Revelations of Divine Love — Julian of Norwich

I nap in party touching, sight, and feeling in three properties of God, in which the strength and the effect of all the revelation standeth. And it were seen in every shewing: and most properly in the twelfth, where it saith oftentimes, ‘/ z£ am. The properties are these, life, love, and light. In life is marvellous homelihead. In love is gentle courtesie : and in light is endless kindness. These three properties were seen in one goodness ; into which goodness my reason would be oned and cleaving-to with all the mights. I beheld with reverent dread, and highly marvelling in the sight, and in feeling of the sweet accord, that our reason is in God, understanding that it is the highest gift that we have received, and it is grounded in kind. Our faith is a light kindly coming of our endless day, that is our Father God : in which light our mother Christ, and our good Lord the Holy Ghost leadeth us in this passing life. This light is measured discreetly, needfully standeth to us in the night; the light is cause of our life; the night is cause of our pain, and all our woe: in which woe we desire endless meed and thank of God, for we with mercy and grace wilfully know and believe our light, going therein wisely and mightily, And at the end of wee sud- 2i

THO SIXTEENTH REVELATION,

denly our eye shall be opened, and in clearness of sight our light shall be full: which light is God our Maker, Father and Holy Ghost, in Christ Jesu our Saviour. Thus I saw and understood that our faith is our light, in our night, which light is God our endless day.

The Eighty-third Chapter

Tuis light is charity, and the measuring of this light is done to us profitably by the wisdom of God: for neither the light is so large that we may see clearly our blessedful day : ne it is all speered from us; but it is such a light in which we may live meedfully with travel, reserving the worshipful thanks of God.

And this was seen in the vith shewing, where he | saith, ‘I thank thee of thy service, and of thy travel.’ Thus charity keepeth us in faith, and in hope: and faith and hope leadeth us in charity; and at the end all shall be charity. I had three manner of understandings in this light of charity: the frst is charity unmade: the second is charity made: the third is charity given. Charity unmade is God; charity made is our soul in God: charity given is vertue, and that is a gracious gift of working; in which we love God for himself, and our self in God, and all that God loveth for God. | 216

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THE EIGHTY-FOURTH CHAFTIER:,

The Eighty-fourth Chapter

Anp in this sight I marvelled highly ; for notwithstanding our simple living, and our blindness here, yet endlesly our courteous Lord beholdeth us in this working, enjoying. And of all thing we may please him best, wisely and truly to believe it, and to enjoy with him and in him; for as verily as we shall be in bliss of God without end, him praising and thanking, as verily we have been in the foresight of God, loved and known in his endless purpose fro without beginning. In which unbegun love he made us; in the same love he keepeth us, and never suffereth us to be hurt, by which our bliss might be lessed. And'therefore when the doome is given, and we be all brought up above, then shall we clearly see in God the privities which now be hid to us. And then shall none of us be stirred to say in any thing, ‘ Lord, if it had been thus, it had been well! But we shall all say with one voyce, * Lord, blessed mote thou be, for it is thus: thus it is well, And now we sce verily, that all thing is done as it was thine ordinance or any thing was made.'

THe SIXTEENTH REVELATION,

‘The Eighty-fifth Chapter