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Chapter 18

The bride writes to the king of Cyprus and to the prince of Antioch: ”The first counsel is that each of you, in the presence of his confessor, is to make a clean and complete confession of all the things that he has done against the will of God; and thus you are to receive the blessed Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with fear and love of God. The second counsel is that both of you are to be united in true love so that you may be one heart toward God and his honor, ruling the kingdom for the honor of God and the good of your subjects.

The third counsel is that both of you are to be united in true charity with your subjects and that, solely out of reverence for the passion and death of Jesus Christ, you are to forgive and spare all who, by advice, deed, or approbation, cooperated in the death of your father King Peter. Include them in your charity with all your heart in order that God may deign to include you in his mercy and also that he may will to strengthen you to rule the kingdom for his honor.
The fourth counsel is that, since divine providence has appointed you the governors of the kingdom, you should use all possible diligence in speaking to all the prelates, both of the churches and of the religious orders, effectively but charitably advising them that they and their subjects should all correct themselves in all those matters in which they have in any way deviated spiritually or temporally from the holy state of their predecessors, the holy fathers of earlier times, and that they should quickly return to living purely in the pristine state of their predecessors, so that their state may be totally reformed in order that they and their subjects, having thus truly amended their lives, may obtain God's friendship and be made worthy to pray that God may mercifully deign to renew in holiness of virtues the state of the universal Church.
The fifth counsel is that, for the sake of that great charity with which God has loved your souls, you should will to love the souls of your subjects, advising your military people that all who have in any way offended God should quickly and humbly correct themselves, and that all who are under obedience to the Roman Church and who have reached the age of reason should humbly exercise the practice of confession; that they should reconcile themselves to those neighbors they have offended and establish a concord with them; and that, having amended their lives, they should receive the awesome Body of Christ.
Thereafter, moreover, they are to lead a Catholic life: namely, living faithfully in marriage or in widowhood or even in the state of praiseworthy virginity; observing all that Holy Church teaches; leading, with loving heart, the members of their household and their domestics and their subjects and all others possible, by their good example and by word and deed, to do the same; and strengthening those in such states by their good admonitions. And know for very certain that all who are not willing to obey in these matters will suffer the cost in body and soul.
The sixth counsel is that you should tell all prelates that they must effectively and frequently admonish all their clerics, namely, the rectors of churches, that each of them is to inquire diligently in his parish as to whether there be any of his parishioners who persist in living wickedly in public sins, causing offense to God and contempt for Holy Mother Church.
Any such people whom they find living impudently in their public sins, they are to forewarn with effective admonishments concerning the peril of their souls; and they are to teach them such measures and spiritual remedies by means of which they can and must humbly amend their lives. If, however, some of those who live in public sins will not humbly obey, then the same rectors must not delay in reporting to their superiors and the bishops in order that the prelates may juridically correct the forwardness of such obstinate persons by means of an ecclesiastical censure.
If, in fact, because of the sinners' stubbornness and pride or because of their temporal power, the aforesaid bishops and prelates are unable to correct or punish them, then you, my lords, are advised to be, with your powerful hands, co-workers with the lord prelates so that by your help the said sinners may be brought to correct themselves and that having amended their lives they may attain God's mercy.”

A revelation made to Lady Bridget in the holy city of Jerusalem concerning the kingdom of Cyprus and its reformation, which she her self transmitted to the lord king and to the prince of Antioch that they might publish it to the whole kingdom. And because the aforesaid prince did not put complete faith in that revelation, therefore the said lady, on her return trip from Jerusalem, published it in the city of Famagusta on the eighth day of October, in the presence of the said lord king and the queen and the said prince and all the royal council.

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