Off mercy and grace and their propertyes; and how we shall enjoy that ever we suffrid wo patiently. Forty-eighth chapter.
The Spirit's Work of Mercy and Peace
The Holy Spirit keeps our soul in peace, leading us by mercy through this changeable life, for God has no wrath toward us—only love.
But our good Lord the Holy Spirit, who is endless life dwelling in our soul, keeps us fully secure, and works a peace there, and brings it to ease by grace, and brings it into accord with God, and makes it obedient.1 And this is the mercy and the way that our Lord continually leads us in as long as we are here in this life, which is changeable. For I saw no wrath except on man's part, and that He forgives in us.2 For wrath is nothing but a stubborn opposition and a contrariness to peace and to love. And it comes either from a failing of might, or from a failing of wisdom, or from a failing of goodness—which failing is not in God, but is on our side—for by sin and wretchedness we have in us a wretched and continual opposition to peace and to love, and He showed that often enough in His loving look of compassion and pity.34 For the ground of mercy is love, and the working of mercy is our being kept in love, and this was shown in such a way that I could not perceive mercy's part otherwise than as if it were love alone—that is to say, as it appeared to my sight.
The Sweet Working of Mercy in Our Failing
Mercy, mingled with pity, keeps us in love even through our failing, falling, and dying—never turning away from us—and is a motherly property within that same love.
Mercy is a sweet, gracious working in love, mingled with plentiful pity. For mercy works, keeping us; and mercy works, turning everything to good for us. Mercy, by love, allows us to fail by measure; and as much as we fail, so much we fall; and as much as we fall, so much we die.5 For we must of necessity die, as much as we fail of the sight and feeling of God, who is our life. Our failing is dreadful, our falling is shameful, and our dying is sorrowful. But in all this, the sweet eye of pity and love never turns away from us, nor does the working of mercy cease.6 For I beheld the property of mercy, and I beheld the property of grace, which have two manners of working in one love. Mercy is a pitying property that belongs to motherhood in tender love.7
Grace's Transforming Power
Grace, the honorable property of God's royal lordship, raises our failing into endless solace and honor, and will lead us to everlasting joy that we ever suffered woe.
And grace is an honorable property that belongs to the royal Lordship in the same love.8 Mercy works by keeping, bearing with, quickening, and healing; and all of this is from the tenderness of love.9 And grace works—raising, rewarding, and endlessly surpassing what our loving and our labor deserve—spreading out and showing the high, plentiful generosity of God's royal Lordship in His marvelous courtesy; and this is from the abundance of love.10 For grace works our dreadful failing into plentiful, endless solace, and grace works our shameful falling into a raising to high honor, and grace works our sorrowful dying into holy, blissful life.11 For I saw most surely that just as our contrary nature works pain, shame, and sorrow for us here on earth, just so on the contrary side grace works solace, honor, and bliss for us in Heaven—and surpassing so far that when we come up and receive the sweet reward which grace has wrought for us, then we shall thank and bless our Lord, endlessly enjoying that we ever suffered woe.1213 And that will be a property of blessed love that we shall know in God, which we could never have known without woe going before. And when I saw all this, I had to grant that the mercy of God and the forgiveness is to soften and waste away our wrath.14
Read the original Middle English
But our good Lord the Holy Gost, which is endles lif wonnyng in our soule, ful sekirly kepyth us, and werkyth therin a peas, and bryngith it to ese be grace, and accordith it to God, and makyth it buxum. And this is the mercy and the wey that our Lord continuly ledyth us in as longe as we ben here in this lif which is chongeabile. For I sow no wrath but in mannys partie, and that forgevyth He in us. For wreth is not ell but a frowardness and a contrarioste to peace and to love. And eyther it commyth of faylyng of myte, or of faylyng of wisdam, or of faylyng of goodnes, which faylyng is not in God, but it is on our partie, for we be synne and wretchidnes have in us a wretchid and continuant contrariuste to peace and to love, and that shewid He full often in His lovely chere of ruth and pety. For the ground of mercy is love, and the werkyng of mercy is our kepyng in love, and this was shewid in swich manner that I cowth not aperceyven of the partye of mercy otherwise but as it were alone in love, that is to sey, as to my syte.
Mercy is a swete, gracious werkyng in love medilyd with plenteuous pitte. For mercy werkith, us kepand; and mercy workyth, turnyng to us althyng to good. Mercy be love suffrith us to faylen be mesur, and in as mech as we faylen, in so mekyl we fallen, and in as mekyl as we fallen, so mekyl we dyen. For us behovyth nedes to deyen, in as mech as we failen syght and felyng of God that is our lif. Our faylyng is dredful, our falling is shamefull, and our deyng is sorowfull. But in al this the swete eye of pite and love cummyth never of us, ne the werkyng of mercy cessyth not. For I beheld the properte of mercy and I beheld the properte of grace, which have two manner werkyng in one love. Mercy is a pitifull propirte which longyth to the moderhode in tendyr love.
And grace is a worshipful propirte which longyth to the ryal Lordshipp in the same love. Mercy werkyth, kepyng, suffring, quecknyng, and helyng; and al is of tendernes of love.
And grace werkyth, reysing, rewardyng, and endlessly overpassyng that our lovyng and our travel deservyth, spreding abrode, and shewyng the hey, plentiuous largess of Godds ryal Lordship in His mervelous curtesye; and this is of the abondance of love. For grace werkyth our dredfull faylyng into plentiuous endles solace, and grace werkyth our shamefull fallyng into hey worship reysyng, and grace werkyth our sorowfull deying into holy blisfull lif. For I saw full sekirly that ever as our contrarioust werkyth to us here in erth peyne, shame, and sorow, ryth so on the contrariewise, grace werkyth to us in Hevyn solace, worship, and bliss; and overpassyng - so fer forth that whan we cum up and receivyn the swete reward which grace hath wrowte to us, than we shal thankyn and blissyn our Lord, endlesly enjoyand that ever we suffrid wo. And that shal be for a properte of blissid love that we shall know in God, which we myte never a knowen withoute wo goeing afore. And whan I saw all this, me behovid nedis to granten that the mercy of God and the forgiveness is to slaken and wasten our wreth.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME buxum means obedient, yielding, or compliant, not modern 'buxom'.
- 2 ↩ME sow is taken as 'saw' (visionary seeing), the expected Julian form in this context.
- 3 ↩Might, wisdom, and goodness echo Julian's habitual naming of the Trinity's properties; the failing is located only on the human side.
- 4 ↩ME 'we be synne and wretchidnes have' is read as instrumental 'by sin and wretchedness we have,' the sense required by the clause.
- 5 ↩Rendered 'Mercy be love' as instrumental 'Mercy, by love' (mercy acting through love), matching the chapter's teaching that love is the ground of mercy.
- 6 ↩'cummyth never of us' rendered as 'never turns away from us' (the eye never comes off us).
- 7 ↩'pitifull' rendered as 'pitying' (full of pity/compassion), not 'pitiable'.
- 8 ↩ME 'worshipful' here means honorable / worthy of honor (paired with 'worship' as honor later in the chapter), not liturgical worship.
- 9 ↩ME 'suffring' in this list of merciful operations is rendered 'bearing with' (patient endurance/allowance), continuous with mercy that 'suffers us to fail' earlier in the chapter; not primarily 'undergoing pain'.
- 10 ↩ME travel = travail (toil/labor), not modern 'travel'.
- 11 ↩ME worship here means honor/worthiness (worthship), not liturgical worship; rendered 'honor' accordingly.
- 12 ↩ME contrarioust rendered 'contrary nature' (the contrary/opposing force in us); Julian's technical term for what works against us toward pain, shame, and sorrow.
- 13 ↩ME worship again = honor/worth, kept parallel with Heaven's reward triad (solace, honor, bliss).
- 14 ↩our wreth = our (human) wrath, which mercy softens and wastes; next chapter develops that God Himself is never wrathful.
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