Of the secunde partye of contemplacion.
The Contemplation of Affection
This section defines the second stage of contemplation as a state of fervent, grace-filled affection that cleanses the heart, even without intellectual clarity.
The second part of contemplation lies mainly in affection rather than in an understanding of spiritual things; this is common among simple, unlettered people who give themselves entirely to devotion. It is experienced in this way. When a person, while meditating on God, feels the fervor of love and spiritual sweetness through remembering His Passion or any of His works during His human life; or feels great trust in the goodness and mercy of God for the forgiveness of sins and for His great gifts of grace; or feels a sense of dread in their affections, with deep reverence for the hidden judgments of God that cannot be seen, and for His righteousness; or in prayer feels their heart drawn away from all earthly things, gathered together with all its powers, and rising toward our Lord through fervent desire and spiritual delight—yet at that time has no clear intellectual grasp of spiritual things or the secrets of Holy Scripture, but simply finds that nothing pleases them more than to pray or to think as they are thinking, because of the savor, delight, and comfort found in it; and though they cannot easily describe what it is, they feel it clearly, for out of it spring many sweet tears, burning desires, and quiet mournings, which scour and cleanse the heart from all the filth of sin and make it melt into a wonderful sweetness of Jesus Christ, becoming obedient, pliant, and ready to do all God's will—so much so that nothing seems to matter then regarding what becomes of oneself, as long as God's will is fulfilled—along with many more such stirrings than I can or may describe.12 These feelings cannot be had without great grace, and I hope that whoever has them is, for the time being, in charity.3 That charity cannot be lost or lessened—even if its fervor passes away—except by a deadly sin; and that is a comfort.4 This may be called the second part of contemplation.
Read the original Latin
The secunde partie of contemplacion lieth principali in affeccioun, withoute undirstondynge of gosteli thynges, and this is comonli of simple and unlettrid men which gyven hem hooli to devocion. And this is feelid on this maner. Whan a man or a woman in meditacioun of God feelith fervour of love and gostli swettenesse, bi mynde of His passioun or of ony of His werkes in His manhede; or he felith greet trust in the goodnesse and in the merci of God, of forgyvenesse of his synnes and for His grete giftes of grace; or ellis he feeleth drede in his affeccioun with gret reverence of the pryvey doomes of God which he seeth not, and of His rightwisenesse; or in praier he feelith the thought of his herte drawe up from alle ertheli thynges, streyned togedre with alle the myghtes of it, upstiande into oure Lord bi fervent desire and goostili dylite; and neverthelees in that tyme he hath noon opyn sight in undirstondyng in goostli thynges, ne of pryvitees of Holi Writ in special, but oonly that hym thenketh for the tyme nothyng liketh hym so mykil as for to praie or for to thynke as he dooth for savour, delite, and comfort that he fyndeth thereinne; and yit he can not telle weel what it is, but he feelith it wel, for oute of it springeth many good sweet teres, brennande desires, and many stille mornynges, whiche schoure and clensyn the herte fro al the filthe of synne, and maken hit melten into a wondirful swettenesse of Jhesu Crist, buxum, souple and redi to fulfulle al Goddis wille, in so mykil that hym thynketh he maketh no charge what come of hymsilf then, so that Goddis wille were folfillid, with siche many styrynges moo thanne y can or may seye. Thes felynges mai not be had without greet grace, and whoso hath hem, for the tyme I hope that he is in charité. Which charité may not be lorn ne lassed, though the fervour of it passe away, but bi a deedli synne; and that is counfortable. This may be called the secunde partie of contemplacioun.
Notes
- 1 ↩ME 'affeccioun' here means the affective powers of the soul (love, dread, desire), not mere sentiment; rendered as 'affections' / affective feeling to keep that force.
- 2 ↩'buxum' = obedient/compliant to God's will; rendered 'obedient' rather than archaic 'buxom'.
- 3 ↩ME 'charité' here is the theological virtue (state of charity/love of God), not almsgiving; kept as 'charity' to match the following sentence on charity that cannot be lost except by mortal sin.
- 4 ↩ME 'but bi' = 'except by'; charity is not lost or lessened merely because fervor fades, but only through mortal sin.
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