Discover Saint Frances of Rome’s mystical visions of heaven, hell, and purgatory. In this excerpt, St. Frances sees the glorious Lamb of God and five rivers of virtue.
The Lamb of God
On one occasion, when Frances, the handmaid of Christ, had received the most holy Body of Christ, she was praying (as was her custom) in the Chapel of the Angels, in the Church of Saint Mary in Trastevere. Once again, her spirit was absorbed into a mystical rapture, while her body remained immobile in a trance-like state for a considerable period of time.
When later questioned by her spiritual director, Frances related that, in her spirit, she had been transported to a vast plain or field wonderfully illuminated with brilliant light. This field was of incredible beauty, its grass glowing with the rich verdure of a precious emerald. And in that field was a wondrous Lamb, whose fleece shone with a radiance exceeding that of the purest snow.
Standing close by this Lamb (which was very manifestly none other than the divine Lamb of God) was a noble youth of great delicacy and beauty. He wore upon his shoulders a garment resembling a dalmatic, and a crown woven from flowers and a laurel rested upon his head.
Surrounding the divine Lamb was also a chorus of other figures in human form, wearing beautiful vestments of a variety of colors and crowned with roses. These human figures (whom Frances recognized to be the souls of the saints) were paying devout homage to the Lamb and exulting jubilantly in its presence. The aforementioned youth, wearing the dalmatic, appeared to be leading all the others. As they passed before the Lamb, they would sing:
“Let us all the Lamb adore
With joyful hearts, forevermore;
Let us to His glory sing,
For He alone is King of Kings!
His love He promised to impart
To each and every humble heart:
This love is our supreme reward,
And this pure Lamb, our only Lord!”
The Five Rivulets
Frances perceived also that there were several streams or rivulets which flowed through this field of astonishing beauty. Each of these streams—which were five in number—was of a different color. The noble youth who was vested in a dalmatic led Frances, together with the chorus of the saints, to each of these rivulets in turn.
The Stream of Love
The first of them flowed with waters of rich red, which glowed with the roseate luster of a precious ruby. And the angelic youth here exclaimed, “Behold, this first ruby-hued rivulet represents the ardent and invincible love with which Christ redeemed the human race. For it was in the crimson stream of blood that flowed from His wounded side that salvation poured forth for the world!”
The Stream of Purity
The next stream was filled with a liquid of a milky white color, which shone like polished ivory or newly fallen snow. And the youth here said, “This second stream, of immaculate purity and untainted clarity, represents holy innocence. For it is innocence and purity of conscience alone which may ascend the holy mountain of God, to behold there the supreme goodness of the Creator!”
The Stream of Hope
The third stream flowed with waters of shimmering, verdant green. “These are the waters of hope,” exclaimed the youth, “for hope is the virtue which imparts vitality and fertility to all the good and perfect things for which love strives!”
The Stream of Obedience
The fourth stream was filled with waters of bright azure blue, resembling the color of the vault of heaven on a cloudless, sunlit day. The youth said, “This stream represents the virtue of holy obedience, which leads the soul on the gentle ways of righteousness, and which brings it finally to blessed and blissful union with the divine will.”
The Stream of Faith
The fifth stream was crystal clear and perfectly transparent without any hint of coloring at all, like a precious diamond without fault or flaw. “These transparent and clear waters are the stream of purified faith, unpolluted by any taint or cloud of doubt and fear, and as strong and inviolable as a faultless diamond. The soul that drinks of these waters of perfect faith and which immerses itself in their crystalline purity shall never be separated from the highest beatitude of divine glory!”
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This article is taken from a chapter in The Visions of Saint Frances of Rome by St. Frances of Rome which is available from TAN Books.
