Revelations of Divine Love — Julian of Norwich

Anp this is a sovereign friendship of our courteous Lord, that he keepeth us so tenderly whiles we be iu our sin: and furthermore, he toucheth us full privily, and sheweth us our sin by the sweet light of mercy and grace. But when we see ourself so foul, | then we wene that God were wrath with us for our | sin. Then be we stirred of the Holy Ghost by coni trition into prayer and desire, amending of our self | with all our might, to slack the wrath of God, unto | the time we find a rest in soul and softness in con- | seience. And then hope we that God hath forgiven us our sin, and it is true. And then sheweth our | courteous Lord himself to the soul merrily, and of | full glad chear, with friendfully welcoming as if it | had been in pain and in prison, saying thus: ‘ My | dear darling, I am glad thou art come to me in all thy : woe; Í have ever been with thee, and now seest thou me | loving, and we be oned in bliss. -Thus are sins forgiven 1 by grace and mercy, and our soul worshipfully re- 1 ceived in joy ; like as it shall be when it cometh into | heaven, as oftimes as it cometh by the gracious work- | ing of the Holy Ghost, and the vertue of Christs passion. Here understood I verily, that all manner

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THE THIRTEENTH REVELATION,

of thing is made ready to us by the great goodness of God ; so far forth, that what time we be our self in peace and in charity, we be verily safe. But for we may not have this in fullhead while we be here, therefore it befalleth us ever to live in sweet praying, and in lovely longing with our Lord Jesu, for he longeth ever for to bring us to the ful-head of joy, as it is before said; where he sheweth the ghostly thirst. But now because of all this ghostly comfort that is before said; if any man or woman be stirred by folly, to say or to think; * If this be true, then were it good for to sin, to have the more meed, or else to charge the less to sin ;" beware of this stirring, for truly if it come, it is untrue, and of the enemy: for the same true love that toucheth us all by his blessed comfort; the same blessed love teacheth us that we shall hate sin only for love. And I am sure by my own feeling, the more that each kind soul seeth this in the courteous love of our Lord God, the lother is him to sin, and the more he is ashamed : for if it were laid before us all the pain that is in hell, and in purgatory, and in earth, to suffer it rather than sin, we should rather choose all that pain, than sin: for sin is so vile, and so-mickle for to hate, that it may be likned to no pain; which pain is not sin. And to me was shewed none harder 96

Ce mee C borealis eae tib alio et eS t $

THE FORTIETH CHAPTER,

hell than sin; for a kind soul hateth no pain but sin, for all is good but sin, and naught is evil but sin.

And when we give our intent to love and meekness, by the working of mercy and grace, we be made all fair and clean. 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 Christen men; and he taught us to doe | good against evil. Here we may see that he is him- : | self this charity, and doth to us as he teacheth us to ' | do: for he will that we be like him in whole-head | of endless love to our self, and to our even Christen. ! | No more than his love is broken to us for our sin, * | no more will he that our love be broken to our self, nor to our even Christen, but nakedly hate sin, and | endlesly love the soul, as God loveth it. Then should we hate sin like as God hateth it, and love | the soul as God loveth it ; for these words that God said, is an endless comfort, ‘I keep thee full truly.’

Che Fourteenth Webelation The Forty-first Chapter

Ar this our Lord shewed for prayer: in | which shewing, I saw two conditions in our Lords meaning. One is rightful prayer. Another | is siker trust. But yet oftentimes our trust is | not full; for we be not sure that God heareth us, | as we think for our unworthiness, and for we feel | right naught; for we be as barren, and as dry oft- | times after our prayers as we were before. And |. thus in our feeling, our folly is cause of our weak- ; - ness: for thus have I felt by my self. And all this | brought our Lord suddenly to my mind, and shewed : these words, and said, ‘J am ground of thy beseeking. |

First, it is my will that thou have it : and sithen I make | | thee to nill it, and sithen I make thee to beseek it, and :

thou seekest it, how should it then be, that thou shouldest i i