Another entry from Richard Rolle’s 14th century Christian classic, The Fire of Love. A glimpse of the afterlife. There is no greater image of heavenly joy and flourishing than music.
The Fire of Love, chapter 5
Therefore all those who are filled with love and joy, the seekers after inextinguishable heat, unite to sing in one glorious choir of rich melody; and now this company of friends has the shade of heaven to protect them against the scorching of lustful flattery and ill will. The very fervour of their sweet love ravishes them with the sight of their Beloved. Flowering through this loving flame into all virtue they rejoice in their Maker. Their mind is changed and passes into lasting melody. From now on their meditations become song. Melancholy has been driven out of the mansion of their spirit, and it now resounds with wondrous melody. The one-time torment of their soul has vanished, and now in glowing health they dwell in the heights of harmony, in the wonderful rhythm of sweet and melodious meditation.
–Translation and copyright 1972 by Clifton Wolters. Penguin Classics.
Mystical Wonder 