Chapter 79
THE REVELATION OF DIVINE LOVE
~ And thus, by knowing our sins meekly, through contrition and grace we shall be broken away from everything that is not our Lord. Then our blessed Savior will cure us perfectly and join us to Himself. This "breaking away" and this "curing," our Lord intends for men in general. For he who is highest and nearest to God can see himself as sinful and needy with me, and I, who am the least and lowest of those who shall be saved, can be comforted with him who is highest. Our Lord has joined us in charity this way.
When He showed me that I would sin, because of the joy I had in looking at Him I did not readily pay attention to the showing. Then our courteous Lord stopped there and would teach me nothing further until He gave me the grace and will to pay attention. Thus was I taught that, though we are raised high into contemplation by the special gift of our Lord, still we must and ought to have with it the knowledge and sight of our sin and of our feebleness, for without knowing we cannot have true humility — and without that we cannot be saved.
I also saw that we cannot have this knowledge from ourselves, nor from any of all our spiritual enemies, for they do not will us this much good! If they had their will, we would never see our sin and feebleness until the day of our death.
Consequently, we are greatly bound to God, because He wills to show this to us Himself, for love, in time for mercy and for grace.
Chapter 79 We are instructed about our own sin and not about our neighbors', except for their help; God wills that we know that whatever stirring we have contrary to this showing comes from our enemy; that we know that we should not become more careless about falling because of God's great love for us; and if we fail we must hastily rise, or else we are most unnatural to God.
I also had greater understanding in His showing me that I would sin. I took it nakedly as applying to my own, singular person, for I was moved no other way at the time. But by
THE SIXTEENTH SHOWING
the lofty, gracious comfort of our Lord, which followed afterward, I saw that He intended the truth for man in general, that is to say all men who are sinful and will be so until the Last Day. I am, as I hope, a member of this "man," by the mercy of God, for the blessed comfort I saw is large enough for all of us.
And there I was taught that I should see my own sin and not other men's sin, unless it might be for the comfort or help of my fellow Christians.
I was also taught, in the same showing where I saw I would sin, to be full of dread because of my uncertainty of myself.
For I did not know how I would fall, nor did I know the measure or the greatness of my sin. I wanted, full of dread, to know that, but I received no answer to that question.
Also at that same time, our courteous Lord showed most sweetly and strongly the endlessness and the unchangeability of His love, inwardly insuring by His great goodness and His grace that His love and our souls shall never be separated in two, without end.
And thus, in this dread I have matter for meekness that saves me from presumption, and in the blessed showing of love I have matter for true comfort and joy, which saves me from despair.
This whole homely showing from our courteous Lord is a lovely lesson and a sweet, gracious teaching by Himself to comfort our souls. For He wills that we know by the sweetness of His homely love that all that we see or feel, interiorly or exteriorly, that is opposed to this love, is from the enemy and not from God, like this, for instance.
If we are stirred to be more reckless in our living or in the guarding of our hearts because we have knowledge of this plenteous love, then it is greatly necessary for us to beware of this stirring. If it comes it is untrue, and we ought greatly to hate it, because it has absolutely no likeness to God's will.
And when we have fallen by frailty or blindness, then our courteous Lord, touching us, stirs us, calls us and preserves us. Then He wills that we see our wretchedness and meekly