Where Jhesu is loste and founden thorugh His mercy.
The Hidden God Within
Christ remains present within the soul through the gift of reason, inviting the seeker to look inward rather than outward for His presence.
Consider, then, the graciousness of Jesus and His mercy. You've lost Him—but where? Truly, in your house—that is, in your soul. If you had lost Him out of your house—meaning, if you had lost all the reason of your soul through your first sin—your soul would never have found Him again; but He left you your reason, so He remains in your soul and will never be lost from it.12 Nevertheless, you aren't any closer to Him until you've found Him. He is in you, though He is lost from you; but you are not in Him until you've found Him. So this was His mercy: that He would allow Himself to be lost only where He can be found. You don't need to run to Rome or Jerusalem to seek Him; instead, turn your thoughts into your own soul, where He is hidden—as the prophet says, Vere tu es deus absconditus (Isaiah 45:15), "Truly, Lord, you are a hidden God"—and seek Him there.✦
The Treasure and the Storm
By using the parables of the hidden treasure and the sleeping Christ in the boat, the author encourages the soul to awaken the indwelling Lord through prayer and desire.
So He Himself says in the Gospel: Simile est regnum celorum thesauro abscondito in agro; quem qui invenit homo, pre gaudio illius vadit, et vendit universa que habet, et emit agrum illum (Matthew 13:44).✦ The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field: when a man finds it, for joy of it he goes and sells all he has and buys that same field.✦ Jesus is treasure hidden in your soul; so if you could find Him in your soul, and your soul in Him, I am sure that for joy of it you would give all the pleasures of all earthly things in order to have it.3 Jesus sleeps spiritually in your heart, just as He once did in the boat with His disciples—but they, fearing they would perish, woke Him, and He immediately saved them from the storm.4 You do the same: stir Him by prayer and wake Him with the cry of desire, and He will rise soon and help you.
Read the original Latin
Se now thanne the curtesie of Jhesu and the merci of Hym. Thou haste loste Hym, but where? Soothli in thyn hous, that is in thi soule. Yif thou haddest lost Hym oughte of thyn hous, that is to seie, yif thou haddest lost al the resoun of thy soule bi thi first synne, thi soule schulde nevere have founden Him agen; but He lefte to thee thi resoun, and so He is in thi soule and nevere schal be lost oute of hit. Neverthelees, thou art nevere the neer to Hym til thou have founden Him. He is in thee, though He be lost fro thee; but thou art not in Hym til thou have founden Hym. Thanne was this His merci, that He wold suffre Hym be loste onli where He mai be founden. It nedeth not to renne to Rome ne to Jerusalem for to seke Hym there, but turne thi thought into thyn owen soule, where He is hid - as the prophete seith, Vere tu es deus absconditus (Isaiah 45:15), Soothli Lord, thou art an hid God - and seke Hym there.
Thus seith Hymsilf in the Gospel: Simile est regnum celorum thesauro abscondito in agro; quem qui invenit homo, pre gaudio illius vadit, et vendit universa que habet, et emit agrum illum (Matthew 13:44). The kyngedom of hevene is like to tresoure hid in a feld, whiche, whanne a man fyndeth, for joie of it he goth and selleth al that he hath, and bieth that ilke feeld. Jhesu is tresoure hid in thi soule; thanne yif yow fynde myght Hym in thi soule, and thi soule in Him, I am siker for joie of it thou woldest gyve alle the likynges of alle ertheli thinges for to have it. Jhesu slepeth in thyn herte gosteli, as He dide sumtyme whanne He was in the schip with Hese disciplis, but thei for drede of perisschynge wakeden Hym, and as tite He savyd hem from tempest. Doo thou so stire Him bi praiere and waken Hym with criynge of desire, and He schal ryse sone and helpe thee.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Isa.45.15 — Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.
- ↩Matt.13.44 — The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
- ↩Matt.13.44 — The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME 'first synne' may mean original sin (Adam's fall) or the soul's first personal sin; rendered 'your first sin' to stay close to the surface while the contrast with retained reason points to the Fall.
- 2 ↩ME 'resoun' is the rational faculty by which the soul can still seek and find Christ; kept as 'reason' rather than 'mind' or 'understanding'.
- 3 ↩likynges rendered as 'pleasures' (earthly delights/attachments), not mere preferences; fits the detachment sense of selling all for the treasure.
- 4 ↩gosteli rendered as 'spiritually' (interior/mystical sense), not 'ghostly' in a spectral sense; as tite rendered as 'at once'.
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