The Dialogue

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 thee 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.

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" I say to thee 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 greater obligations to Him from whom he receives more.

" Man, then, was closely bound to Me through his being which I had 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 im posed on him, and became My enemy. And I, with My humility, destroyed his pride, humiliating the divine na ture, 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 redemp tion 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 neighbour, with true and genuine virtue, as I have said to thee above, and if they do not do it, the greater their debt, the greater will be the offence 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 they receive. Wherefore I say to thee, that they ask for death and cannot have it, for they

54 THE DIALOGUE OF ST. CATHERINE

cannot lose their being ; the existence of grace they lose, through their fault, but not their natural existence. There fore guilt is more gravely punished after the Redemption ol the Blood than before, because man received more ; but sinners neither seem to perceive this, nor to pay any atten tion 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. Thou seest, therefore, that thou hast bound Me with this bond which I have given thee, because I wished to do mercy to the world.

" Therefore I give My servants hunger and desire for My honour, and the salvation of souls, so that, constrained by their tears, I may mitigate the fury of My divine justice. Take, therefore, thy tears and thy sweat, drawn from the fountain of My divine love, and, with them, wash the face of My spouse.

" I promise thee, that, by this means, her beauty will be restored to her, not by the knife nor by cruelty, but peace fully, by humble and continued prayer, by the sweat and the tears shed by the fiery desire of My servants, and thus will I fulfil thy desire if thou, on thy part, endure much, casting the light of thy patience into the darkness of per verse man, not fearing the world's persecutions, for I will protect thee, and My Providence shall never fail thee in the slightest need."