Flower of Devotion

St. Mechtilde once said to the Lord:
“Oh, if I could at any time change my heart for a vineyard chosen for You, according to Your Heart!” The Lord said to her, “All that you desire, I will do.” At that hour she saw the feast of the Lord walking in her heart, as in a beautiful vineyard, which was covered with a multitude of angels around like a wall. In the part towards the east grew a very pure and sweet wine, signifying the fruit of the works which man does before God in his childhood. In the north, on the other hand, strong and red wine grew, signifying the work that a man as a youth underwent in the struggle against temptations and vices, against all the power of the enemy. To the south was ripened a fiery and almost good wine, signifying the virtuous deeds that man performs for the love of God in his mature years. To the west was the noblest and most delicious wine, signifying the various desires by which man goes with all his might to God and to heavenly things, and the sufferings and sorrows which sometimes afflict man in old age.
By divine inspiration the saint understood that the righteous man is such a vine garden, and that God rejoices in it through him, because the righteous man from his childhood to death lives for the glory of God all his life.
In the middle of the garden there was a spring by which the Lord sat on a chair, and from His Heart flowed a stream to the spring, from which the Lord sprinkled all who desired spiritual rebirth. Around the fountain were seven wonderful shields, and they signified the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which were therefore in the shape of shields, because no one can use the gifts of the Holy Ghost without fighting.