SR
← Revelations of Divine Love (Showings)/Book 1 · Revelations of Divine Love (Showings)
Chapter 54JulianShowings.1.54

We ought to enjoye that God wonyth in our soule and our soule in God, so that atwix God and our soule is nothing, but as it were al God; and how feith is ground of al vertue in our soule be the Holy Gost. Fifty-fourth chapter.

The Mutual Indwelling of God and the Soul

God's endless love unites Christ's soul and all saved souls in the Godhead, calling us to rejoice in our mutual dwelling with God.

And because of the great endless love that God has for all humankind, He makes no distinction in love between the blessed soul of Christ and the least soul that will be saved.1 For it's very easy to believe and to trust that the dwelling of Christ's blessed soul is very high in the glorious Godhead; and truly, as I understand in our Lord's meaning, where Christ's blessed soul is, there is the substance of all the souls that will be saved by Christ.2 We ought highly to rejoice that God dwells in our soul, and much more highly ought we to rejoice that our soul dwells in God.✦3 Our soul is made to be God's dwelling place, and the dwelling place of the soul is God, who is unmade.✦4 And it is a high understanding inwardly to see and to know that God, who is our Maker, dwells in our soul. And it is a higher understanding inwardly to see and to know that our soul, which is made, dwells in God's substance—of which substance, God, we are what we are.✦5

The Trinity Encloses Us

Our substance is in God, and the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—encloses us and is enclosed in us.

And I saw no difference between God and our substance, but as if it were all God; and yet my understanding grasped that our substance is in God — that is to say, that God is God, and our substance is a creature in God.6 For the almighty truth of the Trinity is our Father, for He made us and keeps us in Him. And the deep wisdom of the Trinity is our Mother, in whom we are all enclosed.7 The high goodness of the Trinity is our Lord, and in Him we are enclosed, and He in us. We are enclosed in the Father, and we are enclosed in the Son, and we are enclosed in the Holy Spirit; and the Father is enclosed in us, and the Son is enclosed in us, and the Holy Spirit is enclosed in us — Almightiness, All-Wisdom, All-Goodness: one God, one Lord.8

Faith as the Ground of Virtue

Faith, given by the Holy Spirit, grounds all virtues and enables us to live as Christ's children, graciously acceding to His merciful working.

And our faith is a virtue that comes from our natural substance into our sensual soul by the Holy Spirit, in which all our virtues come to us, for without that no one can receive virtue.9 For it is nothing else but a right understanding, with true belief and sure trust, of our being — that we are in God, and God in us — which we do not see. And this virtue, with all the others that God has ordained for us and that have command in it, works great things in us.10 For Christ's merciful working is in us, and we graciously accord with Him through the gifts and the virtues of the Holy Spirit. This working makes us Christ's children and Christian in our living.

Read the original Middle English

And for the grete endless love that God hath to al mankynde, He makith no departing in love betwix the blissid soule of Crist and the lest soule that shal be savid. For it is full hesy to leven and to trowen that the wonyng of the blissid soule of Criste is full hey in the glorious Godhede; and sothly, as I understond in our Lord menyng, wher the blissid soule of Crist is, ther is the substans of al the soules that shal be savid be Crist. Heyly owe we to enjoyen that God wonyth in our soule, and mekil more heyly owe enjoyen that our soule wonyth in God. Our soule is made to be Gods wonyng place, and the wonyng place of the soule is God, which is onmade. And hey understonding it is inwardly to sen and to knowen that God, which is our maker, wonyth in our soule. And an heyer understondyng it is inwardly to sen and to knowen our soule, that is made, wonyth in Gods substance, of which substance, God, we arn that we arn.

And I saw no difference atwix God and our substance, but as it were al God; and yet myn understondyng toke that our substance is in God; that is to sey, that God is God, and our substance is a creture in God. For the almyty truth of the Trinite is our fader, for He made us and kepith us in Him. And the depe wisdam of the Trinite is our moder in whom we arn al beclosid. The hey goodnes of the Trinite is our lord, and in Him we arn beclosid, and He in us. We arn beclosid in the Fadir, and we arn beclosid in the Son, and we arn beclosid in the Holy Gost; and the Fader is beclosid in us, and the Son is beclosid in us, and the Holy Gost is beclosid in us - Almytyhede, Alwisdam, Al goodnes: on God, on Lord.

And our feith is a vertue that comith of our kynd substance into our sensual soule be the Holy Gost in which all our vertuys comith to us, for without that no man may receive vertue. For it is not ell but a rythe understondyng with trew beleve and sekir troste of our beyng that we arn in God, and God in us, which we se not. And this vertue, with al other that God hat ordeynid to us command therin, werkith in us grete things. For Crists mercifull werking is in us, and we graciosly accordand to Him throw the gefts and the vertues of the Holy Gost. This werkyng makith that we arn Crists children and Cristen in liveing.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩John.14.20 — On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
  2. ↩1Cor.3.16-1Cor.3.17 — Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 1Cor.3.17 — If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy that person. For the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple.
  3. ↩Exod.3.14;Acts.17.28 — And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.' Acts.17.28 — For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also his offspring.'

Notes

  1. 1 ↩ME «departing» here means a dividing or differentiating; rendered as «distinction» (not physical departure).
  2. 2 ↩ME «leven and trowen» are paired verbs of faith (believe/trust); «wonyng» is dwelling; «full hesy» / «full hey» intensify as «very easy» / «very high».
  3. 3 ↩ME «enjoyen» here is spiritual rejoicing/delight, not casual modern «enjoy»; «owe we» = we ought.
  4. 4 ↩ME «onmade» = uncreated/unmade; kept as «unmade» to preserve Julian's made/unmade contrast.
  5. 5 ↩«of which substance, God, we arn that we arn» keeps Julian's grounding of creaturely being in God without collapsing creature into Creator; rendered «we are what we are».
  6. 6 ↩Julian's technical term 'substance' is retained for the soul's essential being before God; 'creture' is rendered 'creature' to keep the Creator–creature distinction she affirms after the visionary 'as if it were all God.'
  7. 7 ↩'moder' is rendered 'Mother' to preserve Julian's distinctive naming of the Trinity's deep wisdom as Mother; 'beclosid' is rendered 'enclosed' for mutual enclosure language throughout the section.
  8. 8 ↩'Almytyhede, Alwisdam, Al goodnes' rendered as the Julian triad Almightiness / All-Wisdom / All-Goodness, corresponding to Father, Son (Wisdom), and Holy Spirit (Goodness) in the preceding sentences; 'on God, on Lord' rendered 'one God, one Lord'.
  9. 9 ↩Julian's pair 'kynd substance' / 'sensual soule' names the higher Godward essence and the lower sensory part of the soul; 'sensual' is kept as her technical term, not as modern 'sensuality'.
  10. 10 ↩'command therin' is read as the other ordained virtues exercising authority/working power within faith; the ME phrasing is compressed and could also be taken as virtues ordained to us to command therein.

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) →