The Son of God speaks: "By means of natural things, a healthful drink can be made - namely, of cold iron and hard stone, of a dry tree and a bitter herb. But how? Certainly, if steel were to fall upon a sulphurous mountain with force, then fire would go forth from the steel to ignite the mountain. Out of its warmth, an olive tree planted nearby - outwardly dry but inwardly full of unction - would begin to flow so greatly that the bitter herb, planted at the olive's foot, would be sweetened by the downflow of oil; and thence a healthful drink could be made. This is what I have done for you in a spiritual way. For your heart was as cold toward my love as steel; and yet, in it there moved a modest spark of love for me, namely, when you thought me worthy of love and honor above all others.

But that heart of yours then fell upon the sulphurous mountain when the glory and delight of the world turned against you and when your husband, whom you carnally loved beyond all others, was taken from you by death. In truth, mundane pleasure and delight are well compared to a sulphurous mountain; for they are accompanied by swollenness of the soul, the stench of concupiscence, and the burning of punishment.

And when at your husband's death your soul was gravely shaken with disturbance, then the spark of my love - which lay, as it were, hidden and enclosed - began to go forth, for, after considering the vanity of the world, you abandoned your whole will to me and desired me above all things. And so, because of that spark of love, you relished the dry olive tree, i.e., the words of the gospels and the conversation of my Doctors, and abstinence so pleased you that all the things that previously seemed bitter began to be sweet for you.

And when the oil began to flow and the words of my revelations came down upon you in spirit, then one stood upon the mountain and cried, saying: 'By this drink, thirst is quenched; the cold are warmed; the disturbed are gladdened; and the infirm convalesce.' It is I myself, God, who cry. My words - which you hear from me frequently in spiritual vision - like the good drink, satisfy those who thirst for true charity; second, they warm those who are cold; third, they gladden those who are disturbed; and fourth, they heal those who are weak in soul."