The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage

...could never again return to her homeland and find atonement. » But when it seemed the right time to God, and he had compassion for the suffering of his beloved, he sent his only-begotten Son down to earth into a rich hall and a glorious temple—that was the body of the Virgin Mary. There he wedded himself to that bride, our nature, and united her with his person through the purest blood of the noble Virgin. The priest who married the bride was the Holy Spirit; the Angel Gabriel announced the marriage; the glorious Virgin gave her consent.

Thus Christ, our faithful bridegroom, has united our nature with himself and has sought us out in the foreign land; he has instructed us in heavenly customs and in perfect faithfulness. He has worked and fought like a champion Kämpe: a medieval term for a knightly fighter or combatant in a duel against our enemies; he has broken open the prison and won the battle, and he has killed our death with his own death. He has redeemed us with his blood and liberated us in baptism with his water, making us rich through his sacraments and his gifts: so that we may "go out" with all virtues (as he says) and go to meet him in the hall of glory, to enjoy him without end for eternity.

» Now speaks the Master of Truth, Christ: "Behold, the bridegroom comes, go out to meet him." original: "Sehet, der Bräutigam kommt, gehet aus, ihm entgegen." This central motif is taken from Matthew 25:6. With these words Christ, our lover, teaches us four things. With the first, he gives a command when he says: "Behold." Those who remain blind and do not heed this command are all damned. With the...