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 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 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 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, 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."
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."
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, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
"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."
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