Chapter X
"God wills to be seen and to be sought: to be abided and to be trusted"
AND after this I saw with bodily sight in the face of the crucifix that hung before me, on the which I gazed continually, a part of His Passion: despite, spitting and sullying, and buffeting, and many languoring pains, more than I can tell, and frequent changing of colour. And one time I saw half the face, beginning at the ear, overgone with dry blood till it covered to the mid-face. And after that the other half was covered on the same wise, the whiles in this first part it vanished even as it came.
This saw I bodily, troublously and darkly; and I desired more bodily sight, to have seen more clearly. And I was answered in my reason: If God will shew you more, He shall be your light: you needs none but Him. For I saw Him sought. For we are now so blind and unwise that we never seek God till He of His goodness shew Himself to us. And when we aught see of Him graciously, then are we stirred by the same grace to seek with great desire to see Him more blissfully.
And thus I saw Him, and sought Him; and I had Him, I wanted Him. And this is, and should be, our common working in this life, as to my sight.
One time my understanding was led down into the sea-ground, and there I saw hills and dales green, seeming as it were moss-be-grown, with wrack and gravel. Then I understood thus: that if a man or woman were under the broad water, if he might have sight of God so as God is with a man continually, he should be safe in body and soul, and take no harm: and overpassing, he should have more solace and comfort than all this world can tell. For He wills we should believe that we see Him continually though that to us it seems but little of sight; and in this belief He makes us evermore to gain grace. For He will be seen and He will be sought: He will be abided and he will be trusted.
This Second Shewing was so low and so little and so simple, that my spirits were in great travail in the seeing, - mourning, of fear, and longing: for I was some time in doubt whether it was a Shewing. And then diverse times our good Lord gave me more sight, whereby I understood truly that it was a Shewing. It was a figure and likeness of our foul deeds' shame that our fair, bright, blessed Lord bare for our sins: it made me to think of the Holy Vernacle at Rome, which He has portrayed with His own blessed face when He was in His hard Passion, with steadfast will going to His death, and frequent changing of colour. Of the brownness and blackness, the ruefulness and wastedness of this Image many marvel how it might be, since that He portrayed it with His blessed Face who is the fairness of heaven, flower of earth, and the fruit of the Maiden's womb. Then how might this Image be so darkening in colour and so far from fair? I desire to tell like as I have understood by the grace of God:
We know in our Faith, and believe by the teaching and preaching of Holy Church, that the blessed Trinity made Mankind to His image and to His likeness. In the same manner-wise we know that when man fell so deep and so wretchedly by sin, there was none other help to restore man but through Him that made man. And He that made man for love, by the same love He would restore man to the same bliss, and
overpassing; and like as we were like-made to the Trinity in our first making, our Maker would that we should be like Jesus Christ, Our Saviour, in heaven without end, by the virtue of our again-making.
Then between these two, He would for love and worship of man make Himself as like to man in this deadly life, in our foulness and our wretchedness, as man might be without guilt. This is that which is meant where it is said before: it was the image and likeness of our foul black deeds' shame wherein our fair, bright, blessed Lord God was hid. But certainly I dare say, and we ought to trow it, that so fair a man was never none but He, till when His fair colour was changed with travail and sorrow and Passion and dying. Of this it is spoken in the Eighth Revelation, where it treats more of the same likeness. And where it speaks of the Vernacle of Rome, it means by reason of diverse changing of colour and countenance, sometime more comfortably and life-like, sometime more ruefully and death-like, as it may be seen in the Eighth Revelation.
And this dim vision was a learning, to my understanding, that the continual seeking of the soul pleases God greatly: for it may do no more than seek, suffer and trust. And this is wrought in the soul that has it, by the Holy Spirit; and the clearness of finding, it is of His special grace, when it is His will. The seeking, with faith, hope, and charity, pleases our Lord, and the finding pleases the soul and fulfils it with joy. And thus was I learned, to my understanding, that seeking is as good as seeing, for the time that He will allow the soul to be in travail. It is God's will that we seek Him, to the seeing of Him, for by that He shall shew us Himself of His special grace when He will. And how a soul shall have Him in its seeing, He shall teach Himself: and that is most worship to Him and profit to yourself, and the soul thus most receiveth of meekness and virtues with the grace and leading of the Holy Spirit. For a soul that only fastens itself on to God with very trust, either by seeking or in seeing, it is the most worship that it may do to Him, as to my sight.
These are two workings that may be seen in this Vision: the one is seeking, the other is seeing. The seeking is common, - that every soul
may have with His grace, - and ought to have that discretion and teaching of the Holy Church. It is God's will that we have three things in our seeking: - The first is that we seek earnestly and diligently, without sloth, and, as it may be through His grace, without unreasonable heaviness and vain sorrow. The second is, that we abide Him steadfastly for His love, without murmuring and striving against Him, to our life's end: for it shall last but awhile. The third is that we trust in Him mightily of assured faith. For it is His will that we know that He shall appear suddenly and blissfully to all that love Him.
For His working is hidden, and He wills to be perceived; and His appearing shall be swiftly sudden; and He wills to be trusted. For He is gracious and homely: Blessed may He be!
THE THIRD REVELATION