From The Prophecies & Revelations of Saint Bridget of Sweden by Saint Bridget of Sweden
The devil appeared. The Lord said to him: "You were created by me and beheld all justice in me. Tell me whether this new bride (Saint Bridget) is legitimately mine by proven right! I allow you to see & understand her heart in order that you may know how to answer me. Does she love anything else as she does me or would she take anything in exchange for me?" The devil answered him: "She loves nothing in the way she loves you. Rather than lose you she would undergo any torment, provided you gave her the virtue of patience. I see a kind of bond of fire descending from you to her that ties her heart so much to you that she thinks of & loves nothing but you." Then the Lord said to the devil: "Tell me what you feel in your heart & how you like this great love I have for her." The devil replied & said: "I have two eyes, one of them corporeal, although I am not corporeal, by means of which I perceive temporal things so clearly that there is none so hidden or so dark that it can hide itself from me.
The second eye is a spiritual one with which I see every pain no matter how slight & can understand to which sin it pertains. There is no sin so tenuous & slight that I do not see it, unless it has been purged by penance. However, although there are no organs more sensitive than the eyes, still I would much rather have two burning torches uninterruptedly penetrate my eyes than for her to see with the eyes of her spirit. I also have two ears. One of them is corporeal, & no one speaks so privately that I do not hear & know it with this ear. The second is a spiritual ear, & no thinks of or aims at any sin, be it ever so hidden, that I do not hear it with this ear, unless it has been blotted out by penance. There is a certain punishment in hell that is like a bubbling torrent, streaming out of a terribly hot fire. I would rather suffer this to flow in & out of my ears without cease than that she should hear anything with the ears of her spirit. I also have a spiritual heart. I would let it be ceaselessly cut to pieces & constantly renewed to be punished again just in order for her heart to grow cold in your love. But, now, since you deal straightly, let me ask a question for you to answer me: Tell me, why do you love her so much, and why did you not choose someone holier, richer, & prettier for yourself?"
The Lord answered: "Because that is what justice demanded. You were created in me & beheld all justice in me. Tell me, while she is listening, why it was just that you fell so far & what you were thinking when you fell!" The devil answered: "I saw three things in you: I saw your glory & honor above all things, & I thought about my own glory. Hence I was determined in my pride not merely to be equal to you but even greater than you. Second, I saw that you were the most powerful of all. Hence I longed to be more powerful than you. Third, I saw what was to be in the future &, since your glory & honor were without beginning & would be with out end, I envied you & thought that I would gladly be tortured forever with all manner of harsh punishments if only you could die. With such thoughts I fell & in that way hell was created." The Lord answered: "You asked me why I love this woman so much. Assuredly, it is because I change all your evil into good.
Since you became proud & did not want to have me, your Creator, as an equal, therefore, humiliating myself in every way, I gather sinners to myself & make myself their equal by sharing my glory with them. Second, since you had so base a desire that you wanted to be more powerful than I, therefore I make sinners more powerful than you & sharers in my power. Third, because of your envy toward me, I am so full of love that I offered myself up for everyone." Then the Lord said: "Now, devil, your heart of darkness has been shown in the light.
Tell me, while she is listening, how I love her." And the devil said: "If it were possible, you would readily suffer in each & every limb the same pain you once suffered on the cross in all your limbs together, rather than lose her." Then the Lord answered: "If I am so merciful, then, that I do not refuse pardon to anyone asking for it, ask me humbly for mercy yourself, and I will give it to you." The devil answered him: "That I shall do by no means! At the time of my fall, a punishment was established for every sin, for every worthless thought or word. Every spirit that has fallen will have his punishment. But rather than bend my knee before you, I would rather swallow all the punishments myself, as long as my mouth can open & shut in punishment & be forever renewed to be punished again." Then the Lord said to his bride: "See how hardened the prince of the world is & how powerful he is against me thanks to my hidden justice! I could certainly destroy him in a second by means of my power, but I do no more harm to him than to a good angel in heaven. When his time comes, & it is now approaching, I shall judge him and his followers. So, my bride, persevere in good works! Love me with your whole heart! May you fear nothing but me! For I am the Lord over the devil & over everything in existence."