger be friend or
enemy. To a friend, that is to say, to virtue and holy thoughts, he gave his delighted
love, receiving and using these with great solicitude; to an enemy, that is to say, to
vice and wicked thoughts, he gave hatred and displeasure. And with the knife of
hatred of self, and love of Me, and with the light of reason, and the hand of free-will
he struck his enemies; so that at the point of death his conscience, having been a
faithful guardian, does not gnaw but remains in peace.
"It is true that a just soul, through humility, and because at the moment of death
she realizes better the value of time and of the jewels of virtue, reproves herself,
seeming to herself to have used her time but little; but this is not an afflictive pain,
but rather profitable, for the soul recollected in herself, is caused by it to throw
herself before the Blood of the humble and immaculate Lamb My Son. The just
man does not turn his head to admire his past virtues, because he neither can nor
will hope in his own virtues, but only in the Blood in which he has found mercy;
and as he lived in the memory of that Blood, so in death he is inebriated and
drowned in the same. How is it that the devils cannot reprove him of sin? Because
during his life he conquered their malice with wisdom, yet they come round him to
see if they can acquire anything, and appear in horrible shapes in order to frighten
him with hideous aspect, and many diverse phantasms, but the poison of sin not
being in his soul, their aspect causes him no terror or fear, as it would do to another
who had lived wickedly in the world. Wherefore the devils, seeing that the soul has
entered into the Blood with ardent love, cannot endure the sight, but stand afar off
shooting their arrows. But their war and their shouts cannot hurt that soul, who
already is beginning to taste eternal life, as I said to you in another place, for with the
eye of the intellect illuminated by the pupil of the holy faith, she sees Me, the
Infinite and Eternal Good, whom she hopes to obtain by grace, not as her due, but by
virtue of Jesus Christ My Son.
"Wherefore opening the arms of hope and seizing Him with the hands of love, she
seems to enter into His possession before she actually does so, in the way which I
have narrated to you in another place. Passing suddenly, drowned in the Blood, by
the narrow door of the Word she reaches Me, the Sea Pacific. For sea and door are
united together. I and the Truth, My only-begotten Son being one and the same
thing. What joy such a soul receives who sees herself so sweetly arrived at this pass,
for in Truth she tastes the happiness of the angelic nature! This joy is received by all
those who pass in this sweet manner, but to a far greater extent by My ministers, of
whom I spoke to you, who have lived like angels, for in this life have they lived
with greater knowledge, and with greater hunger for the salvation of souls. I do not
                                              108
speak only of the light of virtue which all can have in general, but of the
supernatural light which these men possessed over and above the light of virtuous
living, the light, that is, of holy science, by which science they knew more of My
Truth, and he who knows more loves Me more, and he who loves Me more
receives more. Your reward is measured according to the measure of your love, and
if you should ask Me, whether one who has no science can attain to this love, I
should reply, yes it is possible that he may attain to it, but an individual case does
not make a general law and I always discourse to you in general.
"They also receive greater dignity on account of their priesthood, because they have
personally received the office of eating souls in My honor. For just as everyone has
the office of remaining in charity with his neighbor, to them is given the office of
administering the Blood, and of governing souls.
"Wherefore if they do this solicitously and with love of virtue they receive, as has
been said, more than others. Oh! how happy are their souls when they come to the
extremity of death! For they have been the defenders and preachers of the faith to
their neighbor. This faith they have incarnated in their very marrow, and with it
they see their place of repose in Me. The hope with which they have lived,
confiding in My providence and losing all trust in themselves, in that they did not
hope in their own knowledge, and having lost hope in themselves, placed no
inordinate love in any fellow-creature or in any created thing; having lived in
voluntary poverty, causes them now with great delight to lift their confidence
towards Me. Their heart, which was a vessel of love, inscribed by their ardent charity
with My name, they showed forth with the example of their good and holy life and
by the doctrine of their words to their neighbor. This heart then arises and seizes
Me, who am its End, with ineffable love, restoring to Me the pearl of justice which it
always carried before it, doing justice to all, and discreetly rendering to each his due.
Wherefore this man renders to Me justice with true humility, and renders glory and
praise to My Name, because he refers to Me the grace of having been able to run his
course with a pure and holy conscience, and with himself he is indignant, deeming
himself unworthy of receiving such grace.
"His conscience gives good testimony of him to Me, and I justly give him the crown
of justice, adorned with the pearls of the virtues -- that is, of the fruit which love has
drawn from the virtues. Oh, earthly angel! happy you are in that you have not been
ungrateful for the benefits received from Me, and have not been negligent or
ignorant, but have solicitously opened your eye by the true light, and kept it on your
subjects, and have faithfully and manfully followed the doctrine of the Good
Shepherd, sweet Christ Jesus, My only-begotten Son, wherefore you are really now
passing through Him, the Door, bathed and drowned in His blood, with your troop
of lambs of whom you have brought many by your holy doctrine and example to
eternal life, and have left many behind you in a state of grace.
"Oh, dearest daughter! to such as these the vision of the devils can do no harm,
because of the vision which they have of Me, which they see by faith and hold by
love; the darkness and the terrible aspect of the demons do not give them trouble or
any fear, because in them is not the poison of sin. There is no servile fear in them,
but holy fear. Wherefore they do not fear the demon's deception, because with
supernatural light and with the light of Holy Scripture they know them, so that they
do not cause them darkness or disquietude. So thus they gloriously pass, bathed in
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the blood, with hunger for the salvation of souls, all on fire with love for the
neighbor, having passed through the door of the word and entered into Me; and by
My goodness each one is arranged in his place, and to each one is measured of the
affection of love according as he has measured to Me."
Of the death of sinners, and of their pains in the hour of death.
"Not so excellent, dearest daughter, is the end of these other poor wretches who are
in great misery as I have related to you. How terrible and dark is their death!
Because in the moment of death, as I told you, the Devil accuses them with great
terror and darkness, showing his face, which you know is so horrible that the
creature would rather choose any pain that can be suffered in this world than see it;
and so greatly does he freshen the sting of conscience that it gnaws him horribly.
The disordinate delights and sensuality of which he made lords over his reason,
accuse him miserably, because then he knows the truth of that which at first he
knew not, and his error brings him to great confusion.
"In his life he lived unfaithfully to Me -- self-love having veiled the pupil of the
most holy faith -- wherefore the Devil torments him with infidelity in order to
bring him to despair. Oh! how hard for them is this battle, because it finds them
disarmed, without the armor of affection and charity; because, as members of the
Devil, they have been deprived of it all. Wherefore they have not the supernatural
light, neither the light of science, because they did not understand it, the horns of
their pride not letting them understand the sweetness of its marrow. Wherefore
now in the great battle they know not what to do. They are not nourished in hope,
because they have not hoped in Me, neither in the Blood of which I made them
ministers, but in themselves alone, and in the dignities and delights of the world.
And the incarnate wretch did not see that all was counted to him with interest, and
that as a debtor he would have to render an account to Me; now he finds himself
denuded and without any virtue, and on whichever side he turns he hears nothing
but reproaches with great confusion. His injustice which he practiced in his life
accuses him to his conscience, wherefore he dares not ask other than justice.
"And I tell you that so great is that shame and confusion that unless in their life
they have taken the habit of hoping in My mercy, that is, have taken the milk of
mercy (although on account of their sins this is great presumption, for you cannot
truly say that he who strikes Me with the arm of My mercy has a hope in mercy, but
rather has presumption), there is not one who would not despair, and with despair
they would arrive with the Devil in eternal damnation.
"But arriving at the extremity of death, and recognizing his sin, his conscience
unloaded by holy confession, and presumption taken away, so that he offends no
more, there remains mercy, and with this mercy he can, if he will, take hold on
hope. This is the effect of Mercy, to cause them to hope therein during their life,
although I do not grant them this, so that they should offend Me by means of My
mercy, but rather that they should dilate themselves in charity, and in the
consideration of My goodness. But they act in a contrary way, because they offend
Me in the hope which they have in My mercy. And nevertheless, I keep them in
this hope so that at the last moment they may have something which they may lay
                                            110
hold of, and by so doing not faint away with the condemnation which they receive,
and thus arrive at despair; for this final sin of despair is much more displeasing to
Me and injures them much more than all the other sins which they have
committed. And this is the reason why this sin is more dangerous to them and
displeasing to Me, because they commit other sins through some delight of their
own sensuality, and they sometimes grieve for them, and if they grieve in the right
way their grief will procure them mercy. But it is no fragility of your nature which
moves you to despair, for there is no pleasure and nothing but intolerable suffering
in it. One who despairs despises My mercy, making his sin to be greater than mercy
and goodness. Wherefore, if a man fall into this sin, he does not repent, and does
not truly grieve for his offense against Me as he should, grieving indeed for his own
loss, but not for the offense done to Me, and therefore he receives eternal
damnation. See, therefore, that this sin alone leads him to hell, where he is
punished for this and all the other sins which he has committed; whereas had he
grieved and repented for the offense done to Me, and hoped in My mercy, he would
have found mercy, for, as I have said to you, My mercy is greater without any
comparison than all the sins which any creature can commit; wherefore it greatly
displeases Me that they should consider their sins to be greater.
"Despair is that sin which is pardoned neither here nor hereafter, and it is because
despair displeases Me so much that I wish them to hope in My mercy at the point of
death, even if their life have been disordered and wicked. This is why during their
life I use this sweet trick with them, making them hope greatly in My mercy, for
when, having fed themselves with this hope, they arrive at death, they are not so
inclined to abandon it, on account of the severe condemnation they receive, as if
they had not so nourished themselves.
"All this is given them by the fire and abyss of My inestimable love, but because they
have used it in the darkness of self-love, from which has proceeded their every sin,
they have not known it in truth, but in so far as they have turned their affections
towards the sweetness of My mercy they have thought of it with great presumption.
And this is another cause of reproof which their conscience gives them in the
likeness of the Devil, reproving them in that they should have used the time and
the breadth of My mercy in which they hoped, in charity and love of virtue, and that
time which I gave them through love should have been spent in holiness, whereas
with all their time and great hope of My mercy they did nothing but offend Me
miserably. Oh! blinder than the blind! You have hidden your pearl and your talent
which I placed in your hands in order that you might gain more with it, but you in
your presumption would not do My will, rather you hid it under the ground of
disordinate self-love, which now renders you the fruit of death.
"Your miseries are not hid from you now, for the worm of conscience sleeps no
longer, but is gnawing you, the devils shout and render to you the reward which
they are accustomed to give their servants, that is to say, confusion and
condemnation; they wish to bring you to despair, so that at the moment of death
you may not escape from their hands, and therefore they try to confuse you, so that
afterwards when you are with them they may render to you of the part which is
theirs. Oh, wretch! the dignity in which I placed you, you now see shining as it really
is, and you know to your shame that you have held and used in such guilty
darkness the substance of the holy Church, that you see yourself to be a thief, a
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debtor, who ought to pay his debt to the poor and the holy Church. Then your
conscience represents to you that you have spent the money on public harlots, and
have brought up your children and enriched your relations, and have thrown it
away on gluttony and on many silver vessels and other adornments for your house.
Whereas you should have lived in voluntary poverty.
"Your conscience represents to you the divine office which you neglected, by which
you fell into the guilt of mortal sin, and how even when you recited it with your
mouth your heart was far from Me. Conscience also shows you your subjects, that is
to say, the love and hunger which you should have felt towards nourishing them in
virtue, giving them the example of your life and striking them with the hand of
mercy and the rod of justice, and because you did the contrary your conscience and
the horrible likeness of the Devil reproves you.
"And if as a prelate you have given prelacies or any charge of souls unjustly to one
of your subjects, that is, that you have not considered to whom and how you were
giving it, the Devil puts this also before your conscience, because you ought to have
given it, not on account of pleasant words, nor in order to please creatures, nor for
the sake of gifts, but solely with regard to virtue, My honor and the salvation of
souls. And since you have not done so you are reproved, and for your greater pain
and confusion you have before your conscience and the light of your intellect that
which you have done and ought not to have done, and that which you ought to
have done and have not done.
"I wish you to know, dearest daughter, that whiteness is better seen when placed on
a black ground, and blackness on a white, than when they are separated. So it
happens to these wretches, to these in particular and to all others in general, for at
death when the soul begins to see its woes, and the just man his beatitude, his evil
life is represented to a wicked man, and there is no reason that any one should
remind him of the sins that he has committed, for his conscience places them before
him, together with the virtues which he ought to have practiced. Why the virtues?
For his greater shame. For vice being placed on a ground of virtue is known better
on account of the virtue, and the better he knows his sin, the greater his shame, and
by comparison with his sin he knows better the perfection of virtue, wherefore he
grieves the more, for he sees that his own life was devoid of any; and I wish you to
know that in this knowledge which dying sinners have of virtue and vice they see
only too clearly the good which follows the virtue of a just man, and the pain that
comes on him who has lain in the darkness of mortal sin. I do not give him this
knowledge so that he may despair, but so that he may come to a perfect self-
knowledge and shame for his sins, with hope, so that with that pain and knowledge
he may pay for his sins, and appease My anger, humbly begging My mercy. The
virtuous woman increases thereby in joy and in knowledge of My love, for he
attributes the grace of having followed virtue in the doctrine of My truth to Me and
not to himself, wherefore he exalts in Me, with this truly illuminated knowledge,
and tastes and receives the sweet end of his being in the way which I have related to
you in another place. So that the one, that is to say, the just man, who has lived in
ardent charity, exults in joy, while the wicked man is darkened and confounded in
sorrow.
"To the just man the appearance and vision of the Devil causes no harm or fear, for
fear and harm can only be caused to him by sin; but those who have passed their
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lives lasciviously and in many sins, receive both harm and fear from the appearance
of the devils, not indeed the harm of despair if they do not wish it, but the suffering
of condemnation, of the refreshing of the worm of conscience, and of fear and terror
at their horrible aspect. See now, dearest daughter, how different are the sufferings
and the battle of death to a just man and to a sinner, and how different is their end.
"I have shown to the eye of your intellect a very small part of what happens, and so
small is what I have shown you with regard to what it really is, to the suffering, that
is, of the one, and the happiness of the other, that it is but a trifle. See how great is
the blindness of man, and in particular of these ministers, for the more they have
received of Me, and the more they are enlightened by the Holy Scripture, the greater
are their obligations and more intolerable confusion do they receive for not
fulfilling them; the more they knew of Holy Scripture during their life, the better do
they know at their death the great sins they have committed, and their torments are
greater than those of others, just as good men are placed in a higher degree of
excellence. Theirs is the fate of the false Christian, who is placed in Hell in greater
torment than a pagan, because he had the light of faith and renounced it, while the
pagan never had it.
"So these wretches will be punished more than other Christians for the same sin, on
account of the ministry which I entrusted to them, appointing them to administer
the sun of the holy Sacrament, and because they had the light of science, in order to
discern the truth both for themselves and others had they wished to; wherefore they
justly receive the greater pains. But the wretches do not know this, for did they
consider their state at all, they would not come to such misery, but would be that
which they ought to be and are not. For the whole world has thus become corrupt,
they being much more guilty than seculars, according to their state; for with their
stench they defile the face of their soul, and corrupt their subjects, and suck the
blood from My spouse, that is, the holy Church, wherefore through these sins they
make her grow pale, because they divert to themselves the love and charity which
they should have to this divine spouse, and think of nothing but stripping her for
their own advantage, seizing prelacies, and great properties, when they ought to be
seeking souls. Wherefore through their evil life, seculars become irreverent and
disobedient to the holy Church, not that they ought on that account to do so, or that
their sins are excused through the sins of My ministers."
How this devout soul, praising and thanking GOD, made a prayer for the Holy
        Church.
Then this soul, as if inebriated, tormented, and on fire with love, her heart
wounded with great bitterness, turned herself to the Supreme and Eternal
Goodness, saying: "Oh! Eternal God! oh! Light above every other light, from whom
issues all light! Oh! Fire above every fire, because You are the only Fire who burn
without consuming, and consume all sin and self-love found in the soul, not
afflicting her, but fattening her with insatiable love, and though the soul is filled she
is not sated, but ever desires You, and the more of You she has, the more she seeks --
and the more she desires, the more she finds and tastes of You -- Supreme and
Eternal Fire, Abyss of Charity. Oh! Supreme and Eternal Good, who has moved You,
Infinite God, to illuminate me, Your finite creature, with the light of Your Truth?
                                             113
You, the same Fire of Love are the cause, because it is always love which constrained
and constrains You to create us in Your image and similitude, and to do us mercy,
giving immeasurable and infinite graces to Your rational creatures. Oh! Goodness
above all goodness! You alone are He who is Supremely Good, and nevertheless
You gave the Word, Your only-begotten Son, to converse with us filthy ones and
filled with darkness. What was the cause of this? Love. Because You loved us before
we were. Oh! Good! oh! Eternal Greatness! You made Yourself low and small to
make man great. On whichever side I turn I find nothing but the abyss and fire of
Your charity. And can a wretch like me pay back to You the graces and the burning
charity that You have shown and show with so much burning love in particular to
me beyond common charity, and the love that You show to all Your creatures? No,
but You alone, most sweet and amorous Father, are He who will be thankful and
grateful for me, that is, that the affection of Your charity itself will render You
thanks, because I am she who is not, and if I spoke as being anything of myself, I
should be lying by my own head, and should be a lying daughter of the Devil, who is
the father of lies, because You alone are He who is. And my being and every further
grace that You have bestowed upon me, I have from You, who give them to me
through love, and not as my due.
"Oh! sweetest Father, when the human race lay sick through the sin of Adam, You
sent it a Physician, the sweet and amorous Word -- Your Son; and now, when I was
lying infirm with the sickness of negligence and much ignorance, You, most
soothing and sweet Physician, Eternal God, have given a soothing, sweet, and bitter
medicine, that I may be cured and rise from my infirmity. You have soothed me
because with Your love and gentleness You have manifested Yourself to me, Sweet
above all sweetness, and have illuminated the eye of my intellect with the light of
most holy faith, with which light, according as it has pleased You to manifest it to
me, I have known the excellence of grace which You have given to the human race,
administering to it the entire God-Man in the mystic body of the holy Church. And I
have known the dignity of Your ministers whom You have appointed to
administer You to us. I desired that You would fulfill the promise that You made to
me, and You gave much more, more even than I knew how to ask for. Wherefore I
know in truth that the heart of man knows not how to ask or desire as much as You
can give, and thus I see that You are He who is the Supreme and Eternal Good, and
that we are they who are not. And because You are infinite, and we are finite, You
give that which Your rational creature cannot desire enough; for she cannot desire it
in itself, nor in the way in which You can and will satisfy the soul, filling her with
things for which she does not ask You. Moreover, I have received light from Your
Greatness and Charity, through the love which You have for the whole human
race, and in particular for Your anointed ones, who ought to be earthly angels in this
life. You have shown me the virtue and beatitude of these Your anointed ones who
have lived like burning lamps, shining with the Pearl of Justice in the holy Church.
And by comparison with these I have better understood the sins of those who live
wretchedly. Wherefore I have conceived a very great sorrow at Your offense and the
harm done to the whole world, for they do harm to the world, being mirrors of sin
when they ought to be mirrors of virtue. And because You have manifested and
grieved over their iniquities to me -- a wretch who am the cause and instrument of
many sins -- I am plunged in intolerable grief.
                                           114
"You, oh! inestimable love, have manifested this to me, giving me a sweet and
bitter medicine that I might wholly arise out of the infirmity of my ignorance and
negligence, and have recourse to You with anxious and solicitous desire, knowing
myself and Your goodness and the offenses which are committed against You by all
sorts of people, so that I might shed a river of tears, drawn from the knowledge of
Your infinite goodness, over my wretched self and over those who are dead in that
they live miserably. Wherefore I do not wish, oh! Eternal Father, ineffable Fire of
Love, that my heart should ever grow weary, or my eyes fail through tears, in
desiring Your honor and the salvation of souls, but I beg of You, by Your grace, that
they may be as two streams of water issuing from You, the Sea Pacific. Thanks,
thanks to You, oh! Father, for having granted me that which I asked You and that
which I neither knew nor asked, for by thus giving me matter for grief You have
invited me to offer before You sweet, loving, and yearning desires, with humble and
continual prayer. Now I beg of You that You will do mercy to the world and to the
holy Church. I pray You to fulfill that which You caused me to ask You. Alas! what a
wretched and sorrowful soul is mine, the cause of all these evils. Do not put off any
longer Your merciful designs towards the world, but descend and fulfill the desire of
Your servants.
"Ah me! You cause them to cry in order to hear their voices! Your truth told us to
cry out, and we should be answered; to knock, and it would be opened to us; to beg,
and it would be given to us. Oh! Eternal Father, Your servants do cry out to Your
mercy; do You then reply.
"I know well that mercy is Your own attribute, wherefore You can not destroy it or
refuse it to him who asks for it. Your servants knock at the door of Your truth,
because in the truth of Your only-begotten Son they know the ineffable love which
You have for man, wherefore the fire of Your love ought not and cannot refrain
from opening to him who knocks with perseverance. Wherefore open, unlock, and
break the hardened hearts of Your creatures, not for their sakes who do not knock,
but on account of Your infinite goodness, and through love of Your servants who
knock at You for their sakes. Grant the prayer of those, Eternal Father who, as You
see, stand at the door of Your truth and pray. For what do they pray? For with the
Blood of this door -- Your truth -- have You washed our iniquities and destroyed the
stain of Adam's sin. The Blood is ours, for You have made it our bath, wherefore
You can not deny it to any one who truly asks for it. Give, then, the fruit of Your
Blood to Your creatures. Place in the balance the price of the blood of Your Son, so
that the infernal devils may not carry off Your lambs. You are the Good Shepherd
who, to fulfill Your obedience, laid down His life for Your lambs, and made for us a
bath of His Blood.
"That Blood is what Your hungry servants beg of You at this door, begging You
through it to do mercy to the world, and to cause Your holy Church to bloom with
the fragrant flowers of good and holy pastors, who by their sweet odor shall
extinguish the stench of the putrid flowers of sin. You have said, Eternal Father, that
through the love which You have for Your rational creatures, and the prayers and
the many virtues and labors of Your servants, You would do mercy to the world,
and reform the Church, and thus give us refreshment; wherefore do not delay, but
turn the eye of Your mercy towards us, for You must first reply to us before we can
cry out with the voice of Your mercy. Open the door of Your inestimable love which
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You have given us through the door of Your Word. I know indeed that You open
before even we can knock, for it is with the affection of love which You have given
to Your servants, that they knock and cry to You, seeking Your honor and the
salvation of souls. Give them then the bread of life, that is to say, the fruit of the
Blood of Your only-begotten Son, which they ask of You for the praise and glory of
My name and the salvation of souls. For more glory and praise will be Yours in
saving so many creatures, than in leaving them obstinate in their hardness of heart.
To You, Eternal Father, everything is possible, and even though You have created
us without our own help, You will not save us without it. I beg of You to force their
wills, and dispose them to wish for that for which they do not wish; and this I ask
You through Your infinite mercy. You have created us from nothing; now,
therefore, that we are in existence, do mercy to us, and remake the vessels which
You have created to Your image and likeness. Re-create them to Grace in Your
mercy and the Blood of Your Son sweet Christ Jesus."
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A TREATISE OF OBEDIENCE
Here begins the treatise of obedience, and first of where obedience may be found,
       and what it is that destroys it, and what is the sign of a man's possessing it,
       and what accompanies and nourishes obedience.
T HE Supreme and Eternal Father, kindly turning the eye of His mercy and clemency
towards her, replied: "Your holy desire and righteous request, oh! dearest daughter,
have a right to be heard, and inasmuch as I am the Supreme Truth, I will keep My
word, fulfilling the promise which I made to you, and satisfying your desire. And if
you ask Me where obedience is to be found, and what is the cause of its loss, and the
sign of its possession, I reply that you will find it in its completeness in the sweet
and amorous Word, My only-begotten Son. So prompt in Him was this virtue, that,
in order to fulfill it, He hastened to the shameful death of the Cross. What destroys
obedience? Look at the first man and you will see the cause which destroyed the
obedience imposed on him by Me, the Eternal Father. It was pride, which was
produced by self-love, and desire to please his companion. This was the cause that
deprived him of the perfection of obedience, giving him instead disobedience,
depriving him of the life of grace, and slaying his innocence, wherefore he fell into
impurity and great misery, and not only he, but the whole human race, as I said to
you. The sign that you have this virtue is patience, and impatience the sign that you
have it not, and you will find that this is indeed so, when I speak to you further
concerning this virtue. But observe that obedience may be kept in two ways, of
which one is more perfect than the other, not that they are on that account
separated, but united as I explained to you of the precepts and counsels. The one way
is the most perfect, the other is also good and perfect; for no one at all can reach
eternal life if he be not obedient, for the door was unlocked by the key of obedience,
which had been fastened by the disobedience of Adam. I, then, being constrained by
My infinite goodness, since I saw that man whom I so much loved, did not return to
Me, his End, took the keys of obedience and placed them in the hands of My sweet
and amorous Word -- the Truth -- and He becoming the porter of that door, opened
it, and no one can enter except by means of that door and that Porter. Wherefore He
said in the Holy Gospel that 'no one could come to Me, the Father, if not by Him.'
When He returned to Me, rising to Heaven from the conversation of men at the
Ascension, He left you this sweet key of obedience; for as you know He left His vicar,
the Christ, on earth, whom you are all obliged to obey until death, and whoever is
outside His obedience is in a state of damnation, as I have already told you in
another place. Now I wish you to see and know this most excellent virtue in that
humble and immaculate Lamb, and the source whence it proceeds. What caused the
great obedience of the Word? The love which He had for My honor and your
salvation. Whence proceeded this love? From the clear vision with which His soul
saw the divine essence and the eternal Trinity, thus always looking on Me, the
eternal God. His fidelity obtained this vision most perfectly for Him, which vision
you imperfectly enjoy by the light of holy faith. He was faithful to Me, His eternal
Father, and therefore hastened as one enamored along the road of obedience, lit up
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with the light of glory. And inasmuch as love cannot be alone, but is accompanied
by all the true and royal virtues, because all the virtues draw their life from love, He
possessed them all, but in a different way from that in which you do. Among the
others he possessed patience, which is the marrow of obedience, and a
demonstrative sign, whether a soul be in a state of grace and truly love or not.
Wherefore charity, the mother of patience, has given her as a sister to obedience,
and so closely united them together that one cannot be lost without the other. Either
you have them both or you have neither. This virtue has a nurse who feeds her,
that is, true humility; therefore a soul is obedient in proportion to her humility, and
humble in proportion to her obedience. This humility is the foster-mother and
nurse of charity, and with the same milk she feeds the virtue of obedience. Her
raiment given her by this nurse is self-contempt, and insult, desire to displease
herself, and to please Me. Where does she find this? In sweet Christ Jesus, My only-
begotten Son. For who abased Himself more than He did! He was sated with insults,
jibes, and mockings. He caused pain to Himself in His bodily life, in order to please
Me. And who was more patient than He? for His cry was never heard in
murmuring, but He patiently embraced His injuries like one enamored, fulfilling
the obedience imposed on Him by Me, His Eternal Father. Wherefore in Him you
will find obedience perfectly accomplished. He left you this rule and this doctrine,
which gives you life, for it is the straight way, having first observed them Himself.
He is the way, wherefore He said, 'He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.' For he
who travels by that way, travels in the light, and being enlightened cannot stumble,
or be caused to fall, without perceiving it. For He has cast from Himself the darkness
of self-love, by which he fell into disobedience; for as I spoke to you of a companion
virtue proceeding from obedience and humility, so I tell you that disobedience
comes from pride, which issues from self-love depriving the soul of humility. The
sister given by self-love to disobedience is impatience, and pride, her foster-mother,
feeds her with the darkness of infidelity, so she hastens along the way of darkness,
which leads her to eternal death. All this you should read in that glorious book,
where you find described this and every other virtue."
How obedience is the key with which Heaven is opened, and how the soul should
        fasten it by means of a cord to her girdle, and of the excellences of obedience.
"Now that I have shown you where obedience is to be found, and whence she
comes, and who is her companion, and who her foster-mother, I will continue to
speak of the obedient and of the disobedient together, and of obedience in general,
which is the obedience of the precepts; and in particular, which is that of the
counsels. The whole of your faith is founded upon obedience, for by it you prove
your fidelity. You are all in general by My truth to obey the commandments of the
law, the chief of which is to love Me above everything, and your neighbor as
yourself, and the commandments are so bound up together, that you cannot observe
or transgress one without observing or transgressing all. He who observes this
principal commandment observes all the others; he is faithful to Me and his
neighbor, for he loves Me and My creature, and is therefore obedient, becoming
subject to the commandments of the law, and to creatures for My sake, and with
humble patience he endures every labor, and even his neighbor's detraction of him.
This obedience is of such excellence that you all derive grace from it, just as from
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disobedience you all derive death. Wherefore it is not enough that it should be only
in word, and not practiced by you. I have already told you that this word is the key
which opens heaven, which key My Son placed in the hands of His vicar. This vicar
placed it in the hands of everyone who receives holy baptism, promising therein to
renounce the world and all its pomps and delights, and to obey. So that each man
has in his own person that very same key which the Word had, and if a man does
not unlock in the light of faith, and with the hand of love the gate of heaven by
means of this key, he never will enter there, in spite of its having been opened by
the Word; for though I created you without yourselves, I will not save you without
yourselves. Wherefore you must take the key in your hand and walk by the doctrine
of My Word, and not remain seated, that is to say, placing your love in finite things,
as do foolish men who follow the first man, their first father, following his example,
and casting the key of obedience into the mud of impurity, breaking it with the
hammer of pride, rusting it with self-love. It would have been entirely destroyed
had not My only-begotten Son, the Word, come and taken this key of obedience in
His hands and purified it in the fire of divine love, having drawn it out of the mud,
and cleansed it with His blood, and straightened it with the knife of justice, and
hammered your iniquities into shape on the anvil of His own body. So perfectly did
He repair it that no matter how much a man may have spoiled his key by his free-
will, by the self-same free-will, assisted by My grace, he can repair it with the same
instruments that were used by My Word. Oh! blinder than the blind, for, having
spoiled the key of obedience, you do not think of mending it! Do you think,
forsooth, that the disobedience which closed the door of Heaven will open it? that
the pride which fell can rise? Do you think to be admitted to the marriage feast in
foul and disordered garments? Do you think that sitting down and binding yourself
with the chain of mortal sin, you can walk? or that without a key you can open the
door? Do not imagine that you can, for it is a fantastical delusion; you must be firm,
you must leave mortal sin by a holy confession, contrition of heart, satisfaction, and
purpose of amendment. Then you will throw off that hideous and defiled garment
and, clothed in the shining nuptial robe, will hasten, the key of obedience in your
hand, to open the door. But bind this key with the cord of self-contempt, and hatred
of yourself and of the world, and fasten it to the love of pleasing Me, Your creator, of
which you should make a girdle to yourself to bind your loins with it, for fear you
lose it. Know, My daughter, there are many who take up this key of obedience,
having seen by the light of faith that in no other way can they escape eternal
damnation; but they hold it in their hand without wearing this girdle, or fastening
the key to it with the cord of self-contempt, that is to say that they are not perfectly
clothed with My pleasure, but still seek to please themselves; they do not wear the
cord of self-contempt, for they do not desire to be despised, but rather take delight in
the praise of men. Such as these are apt to lose their key; for if they suffer a little
extra fatigue, or mental or corporal tribulation, and if, as often happens, the hand of
holy desire loosens its grasp, they will lose it. They can indeed find it again if they
wish to while they live, but if they do not wish they will never find it, and what will
prove to them, that they have lost it? Impatience, for patience was united to
obedience, and their impatience proves that obedience does not dwell in their soul.
Oh! how sweet and glorious is this virtue, which contains all the rest, for she is
conceived and born of charity, on her is founded the rock of the holy faith. She is a
queen whose consort will feel no trouble, but only peace and quiet; the waves of the
                                            119
stormy sea cannot hurt her, nor can any tempest reach the interior of the soul in
whom she dwells. Such a one feels no hatred when injured, because he wishes to
obey the precept of forgiveness, he suffers not when his appetites are not satisfied,
because obedience has ordered him to desire Me alone, who can and will satisfy all
his desires, if he strip himself of worldly riches. And so in all things which would be
too long to relate, he who has chosen as spouse Queen Obedience, the appointed key
of heaven, finds peace and quiet. Oh! blessed obedience! you voyage without fatigue,
and reach without danger the port of salvation, you are conformed to My only-
begotten Son, the Word, you board the ship of the holy cross, forcing yourself to
endure, so as not to transgress the obedience of the Word, nor abandon His doctrine,
of which you make a table when you eat the food of souls, dwelling in the love of
your neighbor, being anointed with true humility, which saves you from coveting,
contrary to My will, his possessions, you walk erect, without bending, for your heart
is sincere and not false, loving generously and truly My creatures, you are a sunrise
drawing after you the light of divine grace, you are a sun which makes the earth,
that is to say, the organs of the soul, to germinate with the heat of charity, all of
which as well as those of the body produce life-giving fruit for yourself and your
neighbor. You are even cheerful, for your face is never wrinkled with impatience,
but smooth and pleasant with the happiness of patience, and even in its fortitude
you are great by your long endurance, so long that it reaches from earth to heaven
and unlocks the celestial door. You are a hidden pearl, trampled by the world,
abasing yourself, submitting to all creatures. Yet your kingdom is so great that no
one can rule you, for you have come out of the mortal servitude of your own
sensuality, which destroyed your dignity, and having slain this enemy with hatred
and dislike of your own pleasure have re-obtained your liberty."
Here both the misery of the disobedient and the excellence of the obedient are
        spoken of.
"All this, dearest daughter, has been done by My goodness and providence as I have
told you, for by My providence the Word repaired the key of obedience, but worldly
men devoid of every virtue do the contrary; they, like unbridled horses, without the
bit of obedience, go from bad to worse, from sin to sin, from misery to misery, from
darkness to darkness, from death to death, until they finally reach the edge of the
ditch of death, gnawed by the worm of their conscience, and though it is true that
they can obey the precepts of the law if they will, and have the time repenting of
their disobedience, it is very hard for them to do so, on account of their long habit of
sin. Therefore let no man trust to this, putting off his finding of the key of obedience
to the moment of his death, for although everyone may and should hope as long as
he has life, he should not put such trust in this hope as to delay repentance. What is
the reason of all this, and of such blindness that prevents them recognizing this
treasure? The cloud of self-love and wretched pride, through which they abandoned
obedience, and fell into disobedience. Being disobedient they are impatient, as has
been said, and in their impatience endure intolerable pain, for it has seduced them
from the way of Truth, leading them along a way of lies, making them slaves and
friends of the devils with whom, unless indeed they amend themselves with
patience, they will go to the eternal torments. Contrariwise, My beloved sons,
obedient and observers of the law, rejoice and exult in My eternal vision with the
                                              120
Immaculate and humble Lamb, the Maker, Fulfiller, and Giver of this law of
obedience. Observing this law in this life they taste peace without any disturbance,
they receive and clothe themselves in the most perfect peace, for there they possess
every good without any evil, safety without any fear, riches without any poverty,
satiety without disgust, hunger without pain, light without darkness, one supreme
infinite good, shared by all those who taste it truly. What has placed them in so
blessed a state? The blood of the Lamb, by virtue of which the key of obedience has
lost its rust, so that, by the virtue of the blood, it has been able to unlock the door.
Oh! fools and madmen, delay no longer to come out of the mud of impurity, for you
seem like pigs to wallow in the mire of your own lust. Abandon the injustice,
murders, hatreds, rancors, detractions, murmurings, false judgments, and cruelty,
with which you use your neighbors, your thefts and treacheries, and the disordinate
pleasures and delights of the world; cut off the horns of pride, by which amputation
you will extinguish the hatred which is in your heart against your neighbors.
Compare the injuries which you do to Me and to your neighbor with those done to
you, and you will see that those done to you are but trifles. You will see that
remaining in hatred you injure Me by transgressing My precept, and you also injure
the object of your hate, for you deprive him of your love, whereas you have been
commanded to love Me above everything, and your neighbor as yourself. No gloss
has been put upon these words as if it should have been said, if your neighbor
injures you do not love him; but they are to be taken naturally and simply, as they
were said to you by My Truth, who Himself literally observed this rule. Literally also
should you observe it, and if you do not you will injure your own soul, depriving it
of the life of grace. Take, oh! take, then, the key of obedience with the light of faith,
walk no longer in such darkness or cold, but observe obedience in the fire of love, so
that you may taste eternal life together with the other observers of the law."
Of those who have such love for obedience that they do not remain content with
        the general obedience of precepts, but take on themselves a particular
        obedience.
"There are some, My dearest daughter, in whom the sweet and amorous fire of love
towards obedience burns so high (which fire of love cannot exist without hatred of
self-love, so that when the fire increases so does this self-hatred), that they are not
content to observe the precepts of the Law with a general obedience as you are all
obliged to do if you will have life and not death, but take upon themselves a
particular obedience, following the greatest perfection, so that they become observers
of the counsels both in deed and in thought. Such as these wish to bind themselves
more tightly through self-hatred, and in order to restrain in everything their own
will. They either place themselves under the yoke of obedience in holy religion, or,
without entering religion, they bind themselves to some creature, submitting their
will to his, so as more expeditiously to unlock the door of Heaven. These are they, as
I have told you, who have chosen the most perfect obedience. I have already spoken
to you of obedience in general, and as I know it to be your will that I should speak to
you of this particular and most perfect obedience, I will now relate to you somewhat
of this second kind, which is not divided from the first, but is more perfect, for, as I
have already told you, these two kinds of obedience are so closely united together
that they cannot be separated. I have told you where general obedience is to be found
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and whence it proceeds, and the cause of its loss. Now I will speak to you of this
particular obedience, not altering, however, the fundamental principle of the
virtue."
How a soul advances from general to particular obedience; and of the excellence of
       the religious orders.
"The soul who with love has submitted to the yoke of obedience, to the
Commandments, following the doctrine of My truth virtuously exercising herself,
as has been said, in this general kind of obedience will advance to the second kind by
means of the same light which brought her to the first, for by the light of the most
holy faith she would have learnt, in the blood of the humble Lamb, My truth -- the
ineffable love which I have for her, and her own fragility, which cannot respond to
Me with due perfection. So she wanders, seeking by that light in what place and in
what way she can pay her debt, trampling on her own fragility, and restraining her
own will. Enlightened in her search by faith, she finds the place -- namely, holy
religion -- which has been founded by the Holy Spirit, appointed as the ship to
receive souls who wish to hasten to perfection, and to bring them to the port of
salvation. The Captain of this ship is the Holy Spirit, who never fails in Himself
through the defects of any of His religious subjects who may transgress the rule of
the order. The ship itself cannot be damaged, but only the offender. It is true that the
mistake of the steersman may send her down into the billows, and these are wicked
pastors and prelates appointed by the Master of the ship. The ship herself is so
delightful that your tongue could not narrate it. I say, then, that the soul, on fire
with desire and a holy self-hatred, having found her place by the light of faith,
enters there as one dead, if she is truly obedient; that is to say, if she have perfectly
observed general obedience. And even if she should be imperfect when she enters, it
does not follow that she cannot attain perfection. On the contrary, she attains it by
exercising herself in the virtue of obedience; indeed, most of those who enter are
imperfect. There are some who enter already in perfection, others in the childhood
of virtue, others through fear, others through penance, others through allurements,
everything depends on whether after they have entered they exercise themselves in
virtue, and persevere till death, for no true judgment can be made on a person's
entrance into religion, but only on their perseverance, for many have appeared to be
perfect who have afterwards turned back, or remained in the order with much
imperfection, so that, as I have said, the act of entrance into this ship ordained by
Me, who call men in different ways, does not supply material for a real judgment,
but only the love of those who persevere therein with true obedience. This ship is
rich, so that there is no need for the subject to think about his necessities either
temporal or spiritual, for if he is truly obedient, and observes his order, he will be
provided for by his Master, who is the Holy Spirit, as I told you when I spoke to you
of My providence, saying that though your servants might be poor, they were never
beggars. No more are these, for they find everything they need, and those who
observe this order find this to be indeed true. Wherefore, see that in the days when
the religious orders lived virtuously, blossoming with true poverty and fraternal
charity, their temporal substance never failed them, but they had more than their
needs demanded. But because the stench of self-love has entered and caused each to
keep his private possessions and to fail in obedience, their temporal substance has
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failed, and the more they possess to the greater destitution do they come. It is just
that even in the smallest matters they should experience the fruit of disobedience,
for had they been obedient and observed the vow of poverty, each would not have
taken his own, and lived privately. See the riches of these holy rules, so
thoughtfully and luminously appointed by those who were temples of the Holy
Spirit. See with what judgment Benedict ordered his ship; see with what perfection
and order of poverty Francis ordered his ship, decked with the pearls of virtue,
steering it in the way of lofty perfection, being the first to give his order for spouse,
true and holy poverty, whom he had chosen for himself, embracing self-contempt
and self-hatred, not desiring to please any creature but only your will; desiring
rather to be thought vile by the world, macerating his body and slaying his will,
clothing himself in insults, sufferings, and jibes, for love of the humble Lamb, with
whom he was fastened and nailed to the cross by love, so that by a singular grace
there appeared in his body the very wounds of your Truth, showing in the vessel of
his body that which was in the love of his soul, so he prepared the way.
"But you will say, 'Are not all the other religious orders equally founded on this
point?' Yes, but though they are all founded on it, in no other is this the principal
foundation; as with the virtues, though all the virtues draw their life from charily,
nevertheless, as I explained to you in another place, one virtue belongs especially to
one man, and another to another, and yet they all remain in charity, so with the
principal foundation of the religious orders. Poverty belonged especially to My poor
man Francis, who placed the principal foundation of his order in love for this
poverty, and made it very strict for those who were perfect, for the few and the good,
not for the majority. I say few because they are not many who choose this perfection,
though now through their sins they are multiplied in numbers and deficient in
virtue, not through defect of the ship, but through disobedient subjects and wicked
rulers. Now look at the ship of your father Dominic, My beloved son: he ordered it
most perfectly, wishing that his sons should apply themselves only to My honor
and the salvation of souls, with the light of science, which light he laid as his
principal foundation, not, however, on that account, being deprived of true and
voluntary poverty, but having it also. And as a sign that he had it truly, and that the
contrary displeased him, he left as an heirloom to his sons his curse and Mine, if
they should hold any possessions, either privately or in community, as a sign that
he had chosen for his spouse Queen Poverty. But for his more immediate and
personal object he took the light of science in order to extirpate the errors which had
arisen in his time, thus taking on him the office of My only-begotten Son, the Word.
Rightly he appeared as an apostle in the world, and sowed the seed of My Word
with much truth and light, dissipating darkness and giving light. He was a light
which I gave the world by means of Mary, placed in the mystical body of the Holy
Church as an extirpator of heresies. Why do I say by means of Mary? Because Mary
gave him his habit -- this office was committed to her by My goodness. At what table
does he feed his sons with the light of science? At the table of the cross, which is the
table of holy desire, when souls are eaten for My honor. Dominic does not wish his
sons to apply themselves to anything, but remaining at this table, there to seek with
the light of science, the glory and praise of My name alone, and the salvation of
souls. And in order that they might do nothing else, he chose poverty for them, so
that they might not have the care of temporal things. It is true that some failed in
faith, fearing that they would not be provided for, but he never. Being clothed in
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faith, and hoping with firm confidence in My providence, He wishes his sons to
observe obedience and do their duty, and since impure living obscures the eye of the
intellect, and not only the eye of the intellect, but also of the body, he does not wish
them to obscure their physical light with which they may more perfectly obtain the
light of science; wherefore he imposed on them the third vow of continence, and
wishes that all should observe it, with true and perfect obedience, although today it
is badly observed. They also prevent the light of science with the darkness of pride,
not that this light can be darkened in itself, but only in their souls, for there, where
pride is, can be no obedience. I have already told you that a man's humility is in
proportion to his obedience, and his obedience to his humility, and similarly, when
he transgresses the vow of obedience, it rarely happens that he does not also
transgress the vow of continence, either in thought or deed; so that he has rigged his
ship with the three ropes of obedience, continence, and true poverty; he made it a
royal ship, not obliging his subjects under pain of mortal sin, and illuminated by Me
the true light, he provided for those who should be less perfect, for though all who
observe the order are perfect in kind, yet one possesses a higher degree of perfection
than another, yet all perfect or imperfect live well in this ship. He allied himself
with My truth, showing that he did not desire the death of a sinner, but rather that
he should be converted and live. Wherefore his religion is a delightful garden,
broad and joyous and flagrant, but the wretches who do not observe the order, but
transgress its vows, have turned it into a desert and defiled it with their scanty
virtue and light of science, though they are nourished at its breast. I do not say that
the order itself is in this condition, for it still possesses every delight, but in the
beginning its subjects were not as they are now, but blooming flowers, and men of
great perfection. Each scented to be another St. Paul, their eyes so illuminated that
the darkness of error was dissipated by their glance. Look at My glorious Thomas,
who gazed with the gentle eye of his intellect at My Truth, whereby he acquired
supernatural light and science infused by grace, for he obtained it rather by means of
prayer than by human study. He was a brilliant light, illuminating his order and the
mystical body of the Holy Church, dissipating the clouds of heresy. Look at My Peter,
virgin and martyr, who by his blood gave light among the darkness of many
heresies, and the heretics hated him so that at last they took his life; yet while he
lived he applied himself to nothing but prayer, preaching, and disputation with
heretics, hearing confessions, announcing the truth, and spreading the faith without
any fear, to such an extent that he not only confessed it in his life but even at the
moment of his death, for when he was at the last extremity, having neither voice
nor ink left, having received his death-blow, he dipped his finger in his blood, and
this glorious martyr, having not paper on which to write, leaned over, confessing
the faith, and wrote the Credo on the ground. His heart burnt in the furnace of My
charity, so that he never slackened his pace nor turned his head back, though he
knew that he was to die, for I had revealed to him his death, but like a true knight
he fearlessly came forth on to the battlefield; and I could tell you the same of many
others, who though they did not actually experience martyrdom, were martyrs in
will like Dominic; great laborers were these sent by My Father to labor in His
vineyard to extirpate the thorns of vice, planting the virtues in their stead. Of a
truth Dominic and Francis were two columns of the holy Church. Francis with the
poverty which was specially his own, as has been said, and Dominic with his
learning."
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Of the excellence of the obedient, and of the misery of the disobedient members of
        the religious orders.
"Now that places suitable for obedience have been found, namely, these ships
commanded by the Holy Spirit through the medium of their superiors, for, as I told
you, the Holy Spirit is the true Master of these ships, which are built in the light of
the most holy faith by those who have the light to know that My clemency, the Holy
Spirit, will steer them, and having thus shown you the place of obedience and its
perfection, I will speak to you of the obedience and of the disobedience of those who
travel in such a ship, speaking of all together and not of one ship -- that is, one order
-- in particular, showing you the sin of the disobedient and the virtue of the
obedient, so that a man may better know the one by contrast with the other, and
how he should walk if he would enter the ship of a religious order. How should he
walk who wishes to enter this state of perfect and particular obedience? With the
light of holy faith, by which he will know that he must slay his self-will with the
knife of hatred of every sensual passion, taking the spouse which charity gives him,
together with her sister. The spouse is true and prompt obedience, and the sister,
patience; and he must also take the nurse of humility, for without this nurse
obedience would perish of hunger, for obedience soon dies in a soul deprived of this
little virtue of humility.
"Humility is not alone but has the handmaid of contempt of self and of the world,
which causes the soul to hold herself vile, and not to desire honor but shame. Thus
dead to himself, should he who is old enough enter the ship of a religious order, but
however he may enter it (for I have told you that I call souls in diverse ways), he
should acquire and preserve this affection, hurrying generously to seize the key of
the obedience of his order, which will open the little door which is in the panel of
the door of Heaven. Such as these have undertaken to open the little door, doing
without the great key of general obedience, which opens the door of Heaven, as I
have said to you. They have taken a little key, passing through a low and narrow
opening in the great door. This small door is part of the great door, as you may see
in any real door. They should keep this key when they have got it, and not throw it
away. And because the truly obedient have seen with the light of faith that they will
never be able to pass through this little door with the load of their riches and the
weight of their own will without great fatigue and without losing their life, and that
they cannot walk with head erect without breaking their neck; whether they wish to
or not, they cast from them the load of their riches, and of their own will observing
the vow of voluntary poverty, refusing to possess anything, for they see by the light
of faith to what ruin they would come if they transgressed obedience, and the and of
poverty which they promised to keep. The disobedient walk in pride, holding their
heads erect, and if sometimes it suits their convenience to obey they do not incline
their heads with humility, but proudly do so, because they must, which force breaks
the neck of their will, for they fulfill their obedience with hatred of their order and
of their superior. Little by little they are ruined on another point, for they transgress
the vow of continence, for he who does not constrain his appetite or strip himself of
temporal substance makes many relations and finds plenty of friends who love him
for their own profit. From these relations they go on to close intimacies, their body
they tend luxuriously, for being without either the nurse of humility or her sister,
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self-contempt, they live in their own pleasure richly and delicately, not like
religious but like nobles, without watching or prayer. This and many other things
happen to them because they have money to spend, for if they had it not they could
not spend it. They fall into mental and physical impurity, for if sometimes from
shame or through lack of means they abstain physically, they indulge themselves
mentally, for it is impossible for a man with many worldly relations, of delicate
habits and disordinate greediness, who watches not nor prays, to preserve his mind
pure. Wherefore the perfectly obedient man sees from afar with the light of holy
faith the evil and the loss which would come to him from temporal possessions and
from walking weighed down by his own will; he also sees that he is obliged to pass
by this narrow door, and that in such a state he would die before he would be able to
pass it, having no key of obedience wherewith to open it, for as I said to you, he is
obliged to pass through it. Wherefore it is that whether he will or no he should not
leave the ship of the order, but should walk the narrow path of obedience to his
superior.
"Wherefore the perfectly obedient man rises above himself and his own sensuality,
and rising above his own feelings with living faith, places self-hatred as servant in
the house of his soul to drive out the enemy of self-love, for he does not wish that
his spouse, Obedience, given him with the light of faith by her mother, Charity,
should be offended; so he drives out the enemy and puts in his place the nurse and
companions of his spouse.
"The love of obedience places in the house of his soul the lovers of his spouse,
Obedience, who are the true and royal virtues, the customs and observances of his
order, so that this sweet spouse enters his soul with her sister, Patience, and her
nurse, Humility, together with Self-contempt and Self-hatred, and when she has
entered she possesses peace and quiet, for her enemies have been exiled. She dwells
in the garden of true continence, with the sun of intellectual light shining in, the
eye of holy faith fixed on the object of My Truth, for her object is My Truth, and the
fire of love with which she observes the rules of the order, warms all her servants
and companions.
"Who are her enemies who have been expelled? The chief is self-love, producing
pride, the enemy of humility and charity. Impatience is the enemy of patience,
disobedience of true obedience, infidelity of faith, presumption and self-confidence
do not accord with the true hope which the soul should have in Me; injustice
cannot be conformed to justice, nor imprudence to prudence, nor intemperance to
temperance, nor the transgression of the commandments of the order to perfect
observance of them, nor the wicked conversation of those who live in sin to the
good conversation of My servants. These are a man's enemies, causing him to leave
the good customs and traditions of his order. He has also those other cruel enemies,
anger, which wars against his benevolence; cruelty, against his kindness; wrath,
against his benignity; hatred of virtue, against the love of virtue; impurity, against
chastity; negligence, against solicitude; ignorance, against knowledge; and sloth
against watchfulness and continued prayer.
"And since he knew by the light of faith that all these were his enemies who would
defile his spouse, holy obedience, he appointed hatred to drive them out, and love
to replace them with her friends. Wherefore with the knife of hatred he slew his
perverse self-will, who, nourished by self-love, gave life to all these enemies of true
                                            126
obedience, and having cut off the source by which all the others are preserved in
life, he remains free and in peace without any war, for there is no one to make war
on him, for the soul has cut off from herself that which kept her in bitterness and in
sadness. What makes war on obedience? Injuries? No, for the obedient man is
patient, patience being the sister of obedience. The weight of the observances of the
order? No, for obedience causes him to fulfill them. Does the weight of obedience
give him pain? No, for he has trampled on his own will, and does not care to
examine or judge the will of his superior, for with the light of faith he sees My will
in him, believing truly that My clemency causes him to command according to the
needs of his subject's salvation. Is he disgusted and angry at having to perform the
humble duties of the order or to endure the mockeries, reproofs, jibes, and insults
which are often cast at him, or to be held at little worth? No, for he has conceived
love for self-contempt and self-hatred. Wherefore he rejoices with patience, exulting
with delight and joy in the company of his spouse, true obedience, for the only thing
which saddens him is to see Me, his Creator, offended. His conversation is with
those who truly fear Me, and if he should converse with those who are separated
from My Will, it is not in order to conform himself to their sins, but to draw them
out of their misery, for through the brotherly love which he has in his heart
towards them he would like to give them the good which he possesses, seeing that
more glory and praise would be given to My name by many observing aright their
order than by him doing so alone. Wherefore he endeavors to convert religious and
seculars by his words and by prayer, and by every means by which he can draw them
out of the darkness of mortal sin. Thus the conversations of a truly obedient man
are good and perfect, whether they be with just men or with sinners, through his
rightly ordered love and the breadth of his charity. Of his cell he makes a heaven,
delighting there to converse with Me, his supreme and eternal Father, with the
affection of love, flying idleness with humble and continual prayer, and when,
through the illusion of the Devil, thoughts come crowding into his cell, he does not
sit down on the bed of negligence embracing idleness, nor care to examine by reason
the thoughts or opinions of his heart, but he flies sloth, rising above himself and his
senses with hatred and true humility, patiently enduring the weariness which he
feels in his mind, and resisting by watching and humble prayer, fixing the eye of his
intellect on Me, and seeing with the light of faith that I am his helper, and both can
and will help him, and open to him the eyes of My kindness, and that it is I who
permit this suffering in order that he may be more eager to fly himself and come to
Me. And if it should seem to him that on account of his great weariness and the
darkness of his mind, mental prayer is impossible, he recites vocal prayers, or busies
himself with some corporal exercises, so that by these means he may avoid idleness.
He looks at Me with the light which I give him through love, which draws forth
true humility, for he deems himself unworthy of the peace and quiet of mind of My
other servants, but rather worthy of pain, for he despises himself in his own mind
with hatred and self-reproach, thinking that he can never endure enough pain, for
neither his hope nor My providence fail him, but with faith and the key of
obedience he passes over this stormy sea in the ship of his order, dwelling thus in
his cell as has been said, and avoiding idleness.
"The obedient man wishes to be the first to enter choir and the last to leave it, and
when he sees a brother more obedient than himself he regards him in his eagerness
with a holy envy, stealing from him the virtue in which he excels, not wishing,
                                             127
however, that his brother should have less thereof, for if he wished this he would
be separated from brotherly love. The obedient man does not leave the refectory, but
visits it continually and delights at being at table with the poor. And as a sign that he
delights therein, and so as to have no reason to remain without, he has abandoned
his temporal substance, observing so perfectly the vow of poverty that he blames
himself for considering even the necessities of his body. His cell is full of the odor of
poverty, and not of clothes; he has no fear that thieves will come to rob him, or that
rust or moths will corrupt his garments; and if anything is given to him, he does
not think of laying it by for his own use, but freely shares it with his brethren, not
thinking of the morrow, but rather depriving himself today of what he needs,
thinking only of the kingdom of heaven and how he may best observe true
obedience.
"And in order that he may better keep to the path of humility, he submits to small
and great, to poor and rich, and becomes the servant of all, never refusing labor, but
serving all with charity. The obedient man does not wish to fulfill his obedience in
his own way, or to choose his time or place, but prefers the way of his order and of
his superior. All this the truly and perfectly obedient man does without pain and
weariness of mind. He passes with this key in his hand through the narrow door of
the order, easily and without violence, because he observes the vows of poverty,
true obedience, and continence, having abandoned the heights of pride, and bowed
his head to obedience through humility. He does not break his neck through
impatience, but is patient with fortitude and enduring perseverance, the friends of
obedience. Thus he passes by the assaults of the devils, mortifying and macerating
his flesh, stripping it bare of all pleasures and delights and clothing it with the labors
of the order in a faith which despises nothing, for as a child who does not remember
the blows and injuries inflicted on him by his father, so this child of the spirit does
not remember the injuries, pains, or blows inflicted on him by his superior in the
order, but calling him humbly, turns to him without anger, hatred, or rancor, but
with meekness and benevolence.
"These are those little ones of whom My Truth spoke to the disciples, who were
contending among themselves which of them should be the greater, for calling a
child, He said: 'Allow the little ones to come to Me, for of such is the kingdom of
heaven to be; whoever will not humble himself like this child (that is, who will not
keep this childlike condition), shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. For he who
humbles himself, dearest daughter, will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will
be humbled,' which also was said to you by My Truth. Justly, therefore, are these
humble little ones, humiliated and subjected through love, with true and holy
obedience, who do not kick against the pricks of their order or superior, exalted by
Me, the supreme and eternal Father, with the true citizens of the blessed life, when
they are rewarded for all their labors, and in this life also do they taste eternal life."
How the truly obedient receive a hundredfold for one, and also eternal lift; and
        what is meant by this one, and this hundredfold.
"In them is fulfilled the saying of the sweet and amorous Word, My only-begotten
Son, in the gospel when He replied to Peter's demand, 'Master, we have left
everything for your love's sake, and have followed You, what will you give us?' My
                                             128
Truth replied, 'I will give you a hundredfold for one, and you shall possess eternal
life.' As if My Truth had wished to say, 'You have done well, Peter, for in no other
way could you follow Me. And I, in this life, will give you a hundredfold for one.'
And what is this hundredfold, beloved daughter, besides which the apostle obtained
eternal life? To what did My Truth refer? To temporal substance?
"Properly speaking, no. Do I not, however, often cause one who gives alms to
multiply in temporal goods? In return for what do I this? In return for the gift of his
own will. This is the one for which I repay him a hundredfold. What is the
meaning of the number a hundred? A hundred is a perfect number, and cannot be
added to except by recommencing from the first. So charity is the most perfect of all
the virtues, so perfect that no higher virtue can be attained except by recommencing
at the beginning of self-knowledge, and thus increasing many hundredfold in merit;
but you always necessarily arrive at the number one hundred. This is that
hundredfold which is given to those who have given Me the unit of their own will,
both in general obedience, and in the particular obedience of the religious life. And
in addition to this hundred you also possess eternal life, for charity alone enters into
eternal life, like a mistress bringing with her the fruit of all the other virtues, while
they remain outside, bringing their fruit, I say, into Me, the eternal life, in whom
the obedient taste eternal life. It is not by faith that they taste eternal life, for they
experience in its essence that which they have believed through faith; nor by hope,
for they possess that for which they had hoped, and so with all the other virtues,
Queen Charity alone enters and possesses Me, her possessor. See, therefore, that
these little ones receive a hundredfold for one, and also eternal life, for here they
receive the fire of divine charity figured by the number of a hundred (as has been
said). And because they have received this hundredfold from Me, they possess a
wonderful and hearty joy, for there is no sadness in charity, but the joy of it makes
the heart large and generous, not narrow or double. A soul wounded by this sweet
arrow does not appear one thing in face and tongue while her heart is different. She
does not serve, or act towards her neighbor with dissembling and ambition, because
charity is an open book to be read by all. Wherefore the soul who possesses charity
never falls into trouble, or the affliction of sadness, or jars with obedience, remains
obedient until death."
Of the perversities, miseries, and labors of the disobedient man; and of the miserable
        fruits which proceed from disobedience.
"Contrariwise, a wicked disobedient man dwells in the ship of a religious order with
so much pain to himself and others, that in this life he tastes the earnest of hell, he
remains always in sadness and confusion of mind, tormented by the sting of
conscience, with hatred of his order and superior, insupportable to himself. What a
terrible thing it is, My daughter, to see one who has once taken the key of obedience
of a religious order, living in disobedience, to which he has made himself a slave,
for of disobedience he has made his mistress with her companion impatience,
nourished by pride, and his own pleasure, which pride (as has been said) issues from
self-love. For him everything is the contrary to what it would be for the obedient
man. For how can this wretch be in any other state than suffering, for he is deprived
of charity, he is obliged by force to incline the neck of his own will, and pride keeps
                                             129
it erect, all his desires are in discord with the will of the order. The order commands
obedience, and he loves disobedience; the order commands voluntary poverty, and
he avoids it, possessing and acquiring riches; the order commands continence and
purity, and he desires lewdness. By transgressing these three vows, My daughter, a
religious comes to ruin, and falls into so many miseries, that his aspect is no longer
that of a religious but of an incarnate devil, as in another place I related to you at
greater length. I will, however, tell you something now of their delusion, and of the
fruit which they obtained by disobedience to the commendation and exhortation of
obedience. This wretched man is deluded by his self-love, because the eye of his
intellect is fixed, with a dead faith, on pleasing his self-will, and on things of the
world. He left the world in body, but remained there in his affections, and because
obedience seems wearisome to him he wishes to disobey in order to avoid
weariness; whereby he arrives at the greatest weariness of all, for he is obliged to
obey either by force or by love, and it would have been better and less wearisome to
have obeyed by love than without it. Oh! how deluded he is, and no one else
deceives him but himself. Wishing to please himself he only gives himself
displeasure, for the actions which he will have to do, through the obedience
imposed on him, do not please him. He wishes to enjoy delights and make this life
his eternity, but the order wishes him to be a pilgrim, and continually proves it to
him; for when he is in a nice pleasant resting place, where he would like to remain
for the pleasures and delights he finds there, he is transferred elsewhere, and the
change gives him pain, for his will was active against his obedience, and yet he is
obliged to endure the discipline and labors of the order, and thus remains in
continual torment. See, therefore, how he deludes himself; for, wishing to fly pain,
he on the contrary falls into it, for his blindness does not let him know the road of
true obedience, which is a road of truth founded by the obedient Lamb, My only-
begotten Son, who removed pain from it, so that he walks by the road of lies,
believing that he will find delight there, but finding on the contrary pain and
bitterness. Who is his guide? Self-love, that is his own passion for disobedience.
Such a man thinks like a fool to navigate this tempestuous sea, with the strength of
his own arms, trusting in his own miserable knowledge, and will not navigate it in
the arms of his order, and of his superior. Such a one is indeed in the ship of the
order in body, and not in mind; he has quitted it in desire, not observing the
regulations or customs of the order, nor the three vows which he promised to
observe at the time of his profession; he swims in the tempestuous sea, tossed to
and fro by contrary winds, fastened only to the ship by his clothes, wearing the
religious habit on his body but not on his heart. Such a one is no friar, but a
masquerader, a man only in appearance. His life is lower than an animal's, and he
does not see that he labors more swimming with his arms, than the good religious
in the ship, or that he is in danger of eternal death; for if his clothes should be
suddenly torn from the ship, which will happen at the moment of death, he will
have no remedy. No, he does not see, for he has darkened his light with the cloud of
self-love, whence has come his disobedience, which prevents him seeing his misery,
wherefore he miserably deceives himself. What fruit is produced by this wretched
tree?
"The fruit of death, because the root of his affection is planted in pride, which he has
drawn from self-love. Wherefore everything that issues from this root -- flowers,
leaves, and fruit -- is corrupt, and the three boughs of this tree, which are obedience,
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poverty, and continence, which spring from the foot of the tree; that is, his affections
are corrupted. The leaves produced by this tree, which are his words, are so corrupt
that they would be out of place in the mouth of a ribald secular; and if he have to
preach My doctrine, he does so in polished terms, not simply, as one who should
feed souls with the seed of My Word, but with eloquent language. Look at the
stinking flowers of this tree, which are his diverse and various thoughts, which he
voluntarily welcomes with delight and pleasure, not flying the occasions of them,
but rather seeking them in order to be able to accomplish a sinful act, the which is
the fruit which kills him, depriving him of the light of grace, and giving him
eternal death. And what stench comes from this fruit, sprung from the flowers of
the tree? The stench of disobedience, for, in the secret of his heart, he wishes to
examine and judge unfaithfully his superior's will; a stench of impurity, for he
takes delight in many foul conversations, wretchedly tempting his penitents.
"Wretch that you are, do you not see that under the color of devotion you conceal a
troop of children? This comes from your disobedience. You have not chosen the
virtues for your children as does the truly obedient religious; you strive to deceive
your superior when you see that he denies you something which your perverse will
desires, using the leaves of smooth or rough words, speaking irreverently and
reproving him. You can not endure your brother, nor even the smallest word and
reproof which he may make to you, but in such a case you immediately bring forth
the poisoned fruit of anger and hatred against him, judging that to be done to your
hurt which was done for your good, and thus taking scandal, your soul and body
living in pain. Why has your brother displeased you? Because you live for your own
sensual pleasure, you fly your cell as if it were a prison, for you have abandoned the
cell of self-knowledge, and thus fallen into disobedience, wherefore you can not
remain in your material cell. You will not appear in the refectory against your will
whilst you have anything to spend; when you have nothing left necessity takes you
there.
"Therefore the obedient have done well, who have chosen to observe their vow of
poverty, so that they have nothing to spend, and therefore are not led away from the
sweet table of the refectory, where obedience nourishes both body and soul in peace
and quiet. The obedient religious does not think of laying a table, or of providing
food for himself like this wretched man, to whose taste it is painful to eat in the
refectory, wherefore he avoids it; he is always the last to enter the choir, and the first
to leave it; with his lips he approaches Me, with his heart he is far from Me. He
gladly escapes from the chapter-house when he can through fear of penance. When
he is obliged to be there, he is covered with shame and confusion for the faults
which he felt it no shame to commit. What is the cause of this? Disobedience. He
does not watch in prayer, and not only does he omit mental prayer, but even the
Divine office to which he is obliged. He has no fraternal charity, because he loves no
one but himself, and that not with a reasonable but with a bestial love. So great are
the evils which fall on the disobedient; so many are the fruits of sorrow which he
produces, that your tongue could not relate them. Oh! disobedience, which deprives
the soul of the light of obedience, destroying peace, and giving war! Disobedience
destroys life and gives death, drawing the religious out of the ship of the observance
of his order, to drown him in the sea, making him swim in the strength of his own
arms, and not repose on those of the order. Disobedience clothes him with every
misery, causes him to die of hunger, taking away from him the food of the merit of
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obedience, it gives him continual bitterness, depriving him of every sweetness and
good, causing him to dwell with every evil in life it gives him the earnest of cruel
torments to endure, and if he do not amend before his clothes are loosened from the
ship at death, disobedience will lead the soul to eternal damnation, together with
the devils who fell from heaven, because they rebelled against Me. In the same way
have you, oh! disobedient man, having rebelled against obedience and cast from you
the key which would have opened the door of heaven, opened instead the door of
hell with the key of disobedience."
How God does not reward merit according to the labor of the obedient, nor
        according to the length of time which it takes, but according to the love and
        promptitude of the truly obedient; and of the miracles which God has
        performed by means of this virtue; and of discretion in obedience, and of the
        works and reward of the truly obedient man.
"I have appointed you all to labor in the vineyard of obedience in different ways,
and every man will receive a price, according to the measure of his love, and not
according to the work he does, or the length of time for which he works, that is to
say, that he who comes early will not have more than he who comes late, as My
Truth told you in the holy gospel by the example of those who were standing idle
and were sent by the lord of the vineyard to labor; for he gave as much to those who
went at dawn, as to those who went at prime or at tierce, and those who went at sext,
at none, and even at vespers, received as much as the first: My Truth showing you
in this way that you are rewarded not according to time or work, but according to the
measure of your love. Many are placed in their childhood to work in the vineyard;
some enter later in life, and others in old age; sometimes these latter labor with such
fire of love, seeing the shortness of the time, that they rejoin those who entered in
their childhood, because they have advanced but slowly. By love of obedience, then,
does the soul receive her merit, filling the vessel of her heart in Me, the Sea Pacific.
There are many whose obedience is so prompt, and has become, as it were, so
incarnate in them, that not only do they wish to see reason in what is ordered them
by their superior, but they hardly wait until the word is out of his mouth, for with
the light of faith they understand his intention. Wherefore the truly obedient man
obeys rather the intention than the word, judging that the will of his superior is
fixed in My will, and that therefore his command comes from My dispensation, and
from My will, wherefore I say to you that he rather obeys the intention than the
word. He also obeys the word, having first spiritually obeyed in affection his
superior's will, seeing and judging it by the light of faith to be Mine. This is well
shown in the lives of the fathers, where you read of a religious, who at once obeyed
in his affection the command of his superior, commencing to write the letter o,
though he had not space to finish it; wherefore to show how pleasing his prompt
obedience was to Me, My clemency gave him a proof by writing the other half of the
letter in gold. This glorious virtue is so pleasing to Me, that to no other have I given
so many miraculous signs and testimonies, for it proceeds from the height of faith.
"In order to show how pleasing it is to Me, the earth obeys this virtue, the animals
obey it -- water grows solid under the feet of the obedient man. And as for the
obedience of the earth, you remember having read of that disciple who, being given
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a dry stick by his abbot, and being ordered by obedience to plant it in the earth and
water it every day, did not proceed to ask how could it possibly do any good, but,
without inquiring about possibilities, he fulfilled his obedience in such virtue of
faith that the dry wood brought forth leaves and fruits, as a sign that that soul had
risen from the dryness of disobedience, and, covered by the green leaves of virtue,
had brought forth the fruit of obedience, wherefore the fruit of this tree was called by
the holy fathers the fruit of obedience. You will also find that animals obey the
obedient man; for a certain disciple, commanded by obedience, through his purity
and virtue caught a dragon and brought it to his abbot, but the abbot, like a true
physician of the soul, in order that he might not be tossed about by the wind of
vainglory, and to prove his patience, sent him away with harsh words, saying: 'Beast
that you are, you have brought along another beast with yourself.' And as to fire,
you have read in the holy scripture that many were placed in the fire, rather than
transgress My obedience, and, at My command were not hurt by it. This was the case
of the three children, who remained happily in the furnace -- and of many others of
whom I could tell you. The water bore up Maurus who had been sent by obedience
to save a drowning disciple; he did not think of himself, but thought only with the
light of faith of how to fulfill the command of his superior, and so walked upon the
water as if he had been on dry land, and so saved the disciple. In everything, if you
open the eye of the intellect, you will find shown forth the excellence of this virtue.
Everything else should be abandoned for the sake of obedience. If you were lifted up
in such contemplation and union of mind with Me, that your body was raised from
the earth, and an obedience were imposed on you (speaking generally, and not in a
particular case, which cannot give a law), you ought, if possible, to force yourself to
arise, to fulfill the obedience imposed on you, though you should never leave
prayer, except for necessity, charity, or obedience. I say this in order that you may see
how prompt I wish the obedience of My servants to be, and how pleasing it is to Me.
Everything that the obedient man does is a source of merit to him. If he eats,
obedience is his food; if he sleeps, his dreams are obedience; if he walks, if he
remains still, if he fasts, if he watches -- everything that he does is obedience; if he
serve his neighbor, it is obedience that he serves. How is he guided in the choir, in
the refectory, or his cell? By obedience, with the light of the most holy faith, with
which light he has slain and cast from him his humbled self-will, and abandoned
himself with self-hatred to the arms of his order and superior. Reposing with
obedience in the ship, allowing himself to be guided by his superior, he has
navigated the tempestuous sea of this life, with calm and serene mind and
tranquillity of heart, because obedience and faith have taken all darkness from him;
he remains strong and firm, having lost all weakness and fear, having destroyed his
own will, from which comes all feebleness and disordinate fear. And what is the
food of this spouse obedience? She eats knowledge of self, and of Me, knowing her
own non-existence and sinfulness, and knowing that I am He who is, thus eating
and knowing My Truth in the Incarnate Word. What does she drink? The Blood, in
which the Word has shown her, My Truth, and the ineffable love which I have for
her, and the obedience imposed on Him by Me, His Eternal Father, so she becomes
inebriated with the love and obedience of the Word, losing herself and her own
opinions and knowledge, and possessing Me by grace, tasting Me by love, with the
light of faith in holy obedience.
                                             133
"The obedient man speaks words of peace all his life, and at his death receives that
which was promised him at his death by his superior, that is to say, eternal life, the
vision of peace, and of supreme and eternal tranquillity and rest, the inestimable
good which no one can value or understand, for, being the infinite good, it cannot
be understood by anything smaller than itself, like a vessel, which, dipped into the
sea, does not comprehend the whole sea, but only that quantity which it contains.
The sea alone contains itself. So I, the Sea Pacific, am He who alone can comprehend
and value Myself truly. And in My own estimate and comprehension of Myself I
rejoice, and this joy, the good which I have in Myself, I share with you, and with all,
according to the measure of each. I do not leave you empty, but fill you, giving you
perfect beatitude; each man comprehends and knows My goodness in the measure
in which it is given to him. Thus, then, the obedient man, with the light of faith in
the truth burning in the furnace of charity, anointed with humility, inebriated with
the Blood, in company with his sister patience, and with self-contempt, fortitude,
and enduring perseverance, and all the other virtues (that is, with the fruit of the
virtues), receives his end from Me, his Creator."
This is a brief repetition of the entire book.
"I have now, oh dearest and best beloved daughter, satisfied from the beginning to
the end your desire concerning obedience.
"If you remember well, you made four petitions of Me with anxious desire, or rather
I caused you to make them in order to increase the fire of My love in your soul: one
for yourself, which I have satisfied, illuminating you with My Truth, and showing
you how you may know this truth which you desired to know; explaining to you
how you might come to the knowledge of it through the knowledge of yourself and
Me, through the light of faith. The second request you made of Me was that I should
do mercy to the world. In the third you prayed for the mystical body of the holy
Church, that I would remove darkness and persecutions from it, punishing its
iniquities at own desire in your person. As to this I explained that no penalty
inflicted in finite time can satisfy for a sin committed against Me, the Infinite Good,
unless it is united with the desire of the soul and contrition of the heart. How this is
to be done I have explained to you. I have also told you that I wish to do mercy to
the world, proving to you that mercy is My special attribute, for through the mercy
and the inestimable love which I had for man, I sent to the earth the Word, My
only-begotten Son, whom, that you might understand things quite clearly, I
represented to you under the figure of a Bridge, reaching from earth to heaven,
through the union of My divinity with your human nature.
"I also showed you, to give you further light concerning My truth, how this Bridge
is built on three steps; that is, on the three powers of the soul. These three steps I
also represented to you, as you know, under figures of your body -- the feet, the side,
and the mouth -- by which I also figured three states of soul -- the imperfect state,
the perfect state, and the most perfect state, in which the soul arrives at the
excellence of unitive love. I have shown you clearly in each state the means of
cutting away imperfection and reaching perfection, and how the soul may know by
which road she is walking and of the hidden delusions of the devil and of spiritual
self-love. Speaking of these three states I have also spoken of the three judgments
                                            134
which My clemency delivers -- one in this life, the second at death on those who die
in mortal sin without hope, of whom I told you that they went under the Bridge by
the Devil's road, when I spoke to you of their wretchedness. And the third is that of
the last and universal judgment. And I who told you somewhat of the suffering of
the damned and the glory of the blessed, when all shall have reassumed their bodies
given by Me, also promised you, and now again I repeat my promise, that through
the long endurance of My servants I will reform My spouse. Wherefore I invite you
to endure, Myself lamenting with you over her iniquities. And I have shown you
the excellence of the ministers I have given her, and the reverence in which I wish
seculars to hold them, showing you the reason why their reverence towards My
ministers should not diminish on account of the sins of the latter, and how
displeasing to me is such diminution of reverence; and of the virtue of those who
live like angels. And while speaking to you on this subject, I also touched on the
excellence of the sacraments. And further wishing you to know of the states of tears
and whence they proceed, I spoke to you on the subject and told you that all tears
issue from the fountain of the heart, and pointed out their causes to you in order.
"I told you not only of the four states of tears, but also of the fifth, which germinates
death. I have also answered your fourth request, that I would provide for the
particular case of an individual; I have provided as you know. Further than this, I
have explained My providence to you, in general and in particular, showing you
how everything is made by divine providence, from the first beginning of the world
until the end, giving you and permitting everything to happen to you, both
tribulations and consolations temporal and spiritual, and every circumstance of
your life for your good, in order that you may be sanctified in Me, and My Truth be
fulfilled in you, which truth is that I created you in order to possess eternal life, and
manifested this with the blood of My only-begotten Son, the Word.
"I have also in My last words fulfilled your desire and My promise to speak of the
perfection of obedience and the imperfection of disobedience; and how obedience
can be obtained and how destroyed. I have shown it to you as a universal key, and so
it is. I have also spoken to you of particular obedience, and of the perfect and
imperfect, and of those in religion, and of those in the world, explaining the
condition of each distinctly to you, and of the peace given by obedience, and the war
of disobedience, and how the disobedient man is deceived, showing you how death
came into the world by the disobedience of Adam, and how I, the Eternal Father,
supreme and eternal Truth, give you this conclusion of the whole matter, that in
the obedience of the only-begotten Word, My Son, you have life, and as from that
first old man you contracted the infection of death, so all of you who will take the
key of obedience have contracted the infection of the life of the new Man, sweet
Jesus, of whom I made a Bridge, the road to Heaven being broken. And now I urge
you and My other servants to grief, for by your grief and humble and continual
prayer I will do mercy to the world. Die to the world and hasten along this way of
truth, so as not to be taken prisoner if you go slowly. I demand this of you now more
than at first, for now I have manifested to you My Truth. Beware that you never
leave the cell of self-knowledge, but in this cell preserve and spend the treasure
which I have given you, which is a doctrine of truth founded upon the living stone,
sweet Christ Jesus, clothed in light which scatters darkness, with which doctrine
clothe yourself, My best beloved and sweetest daughter, in the truth."
                                           135
How this most devout soul, thanking and praising God, makes prayer for the whole
        world and for the Holy Church, and commending the virtue of faith brings
        this work to an end.
Then that soul, having seen with the eye of the intellect, and having known by the
light of holy faith the truth and excellence of obedience, hearing and tasting it with
love and ecstatic desire, gazed upon the divine majesty and gave thanks to Him,
saying, "Thanks, thanks to You, oh eternal Father, for You have not despised me,
the work of Your hands, nor turned Your face from me, nor despised my desires;
You, the Light, have not regarded my darkness; You, true Life, have not regarded
my living death; You, the Physician, have not been repelled by my grave infirmities;
You, the eternal Purity, have not considered the many miseries of which I am full;
You, who are the Infinite, have overlooked that I am finite; You, who are Wisdom,
have overlooked my folly; Your wisdom, Your goodness, Your clemency, Your
infinite good, have overlooked these infinite evils and sins, and the many others
which are in me. Having known the truth through Your clemency, I have found
Your charity, and the love of my neighbor. What has constrained me? Not my
virtues, but only Your charity. May that same charity constrain You to illuminate
the eye of my intellect with the light of faith, so that I may know and understand the
truth which You have manifested to me. Grant that my memory may be capable of
retaining Your benefits, that my will may burn in the fire of Your charity, and may
that fire so work in me that I give my body to blood, and that by that blood given for
love of the Blood, together with the key of obedience, I may unlock the door of
Heaven. I ask this of You with all my heart, forevery rational creature, both in
general and in particular, in the mystical body of the holy Church. I confess and do
not deny that You loved me before I existed, and that Your love for me is ineffable,
as if You were mad with love for Your creature. Oh, eternal Trinity! oh Godhead!
which Godhead gave value to the Blood of Your Son, You, oh eternal Trinity, are a
deep Sea, into which the deeper I enter the more I find, and the more I find the
more I seek; the soul cannot be satiated in Your abyss, for she continually hungers
after You, the eternal Trinity, desiring to see You with light in Your light. As the
hart desires the spring of living water, so my soul desires to leave the prison of this
dark body and see You in truth. How long, oh! Eternal Trinity, fire and abyss of love,
will Your face be hidden from my eyes? Melt at once the cloud of my body. The
knowledge which You have given me of Yourself in Your truth, constrains me to
long to abandon the heaviness of my body, and to give my life for the glory and
praise of Your Name, for I have tasted and seen with the light of the intellect in
Your light, the abyss of You -- the eternal Trinity, and the beauty of Your creature,
for, looking at myself in You, I saw myself to be Your image, my life being given me
by Your power, oh! eternal Father, and Your wisdom, which belongs to Your only-
begotten Son, shining in my intellect and my will, being one with Your Holy Spirit,
who proceeds from You and Your Son, by whom I am able to love You. You, Eternal
Trinity, are my Creator, and I am the work of Your hands, and I know through the
new creation which You have given me in the blood of Your Son, that You are
enamored of the beauty of Your workmanship. Oh! Abyss, oh! Eternal Godhead, oh!
Sea Profound! what more could You give me than Yourself; You are the fire which
ever burns without being consumed; You consume in Your heat all the soul's self-
                                             136
love; You are the fire which takes away all cold; with Your light You do illuminate
me so that I may know all Your truth; You are that light above all light, which
illuminates supernaturally the eye of my intellect, clarifying the light of faith so
abundantly and so perfectly, that I see that my soul is alive, and in this light receives
You -- the true light. By the Light of faith I have acquired wisdom in the wisdom of
the Word -- Your only-begotten Son. In the light of faith I am strong, constant, and
persevering. In the light of faith I hope, suffer me not to faint by the way. This light,
without which I should still walk in darkness, teaches me the road, and for this I
said, Oh! Eternal Father, that You have illuminated me with the light of holy faith.
Of a truth this light is a sea, for the soul revels in You, Eternal Trinity, the Sea
Pacific. The water of the sea is not turbid, and causes no fear to the soul, for she
knows the truth; it is a deep which manifests sweet secrets, so that where the light of
Your faith abounds, the soul is certain of what she believes. This water is a magic
mirror into which You, the Eternal Trinity, bid me gaze, holding it with the hand of
love, that I may see myself, who am Your creature, there represented in You, and
Yourself in me through the union which You made of Your godhead with our
humanity. For this light I know to represent to myself You -- the Supreme and
Infinite Good, Good Blessed and Incomprehensible, Good Inestimable. Beauty above
all beauty; Wisdom above all wisdom -- for You are wisdom itself. You, the food of
the angels, have given Yourself in a fire of love to men; You, the garment which
covers all our nakedness, feed the hungry with Your sweetness. Oh! Sweet, without
any bitter, oh! Eternal Trinity, I have known in Your light, which You have given
me with the light of holy faith, the many and wonderful things You have declared
to me, explaining to me the path of supreme perfection, so that I may no longer
serve You in darkness, but with light, and that I may be the mirror of a good and
holy life, and arise from my miserable sins, for through them I have hitherto served
You in darkness. I have not known Your truth and have not loved it. Why did I not
know You? Because I did not see You with the glorious light of the holy faith;
because the cloud of self-love darkened the eye of my intellect, and You, the Eternal
Trinity, have dissipated the darkness with Your light. Who can attain to Your
Greatness, and give You thanks for such immeasurable gifts and benefits as You
have given me in this doctrine of truth, which has been a special grace over and
above the ordinary graces which You give also to Your other creatures? You have
been willing to condescend to my need and to that of Your creatures -- the need of
introspection. Having first given the grace to ask the question, You reply to it, and
satisfy Your servant, penetrating me with a ray of grace, so that in that light I may
give You thanks. Clothe me, clothe me with You, oh! Eternal Truth, that I may run
my mortal course with true obedience and the light of holy faith, with which light I
feel that my soul is about to become inebriated afresh."
Letter of Ser Barduccio di Piero Canigiani, containing the Transit of the Seraphic
       Virgin, Saint Catherine of Siena, to Sister Catherine Petriboni in the
       Monastery of San Piero a Monticelli near Florence. In the Name of Jesus
       Christ.
Dearest Mother in Christ Jesus, and Sister in the holy memory of our blessed
mother Catherine, I, Barduccio, a wretched and guilty sinner, recommend myself to
your holy prayers as a feeble infant, orphaned by the death of so great a mother. I
                                             137
received your letter and read it with much pleasure, and communicated it to my
afflicted mothers here, who, supremely grateful for your great charity and tender
love towards them, recommend themselves greatly, for their part, to your prayers,
and beg you to recommend them to the Prioress and all the sisters that they may be
ready to do all that may be pleasing to God concerning themselves and you. But
since you, as a beloved and faithful daughter, desire to know the end of our
common mother, I am constrained to satisfy your desire; and although I know
myself to be but little fitted to give such a narration, I will write in any case what my
feeble eyes have seen, and what the dull senses of my soul have been able to
comprehend.
This blessed virgin and mother of thousands of souls, about the feast of the
Circumcision, began to feel so great a change both in soul and body, that she was
obliged to alter her mode of life, the action of taking food for her sustenance
becoming so loathsome to her, that it was only with the greatest difficulty that she
could force herself to take any, and, when she did so, she swallowed nothing of the
substance of the food, but had the habit of rejecting it. Moreover, not one drop of
water could she swallow for refreshment, whence came to her a most violent and
tedious thirst, and so great an inflammation of her throat that her breath seemed to
be fire, with all which, however, she remained in very good health, robust and fresh
as usual. In these conditions we reached Sexagesima Sunday, when, about the hour
of vespers, at the time of her prayer, she had so violent a stroke that from that day
onwards she was no longer in health. Towards the night of the following Monday,
just after I had written a letter, she had another stroke so terrific, that we all
mourned her as dead, remaining under it for a long time without giving any sign of
life. Then, rising, she stood for an equal space of time, and did not seem the same
person as she who had fallen.
From that hour began new travail and bitter pains in her body, and, Lent having
arrived, she began, in spite of her infirmity, to give herself with such application of
mind to prayer that the frequency of the humble sighs and sorrowful plaints which
she exhaled from the depth of her heart appeared to us a miracle. I think, too, that
you know that her prayers were so fervent that one hour spent in prayer by her
reduced that dear tender frame to greater weakness than would be suffered by one
who should persist for two whole days in prayer. Meanwhile, every morning, after
communion, she arose from the earth in such a state that any one who had seen her
would have thought her dead, and was thus carried back to bed. Thence, after an
hour or two, she would arise afresh, and we would go to St. Peter's, although a good
mile distant, where she would place herself in prayer, so remaining until vespers,
finally returning to the house so worn out that she seemed a corpse.
These were her exercises up till the third Sunday in Lent, when she finally
succumbed, conquered by the innumerable sufferings, which daily increased, and
consumed her body, and the infinite afflictions of the soul which she derived from
the consideration of the sins which she saw being committed against God, and from
the dangers ever more grave to which she knew the Holy Church to be exposed, on
account of which she remained greatly overcome, and both internally and externally
tormented. She lay in this state for eight weeks, unable to lift her head, and full of
intolerable pains, from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head, to such an
extent that she would often say: "These pains are truly physical, but not natural; for
                                            138
it seems that God has given permission to the devils to torment this body at their
pleasure." And, in truth, it evidently was so; for, if I were to attempt to explain the
patience which she practiced, under this terrible and unheard-of agony, I should fear
to injure, by my explanations, facts which cannot be explained. This only will I say,
that, every time that a new torment came upon her, she would joyously raise her
eyes and her heart to God and say: "Thanks to You, oh eternal Spouse, for granting
such graces afresh every day to me, Your miserable and most unworthy handmaid!"
In this way her body continued to consume itself until the Sunday before the
Ascension; but by that time it was reduced to such a state that it seemed like a corpse
in a picture, though I speak not of the face, which remained ever angelical and
breathed forth devotion, but of the bosom and limbs, in which nothing could be
seen but the bones, covered by the thinnest skin, and so feeble was she from the
waist downwards that she could not move herself, even a little, from one side to
another. In the night preceding the aforesaid Sunday, about two hours or more
before dawn, a great change was produced in her, and we thought that she was
approaching the end. The whole family was then called around her, and she, with
singular humility and devotion, made signs to those who were standing near that
she desired to receive Holy Absolution for her faults and the pains due to them, and
so it was done. After which she became gradually reduced to such a state that we
could observe no other movement than her breathing, continuous, sad, and feeble.
On account of this it seemed right to give her extreme unction, which our abbot of
Sant' Antimo did, while she lay as it were deprived of feeling.
After this unction she began altogether to change, and to make various signs with
her head and her arms as if to show that she was suffering from grave assaults of
demons, and remained in this calamitous state for an hour and a half, half of which
time having been passed in silence, she began to say: "I have sinned! Oh Lord, have
mercy on me!" And this, as I believe, she repeated more than sixty times, raising
each time her right arm, and then letting it fall and strike the bed. Then, changing
her words, she said as many times again, but without moving her arms, "Holy God,
have mercy on me!" Finally she employed the remainder of the above-mentioned
time with many other formulas of prayer both humble and devout, expressing
various acts of virtue, after which her face suddenly changed from gloom to angelic
light, and her tearful and clouded eyes became serene and joyous, in such a manner
that I could not doubt that, like one saved from a deep sea, she was restored to
herself, which circumstance greatly mitigated the grief of her sons and daughters
who were standing around in the affliction you can imagine.
Catherine had been lying on the bosom of Mother Alessia and now succeeded in
rising, and with a little help began to sit up, leaning against the same mother. In the
meantime we had put before her eyes a pious picture, containing many relics and
various pictures of the saints. She, however, fixed her eyes on the image of the cross
set in it, and began to adore it, explaining, in words, certain of her most profound
feelings of the goodness of God, and while she prayed, she accused herself in general
of all her sins in the sight of God, and, in particular, said: "It is my fault, oh eternal
Trinity, that I have offended You so miserably with my negligence, ignorance,
ingratitude, and disobedience, and many other defects. Wretch that I am! for I have
not observed Your commandments, either those which are given in general to all,
or those which Your goodness laid upon me in particular! Oh mean creature that I
                                          139
am!" Saying which, she struck her breast, repeating her confession, and continued:
"I have not observed Your precept, with which You commanded me to seek always
to give You honor, and to spend myself in labors for my neighbor, while I, on the
contrary, have fled from labors, especially where they were necessary. Did You not
command me, oh, my God! to abandon all thought of myself and to consider solely
the praise and glory of Your Name in the salvation of souls, and with this food
alone, taken from the table of the most holy Cross, to comfort myself? But I have
sought my own consolation. You did ever invite me to bind myself to You alone by
sweet, loving, and fervent desires, by tears and humble and continuous prayers for
the salvation of the whole world and for the reformation of the holy Church,
promising me that, on account of them, You would use mercy with the world, and
give new beauty to Your Spouse; but I, wretched one, have not corresponded with
Your desire, but have remained asleep in the bed of negligence.
"Oh, unhappy that I am! You have placed me in charge of souls, assigning to me so
many beloved sons, that I should love them with singular love and direct them to
You by the way of Life, but I have been to them nothing but a mirror of human
weakness; I have had no care of them; I have not helped them with continuous and
humble prayer in Your presence, nor have I given them sufficient examples of the
good life or the warnings of salutary doctrine. Oh, mean creature that I am! with
how little reverence have I received Your innumerable gifts, the graces of such
sweet torments and labors which it pleased You to accumulate on this fragile body,
nor have I endured them with that burning desire and ardent love with which You
sent them to me. Alas! oh, my Love, through Your excessive goodness You chose
me for Your spouse, from the beginning of my childhood, but I was not faithful
enough; in fact, I was unfaithful to You, because I did not keep my memory faithful
to You alone and to Your most high benefits; nor have I fixed my intelligence on the
thought of them only or disposed my will to love You immediately with all its
strength."
Of these and many other similar things did that pure dove accuse herself, rather, as I
think, for our example than for her own need, and then, turning to the priest, said:
"For the love of Christ crucified, absolve me of all these sins which I have confessed
in the presence of God, and of all the others which I cannot remember." That done,
she asked again for the plenary indulgence, saying that it had been granted her by
Pope Gregory and Pope Urban, saying this as one an hungered for the Blood of
Christ. So I did what she asked, and she, keeping her eyes ever fixed on the crucifix,
began afresh to adore it with the greatest devotion, and to say certain very profound
things which I, for my sins, was not worthy to understand, and also on account of
the grief with which I was laboring and the anguish with which her throat was
oppressed, which was so great that she could hardly utter her words, while we,
placing our ears to her mouth, were able to catch one or two now or again, passing
them on from one to the other. After this she turned to certain of her sons, who had
not been present at a memorable discourse, which, many days previously, she had
made to the whole family, showing us the way of salvation and perfection, and
laying upon each of us the particular task which he was to perform after her death.
She now did the same to these others, begging most humbly pardon of all for the
slight care which she seemed to have had of our salvation. Then she said certain
things to Lucio and to another, and finally to me, and then turned herself
straightway to prayer.
                                             140
Oh! had you seen with what humility and reverence she begged and received many
times the blessing of her most sorrowful mother, all that I can say is that it was a
bitter sweet to her. How full of tender affection was the spectacle of the mother,
recommending herself to her blessed child, and begging her to obtain a particular
grace from God -- namely, that in these melancholy circumstances she might not
offend Him. But all these things did not distract the holy virgin from the fervor of
her prayer; and, approaching her end, she began to pray especially for the Catholic
Church, for which she declared she was giving her life. She prayed again for Pope
Urban VI., whom she resolutely confessed to be the true Pontiff, and strengthened
her sons never to hesitate to give their life for that truth. Then, with the greatest
fervor, she besought all her beloved children whom the Lord had given her, to love
Him alone, repeating many of the words which our Savior used, when He
recommended the disciples to the Father, praying with such affection, that, at
hearing her, not only our hearts, but the very stones might have been broken.
Finally, making the sign of the cross, she blessed us all, and thus continued in prayer
to the end of her life for which she had so longed, saying: "You, oh Lord, call me,
and I come to You, not through my merits, but through Your mercy alone, which I
ask of You, in virtue of Your Blood!" and many times she called out: "Blood,
Blood!" Finally, after the example of the Savior, she said: "Father, into Your Hands I
commend my soul and my spirit," and thus sweetly, with a face all shining and
angelical, she bent her head, and gave up the ghost.
Her transit occurred on the Sunday at the hour of Sext, but we kept her unburied
until the hour of Compline on Tuesday, without any odor being perceptible, her
body remaining so pure, intact, and fragrant, that her arms, her neck and her legs
remained as flexible as if she were still alive. During those three days the body was
visited by crowds of people, and lucky he thought himself who was able to touch it.
Almighty God also worked many miracles in that time, which in my hurry I omit.
Her tomb is visited devoutly by the faithful, like those of the other holy bodies
which are in Rome, and Almighty God is granting many graces in the name of His
blessed spouse, and I doubt not that there will be many more, and we are made great
by hearing of them. I say no more. Recommend me to the Prioress and all the
sisters, for I have, at present, the greatest need of the help of prayer. May Almighty
God preserve you and help you to grow in His grace.

' Converted from a .pdf, by the author of this website.
Originally published in 1907 by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., London.
Scanned and edited by Harry Plantinga, [email protected], 1994.
The language has been modernized by replacing
the archaic singular with the modern equivalent.
This etext is in the public domain. '

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