Revelations of Divine Love — Julian of Norwich

THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER despised; for his passion is to think and to know that he is God that suffered; seeing after, these other two points which be lower; that one is what he suffered; and that other, for whom that he suffered. And in this he brought to mind in part the height, and the nobility of the glorious God-head, and therewith the precious-head and the tenderness of the blessedful body which be together oned, and also the loathfulness that in our kind is to suffer pain; for asmuch as he was most tender and clean, right, so he was most strong and mighty to suffer: and for every mans sin that shall be saved he suffered; and every mans sorrow, dissolation and anguish he saw, and sorrowed for kindness and love; for in as much as our Lady sorrowed for his pains, as much suffered he sorrow for her sorrows, and moreover, in as much as the sweet man-head of him was worthier in kind; for as long as he was passible, he suffered for us, and sorrowed for us. And now he is up-risen, and no more passible; yet he suffered with us, as I shall say after. And I beholding all this by his grace, saw that the love in him was so strong which he hath to our soul, that willingfully he chose it with great desire; and mildly he suffered it with great joy ; for the soul that he beboldeth thus, when it is touched bv grace he shall verily see that the pains e~ I)

THE NINTH REVELATION.

of Christs passion pass all pains; that is to say, which pains shall be turned into everlasting joy by the vertue of Christs passion.

The Twenty-first Chapter

Ir is Gods will as to my understanding that we have three manners of beholding of his blessed passion. The frst is the beholding the hard pain that he suffered with a contrition and compassion : and that shewed our Lord in this time, and gave me might and grace to see it. And I looked after the departing with all my mights, and wende to have seen the body all dead; but I saw him not so. And right in the same time that me thought, by seeming, that the life might no longer last, and the shewing of the end behoved needs to be nigh, suddenly I beholding in the same cross, he changed in blessedful chear; the changing of his blessed chear changed mine; and I was as glad and merry as it was possible. Then brought our Lord merrily to my mind, ‘ Where is now any point of thy pain or of thy anguish ?' And I was full merry; I understood that we be now, in our Lords meaning, in his cross with him-—in our pains, and in our passion— dying. And we wilfully abiding in the same cross, 56

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MAMIGEU NH A AES SN TRIB TROSOR ERASERS AS SOE MN RESINA Me SO RASANA Att RO AQUA

OAL POOPIE HALIDES

THE TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER

with his help and his grace into the last point, suddenly he shall change his chear to us: and we shall be with him in heaven; between that one and that other shall all be one time; and then shall all be brought into joy. And so meant he in this shewing, ‘ Where is now any point of thy pain or of thy grief?’ And we shall be full of bliss ; and here saw I verily, that if he shewed now to us his blessedful chear, there is no pain in earth, ne in no other place, that should trouble us: but all things should be to us joy and bliss. But for he sheweth us the sad chear of passion, as he bare in this life his cross, therefore we be in disease and travaile with him, as our kind asketh. And the cause why that he suffereth, is, for he will of his ‘goodness make us the heirs with him in his bliss. And for this litle pain that we suffer here, we shall have an high endless knowing in God, which we might never have without that; and the harder our pains have been with him in his cross, the more shall our worship be with him in his kingdom.

|. The Twenty-second Chapter

Tuen said our good Lord asking, ‘Art thou well apaid that I suffered for thee?’ I said, ‘Yea good mom

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THE NINTH REVELATION.