This blissid woman saw God in divers manners, but she saw Him take no resting place but in manys soule. And He will we enjoyen more in His love then sorowen for often falling, remembring reward everlasting and liveing gladly in penance; and why God suffrith synne. Eighty-first chapter.
God's Dwelling in the Soul
Julian sees that the Lord shows Himself in many ways, yet takes His only abiding place in the human soul, where He rests as in a glorious city.
Our good Lord showed Himself in many ways, both in heaven and on earth; but I saw Him take no dwelling place except in the human soul. He showed Himself on earth in the sweet incarnation, and in His blessed Passion. And in another way He showed Himself on earth, where I say I saw God in a point.1 And in another way He showed Himself on earth as if on pilgrimage — that is to say, He is here with us, leading us, and will be until He has brought us all to His bliss in heaven. He showed Himself many times reigning, as was said before, but principally in the human soul. He has taken His resting place there, and His glorious city; from that glorious seat He will never rise or remove, without end.2
Glad Penance and Heavenly Joy
Because God dwells in the soul, we are called to enjoy His love more than sorrow over our falls, living cheerfully in the natural penance He works in us, and fixing our hearts on the bliss that awaits beyond present pain.
Marvelous and solemn is the place where the Lord dwells, and therefore He wills that we readily attend to His gracious touch, enjoying His whole love more than sorrowing over our frequent fallings.3 For of all that we can do, the greatest honor we give Him is to live gladly and cheerfully, out of love for Him, in our penance. For He looks upon us so tenderly that He sees all our life and our penance. For natural love is, to Him, an everlasting penance in us—this penance He works in us, and mercifully He helps us bear it.4 For His love makes Him long; His wisdom and His truth, with His righteousness, make Him allow us to remain here; and in this way He wants to see it in us.5 For this is our natural penance, and the highest, as I see it. For this penance never leaves us until we are fulfilled, when we have Him as our reward. And therefore He wants us to set our hearts on the passing over—that is to say, from the pain we feel to the bliss we trust in.
Read the original Middle English
Our good Lord shewid Him in dyvers manners, both in Hevyn, in erth; but I saw Him take no place but in mannys soule. He shewid Him in erth in the swete incarnation, and in His blissid passion. And in other manner He shewid Him in erth, wher I sey I saw God in a poynte. And in other manner He shewid Him in erth, thus as it were in pilegrimage, that is to sey, He is here with us, ledand us, and shul ben till whan He hath browte us all to His bliss in Hevyn. He shewid Him dyvers tymes reynand, as it is afornseyd, but principally in mannys soule. He hath taken there His resting place and His worshipfull cyte, out of which worshipfull see He shall never risen nor removen without end. Mervelous and solemne is the place wher the Lord wonnyth, and therefore He will that we redily entenden to His gracious touching, more enjoying in His hole love than sorow and in our often fallings.
For it is the most worshippe to Him of onything that we may don that we leven gladly and meryly, for His love, in our penance. For He beholdith us so tendirly that He seith all our liveing and penance. For kind loveand is to Him ay lestand penance in us, which penance He werkith in us, and mercifully He helpith us to baren it. For His love makith Him to longyn, His wisdam and His trewth with His rytfulhede makith Him to suffren us here; and in this manner He will seene it in us. For this is our kindly penance and the heyest, as to my syte. For this penance commith never fro us till what tyme that we be fullfilled whan we shal have Him to our mede. And therfore He will that we setten our herts in the overpassing, that is to sey, fro the peyne that we felen into the bliss that we trosten.
Notes
- 1 ↩poynte: Julian's earlier showing of all that is made as a tiny point in God's hand; kept as 'point' to preserve her technical image.
- 2 ↩see: Middle English 'seat/throne' (not 'sea'), parallel to worshipfull cyte; rendered 'glorious seat'.
- 3 ↩than sorow and in our often fallings: taken with the chapter sense 'enjoy His love more than sorrow for often falling'; 'and' read as joining the sorrow-focus, not a separate clause.
- 4 ↩ME 'kind loveand' is taken as natural/kindly loving (love according to our nature), matching 'kindly penance' in s5; not merely gentle affection.
- 5 ↩ME 'suffren us here' rendered as 'allow us to remain here' (permit), consistent with Julian's use of 'suffer' for divine permitting; 'seene it' taken as 'see it' (the longing/penance) in us.
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