The thre and twenty chapitre. How God wol answere and purvey for hem in sperite, that for besines aboute his love list not answere ne purvey for hemself.
God's Answer in Spirit
If we follow Mary's example of love and disregard criticism, God will answer our accusers in spirit.
And truly, if we will gladly conform our love and our way of life, as far as is in us by grace and by counsel, to the love and way of life of Mary, there's no doubt that He will answer in the same way now for us spiritually, each day, in secret, in the hearts of all who either speak or think against us. I'm only saying that some people will always say or think something against us while we live in the labor of this life, as they did against Mary. But I say, if we will give no more heed to their speaking or their thinking, and no more leave off our secret spiritual work for their words and their thoughts than she did—I say then that our Lord will answer them in spirit, if it is to go well with those who speak and think this way, so that within a few days they'll be ashamed of their words and their thoughts.1
Trust in God's Provision
God will provide either abundance or strength to bear need to those who do not leave the work of love for worldly concerns, confounding those who think bodily security is necessary first.
And just as He will answer for us in this way in spirit, so He will stir other people in spirit to give us the necessities of this life — food and clothes and all the rest — if He sees that we won't leave the work of His love to worry about them. And I say this to confound the error of those who claim that it isn't lawful for people to set themselves to serve God in the contemplative life unless they're first secure about their bodily necessities.2 For they say that God sends the cow, but not by the horn.3 And truly they speak as wrongly of God as they know how.4 For trust steadfastly, whoever you are who truly turn from the world to God, that God will send you one of these two without any busyness of your own: either an abundance of necessities, or strength in body and patience in spirit to bear need. What does it matter which one a person has?5 For both come to the same thing in true contemplatives.6
The Perfect Humility of the Contemplative
Doubt about God's provision indicates a lack of true conversion, and the contemplative should choose humility under God's worthiness, for the perfectly humbled have all things in God.
And whoever is doubting this — either the devil is in his heart and is stealing his faith, or he hasn't yet truly turned to God as he should — however cleverly he puts it, and however holy the reasons he gives against it, whoever he may be. And so, if you're setting yourself to be contemplative like Mary, choose instead to be humbled under the wonderful height and worthiness of God—which is perfect—rather than under your own wretchedness, which is imperfect. That is to say, make sure your attention is more on God's worthiness than on your own wretchedness. For those who are perfectly humbled, nothing will be lacking—neither anything bodily nor anything spiritual. For they have God, in whom is all fullness; and whoever has Him—yes, as this book tells—needs nothing else in this life.
Read the original Middle English
And trewly and we wil listely confourme oure love and oure levyng, inasmoche as in us is by grace and by counseil, unto the love and the levyng of Mary, no doute bot He schal answere on the same maner now for us goostly, iche day, pryvely, in the hertes of alle thoo that outher seyn or thinken agens us. I say not bot that evermore sum men schul sey or think sumwhat agens us, the whiles we lyve in the travaile of this liif, as thei did agens Marye. Bot I say, and we wol geve no more kepe to theire seiing, ne to theire thinkyng, ne no more leve of oure goostly pryvé werk for theire wordes and theire thoughtes, than sche did -- I sey than that oure Lorde schal answere hem in spirite, yif it schal be wel with hem that so seyn and so thinkyn, that thei schul withinne fewe dayes schame with theire wordes and theire thoughtes.
And as He wol answere for us thus in spirite, so wol He stere other men in spirite to geve us oure needful thinges that longen to this liif, as mete and clothes with alle theese other, yif He se that we wil not leve the werke of His love for besines aboute hem. And this I sey in confusion of theire errour, that seyn that it is not leveful men to sette hem to serve God in contemplatyve liif, bot yif thei ben sekir bifore of theire bodily nessessaryes. For thei sey that God sendeth the kow, bot not by the horne. And trewly thei sey wrong of God as thei wel kanne. For trist stedfastly thou, whatsoever that thou be that trewly tornest thee fro the woreld unto God, that one of the two God schal sende thee, withouten besines of thiself: and that is, outher habundaunce of nessessaries, or strengthe in body and pacience in spirite to bere nede. What thar reche whether man have? For alle comen to one in verrey contemplatyves.
And whoso is in dwere of this, outher the devel is in his brest and revith hym the beleve, or elles he is not yit trewly turnyd to God as he schulde be, make he it never so queinte, ne never so holy skiles schewe theragein, whatsoever that he be.
And therfore thou that settest thee to be contemplatiif as Marye was, chese thee rather to be mekyd under the wonderful heighte and the worthines of God, the whiche is parfite, than under thine owne wrechidnes, the whiche is inparfite: that is to sey, loke that thi specyal beholdyng be more to the worthines of God then to thi wrechidnes. For to theime that ben parfitely mekid no thing schal defayle, neither bodily thing ne goostly. For whi thei have God, in whom is alle plenté; and whoso hath Him -- ye, as this book telleth -- him nedith noght elles in this liif.
Notes
- 1 ↩"yif it schal be wel with hem" marks a conditional hope for the critics' good: God's answering them in spirit leads to their shame only if it is to go well with them.
- 2 ↩ME 'confusion' here means putting their error to shame/confounding it, not the speakers' inner confusion.
- 3 ↩Proverbial objection: God provides (sends the cow), but you must still seize the gift yourself (he doesn't hand you the horn). Opponents use it to argue one must first secure bodily needs before contemplative service.
- 4 ↩ME 'as thei wel kanne' most naturally means 'as thoroughly as they are able / know how,' not merely 'as they well know.'
- 5 ↩ME 'What thar reche' = 'what need does it matter / why should one care'; the elliptical 'whether man have' points back to the two gifts in the previous sentence.
- 6 ↩ME 'alle comen to one' means the two alternatives amount to one and the same end for genuine contemplatives.
The Cloud of Unknowing 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