Off the enmite of the fend which lesith more in our uprising than he winnith be our fallyng, and therfore he is scornyd. And how the scorge of God shuld be suffrid with mynde of His passion. For that is specially rewardid aboven penance be ourselfe chosen. And we must nedes hove wo, but curtes God is our leder, keper, and bliss. Seventy-seventh chapter.
The Fiend's Enmity and Our Glorious Rising
Our Lord shows the enmity of the fiend, but our falling gives him little gain while our rising through charity and humility brings him great sorrow, and the Lord scorns him.
Our good Lord showed the enmity of the fiend, and by that I understood that everything contrary to love and to peace is the fiend and belongs to his side. And from our frailty and our folly we have it in us to fall, and from the mercy and grace of the Holy Spirit we have it in us to rise to more joy. And if our enemy gains anything from us by our falling—for falling is his likeness—he loses many times more in our rising by charity and humility.1 And this glorious rising is so great a sorrow and pain to him, because of the hate he has toward our soul, that he burns continually in envy. And all this sorrow that he would make us have shall turn back on himself. And it was for this that our Lord scorned him, and this made me laugh with all my might.
The Remedy of Acknowledging Our Wretchedness
The remedy against the fiend is to acknowledge our wretchedness and flee to the Lord, accepting His chastening with contentment.
Then here's the remedy: we acknowledge our wretchedness and flee to our Lord. For the needier we always are, the more it helps us to draw close to Him. And let us say this in our meaning: I know well I have a harsh pain, but our Lord is almighty and can punish me mightily, and He is all wisdom and can punish me skillfully, and He is all goodness and loves me most tenderly. And in this contemplation it is necessary for us to remain, for it is a lovely humility of a sinful soul, produced by the mercy and grace of the Holy Spirit, when we willingly and gladly take the scourge and chastening that our Lord Himself will give us.✦ And it will be most tender and most easy if we only keep ourselves content with Him and with all His works.
The Penance God Gives and the Comfort of His Presence
The true penance is not self-chosen but God-given, to be borne with mind on Christ's Passion, and though we must have woe, the remedy is that the Lord is with us as our keeper now and our bliss hereafter.
For the penance that a person takes on himself was not shown to me — that is, it wasn't shown in specific detail; but it was shown specially and highly, and with a most lovely expression, that we should humbly and patiently bear and endure the penance that God Himself gives us, with our minds on His blessed Passion.2 For when we keep our minds on His blessed Passion with pity and love, then we suffer with Him just as His friends did who saw it.3 And this was shown in the thirteenth revelation, near the beginning where it speaks of pity.4 For He says: Don't accuse yourself too heavily, insisting that tribulation and your misery are all for your fault; for I do not want you to be heavy-hearted or sorrowful without discernment.5 For I tell you: however you go about it, you'll have woe; and therefore I want you to know your penance wisely, and then you'll truly see that all your living is profitable penance.6 This place is a prison, and this life is penance; and in the remedy He wants us to rejoice.7 The remedy is that our Lord is with us, keeping and leading us into the fullness of joy. For this is an endless joy to us in our Lord's meaning: that He who will be our bliss when we are there is our keeper while we are here.
Our Way to Heaven: Love, Trust, and Intimacy with Christ
Our way and Heaven is true love and sure trust, shown especially in the Passion, and we are called to flee to the Lord, touch Him, and cling to Him, for He is both intimate and courteous, and He wills us to be like Him in all things.
Our way and our Heaven is true love and sure trust, and He gave me understanding of this in all things, especially in the showing of His Passion, where He made me choose Him mightily as my Heaven. Let us flee to our Lord, and we'll be comforted; let us touch Him, and we'll be made clean; cling to Him, and we'll be secure and safe from every kind of peril.✦ For our courteous Lord wills that we be as intimate with Him as heart can think or soul can desire.89 But beware that we don't take this intimacy so recklessly that we leave courtesy behind.10 For our Lord Himself is supreme intimacy, and as intimate as He is, so courteous He is, for He is truly courteous.11 And the blessed creatures who will be in Heaven with Him without end, He wills to have like Himself in all things. And to be perfectly like our Lord is our true salvation and our full bliss. And if we don't know how we shall do all this, let us ask it of our Lord, and He will teach us, for it is His own delight and His honor.12 Blessed may He be.
Read the original Middle English
Our good Lord shewid the enmite of the fend, wherby I understode that all that is contrarious to love and to pece, it is the fend and of his parte. And we have of our febilnes and our foly to fallen, and we have of mercy and grace of the Holy Gost to risen to more joye. And if our eneme owte wynnith of us by our fallyng, for it is his likenes, he lesith manyfold more in our rising be charite and mekenes. And this glorious riseing, it is to him so gret sorow and peyne for the hate that he hath to our soule that he brynnyt continuly in envy. And al this sorow that he wold maken us to have, it shal turne to himselfe. And for this it was that our Lord scornyd him, and this made me mytyly to lauhen.
Than is this the remedy - that we ben aknowen our writchidnes and flen to our Lord. For ever the mor nedier that we ben, the more spedefull it is to us to neyghen Him. And sey we thus in our mening: I know wele I have a shrewid peyne, but our Lord is almyty and may punish me mytyly, and He is al wisdam and can punish me skilfully, and He is all goodnes and lovith me full tendirly. And in this beholdyng it is necessarye for us to abeyden, for it is a lovely mekeness of a synfull soule, wroute be mercy and grace of the Holy Gost, whan we will willfully and gladly taken the scorge and chastening of our Lord Himselfe will geve us. And it shall be full tendir and full esy, if that we will onely holden us paid with Him and with all His werkes.
For the pennance that man taketh of himselfe was not shewid me, that is to sey, it was not shewid specifyed; but it was shewid specialy and heyly and with full lovely chere, that we shall mekely and patiently beryn and suffren the penance that God Himselfe gevith us with mynde in His blissid passion. For whan we have mend in His blissid passion with pite and love, than we suffren with Him like as His freinds did that seen it. And this was shewid in the thirteenth ner at the begynnyng wher it spekith of pite. For He seith, Accuse not selfe overdon mekil, demandand that tribulation and thy wo is al for thy defaute, for I will not that thou be hevye ne sorowfull undiscretly. For I tell the howso tho thou do, thou shalt have wo, and therfore I will that thou wisely know thi penance and shalt then sothly seene that all thi living is penance profitable. This place is prison, and this life is penance; and in the remedy He will we enjoyen. The remedy is that our Lord is with us, kepand and ledand into the fulhede of joye. For this is an endless joy to us in our Lords menyng, that He that shall ben our bliss whan we arn there, He is our keper while we arn here.
Our wey and our Hevyn is trew love and sekir troste, and of this He gaf understonding in al, and namly in the shewing of His passion wher He made me mytyly to chesin Him for my Hevyn.
Fle we to our Lord, and we shall be comfortid; touch we Him, and we shull be made clene; cleve to Him, and we shall be sekir and safe fro al maner of peril. For our curtes Lord will that we ben as homley with Him as herte may thinke or soule may desiren. But beware that we taken not so reklesly this homleyhede that we levyn curtesy. For our Lord Himselfe is sovereyn homleyhede, and as homley as He is, as curtes He is, for He is very curtes. And the blissid creatures that shall ben in Hevyn with Him without end, He will have hem like to Himselfe in all things. And to be like our Lord perfectly, it is our very salvation and our full bliss. And if we wott not how we shall don all this, desire we of our Lord, and He shal lerne us, for it is His owne likeing and His worship. Blissid mot He be.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Heb.12.6;Prov.3.11-Prov.3.12 — For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he scourges every son whom he receives. Prov.3.11 — My son, do not despise the discipline of the LORD, and do not resent his rebuke. Prov.3.12 — For the LORD reproves the one he loves, as a father delights in his son.
- ↩Deut.10.20;Acts.11.23 — You shall fear the LORD your God; Him you shall serve, and to Him you shall hold fast, and by His name you shall swear. Acts.11.23 — When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose of heart.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME 'owte wynnith of us' rendered as 'gains anything from us' (outwits/wins something of us); chapter sense is gain-by-falling versus greater loss-by-rising.
- 2 ↩ME 'chere' rendered as 'countenance' (manner/bearing); could also be read as gracious cheer.
- 3 ↩ME 'mend' taken as 'mind/remembrance' (cf. 'mynde' in s1), not 'mend/amend'.
- 4 ↩ME 'the thirteenth' expanded as 'the thirteenth revelation' (Showing); 'ner' = near.
- 5 ↩ME 'overdon mekil' = excessively/overmuch; 'demandand' = insisting/claiming; 'undiscretly' = without discretion.
- 6 ↩ME 'howso tho thou do' rendered as 'however you go about it' (howsoever you do).
- 7 ↩ME 'enjoyen' rendered as 'rejoice' (take joy), not modern recreational 'enjoy'.
- 8 ↩ME homley means intimate, familiar, at-home with God—not modern English "homely" (plain-looking). Rendered as "intimate" to preserve Julian's sense without misleading archaism.
- 9 ↩ME curtes (courteous) is Julian's signature term for God's gracious, noble courtesy; kept as "courteous" rather than flattened to "kind" or "nice."
- 10 ↩homleyhede = the intimacy/familiarity named in s2; levyn curtesy = abandon or neglect courteous reverence toward God.
- 11 ↩sovereyn homleyhede identifies the Lord Himself as the highest/sovereign instance of intimacy; the correlative as...as equates His intimacy with His courtesy.
- 12 ↩ME worship here means honor/glory/worth, not liturgical worship; likeing means pleasure/delight. lerne us = teach us (ME lernen causative).
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