The Revelations of St. Birgitta of Sweden, Volume 3: Liber Caelestis, Books VI-VII

Description

St. Birgitta of Sweden (1303-1373, canonized 1391) was one of the most charismatic and influential female visionaries of the later Middle Ages. Altogether, she received some 700 revelations, dealing with subjects ranging from meditations on the human condition, domestic affairs in Sweden, and ecclesiastical matters in Rome, to revelations in praise of the Incarnation and devotion to the Virgin. Her Revelations, collected and ordered by her confessors, circulated widely throughout Europe and long after her death. Many eminent individuals, including Cardinal Juan Torquemada, Jean Gerson, and Martin Luther, read and commented on her writings, which influenced the spiritual lives of countless individuals. Birgitta was also the founder of a new monastic order, which still exists today. She is the patron saint of Sweden, and in 2000 was declared (with Catherine of Siena and Edith Stein) co-patroness of Europe. Birgitta's Revelations present her as a commanding and dauntless visionary who develops a contemplative mysticism that is always interwoven with social engagement and a commitment to the salvation of the world. The varied styles of her revelations are dominated by frequent juxtapositions of memorable images and allegories that illustrate her fierce and fertile imagination, her sharp powers of observation and understanding, and her passionate and receptive storytelling powers. This is the third and penultimate volume of the translation of the Revelations of St. Birgitta of Sweden, comprising the last part of the central canon, Books VI and VII. Book VI provides autobiographical and anecdotal information that covers the start of Birgitta's mystical life spent close to the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra, up to major revelations received later in Rome. With the editorial guidance of her confessor, Alfonso of Jaén, Book VII documents the thirty or so revelations received during Birgitta's pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1372; from Rome to Naples, Cyprus, Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and finally her return to Rome and her death shortly afterwards. The translation is based on the recently completed critical edition of the Latin text and promises to be the standard English translation of the Revelations for years to come. Cover Contents Abbreviations The Entire Birgittine Corpus BOOK VI Introduction CHAPTER 1 On Christ’s Physical Beauty CHAPTER 2 A Sick Man who Repented on his Deathbed Suffers in Purgatory CHAPTER 3 A Devil Tempts a Friar; In the Explanation a Witch Tempts a Priest CHAPTER 4 A Wise Man must Preach Boldly, Suffer Patiently, and Deal Justly CHAPTER 5 Christ Describes a Place Where the Wicked Torment their Brethren CHAPTER 6 Birgitta Has Shown Impatience CHAPTER 7 On a Deacon Who Must Work For the Conversion Of his Brethren CHAPTER 8 Some Monks Lived in a Worldly Fashion and Did Not Heed Birgitta’s Reproaches CHAPTER 9 On an Unrepentant Impious Priest; And on His Dreadful Death CHAPTER 10 On a Swedish Aristocrat in Purgatory; The Living May Still Make Amends on His Behalf CHAPTER 11 Everything Fell into Agitation At the Crucifixion CHAPTER 12 Mary is Like a Beehive CHAPTER 13 Three Resolutions CHAPTER 14 How Birgitta was Called to Follow Christ in Love CHAPTER 15 On the Greed and Ambition of Roman Priests, especially a priest of St. Peter’s Church CHAPTER 16 A Worldly Woman Undergoes Severe Punishment CHAPTER 17 The Devil Wants to Tempt Birgitta; Mary Wants to Protect Her CHAPTER 18 Consolation Disdained is Like a Drink Thrown in the Giver’s Face CHAPTER 19 On a Sinful Monk who Follows the Desires of the Flesh CHAPTER 20 One of Birgitta’s Kinsmen Must Improve his Lifestyle and Contemplate the Lord’s Passion; He is Converted and Dies CHAPTER 21 Punishment For a Man in Purgatory is Reduced CHAPTER 22 Advice For a Bishop Who Converts CHAPTER 23 The Virgin Mary Prays for a Nobleman Described as a Robber CHAPTER 24 The Same Man Must Atone For his Earlier Offenses CHAPTER 25 A Threat To the Same Man CHAPTER 26 The King should Work to Rebuild the Church CHAPTER 27 The Proud do not Heed God’s Commandments CHAPTER 28 A Soul is Described as a Stillborn Child and Condemned CHAPTER 29 Birgitta Should Receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist More Frequently CHAPTER 30 The Will is Like the Roots of a Tree that are Gnawed at By a Mole; God is Like a Skillful Gardener; Application of This to a Mendicant Prior CHAPTER 31 On the Fate of Two Souls: One a Worldly Knight Who Chooses to be Condemned to Hell, and the Other a Dominican Prior who Is Like a Shining Star CHAPTER 32 The Swedish People are Warned About the Young Viper and its Mother CHAPTER 33 An Allegory About an Adulterous Bride who Kills her Bridegroom CHAPTER 34 Two of Birgitta’s Friends are Given the Power of Exorcism; A Message for the Kings of France and England CHAPTER 35 On the Different Fates of the Prior and Another Dominican Friar CHAPTER 36 A Pentecost Vision About Three Vessels and A Man with Wine for Sale; A Swedish Cistercian is Promised a Reward CHAPTER 37 On the Proper Ways of Serving the Virgin CHAPTER 38 On the Effects of the Good and Bad Spirit CHAPTER 39 The Devil and the Virgin Dispute Over the Soul of a Knight; On his Fate in Purgatory CHAPTER 40 The Same Soul Enters Heaven After Purgation CHAPTER 41 A King of Sweden is Inclined to Pursue his Crusade for Worldly Reasons; On the Mentality of a Good Crusader CHAPTER 42 How Birgitta Can Learn to Love God More CHAPTER 43 How Birgitta Struggles to Obey her Spiritual Father, and On the Spiritual Weapons of Combat CHAPTER 44 Christ is like a Glass-Maker and a Bee; Christians are Undeserving of God’s Love; Heathens should Instead be Favored CHAPTER 45 On People’s Blindness and Belief In Fate and Fortune CHAPTER 46 Birgitta is Reassured About her Straightened Circumstances CHAPTER 47 Birgitta and God’s Friends must Proclaim God’s Word CHAPTER 48 People’s Different Ways of Responding to God’s Word CHAPTER 49 On the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin CHAPTER 50 On a Good Pagan’s Desire for God and Her Conversion CHAPTER 51 A Man is Advised how to Resist Worldly Pride and Success CHAPTER 52 The Punishments of Three Swedish Noblewomen, Representing Three Generations, are Described CHAPTER 53 On the Need for Humility Among Those in Authority CHAPTER 54 On a Sevenfold Road that Reawakens the True Faith CHAPTER 55 Mary Speaks of her Immaculate Conception CHAPTER 56 Mary Speaks of her Birth and Childhood CHAPTER 57 Mary’s Six Sufferings CHAPTER 58 Mary Describes Jesus’ Childhood and Adolescence CHAPTER 59 Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth, her Pregnancy, and her Life with Joseph CHAPTER 60 Mary Denies that St. Jerome Had Doubted her Assumption CHAPTER 61 Mary’s Life after Christ’s Ascension CHAPTER 62 Mary’s Assumption into Heaven CHAPTER 63 A Letter Addressed to Pope Clement VI CHAPTER 64 A Reprimand to Worldly People CHAPTER 65 Martha and Mary Symbolize the Virtues of the Active and the Contemplative Life CHAPTER 66 An Allegory about a Lord, his Wife, and their House and Servants; the Allegory Applies to a Deceased Man Suffering Punishment CHAPTER 67 On Three Ages of the World and the Coming of the Antichrist CHAPTER 68 On an Excommunicated Monk CHAPTER 69 A Certain Friar’s Abstinence is Driven by Pride rather than Humility CHAPTER 70 A Cardinal is Condemned to Eternal Torment for his Pride and Worldly Pleasures CHAPTER 71 Master Petrus may Give Absolution to Pilgrims in Rome CHAPTER 72 On Simony and Absolution by Parish Priests CHAPTER 73 A Penitentiary in Rome is Criticized, but his Remissions are still Valid CHAPTER 74 Birgitta Sees an Area Around St. Peter’s Church that Belongs to the Pope CHAPTER 75 A Squire Doubts the Preaching of Master Mathias; He Must be Steadfast CHAPTER 76 On the Superstitious Owner of a Farm CHAPTER 77 On a Monk Who Had Expressed Doubts Over the Crusades CHAPTER 78 Birgitta Stays at a Farm Where there are Evil Spirits and Teaches the Inhabitants how to be Free of the Spirits CHAPTER 79 On a Priest Who Had Administered the Sacraments Without Being Ordained; He Would be Saved on Account of His Repentance CHAPTER 80 On a Woman Possessed by a Devil CHAPTER 81 A Three-year-old Boy is Possessed by a Devil CHAPTER 82 The King Must Root out Fortune-Tellers CHAPTER 83 Gentiles will Outflank Christians in Piety CHAPTER 84 Birgitta Spends a Cold Night Outdoors CHAPTER 85 Ill-gotten Goods should not be Retained CHAPTER 86 Birgitta Sees a Living Lamb in the Eucharistic Host CHAPTER 87 Birgitta Experiences a Stench in the Presence of an Excommunicate CHAPTER 88 Birgitta Feels a Physical Stirring of her Heart CHAPTER 89 Master Mathias wishes to know whether the Book of the Apocalypse really was written by St. John CHAPTER 90 A Monk Doubts Birgitta’s Divine Vision, While Mathias Defends It CHAPTER 91 Birgitta is Instructed to Moderate her Asceticism CHAPTER 92 A Monk States in the Presence of the King that Birgitta is Deluded CHAPTER 93 A Woman Sees a Vision of St. Peter and Peter the Martyr on her Deathbed CHAPTER 94 On the Resurrection; and How Birgitta Should Deal with Temptations in Old Age CHAPTER 95 A Nobleman Named Israel Should not Reject a Position in Government; on his Death in Riga CHAPTER 96 The Burning of St. Peter’s Bells is a Sign of Clement VI’s Approaching Death CHAPTER 97 On a Lord who has Avoided Going to Confession CHAPTER 98 A Benedictine Abbess is Like a Fat Cow; Birgitta Later Sees her in Purgatory CHAPTER 99 The Nuns of a Convent are Chided for their Acquisitiveness CHAPTER 100 The Words Divinely Revealed to Birgitta will not Lose their Power CHAPTER 101 God’s Friends Must Speak the Words he Speaks through Birgitta CHAPTER 102 A Swedish Woman is Comforted on her Deathbed in Rome CHAPTER 103 St. Nicholas Appears to Birgitta in Bari CHAPTER 104 Birgitta Receives Some Relics of St. Anne CHAPTER 105 Birgitta is Encouraged to Visit the Shrines of Rome, But Not to Overlook her Latin Studies CHAPTER 106 On a Man Who should Spurn Worldly Things and Entrust Himself to God CHAPTER 107 Birgitta should Travel to Amalfi to the Relics of St. Andrew CHAPTER 108 St. Stephen Tells Birgitta About his Life and Martyrdom CHAPTER 109 A Message to an Ecclesiastic CHAPTER 110 On the Meaning of the Seven Thunders in the Apocalypse of St. John CHAPTER 111 On Obedience CHAPTER 112 On the Relic of Christ’s Foreskin CHAPTER 113 On the Fate of Thirty-Three Friars CHAPTER 114 Birgitta’s Confessor had Forgotten to Grant Absolution to Her CHAPTER 115 Concerning a Finn who Cannot Make Confession in his Own Language in Rome CHAPTER 116 Christ May Prefer an Unlearned Man to Many a Learned Theologian CHAPTER 117 On Mary’s Readiness to Help All CHAPTER 118 On the News of the Death of the Husband of Katherina, Birgitta’s Daughter CHAPTER 119 Virginity, Marriage,and Widowhood are All Praiseworthy States CHAPTER 120 Charity is Like a Tree of Virtues CHAPTER 121 On the Virtue of Obedience CHAPTER 122 A Woman is Encouraged to Moderate her Gestures in Public BOOK VII Introduction CHAPTER 1 The Virgin Tells Birgitta that She will go to Jerusalem and Bethlehem CHAPTER 2 An Angel Carries a Sword of Sorrow Before the Virgin CHAPTER 3 St. Francis Invites Birgitta to Eat and Drink with Him CHAPTER 4 The Relics of St. Thomas the Apostle are Preserved at Ortona CHAPTER 5 About a King’s Daughter in a House CHAPTER 6 Birgitta Is Told To Prepare To Go To Jerusalem CHAPTER 7 Advice to a Franciscan Friar and Comments on the Pope CHAPTER 8 A Continuation of the Preceding Revelation CHAPTER 9 Birgitta is Instructed to Go to Jerusalem CHAPTER 10 On the Celibacy of the Priesthood CHAPTER 11 A Revelation on Free Will; With an Addition Giving Advice to the Queen of Naples, and Other Revelations Relating to the People of Naples CHAPTER 12 Advice to the Archbishop of Naples for his Household and Diocese CHAPTER 13 The Struggle for Karl Ulfsson’s Soul CHAPTER 14 A Pardon to Pilgrims at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher CHAPTER 15 A Vision of the Crucifixion CHAPTER 16 Worldly Princes Need to be Attentive; Several Pieces of Advice to the Rulers of Cyprus CHAPTER 17 Birgitta Should Take Lodging in a Pilgrim Hostel Instead of a Monastery CHAPTER 18 Counsel for the Queen of Cyprus’s Son CHAPTER 19 The People of Cyprus Must Mend their Ways CHAPTER 20 A Franciscan Friar Asks About the Order of the Friars Minor and the Vow of Poverty CHAPTER 21 A Vision of the Nativity CHAPTER 22 A Reaffirmation of the Nativity Vision CHAPTER 23 The Virgin Shows the Christ Child to the Shepherds CHAPTER 24 The Virgin Tells Birgitta of the Visit of the Magi CHAPTER 25 The Virgin in Heaven Reflects on her Marriage to Joseph and her Status as Jesus’ Mother CHAPTER 26 Birgittta Visits the Sepulcher of the Virgin CHAPTER 27 A Message Urging the Citizens of Naples to Repent CHAPTER 28 The People of Naples Maltreat their Servants and Sanction Witchcraft CHAPTER 29 A Bishop Worries That He is too Often Absent From his Diocese CHAPTER 30 Christ in Majesty Bids all Ranks of People to Listen to his Message CHAPTER 31 A Prophecy of Birgitta’s Death, with Some Concluding Messages Bibliography General Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Z