How we shold pray; and of the gret tender love that our Lord hath to mannes soule, willing us to be occupyed in knowing and loveing of Him. The sixth chapter.

Clinging to God's Goodness

The showing teaches that we should pray directly to God's goodness rather than multiplying means, for His goodness is all-sufficient and lacks nothing.

This showing was given to teach our soul to cling wisely to the goodness of God. And at that time the custom of our praying was brought to mind: how, for lack of understanding and of knowing love, we tend to make many means.¹ Then I truly saw that it is more honor to God, and more true delight, that we faithfully pray to Him Himself for His goodness and cling to it by His grace, with true understanding and made steadfast by love, than if we made every means the heart can think of.²³ For if we make all these means, it is too little and not full honor to God; but in His goodness is all the whole, and there nothing at all is lacking.⁴

All Help from His Goodness

All the means we use in prayer—Christ's passion, Mary, the Cross, the saints—derive their help from God's goodness, which is the chief and principal means ordained for our redemption.

For this is how it came into my mind, as I shall say: At the same time we pray to God for His holy flesh and for His precious blood, His holy Passion, His dear and precious death and wounds; and all the blessed kindness, the endless life, that we have from all this is His goodness.⁵ And we pray to Him for the love of His sweet mother, who bore Him, and all the help we have from her is from His goodness. And we pray by His Holy Cross that He died on, and all the virtue and the help that we have from the Cross is from His goodness. And in the same way, all the help that we have from particular saints and from all the blessed company of heaven—the precious love and endless friendship that we have from them—is from His goodness.⁶ For God, out of His goodness, has ordained means to help us, very fair and many, of which the chief and principal means is the blessed nature that He took from the Maiden, with all the means that go before and come after that belong to our redemption and to endless salvation.⁷⁸

Enclosed in God's Goodness

God's goodness is the highest prayer that quickens the soul; we are more intimately enclosed in His goodness than any physical covering, and He loves our soul with a special, surpassing love.

So it pleases Him that we seek Him and worship Him through means, understanding and knowing that He is the goodness of all. For the goodness of God is the highest prayer, and it comes down to the lowest part of our need. It quickens our soul and brings it to life and makes it grow in grace and virtue. It is nearest in nature and most ready in grace.⁹ For it is the same grace that the soul seeks and always will seek, until we truly know our God, who has us all enclosed in Himself. For He has no contempt for what He has made, nor does He disdain to serve us in the simplest duty that belongs to our body by nature, for love of the soul that He has made in His own likeness. For as the body is clothed in cloth, and the flesh in the skin, and the bones in the flesh, and the heart in the chest, so are we, soul and body, clothed in the goodness of God and enclosed; yes, and more intimately, for all these may waste and wear away, and the goodness of God is always whole, and nearer to us beyond any comparison, for truly our Lover desires that our soul cling to Him with all its strength and that we be forever clinging to His goodness.¹⁰ For of all things the heart may think, this most pleases God and most quickly helps us, for our soul is so specially loved by Him who is highest that it surpasses the knowing of all creatures.¹¹

The Mutual Longing of Love

No creature can comprehend God's love; we are called to behold it and ask of our Lover, for our natural will longs for God until we are fulfilled in Heaven, and this lesson of love makes us humble and charitable.

That is to say, there is no creature that has been made that can know how greatly, and how sweetly, and how tenderly our Maker loves us. And therefore we may, with His grace and His help, stand in spiritual beholding with everlasting marveling at¹² this high, surpassing, inestimable love that Almighty God has for us out of His goodness.¹³ And therefore we may ask of our Lover, with reverence, all that we desire. Our natural will is to have God, and God’s good will is to have us; we can never stop wanting or longing for Him until we have Him in the fullness of joy—and then we can want nothing more.¹⁴ For He wills that we be occupied in knowing and loving until the time when we shall be fulfilled in Heaven. And so this lesson of love was shown, along with everything that follows, as you will see. For the strength and the ground of all was shown in the first sight. For of all things, the beholding and the loving of the Maker makes the soul seem least in its own sight, and most fills it with reverent dread and true meekness, with plenty of charity toward its fellow Christians.¹⁵¹⁶

Read the original Middle English

This sheweing was made to lerne our soule wisely to clevyn to the goodnes of God. And in that time the custome of our prayeing was browte to mende, how we use for lak of understonding and knowing of love to make many menys. Than saw I sothly that is more worshippe to God, and more very delite, that we faithfully pray to Himselfe of His goodness and clevyn thereto be His grace with trew understondyng and stedfast be love, than if we made all the menys that herte can thinke. For if we make all these menys, it is to litil and and not full worshippe to God, but in His goodnes is all the hole, and there failith right nowte.

For thus as I shall say came to my minde: In the same time we pray to God for His holy flesh and for His pretious blode, His holy passion, His deareworthy death and wounds; and all the blissid kindenes, the endles life, that we have of all this, is His goodnes. And we pray Him for His sweete moder love, that Him bare, and all the helpe we have of her is of His godeness. And we pray by His Holy Cross that He dyed on, and all the vertue and the helpe that we have of the Cross, it is of His godeness. And on the same wise, all the helpe that we have of special saints and all the blissed company of Hevyn, the dereworthy love and endles freindshippe that we have of them, it is of His godenes. For God of His godenes hath ordeyned meanys to helpe us, wole faire and fele, of which the chiefe and principal mene is the blissid kinde that He toke of the Mayd, with all the menys that gone aforn and cum after which belongyn to our redemption and to endless salvation.

Wherefore it pleaseth Him that we seke Him and worship be menys, under stondyng and knoweing that He is the goodness of all. For the goodness of God is the heyest prayer and it comith downe to the lowest party of our nede. It quickyth our soule and bringith it on life and makyth it for to waxen in grace and vertue. It is nerest in kind and ridiest in grace. For it is the same grace that the soule sekith and evir shall, till we know oure God verily that hath us all in Himselfe beclosyd. For He hath no dispite of that He hath made ne He hath no disdeyne to serve us at the simplest office that to our body longyth in kinde, for love of the soule that He hath made to His owne likness. For as the body is cladde in the cloth, and the flesh in the skyne, and the bonys in the flesh, and the herte in the bouke, so arn we, soule and body, cladde in the goodnes of God and inclosyd; ya, and more homley, for all these may wasten and weren away, and the godenes of God is ever hole, and more nere to us withoute any likenes, for treuly our lover desireth that our soule cleve to Hym with all the might and that we be evermore clevand to His godenes. For of all thing that herete may thinke, it plesyth most God and sonest spedyth, for our soule is so specially lovid of Him that is heiest that it overpassyth the knoweing of all creatures.

That is to seyen, there is no creature that is made that may wetyn how mekyl, and how swetely, and how tenderly our Maker loveth us. And therefore we may with His grace and His helpe stond in ghostly beholding with everlestyng merveyling in. this hey, overpassing, onenestimable love that Almitie God hath to us of His godenes. And therefore we may aske of our lover with reverence all that we willen.

For our kindly will is to have God and the gode will of God is to have us, and we may never blyn of willing ne of longyng till we have Him in fullhede of joy; and than may we no more willen. For He will that we be occupyed in knoweing and loveing til the tyme that we shall be fulfilled in Hevyn. And therefore was this lesson of love shewid, with all that followith, as ye shal se. For the strength and the ground of all was shewed in the first sight. For of all thing, the behold ing and the lovyng of the Maker makith the soule to seeme lest in his owne sight, and most fillith it with reverend drede and trew mekenes, with plenty of charite to his even Cristen.

Notes

1 ↩menys rendered as "means": mediatory ways or devices of prayer, the chapter's contrast with clinging to God's goodness.
2 ↩"of His goodness" rendered "for His goodness": petitioning God Himself on the ground of His goodness, opposed to multiplying secondary means.
3 ↩"stedfast be love" taken as "made steadfast by love", parallel to "be His grace" = by His grace.
4 ↩Source dittography "and and" ("to litil and and not full worshippe"); translated as a single "and".
5 ↩ME kindenes here is read as kindness (loving-kindness), not kinde (nature); the following sentence uses kinde for the Incarnation.
6 ↩special saints rendered as particular saints (those specially invoked), not an elite subclass of sanctity.
7 ↩blissid kinde rendered as blessed nature (the human nature assumed in the Incarnation from the Virgin), not kindness.
8 ↩wole faire and fele rendered as very fair and many (ME fele = many).
9 ↩kind/kinde = nature (created nature); ridiest = most ready/readiest.
10 ↩homley rendered as intimately (Julian's familiar nearness); bouke as chest/trunk; withoute any likenes as beyond any comparison.
11 ↩herete read as herte (heart); it taken as the soul's clinging to God's goodness named in the preceding sentence.
12 ↩ghostly beholding rendered as spiritual beholding (ME ghostly = spiritual, not spectral); the sentence ends mid-construction and continues in s3.
13 ↩Source 'onenestimable' read as unestimable/inestimable; 'hey' as high; 'Almitie' as Almighty.
14 ↩ME kindly means natural / of our kind (human nature), not kindly as gentle; rendered here as natural will.
15 ↩ME reverend drede is holy/reverent fear before God, not servile terror; rendered as reverent dread.
16 ↩Kept charity for neighbor-love as theological virtue; even Cristen rendered as fellow Christians.

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