Chapter 9

Description of Paradise

I was in a state of excitement, one difficult for me to describe. 

Before me, an incredibly long building surrounded by a wide green plain. Even at this great distance I could see its doors, illuminated by many torches and adorned with wreaths of flowers, two wings of the building spreading before me. I felt such ecstasy at seeing it, I wanted to pause to collect myself and bask in the emotion. 

I was surprised there were no caretakers or guards to greet me at my arrival, no one asked my business or where I was going. I could have gone inside, but I didn’t, put that down to my usual fear of being intrusive. But here is what I heard, what I saw: from beyond the great door I heard the harmonies of celestial music. The room was vast, much wider than it was deep, and and its ceiling was garlanded with lovely flowers. Inside there was an endless number of Christian priests, dressed as if for the Corpus Christi mass. They walked three abreast, the ones in the middle carrying the sacrament, the priests on either side holding torches to light their way. And so they went, with hurried steps, to Paradise, each placing their sacraments on a long table that ran the length of the room. 

Entranced by all that I’d seen and heard, inspired by the stately ceremonies I had witnessed, I withdrew from that holy place, returned to my journey home. The walk was a delight to my senses, the trees laden with fruit, the earth covered in lush greenery. I arrived home, my mind occupied entirely with what I had seen, and again, I was silent to my friends as they asked me what had transpired within my soul.