That the meditacioun of the passioun of Crist is withdrawen from hem that it is gyven
The Gift and Withdrawal of Devotion
God grants the gift of meditation on His Passion according to His own timing and purpose, sometimes withdrawing it to test the soul or prevent pride.
Too often, for various reasons.1 A person does not always have this kind of meditation, with grace-given compunction, whenever they want it; it only comes when our Lord chooses to give it. To some, He gives it throughout their entire lives, whenever He visits them. Some devout people are so tender in their affection that when they hear others speak of this precious Passion—or even when they simply think of it—their hearts melt in devotion. By its power, they are fed and comforted against every kind of temptation from the enemy, and that is a great gift of God. To some He gives it first in abundance, and afterward He withdraws it for various reasons: either if a person grows proud of it in his own eyes, or for some other sin by which he makes himself unable to receive the grace; or else our Lord sometimes withdraws it, and all other devotion, from a man or a woman because He wants to allow them to be tested by the temptations of His enemy—and so He will prepare a person to know and feel Him more spiritually.
Moving from Fleshly to Spiritual Love
Just as Christ withdrew His bodily presence to send the Holy Spirit, He may withdraw sensible devotion to lead the soul toward a deeper, spiritual knowledge of His Godhead.
For He Himself said so to His disciples: "It is for your good that I go away; for if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come to you" (John 16:7).✦2 It is for your good that I leave you in the body; for if I do not go, the Holy Spirit cannot come to you.✦3 For as long as He was with them, they loved Him greatly, but only in a fleshly way, for His humanity; they did not fully believe that Jesus the man was God, and therefore it was good for them that He should take the bodily form from their sight so that the Holy Spirit might come to them and teach them to love Him and know Him as God more spiritually, as He did on the day of Pentecost.✦4 In the same way, it is good for some that our Lord withdraws the bodily and fleshly image from the eye of their soul, so that their heart may be set and fixed more diligently on spiritual desire and the feeling of His Godhead.5
Read the original Latin
to ofte sithes for divers skyles.
This maner of meditacioun with gracious conpunccion a man hath not alwei whan he wolde, but whanne oure Lord wole gyve it. Unto sum men and women He geveth it al here lyvetyme, bi sithes whan He visiteth hem; as summe devout men and women aren so tendre in here affeccion that whanne thei here men speke or ellis that thei thenken of this precious passioun, her hertis melten in devocion and thei are fed and confortid bi vertu of it agens al maner temptacions of the enemye, and that is a grete gift of God. To summe men He gyveth it first plenteuousli, and aftirward He withdrawith it for dyverse causis, either yif a man wex proud of it in his owen sight, or for sum othir synne bi the whiche he maketh himsilf unable for to resseyve the grace; or ellis oure Lord withdrawith it and al othir devocion sumtyme from a man or a woman, for He wole suffre hem for to be assaied bi temptacions of His enemye, and so wole He dispose a man for to knowe and fele Him more goostli. For he seide so Himsilf to His disciples: Expedit vobis ut ego vadam; si enim non abiero, paraclitus non veniet ad vos (John 16:7). It is spedful to you that y goo fro yow bodili; for yif y goo not, the Holi Goost mai not come to yow. For as longe as He was with hem, thei lovyd Him mykil, but it was flesschli oonli in the manhed; for thei trowed not fulli that Jhesu man was God, and therfore it was spedful to hem that He schulde drawe the bodili forme from here sight that the Hooli Goost myght come to hem, and kenne hem for to love Him and knowe Hym as God more goostli, as He dide on the dai of Pentecost. Right so it is spedeful to summe that oure Lord withdrawe a litil the bodili and the fleschli likenesse from the iye of her soule, that the herte myght be set and ficchid more bisili in gosteli desire and felynge of His Godhed.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.16.7 — Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
- ↩John.16.7 — Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
- ↩John.16.7 — Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Middle English stands as a short clause only (to ofte sithes for divers skyles). In context of the chapter title and the following section on God giving and withdrawing meditation on the Passion, the sense is temporal frequency plus cause (skyles = reasons/causes), not modern 'skills.'
- 2 ↩Source embeds the Latin of John 16:7 (Expedit vobis ut ego vadam; si enim non abiero, paraclitus non veniet ad vos); English rendering is modern, not a fixed public version.
- 3 ↩ME spedful = expedient/beneficial; rendered "for your good" to match plain contemporary English while keeping the force of Expedit vobis in the preceding verse.
- 4 ↩ME kenne = teach/instruct; manhed = manhood/humanity; goostli = spiritually.
- 5 ↩ME ficchid = fixed/fastened; iye of her soule = the soul's inward eye; Godhed kept as Godhead for theological specificity.
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