The tenth Revelation is that our Lord Jesus shewith in love His blissid herte cloven in two enjoyand. Twenty-fourth chapter.
The Vision of the Wounded Heart
Our Lord shows His side, the place of rest, His blood and water, His heart cloven in two, and the blessed Godhead of endless love.
Then with a joyful face, our Lord looked into His side and gazed at it, rejoicing; and with His sweet gaze, He led His creature's understanding through that same wound into His side within. And then He showed a beautiful, delightful place, large enough for all of humanity that will be saved to rest in peace and in love. And with that, He called to mind His precious blood and precious water, which He let pour out completely for love.1 And with that sweet gaze, He showed His blissful heart, split in two. And with this joyful rejoicing, He showed me, in part, the blessed Godhead, stirring the pure soul to understand as much as can be said—that is to say, the endless love that was without beginning, and is, and will be forever.2
The Word of Love and Its Promise
Our Lord speaks 'Look how I loved you,' explaining His willing death, the transformation of pain into joy, and His delight in granting our prayers for holiness and joy.
And with this our good Lord said most blissfully, "Look how I loved you"—as if He had said, "My darling, look and see your Lord, your God who is your maker and your endless joy; see what delight and bliss I have in your salvation, and for my love rejoice now with me." And also, for clearer understanding, this blessed word was spoken: "Look how I loved you." Look and see that I loved you so much before I died for you that I would die for you — and now I have died for you, and suffered willingly as far as I could.✦3 And now all my bitter pain and all my hard travail have been turned into endless joy and bliss for me and for you.4 How could it now be that you would ask me for anything that delights me, and I would not most gladly grant it to you?5 For my delight is your holiness and your endless joy and bliss with me. This is the understanding, as simply as I can put it, of this blessed word: "See how I loved you." Our good Lord showed this to make us glad and joyful.
Read the original Middle English
Than with a glad chere our Lord loked into His syde and beheld, enjoyand; and with His swete lokyng He led forth the understondyng of His creture be the same wound into Hys syde withinne. And than He shewid a faire, delectabil place and large enow for al mankynd that shal be save to resten in pece and in love. And therwith He browte to mende His dereworthy blode and pretious water which He lete poure al oute for love. And with the swete beholdyng He shewid His blisful herte even cloven on two. And with this swete enjoyyng He shewid onto myn understondyng, in party, the blissid Godhede, steryng than the pure soule for to understonde, as it may be said; that is to mene, the endles love that was without begynnyng, and is, and shal be ever.
And with this our gode Lord seyd full blisfully, Lo, how that I lovid the; as if He had seid, "My derling, behold and se thy Lord, thy God that is thy maker and thyn endles joy; se what likyng and bliss I have in thy salvation, and for my love enjoy now with me." And also, for more understondyng, this blissid word was seyd: Lo, how I lovid the. Behold and se that I lovid the so mekyl ere I deyd for the that I wold dey for the, and now I have deyd for the, and suffrid wilfuly that I may. And now is al my bitter peyne and al my hard travel turnyd to endles joy and bliss to me and to the. How should it now be that thou should onythyng pray me that lekyth me, but if I shuld ful gladly grant it the? For my lekyng is thy holynes and thyn endles joy and bliss with me.
This is the understondyng simply as I can sey of this blissid word, Lo, how I lovid the. This shewid our gode Lord for to make us glad and mery.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.15.13 — No one has greater love than this: that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Notes
- 1 ↩dereworthy rendered as precious; Julian's compound means dear and worthy of love, not merely costly.
- 2 ↩in party rendered as in part: Julian marks a partial, creaturely glimpse of the Godhead, not full comprehension.
- 3 ↩"suffrid wilfuly that I may" rendered as "suffered willingly as far as I could" (full voluntary extent of the Passion); "wilfuly" = willingly/voluntarily, not stubbornly.
- 4 ↩ME "travel" here means travail/toil of the Passion, not journeying.
- 5 ↩ME "but if" is the exceptive "unless"; rendered as a natural modern rhetorical question preserving the force that Christ would of course grant any petition that pleases Him.
Revelations of Divine Love (Showings) companion
A daily portion of stillness
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