Of a litil rehersynge of thynges biforseid, and of makynge offrynge of that schulde be
The Offering of the Heart
The author summarizes the spiritual journey, urging the reader to bring all thoughts, deeds, and feelings under the rule of the Church and offer them to Christ through humility and desire.
Offered to God. Now I've first told you about the end that you should keep in view in your desire and draw toward as much as you can. I've also spoken about the beginning—what you need to have: meekness, firm faith, and a wholehearted intent toward God—and on that foundation you are to build your spiritual house through prayer, meditation, and other spiritual virtues. Then I say this: whether you pray, think, or do any other deed—whether good by grace, or bad through sin or your own frailty—or whatever you feel, see, smell, or taste, whether outwardly in your bodily senses or inwardly in your imagination, your reason, or your understanding: bring it all within the truth and rules of Holy Church, cast it all into the mortar of meekness, break it down with the pestle of the fear of God, throw the powder of all this into the fire of desire, and offer it to your Lord Jesus Christ. And I tell you truly: that offering will be pleasing in the sight of our Lord Jesus, and the smoke of that fire will smell sweet before the face of your Lord Jesus. In other words: bring everything you feel within the truth of Holy Church, break yourself in meekness, and offer the desire of your heart only to your Lord Jesus Christ—to have Him, and nothing else but Him. If you do this, I trust by the grace of Jesus Christ that you'll never be overcome by your enemy. Saint Paul teaches us this when he says: Whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do it all in the name of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:31).1 Whether you eat or drink, or whatever deed you do, do it all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, forsaking yourself, and offer it up to Him.
The Means of Prayer and Meditation
The author introduces the specific spiritual tools of prayer and meditation that will be explored in the following chapters.
The means you should use most, as I have said before, are prayer and meditation. First, I’ll explain a little about prayer, and then about meditation.
Read the original Latin
offrid to God.
Now have y tolde thee first of the ende which thou schalt biholde in thi desire and drawe toward as myche as thou may. Also y have seide of the bigynnynge, what thee nedeth for to have, as mekenesse, siker trowth, and an hool entente to God, upon whiche ground thou schalt sette thy goostli hous, bi praier and meditacioun and othere goostli vertues. Thanne sei I to thee thus: praie thou, or thenke thou, or ony othir deede that thou doost, good bi grace or badde bi synne or bi thin owne freelté, or what that thou feelist, seest, or smellest or savours, withouten in thi bodili wittes, or withinne in ymagynynge or feelynge in thi resoun or knowynge: brynge hit al withynne the trowthe and rulis of Hooli Chirche and caste it al in the morter of mekenesse and breke it smal with the pestel of drede of God, and throw the pouder of alle thise in the fier of desire, and offre it soo to thi Lord Jhesu Crist. And y telle thee forsothe, wel schal that offrynge like in the sight of oure Lord Jhesu, and swete schal the smoke of that ilke fier smelle in the face of thi Lord Jhesu. This is for to seie, drawe al this that thou felist withinne the trowthe of Holi Chirche and breke thisilf in mekenesse, and offre the desire of thin herte oonli to thi Lord Jhesu Crist, for to have Hym and not ellis but Hym. And yif thou doo thus, I hope bi the grace of Jhesu Crist thou schalt nevere be overcomen with thyn enemye. Thus techeth us Seynt Poul, whanne he seide thus: Sive manducatis, sive bibitis, sive quicquid aliud facitis, omnia in nomine domini facite (1 Corinthians 10:31). Whether ye eten or ye drynken or what maner of dede that ye doon, dooth al in the name of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, forsakynge youresilf, and offreth up to Hym.
Menes whiche thu schalt most use, as I have biforseid, aren praier and meditacion. First I schal schewe thee a litil of praier, and sithen of meditacion.
Notes
- 1 ↩Source embeds the Vulgate Latin of 1 Cor 10:31; rendered here in modern English for the Modern Readable register. The following sentence is Hilton's own Middle English expansion.
Scala Perfectionis (The Scale of Perfection) 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