The eleventh revelation in the Book of Questions in which Christ speaks to his
bride, blessed Bridget, and tells her why and when he began to give her and pour
into her the words of the divine revelations in spiritual vision. And he tells her that
these words of the revelations, which are contained in these books, have principally
these four virtues: they are spiritually satisfying to anyone thirsting for true love,
they warm the cold, they cheer the troubled, and they heal sick souls.
The Son of God speaks: "A wholesome drink can be made with natural means,
such as cold iron and hard stone, a dry tree and a bitter herb. But how? Well, if steel
were to fall heavily upon a sulfurous mountain, then fire would come out of the
steel and ignite the mountain. Its heat would cause an olive tree planted nearby,
which is dry on the outside but is full of oil inside, to begin to flow so abundantly
that even bitter herbs planted at the foot of the olive tree would grow sweet, and
then a wholesome drink could be made from them.
This is a spiritual allegory of what I have done for you. Your heart was as cold
as steel toward my love, and yet a small spark of love for me was stirred up in it
when you began to think of me as worthy of all love and honor. But that heart of
yours then fell upon a sulfurous mountain, when the glory and delight of the world
turned against you and when your husband, whom you loved above all others in the
flesh, was taken away from you in death.
In truth, lusty pleasure and worldly delight are well compared to a sulfurous
mountain, since they have within themselves the swelling of the spirit and the
stench of concupiscence and the fire of punishment. And when your soul was
gravely pierced with disturbance at the death of your husband, then the spark of my
love, which lay as though hidden and enclosed, began to go forth, for, having
considered the vanity of the world, you surrendered your whole will to me and
desired me above all things. Because of that spark of love, you developed a taste
for the dry olive tree, that is, for the words of the Gospels and the discourse of
those learned men of mine, and abstinence so pleased you that everything that
previously seemed bitter began to become sweet for you.
And when the olive tree began to flow and the words of my revelations came
down upon you in Spirit, somebody standing on the mountain cried out, saying: 'By
this drink thirst is slaked, the cold are warmed, the troubled are cheered, the infirm
recover.' I myself, God, am the one who cries out. My words, which you hear from
me frequently in spiritual vision, are like a good drink satisfying to those who thirst
for true love; second, they warm the cold; third, they cheer the troubled; fourth,
they heal those who are weak in soul."
Revelations and Prophecies Imparted to St. Bridget
