That a man schulde be besi for to recovere agen his worthynesse, and reforme in him
Restoring the Image of the Trinity
We are called to pursue the reformation of our souls into the image of the Trinity through grace, beginning the contemplative life here on earth.
the image of the Trinity.✦ Still, though this is true of the endless mercy of God toward you and me and all mankind, we must not therefore, trusting in that mercy, grow more willfully careless in how we live, but rather more eager to please Him—especially now, since by this Passion of our Lord we have been restored again in hope to the dignity and the bliss we had lost through Adam's sin. And although we may never fully attain it here, we should still desire to recover a figure and likeness of that dignity while we live in this world. This way, our soul might be reformed—as if in a shadow—by grace into the image of the Trinity, which we had by nature and will eventually possess fully in bliss.✦1 For that is the life that is truly contemplative: to begin here in that feeling of love and spiritual knowing of God through the opening of the spiritual eye—which shall never be lost or taken away, but the same shall be fulfilled in another way in the bliss of heaven.✦
The Best Part and the Foot of Desire
While perfect purity is unattainable in this life, we must strive to dampen our self-love, knowing that our present spiritual desire determines our future inheritance in heaven.
Our Lord promised this to Mary Magdalene, who was contemplative, and He said this of her: Maria optimam partem elegit, que non auferetur ab ea (Luke 10:42)—that Mary had chosen the best part, that is, the love of God in contemplation, for it will never be taken away from her.✦ I'm not saying that while you're living here you can recover so complete or so perfect a purity—innocence, knowing, and loving—as you first had, or as you will have. You can't escape all the wretchedness or the pains of sin either. Living in mortal flesh, you can't wholly destroy and put out the vain, false love of yourself, or get free of all venial sins so that they don't keep springing from your heart—unless great fervor of charity stops them—like water running from a foul well.2 But if you can't fully quench it, I still want you to dampen it somewhat and come as close to that purity as you can.3 For our Lord promised the children of Israel, when He led them into the land of promise—and in a figure of them, to all Christian people—this: Omne quod calcaverit pes tuus tuum erit (Deuteronomy 11:24).✦ That is to say, as much as you can tread upon here with the foot of true desire, that much will you have in the promised land—that is, in the bliss of heaven when you arrive there.
Read the original Latin
the ymage of the Trinité.
Neverethelees though this be sooth of the endelees merci of God unto thee and to me and al mankynde, we schullen not therfore in trust of this be the more rekles wilfulli in oure lyvynge, but more bisi unto plese Hym, nameli now, syn we aren restorid agen in hope bi this passioun of oure Lord to the dignité and to the blisse whiche we hadden lorn by Adammys synne. And though we myghten nevere geete it here fulli, yit we schulde desire that we myght recovere here lyvand a figure and a likenesse of that dignité, that oure soule myght be reformed, as it were in a schadewe, bi grace to the ymage of the Trinité, whiche we hadden bi kynde and aftir schullen have fulli in blisse. For that is the lif that is veri contemplatif, unto bigynne here in that felynge of love and goosteli knowynge of God bi openyng of the goostli iye, whiche schal nevere be loste ne bi taken awey, but the same schal be fulfilled othirwise in the blisse of hevene.
This bihight oure Lord to Marie Mawdeleyn, whiche was contemplatif, and He seide thus of here: Maria optimam partem elegit, que non auferetur ab ea (Luke 10:42), that Marie hadde chosen the beste partie, that is the love of God in contemplacion, for it schal nevere be taken awey fro hire. I seie not that thou mai here lyvande recovere so hool ne so parfight clennesse, as innocence, knowynge and lovynge, as thou haddest first, ne as thou schalt have; ne thou may not eschape alle the wrecchidnessis ne the peynes of synne, ne thou lyvande in dedli fleisch may distroie and quenche al hooli the veyn fals love of thisilf, ne flee alle venial synnes, that thei ne wole - but yif thei ben stopped bi grete fervour of charité - alwey spryngyn oute of thyn herte, as watir renneth oute from a stynkinge welle. But I wolde yif thou myght not fulli quenche hit, that thou myghtest sumwhat sleke it and come to that clennesse as nygh as thou mai. For oure Lord bihighte the children of Israel whanne He ledde hem into the lond of biheste, and in figure of hem to alle Cristene men thus: Omne quod calcaverit pes tuus tuum erit (Deuteronomy 11:24). That is for to seie, as mykil as thou may trede upon with thi foot of verrey desire here, so mykil schalt thou have in the lond of biheste, that is in the blisse of hevene whanne thou comest thider.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Gen.1.26-Gen.1.27 — Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Gen.1.27 — So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
- ↩Gen.1.26-Gen.1.27 — Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Gen.1.27 — So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
- ↩Luke.10.42 — Few things are needed, or only one. For Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.
- ↩Luke.10.42 — Few things are needed, or only one. For Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.
- ↩Deut.11.24 — Every place that the sole of your foot treads upon shall be yours—from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, to the western sea shall be your territory.
Notes
- 1 ↩figure and likenesse / as it were in a schadewe names partial present recovery of original dignity, not full heavenly attainment; bi kynde marks the created image possessed by nature, reformed now only by grace.
- 2 ↩ME charité is rendered charity for the theological virtue whose fervor can check venial sin; love would blur that force here.
- 3 ↩ME sleke = slake/lessen/dampen; rendered dampen to keep the fire-and-water imagery of quenching self-love without sounding archaic.
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