Revelations of Divine Love — Julian of Norwich

Lord gramercy; yea good Lord blessed mote thou be. Then said Jesu our good Lord, ‘If thou art apaid, I am apaid: It is a joy, a bliss, an endless liking to me, that ever I suffered passion for thee: and if I might have suffered more, I would have suffered more. In this feeling my understanding was lifted up into heaven: and there I saw three heavens; of which sight I was greatly marvelled, and thought I see three heavens, and all of the blissedful manhead of Christ; and none is more, none is less, none is higher, none is lower, but even like of bliss. For the first heaven, Christ shewed me his Father, in no bodily likeness, but im his property, and in his working; that is to say, I saw in Christ that the Father is. The working of the Father is this, that he giveth meed to his Son Jesu Christ: this gift and this meed is so blissedful to Jesu, that his Father might have given him no meed that might have been liked to him better. For the first heaven, that, is the pleasing of the Father shewed to me as in heaven—and it was full blissedfully; for he is well pleased with all the deeds that Jesu hath done about our salvation: wherefore we be not only his by his buying, but also by the courteous gift of his Father we be his bhss, we be his'meed, we be his worship, we be his crown; and this was a singuler marvaile, and a full delectable beholding, that we be his crown. 5S

THE TWENTYSECOND CHAPTER

This that I say is so great bliss to Jesu, that he setteth at naught his travel, and his passion, and his crue] and shameful death. And in these words, ‘If I might suffer more, I would suffer more, l saw truly, that as often as he might die, as [so] often he would, and love should never let him have rest till he had done it. And I beheld with great diligence, for to wit, how often he would die if he might: and truly the number passed my understanding and my wits so far, that my reason might not, nor could not comprehend it, ne take it. And when he had thus oft died, or should die, yet he would set it at naught for love; for all thinketh him but litle in regard of his love; for though the sweet manhood of Christ might suffer but once, the goodness of him may never cease of profer; every day he is ready to the same if it might be; for if he, said he, would for my love make new heavens, and new earths, it were but litle in regard : for this might he do each day if he would without any travel. But for to die for my love so often that the number passeth creatures reason, this is the highest profer that our Lord God might make to mans soul, as to my sight. Then meaneth he thus; ‘How should it then be, that I should not for thy love do all that I might, which deed grieveth me nought, sithen that I would Jor thy love dye so often, having no regard to my hard pains?’ And here saw I for the second beholding in his blessed 2

THE NINTH REVELATION.

passion, the love that made him to suffer, 1t passeth as far all his pains, as heaven is above earth; for the pain was a noble, precious, and worshipful deed, done in a time by the working of love; and love was without beginning, is and shall be without end ; for which love, he said full sweetly this word: «If I might suffer more, 1 would suffer more.’ He said not if it were needful to suffer more; but, ‘If I might suffer more? For though it were not needful, and he might suffer more, he would. This deed and this work about our salvation, was ordained as well as God might ordaine it; it was done as worshipfully as Christ might do it; and herein I saw a full bliss in Christ; for his bliss should not have been full, if it might any better have been done than it was done.

The Twenty-third Chapter

AnD in these three words: ‘It is a joy, a bliss, and endless liking to me, were shewed three heavens, as thus; For the joy, I understood the pleasaunce of the Father; and for the bliss, the worship of the Son ; and for the endless liking, of the Holy Ghost. The Father is pleased, the Son is worshipped, and the Holy Ghost liketh. And here saw I for the third beholding, in his blessedful passion ; that is to say, the joy and the bliss that maketh him to hke 00

-r.e Pa E EEE ee

"a he mm Do ii um ee md ee RO 2,2. WI te D are -

——À € o ms

| 1

MTM MI UTE AMETE SAGRADA LR

THE TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTER