‘The Book of Questions’ – St. Birgitta of Sweden – Interrogations 5 & 6
[Saint Bridget of Sweden – XIV Century AD; Uppland, Sweden/Rome, Papal States; Patron Saint of Europe, Widow, Mystic, Spiritual Writer]
Interrogation 5
First question. Again the monk appeared on his ladder as before saying: ”O Judge, why did you create worms that are harmful and useless?”
Second question. ”Why did you create wild beasts that are also harmful to humankind?”
Third question. ”Why do you let sickness and pain into bodies?”
Fourth question. ”Why do you endure the wickedness of wicked judges who scourge and harass their underlings like purchased slaves?”
Fifth question. ”Why is the human body afflicted even at the point of death?”
Answer to the first question. The Judge answered: ”Friend, as God and Judge I have created heaven and earth and all that are in them, and yet nothing without cause nor without some likeness to spiritual things. Just as the souls of holy people resemble the holy angels who live and are happy, so too the souls of the unrighteous become like the …More
"Answer to the third question. ”As to why sickness comes upon the body, I answer that this happens both as a strong warning and because of the vice of incontinence and excess, in order that people may learn spiritual moderation and patience by restraining the flesh.”
Answer to the fourth question. ”As to why wicked judges are tolerated, this is for the purification of others and also because of my patience, in order that, just as gold is purified by fire, so too, by the evil of scoundrels, souls may be purified and instructed and held back from doing what they should not do. Furthermore, I patiently tolerate the wicked so as to separate the devil's chaff from the wheat of the good, and in order to fulfill their wishes according to my hidden, divine justice.”
Answer to the fourth question. ”As to why death comes so unexpectedly, I answer: If someone were to know the time of his or her death, he or she would serve me out of fear and would succumb out of sorrow. Accordingly, in order that people may serve me out of love and always be anxious about themselves but sure of me, the hour of their departure is uncertain, and rightly so. When humankind forsook that which was certain and true, it was needful and right for them to be afflicted by uncertainty.”
One more comment from In Principio
Answer to third question. ”As to why disease and hunger come, I answer: It is written in the law that one who commits theft should repay more than he has taken. Since ungrateful people receive my gifts and misuse them and do not pay me my due honor, I therefore exact more bodily affliction in the present in order that their souls may be spared in the future. At times I also spare the body but punish people in and by means of that which they love, so that the person who would not acknowledge me when glad may receive knowledge indeed and understanding when afflicted.”