How the children of salvation shal be shakyn in sorowis, but Criste enjoyth wyth compassion; and a remedye agayn tribulation. Twenty-eighth chapter.
Christ's Compassion in Tribulation
Christ reveals His compassion for us in sin and explains that He allows tribulation, scorn, and breaking to cleanse us from pride and vanity, promising endless joy in heaven.
Thus I saw how Christ has compassion on us because of sin. And just as I was earlier filled with pain and compassion in the Passion of Christ, likewise in this I was partly filled with compassion for all my fellow Christians, for that deeply beloved people who will be saved. That is to say, God's servants, Holy Church, will be shaken in sorrows and anguish and tribulation in this world, as people shake a cloth in the wind. And as to this our Lord answered in this way: I will make a great thing of this in Heaven, of endless honors and everlasting joys.1 Yes, so far did I see that our Lord rejoices in the tribulations of His servants.2 With pity and compassion for each person He loves in order to bring them to His bliss, He leaves on them something that is no fault in His sight, by which they are faulted and despised in this world, scorned, abused, and cast out.34 And He does this to prevent the harm they would take from the pomp and the vain glory of this wretched life, and to make their way ready to come to Heaven, and to raise them up in His bliss that lasts without end.✦ For He says, I will break you completely for your vain affections and your vicious pride; and after that I will gather you together and make you mild and meek, clean and holy, by uniting you to me.56
Christ in Every Compassionate Heart
God reveals that every natural compassion a person has for another in charity is Christ Himself dwelling within them.
And then I saw that every natural compassion a person has for a fellow Christian in charity is Christ in them.7
Twofold Comfort in His Passion
Julian sees two meanings in the compassion shown through Christ's Passion: the eternal bliss we are purchased for and the comfort that we suffer with Him, which turns all pain to honor and removes blame.
That same sense of being brought to nothing, which was shown in His Passion, was shown again here in this compassion, in which there were two kinds of understanding in our Lord's meaning.8 The first was the bliss we are bought into, in which He will rejoice.910 The other is for comfort in our pain, for He wills that we know that it will all be turned to honor and benefit by virtue of His Passion, and that we know that we do not suffer alone but with Him, and see Him as our ground, and that we see that His pains and His being brought to nothing surpass so far all that we can suffer that it cannot be fully thought; and the beholding of this will save us from grumbling and despair in the feeling of our pains.1112 And if we see truly that our sin deserves it, yet His love excuses us, and of His great courtesy He takes away all our blame, holding us with compassion and pity as children—innocent and not loathsome.1314
Read the original Middle English
Thus I saw how Criste hath compassion on us for the cause of synne. And ryte as I was aforn in the passion of Criste fulfillid with peyne and compassion, like in this I was fulfild a party with compassion of al myn even Cristen, for that wel, wel belovid people that shal be savid. That is to sey, Gods servants, Holy Church, shal be shakyn in sorows and anguis and tribulation in this world, as men shakyn a cloth in the wynde. And as to this our Lord answerid in this manner: A gret thing shall I makyn hereof in Hevyn, of endles worshipps and everlestyng joyes. Ya, so ferforth I saw that our Lord joyth of the tribulations of His servants. With reuth and compassion to ech person that He lovyth to His bliss for to bringen, He levyth upon them something that is no lak in Hys syte, wherby thei are lakid and dispisyd in thys world, scornyd, rapyd, and outcasten. And this He doith for to lettyn the harme that thei shuld take of the pompe and the veyn glory of this wrechid lif, and mak ther way redy to come to Hevyn, and heynen them in His bliss without end lestyng. For He seith, I shall al tobreke you for your veyn affections and your vicious pryde, and after that I shal togeder gader you, and make you mylde and meke, clene and holy, by onyng to me.
And than I saw that ech kynde compassion that man hath on his even Cristen with charite, it is Criste in him.
That same nowting that was shewid in His passion, it was shewid ageyn here in this compassion, wherein were two maner of understondyngs in our Lords menyng. The one was the bliss that we arn bowte to, wherin He will be enjoyen. That other is for comforte in our peyne, for He will that we wettyn that it shal al be turnyd to worshippe and profite be vertue of His passion, and that we wetyn that we suffir not alone, but with Him, and seen Hym our grounde, and that we seen His penys and His nowting passith so fer al that we may suffre that it may not be ful thowte; and the beholdyng of this will save us from gruching and dispeir in the felyng of our peynys. And if we se sothly that our synne deservyth it, yet His love excusith us, and of His gret curtesye He doith awey al our blame, and He holdyth us with ruth and pite as childer, inocents and unlothfull.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1John.2.16 — For all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the pride of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME 'worshipps' here means honors/dignities rather than liturgical worship alone; rendered as 'honors'.
- 2 ↩ME 'joyth of' is joy concerning the servants' tribulations, clarified by the following sentence as joy with pity and compassion, not pleasure in their pain.
- 3 ↩ME 'rapyd' (from rapen) can mean seized by force, violated, or violently abused; 'abused' is the plain modern rendering in this scorn/outcast series.
- 4 ↩Wordplay on 'lak'/'lakid': what is no fault (lak) in God's sight becomes the ground by which they are faulted (lakid) in the world.
- 5 ↩ME 'onyng' is Julian's technical term for making one / mystical union; rendered as 'uniting you to me'.
- 6 ↩'veyn affections' kept near the protected affection/attachment sense: disordered attachments rather than mere feelings.
- 7 ↩ME kynde can mean natural/kindly (Julian's loaded sense of nature-and-kindness) or kind/sort; rendered as natural compassion to keep Julian's kynde theology without archaism.
- 8 ↩Julian's 'nowting' (noughting): Christ's abasement/emptying in the Passion, being reduced to nothing. Rendered here as 'being brought to nothing' to keep the sense plain without inventing a softer paraphrase.
- 9 ↩'Bowte to' = bought unto/into: the bliss purchased for us by redemption, not merely a destination we happen to reach.
- 10 ↩ME 'enjoyen' here means rejoice, matching the chapter's sense that Christ rejoices with compassion—not modern 'enjoy' as casual pleasure.
- 11 ↩ME 'worshippe' here is honor/glory more than modern liturgical 'worship'; rendered 'honor' to avoid anachronistic narrowing, paired with 'profite' as benefit/good.
- 12 ↩'Gruching' = grutching/grumbling/complaint under trial, not mere mild discontent.
- 13 ↩Julian's 'curtesye' is kept as 'courtesy': gracious, courtly divine kindness, a signature term of her theology, not mere politeness.
- 14 ↩'Unlothfull' = not loathsome/not repulsive: He regards the saved as children who are innocent and not found distasteful to Him, despite deserved blame.
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