Chapter LXXXI
"God sees all our living a penance: for nature-longing of our love is to Him a lasting penance in us." "His love makes Him to long"
OUR Good Lord shewed Himself in diverse manners both in heaven and in earth, but I saw Him take no place save in man's soul.
He shewed Himself in earth in the sweet Incarnation and in His blessed Passion. And in other manner He shewed Himself in earth as in the Revelation where I say: I saw God in a Point. And in another manner He shewed Himself in earth thus as it were in pilgrimage: that is to say, He is here with us, leading us, and shall be till when He has brought us all to His bliss in heaven. He shewed Himself diverse times reigning, as it is aforesaid; but principally in man's soul. He has taken there His resting-place and His worshipful City: out of which worshipful See He shall never rise nor remove without end.
Marvellous and stately is the place where the Lord dwells, and for that He wills that we readily answer to His gracious touching, more rejoicing in His whole love than sorrowing in our frequent fallings. For it is the most worship to Him of anything that we may do, that we live gladly and merrily, for His love, in our penance. For He beholds us so
tenderly that He sees all our living here a penance: for nature's longing in us is to Him everlasting penance in us: which penance He works in us and mercifully He helps us to bear it. For His love makes Him to long for us; His wisdom and His truth with His rightfulness makes Him to allow us to be here: and in this same manner of longing and abiding He wills to see it in us. For this is our natural penance, - and the highest, as to my sight. For this penance goes never from us till when that we be fulfilled, when we shall have Him to our reward. And for that He wills that we set our hearts in the Overpassing: that is to say, from the pain that we feel into the bliss that we trust.
CHAPTER LXXII
"In falling and in rising we are ever preciously kept in one Love "
BUT here shewed our courteous Lord the moaning and the mourning of the soul, signifying thus: I know well you wilt live for my love, joyously and gladly suffering all the penance that may come to you; but in as much as you livest not without sin you would suffer, for my love, all the woe, all the tribulation and distress that might come to you. And it is truth. But be not greatly grieved with sin that falls to you against your will.
And here I understood that which was shewed that the Lord beholds the servant with pity and not with blame. For this passing life asks not to live all without blame and sin. He loves us endlessly, and we sin customably, and He shews us mildly, and then we sorrow and mourn discreetly, turning us to the seeing of His mercy, cleaving to His love and goodness, seeing that He is our medicine, perceiving that we do nothing but sin. And thus by the meekness we get by the sight of our sin, faithfully knowing His everlasting love, Him thanking and praising, we please Him: - I love you, and you love me, and our love shall not be parted in two: for your profit I suffer these things to come. And all this was shewed in spiritual understanding, saying these blessed words: I keep you surely. And by the great desire that I saw in our blessed Lord that we shall live in this manner, - that is to say, in longing and enjoying, as all this lesson of love shews, - thereby I
understood that that which is contrary to us is not of Him but of enmity; and He wills that we know it by the sweet gracious light of His kind love. If any such lover be in earth which is continually kept from falling, I know it not: for it was not shewed me. But this was shewed: that in falling and in rising we are ever preciously kept in one Love. For in the seeing of God we fall not, and in the seeing of self we stand not; and both these manners of seeing be truth as to my sight. But the seeing of our Lord God is the highest truth. Then are we greatly bound to God for that He wills in this living to shew us this high truth. And I understood that while we be in this life it is speedful to us that we see both these at once. For the higher seeing keeps us in spiritual solace and true enjoying in God; and that other that is the lower seeing keeps us in fear and makes us ashamed of ourself. But our good Lord wills ever that we hold us much more in the seeing of the higher, and yet leave not the knowing of the lower, to the time that we be brought up above, where we shall have our Lord Jesus to our gratitude and be fulfilled of joy and bliss without end.