Of the spiritual martyrdam of our Lady and other lovers of Criste, and how al things suffryd with Hym goode and ylle. Eighteenth chapter.

Mary's Compassion and Love's Sorrow

Julian sees that Mary's love for Christ is so great that her pain surpasses all others, and all true lovers suffer with Him through union in love.

Here I saw something of the compassion of our Lady Saint Mary, because Christ and she were so united in love that the greatness of His love was the cause of the greatness of her pain.¹² For in this I saw a substance of natural love, continued by grace, that creatures have toward Him—which natural love was shown most fully in His sweet mother, and in a surpassing way.³⁴ For just as much as she loved Him more than all others, her pains surpassed all others. For always, the higher, the mightier, and the sweeter the love is, the greater the sorrow it is for the lover to see that loved body in pain. And all His disciples and all His true lovers suffered pains greater than their own bodily dying. For I am sure by my own feeling that the least of them loved Him so far above themselves that it surpasses all I can say.⁵ Here I saw a great union between Christ and us, as I understood it.⁶ For when He was in pain, we were in pain.

All Creation Suffers with Christ

All creatures made for our service suffer with Christ in their own nature, the firmament and earth failing for sorrow at His dying.

And all creatures that could suffer pain suffered with Him — that is to say, all creatures God has made for our service. The firmament and the earth failed for sorrow in their nature at the time of Christ's dying.⁷ For it belongs by nature to what they are to know Him as their God, in whom all their power stands.⁸ When He failed, then of necessity it was fitting for them, by their nature, to fail with Him as much as they could for sorrow at His pains.⁹ And so those who were His friends suffered pain for love.

The Unknown God and Our Nothingness

Julian explains that even those who did not know Christ, like Pilate and Dionysius, suffered from the withdrawal of natural comfort, and that we all are brought to nothing with Jesus until we reach His bliss.

And in general, all who did not know Him suffered because every kind of comfort failed them, except for the mighty, secret keeping of God. I mean two kinds of people, as can be seen in two individuals: one was Pilate; the other was Saint Dionysius of France, who at that time was a pagan.¹⁰ For when he saw the wondrous and marvelous sorrows and terrors that occurred at that time, he said, "Either the world is now at an end, or else He who is the Maker of nature is suffering." So he wrote on an altar, "This is the altar of the unknown God." The goodness of God, which by nature makes the planets and the elements work for the blessed and the cursed alike, was withdrawn from both at that time.¹¹ That is why those who did not know Him were in sorrow at that time. Thus our Lord Jesus was brought to nothing for us, and we all in the same way are brought to nothing with Him; and we will continue in this way until we come to His bliss, as I will say later.¹²

Read the original Middle English

Here I saw a part of the compassion of our Lady Seynt Mary, for Christe and she were so onyd in love that the gretnes of His lovyng was cause of the mekyl hede of hyr payne. For in thys I saw a substance of kynd love continyyd be grace that creatures have to Hym, which kynde love was most fulsomely shewyd in His swete moder, and overpassyng. For so mech as she lovid Him more than al others, hir panys passyd al others. For ever the heyer, the myghtyer, the sweter that the love be, the mor sorow it is to the lover to se that body in payne that is lovid. And al His disciples and al His trew lovers suffrid panys more than ther owne bodyly deyng. For I am sekir by my myn owne felyng that the lest of hem lovid Hym so far above hemself that it passyth al that I can sey. Here saw I a gret onyng betwyx Christe and us, to myn understondyng. For whan He was in payne, we were in peyne.

And al cretures that might suffre payne suffrid with Hym, that is to sey, al cretures that God hathe made to our service. The firmament, the erth, faledyn for sorow in hyr kynde in the tyme of Crists deyng. For longith it kyndely to thir properte to know Hym for ther God in whome al ther vertue stondyth. Whan He faylid, than behovyd it nedis to them for kyndnes to faylon with Hym as mech as thei myght for sorow of His penys. And thus thei that were His frends suffryd peyne for love.

And generaly al, that is to sey, thei that knew Hym not, suffrid for feylyng of al manner of comfort save the myghty, privy kepyng of God. I mene of two manner of folke, as it may be understode by two personys: that on was Pilate, that other was Sain Dionyse of France, which was that tyme a paynym. For whan he saw wonderous and mervelous sorowes and dreds that befallen in that tyme, he seyd, "Either the world is now at an end or ell He that is maker of kynde suffryth." Wherfor he did write on an auter, "This is the auter of onknown God." God of His godenes that maketh the planets and the elements to werkyn of kynd to the blissid man and the cursid, in that tyme it was withdrawen from bothe. Wherfore it was that thei that knew Him not were in sorow that tyme. Thus was our Lord Jesus nawted for us, and we stond al in this manner nowtid with Hym; and shal done til we come to His blisse, as I shal sey after.

Notes

1 ↩enm 'onyd' is Julian's technical term for being made one; rendered as 'united' for modern readability.
2 ↩enm 'mekyl hede' (mekylhede) = greatness/magnitude of degree.
3 ↩enm 'kynd/kynde love' = love according to nature/kind; kept as 'natural love' against grace-continued motion.
4 ↩enm 'substance' kept in Julian's technical sense of essential reality rather than material stuff; 'fulsomely' = fully/abundantly; 'overpassyng' = surpassingly.
5 ↩Source has redundant 'my myn owne felyng'; rendered as 'my own feeling'.
6 ↩enm 'onyng' is Julian's technical mystical term; rendered 'union' for modern readability.
7 ↩ME 'faledyn' rendered as 'failed' (gave way / broke down), keeping the same root Julian uses for Christ's 'faylid' and creation's 'faylon' in s4.
8 ↩ME 'properte' kept as essential character ('what they are'); 'vertue' rendered as 'power' (efficacy/strength), the likely sense for created elements rather than moral virtue.
9 ↩'faylid'/'faylon' kept as 'failed' to preserve Julian's deliberate echo between Christ's failing strength in the Passion and creation's answering failure; 'for kyndnes' rendered as 'by their nature' (natural kinship), not modern 'kindness'.
10 ↩Sain Dionyse of France: Julian's traditional identification with Dionysius/Denis; presented here as a pagan witness at the Passion, later the convert of Acts 17 lore.
11 ↩"it" most plausibly resumes the natural working (planets and elements working "of kynd") ordinarily sustained by God's goodness, not God's goodness itself.
12 ↩nawted/nowtid: Julian's technical term for being made nought / emptied of standing; rendered "brought to nothing" to keep the kenotic force without archaic "nought."

Revelations of Divine Love (Showings) 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
Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent

Chosen Portion — Daily Prayer (free iOS app) →