Derde staat: het medeleven met het Goddelijke leven
The Living Life in God
The author introduces the concept of a living life that unites the soul with God, while warning against the false, self-deceived claims of those who mistake their own essence for God.
There are some who, beyond all the world's efforts, feel and experience a living life within themselves—a life that is meant to be united: saved and unsaved, God and creature. You should know that we possess an eternal life in the image of God's wisdom. That life always remains in the Father, flows out with the Son, and is restored in the same nature with the Holy Spirit; and so we live eternally in the image of the Holy Trinity and the unity of the Father. And here we have. 1. Created life flows from the very wisdom of God; in it, God reveals His power, His wisdom, and His goodness, and that is His image in which He lives within us. And through His image, our life is sustained. ii. Moreover, there we have His image, which we have received, and are made like. For our life is always being, seeing, and approaching the origin of our salvation. There we live out of God and toward God; God is in us, and we are in Him. And this is. i. Living life that is in all of us is essential and in deeper natures. It is beyond hope and belief, beyond grace and all the efforts of virtue. And here is one: their essence, their life, and their works. And this life is hidden in God, and in the substance of our souls. But in all of us by nature, such people can understand without grace and without faith, or any true virtue. And these are the wretched, perverted people who are above the holy images in the pure unity of their essence. In that state, they think they are holy and blessed. And such people think they are God. And they do not consider anything good or evil, in that they can represent themselves, and in their pure wretchedness, they can possess and own their own essence. These are false, unbelieving people, of whom I have previously spoken, in the seventh category, who will not receive the holy Sacrament; for they are entirely deceived and cursed by God and by the holy Church.
The Fountain of Divine Grace
A call to look beyond reason toward the fountain of God's riches, where the soul is united with the divine life and sustained by His eternal wisdom.
Now lift your eyes above reason and all the efforts of the world, and look with a loving spirit and a fixed gaze at that living life which is the source and purpose of all life and all holiness. That is a sign of being united with God. i. The glorious abyss of God's riches is like a living fountain where we are united with God, flowing into all our strengths with grace and many gifts, each according to their needs and worth. In that fountain, our lives are all united with God, but in the rivers of His graces, we are divided and receive all with distinction, each according to what belongs to him. Yet we always remain united in love, and in human nature, and above all in that living life where we are all united with God. The unity we share with God is beyond reason and above all understanding. There, we are one in spirit and one in life with God. No one can see, possess, or own this life; it is through love and the grace of God that we are reborn into this living life, baptized in the fountain, and born again in divine freedom from the Spirit of God. We always remain united with God in this living life, and through its richness and fullness, our loves are continually renewed and flow forth with grace in all virtues. Look, this is. I. A heavenly life is born from the Holy Spirit, and it's always renewed in love between us and God; for God's essence is everlasting in the suffering of our souls. And we all have. I. A heavenly life with the Son in the Father; and that same life flows and is born with the Son from the Father; and that life is known and acknowledged by the Father with the Son in the Holy Spirit. And so we have a living life that is everlasting in God, before all salvation. And from that life, God has saved us, but not from that life nor from its substances, but from nothingness. Our saved life depends on the divine life we have in God, just as it is in its own essence. And here, our saved life is one life, without mediation, with that life we have in God. And that eternal life we have in God is one with God without any intermediary. For He is a living example of everything that He has made, and He is the cause and reason for all creatures. And He knows Himself and all things in one essence. And all that He knows with distinction in the mirror of His wisdom, in forms, in orders, in reasons: that is all truth and life; and that life is Himself, for in Him there is nothing but His own nature. Yet all things exist in Him apart from themselves, just as they do in their own essence. And here it is said by John: 'All that is made was life in heaven,' and that life is Himself. We possess all things, beyond our created nature. i. In a way, life in God is like our own living essence, which He created and saved from nothingness. But we aren't God, nor did we create ourselves. We are not created from nature by God. Rather, our God is eternally known and willed within Himself, so He created us—not out of nature or necessity, but from the freedom of His will. He knows all things. And all that He wills, He accomplishes to do in heaven and on earth. And He is in us: light and truth. And He reveals to us that which surpasses our salvation, and elevates our thoughts in purity, and our spirit in divine freedom, and our understanding in uncreated blessedness. And He enlightens us with eternal wisdom, and teaches us to gaze and contemplate without any groundless richness: there is life without toil, in the fountain of all grace; there is tasting and feeling of eternal blessedness, in complete satisfaction, without any sorrow. Now let us rejoice in what fades away with time; may we delight in loving one another, for eternal life is prepared for us.
The Mirror of the Soul
God creates the human soul as a living mirror, imprinting His nature upon it so that the soul may reflect His divine clarity and wisdom.
In the beginning of the world, when God wanted to create the first human being in our nature, He said in the divine deliberation of the person: 'Let us make man in our image and likeness.' God is. I. That is: His speaking is His acknowledgment; His works are His will. And He accomplishes everything He wills. And all His works are gracious and well-ordered. He created every human soul as a living mirror, in which He has impressed the image of His nature. In this way, He lives imprinted in us, and we in Him; for our redeemed life is one, without mediation, with that image and with that life we have eternally in God. And the life we have in God is one without mediation in God. For it lives with the Son unbegotten in the Father, and it is born with the Son from the Father, and flows from both of them with the Holy Spirit. So we live in God, and God lives in us. For our salvation lives in our likeness to the image we have in the Son of God. And our likeness is one with the wisdom of God, and it lives in our salvation. And here, the eternal birth is renewed, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the suffering of our souls happens without interruption. For God has known us eternally, chosen us, called us, and selected us. That is how we are. We are called to acknowledge, love, and choose again; in this way, we are holy, blessed, and eternally chosen. And our heavenly Father will reveal the divine light to us in that supreme clarity of our souls; for we are His kingdom, and He dwells and reigns within us. In the same way that the sun of heaven shines with its rays, illuminating and nurturing all the world, so also does the clarity of God, which reigns in the supreme thoughts of our minds. If He sends out clear, shining rays into all our faculties, these are His divine gifts: wisdom, understanding, clear insight, rational discernment, and the ability to distinguish in all matters. And here it is declared that the kingdom of God is in our souls. But love without measure, which is God Himself, reigns in the purity of our spirit like a glow from burning coals. If He gives forth shining, burning rays that ignite and awaken in deeper love: heart and mind, will and desire, and all the powers of the soul, in storm, in rage, in unbridled love. See, these are the weapons with which we fight against the fearful and disordered love of God, which seeks to destroy and consume all loving spirits in their own selfhood. Yet, if we are armed with His gifts, He enlightens our understanding, commands, advises, and teaches us that we should resist and fight, and maintain our rightful love against His preservation as long as we can. And up to this point, He gives us strength, constancy, and wisdom. If He directs all our senses inward. i. He feels inwardly. If He makes our hearts love, govern, and savor. If He gives our souls to behold and gaze. If He gives us devotion, and causes us to sail with burning flames. If it gives us understanding, knowledge, and a taste of eternal wisdom. If it stirs the power of love and causes the human spirit to burn and melt in the diverse appearance of its glory. Here, our reasoning must yield, and all distinctions fade; for our powers become unified in love, and we are silent and drawn near in the appearance of the Father. For the revelation of the Father lifts the soul above reason into an unimaginable purity. There, the soul is unified, pure and clear, and is the essence of all things. And in pure simplicity, the Father reveals His divine clarity. In that clarity, reason and sense cannot come, nor can discernment: this must remain beneath it all; for that clarity, without measure, blinds the rational eyes, so that they must yield to the incomprehensible light. But the simple eye, elevated above reason, in the depth of understanding, is always open, and gazes and stares with a pure sight at that light with the same light. There, eye meets eye, mirror meets mirror, image meets image. With this. Two. We are like God and have nothing; for the eye in our single vision is a living mirror that God has made to His image, and there He has imprinted His image. His image, which is His divine clarity; with this, He has abundantly filled the mirror of our souls, so that no other clarity or image can come or exist there. But that clarity is no medium between us and God, for it is the same that we see, and also that light by which we see, but not our eye that sees. For all that image of God is without a medium in the mirror of our souls and has nothing, yet that image is not the mirror. For God is not a creature. But the unity of the image in the mirror is so great and so noble that the soul is called the image of God. Moreover, that same image of God that we receive and carry in our souls is the Son of God, the eternal mirror, the wisdom of God, in whom we all are alive and eternally reflected. Yet we do not possess the wisdom of God; for if we did, we would have made ourselves, which is impossible and unbelievable; for all that we are and all that we have, we have from God, and not from ourselves. And all that is the nobility of our souls, if it is hidden from the sinner, also belongs to many good people. Everything we can acknowledge through natural reason is incomplete, lacking both taste and feeling. We cannot behold God, or His riches within our souls, without His help and grace, and our true elevation in His love.
The Humanity of Christ
Christ serves as the ultimate rule and mirror for the soul, as His humanity unites God and man, providing the path to eternal blessedness and the kingdom of God.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is a willing mirror of Himself: He reveals to those whom He wishes. And these are those who, in their own selves, reflect and follow His grace in doing, in letting be, in all their actions, and, amid faith, hope, and love, above all their works, are raised in that pure vision of the souls, which is: the simple eye, always open above reasoning in the depths of our understanding; there they reveal the eternal truth, which also fulfills our pure vision, which is: the simple eye of our souls. Their essence, their life, and their works are these: seeing, flying, running, and our salvation. Always stay vigilant, without losing focus or turning back. Blessed are the eyes that see God revealing His kingdom and His glory, which is Himself. For our heavenly Father lives in the kingdom of our souls as in Himself. There He gives us His incomprehensible clarity, above our understanding, in that essence of our comprehension. And the Father, with the Son, flows into our boundless love, above will and above work. Our will in the essence of our good will is the very spark of the life of the souls. There the Father manifests His Son, and there flows their mutual love boundlessly. But we cannot comprehend the work of God, nor can our understanding grasp it; for all our powers and actions must yield and submit to the divine mystery of God. There we are made children of God, not by nature, but by grace, united with the Spirit of our Lord. There we are made complete. For all our powers break down in their own works, and melt away and vanish in the appearance of God's eternal love. And for this reason, it is called a renewing life in love. Now understand this, in the elevation of the spirit: through it, a person lets go of all their powers and works, entering into their humble state, their fulfilled nature, and the purity of the spirit. Our state of being is this: pure simplicity. Our unity is this: to seek the true essence. The purity of the spirit means having nothing in common with the spirit of God. In that state, we feel our unity with God and our oneness in God; we are one spirit with God and are transformed in God. The living unity we feel with God is real, and it continually renews the bond between us and Him. Just as we share kisses and embraces, we feel a difference that doesn't allow us to remain indifferent to ourselves. For we are above reason; we are not without reason. Here we feel that we become united; we are united in love and made one, always being renewed and returning to ourselves, going and coming like the brightness of heaven. For what we approach and embrace in love is like swimming against the current: we cannot navigate our salvation without being overwhelmed. And here, therefore, is our union and our hidden longing, which is the last means between us and God, where we unite with Him in mutual love. For the living fountain of the Holy Spirit, with whom we unite with God, has a flowing vein, which is God's longing; it is so strong and so powerful that we cannot pass through in that abyss of His deeper love. Here we remain, always standing above reason in our own selfhood: unformed, gazing, crying out in incomprehensible richness. These are: Two. The essence of the soul's nature, its life, and its works. Here, too, God is similar in His highest nobility. There, the eternal freedom of God is revealed, where the nature of souls is hidden: it is the dwelling of the Father, His temple, and His kingdom. And He reveals His Son, who is His clarity, in the open gaze of those who look. And He pours out His Spirit, which is His love, into the hidden movements of the spirit, where He dwells forever in eternity. In our work, we always remain like children in the purity of our spirit. For we feel that we see and receive in another way than we ourselves are: with this, we are alike. But in His works, we are shaped by His Spirit, and we are made to reflect His clarity and His love. There, we are like the sons of God, filled with grace. As we feel within ourselves that we work and receive in Him, and that we are acted upon and transformed by Him, we acknowledge all this in His light; and we taste and feel His love in His Spirit. And in the unity, we are one spirit, one life with Him; yet we always remain creatures, for although we are transformed in His light and filled with His love, we acknowledge and feel ourselves as one another in Him. For this reason, we must always look to Him and strive for Him, and this work will last forever for us. For our salvation cannot be lost, nor can a pure child perish; we must always remain one another in God. The Son of God took on our nature and became human; He did not make us God. Many people live in sin, and they are lost and will be condemned. But he has saved a soul from nothingness, and to that end, a body from the pure blood of the Virgin Mary. And that soul, together with the body, he has taken on and united, so that he is the Son of God and Mary, God and man in one person. And just as the soul and body make one human being, so he is the Son of God and Jesus, the Son of Mary, one living Christ, Lord and God of heaven and earth; for his soul is one with the wisdom of God. However, without a soul, God is not God, nor is He God's nature. Nor can God's nature become a creature. But that . I. Natures, united in one divine person, and that is Jesus Christ our dear Lord. He is the only living prince above all creatures in heaven and on earth, and no one is like him. For without humanity, he was filled with all the gifts of God and the fullness of all holiness. And all the other saints have received from the beginning of the world, yet they have been able to share in what is divided according to God's will. But the humanity of our Lord has received the undivided fullness of all gifts alone, with which he has filled and can fill all creatures. He is the sole cause of all the good things that we have received or can obtain from God. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten us in all truth, for our need is great. For in the beginning, when his soul was created, it was filled with the wisdom of God; his reasoning was so clear and his understanding so enlightened that his soul recognized all creatures with discernment, which would continue to exist forever. And in his humanity, he received from above, from his heavenly Father, the power and authority over all things in heaven and on earth, so that he could give and take, create and give life, perform signs and miracles as many as he wished, without abandoning anyone, granting grace and eternal life. For everything God created was subjected to his humanity, according to his every will. The Holy Spirit rested in His soul and in His human nature with all His gifts, making Him rich, abundant, and overflowing for everyone who needed and desired Him. He was humble, patient, gentle, and compassionate, full of grace and truth, united with those who desired Him and without blame. And he gave himself, despised and rejected, among all people. He knelt down and worshiped his God and Father. He surrendered himself to death so that we might be saved and live with him forever. He is our rule and our mirror for how we should live. Without humanity, there is a lantern of God's clarity that has illuminated heaven and earth, and will illuminate forever. His blessed name, Jesus, was divinely foreseen, called, and chosen, and announced by the angel to Mary, his mother: that he would be the Son of God and her son, God and man in one person. And so he has given himself to us, lived, served, and taught us, and through his own actions has redeemed and washed away our sins in his holy blood. He has ascended above all the heavens and all the powers of the universe, and he is seated at the right hand of his Father, like heaven in honor and power. Before him, every knee shall bow, for he is the Lord of all lords and the King of all kings, and his kingdom has no end. Yet, they speak so irreverently about people, claiming that Christ is God, while possessing neither wisdom, nor the grace of God, nor power, nor strength. And for this reason, they certainly belong among the damned. For they are nothing. i. God and one Christ: He is God and man, and no one is more than He alone. And in the end, as He will judge the good and the bad, they will certainly find that they are damned people, and not God. I will clearly prove to you that they are not Christ's, nor do they belong to Him. For humanity does not exist in our Lord Jesus Christ on its own; it is not a separate person like all other people, but the Son of God is its foundation and its form. And for this reason, it is one with God. And moreover, that unity is wise and powerful in everything that another God is. Thus, humanity receives our Lord in God, noble and wise, holy and blessed above all creatures. He is the only one who has inherited the kingdom of God, both by nature and by grace. For he is the firstborn of the Father and of the Mother, the prince and lord of all his brothers. If he wishes, and his wisdom finds it worthy in his grace, he will make us heirs with him to share his Father's kingdom. And this he has promised us, first that we may serve him, that we may be with him where he is, that is, with souls and with life, in the place of God's glory. Thus we shall be there each one with him, and each glorious in his state that belongs to him, clothed with our works, adorned and completed in virtues and in love. And Jesus will show us his glorious face, clearer than the sun. And we will hear his lovely voice, sweeter than any melody. And we will sit at his table, and he will serve us. i. Noble princes, their honored families, and their chosen friends. He will give us the honor and glory that he has received from his heavenly Father, and we will have received more from him than from ourselves. And this is what he meant when he said: ‘Father, I desire that those you have given me may be with me where I am, so that they may see the glory that you have given me.’ Those souls we will see, and there we will be clothed above all our works and above all our merits. And so we will rejoice and glorify in ourselves and in Him. And the bliss will be in the heart, in the soul, in the body, full and overflowing, eternally without end. And this is the least of the bliss we will have with our beloved Lord Jesus Christ in His eternal kingdom.
Four Points of Eternal Life
The author outlines four points regarding the nature, union, and essence of eternal life, culminating in the paradox of a life that dies in God to truly live.
Now lift up all your desires and your glorious vision above all the heavens and above all that is created, for I want to show you that living life that is hidden within us, where our supreme blessedness lies, and where I have previously spoken of the Ave, but it has not yet been sufficiently revealed. And everything I am in the material world does not lead to order, I have. Make provision, and do it with care. And what I’ve failed to do, I now want to fulfill. Now listen and understand, all of you who live in the divine light: I am speaking to no one else, because they cannot understand. The living life that God has established in us consists of. 3. points. The first point is the nature of life. The other point has no exceptions. The third point concerns its essence. That fourth point is its essence. This nature of eternal life is born of God within us and is one with God; and if it lives in God inside us, it also flows back out from us to Him. For our heavenly Father has willingly won us and redeemed us in His Son. And here, we are sons of God by grace, not by nature. For the grace of God is our supernatural and eternal life, which no one can see or possess without grace. But if we want to see and find eternal life within us, we must rise above reason through love and faith, and hold ourselves to our unity. For we find the clarity of God born within us. And if this image of God has formed our unity, then no other image can come into being. Nevertheless, in the light given to us, we can acknowledge that the lesser is not God, but that He wishes to reveal Himself to us. That image of God reflects every aspect of existence, undivided and whole; it is also that which remains whole and undivided in itself. We acknowledge that image with ourselves, where we receive it. But there we are transformed into its clarity, where we forget ourselves and are one with it. And so we live in it, and it lives in us. Yet we always remain distinct in substance and nature. The clarity of God that we see in ourselves has no beginning or end, no time or state, no way or path, no form or substance, and no color. It has completely embraced us, understood us, and continues with us, and our complete vision is so wide that our eyes must always remain open; we cannot close them. So, you have the first point: that nature is a kind of life born from God. Next comes the other point, which concerns the union between us and God in that living life. Now understand, and lift your inner eyes to your highest place, where you are one with God. To be one with God is our eternal state of being: there God dwells in us and we in Him. That unity is alive and fruitful, and it cannot be unfruitful, for it is always renewed in love and in new visitations, amidst the indwelling that cannot be separated. Wherever there is drawing and following, giving and receiving, gathering and being gathered, it will exist. For our heavenly Father dwells in us, and He visits us with Himself, and lifts us above reason and the senses. He makes us bloom from all images, and draws us into our beginning. There, we find nothing but that wild, unformed bloom, which always responds to the essence. For this, the Father gives us His Son. And the Son visits our unformed sight with the deepest clarity that He Himself is, and calls us and teaches us that we should gaze upon and contemplate that clarity with ourselves. There we find the clarity of God in us, and we in it, and we are united with it. And yet, while they have understood us, we cannot comprehend them; for our grasp is created, and they are God. For this reason, let’s fix our gaze on their example, pursuing them endlessly—long and wide, high and deep, without any limits. And although we are one with their unity, we cannot repeat or follow what is incomprehensible to us. Here we see the Father in the Son, and the Son in the Father, for they are one in nature. And so they live in us, and give the Holy Spirit, who is the love of both, one nature. i. God is with both of them and dwells in us with both of them. For God is undivided in Himself. The Holy Spirit gives Himself, visits us, and ignites the burning spark of our souls. This is the beginning and source of the mutual love between us and God. Love is essentially free, and it doesn't shy away from anything. It is naturally both generous and humble. If you want to ask for everything and offer, give, and receive, do so freely. God's love is pure. If it desires the souls, it wants everything that they are, and all that they can do. The soul is rich and pure, and wants to give all the pure love that it desires and longs for; but if it cannot fulfill this, because it must remain forever for its salvation, it cannot escape it, nor can it let it go. Here is the reality: whatever love fades, weakens, strikes, and demands from the soul what is impossible—and all desires also want the soul to melt and renew in love—it must still remain forever and not perish. The love of God is also boundless. If it offers and desires all that it is, it wants to give all of itself freely. Now the loving soul is in a state of longing and yearning, and it gapes wide, wanting to have all that it sees; but if it is a creature, it cannot grasp the fullness of God. And for this, it must yearn and gape, thirsting and hungering to remain. And as it yearns and cries out more, it feels that the fullness of God remains beyond its reach. This is what we call crying out in longing. Look, love can give and take. And this is the essence of the inner life in our living life. Those who practice this love can see and feel that this is true. Next comes the third point, regarding the living essence, where we are one with God above all the workings of love, using one way: above actions and deeds, existing in a blessed state; above unity with God, in oneness, where no one can work except God alone. For His work is Himself and His nature. In His works we are formed and transformed, and one with Him in His love; but we aren't one in His nature, for if we were, we would be God and nothing in ourselves, which is impossible. But we are beyond reasoning there, and without reasoning in a clear knowledge. There, we feel no distinction between ourselves and God, because we are above ourselves and above all orders, united in His love. There, we neither desire nor possess; instead, we exist as a blessed being, crowned and adorned with all holiness and virtue. And this is what our dear Lord Jesus Christ desired when he said: ‘Father, I will that all those whom you have given me may be one, as we are one.’ Not in every way, because he is. i. With his Father in the nature, for he is God. And he is also one with us in our nature, because he is man. He lives in us, and we live in him through his grace and our good works. This is how he is united with us, and we with him. And in his grace, and with him, we love and serve our heavenly Father. And in love and in efforts, we are one with our heavenly Father, but not one. For the Father thinks of us, and we think of Him. And between loves and thoughts, we always feel distinction and difference; and that is the earthly love of all. But where we are above all the workings of love, we are united with the Father and the Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit; there we are all one, just as Christ, God and man, is one with His Father in their boundless love. And in that same love, we are all fulfilled in one single way of being: a blessed, living essence that is incomprehensible to all creatures. Let us strive more in our lowliness, where we are one with God in His love, where it begins. i. To contemplate and feel that which is the highest that one can attain, which is: dying to live, and living to die, outside of our being in our transcendent blessedness. When we are made one with God through grace and His help, so that we can represent ourselves as we wish, as long as we desire, in our own being where we are one with God, in that boundless abyss of His love, where we are well satisfied; for we have God within us, and His blessedness in our being through the working of God, where we are one together in love, not in essence or nature; but we are blessedness and happiness in God's being, where He uses Himself and all of us, in His high nature: that is the core of love that is hidden from us in darkness, in ignorance without foundation. This is ignorance. I. Accessible light, which is the essence of God, our essence, and the essence of Him alone. For He is His own blessedness, and He reveals Himself in His nature. In His ways we are dead, and our own selves are sunk and lost in terms of how we live, though not in our essence. For our love and His love are always alike and one in their workings, where our spirit has opened our love, and in Him we are absorbed in our living and in one blessedness with Him. If I say that we are one with God, it means this: we are one in love, not in essence or nature, because God's essence is uncreated, while our essence is created. In this, God and the creature are immeasurably unequal. And for this reason, all power to unite cannot make them one. If our essence didn't exist, we couldn't love, nor could we be blessed. But our created nature is like a barren wasteland where God lives, who governs us. And in this wasteland, we must wander aimlessly and without direction. For we cannot reach our true being except through love. In this way, we are blessed in our own being, because we live in love. And we are blessed in God's being, since we, in love, have died to ourselves in His usage. Furthermore, we live in our own being through love. And we die in God's being through usage. For this reason, it's called a dying life. i. Living, we die; for we live with God, and we die in God. Blessed are those who live and die this way, for they are heirs of God and His kingdom.
Read the original Latin
Nu sijn selke menschen die, boven alle ufeninghe van dooghden, in hen ghevoelen ende bevenden een levende leven, dat te gadere ghevoeght es: ghescapen ende onghescapen, god ende creatuere.
Ghi selt weten dat wi hebben een eewegh leven in den beelde der wijsheit gods. Dat leven blijft altoes in den vader, ende vloeyt ute met den sone, ende es wederbooeght in die selve natuere met den heileghen gheeste; ende aldus leven wi eewelec in onsen beelde der heilegher driheit ende der vaderleker eenheit.
Ende hier ute hebben wi . i. ghescapen leven, vloeyende ute der-selver wijsheit gods; ende daer-in bekint god sine macht, sine wijsheit ende sine goedheit, ende dat es sijn beelde daer hi mede leeft in ons.
Ende ute sinen beelde heeft onse leven . iij. eighenscape, daer wi sinen beelde, dat wi ontfaen hebben, mede gheliken. Want onse leven es altoes wesende, siende, ende neighende in den orsprong onser ghescapenheit. Daer leven wi uut gode, ende toe gode; ende god in ons, ende wi in heme. Ende dit es . i. levende leven dat in ons allen es weselec ende in blooeter natueren.
Want het es boven hopen ende ghelooeven, boven gratie ende alle ufeninghe van dooghden. Ende hier-omme eest één: sijn wesen, sijn leven, ende sijn werken. Ende dit leven es verborghen in gode, ende in de substantie onser zielen.
Maer want in ons allen van natueren es, soe moghent selke menschen verstaen sonder gratie ende sonder ghelooeve ochte eeneghe ufeninghe van dooghden. Ende dat sijn leedeghe inghekeerde menschen boven senleke beelden in de blooete eenvuldegheit haers wesens. Daer dunct hen dat si heilegh ende salegh sijn. Ende selke wanen god sijn. Ende si en achten gheen ding goed noch quaed, in dien dat si hen ontbeelden connen, ende in blooeter leedegheit hare eighen wesen venden ende besitten moghen.
Dit sijn valsche, onghelooeveghe menschen, daer ic vore ave ghesproken hebbe, in de sevende partye dien men dat heileghe sacrament niet gheven en sal; want si sijn in allen bedroghen ende vermaledijt van gode ende van der heilegher kerken.
Nu heft dan op uwe ooeghen boven redene ende boven alle ufeninghe van dooghden, ende siet ane met minnenden gheeste, met starenden ooeghen, dat levende leven dat orsprong ende sake es alles levens ende alre heilecheit.
Dat es ane te siene alse . i. glorioos abys der rijcheit gods, ende alse eene levende fonteyne, daer wi ons gheëenecht met gode ghevoelen, uut-vloeyende in alle onse crachte met gratiën ende met menechvuldeghen gaven, ende ieghenwelken sonderlinghe, na dat sijs behoeven ende werdegh sijn.
In die fonteyne ons levens sijn wi alle met gode vereenecht, maer in den rivieren sijnre ghenaden sijn wi ghedeilt, ende ontfaen alle met onderscheede, ieghewelc dat heme toe-behooert. Nochtan bliven wi altoes underlinghe vereeneght in caritaten, ende in menscheleker natueren, ende boven al in dat levende leven daer wi alle met gode gheëenecht sijn.
Die eeninghe die wi met gode hebben, die es boven redene ende boven sen. Daer sijn wi in éénen gheeste in éénen levene met gode. Dit leven en mach nieman sien, venden noch besitten, hi en si, overmids minne ende de ghenade gods, sijns-selfs ghestorven in dat levende leven, ende in die fonteyne ghedooept, ende anderwerf gheboren in godleke vriheit uut den gheeste gods, ende altoes inblivende ende gode gheëeneght in dat levende leven, ende overmids rijcheit ende volheit sijnre minnen altoes vernuwen ende uutvloeyen met gratiën in allen dooghden.
Siet dit es . i. eewegh hemelsch leven gheboren ute den heileghen gheeste, ende altoes vernuwende in minnen tusschen ons ende gode; want gods were es eewegh in de leedegheit onser zielen. Ende wi hebben alle . i. eewegh leven met den sone inden vader; ende dat selve leven vloeyt ende wert gheboren met den sone ute den vader; ende dat leven heeft de vader met den sone eewelec bekint ende ghemindt in den heileghen gheeste. Ende aldus hebben wi een levende leven dat eewegh es in gode, vóre alle ghescapenheit.
Ende ute dien levene heeft ons god ghescapen, maer niet van dien levene noch van sijnre substantiën, maar van niete.
Ende onse ghescapen leven hangt in sijn eeweghe leven dat wi in gode hebben, alse in sine eeweghe sake, die heme eighen es van natueren. Ende hier omme es onse ghescapen leven één leven sonder middel met dien levene dat wi in gode hebben.
Ende dat eeweghe leven dat wi in gode hebben, dat es sonder middel één met gode. Want hi es een levende exemplaer alles dies dat hi ghemaect heeft, Ende hi es sake ende orsake alre creatueren. Ende hi bekint hem-selven ende alle ding in éénen siene. Ende al dat hi bekint met onderscheede in den spieghel sijnre wijsheit, in beelden, in ordenen, in formen, in redenen: dat es al waerheit ende leven; ende dat leven es hi selve, want in heme en es niet dan sijns-selfs natuere.
Nochtan sijn alle ding in heme sonder hen selven, alse in hare eighene sake. Ende hier omme sprect sente Jan: ‘al dat ghemaect es, dat was leven in heme’, ende dat leven es hi selve. Wi hebben alle, boven onse ghescapenheit, . i. eewegh leven in gode, alse in onse levende sake die ons ghemaect ende ghescapen heeft van niete. Maer wi en sijn niet god, noch wi en hebben ons-selven niet ghemaect.
Wi en sijn oec uut gode niet ghevloten van natueren. Maer want ons god eewelec bekint ende ghewilt heeft in hem-selven, soe heeft hi ons ghemaect, niet van natuerens, noch van nooede, maer van vriheit sijns willen. Ende hi bekint alle ding. Ende al dat hi wilt vermach hi te doene in hemel ende in eerde.
Ende hi es in ons: licht ende waerheit. Ende hi vertooent heme in dat overste onser ghescapenheit, ende verheft onse ghedachte in puerheit, ende onsen gheest in godleke vriheit, ende onse verstaen in onghebeelde blooetheit. Ende hi verclaert ons met eewegher wijsheit, ende leert ons staren ende scouwen sine grondelooese rijcheit: aldaer es leven sonder arbeit, in die fonteyne alre ghenadegheit; daer es smaken ende ghevoelen eewegher salegheit, in volcomender satheit, sonder alle verdrietelecheit.
Nu laetd ons overliden Al dat met der tijd vergheet, Soe moghen wi ons in minnen verbliden, Want eewegh leven es ons bereed.
In beghinne der werelt, doe god den iersten mensche maken woude in onser natueren, doe sprac hi in drivuldegheit der persone: ‘Maken wi den mensche toe onsen beelde ende toe onsen ghelike’. God es . i. gheest: sijn spreken dat es sijn bekinnen; sijn werken dat es sijn willen. Ende hi vermach al dat hi wilt. Ende al sijn werken es gratioos ende wel gheordent.
Ende hi heeft ieghewelcs menschen ziele ghescapen alse eenen levenden spieghel, daer hi dat beelde sijnre natueren in ghedruct heeft. Ende alsoe leeft hi ghebeeldt in ons, ende wi in heme; want onse ghescapene leven es één sonder middel met dien beelde ende met dien levene dat wi eewelec in gode hebben.
Ende dat leven dat wi in gode hebben, dat es sonder middel één in gode. Want het leeft met den sone ongheboren in den vader, ende het wert gheboren met den sone ute den vader, ende vloeyt ute hen beiden met den heileghen gheeste. Ende aldus leven wi eewelec in gode ende god in ons. Want onse ghescapenheit leeft in onsen eeweghen beelde dat wi hebben in den sone gods. Ende onse eewegh beelde es één met der wijsheit gods, ende leeft in onse ghescapenheit.
Ende hier-omme vernuwet die eeweghe gheboort, ende dat uutvloeyen des heileghs gheests in de leedegheit onser zielen altoes sonder onderlaet. Want god heeft ons eewelec bekindt ende ghemindt, gheroepen ende vercoren. Eest alsoe dat wine
weder willen bekinnen, minnen ende verkiesen, soe sijn wi heilegh ende salegh ende eewelec vercoren.
Ende onse hemelsche vader sal ons vertooenen, in dat overste onser zielen, sine godleke claerheit; want wi sijn sijn rike, ende hi wooent ende regneert in ons. Ende gheliker-wijs dat de sonne des hemels met haren raeyen dorschijnt ende verlicht ende vrochtbaer maect al de werelt, alsoe doet oec de claerheit gods die regneert in dat overste onser ghedachte. Si gheeft uut in alle onse crachte clare blickende raeyen, dat sijn godleke gaven: const, wijsheit ende claer verstaen, redeleec ghemerc ende onderscheet in allen dooghden. Ende hier-mede es gheciert dat rike gods in onser zielen.
Maer minne sonder mate, die god selve es, die regneert in puerheit ons gheests alse eene gloet van berrenden kolen. Si gheeft uut blickende berrende ghensteren, die gherinen ende ontfunken in invieregher minnen: herte ende sen, wille ende begheerte ende alle der zielen crachte, in storme, in woede, in ongheduere wiselooeser minnen.
Siet dit sijn de wapene daer wi mede striden jeghen de vreesseleke onghehiere minne gods, die alle minnende gheeste wilt verberren ende verslinden in hars selfsheit.
Nochtan wapent si ons met haren gaven, ende verlicht onse redene, ende ghebiedt ende raedt ende leert ons dat wi ons weeren ende striden, ende onse recht in minnen jeghen hare behouden alsoe langhe alse wi moghen. Ende hier-toe gheeft si ons cracht, const ende wijsheit. Si trect alle onse senleke crachte in . i. inwendegh ghevoelen. Si doet onse herten minnen, begheeren ende smaken. Si gheeft onser zielen scouwen ende staren. Si gheeft ons devotie, ende doet ons met berrenden vlammen opwert varen.
Si gheeft onsen verstane, kinnesse ende smaec eewegher wijsheit. Si gherijnt de minnende cracht, ende doet des menschen gheest berren ende versmelten in weerdecheiden vore hare anschijn.
Siet hier moet onse redene wiken, ende al were met onderscheede; want onse crachte werden eenvuldegh in minnen, ende swighen ende nighen in dat anschijn des vader. Want de oppenbaringhe des vader verheft de ziele boven redene in onghebeelde blooetheit. Daer es de ziele eenvuldegh, suver ende reine, ende leedegh alre ding.
Ende in die puere leedecheit vertooent de vader sine godleke claerheit. In die claerheit en mach comen redene noch sen, ghemerc noch onderscheet: dit moet al daer onder bliven; want die claerheit sonder mate verblent de redeleke ooeghen, alsoe dat si wiken moeten den onbegripeleken lichte. Maer die eenvuldeghe ooeghe boven redene in den gronde der verstendegheit, die es altoes open, ende scouwet ende staert met blooeten ghesichte dat licht met den selven lichte. Daer es ooeghe jeghen ooeghe, spieghel jeghen spieghel, beelde jeghen beelde.
Met desen . iij. sijn wi gode ghelijc ende heme gheëeneght; want de sie in onse eenvuldeghe ooeghe es een levende spieghel dien god ghemaect heeft toe sinen beelde, ende daer hi sijn beelde in ghedruct heeft. Sijn beelde, dat es sine godleke claerheit; daer-mede heeft hi overvloedegh vervult den spieghel onser zielen, alsoe dat daer en-gheene andere claerheit noch andere beelde in comen en mach. Maer die claerheit en es gheen middel tusschen ons ende gode, want si es dat selve dat wi sien, ende oec dat licht daer wi mede sien, maer niet onse ooeghe die siet. Want al es dat beelde gods sonder middel in den spieghel onser zielen ende heme gheëenecht, nochtan en es dat beelde de spieghel niet,
want god en wert niet creatuere. Maer de eeninghe des beelds in den spieghel es soe grooet ende soe edel, dat de ziele ghenoemt es dat beelde gods.
Voert-meer, dat selve beelde gods dat wi ontfaen hebben ende draghen in onser zielen, dat es de sone gods, de eeweghe spieghel, de wijsheit gods, daer wi alle in leven ende eewelec in ghebeelt sijn. Nochtan en sijn wi de wijsheit gods niet; want soe hadden wi ons-selven ghemaect, ende dat es onmoghelec ende onghelooeve; want al dat wi sijn, ende al dat wi hebben, dat hebben wi van gode, ende niet van ons-selven.
Ende al es de edelheit groet onser zielen, si es den sondare verborghen, ende oec meneghen goeden menschen. Ende al dat wi bekinnen moghen in lichte der natueren, dat es onvolcomen, sonder smaec ende sonder ghevoelen. Want wi en moghen gode niet bescouwen, noch sijn rike venden in onser zielen, sonder sine hulpe ende sine ghenade, ende onse ghewareghe ufeninghe in sijnre minnen.
In den name ons heeren jhesu cristi die een willegh spieghel es sijns-selfs: hi vertooent heme dien hi wilt. Ende dat sijn de-ghene die haers-selfs vertijen ende sijnre gratiën volghen in doene, in latene, in allen dooghden, ende, overmids ghelooeve hope ende minne, boven alle hare werke verhaven sijn in dat blooete ghesichte der zielen, dat es: de sempele ooeghe, altoes open boven redene in den gronde onser verstendegheit; daer vertooent hare de eeweghe waerheit, daer-mede es vervult onse blooete ghesichte, dat es: de sempele ooeghe onser zielen. Hare wesen, hare leven, hare werken, dat es: scouwen, vlieghen ende looepen, ende onser ghescapenheit
altoes onthooeghen, sonder ommesien ochte wederkeer.
Salegh sijn de siende ooeghen dien god vertooent sijn rike ende sine glorie, dat es hi selve. Want onse hemelsche vader leeft in dat rike onser zielen alse in hem-selven. Daer gheeft hi ons sine onbegripeleke claerheit, boven onse verstaen, in dat eighendoem onser verstendegheit. Ende de vader met den sone vloeyen in ons hare grondelooese minne, boven wille ende boven werc. Onse wille in den gronde onser goetwillecheit, dat es de viereghe vonke, der zielen levendegheit. Daèr ghebaert de vader sinen sone, ende daer vloeyt haerre beider minne grondelooes.
Maer dat werc gods en connen wi niet begripen, noch onse begrijp en mach daer in niet comen; want alle onse crachte met haren werken moeten wiken ende ghedooeghen die overforminghe gods. Daer wi ghewracht werden ende overgheest met den gheeste ons heeren, daer sijn wi sonen gods, van ghenaden niet van natueren. Daer werden wi gheëenvuldeght. Want alle onse crachte ghebreken in hare eighen werken, ende smelten ende vervlieten in dat anschijn der eewegher minnen gods. Ende hier-omme es dit gheheeten: een vernieutende leven in minnen.
Nu verstaet, in verhavenheit van gheeste; want hier-mede onthooeght de mensche allen sinen crachten ende haren werken, ende comt in sinen ledeghen staet, ende in sinen eenvuldeghen aert, ende in puerheit van gheeste.
Onse ledeghe staet, dat es: blooette onghebeeltheit.
Onse eenvuldeghe aert, dat es: scouwen eeweghe waerheit.
Puerheit van gheeste, dat es: gheëeneght te sine met den gheeste gods. Daer ghevoelen wi ons eenegh met gode, ende eenegheit in gode; ghegheest met gode, ende ontgeest in gode.
De levende eeninghe die wi met gode ghevoelen, die es werkelec, ende vernuwet altoes tusschen ons ende gode. In dien dat wi underlinghe kussen ende gherinen, soe ghevoelen wi anderheit, die ons niet ghedueren en laetd in ons selven. Want al sijn wi boven redene, wi en sijn niet sonder redene. Ende hier omme ghevoelen wi dat wi gherinen, ende gherenen werden; minnen, ende ghemindt werden, ende altoes vernuwen ende wederkeeren in ons-selven, gaen ende comen alse de blixene des hemels. Want wat wi in minnen nighen ende crighen, dat es swemmen jeghen stroem: wi en connen onse ghescapenheit niet doorvaren noch overliden.
Ende hier omme es sijn gherinen, ende onse verborghene inneghe crighen dat leste middel tusschen ons ende gode, daer wi met heme vereeneghen in underlinghen ontmoete van minnen. Want de levende fonteyne des heileghs gheests daer wi met gode vereeneghen, die heeft eene wallende adere, dat es: gods gherinen; die es soe starc ende soe stuer, wi en moghen niet doorcomen in dat abys sijnre grondelooeser minnen. Ende hier-omme bliven wi altoes staende boven redene in ons selfsheit: onghebeeldt, starende, crighende, in onbegripeleker rijcheit. Dit sijn . iij. eighenscape der zielen natuere, hare leven ende hare werken. Hier-mede es si gode ghelijc in hare hooeghste edelheit.
Daer si andwerdt der eewegher driheit gods, daer es der zielen natuere ledegh, onghebeeldt: wooeninghe des vader, sijn tempel ende sijn rike. Ende hi ghebaert sinen sone, dat es sine claerheit, in die opene starende ooeghe. Ende hi vloeyt sinen gheest, dat es sine minne, in dat inneghe crighen des gheests, daer hi altoes crijght in eewegheit.
In onsen werken bliven wi altoes ghelijc in puerheit ons gheests. Want wi ghevoelen dat wi scouwen ende crighen in een ander dan dat wi selve sijn: hier-mede sijn wi ghelijc. Maer in sinen werken werden wi ghewracht van sinen gheeste, ende ghedooeghen de overforminghe sijnre claerheit ende sijnre minnen. Daer sijn wi boven ghelijc, de sonen gods van ghenaden.
Ende alse wi in ons ghevoelen dat wi werken ende crighen in heme, ende dat wi ghedooeghen ende ghewracht werden van heme, dit bekinnen wi al in sinen lichte; ende wi smaken ende ghevoelen in sinen gheeste, sijnre minnen.
Ende in der eeninghen sijn wi één gheest, één leven met heme; maer altoes bliven wi creatueren, want al sijn wi overformt in sinen lichte, ende overgheestd in sijnre minnen, wi bekinnen ende ghevoelen ons een ander van heme.
Ende hier-omme moeten wi in heme altoes scouwen ende crighen, ende dit werc sal ons eewelec bliven. Want onse ghescapenheit en moghen wi niet verliesen, noch soe puer overliden, wi en moeten eewelec een ander van gode bliven. Want al heeft de sone gods onse natuere ane-ghenomen ende hem-selven mensche ghemaect, hi en heeft ons niet god ghemaect. Want menegh mensche leeft in sonden, ende es onsalegh, ende wert verdoemt.
Maer hi heeft eene ziele ghescapen van niete, ende daer-toe eenen lichame van den reinen bloede der maeght mariën. Ende die ziele, met den lichame, heeft hi ane-ghenomen ende heme gheëeneght, alsoe dat hi es gods sone ende mariën, god ende mensche in éénen persooen. Ende gheliker-wijs dat ziele ende lichame maken éénen mensche, alsoe es gods sone, ende jhesus, mariën sone, één levende cristus, heere ende god hemelrijcs ende erterijcs; want sine ziele es eenformegh met der wijsheit gods.
Nochtan en es sine ziele niet god, noch gods natuere. Noch de natuere gods en mach niet werden creatuere. Maer die . ij. natueren, onverminght in éénen godleken persooen, ende dat es jhesus cristus onse lieve heere.
Hi es alleene met gode boven alle creatueren een moghende levende prinche in hemel ende in eerde, ende nieman meer heme ghelijc. Want sine mensheit was vervult met alle den gaven gods, ende volheit alre heilegheit. Ende al dat andere heileghen hebben ghehadt van beghinne der werelt, ochte hebben moghen eewelec, dat es ghedeilt met paertyen, na den wille gods. Maer de menscheit ons heeren heeft onghedeilde volheit alre gaven alleene ontfaen, daer hi mede vervult heeft ende vervullen mach alle creatueren. Ende hi es alleene orsake alles dies goeds dat wi van gode hebben ochte vercrighen moghen.
Die gratie ons heeren jhesu cristi moete ons verlichten in alre waerheit diere ons nooed es.
Want in den beghinne doe sine ziele ghescapen was ende gheëeneght der wijsheit gods, sine redene was soe claer ende sijn verstennesse soe verlicht, dat sine ziele bekinde alle creatueren met onderscheede die ye gheworden ochte emmermeer werden souden. Ende sine menscheit ontfing van boven van sinen hemelschen vader cracht ende macht alre ding in hemel ende in eerde, alsoe dat hi mochte gheven ende nemen, dooeden ende levende maken, teekene ende mirakelen doen alsoe vele alse hi selve woude, sonden verlaten ende gratie gheven ende eewegh leven. Want al dat god ghemaect heeft was sijnre menscheit onderworpen, na al sinen wille.
Ende de heileghe gheest raste in sine ziele ende in sine menscheleke natuere met allen sinen gaven, ende maectene rike, melde ende overvloeyende in alle de-ghene die sijns behoefden ende begheerden. Hi was ooetmoedegh, verduldegh, saechte ende ontfarmhertegh, vol ghenaden ende vol trouwen, ghehooersam, ghelatens willen, ende onsculdegh.
Ende hi gaf hem-selven, versmaedt ende verworpen, onder alle menschen. Ende hi booeghde sine kniën, ende aenbeedde sinen god ende sinen vader. Ende hi leverde heme in de dooet, op-dat wi salegh mochten sijn ende met heme eewelec leven.
Hi es onse reghele ende onse spieghel daer wi na leven souden. Sine menscheit es eene lanteerne der claerheit gods, die verlicht heeft hemel ende eerde, ende eewelec verlichten sal.
Sijn ghebenedide name, jhesus, was eewelec voorsien, gheroepen ende vercoren, ende van den inghel gheboodscaept der maeght mariën, sijnre moeder: dat hi soude sijn gods sone, ende hare sone, god ende mensche in éénen persooen. Ende alsoe es hi ons ghegheven, ende heeft ons gheleeft, ghedient ende gheleert, ende met sijnre dooet ghecocht ende verlooest, ende onse sonden ave-ghewasschen in sijn heileghe bloed.
Ende hi es op-ghevaren boven alle hemele ende boven alle chooere der inghele, ende sitd ghecrooent ter rechter hand sijns vader, ghelijc heme in eeren ende in machte. Ende vore heme booeghen alle kniën, want hi es alre heeren heere ende coning alre coninghe, ende sijn rike en heeft inde noch beghin.
Nochtan spreken selke onghelooeveghe dooere menschen, dat si cristus ochte god sijn, nochtan en hebben si wijsheit, noch de ghenade gods, noch macht, noch dooght. Ende hier-omme behooeren si wel ten helschen viere. Want en es maer . i. god ende één cristus: hi es god ende mensche, ende nieman meer dan hi alleene. Ende in den lesten, alse hi sal ordeelen goede ende quade, dan selen si wel bevenden dat si verdoemde menschen sijn, ende niet god.
Dat si oec niet cristus en sijn, dat willic u claerlec bewisen. Want de menscheit ons heeren jhesu cristi en heeft gheen bestaen op haer selven; want si en es niet haers selfs persooen, ghelijc dat alle andere menschen sijn, maer de sone gods es hare onderstant ende hare forme. Ende hier-omme es si eenformegh met gode. Ende overmids die eeninghe es si wijs ende mechtegh alles dies dat ander gode es. Ende aldus es de menscheit ons heeren ontfaen in gode, edel ende wijs, heilegh ende salegh boven alle creatueren.
Ende hi es alleene erfghenooet in dat rike gods, van natueren ende van ghenaden. Want hi es de ierstgheboorne van vader ende van moeder, prinche ende vorste alle sijnre broedere. Ende wilt hi, ende sijn wijs weerdegh in sijnre ghenaden, hi sal ons met heme erven, ende deilen sijns vader rike. Ende dit heeft hi ons ghelooft, eest dat wi heme dienen, dat wi selen sijn daer hi es, dat es, met zielen ende met live, in de zale der gloriën gods. Alsoe selen wi daer sijn eewelec met heme, ende ieghewelc glorioos in sinen staet die heme toe-behooert, ghekleedt met onsen werken, gheciert ende volbracht in dooghden ende in minnen.
Ende jhesus sal ons vertooenen sijn gloriose anschijn, claerre dan de zonne. Ende wi selen hooeren sine liefleke stemme, suetere dan eeneghe melodye. Ende wi selen sitten te sijnre tafelen, ende hi sal ons dienen alse . i. edel prinche sijnre gheminder familiën, ende sinen uutvercoornen vrienden. Hi sal ons schinken de eere ende de glorie die hi ontfaen heeft van sinen hemelschen vader, ende diere selen wi heme bat gheonnen dan ons-selven. Ende dit meinde hi doe hi sprac: ‘Vader, ic wille dat alle de-ghene die du mi ghegheven heeft, dat si sijn met mi daer ic ben, op-dat si sien moghen de claerheit die du mi ghegheven heefs’. Die selen wi sien, ende daer mede selen wi overkleedt sijn boven alle onse werke ende boven onse verdiente.
Ende alsoe selen wi ons verbliden ende gloriëren in ons ende in heme. Ende die blisscap sal sijn in herte, in sen, in ziele, in lijf, vol ende overvloeyende, eewelec sonder inde. Ende dit es de menste salecheit die wi hebben selen met onsen lieven heere jhesu cristo in sijn eeweghe rike.
Nu verheft alle uwe ghemuede ende uwe blooete ghesichte boven alle hemele ende boven al dat ghescapen es, want ic wille ons tooenen dat levende leven dat in ons verborghen es, daer onse overste salegheit in gheleghen es, ende daer ic vore ave ghesproken hebbe, maer niet gnoech verclaert. Ende al en benic in de materie niet ordelec vooert-ghegaen, ic hebt
voorsien, ende met voorrade ghedaen. Ende dat mi doe ontbleef, dat willic nu voldoen.
Nu siet ende verstaet, ghi alle die in godleken lichte verhaven sijt: ic en spreke tote niemene anders, want si en mochtens niet verstaen.
Dat levende leven dat god in ons ghesticht heeft, dat besteet in . iiij. poenten.
Dat ierste poent es des levens natuere.
Dat ander poent, sine ufeninghe.
Dat derde poent sijn wesen.
Dat vierde poent sijn overwesen.
Die natuere eeweghs levens es ons ute gode gheboren, ende sies eenegh met gode, ende si leeft ute gode in ons, ende uut ons weder in heme.
Want vriwillens heeft ons de hemelsche vader ghewonnen ende vercoren in sinen sone. Ende hier-omme sijn wi sonen gods van ghenaden, niet van natueren. Want de ghenade gods es ons overnatuere ende eewegh leven, dat nieman sien noch venden en mach sonder ghenade.
Maer wille wi eewegh leven sien ende venden in ons, soe moeten wi overmids minne ende ghelooeve ons-selven boven redene onthooeghen tote in onse eenvuldeghe ooeghe. Daer venden wi de claerheit gods in ons gheboren. Ende si es dat beelde gods dat overformt heeft onse eenvuldeghe ooeghe: daer en mach en-gheen ander beelde in comen. Nochtan moghen wi in ghegaefden lichte al dat bekinnen dat mendere es dan god, eest dat hijt ons vertooenen wilt.
Dat beelde gods ontfeet ieghewelc ghesichte al, onghedeilt ende gheheel; ende het es oec ieghewelken al, ende blijft in hem-selven een onghedeilt één.
Dat beelde bekinnen wi met hem-selven daer wijt ontfaen. Maer daer wi overdraghen sijn ende ghetransformeert in sine claerheit, daer hebben wi ons-selfs vergheten, ende sijn één met heme. Ende aldus leven wi in heme, ende hi in ons. Nochtan bliven wi altoes ghescheeden in substantiën ende in natueren.
De claerheit gods die wi sien in ons, si en heeft beghin noch inde, tijd noch stat, wech noch pad, forme noch ghedeente noch varwe. Si heeft ons te-male bevaen, begrepen ende doorgaen, ende onse eenvuldeghe ghesichte soe wide ontdaen: onse ooeghe moet eewelec open-staen, wi en connense niet gheluken.
Ende aldus hebdi dat ierste poent, welc de natuere es eeweghs levens uut gode gheboren.
Hier-na volght dat ander poent, dat sal sijn van der ufeninghen in dat levende leven tusschen ons ende gode.
Nu verstaet, ende verheft uwe inneghe ooeghen in uwe hooeghste, daer ghi eenegh met gode sijt. Want eenegh met gode sijn, dat es onse levende staet die eewegh es: daer wooent god in ons ende wi in heme.
Die eeninghe es levende ende vrochtbaer, ende si en mach niet leedegh sijn, want si vernuwet altooes in minnen ende in nuwer visitatiën, overmids die underlinghe inwooeninghe die men niet scheeden en mach. Daer es trecken ende volghen, gheven ende nemen, gherinen ende gherenen werden,
Want onse hemelsche vader wooent in ons, ende hi visiteert ons met hem-selven, ende verheft ons boven redene ende ghemerc. Hi maect ons blooet van allen beelden, ende trect ons in onse beghin. Daer en venden wi anders niet dan welde wueste onghebeelde blooetheit, die altooes antwaerdt der eewecheit.
Daer gheeft ons de vader sinen sone. Ende de sone visiteert onse onghebeelde ghesichte met der grondelooeser claerheit die hi selve es, ende eischt ons ende leert ons dat wi staren ende scouwen die claerheit met haerselven. Ende daer venden wi de claerheit gods in ons, ende ons in hare, ende ons daer-mede gheëenecht.
Ende al heeft si ons begrepen, wi en connen hare niet begripen; want onse gripen es creatuere, ende si es god. Ende hier-omme laten wi onse ghesichte met hare looepen ende na-volghen, onindelec lang ende breed, hooeghe ende diep, wiselooes al sonder maniere. Ende al sijn wi eenegh met hare eenvuldegher-wijs, wi en moghen niet herhalen noch hervolghen dat ons onbegripelec es.
Hier sien wi den vader in den sone, ende den sone in den vader; want si sijn één in der natueren. Ende alsoe leven si in ons, ende gheven den heileghen gheest, haerre beider minne, die eene natuere ende . i. god met hen beiden es, ende in ons met hen beiden wooent. Want god es in hem-selven onghedeilt. Ende de heileghe gheest gheeft hem-selven, ende visiteert ons, ende gherijnt de berrende vonke onser zielen. Ende dit es beghin ende orsprong eewegher minnen tusschen ons ende gode.
Ufeninghe der minnen es vri, ende si en scaemt hare niet. Hare natuere es ghieregh ende melde. Si wilt altooes eisschen ende bieden, gheven ende nemen.
Gods minne es ghieregh. Si eischt der zielen al dat si es, ende al dat si vermach. Ende de ziele es rike ende melde, ende wilt al gheven der ghieregher minnen dat si eischt ende begheert; maer si en maechs niet volbringhen, want hare ghescapenheit moet eewegh bliven, si en mach hare niet ontvlien, noch si en can die niet ghelaten. Ende hier-omme: wat minne slindt, teerdt ende verberrent, ende eischt der zielen dat hare onmoghelec es; ende al begheert oec de ziele versmelten ende vernieuten in minnen: si moet nochtan eewegh bliven ende niet vergaen.
Vooert-meer, de minne gods es oec grondelooes melde. Si biedt ende tooent der zielen al dat si es, ende dat wilt si hare al vrilec gheven.
Nu es de minnende ziele sunderlinghe gulsegh ende ghieregh, ende gaept wide, ende wilt al hebben dat hare vertooent es; maer si es creatuere, ende en mach die alheit gods niet begapen noch begripen. Ende hieromme moet si ghieren ende gapen, dorstegh ende hongheregh eewegh bliven. Ende soe si meer ghiert ende crijght, soe si bad ghevoelt dat hare die rijcheit gods ontblijft. Ende dit heetd crighen in ontbliven.
Siet aldus can minne gheven ende nemen. Ende dit es ufeninghe der innen in onse levende leven. Ende dat dit waer es, dat moghen si sien ende ghevoelen die deser minnen pleghen.
Hier-na volght dat derde poent, van den levenden wesene, daer wi met gode één sijn boven alle ufeninghe van minnen in een eewegh ghebruken, dat es: boven werken ende ghedooeghen, in een salegh ledegh sijn; boven eeninghe met gode, in eenegheit, daer nieman werken en mach dan gode alleene. Want sijn werc dat es hi selve ende sine natuere. Ende in sinen werken sijn wi ledegh ende overformt, ende één met heme in sijnre minnen; maer niet één in sijnre natueren, want soe waren wi god, ende in ons-selven te niete, dat onmoghelec es. Maer wi sijn daer boven redene, ende sonder redene in een claer weten.
Daer en ghevoelen wi gheen onderscheet tusschen ons ende gode, want wi sijn boven ons-selven, ende boven alle ordene ontgheest in sijnre minnen. Daer en es eisschen noch begheeren, gheven noch nemen; maer een salegh ledegh wesen, crooene ende weseleec looen alre heilecheit ebde alre dooghde.
Ende dit begheerde onse lieve heere jhesus cristus doe hi sprac: ‘Vader ic wille, alle die du mi ghegheven heefs, dat si één sijn alsoe alse wi één sijn’. Niet in alre wijs, want hi es . i. met sinen vader in der natueren, want hi es god. Ende hi es oec één met ons in onser natueren, want hi es mensche. Ende hi leeft in ons ende wi in heme overmids sine ghenade ende onse goede werke. Ende aldus es hi met ons vereeneght, ende wi met heme. Ende in sijnre ghenaden, ende met heme, minnen wi ende ufenen onsen hemelschen vader.
Ende in minnen ende in ufeninghen sijn wi eenegh met onsen hemelschen vader, maer niet één. Want de vader mindt ons, ende wi heme weder. Ende tusschen minnen ende ghemindt werden, ghevoelen wi altoes onderscheet ende anderheit; ende dat es de aerd eewegher minnen.
Maer daer wi boven alle ufeninghe van minnen behelst ende bevaen sijn met den vader ende met den sone in eenegheit des heileghs gheests, daer sijn wi alle één, gheliker-wijs dat cristus, god ende mensche, met sinen vader één es in haerre beider grondelooese minne. Ende in der-selver minnen sijn wi alle volbracht in éen eewegh ghebruken, dat es: in een salegh, leedegh wesen, dat onbegripeleec es allen creatueren.
Vooert-meer in onsen ledeghen sine, daer wi één sijn met gode in sijnre minnen, daer beghint . i. overweselec scouwen ende ghevoelen, dat hooeghste dat men ghewaerden mach, dat es: stervende leven, ende levende sterven, ute onsen wesene in onse overwesende salecheit.
Wanneer dat wi overmids gratie ende de hulpe gods ons-selfs gheweldegh sijn, alsoe dat wi ons ontbeelden moghen, altoes alse wi willen, tote in onsen ledeghen sine daer wi met gode één sijn, in dat grondeloes abys sijnre minnen, daer ons wel ghenoeght; want wi hebben gode in ons, ende sijn salegh in onse wesen overmids dat inwerken gods, daer wi één mede sijn in minnen, niet in wesene noch in natueren; maer wi sijn salegh ende salegheit in gods wesen, daer hi sijns-selfs ghebruuct ende onser alre, in sine hooeghe natuere: dàt es der minnen kerne die ons verborghen es in deemsterheit, in niet-wetene sonder grond.
Dit niet-weten es . i. ontoegankelec licht, dat gods wesen es, ende ons over-weselec, ende heme alleene weselec. Want hi es sijns-selfs salegheit, ende ghebruuct sijns-selfs in sijnre natueren.
Ende in sijn ghebruken sijn wi ghestorven, ende ons-selven ontsonken ende verloren na wise ons ghebrukens, maer niet na wise ons wesens. Want onse minne ende sine minne sijn altoes ghelijc ende één int ghebruken, daer sijn gheest onse minne op-ghesopen heeft, ende in heme verswolghen in ghebrukene ende in ééne salecheit met heme.
Ende waer ic sette dat wi één met gode sijn, dat es te verstane: in minnen, niet in wesene noch in natueren; want gods wesen es onghescapen, ende onse wesen es ghescapen. Ende dit es sonder mate onghelijc, god ende creatuere. Ende hier-omme, al maecht vereeneghen, en mach niet één werden. Ghinghe oec onse wesen te niete, soe en souden wi niet kinnen, noch minnen, noch salegh sijn.
Maer onse ghescapene wesen es ane te siene alse eene welde wueste wustine, daer god in leeft die ons regeert. Ende in dese wustine moeten wi dolen wiselooes ende sonder maniere. Want wi en connen ute onsen wesene niet comen in onse overwesen anders dan met minnen.
Ende hieromme sijn wi salegh in onse wesen, eest dat wi leven in minnen. Ende wi sijn salegheit in gods wesen, eest dat wi, in minnen, ons-selfs ghestorven sijn in sijn ghebruken. Altoes leven wi in onse eighen wesen overmids minne. Ende altoes sterven wi in gods wesen overmids ghebruken. Ende hier-omme es dit ghenoemt een stervende leven, ende . i. levende sterven; want wi leven met gode, ende wi sterven in gode.
Salegh sijn de dooede die aldus leven ende sterven, want si sijn ghe-erft in gode ende in zijn rike.
A Mirror of Eternal Blessedness companion
A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
- Daily bite-sized excerpts from the contemplative classics, never a wall of text
- A built-in timed stillness practice that grows from 2 minutes to 10
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