JULIAN OF NORWICH

SHOWING OF LOVE, PART II

♫ /S/ Of the longing and spiritual thirst of Christ which lasts and shall last until Doomsday. And by the reason of his body he is not yet full glorified nor all immortal. /SP/ The Thirty-First Chapter. /SPA/
{And thus our good Lord answered to all the questions and doubts that I might make, saying full comfortably, /SP/ 'I may make all things well, I can make all thing well, and I /SPA/ will make all thing well, and I shall make all thing well, and you shall see your self that all manner of thing shall be well'. That he says 'I may' I understand for the Father and he says 'I can' I understand for the Son. ¶ And where he says 'I will', I understand for the holy Ghost. ¶ And where he says 'I shall' I understand for the Unity of the Blessed Trinity, Three Persons and One Truth. ¶ And where he says, 'You shall see yourself', I understand/

the /SA/ oneing /P/ coming /SPA/ of all mankind who shall be saved into the blissful Trinity. And in these five words God will /P/ that we /SPA/ be enclosed in rest and in peace. And thus shall the ghostly thirst of Christ have an end. ¶ For this is the ghostly thirst of Christ, the love longing that lasts and ever shall till we see that sight on Doomsday. For we who shall be saved, and shall be Christ's joy and /S/ his /P/ our endless /SPA/ bliss, some be yet here, /SP/ and some be to come. /SPA/ And so shall some be in to that day, therefore this is his thirst, /SP/ a love-longing to have us all together /S/ whole /P/ here /SP/ in him to /S/ his /P/ our endless /SP/ bliss as to my sight, /A/ the failing of his bliss, that he does not have us in him as wholly as he shall then have. /SP/ ¶ For we be not now as fully as whole in him as we shall be then. /SP/ For we know in our faith, and also it was showed in all that Christ Jesus is both God and man, and concerning the Godhead he is himself highest bliss, and was from without beginning. And shall be from without end. Which endless bliss may never be heightened nor lowered in the self. ¶ For this was plenteously seen in every Showing and namely in the Twelfth, where he says 'I am who is highest'. And concerning Christ's manhood it is known in our faith and also showed that he with the virtue of the Godhead for love to bring us to his bliss, suffered pains and passions, and died. ¶ And these be the works of Christ's manhood wherein he enjoys. And that he showed in the Ninth Revelation, where he says 'It is a joy, a bliss, an endless liking to me, that ever I suffered Passion for you'. And this is the bliss of Christ's works and thus he means where he says in the self-same Showing, we be his bliss, we be his reward, we be his worship, we be his crown. For concerning that Christ is our head, he is glorified and immortal. And concerning his body in which all his members be knit, he is not yet fully glorified nor yet all immortal. For the same desire and thirst that he had upon the /S/ Cross /P/ Rood Tree, /SP/ which desire, longing and thirst, as to my sight, was in him from without beginning, the same he has yet, and shall, until the time that the last soul that shall be saved is come up to his bliss. ¶ For as truly, as there is a property in God of ruth and pity, as truly is there a property in God of thirst and longing. And of the virtue of this longing in Christ, we have to belong again to him, without which no soul comes to heaven. And this property of longing and thirst comes of the endless goodness of God. Right as the property of pity comes of his endless goodness. And though /P/ he have /SP/ longing and pity /P/ they /SP/ are two sundry properties as to my sight. And in this stands the point of the ghostly thirst, which is lasting in him as long as we be in need, drawing us up into his bliss. /SPA/ ¶ And all this was seen /A/ showed me /SPA/ in the Showing of compassion. For that shall cease on Doomsday./

Thus he has ruth and compassion on us. And he has longing to have us, but his wisdom and his love suffer not the end to come till the best time. /SP/
/S/How all thing shall be well and Scripture fulfilled, and we must steadfastly hold us in the faith of holy Church, as is Christ's will. /SPU/ The Thirty-Second Chapter.
One time our good Lord said, 'All /P/ manner of /SPU/ thing shall be well'. And another time he said 'You shall see yourself that all manner of thing shall be well'. And in these two the soul took sundry understanding. One was this, that he will we understand, that not only he pays heed to noble things and to great, but also to little and to small, to low and to simple, to one and to the other. And so means he in that he says 'All manner things shall be well'. For he will we know the least thing shall not be forgotten. ¶ Another understanding is this that there be evil deeds done in our sight and so great harm taken, that it seems to us that it were impossible that ever it should come to a good /SU/ end. /SPU/ And upon this we look sorrowing and mourning, therefore /SP/ so /SPU/ that we cannot rest us in the blissful beholding of God as we should do. ¶ And the cause of this, is that the use of our reason is now so blind, so low and so simple, that we cannot know that high marvelous wisdom, the might and the goodness of the blissful Trinity. And thus means he where he says, 'You shall see yourself that all manner thing shall be well'. As if he said, 'Pay heed now faithfully and trustingly and at the last end you shall truly see it in fulness of joy'. /SPAU/ ¶ And thus in these same five words beforesaid 'I may make all things well, etc.,' I understand a mighty comfort of all the works of our Lord God, that are to come. /SP/ ¶ There is a deed the which the blessed Trinity shall do in the last day, as to my sight, and /S/ when /P/ what /SP/ the deed shall be and how it shall be done, is unknown of all creatures who are beneath Christ and shall be until when it is done. /P/ The goodness and the love of our Lord God will that we know it shall be. ¶ And the might and the wisdom will of him by the same love heal it and hide it from us, what it shall be and how it shall be done. /SP/ And the cause he will we know is for he will we be the more eased in our soul and peaced in love, leaving the beholding of all tempests that might stop us of true enjoying in him. ¶ This is that great deed ordained of our Lord God from without beginning, treasured and hid in his blessed breast, only known to himself, by which deed he shall make all things well. /SP/¶ For like as the blessed Trinity made all things of nought, right so the same blessed Trinity shall make well all, that is not well. /SP/ And in this sight I marveled greatly and beheld our faith, /P/ meaning /S/ marveling /SP/ thus. Our faith is grounded in God's word, and it belongs to our faith, that we/

believe that God's word shall be saved in all things. ¶ And one point of our faith is that many creatures shall be damned as Angels who fell out of heaven for pride who be now fiends. And /S/ men /P/ many /SP/ on earth who die outside of the faith of the holy Church, that is to say they who be heathen men. And also /S/ men /P/ many /SP/ who have received Christendom and live un-Christian lives, and so die out of charity. All these shall be damned to hell without end, as holy Church teaches me to believe. ¶ And given all this, I thought it was impossible that all manner of thing should be well as our Lord showed in the time. And as to this I had no other answer in Showing of our Lord God but this, 'What is impossible to you is not impossible to me. I shall save my word in all things and I shall make all thing well'. Thus I was taught by the grace of God, that I should steadfastly hold me in the faith as I had beforehand understood. And therewith that I should /P/ stand and /SP/ solemnly believe that all thing shall be well, as our Lord showed in the same time. For this is the great deed that our Lord shall do, in which deed he shall save his word in all thing. And he shall make well all that is not well. /P/ But what the deed shall be, /SP/ And how it shall be done there is no creature beneath Christ who knows it, nor shall know it, till it is done, as to the understanding that I took of our Lord's meaning in this time.
/S/All damned Souls be despised in the sight of God as the Devil. And these Revelations withdraw not the faith of holy Church, but comfort. And the more we busily seek to know God's secrets, the less we know. /SP/ The Thirty-Third Chapter.
And yet in this I desired as I dared that I might have had /S/ full /P/ some /SP/ sight of Hell and Purgatory. But it was not my meaning, to be privy to anything that belongs to /S/ the /P/ our /SP/ faith. For I believed truly, that Hell and Purgatory is for the same end that holy Church teaches, but my meaning was that I might have seen for learning in all things that belong to my faith, whereby I might live the more to God's worship and to my profit. And for /P/ ought that I could desire I could see /S/ my desire I learned of this /SP/ right nought, but as it is aforesaid in the Fifth Showing, where I saw that the Devil is reproved by God and endlessly damned. ¶ In which sight I understood that all creatures who are of the Devil's condition in this life, and therein end, there is no more mention made of them before God and all his holy ones than of the Devil, notwithstanding that they be of mankind, whether they have been Christened or not. For though the Revelation was /S/ made /P/ showed /SP/ of goodness in which was made little mention of evil, yet I was not drawn thereby from any point of the faith that holy Church teaches me to believe. For I had sight of the Passion of Christ in diverse Showings, in the First, in the Second, in the /S/ Fifth, /P/ Fourth, /SP/ and in the Eighth, as it is said before. Whereas I had in part a feeling of the sorrow of our Lady. And of his true friends who saw him in pain. But I saw not so properly specified the Jews who did him to death, notwithstanding I knew in my faith that/

they were cursed and damned without end; saving those who converted by grace. ¶ And I was strengthened and taught generally to keep me in the faith in every point, and in all, as I had before understood, hoping that I was therein with the mercy and the grace of God desiring and praying in my meaning that I might continue therein unto my life's end. /SPA/ ¶ It is God's will that we have great regard to all his deeds that he has done. /PA/ For he will thereby /PA/ that we know, /P/ trust and believe /SPA/ all that he shall do. /SP/ But evermore we need to believe the beholding what the deed shall be. And we desire to be like our brethren who be saints in heaven, who will right nought but God's will. Then shall we only enjoy in God, and be well paid both with hiding and with showing. ¶ For I saw truly in our Lord's meaning, the more we busy ourselves to know his secrets in this or any other thing, the farther shall we be from the knowing thereof. /A/ And that showed he me in this word that he said, 'And you shall see yourself that all manner of thing shall be well'. This I understood in two ways. One, that I am well-paid that I knew it not. Another, I am glad and merry, for I shall know it. It is God's will that we should know it all shall be well,in general, but it is not God's will that we should know it now, but as it belongs to us for the time and that is the teaching of holy Church.
/S/ God shows the secrets necessary to his Lovers, and how they much please God who receive diligently the preaching of holy Church. /SP/ The Thirty-Fourth Chapter.
Our Lord God showed two kinds of secrets. One is this great secret with all the privy points that belong thereto. And these privities he will we know to be hidden until the time that he will clearly show them to us. That other are the secrets that /S/ he will make open and known to us /P/ himself showed openly in the Revelation. /SP/ For he will we know that it is his will we know them. These are secrets to us not only because he wills they been secrets to us, but they are privities to us for our blindness and our unknowing. And thereof he has great ruth. And therefore he will himself make them more open to us, whereby we may know him, and love him and cleave to him. For all that is helpful to us to understand and to know, full courteously will our Lord show us. /SP/ And that is this with all the preaching and teaching of holy Church. /SPA/¶ {God showed full great pleasure that he has in all men and women, who mightily /S/ and meekly and wilfully /P/ wisely /A/ worshipfully /SPA/ take the preaching and teaching of holy Church. For /S/ it is his /P/ he it is /A/ he is /SPA/ holy Church, ¶ he is the ground, ¶ he is the substance, ¶ he is the teaching, ¶ he is the teacher, /S/¶  he is the way, /P/¶ he is the /PA/ end, he is the /SP/ reward /A/ means, /SPA/ wherefore every /P/ natural /SPA/ soul travails, and this is known and shall be known to every soul to whom the holy Ghost declares it. And I hope truly /A/ I am secure /SPA/ that all those who seek /PA/ this /SPA/ shall be helped for they seek God. ¶ All this that I have now said, and more that I shall say after is comforting against sin. ¶ For /SP/ in the Third Showing /A/ first /SPA/ when I saw that God does all that is done, I saw no sin, and then I saw that all is well, but when God showed me for sin, then he said, 'All shall be well'.
/S/ How God does all that is good and suffers worshipfully all by his mercy, the which shall cease when sin is no longer suffered. /SP/The Thirty-Fifth Chapter. /SPA/ /

And when God Almighty had showed /A/ me /SPA/ so plenteously and so fully of his goodness, I desired to know of a certain creature whom I loved, /SP/ if it should continue in good living, which I hoped by the grace of God was begun. /A/ how it should be with her /SPA/ And in this /SP/ singular /SPA/ desire it seemed that I hindered myself, for I was not taught in this time. And then was I answered in my reason, as it were with a friendly meaning, ¶ 'Take it generally and behold the courtesy of the Lord God as he shows /A/ it /SPA/ to you, for it is more worship to God to behold him in all, than in any special thing'. ¶ I assented and therewith I learned that it is more worship to God to know all things in general, than to desire anything in particular. And if I should do wisely after this teaching, I should not only be glad for nothing in special, nor greatly diseased for any manner of thing, for all shall be well. /SP/¶ For the fullness of joy is to behold God in all. ¶ For by the same blessed might, wisdom and love that he made all things, to the same end our good Lord leads it continually, and thereto himself shall bring it, and when it is time we shall see it. And the ground of this was showed in the First Showing and more openly in the Third Showing where it says, ¶ 'I saw God in a point'. All that our Lord does is rightful and that he suffers is worshipful. ¶ And in these two is comprehended good and /S/ ill /P/ evil. /SP/¶ For all that is good our Lord does, and that is evil our Lord suffers. I say not that any evil is worshipful, but I say the suffering of our Lord God is worshipful, whereby his goodness shall be known without end, in his marvelous meekness and mildness by the working of mercy and grace. ¶ Rightfulness is that thing that is so good, that may not be better than it is. For God himself is very rightfulness, and all his works are done rightfully as they are ordained from without beginning, his high might, his high wisdom, his high goodness. And right as he ordained unto the best, right so he works continually and leads it to the same end. And he is ever fully pleased with himself and with all his works. ¶ And the beholding of this blissful accord is full sweet to the soul who sees /P/ it /SP/ by grace. All the souls who shall be saved in heaven without end, be made rightful in the sight of God. And by his own goodness, in which righteousness we are endlessly kept, and marvelously above all creatures. And mercy is a working that comes of the goodness of God. ¶ And it shall last in working /S/ all along /P/ as long, /SP/ as sin is suffered to pursue/

a rightful soul. And when sin has no longer leave to pursue, then shall the working of mercy cease. And then shall all be brought to righteousness and therein stand without end. ¶ And by his sufferance we fall, and in his blissful love with his might and his wisdom we are kept. And by mercy and grace we are raised to manifold more joys. ¶ And thus in righteousness and in mercy he will be known and loved now without end. And the soul who wisely beholds it in grace it is well /S/ pleased /P/ paid /SP/ with both and endlessly enjoys.
/S/ Of another excellent deed that our Lord shall do, which by grace may be known in part here. And how we should enjoy in the same. And how God yet does miracles. /SP/ The Thirty-Sixth Chapter.
Our Lord God showed that a deed shall be done, and himself shall do it. /P/ And it shall be worshipful and marvelous and plenteous and by him it shall be done. And he himself shall do it. And this is the highest joy that the soul understands, that God himself shall do it. /SP/ And I shall do nothing but sin and my sin shall not stop his goodness from working. ¶ And I saw that the beholding of this is a /S/ high /P/ heavenly /SP/ joy in a dreadful soul, who evermore naturally by grace desires God's will. This deed shall be begun here, and it shall be worshipful to God, and plenteously profitable to /P/ all /SP/ his lovers on earth. And ever as we come to heaven we shall see it in marvelous joy. And it shall last thus in working unto the last day. And the worship and the bliss of that shall last in heaven before God and all his holy /P/ saints /SP/ without end. Thus was this deed seen and understood in our Lord's meaning. And the cause why he showed it, is to make us enjoy in him and in all his works. ¶ When I saw his Showing continued, I understood that it was showed for a great thing that was for to come, which thing God showed that himself should do it. Which deed has these properties beforesaid. ¶ And this showed he well blissfully meaning that I should take it wisely, faithfully and trustingly. But what this deed should be it was kept secret to me. ¶ And in this I saw that he will not that we dread to know the things that he shows. ¶ He shows them for he will we know them, by which knowing he will we love him, and delight and endlessly enjoy in him. And for the great love that he has to us he shows us all that is worshipful, and profitable for the time. And the things that he will now have secret, yet of his great goodness he shows them close. ¶ In which Showing he will we believe and understand, that we shall see it truly in his endless bliss. ¶ Then ought we to enjoy in him, for all that he shows, and all that he hides, and if we wilfully and meekly do thus, we shall find therein great ease, and endless thanks we shall have of him therefore. And thus is the understanding of this word, 'That it shall be done by me', that is the general man, that is to/

say all who shall be saved. It shall be worshipful and marvelous and plenteous, /P/ and by me it shall be done. /SP/ And God himself shall do it. And this shall be the highest joy that may be to behold the deed that God himself shall do. And man shall do right nought but sin. ¶ Then means our Lord God thus, as if he said, 'Behold and see. Here you have matter of meekness. Here you have matter of love. Here you have matter /S/ to nought /P/ of knowing /SP/ yourself. Here you have matter to enjoy in me. And for my love enjoy in me. For of all things therewith might you most please me'. And as long as we are in this life, what time that we, by our folly, turn us to the beholding of the reproved, tenderly our Lord God touches us, and blissfully calls us, saying in our soul, /PG/ 'Let me alone,/S/ 'Let be all your love, /SPG/ my dearworthy child. Intend to me. I am enough to you. And enjoy in your Saviour and in your salvation'. /SP/ And that this is our Lord's working in us. I am secure the soul that is /S/ perceived /P/ pierced /SP/ therein by grace shall see it and feel it. And though it be so, that this deed be truly taken for the general man, yet it excludes not the particular. For what our good Lord will do by his poor creatures it is now unknown to me. ¶ But this deed and the other aforesaid. They are not both one but two sundry. ¶ But this deed shall be /S/ done /P/ known /SP/ sooner and that shall be as /P/ we /SP/ come to heaven and to whom our Lord gives it, it may be known here in part. But the great deed beforesaid shall neither be known in heaven nor on earth till it is done. ¶ And moreover he gave special understanding and teaching of working /P/ and showing /SP/ of miracles. As thus, ¶ 'It is known that I have done miracles here before, many and /S/ plenty, /SP/ high and marvelously worshipful and great. And so as I have done, I do now continually, and shall do in the coming of time'. ¶ It is known that before miracles, come sorrow and anguish and tribulation, and that is that we should know our own feebleness and our mischief that we are fallen in by sin, to humble us, and to make us dread God, crying for help and grace. /P/ And great /SP/ miracles come after that, and that of the high might, wisdom and goodness of God, showing his virtue and the joys of heaven, so as it may be in this passing life and that for to strengthen our faith, and to increase our hope in charity. Wherefore it pleases him to be known and worshipped, in miracles. Then he means thus, he will that we be not brought too low through sorrow and tempests that befall us, for it has always been so before miracles coming.
/S/ God keeps his chosen full securely although they sin, for in these is a godly will that never tried to sin. /SP/The Thirty-Seventh Chapter. /SPA/
God brought to my mind, that I should sin, and for the delight that I had in beholding him, I attended not readily to that Showing. And our Lord full /SP/ mercifully /A/ courteously /SPA/ waited /SP/ and gave me grace to understand. And this Showing I took singularly to myself. But by all the gracious comfort that followed, as you shall see, I was taught to take it to /A/ so I would pay heed, and then our Lord brought to mind with my sins, the sin of /SPA/ all my even Christians, all in general and nothing in special. ¶ Though /A/ {If all /SPA/ our Lord showed me I should sin, by me alone is understood all. And in this I conceived a soft dread, and to this our Lord answered, 'I keep you full securely'. This word was said with more love and secureness and ghostly keeping than I can or may tell. ¶ For as it was showed /A/ to me /SPA/ that I should sin, right so was the comfort showed /A/ to me /P/ before /SPA/ of secureness and keeping for all my even Christians.¶ What may make me more to love my even Christians, than to see in God, that he loves all who shall be saved, as it were all one soul. For in every soul who shall be saved, is a godly will that never assented to sin, nor ever shall. Right as there is a beastly will in the lower part that may will no good, right so there is a godly will in the higher part, /SP/ which will is so good, /SPA/ that it may never will /S/ ill /PA/ evil /SPA/ but ever good. /SP/ And therefore we are whom he loves, and endlessly we do that that he likes. /A/ No more than the person of the blessed Trinity. /SPA/ ¶ And this showed our Lord /A/ to me /SPA/ in the wholeness of love that we stand in, in his sight. Yea, that he loves us now as well, while we are here, as he shall do when we are there before his blessed face. /SP/¶ But for failing of love on our part, therefore is all our travail.
/S/Sin of the chosen shall be turned to joy and worship. Example of David, Peter, John of Beverley. /SP/ The Thirty-Eighth Chapter. /P/
And /SA/ Also /SPA/ God showed /A/ me /SPA/ that sin shall be no shame, but worship to man, /SP/ for right as to every sin is answering a pain by truth, right so for every sin to the same soul is given a bliss by love. Right as diverse sins are punished with diverse pains after that they be grievous, right so shall they be rewarded with diverse joys in heaven, after they have been painful and sorrowful to the soul on earth. For the soul that shall come to heaven is /P/ so /SP/ precious to God, and the place so worshipful, that the goodness of God suffers never that soul to sin /P/ finally /SP/ who shall come there, but /P/ what sinners they are that which /S/ sin /P/ so /SP/ shall be rewarded. And it is made known /P/ in holy Church on earth and also in heaven /S/ without end, and blissfully restored /SP/ by overpassing honours, /SPA/¶ For in this sight my understanding was lifted up into heaven. /SP/¶ And there God brought merrily /A/ Then came verily /SPA/ to my mind David /SP/ and others in the old law without number. And in the new law he brought to my mind, first Mary/

Magdalen, Peter and Paul, and Thomas of India /P/ Thomas and Jude, /A/ Peter and Paul, Thomas of India and the Magdalen /SP/ and Saint John of Beverley. And others also without number, /SPA/ how they are known in the Church on earth with their sins, /A/ to their worship, /SP/ and it is to them no shame /A/ that they have sinned, no more it is the bliss of heaven. /SP/, but all is turned to their worship. And therefore our courteous Lord showed for them here in part, like as it is there in fullness. /SPA/ For there the /SP/ tokens of sin are /A/ taking of sin is /SPA/, but all is turned to their worship. /A/ Right so our Lord God showed me them in example of all others who shall come there. /SP/¶ And Saint John of Beverley, our Lord showed him full highly in comfort to us, for homeliness, and brought to my mind how he is a /S/ gracious /P/ natural /SP/ neighbour and of our knowing. And God called him Saint John of Beverley plainly as we do, and that with a full glad sweet cheer, showing that he is a full high saint /S/ in heaven /SP/ in his sight and a blissful one. And with this he made mention that in his youth and in his tender age he was a dearworthy servant to God, much loving and dreading God. ¶ And nevertheless God suffered him to fall, keeping him mercifully so that he perished not nor lost time. ¶ And afterward God raised him to manifold more grace and by the contrition and meekness that he had in his living, God has given him in heaven manifold joys overpassing that he should have had if he had not /P/ sinned or /SP/ fallen. And that this is true God shows on earth, with plenteous miracles done about his body continually, and all this was to make us glad and merry in love.
/S/Of the sharpness of sin and the goodness of contrition and how our natural Lord will not we despair for often falling. /SP/The Thirty-Ninth Chapter. /SPA/
Sin is the sharpest scourge that any chosen soul may be smitten with, which scourge all severely beats man and woman /PA/ and all for breaks them and /S/ annoys /P/ purges /A/ noughts /SPA/ him in his own sight, /SPA/ so much so that he thinks himself the while he is not worthy but /A/ as it were /SPA/ as to sink into hell, till contrition takes him by the touching of the holy Ghost, and turns the bitterness in hopes of God's mercy. And then begin his wounds to heal, and the soul to quicken, turned into the life of holy Church. ¶ The holy Ghost leads him to confession wilfully, to show his sins nakedly and truly with great sorrow, and great shame, that he has /PA/ so /SPA/ defouled the fair image of God. Then he undergoes penance for every sin enjoined by his confessor, who is grounded in holy Church by the teaching of the holy Ghost. /A/ By this medicine ought each sinful soul be healed, and namely of sins that are deadly in the self. /SP/ And this is one meekness that much pleases God. And also /P/ meekly taking /SP/ bodily sickness of God's sending. And also sorrow and shame from without, and disgust and despite of this world, with all manner of grievance and temptations that /S/ he /P/ we /SP/ will be cast in, bodily and ghostly. Full preciously our Lord keeps us when it/

seems to us that we are near forsaken and cast away for our sin, and because we /P/ see that we /SP/ have deserved it. And because of meekness that we get hereby, we are raised /S/ wholly /P/ highly /SP/ in God's sight by his grace /P/ and also whom our Lord will, he visits with his special grace /SP/ with so great contrition, also with compassion and true longing to God. Then they be suddenly delivered of sin and of pain, and taken up to bliss, and made even /S/ high /P/ with/SP/ saints. ¶ By contrition we are made clean, by compassion we are made ready, and by true longing to God we are made worthy. These are three means as I understand whereby that all souls come to heaven, that is to say who have been sinners in earth and shall be saved. ¶ For by these medicines it is needful that every soul be healed. /SPA/ Though he be healed his wounds are seen before God, not as wounds but as worships. ¶ And so on the contrary wise, as we be punished here with sorrow and with penance, we shall be rewarded in heaven by the courteous love of our Lord God Almighty, who will that none who comes there lose his travail in any degree. /SP/ For he beholds sin as sorrow and pain to his lovers, in whom he assigns no blame for love. /SPA/ The reward that we shall receive shall not be little, but it shall be high, glorious and worshipful, and so shall /PA/ all /SPA/ shame be turned to worship and more joy. /A/ And I am secure by my own feeling the more that each natural soul sees this in the natural and courteous love of God, the loather he is to sin. /SP/ For our courteous Lord wills not that his servants despair, for often, nor for grievous, falling, for our falling does not stop him from loving us. ¶ Peace and love are ever in us being and working. But we be not /S/ always /P/ ever /SP/ in peace and in love. But he will that we take heed thus that he is ground of all our whole life in love. ¶ And furthermore that he is our everlasting keeper and mightily defends us against our enemies, who are full evil and fierce upon us. And so much our need is the more, for we give him occasion by our falling.
/S/ We need to belong in love with Jesus, eschewing sin for love. The vileness of sin passes all pains. And God wholly loves us tenderly while we be in sin, and so we need to do to our neighbour. /SP/ The Fortieth Chapter./P/
And /SP/ this is a sovereign friendship of our courteous Lord, that he keeps us so tenderly while we be in /P/ our /SP/ sin, and furthermore he touches us full privily and shows us our sin by the sweet light of mercy and grace. But when we see our self so foul, then we think that God were wroth with us for our sin. And then we are stirred of the holy Ghost by contrition into prayers and desire to amend our life, with all our might to appease the wrath of God until the time we find a rest in soul, and softness/

in conscience. And then we hope that God has forgiven us our sins. And it is true. ¶ And then shows our courteous Lord himself to the soul /S/ wholly /SP/ merrily and with glad cheer, with friendly welcoming, as if he had been in pain and in prison, saying /S/ sweetly /SP/ thus, 'My /P/ dear /SP/ darling, I am glad you are come to me in all your woe. I have ever been with you, and now you see my loving, and we be oned in bliss'. Thus are sins forgiven by mercy and grace, and our soul worshipfully received in joy, like as it shall be when it comes to heaven, as oftentimes as it comes by the gracious working of the holy Ghost, and the virtue of Christ's Passion. /W/ Also /SP/ ¶ Here /WSP/ understood I truly that all manner thing is made ready to us by the great goodness of God, so much that what time we be ourself in peace and charity, we be truly saved. But because we may not have this in fullness while we are here, therefore it befalls us ever the more to live in sweet prayer and in lovely longing with our Lord Jesus./SP/ For he longs ever to bring us to the fullness of joy, as it is beforesaid, where he shows the ghostly thirst. /SPA/ ¶ {But /SP/ now because of all this ghostly comfort, that is said before, if any man or woman /A/ if you /SPA/ be stirred by folly to say or to think, 'If this be true, then were it good to sin to have the more reward', /SP/ or else to charge the less to the sin, /SPA/ beware of this stirring /A/ and despise it for it is /SP/ for truly if it come it is a lie, and /SPA/ of the enemy. /SP/¶ For the same true love that /S/ teaches us all /P/ touches us all by /S/ this /P/ his blessed /SP/ comfort, the same blessed love teaches us that we should hate sin only for love. /A/ For what soul who wilfully takes this stirring he may never be saved till he makes amends for deadly sin. /SP/¶ And I am sure by my own feeling, the more that every natural soul sees this in the courteous love of our Lord God, the loather is he to sin. And the more he is ashamed. /SPA/ For if were laid before /SP/ us /A/ me /SPA/ all the pains in hell and in purgatory and on earth, death and other, and sin, /SP/ we /A/ I /SPA/ should rather choose all that pain than sin. ¶ For sin is so vile and so much to hate that it may be like to no pain which pain is not sin. /SP/ ¶ And to me was showed no harder hell than sin. For a natural soul /S/ has /P/ hates /SP/ no /S/ hell /P/ pain /SP/ but sin. /PA/ For all is good but sin, and nought is /P/ evil /A/ wicked /PA/ but sin. /A/ Sin is neither deed nor desire. But when a soul chooses sin wilfully, that is pain before his God. At the end he has right nought. That pain, I think, the hardest Hell. For he has not his God. In all pains a soul may have God but in sin. /SP/¶ And we, given our intent to love and meekness by the working of mercy and grace, we are made all fair and clean. /SPA/ And as mighty, and as wise as God is to save man, as willing he is. ¶ For Christ himself is ground of all the laws of Christian men. And he taught us to do good against /S/ ill /PA/ evil. /SPA/ Here may we see that he is himself this charity, and does to us as he teaches us to do, for he will we be like him in /SP/ wholeness /A/ oneness /SPA/ of endless love to our self and to our even Christians. No more then is his love broken to us, for our sin; no more will he that our love be broken to ourself/

/S/ and /PA/ nor /SPA/ to our even Christian, but nakedly hate sin and endlessly /SPA/ love the soul as God loves it. /S/ Then shall we hate sin, like as God hates it, and love the soul as God loves it. /SPA/ For this word that /SP/ is /A/ God /SPA/ said is an endless comfort, 'I keep you securely'. /SP/
♫ The Fourteenth Revelation /S/ is as said before, etc. It is impossible we should pray for mercy and want it. And how God wills that we always pray though we be dry and barren, for that prayer is to him acceptable and pleasing. /SP/The Forty-First Chapter. /WSPA/
{After this our Lord showed /A/ to me /WSP/ for /A/ four /WSPA/ prayers. /WSP/ In which Showing /WSPA/ I see two conditions /WSP/ in our Lord's meaning, /A/ in them who pray, as I have felt in myself /WSP/¶ One is /WA/ rightful prayer /S/ rightfulness. /WSP/¶ Another is secure trust. /A/ One is they will pray not just for anything that may be, but only what is God's will and his worship. Another is that they set them mightily and continually to ask that thing that is his will and his worship. And this is as I have understanding by the teaching of holy Church. For in this our Lord taught me the same, to have of God's gift, faith, hope and charity, And to keep us therein to our lives' end. And in this we say, Pater Noster, Ave, and Credo, with devotion as God will give it. And thus we pray for all our even-Christians and for all manner of men what God's will is. For we would that all manner of men and women were in the same virtue and grace that we ought to desire for our self. /WSPA/ But yet /A/ in all this /WSPA/ oftentimes our trust is not full for we are not secure that God /A/ Almighty /SPA/ hears us as we think, for our unworthiness and because we feel right nought. For we are as barren and dry oftentimes after our prayers as we were before, and this in our feeling. Our folly is cause of our weakness, for thus have I felt in myself. ¶ And all this brought our Lord suddenly to my mind, /A/ and mightily and lively and comforting me against this kind of weakness in prayers. /WSP/ And showed these words and said, /WSPA/ 'I am ground of your prayer. First it is my will that you have it, and since I make you to will, /WSP/ and since I make you to beseech it, and you beseech it, /WSPA/ how should it then be that you should not have your beseeching?'. And thus in the first reason with the three that follow, our good Lord shows a mighty comfort /WSP/ as it may be seen in the same words. /WSPA/ And in the first reason thus he says, 'And you pray it', there he shows the full great pleasance and endless reward that he will give us for our beseeking, and in the /WSP/ sixth /A/ fourth /SPA/ reason there he says, 'How should it then be,/A/ that you should not have your beseeching?' There he shows a sober undertaking for we trust not as mightily as we should. Thus will our Lord that we both pray and trust. For the cause of the reasons beforesaid is to make us strong against weakness in our prayers. For it is God's will we pray and thereto he stirs us in these words beforesaid. For he will that we be secure to have our prayer. For prayer pleases God. Prayer pleases man with himself and makes him sober and meek who beforehand was in strife and travail. /WSP/ This was said for an /WS/ impossibility /P/ impossible thing. /WSP/ For it is the most impossible that /WP/ that may be that /WSP/ we should beseech mercy and grace and not have it. ¶ For of all thing that our good Lord makes us to beseech himself has ordained it to us from without beginning. Here may we see that our beseeking is not cause of /WP/ the /S/ God's /WSP/ goodness /WP/ and grace that he does to us, /P/ but /WP/ his /W/ own /WP/ proper goodness. /WSP/¶ And that showed he truthfully in all these sweet words, when he says, 'I am ground /W/ of your prayer and of your requests'. /WSP/ And our good Lord wills that this be known of /W/ all /WSP/ his lovers on earth. ¶ And the more that we know, the more should we beseech if it be wisely taken and so is our Lord's meaning. /W/ Wise seeking /SP/ Beseeching /WSP/ is a /S/ new /WP/ true /WSP/ gracious lasting will of the soul, oned and fastened into the will of our Lord /SP/ by the sweet privy work of the holy Ghost. ¶ Our Lord /WSP/ himself, he is the first receiver of our prayers as to my sight, and takes it full thankfully and highly enjoying and he sends it up above, and sets it in a treasury where it shall never perish. It is there before God with all his holy /W/ company, /P/ saints, /WSP/ continually received, ever helping our needs. ¶ And when we shall receive/

our bliss, it shall be given us for a degree of joy with endless worshipful thanking of him. Full glad and merry is our Lord of our prayer and he looks thereafter and he will have it. For with his grace he makes us like to himself in condition, as we are in nature. /SP/ And so is his blissful will. /W/ Also he says, /SP/¶ For he says thus, /WSP/ 'Pray /P/ entirely /SP/ inwardly, /WS/ though you think it savours you not./S/For it is profitable, /SP/ though you feel not, though you see nought, Yea, though you think you might not, for in dryness and in barrenness, in sickness and in feebleness, then is your prayer well pleasing to me, though you think it savour you not but little. And so is /SP/ your /S/ believing /P/ living /S/ prayers /P/ prayer /SP/ in my sight'. For the reward and the endless thanks that he will give us, therefore he is covetous to have us pray continually in his sight. ¶ God accepts the good will and the travail of this servant, howsoever we feel. Wherefore it pleases him that we work and in our prayers and in good living by his help, and his grace, reasonably with discretion keeping our mights to him, till when we have him whom we seek in fullness of joy who is Jesus. And that showed he in the /S/ Fifth /P/ Fifteenth /SP/ Showing, before this word, 'You shall have me to your reward'. And /WSP/ also to prayers belong thanksgiving. Thanking is a /S/ new /WP/ true /WSP/ inward knowing with great reverence and lovely dread, turning our self with all our mights into the working that our good Lord stirs us to enjoying and thanking /W/ him /WSP/ inwardly. And sometimes for plenteousness it breaks out with voice and says, 'Good Lord, grant mercy. Blessed must you be'. And sometimes when /W/ your /SP/ the /WSP/ heart is dry and feels nought or else by temptation of the enemy, then it is driven by reason and by grace to cry upon our Lord with voice rehearsing his blessed Passion and his great goodness. And /WP/ so /WSP/ the virtue of our Lord's word turns into the soul, and quickens the heart, and enters /W/ in /S/ it /WSP/ by his grace into true working. And makes it pray well blissfuly and truly to enjoy our Lord. It is a full /S/ blissful /WP/ lovely /WSP/ thanking in his sight.
/S/Of three things that belong to prayer, and how we should pray and of the goodness of God who complements us always in our imperfection and feebleness, when we do what belongs to us to do. /SP/The Forty-Second Chapter. /WSP/
Our Lord /S/ God /WSP/ wills that we have true understanding and namely in three things that belong to our prayers. The first is by whom, and how our prayers spring./

By whom he shows when he says, 'I am ground', and how by his goodness. For he says, 'First it is my will'. For the second, in what manner and how we should /W/ pray /SP/ use our prayers, /WSP/ and that is that our will be turned into the will of our Lord enjoying. And so means he when he says, 'I make you to will it'. For the third, that we know the fruit and the end of our prayers, that is to be oned and like to our Lord in all thing. And to this meaning and for this end was all this lovely lesson showed. And he will help us and /W/ he /SP/ we /WSP/ shall make it so as he says himself, Blessed must he be. ¶ For this is our Lord's will, that our prayers and our trust be both alike large. For if we trust not as much as we pray, we do not full worship to our Lord in our prayers. And also we tarry and pain ourself. And the cause is, as I believe, for we know not truly that our Lord is ground /W/ himself /WSP/ on whom our prayer springs. And also that we know not, that it is given us by the grace of his /W/ great and tender /WSP/ love. For if we knew this, it would make us to trust to have of our Lord's gift all that we desire. ¶ For I am secure, that no man asks mercy and grace, with true meaning but mercy and grace be first given to him. ¶ But sometimes it comes to our mind, that we have prayed a long time, and yet we think, that we have not our asking. But for this we should not be heavy. For I am secure by our Lord's meaning, that either we abide a better time, or more grace, or a better gift. ¶ He will we have true knowing in himself that he is being. And in this knowing he will that our understanding be grounded with all our mights, and all our intent, and all our meaning and in this ground he will that we take our homestead and our dwelling, and by the gracious light of himself, he will we have understanding of /WP/ three /S/ the /SP/ things that follow.¶ The first is /W/ your/SP/ our /WSP/ noble and excellent making. ¶ The second, /W/ the /SP/ our /WSP/ precious and dearworthy again-buying. ¶ The third, all thing that he has made beneath us, to serve us, and /W/ he /WSP/ for our love keeps it. Then means he thus as if he said, ¶ 'Behold and see that I have done all this, before your prayers, and now you are, and pray to me'. And thus /W/ our Lord God /SP/ he /WSP/ means, that it belongs to us to know that the greatest deeds be done as holy Church teaches. /SP/ ¶ And in the beholding of this with thanking we ought to pray for the deed that is now in doing, and that is, that he rule us and guide us to his worship in this life, and bring us to his bliss, and therefore he has done all. ¶ Then means he thus, that we see that he does it. And we pray therefore. For that one is not enough, for if/

we pray and see not that he does it, it makes us heavy, and doubtful, and that is not his worship. And if we see that he does, and we pray not, we do not our /S/ debt /P/ duty, /SP/ and so may it not be, that is to say, so is it not in his beholding. But to see that he does it, and to pray forthwith so is he worshipped and we helped. ¶ All thing that our Lord has ordained to do, it is his will that we pray therefore either in special or in general. And the joy and the bliss that it is to him, and the thanking and the worship that we shall have therefore, it passes the understanding of /P/ all /S/ creatures /P/ in this life /SP/ as to my sight /SP/¶ For prayer is a righteous understanding of that fullness of joy that is for to come with /S/ well /P/ true /SP/ longing and secure trust. /S/ Failing of /P/ Savouring or seeing /SP/ our bliss that we be ordained to naturally makes us to long. For true understanding and love with sweet mind in our Saviour graciously makes us for to trust. /P/ And thus we have of nature to long and of grace to trust /SP/¶ And in these two workings our Lord beholds us continually. For it is our /S/ debt /P/ duty /SP/ and his goodness may no less assign in us. Then it belongs to us to do our diligence. And when we have done it, than shall we yet think that it is nought, and truly it is. But do we as we may and /S/ truly /P/ meekly /SP/ ask mercy and grace, all that fails us we shall find in him. And thus he means where he says, 'I am ground of your beseeching'. And thus in this blissful word with the Showing I saw a full overcoming against all our /S/ weakness /P/ wickedness, /SP/ and all our doubtful dreads.
/S/ What prayer does, ordained to God's will. And how the goodness of God has great liking in the deeds that he does by us, as he were beholden to us, working all things sweetly. Forty-Third Chapter. /SPA/
Prayer ones the soul to God. For though the soul be ever like to God in nature and substance /SP/ restored by grace, /SPA/ it is often unlike in condition by sin on man's part. /SPA/ Then /SP/ is prayer a witness that /A/ makes prayer the soul like God when /SPA/ the soul will as God will, /A/ and then it is like to God in condition as it is in kind. /SP/ And comforts the conscience and enables man to grace. /SPA/ And thus he teaches us to pray, and mightily to trust that we shall have it /A/ that we pray for. For all thing that is done, should be done though we never pray it. /SP/ For he beholds us in love, and /A/ But the love of God is so much that he /SPA/ will make us partner of his good /P/ will and /SPA/ deed. ¶ And therefore he stirs us to pray, that which he delights to do. ¶ For which prayers and good will that /S/ he /PA/ we /SPA/ will have of his gift, he will reward us, and give us endless reward. And this was showed /A/ me /SPA/ in this word, 'And you pray it'. ¶ In this word God showed /A/ me /SPA/ so great pleasance and so great liking as he were much beholden to us for every good deed that we do, and yet it is he who does it. And for that we beseech him /SP/ mightily /A/ busily /SPA/ to do all thing that he likes. As if he said, 'How might you then please me more, than to beseech /SP/ mightily /A/ busily, /SPA/ wisely and wilfully to do that thing that I /SA/ shall do /P/ will have done'. ¶ And thus the soul/

by prayer accords between God /A/ and man's soul. /SP/¶ But when our courteous Lord of his grace shows himself to our soul, /W/ And in your self, to our souls /WSP/ we have what we desire. And then we see not for the time that we should pray more, but all our intent with all our might is set wholly to the beholding of him. ¶ And this is a high unperceivable prayer as to my sight. For all the cause wherefore we pray it is /P/ to be /WSP/ oned into the sight and beholding of him to whom we pray, marvelously enjoying with reverent dread, and so great sweetness and delight in him, that we can pray right nought but as he stirs us for the time. /A/ For what time a man's soul is homely with God he needs not to pray but behold reverently what he says. For in all this time that this was showed me I was not stirred to pray, but always to have this well in my mind for comfort. That when we see God, we have what we desire and then we need not pray. /WSP/ ¶ And well I know the more the soul sees of God, the more /WS/ it /P/ she /WSP/ desires him by his grace. /WSPA/ But when we see him not so, then feel we need and cause to pray for failing, for enabling ourself to Jesus. ¶ For when the soul is tempested, troubled and left to /S/ him /P/ her /A/ it /SPA/ self by unrest, /WSPA/ then it is time to pray to make /WSA/ him /P/ her /WSPA/ self /WSP/ supple /A/ simple /WSPA/ and pliant to God. But /SA/ he /P/ she /SPA/ by no manner of prayer makes God supple to him, for he is ever /S/ alike /P/ unlike /SP/ in love. /A/ But in the time that man is in sin he is so weak, so unwise, and so unloving, that he can neither love God nor himself. The most mischief that he has is blindness. For he sees not all this. Then the whole love of God Almighty who ever is one, gives him sight to himself. Then he understands that God was wroth with him for his sin and then he is stirred to contrition and by confession and other good deeds to slake the wrath of God until the time he finds rest in the soul and softness in conscience. And then he thinks that God has forgiven him his sins and it is true. And then is God (in the sight of the soul), turned into the beholding of the soul as if it had been in pain or prison, saying thus, 'I am glad that you are come to rest. For I have ever loved you and now love you and you me'. And thus with prayers, as I have said before and with other good works that are customary by the teaching of holy Church is the soul oned to God'. /WSP/¶ And thus I saw that what time we see needs wherefore we pray, then our good Lord follows us, helping our desire. And when we of his special grace plainly behold him, seeing no other needs, then we follow him, and he draws us into him by love. For I saw and felt that his marvelous and fulsome goodness fulfills all /W/ other /SP/ our /WSP/ mights. ¶ And then I saw that his continual working in all manner thing is done so godly, so wisely, and so mightily, that it /W/ pleases /SP/ overpasses /WSP/ all our imagining, and all that we can understand and think. And then we can do no more but behold him, enjoying with a high mighty desire to be all oned into him and /S/ entered to his dwelling /WP/ attend to his /W/ wooing /P/ motion /WSP/ and enjoy in his loving, and delight in his goodness. And then shall we with his sweet grace, in our own meek continuing prayers, come into him now in this life by many privy touchings of sweet ghostly sights and feeling measured to us as our simpleness may bear it. ¶ And this /WP/ is /WSP/ wrought, and shall, by the grace of the holy Ghost so long till we shall die in longing for love. And then shall we all come into our Lord, ourself clearly knowing and God fullsomely having. ¶ And we endlessly be all /WS/ had /P/ hid /WSP/ in God, him truly seeing, and fulsomely feeling, him ghostly /W/ feeling and him ghostly /WSP/ hearing, and him delectably smelling, and him sweetly swallowing, and then shall we see God face to face homely and fulsomely. The creature who is made shall see and endlessly behold God who is the Maker. ¶ For thus may no man see God and live after, that is to say, in this deadly life. But when he of his special grace will show him here, he strengthens the creature/

above the self, and he measures the Showing after his own will as it is profitable for the time.
/S/ Of the properties of the Trinity and how man's soul, a creature, has the same properties doing that it was made for, beholding and marveling his God so by that it seems as nought to the self./SP/ The Forty-Fourth Chapter.
God showed in all the Revelations often, that man works evermore his will and his worship lastingly without any stinting. And what this work is was showed in the First Showing, and that in a marvelous ground. ¶ For it was showed in the working of the soul of our blissful Lady Saint Mary, by Truth and Wisdom. And how I hope by the grace of the holy Ghost, I shall say as I saw. /WSP/¶ Truth sees God, and Wisdom beholds God, and of these two comes the third, that is a holy marvelous delight in God who is Love. Where Truth and Wisdom are verily there is Love, truly coming of them both, and all of God's making. ¶ For /W/ God /SP/ he /WSP/ is endless sovereign truth, endless sovereign wisdom, endless sovereign love unmade. And man's soul is a creature in God, who has the same properties made. And evermore it does as it was made for. It sees God, it beholds God, and it loves God. Whereof God enjoys in the creature, and the creature /W/ enjoys /WSP/ in God endlessly marveling. ¶ In which marveling he sees his God, his Lord, his Maker, so high, so great, and so good in regard of him who is made, that scarce the creature seems ought to the self, but the /WS/ clearness and the cleanness /P/ brightness and clearness /WSP/ of truth and wisdom makes him to see, and to /WS/ be known /P/ know /WSP/ that he is made for love, in which God endlessly keeps him.
/S/ Of the form and deep judgement of God and the variant judgement of man. /SP/ The Forty-Fifth Chapter.
God judges us upon our natural substance which is ever kept one in him, whole and saved without end. And this judgment is of his rightfulness. And man judges upon our changeable sensuality, which seems now one, now another, after it takes of the parties and shows outward. And this /S/ wisdom /P/ judgment /SP/ is mixed, for sometimes it is good and easy, and sometimes it is hard and grievous. ¶ And inasmuch as it is good and easy it belongs to rightfulness. And in as much as it is hard and grievous, our good Lord Jesus reforms it by mercy and grace, through the virtue of his blessed Passion, and so brings it into the rightfulness. ¶ And though these two be thus accorded and oned, yet it shall be known both /S/ in heaven without end. /SP/¶ The first judgment, which is of God's rightfulness, and that is of his high/

endless /S/ life /P/ love. /SP/ And this is that fair sweet judgment that was showed in all the fair Revelation in which I saw him assign to us no manner of blame. ¶ And though this was sweet and delectable, yet only in the beholding of this I could not be full eased. And that was for the judgment of holy Church, which I had before understood, and was continually in my sight. ¶ And therefore by this judgment, I thought I needed to know myself a sinner, and by the same judgment, I understood that sinners are worthy sometimes of blame and wrath. And these two I could not see in God. ¶ And there my /P/ advice and /SP/ desire was more than I can or may tell. For the higher judgment God showed himself in the same time. And therefore /S/ I /P/ we /SP/ needed to take it. And the lower judgment was taught me before in holy Church, and therefore I might in no way leave the lower judgment. ¶ Then was this my desire, that I might see in God, in what manner that the judgment of holy Church herein /S/ teaches /P/ on earth, /SP/ is true in his sight, and how it belongs to me truly to know it, whereby they might both be saved, so as it were worshipful to God and right way to me. And to all this I had no other answer but a marvelous example of a Lord and of a servant, as I shall say after, and that full /S/ mightily /P/ mistily /SP/ showed. And yet I stand in desire and will unto my /P/ life's /SP/ end, that I might by grace know these two judgments, as it belongs to me. ¶ For all heavenly and all earthly things that belong to heaven are comprehended in these two judgments. ¶ And the more /P/ knowing and /SP/ understanding by the gracious leading of the holy Ghost that we have of these two judgments, the more we shall see and know our /S/ failings /P/ feelings. /SP/ And ever the more that we see them, the more naturally by grace we shall long to be fulfilled of endless joy and bliss for we are made thereto, and our natural substance is now blissful in God and has been since it was made, and shall be without end.
/S/ We cannot know ourself in this life, but by faith and grace, but we must know ourself sinners. And how God is never wroth, being most near the Soul, keeping it. /SP/The Forty-Sixth Chapter.
But our passing /S/ life /P/ living /SP/ that we have here in our sensuality knows not what our self is /P/ but in our faith. And when we know and see truly and clearly what our self is, /SP/ then shall we truly and clearly see and know our Lord God in fullness of joy. ¶ And therefore it is needful that the nearer we be to our bliss, the more we shall long, and that both by nature and by grace. ¶ We may have knowing of our self in this life, by continual help and virtue of our high nature, in which knowing we may increase and grow by nurturing and helping of mercy and grace, But we may never fully know our self into the last point. In which point this passing life and /P/ all /SP/ manner of pain and woe shall have an end. And therefore it belongs properly to us/

both by nature and by grace to long and desire with all our mights to know ourself, /P/ in which knowing we shall truly and clearly know our God /SP/ in fulness of endless joy. ¶ And yet in all this time from the beginning to the end I had two manner of beholding. That one was endless continual love with secureness of keeping and blissful salvation. For of this was all the Showing. ¶ That other was the common teaching of holy Church in which I was before informed and grounded, and wilfully having in use and understanding. And the beholding of this came not from me. For by the Showing I was not stirred nor led there from in any point, but I had therein teaching to love it and like it, whereby I might, by the help of our Lord and his grace, increase and rise to more heavenly knowing and higher loving. ¶ And thus in all this beholding I thought it needful to see and to know that we are sinners, and do many evil deeds that we ought to leave, and leave many good deeds undone that we ought to do, wherefore we deserve pain, /P/ blame /SP/ and wrath. And notwithstanding all this, I saw truly that our Lord was never wroth and never shall be. ¶ For he is God, /P/ he is good, he is truth, he is love, he is peace, and his might, his wisdom /S/ good, life, truth, love, peace. /SP/ His charity, and his unity, suffer him not to be wroth. ¶ For I saw truly that it is against the property of /P/ his /SP/ might to be wroth, and against the property of his wisdom, and against the property of his goodness. ¶ God is the goodness who may not be wroth, for he is nought but goodness. Our soul is oned to him, unchangeable goodness, and between God and our soul is neither wrath nor forgiveness in his sight. ¶ For our soul is /P/ so /SP/ fulsomely oned to God of his own goodness, that between God and our soul may be right nought. ¶ And to this understanding was the soul led by love, and drawn by might in every Showing. That it is thus, our good Lord showed, and how it is thus, truly of his great goodness, and he will we desire to know, that is to say as it belongs to his creature to know it. ¶ For all thing that the simple soul understands, God wills that it be showed and known. For the things that he will have privy, mightily and wisely he himself hides them for love. ¶ For I saw in the same Showing that much privity is hid, which may never be known until the time that God of his goodness has made us worthy to see it. And therewith I am well paid, abiding our Lord's will in this high marvel. And now I yield me to my mother holy Church as a simple child ought.
/S/We must reverently marvel and meekly suffer, ever enjoying in God, and how our blindness in that we see not God is cause of sin./SP/ The Forty-Seventh Chapter. /

Two points belong to our soul by debt. ¶ One is that we reverently marvel. ¶ That other is that we meekly suffer, ever enjoying in God. For he will that we know that we shall in short time see clearly in himself all that we desire. ¶ And notwithstanding all this, I beheld and marveled greatly, what is the mercy and forgiveness of God? For by the teaching that I had before, I understood that the mercy of God should be the forgiveness of his wrath after the time that we have sinned. ¶ For I thought to a soul whose meaning and desire is to love, that the wrath of God were harder than any other pain. And therefore I took that the forgiveness of his wrath, should be one of the principle points of his mercy. ¶ But for /S/ nought /P/ ought /SP/ that I might behold and desire I could not see this point in all the Showing. ¶ But how I understood and saw of the works of mercy I shall say something as God will give me grace. I understood this, ¶ Man is changeable in this life, and by /S/ frailty and overcoming /P/ simpleness and unknowing /SP/ falls into sin. He is weak and unwise of himself, and also his will is overlaid, and in this time he is in tempest and in sorrow and woe. And the cause is blindness, for he sees not God. For if he saw God continually, he should have no mischievous feeling, nor any manner /S/ of stirring /P/ nor sorrowing /S/ of the yearning /SP/ that serves to sin. ¶ Thus I saw and felt in the same time. And I thought that the sight and the feeling was high and plenteous, and gracious in regard that our common feeling is in this life. But yet I thought it was but small and low in regard of the great desire that the soul has to see God. ¶ For I felt in myself five ways of working, which be these: enjoying; mourning; desire; dread; and /S/ secure/P/ true /SP/ hope. ¶ Enjoying, for God gave me understanding, and knowing that it was himself that I saw. ¶ Mourning, and that was for failing. ¶ Desire, and that was that I might see him ever more and more. ¶ Understanding, and knowing, that we shall never have full rest, till we see him truly and clearly, in heaven. ¶ Dread was, for it seemed to me in all that time, that that sight should fail, and I be left to myself. ¶ /S/ Secure /P/ True /SP/ hope was in the endless love that I saw I should be kept by his mercy, and brought to his bliss. ¶ And the joying in his sight with this /S/ secure /P/ true /SP/ hope of his merciful keeping made me to have feeling and comfort, so that mourning and dread were not greatly painful. ¶ And yet in all this I beheld in the Showing of God, that this kind of sight of him may not be continual in this life, and that for his own worship, and for increase of our endless joy. And therefore we fail often of the sight of him, and soon we fall/

into our self and then we find no feeling of right nought, but contrariousness that is in our self. ¶ And that of the elder root of our first sin with all that follows of our contrivance and in this we are travailed, and tempested with feeling of sins and of pains, in many diverse ways, ghostly and bodily, as known to us in this life.
/S/Of mercy and grace and their properties, and how we shall enjoy that we ever suffered woe patiently. /SP/The Forty-Eighth Chapter.
But our good Lord the holy Ghost who is endless life, dwelling in our soul, full /S/ securely /P/ truly /SP/ keeps us and works therein a peace and brings it to ease, by grace, and accords it to God and makes it pliant. And this is the mercy and the way that our Lord continually leads us in as long as we be here in this life, which is changeable. ¶ For I saw no wrath but in man's part, and that he forgives in us. For wrath is not else but a forwardness and a contrariousness to peace and to love. And either it comes of failing of might or of failing of wisdom or of failing of goodness, which failing is not in God, but it is on our part, for we by sin and /S/ wretchedness /P/ wrath /SP/ have in us a /S/ wretched /P/ wrath /SP/ and continuous contrariousness to peace and to love. And that showed he most often in his lovely cheer of ruth and pity. ¶ For the ground of mercy is love, and the working of mercy is our keeping in love. And this was showed in such manner, that I could not perceive of the property of mercy otherwise, but as it were /S/ alone /P/ all love /SP/ in love, that is to say as to my sight. ¶ Mercy is a sweet gracious working in love mixed with plenteous pity. For mercy works keeping us, and mercy works turning to us all thing to good. Mercy by love suffers us to fail by measure. ¶ And in as much as we fail, in so much we fall and in as much as we fall, in so much we die. ¶ For we must die, in as much as we fail sight and feeling of God who is our life. ¶ Our failing is dreadful, our falling is shameful, and our dying is sorrowful. ¶ But in all this the sweet eye of pity and love never leaves us nor ceases the working of mercy. For I beheld the property of mercy. And I beheld the property of grace, which have two ways of working in one love. Mercy is a pitiful property which belongs to the Motherhood in tender love. And grace is a worshipful property, which belongs to the royal Lordship in the same love. Mercy works, keeping, suffering, quickening and healing. And all is of tenderness of love. And grace works, /P/ with mercy /SP/ raising, rewarding and endlessly overpassing, that our loving and our travail deserve spreading abroad, and showing the high plenteous generousness of/

God's royal Lordship in his marvelous courtesy. And this is of the abundance of love. For grace works our dreadful failing into plenteous endless solace. ¶ And grace works our shameful falling into high worshipful rising. And grace works our sorrowful dying into holy blissful life. ¶ For I saw full /S/ securely /P/ truly /SP/ that ever as our contrariousness works to us here on earth pain, shame and sorrow, right so on the contrary wise, grace works to us in heaven, solace, worship and bliss, and overpassing, so much that when we come up and receive the sweet reward which grace has wrought to us, /S/ then /P/ there /SP/ we shall thank and bless our Lord endlessly joying, that ever we suffered woe. And that shall be for a property of blessed love, that we shall know in God, which we might never have known without woe going before. ¶ And when I saw all this I needed to grant that the mercy of God and the forgiveness is to slacken and lessen our wrath.
/S/ Our life is grounded in love, without which we perish, but yet God is never wroth, but in our wrath and sin he mercifully keeps us, and treats us to peace, rewarding our tribulations. /SP/The Forty-Ninth Chapter.
For this was a high marvel to the soul who was continually showed in all and with great diligence beholds that our Lord God regarding himself, may not forgive, /P/ for he may not be wroth. ¶ For it were impossible that /S/ he be wroth. /SP/ For this was showed that our life is all grounded and rooted in love, and without love we may not live. And therefore to the soul that of his special grace sees so much of the high marvelous goodness of God, and that we are endlessly oned to him in love. It is the most impossible that may be that God should be wroth. ¶ For wrath and friendship be two contraries. For he who lessens and destroys our wrath, and makes us meek and mild, it must needs /S/ be /P/ I believe /SP/ that he be ever in one love, meek and mild, which is contrarious to wrath. ¶ For I saw full /S/ securely /P/ truly /SP/ that where our Lord appears, peace is taken and wrath has no place. For I saw no manner of wrath in God, neither for a short time, nor for long. For /P/ as /SP/ truly as to my sight, if God might be wroth a /S/ touch /P/ while, /SP/ we should never have life nor stead nor being. For truly as we have our being of the endless might of God, and of the endless wisdom, and of the endless goodness, as truly we have our keeping in the endless might of God, in the endless wisdom and in the endless goodness. ¶ For though we feel in us /S/ wretches /P/ wrath, /SP/ debates and/

strifes, yet are we in all ways enclosed in the mildness of God, and in his meekness, in his benignity and in his suppleness. ¶ For I saw full /S/ securely /P/ truly /SP/ that all our endless friendship, our stead, our life and our being is in God. For that same endless goodness that keeps us when we sin, that we perish not, the same endless goodness continually treats in us a peace against our wrath and our contrarious falling, and makes us to see our need with a true dread mightily to seek into God to have forgiveness with a gracious desire of our salvation. For we may not be blissfully saved till we be truly in peace and in love. For that is our salvation. ¶ And though we, by the wrath and the contrariousness that is in us, be now in tribulation, disease and woe, as falls to our blindness and frailty, yet are we surely safe by the merciful keeping of God, that we perish not. But we are not blissfully saved in having of our endless joy till we be all in peace and in love, that is to say, full pleased with God and with all his works. And with all his judgments, and loving and peaceable with our self,  and with our even-Christian and with all whom God loves as love likes. And this does God's goodness in us. ¶ Thus saw I that God is our true peace. And he is our secure keeper when we are ourselves in unpeace. And he continually works to bring us into endless peace. And thus when we by the working of mercy and grace be made meek and mild, we are full safe. ¶ Suddenly is the soul oned to God, when /S/ it /P/ she /SP/ is truly peaced in /S/ the /P/ her /SP/ self for in him is found no wrath. ¶ And thus I saw when we are all in peace and in love, we find no contrariousness, nor no manner of stopping the contrariousness which is now in us. Our Lord of his goodness makes it to us full profitable. For that contrariousness is cause of our tribulations and all our woe. And our Lord Jesus takes them and sends them up to heaven, and there are they made more sweet and delectable than heart may think or tongue may tell. And when we come there we shall find them already turned into very fair and endless worships. ¶ Thus is God our steadfast ground, and he shall be our full bliss and make us unchangeable as he is when we are there.
/S/How the chosen soul was never dead in the sight of God and of a marvel upon the same. And three things made her bold to ask of God understanding of them. /SP/ The Fiftieth Chapter.
And in this deadly life mercy and forgiveness is our way, and evermore lead us to grace. And by the tempest and the sorrow that we fall in on our/

part we be often dead as to man's judgment on earth. But in the sight of God the soul that shall be saved was never dead nor never shall be. ¶ But yet here I wondered and marveled with all the diligence of my soul, meaning thus, 'Good Lord, I see you are very truth and I know truly that we sin grievously all day and be much blameworthy. And I may neither leave the knowing of this truth, nor may I see you showing to us no manner of blame. ¶ How may this be? For I know by the common teaching of holy Church and by my own feeling, that the blame of our sin continually hangs upon us from the first man unto the time that we come up into heaven'. ¶ Then was this my marvel that I saw our Lord God showing to us no more blame, than if we were as clean and as holy as angels be in heaven. And between these two contraries my reason was greatly travailed by my blindness, and could have no rest for dread that his blessed presence should pass from my sight, and I be left in unknowing how he beholds us in our sin. ¶ For either I needed to see in God, that sin were all done away, or else I needed to see in God, how he sees it, whereby I might truly know how it belongs to me to see sin, and the manner of our blame. ¶ My longing he endured continually beholding, and yet I could have no patience for great /S/ awe /P/ fear /SP/ and perplexity, thinking if I take it thus that we be not sinners nor not blameworthy, it seems as I should err and fail in knowing of this truth. And if it be so that we be sinners and blameworthy, 'Good Lord, how may it then be that I cannot see this truth in you who are my God, my Maker, in whom I desire to see all truths?' For three points make me bold to ask it. ¶ The first is for it is so low a thing, for if it were a high one, I should have been a dread. ¶ The second that it is so common, for if it were special and privy, also I should have been afraid. ¶ The third is that I need to know it as I think if I shall live here for knowing of good and evil, whereby I may by reason and grace the more divide them asunder, and love goodness and hate evil as holy Church teaches. ¶ I cried inwardly with all my might seeking unto God for help, meaning thus, 'Ah, Lord Jesus, King of Bliss, how shall I be eased? Who shall teach me and tell me what I need to know if I may not at this time see it in you?'/

/S/ ♫ or ♫ The answer to the previous doubt by a marvelous Parable of a Lord and a servant. And God will be waited for, for it was twenty years after before she fully understood this example. And how it is understood that Christ sits on the right hand of the Father./SP/ The Fifty-First Chapter. [Hear The Lord and the Servant Chapter, Audio File. ]
And then our Courteous Lord answered in showing full mistily a wonderful parable of a Lord who has a servant, and gave me sight to my understanding of both. Which sight was showed double in the Lord. And the sight was showed double in the servant. ¶ Then one part was showed ghostly in bodily likeness. ¶ And the other part was showed more ghostly, without bodily likeness. ¶ For the first thus I saw two persons in bodily likeness, that is to say a Lord and a servant. And therewith God gave me ghostly understanding. The Lord sits solemnly in rest, and in peace. The servant stands before his Lord reverently ready to do his Lord's will. The Lord looks upon his servant full lovely and sweetly and meekly. He sends him to a certain place to do his will. The servant, not only he goes, but suddenly he starts and runs in great haste, for love to do his Lord's will, and immediately he falls into an abyss. And takes full great sore. And then he groans and moans and /S/ wails /P/ wallows /SP/ and writhes, but he may not rise nor help himself in any way. ¶ And of all this the most mischief that I saw him in, was failing of comfort, for he could not turn his face to look up on his loving Lord, who was to him full near, in whom is full comfort, but as a man who was feeble and unwise. For the time he attended to his feeling, and endured in woe. In which woe he suffered seven great pains. ¶ The first was the sore bruising that he took in his falling, which was to him /S/ feelable /P/ much /SP/ pain. ¶ The second was the heaviness of his body. ¶ The third was feebleness following of these two. ¶ The fourth that he was blinded in his reason and shattered in his mind so much that he had almost forgotten his own love. ¶ The fifth was that he might not rise. ¶ The sixth was /P/ pain /SP/ most marvelous to me and that was that he lay alone. I looked all about and beheld, and far nor near, high nor low, I saw for him no help. ¶ The seventh was that the place which he lay on, was long, hard and grievous. ¶ I marveled how this servant might meekly suffer there all this woe. And I beheld attentively to know if I could perceive in him any fault, or if the Lord should assign in him any blame. And truly there was none seen. For only his good will and his great desire was cause of his falling. And he was as unloathsome and as good inwardly, as when he stood before his Lord, ready to do his will. And right thus continually his loving Lord full tenderly beholds him. And now with a double cheer, one outward, full meekly and mildly with/

great ruth and pity. And this was of the first. ¶ Another inward more ghostly and this was showed with a leading of my understanding into the Lord /P/ in restoring /SP/ which I saw him highly enjoying. For the worshipful resting and nobleness that he will and shall bring his servant to by his plenteous grace. And this was of that other Showing. And now my understanding led again into the first, keeping both in mind. ¶ Then says this courteous Lord in his meaning, 'Lo, lo, my loved servant, what harm and disease he has taken in my service for my love. Yea, and for his good will. Is it not /S/wise /P/ reason /SP/ that I reward him for his fear and his dread, his hurt and his maiming and all his woe. And not only this but falls it not to me to give a gift that be better to him and more worshipful than his own wholeness should have been and else I would think I did him no grace'. And in this an inward ghostly showing of the Lord's meaning descended into my soul. In which I saw that it needs must be, given his great and his own worship, that his dearworthy servant whom he loved so much should be /S/ truly /P/ highly /SP/ and blissfully rewarded without end, above what he should have been if he had not fallen. Yea, and so much that his falling and /P/ all /SP/ his woe that he has taken thereby, shall be turned to high and overpassing worship and endless bliss. ¶ And at this point the Showing of the example vanished and our good Lord led forth my understanding in sight and in Showing of the Revelation to the end. But notwithstanding all this forthleading, the marveling of the example /S/ came /P/ went /SP/ never from me. For I thought it was given to me for an answer to my desire. And yet could I not take therein full understanding to my ease at that time. ¶ For in the servant that was showed for Adam as I shall say, I saw many diverse properties that might by no manner be right to the one Adam. And thus in that time I stood much in /S/ unknowing /P/ three knowings. /SP/ For the full understanding of this marvelous example was not given me in that time. ¶ In which misty example /S/ three properties /P/ the privities /SP/ of the revelation be yet much hidden. And notwithstanding this I saw and understood that every Showing is full of privities. And therefore I must now needs tell of three properties in which I am somewhat eased. ¶ The first is the beginning of teaching that I understood therein at the same time. ¶ The second is the inward learning that I have understood therein since. ¶ The third is /P/ all /SP/ the whole Revelation from the beginning to the end, /S/ that is to say of this book, /SP/ which our Lord God of his goodness brings oftentimes freely to the sight of my understanding. ¶ And these three are so oned as to my understanding that I cannot nor may separate them. And by these three as one I have teaching whereby I/

ought to believe and trust in our Lord God, who of the same goodness that he showed it and for the same end, right so of the same goodness and for the same end he shall declare it to us when it is his will.¶ For /S/ fifteen /P/ twenty /SP/ years after the time of the Showing save three months I had teaching inwardly, as I shall say. ¶ It belongs to you to take heed of all the properties and condition that were showed in the example although you think that they be misty and indifferent to your sight. ¶ I assented willingly, with great desire /S/ and /P/ seeing /SP/ inwardly with advisement, all the points and properties that were showed in the same time, as much as my wit and understanding would serve. Beginning my beholding at the Lord and at the servant. ¶ And the manner of sitting of the Lord and the place that he sat on, and the colour of his clothing, and the manner of shape, and his cheer without, and his nobleness and his goodness within. ¶ At the manner of standing of the servant. And the place, where and how, at his manner of clothing, the colour and the shape, at his outward behaving and at his inward goodness, and his unloathsomeness. ¶ The Lord who sat solemnly in rest and in peace, I understand that he is God. ¶ The servant who stood before the Lord, I understood that it was showed for Adam, that is to say one man was showed, that time, and his falling to make there by understanding how God beholds /P/ all /S/ a /SP/ man and his falling. /SP/ For in the sight of God all man is one man and one man is all man. ¶ This man was hurt in his might and made most feeble, and he was stunned in his understanding, for he was turned from the beholding of his Lord, but his will was kept whole in God's sight. For his will I saw our Lord commend and approve. But himself was blocked and blinded of the knowing of this will. And this is to him great sorrow and grievous disease. For neither he sees clearly his loving Lord, who is to him full meek and mild, nor does he see truly what himself is in the sight of his loving Lord. And well I know when these two are wisely and truly seen we shall get rest and peace here, in part, and the fullness of the bliss of heaven, by his plenteous grace. ¶ And this was a beginning of teaching which I saw in the same time whereby I might come to knowing in what manner he beholds us in our sin. ¶ And then I saw that only pains blame and punish. And our courteous Lord comforts /S/ and sorrows /SP/ and succours /S/ the soul /P/ and ever he is to the soul in glad cheer loving and longing to bring us to bliss. ¶ The place where our Lord sat on was simply on the earth, barren and desert, alone in a wilderness, his clothing was wide and broad, and full seemly as becomes a Lord. ¶ The colour of his cloth was blue as azure, most sad and fair, his cheer was merciful. ¶ The colour of his face was fair brown /P/ white /SP/ with fulsomely features, his eyes were black, most fair and seemly, showing full of lovely pity and within him a/

height, length and breadth all full of endless /S/ heavens /P/ heavenliness. /SP/¶ And the lovely looking that he looked upon his servant continually, and namely in his falling, I thought it might melt our hearts for love, and burst them in two for joy. The fair looking showed of a seemly mixture which was marvelous to behold. ¶ That one was ruth and pity. ¶ That other was joy and bliss. The joy and bliss pass as far ruth and pity as heaven is above earth. The pity was earthly and the bliss was heavenly. ¶ The ruth in the pity of the Father was of the falling of Adam who is his most loved creature. The joy and the bliss was of /P/ the falling of /SP/ his dearworthy Son, who is even with the Father. ¶ The merciful beholding of his lovely cheer fulfilled all earth and descended down with Adam into Hell, with which continuing pity, Adam was kept from endless death. And this mercy and pity dwells with mankind into the time we come up into heaven. ¶ But man is blinded in this life, and therefore we may not see our Father God, as he is. And what time that he of his goodness will show him to man, he shows him homely as man. ¶ Notwithstanding, /S/ I did not see /P/ I saw that /SP/ truly, we ought to know and believe that the Father is not man. ¶ But his sitting on the earth barren and desert means this. ¶ He made man's soul to be his own city, and his dwelling place, which is most pleasing to him of all his works, and what time that man was fallen into sorrow and pain, he was not all seemly to serve of that noble office. And therefore our natural Father would ordain for him no other place, but to sit upon the earth awaiting mankind, who is meddled of earth, till that time by his grace, his dearworthy Son had bought again his city into the noble fairness with his hard travail. ¶ The blueness of the clothing means his steadfastness, the brownness of his fair face with the seemly blackness of the eyes was most according to show his holy solemnity. ¶ The largeness of his clothing which were fair gathered about means he has beclosed in him all heavens and all /P/ endless /SP/ joy and bliss. ¶ And this was showed in a touch, where I /S/ say /P/ saw /SP/ my understanding was led into the Lord. In which I saw him highly enjoy, for the worshipful restoring that he will and shall bring his servant to, by his plenteous grace. And yet I marveled beholding the Lord and the servant beforesaid. I saw the Lord sit solemnly and the servant standing reverently before his Lord. In which Servant is double understanding. ¶ One without, another within. Outwardly he was clad simply as a labourer, who was ready to work, and he stood full near the Lord, not even before him, but in part to one side, and that on the left. His/

clothing was a single white kirtle, old and all defaced, dyed with the sweat of his body, tight fitting to him, and short, as it were a handful beneath the knee, seeming bare, as it should soon be worn out, ready to be ragged and rent. ¶ And in this I marveled greatly, thinking, this is now an unseemly garb for the servant who is so highly loved to stand in, before so worthy a Lord. ¶ And inward in him was showed a ground of love, which love he had to the Lord, was even like to the love the Lord had to him. The wisdom of the servant saw inwardly that there was one thing to do, which should be to the worship of the Lord. ¶ And the servant for love having no regard to himself, nor to anything that might befall him, hastily he started and ran at the sending of his Lord to do that thing which was his will and his worship. For it seemed by his outward clothing that he had been a continual worker /P/ and a hard labourer /SP/ for a long time. ¶ And by the inward sight that I had, both in the Lord and in the servant, it seemed that he was an apprentice. That is to say, newly beginning to work. Which servant was never sent out before. There was a treasure in the earth which the Lord loved. I marveled and thought, what might it be? ¶ And I was answered in my understanding, it is a meat which is lovesome and pleasing to the Lord. For I saw the Lord sitting as a man, and I saw neither meat nor drink wherewith to serve him. This was one marvel. Another marvel was that this solemn Lord had no servant but one. And him he sent out. I beheld thinking what manner labour it might be that the servant should do? And then I understood that he should do the greatest labour and hardest work that is. ¶ He should be a Gardener, digging and ditching, toiling and sweating, and turn the earth upsidedown, and seek the deepness, and water the plants in time. And in this he should continue his labour, and make sweet floods to run, and noble and plenteous fruits to spring forth which he should bring before the Lord and serve him therewith to his liking. And he should never turn again till he had prepared this meat all ready as he knew the Lord liked it. And then he should take this meat with the drink /S/ in the meat /SP/ and bear it full worshipfully before the Lord. And all this time the Lord should sit on the same place abiding his servant whom he sent out. ¶ And yet I marveled from where the servant came. For I saw in the/

Lord that he has within himself endless life and all manner of goodness, save that treasure that was in the earth, and that was grounded in the Lord in marvelous deepness of endless love. But it was not all to the worship till this servant had served it thus nobly, and brought it before him, presenting it himself. And around the Lord was nought but wilderness. And I did not understand all that this Parable meant, and therefore I marveled from where the servant came. ¶ In the servant is comprehended the second Person in the Trinity. And in the servant is comprehended Adam, that is to say, all men. ¶ And therefore, when I say the Son, it means the Godhead, who is even with the Father. And where I say the servant it means Christ's manhood, who is rightful Adam. By the nearness of the servant is understood the Son. And by the standing on the left side, is understood Adam. The Lord is the Father God, the servant is the Son Christ Jesus, the holy Ghost is even love which is in them both. ¶ When Adam fell, God's Son fell, from the rightful oneing which was made in heaven. God's Son might not go from Adam, for by Adam I understand all man. Adam fell from life to death into the hollow of this wretched world. And after that into Hell. God's Son fell with Adam into the slade of the Maiden's womb. Who was the fairest daughter of Adam. And that for to excuse Adam from blame in heaven and in earth. And mightily he fetched him out of Hell. ¶ By the wisdom and goodness that was in the servant is understood God's Son. By the poor clothing as a labourer standing near the left side, is understood the manhood and Adam with all the mischief and feebleness that follow. For in all this our good Lord showed his own Son and Adam as but one man. ¶ The virtue and the goodness that we have is of Jesus Christ, the feebleness and the blindness that we have is of Adam. Which two were showed in the servant. And thus has our good Lord Jesus taken upon him all our blame. ¶ And therefore our Father may not nor will no more blame assign to us than to his own Son dearworthy Christ. ¶ Thus was he, the servant, before his coming upon earth standing ready before the Father, on purpose till what time he would send him to do that worshipful deed, by which mankind was brought again into heaven. That is to say, notwithstanding that he is God even with the Father as regarding the Godhead. But in his foreseeing purpose, that he would be man to save man in fulfilling of his Father's will. So he stood before his Father as a servant wilfully taking upon him all our/

charge. And than he started full readily at the Father's will and immediately he fell full low into the Maiden's womb, having no regard to himself nor to his hard pains. ¶ The white kirtle is his flesh, the singleness of it, that there was right nought between the Godhead and the manhood, the narrowness is poverty, the age is of Adam's wearing, the defacing of sweat of Adam's work, the shortness shows the servant's labour. ¶ And thus I saw the Son standing, saying in his meaning, 'Lo, my dear Father, I stand before you in Adam's kirtle, all ready to start and to run. I would be on earth to do your worship when it is your will to send me. How long shall I desire?' ¶ Full truly the Son knows when it was the Father's will. And how long he shall desire. That is to say regarding the Godhead. For he is the wisdom of the Father. Wherefore this meaning was showed in understanding of the manhood of Christ. For all mankind that shall be saved by the sweet Incarnation and blissful Passion of Christ, all is the manhood of Christ. For he is the head. And we be his members. To which members the day and the time is unknown when every passing woe and sorrow shall have an end. And the everlasting joy and bliss shall be fulfilled. Which day and time for to see, all the company of heaven longs /P/ and desires. /SP/ And all that shall be under heaven that shall come there, their way is by longing and desire. Which desire and longing was showed in the servant standing before the Lord or else this in the Son's standing before the Father in Adam's kirtle. For the langour and desire of all mankind that shall be saved appeared in Jesus. For /P/ in /SP/ Jesus is all who shall be saved. And all who shall be saved is /P/ in /SP/ Jesus, and all of the charity of God, with obedience, meekness, and patience and virtues that belong to us. ¶ Also in this marvelous Parable I have teaching with me as it were the beginning of an ABC, whereby I may have some understanding of our Lord's meaning. For the privities of the Revelation be hid therein, notwithstanding that all the Showing is full of privities. ¶ The sitting of the Father betokens his Godhead, that is to say for Showing of rest and peace. For in the Godhead may be no labour. And that he showed himself as Lord, means our manhood. ¶ The standing of the servant means travail. To one side and to the left means that he was not all worthy to stand /S/ ever /P/ even /SP/ right before the Lord. His starting was the Godhead, and the running was the manhood. ¶ For the Godhead starts from the Father into the Maiden's womb, falling into the taking of our nature. And in this falling he took great sore. The sore that he took was our flesh, in which /P/ as Son /SP/ he had also sudden feeling of deadly pains. ¶ By that he stood full of dread before the/

Lord, and not even to his right, means that his clothing was not honest to stand even right before the Lord, nor that might not nor should not be his office while he was a labourer. Nor also might he sit in rest and peace with the Lord, till he had won his peace rightfully with his hard work. ¶ And by the left side, that the Father left his own Son wilfully in the manhood to suffer all man's pains without sparing of him. By his kirtle being at the point to be rent into rags, is understood the whips and the scourges, the thorns and the nails, the drawing and the dragging of his tender flesh rending, as I saw, in some part the flesh being rent from the headpan falling into pieces until the time the bleeding failed. And then it began to dry again, /S/ clinging /P/ cleaving /SP/ to the bone. ¶ And by the wallowing and writhing, groaning and moaning, is understood that he might never rise all mightily from the time that he was fallen into the Maiden's womb, till his body was slain and dead, he yielding the soul into the Father's hands with all mankind for whom he was sent. ¶ And at this point, he began first to show his might, for /P/ then /SP/ he went into Hell, and when he was there he raised up the great root out of the deep deepness, which rightfully was knit to him in high heaven. The body was in the grave till Easter Morrow. And from that time he lay never more. ¶ For then was rightfully ended the wallowing and the writhing, the groaning and the moaning. And our foul deadly flesh that God's Son took on him, which was Adam's old kirtle, tight, bare and short, then by our Saviour was made fair, new, white and bright and of endless cleanness, wide and long, fairer and richer, than was then the clothing which I saw on the Father. For that clothing was blue. And Christ's clothing is now of a fair, seemly rainbow, which is so marvelous that I cannot describe it. For it is all of true worship. ¶ Now sits not the Lord on earth in a wilderness, but he sits in his /P/ rich and /SP/ noblest throne which he made in heaven most to his liking. Now stands not the Son before the Father as a servant before the Lord full of dread, humbly clad, in part naked, but he stands before the Father ever right richly clad in blissfull largesse, with a crown upon his head of precious richness. ¶ For it was showed that we be his Crown, which Crown is the Father's joy, the Son's worship, the holy Ghost's liking. And endless marvelous bliss to all who be in heaven. ¶ Now stands not the Son before the Father on the left side as a labourer, but he sits at his Father's right hand in endless rest and peace. But it is not meant that the Son sits on the right hand side beside him as one man sits by another in this life. For there/

Flemish Manuscript of Trinity

is no such sitting as to my sight in the Trinity. But he sits on his Father's right hand, that is to say, in the highest nobility of the Father's joys. Now is the spouse, God's Son, in peace with his loved wife, who is the fair Maiden of endless joy. Now sits the Son true God and /P/ true /SP/ man in his city in rest and peace, which his Father has ordained to him of his endless purpose. And the Father in the Son. And the holy Ghost in the Father and in the Son.
  ♫ /S/God enjoys that he is our Father, Brother, and Spouse. And how the chosen have here a medley of weal and woe, but God is with us in three ways, and how we may eschew sin but never it. /SP/The Fifty-Second Chapter.
And thus I saw that God enjoys that he is our Father, God enjoys that he is our Mother, and God enjoys that he is our true Spouse. And our soul is his loved wife. ¶ And Christ enjoys that he is our brother. And Jesus enjoys that he is our Saviour. ¶ There are five high joys as I understand in which he will that we enjoy, him praising, him thanking, him loving, him endlessly blessing, all who shall be saved. For the time of this life we have in us a marvelous medley both of weal and woe. ¶ We have in us Lord Jesus /P/ Christ /SP/ Uprisen, we have in us the wretchedness and the mischief of Adam's falling dying. By Christ we are /S/ steadfastly /P/ lastingly /SP/ kept, and by his grace touching we are raised into /S/ secure /P/ true /SP/ trust of salvation. ¶ And by Adam's Falling we are so broken in our feeling in diverse manner /S/ business /P/ by sin /SP/ and by sundry pains, in which we are made dark and so blind that scarcely we can take any comfort. ¶ But in our meaning we abide God, and faithfully trust to have mercy and grace. And this is his own working in us. ¶ And of his goodness he opens the eye of our understanding by which we have sight, sometimes more, and sometimes less. After that God gives the ability to take. And now we are raised into that one, and now we are permitted to fall into that other. ¶ And thus is this medley so marvelous in us that scarce we know of ourself, or of our even-Christian in what way we stand, for the marvelousness of this sundry feeling. ¶ But that same holy assent that we assent to God when we feel him truly, willing to be with him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our might. And then we hate and despise our evil stirrings, and all that might be occasion of sin, ghostly and bodily. ¶ And yet nevertheless when this sweetness is hidden, we fall again into blindness and so into woe and tribulation in diverse ways. ¶ But then is this our comfort that we know in our faith, that by the virtue of Christ, who is our keeper, we assent never thereunto, but we grouch there again and endure in pain and woe, praying into the time that he show himself again to us. And thus/

we stand in this medley all the days of our life. But he wills /S/ us to /P/ we /SP/ trust that he is lastingly with us, and that in three ways. ¶ He is with us in heaven true man in his own Person, us up drawing. And that was showed in the ghostly thirst. And he is with us on earth leading us. And that was showed in the Third Showing, where I saw God in a point. And he is with us in our soul endlessly dwelling, ruling and /S/ guarding /P/ guiding /SP/ us. And that was showed in the Sixteenth Showing, as I shall say. ¶ And thus in the servant was showed the mischief and blindness of Adam's falling. ¶ And in the servant was showed the wisdom and goodness of God's Son. ¶ And in the Lord was showed the ruth and pity of Adam's woe. ¶ And in the Lord was showed the high nobleness and the endless worship that mankind is come to by the virtue of the Passion and the death of his dearworthy Son. And therefore mightily he enjoys in his falling, for the high Rising and fullness of bliss that mankind is come to overpasses what we should have had if he had not fallen. ¶ And thus to see this overpassing nobleness was my understanding led into God in the same time that I saw the servant fallen. ¶ And thus we have now matter of mourning. For our sin is cause of Christ's pains. And we have lastingly matter of joy. For endless love made him to suffer. ¶ And therefore the creature who sees and feels the working of love by grace, hates nought but sin. For of all thing to my sight love and hate are hardest and most unmeasurable contraries. And notwithstanding all this I saw and understood in our Lord's meaning, that we may not in this life keep us from sin, as /P/ all /SP/ wholly in full cleanness as we shall be in heaven. ¶ But we may well by grace keep us from the sins which will lead us to endless pains, as holy Church teaches us. And eschew venal sin reasonably with our might. And if we by our blindness and our wretchedness any time fall, that we readily rise, knowing the sweet touching of grace and wilfully amend us, upon the teaching of holy Church, after that the sin is grievous, and go forth /S/ to /P/ with /SP/ God in love. And neither on the one side fall over low inclining to despair, nor on that other side be over reckless as if we gave no force, but /S/ nakedly /P/ meekly /SP/ knowing our feebleness, understanding that we may not stand a twinkling of an eye but by keeping of grace. And reverently cleave to God trusting on him only. ¶ For otherwise is the beholding of God, and otherwise is the beholding of man. For it belongs to man meekly to accuse himself. And it belong to the proper goodness of our Lord God courteously to excuse man. ¶ And these be two parties that were showed in the double cheer, in which the Lord beheld the falling of his loved servant./

¶ That one was showed outwardly, most meekly and mildly, with great ruth and pity. ¶ And that /P/ other of inward /SP/ endless love. ¶ And right thus will our Lord that we accuse ourself wilfully and truly seeing and knowing /S/ our falling and all the harms that come thereof, seeing and understanding that we may never restore it, and therewith that we wilfully and truly see and know /SP/ his everlasting love that he has for us and his plenteous mercy. ¶ And thus graciously to see and know both together is the meek accusing that our Lord asks of us. And himself works it, then it is. And this is the lower part of man's life. ¶ And it was showed in the outward cheer. In which Showing I saw two parts: ¶ That one is the rueful falling of man; ¶ That other is the worshipful Assize that our Lord has made for man. The other cheer was showed inwardly, and that was more highly and all one. ¶ For the life and the virtue that we have in the lower part is of the higher and it comes down to us of the natural love of the self by grace. Between that one and that other is right nought, for it is all one love. Which one blessed love has now in us a double working. For in the lower part are pains and passions, ruths and pities, mercies and forgiveness, and such other that are profitable. ¶ But in the higher part are none of these. But all one high love, and marvelous joy. In which marvelous joy all pains /S/ are highly restored /P/ be wholly destroyed. /SP/ And in this our good Lord showed not only our excusing, but also the worshipful nobleness that he shall bring us to, turning all our blame into endless worship.
/S/ The kindness of God assigns no blame to his chosen. For in these is a goodly will that never consents to sin. For the ruthfulness of God must so be knit to these, that there be a substance kept that may never be separated from him. /SP/ The Fifty-Third Chapter.
And /P/ thus /SP/ I saw that he will we know he takes not harder the falling of any creature who shall be saved, than he took the falling of Adam, whom we know was endlessly loved and securely kept in the time of all his need. And now is blissfully restored in high overpassing joys. For our lord God is so good, so gentle and so courteous, that he may never assign fault, in whom he shall ever be blessed and praised. ¶ And in this that I have now said was my desire in part answered and my great awe somewhat eased by the lovely gracious Showing of our good Lord. ¶ In which Showing I saw and understood full securely that in every soul that shall be saved is a godly will that never assents to sin nor ever shall. Which will is so good that it may never will /S/ ill /P/ evil, but evermore continually it wills good and works good in the sight of God. ¶ Therefore our Lord will we know it with faith and the belief. And namely and truly, that we have all this blessed will whole and safe in/

our Lord Jesus Christ. For that /S/ same /P/ each /SP/ nature that heaven shall be fulfilled with needs of God's righteousness so to be knit and oned to him, that therein were kept a substance which might never nor should be parted from him. And that through his own good will in his endless foreseeing purpose. And notwithstanding this rightful knitting and this endless oneing, yet the redemption and the again-buying of mankind is needful and helpful in everything, as it is done for the same intent and to the same end, that holy Church in our faith teaches us. ¶ For I saw that God began never to love mankind, for right the same that mankind shall be in endless bliss fulfilling the joy of God as regards his works, right so the same mankind has been in the foresight of God known and loved from without beginning in his rightful intent. And by the endless /P/ intent and /SP/ assent of the full accord of all the Trinity. The middle Person would be ground and head of this fair nature, out of whom we be all come, in whom we be all enclosed, into whom we shall all go, in him finding our full heaven in ever lasting joy by the foreseeing purpose of all the blessed Trinity from without beginning. For before that he made us he loved us. And when we were made we loved him. ¶ And this is a love made of this natural substantial goodness of the holy Ghost, mighty in reason of the might of the Father, and wise in mind of the wisdom of the Son. And thus is man's soul made of God, and in the same point knit to God. And thus I understand that man's soul is made of nought, that is to say, it is made but of nought that is made, as thus: when God should make man's body, he took the /S/ clay /P/ slime /SP/ of earth, which is a matter mixed and gathered from all bodily things, and thereof he made man's body. ¶ But to the making of man's soul he would take right nought, but made it. And thus is the nature made rightfuly oned to the Maker, who is substantial nature unmade, that is God. ¶ And therefore it is that there may nor shall be right nought between God and man's soul. And in the endless love man's soul is kept whole, as /P/ all /SP/ the matter of the Revelation means and shows, in which endless love we be led and kept of God and never shall be lost. For /W/ Also /WSP/ he will we know that our soul is a life, which life of his goodness and his grace shall last in heaven without end, him loving, him thanking, him praising. /SP/ ¶ And right the same we shall be without end, the same we were treasured in God, and hid, known and loved from without beginning. /W/ Also /SP/ Wherefore /SP/ he will we know that the noblest thing that ever he made is mankind, and the fullest substance, and the highest virtue is the blessed soul of Christ. And furthermore he will we know that his dearworthy soul was preciously knit to him in the/

making, which knot is /W/ so /WSP/ subtle, and so mighty that it is oned into God. In which oneing it is made endlessly holy. ¶ Furthermore he will we know that all the souls who shall be saved in heaven without end are knit and oned in this oneing, and made holy in this holiness.
/S/ We ought to enjoy that God dwells in our soul and our soul in God, so that between God and our soul is nothing, but as it were all God. And how faith is ground of all virtue in our soul by the holy Ghost. /SP/The Fifty-Fourth Chapter./WSP/
And for the great endless love that God has to all mankind, he makes no separation in love between the blessed soul of Christ and the least soul that shall be saved. For it is full easy to believe and to trust, that the dwelling of the blessed soul of Christ is full high in the glorious Godhead. ¶ And truly as I understand in our Lord's meaning, where the blessed soul of Christ is, there is the substance of all the souls who shall be saved by Christ. /WSPM/¶ Highly ought we to enjoy that God dwells in our soul, and much more highly ought we enjoy that our soul dwells in God. Our soul is made to be God's dwelling place, and the dwelling place of our soul is /W/ in /WSP/ God who is unmade. ¶ A high understanding it is inwardly to see and to know that God who is our maker dwells in our soul. And a higher understanding it is /PW/ and more /WSP/ inwardly to see and to know our soul that is made dwells in God's substance, of which substance by God, we are who we are. /SP/¶ And I saw no difference between God and our substance but as it were all God. And yet my understanding took that our substance is in God, that is to say that God is God, and our substance is a creature in God. ¶ For /W/ Also /WSP/ the almighty truth of the Trinity is our Father. For he made us and keeps us in him. And the deep wisdom of the Trinity is our Mother, in whom we are all enclosed. The high goodness of the Trinity is our Lord, and in him we are enclosed and he in us. /SP/ We are enclosed in the Father. And we are enclosed in the Son. And we are enclosed in the holy Ghost. And the Father is enclosed in us, and the Son is enclosed in us, and the holy Ghost is enclosed in us./WSP/ All Mightiness, All Wisdom, All Goodness, one God, one Lord. /SP/¶ And our faith is a virtue that comes of our natural substance into our sensual soul by the holy Ghost. ¶ In which /P/ virtue /SP/ all our virtues come to us, for without that no man may receive virtue. For it is not else but a right understanding with true belief and secure trust of our being/

that we are in God, and God in us, which we see not. ¶ And this virtue with all others that God has ordained to us coming therein, works in us great things. For Christ's merciful working is in us, and we graciously accord to him through the gifts and the virtues of the holy Ghost. This working makes us Christ's Children and Christian in living.
/S/ Christ is our way leading and presenting us to the Father and forthwith as the soul is infused in the body mercy and grace work. And how the Second Person took our sensuality to deliver us from double death./SP/ The Fifty-Fifth Chapter.
And thus Christ is our way securely leading us in his laws. And Christ in his body mightily bears us up into heaven. ¶ For /W/ Also /WSP/ I saw that Christ having us all in him, who shall be saved by him, worshipfully presents us to his Father in heaven, which present full thankfully his Father receives, and courteously gives it to his Son Jesus Christ, which gift and working is joy to the Father, and bliss to the Son, and delight to the holy Ghost. ¶ And of all things that belong to us it is most liking to our Lord that we enjoy in this joy, which is in the blissful Trinity of our salvation. /SP/¶ And this was seen in the Ninth Showing, where it speaks more of this matter. And notwithstanding all our feeling woe or weal, God wills we understand and believe that we are more truly in heaven than on earth. ¶ Our faith comes of the natural love of our soul, and of the clear light of our reason, and of the steadfast mind which we have of God in our first making. And what time that our soul is inspired into our body in which we are made sensual. /S/ Also often /P/ As soon /SP/ mercy and grace begin to work, having of us cure and keeping, with pity and love. In which working the holy Ghost forms in our faith, hope, that we shall come again up above to our substance into the virtue of Christ increased and fulfilled through the holy Ghost. ¶ Thus I understand that the sensuality is grounded in nature, in mercy and in grace. Which ground enables us to receive gifts that lead us to endless life. For I saw full surely that our substance is in God. ¶ And also I saw that in our sensuality God is. For /P/ in /SP/ the self-same point that our soul is made sensual, in the self-same point is the city of God ordained to him from without beginning. In which see he comes and never shall remove it. For God is never out of the soul, in which he /S/ dwells /P/ shall dwell /SP/ blissfuly without end. ¶ And this was /S/ seen /P/ said /SP/ in the Sixteenth Showing, where it says the place that Jesus takes in our soul, he shall never remove it. And all the gifts that God may give to creatures, he has given to his Son Jesus for us. Which gifts he dwelling in us has enclosed in him into the time that we be grown and aged, our soul with our body. And our body with our soul, in either of them taking help/

of other until we be brought up into stature as nature works. And then in the ground of nature with working of mercy the holy Ghost graciously inspires into us gifts leading to endless life. ¶ And thus was my understanding led of God to see in him and to understand, to comprehend and to know, that our soul is made a Trinity like to the unmade blissful Trinity, known and loved from without beginning. And in the making oned to the maker as it is before said. ¶ This sight was full sweet and marvelous to behold, peaceable and restful, secure and delectable. And for the worshipful oneing that was thus made of God between the soul and body, it needs must be that mankind shall be restored from double death. Which restoring might never be until the time that the second Person in the Trinity had taken the lower part of mankind, to whom the highest was oned in the first making. ¶ And these two parts were in Christ the higher and the lower, which is but one soul. The higher part was /S/ one /P/ ever /SP/ in peace with God in full joy and bliss, the lower part which is sensuality, suffered for the salvation of mankind. ¶ And these two parts were seen and felt in the Eighth Showing, in which my body was fulfilled of feeling and mind of Christ's Passion and his death. ¶ And furthermore with this was a subtle feeling and privy inward sight of the high part that I was showed in the same time, where I might not for the meanwhile look up into heaven. And that was for that /P/ each /SP/ mighty beholding of the inward life, which inward life is that high substance, that precious soul, who is endlessly enjoying in the Godhead.
/S/ It is easier to know God than our soul for God is to us nearer than that, and therefore if we will have knowing of it we must seek unto God, and he will we desire to have knowledge of Nature, Mercy and Grace. /SP/ The Fifty-Sixth Chapter.
And thus /WSP/ I saw full securely that it is readier to us, /WP/ and more easy /WSP/ to come to the knowing of God, than to know our own soul.¶ For our soul is so deep grounded in God and so endlessly treasured that we may not come to the knowing thereof, till we have first knowing of God, who is the maker to whom it is oned. ¶ But notwithstanding, I saw that we have /W/ naturally /WSP/ of fullness to desire wisely, and truly to know our own soul. Whereby we are taught to seek it where it is, and that is in God. ¶ And thus by gracious leading of the holy Ghost, we should know them both in one. Whether we be stirred to know God, or our /W/ self /WSP/ soul, they are both good and true. ¶ God is nearer to us than our own soul, for he is ground in whom our soul stands, and he is the means who keeps the substance and the sensuality /PW/ together /S/ to God, /WSP/ so that they shall never/

separate. For our soul sits in God in very rest, and our soul stands in God in /S/ true /PW/ sure /WSP/ strength. ¶ And our soul is naturally rooted in God in endless love. /M/ And therefore if we will have knowledge of our soul and communing and dalliance therewith, we must needs seek into our Lord God in whom it is enclosed. /SP/¶ And of this enclosing I saw and understood more in the Sixteenth Showing, as I shall say. /WP/ And as regards our substance it may rightfully be called our soul, and as regards our /S/ substance and /WSP/ sensuality, it may rightly be called our soul and that is by the oneing that it has in God. /WSPMN/¶The worshipful city that our Lord Jesus sits in, it is our sensuality in which he is enclosed, and our kindly substance is beclosed in Jesus with the blessed soul of Christ sitting in rest in the Godhead.¶ And I saw full surely that it needs must be that we should be in longing and in penance, into the time that we be led so deep into God, that we /W/ may /WSP/ verily and truly know our own soul. And /WS/ soothly /P/surely /WSP/ I saw that into this high deepness, our good Lord himself leads us in the same love that he made us, and in the same love that he bought us by mercy and grace through virtue of his blessed Passion. ¶ And notwithstanding all this we may never come to full knowing of God till we first know clearly our own soul. For until the time that it is in the full strength we may not be /W/ all full /S/ full /P/ all /WSP/ holy, and that is that our sensuality by the virtue of Christ's Passion be brought up into the substance, with all the profits of our tribulation that our Lord shall make us to get by mercy and grace. /SP/ ¶ I had in part touching, and it is grounded in nature, that is to say, our reason is grounded in God, who is /S/ substantial highness /P/substantially nature. /SP/ ¶ Of this substantial nature, mercy and grace spring and spread into us, working all things in fulfilling of our joy. ¶ These are our grounds in which we have /P/ our being, /SP/our increase and our fulfilling.¶ For in nature we have our life and our being. And in mercy and grace we have our increase and our fulfilling. These be three properties in one goodness, and where one works all work in the things which now belong to us.¶ God wills we understand, desiring with all our heart and all our strength to have knowing of him, /P/ ever /SP/ more and more, into the time that we be fulfilled. For fully to know them and clearly to see them is nought else but endless joy and bliss that we shall have in heaven, which God wills /S/ they be begun /P/ we begin /SP/ here in knowing of his love. For only by our reason we may not profit. But if there we have /S/ truly/P/ evenly /SP/ with mind and love, not only in our natural ground, that we have in God. We may not be saved but if we have knowing of the same ground, mercy and grace.¶ For of these three working together, we receive all our goodness. Of the which the first are goods of nature/

For in our first making God gave us as full goods and also greater goods as we might receive only in our spirit. But his foreseeing purpose in his endless wisdom would that we were double.
 

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Indices to Umiltà Website's Essays on Julian:

Preface
Influences on Julian
Her Self
Her Contemporaries
Her Manuscript Texts ♫ with recorded readings of them
About Her Manuscript Texts
After Julian, Her Editors
Julian in our Day

Publications related to Julian:

Saint Bride and Her Book: Birgitta of Sweden's Revelations Translated from Latin and Middle English with Introduction, Notes and Interpretative Essay. Focus Library of Medieval Women. Series Editor, Jane Chance. xv + 164 pp. Revised, republished,  Boydell and Brewer, 1997. Republished, Boydell and Brewer, 2000. ISBN 0-941051-18-8

To see an example of a page inside with parallel text in Middle English and Modern English, variants and explanatory notes, click here. Index to this book at http://www.umilta.net/julsismelindex.html

Julian of Norwich. Showing of Love: Extant Texts and Translation. Edited. Sister Anna Maria Reynolds, C.P. and Julia Bolton Holloway. Florence: SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo (Click on British flag, enter 'Julian of Norwich' in search box), 2001. Biblioteche e Archivi 8. XIV + 848 pp. ISBN 88-8450-095-8.

To see inside this book, where God's words are in red, Julian's in black, her editor's in grey, click here. 

Julian of Norwich. Showing of Love. Translated, Julia Bolton Holloway. Collegeville: Liturgical Press; London; Darton, Longman and Todd, 2003. Amazon ISBN 0-8146-5169-0/ ISBN 023252503X. xxxiv + 133 pp. Index.

 
'Colections' by an English Nun in Exile: Bibliothèque Mazarine 1202. Ed. Julia Bolton Holloway, Hermit of the Holy Family. Analecta Cartusiana 119:26. Eds. James Hogg, Alain Girard, Daniel Le Blévec. Salzburg: Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik Universität Salzburg, 2006.

Anchoress and Cardinal: Julian of Norwich and Adam Easton OSB. Analecta Cartusiana 35:20 Spiritualität Heute und Gestern. Salzburg: Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik Universität Salzburg, 2008. ISBN 978-3-902649-01-0. ix + 399 pp. Index. Plates.

Teresa Morris. Julian of Norwich: A Comprehensive Bibliography and Handbook. Preface, Julia Bolton Holloway. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 2010. x + 310 pp.  ISBN-13: 978-0-7734-3678-7; ISBN-10: 0-7734-3678-2. Maps. Index.

Fr Brendan Pelphrey. Lo, How I Love Thee: Divine Love in Julian of Norwich. Ed. Julia Bolton Holloway. Amazon, 2013. ISBN 978-1470198299

 

Julian among the Books: Julian of Norwich's Theological Library. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016. xxi + 328 pp. VII Plates, 59 Figures. ISBN (10): 1-4438-8894-X, ISBN (13) 978-1-4438-8894-3.

Mary's Dowry; An Anthology of Pilgrim and Contemplative Writings/ La Dote di Maria:Antologie di Testi di Pellegrine e Contemplativi. Traduzione di Gabriella Del Lungo Camiciotto. Testo a fronte, inglese/italiano. Analecta Cartusiana 35:21 Spiritualität Heute und Gestern. Salzburg: Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik Universität Salzburg, 2017. ISBN 978-3-903185-07-4. ix + 484 pp.

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JULIAN OF NORWICH, HER SHOWING OF LOVE AND ITS CONTEXTS ©1997-2022 JULIA BOLTON HOLLOWAY  || JULIAN OF NORWICH  || SHOWING OF LOVE || HER TEXTS || HER SELF || ABOUT HER TEXTS || BEFORE JULIAN || HER CONTEMPORARIES || AFTER JULIAN || JULIAN IN OUR TIME ||  ST BIRGITTA OF SWEDEN  ||  BIBLE AND WOMEN || EQUALLY IN GOD'S IMAGE  || MIRROR OF SAINTS || BENEDICTINISM || THE CLOISTER || ITS SCRIPTORIUM  || AMHERST MANUSCRIPT || PRAYER || CATALOGUE AND PORTFOLIO (HANDCRAFTS, BOOKS ) || BOOK REVIEWS || BIBLIOGRAPHY || © Liturgical Press, U.S.A., Darton, Longman and Todd, U.K.