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Memling, nuns (image modified) |
LIBRI VISIONEM TERTIUS
The nun, Elizabeth of Schonau (d.
1164), tells that one Christmas night,
during a vision, she asked the Virgin Mary about this, at the
instigation of her brother Egbert of Schonau, a Benedictine:
"...in accordance with the counsel I had received
from my brother who at
that very moment was celebrating the office at our convent, I addressed
her in this fashion: 'My Lady, I beg of you, kindly reveal to me
something concerning the great doctor of the church, Origen, who in so many places in his works has sung your praises so magnificently. Is he
saved or not? For the Catholic Church condemns him because of the many
heresies found in his writings.'
To which she answered in these words:
It is not the
Lord's intention that much be revealed to you at this
point. Know only that Origen's error did not come from bad will; it came
from the excess of fervor with which he plunged into the depths of the
Holy Scriptures he loved, and the divine mysteries which he was wont to scrutinize to an excessive degree. For this reason the punishment he is
undergoing is not severe. And because of the glory his writings have given to me, he is illuminated by a very special light on each feast
commemorating me. As for what will happen to him on the last day, that must not be revealed to you, but must remain hidden among the divine
secrets."
This Webpage was created for a workshop held at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California in 2001