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Chapter 35ScalePerfB1.1.35

That the meditacion of the manhede of Crist or of His passion is gyven of God, and how

That the meditacion of the manhede of Crist or of His passion is gyven of God, and how

You'll know when it is given. When the Holy Spirit inspires this meditation, it becomes truly profitable and full of grace. You'll know it by this sign: you are stirred to devotion, your thoughts are suddenly lifted away from all worldly and fleshly concerns, and it feels as if you see your Lord Jesus Christ within your soul, just as He was on earth—seized by the Jews and bound like a thief, beaten and despised, scourged and condemned to death; you see how meekly He carried the Cross on His back, how cruelly He was nailed to it, the crown of thorns upon His head, and the sharp spear that pierced His heart.✦ In this spiritual vision, you feel your heart stirred to such great compassion and pity for your Lord Jesus that you mourn, weep, and cry out with all the powers of your body and soul, marveling at the goodness, love, patience, and meekness of our Lord Jesus, who would suffer so much pain for a wretch as sinful as you. Beyond this, you feel such goodness and mercy in our Lord that your heart rises in love and gladness toward Him with many sweet tears, trusting deeply in the forgiveness of your sins and the salvation of your soul through the power of His precious Passion. When the memory of Christ's Passion, or any aspect of His humanity, is formed in your heart by such spiritual sight, accompanied by a corresponding devout affection, know that this isn't your own doing, nor the deception of any wicked spirit, but the work of the grace of the Holy Spirit—for it is the opening of the spiritual eye to Christ's humanity. And it may be called the fleshly love of God, as Saint Bernard calls it, insofar as it is set upon the fleshly nature of Christ.1 It is truly good, a great help in destroying major sins, and a path toward acquiring virtues. And so afterward to come to contemplation of Jesus Christ in His Godhead.2 For no one will come to spiritual delight in the contemplation of His Godhead unless he first comes, in the imagination, through bitterness and compassion and through steady faith and steadfast remembrance of His manhood.3 Saint Paul did exactly that. For he first said: I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).✦ I showed you nothing at all of what I knew, but only Jesus Christ and Him crucified.✦4 It is as if he had said: My knowledge and my trust are only in the Passion of Christ.✦ And therefore he also said: But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14).✦ Far be it from me to take any kind of joy or delight, except in the Cross and in the Passion of our Jesus Christ.✦5 And later he said: We preach to you Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24).✦6 It is as if to say: First he preached to you of the manhood and of the Passion of Christ; now I preach to you of the Godhead and of Christ’s power and the endless wisdom of God.✦7

Read the original Latin

it schal be knowen whanne it is geven.

Whanne this meditacion is maad bi the Holi Goost, thanne it is right profightable and gracious, and that schalt thou wite bi this tokene: whanne it is so that thou art stired to devocion, and sodeynli thi thought is drawen up from alle worldli and fleischli thinges, and thee thenketh as thu seighe in thi soule thi Lord Jhesu Crist in bodili liknesse as He was in erthe, how He was taken of the Jewes and bounden as a theef, beten and dispisid, scourgid and demed to the deeth; hou mekeli He baar the Cros upon his bak, and hou crueli He was nailed therupon; also of the crowne of thornes upon His heed, and upon the scharp spere that stonge Him to the herte. And thou in this goostli sight thou felist thyn herte stired into so greet compassioun and pité of thi Lord Jhesu that thou mornest, and wepist, and criest with alle thy myghtes of thi bodi and of thi soule, wondrynge the goodnesse and the love, the pacience and the mekenesse of oure Lord Jhesu, that He wolde for so synful a caitif as thou art suffre so mykil peyne. And also over this thou felist so mykil goodnesse and merci in oure Lord that thi herte riseth up into love and glaadnesse of Him with manye swete teeris, havynge greet trust of forgyvenesse of thi synnes and of savacioun of thi soule bi the vertu of this precious passioun. Thanne whanne the mynde of Cristis passioun or ony poynt of His manhede is thus maad in thi herte bi siche goostli sight, with devout affeccioun answerynge therto, wite thou wel thanne that it is not thyn owen werkynge, ne feynynge of noo wikkid spirit, but bi grace of the Holi Goost, for it is an openynge of the goostli iye into Cristis manhede. And it mai be called the fleischli love of God, as Seynt Bernard callith it, in as mekil as it is set in the fleischli kynde of Crist. And it is right good, and a greet help in distroyynge of grete synnes, and a wei for to come to vertues. And so aftir to come to comtemplacioun of Jhesu Crist in His Godhed. For a man schal not come to goostli delite in comtemplacioun of His Godhede, but yif he come first in ymaginacion bi bitirnesse and compassioun and bi stable trouthe and stidefaste mynde of His manhede.

Thus Seynt Poul dide. For first he seide thus: Nichil iudicavi me scire inter vos, nisi Jesum Christum, et hunc crucifixum (1 Corinthians 2:2). I schewed yow right nought that y couthe, but oonli Jhesu Crist and Him crucified. As yif he had seid: My knowynge and my trust is oonli in the passioun of Crist. And therfore seide he thus also: Michi autem absit gloriari, nisi in cruce domini nostri Jhesu Cristi (Galatians 6:14). Forbed be it fro me al maner of joie and of likynge, but in the Cros and in the passioun of oure Jhesu Crist. And aftirward he seid thus: Predicamus vobis Christum dei virtutem, et dei sapientiam (1 Corinthians 1:24). As who seie: First he prechid to yow of the manhed and of the passion of Crist; now y preche to yow of the Godhede and Cristis myght and the eendeles wisdom of God.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩John.19.2;Matt.27.29-Matt.27.35 — And the soldiers, having woven a crown of thorns, placed it on his head, and they clothed him in a purple robe. Matt.27.29 — And they twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' Matt.27.30 — And they spit on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. Matt.27.31 — And after they had mocked him, they stripped off the robe and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him. Matt.27.32 — As they were going out, they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. Matt.27.33 — And they came to a place called Golgotha, which is the place of a skull. Matt.27.34 — They gave him wine to drink mixed with gall; and when he tasted it, he was not willing to drink. Matt.27.35 — And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.
  2. ↩1Cor.2.2 — For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
  3. ↩1Cor.2.2 — For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
  4. ↩1Cor.2.2 — For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
  5. ↩Gal.6.14 — But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
  6. ↩Gal.6.14 — But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
  7. ↩1Cor.1.24 — but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
  8. ↩1Cor.1.24;1Cor.2.2 — but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1Cor.2.2 — For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Hilton follows Bernard's technical phrase amor carnalis Dei: not carnal desire, but love fixed on Christ's incarnate, bodily humanity.
  2. 2 ↩Source spelling 'comtemplacioun' read as standard 'contemplacioun' (contemplation).
  3. 3 ↩Source spelling 'comtemplacioun' read as standard 'contemplacioun' (contemplation).
  4. 4 ↩‘right nought that y couthe’ rendered as ‘nothing at all of what I knew’; ‘couthe’ can mean ‘could’ or ‘knew how,’ but the sense is Paul’s refusal to display any knowledge beyond Christ crucified.
  5. 5 ↩‘likynge’ rendered as ‘delight’ (pleasure/enjoyment), not modern casual ‘liking.’
  6. 6 ↩Hilton frames 1 Cor 1:24 with ‘Predicamus vobis’ (‘We preach to you’); the Vulgate verse itself does not begin that way, but the sense he draws—Christ as God’s power and wisdom—is retained.
  7. 7 ↩Source shifts from third person (‘he prechid’) to first person (‘y preche’) within the paraphrase; that shift is preserved rather than smoothed.

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