CHAPTER 4
IN this moment I suddenly saw the red blood trickle down from under the crown. It was hot and freshly spilling in huge amounts just as it did in the time of his passion when the crown of thorns was pressed on his blessed head; he who was both God and man and who suffered in this way for me. I understood truly and forcefully that it was he himself who showed it to me, without any intermediary.
And in the same revelation, suddenly the Trinity filled my heart with utmost joy. And so I understood it shall be like this in heaven, and without end, for all that shall come there. For the Trinity is God and God is the Trinity; and the Trinity is our maker and keeper, our everlasting love, joy and bliss, through our Lord Jesus Christ. And this was revealed in the First Showing and in all other showings, for as I see it, where Jesus appears, the blessed Trinity is understood.
And I declared: ‘Benedicite, Domine!’ This I said with reverence as my only meaning and with a mighty shout; for I was both amazed and in wonder and marvel that one so holy and awesome could yet be so familiar with a sinful creature living in wretched flesh.
This showing I understood to be for times of temptation, for I reckoned that God might well permit me to be tempted by fiends before I died. Through this sight of the blessed passion, with the Godhead that I saw in my understanding, I knew well that here was strength enough for me; yes, and strength for all living creatures against all the fiends of hell and spiritual temptation.
In this showing, he brought our blessed Lady to my awareness. I saw her as though she were there, in bodily likeness: a simple maid and meek, still young, little more than a child; yet the very same age as when she conceived. Also God showed me in part the wisdom and truth of her soul, by which I understood the reverent beholding in which she beheld her God and maker. And I marvelled with great reverence that he should be born of her, a simple creature of his own making. And it was this wisdom and truth - knowing both the greatness of her maker and the littleness of her own created being – that caused her to say so meekly to Gabriel: ‘Behold, God’s handmaid!’ From this scene I understood truly that in worthiness and grace, she is more exalted than all those who God made beneath her; for above her there is nothing and no one but the blessed humanity of Christ.
CHAPTER 5
At the same time our Lord showed me a spiritual sight of his homely love for us.
I saw that he is everything that is good and comfortable for us. Like our clothing which wraps us, so he clasps us and encloses us in tender love that he may never leave us. It was my understanding that he was everything that is good.
At the same time, he showed me a little thing in the palm of my hand, about the size of a hazelnut, and as round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding, and thought: ‘What can this be?’ And the answer came: ‘This is all that is made.’ I wondered how it might last, for something so small could soon become nothing. And in my understanding I received this answer: ‘It lasts and shall always last because God loves it. And so it is for all who have the being in the love of God.’
In this little object I saw three truths. The first is that God made it; the second is that God loves it and the third is that God keeps it. Yet what the maker, the keeper, and the lover mean to me, I cannot tell, for until I am oned in essence with him, I will never have full rest nor true bliss; that is to say, until I am so fastened to him that there is absolutely no created thing between my God and me.
It is necessary to be aware of the smallness of creatures and to hold as nought all created things, in order to love and know God who is uncreated. For this is the cause of our uneasy heart and soul; in this life we seek rest in those things that are so inadequate, which possess no rest. And we do not know our God who is almighty, all wise and all good and our true rest. God wills to be known, and it pleases him that we rest in him; for all that is beneath him is not sufficient for us. And this is why no soul finds rest until it counts all created things as nothing. When, out of love, and in order to know the God who is all, we willingly consider such things as nought, then we are able to receive spiritual rest.
Our Lord God also showed me how pleasing it is for him that that a helpless soul comes to him simply, in a plain and homely manner. For through this revelation, I saw that this is the natural longing of the soul, when touched by the touching of the Holy Spirit:
‘God, from your goodness, give me yourself!
You are enough for me, and I ask only what is truly honouring to you;
And if I ask anything other than this, I am left wanting, for only in you do I have all.’
And these words are most lovely to the soul, and so near to touching the will of God and his goodness. For his goodness includes within it all his creatures and blessed works, and surpasses all things without end. He is the endlessness, and has made us only for himself. He has restored us by his blessed passion, and keeps us in his blessed love; and all this out of his goodness.
CHAPTER 6
THIS showing was given to teach our soul that true wisdom is to cling close to the goodness of God.
And during the revelation, the manner of our praying was brought to mind: how for lack of understanding and knowledge of love, we become a busy multitude of requests.
Then I saw that truly it is more honouring to God and more delightful for him, that we pray trustingly in his goodness and cling to his grace, with true understanding and steady love, than if we chase all the means the heart can think of; for even if we did all these things, it is still too little, and not the worship God is due. The answer lies only in God’s goodness, for that can never fail us.
For this, as I shall recount, came to my mind at the same time: we pray to God in so many different ways. We pray for the sake of his holy flesh and his precious blood or his holy passion – his most dear death and wounds, and for all the blessed kindness and eternal life that we gain through all this, which is his goodness. And we pray to him for the sake of his sweet mother’s love for him; and for all the help we have from her which is out of his own goodness. And we pray by the holy cross that he died on, and by all the virtue and help that we gain from the cross, which is from his goodness. And in the same way, all the help that we receive from special saints and all the blessed company of heaven; the dear and sweet love and endless friendship that we have from them, this too is of his goodness. For from his goodness, God has ordained ways to help us, full fair and many; and the chief and principal way is the blessed nature that he assumed from the maiden, along with all the means that go before and come after, which belong to our redemption and to endless salvation. It follows therefore that it pleases him that we seek him and worship through these means, understanding that He is the goodness of all.
For the goodness of God is the highest prayer and it reaches down to the deepest part of our need. It quickens our soul and brings it to life, and makes it grow in grace and virtue. It is nearest in our nature; and readiest in grace; the very same grace that the soul seeks and always will seek until we know truly that he has us wholly enclosed within himself.
For this reason we walk upright; we eat the food for our body which is then hidden away within, as if it were a fine purse. And when the time is right, the purse is opened and shut again – discreetly and without show. And that all this is God’s doing is shown by his words which tell us that he reaches down to the lowest part of our needs. For he despises nothing that he has made, and neither does he disdain to serve our simplest bodily needs, because he loves the soul that he has made in his own likeness.
For as the body is dressed in cloth, and the flesh in skin, and the bones in flesh, and the heart in the whole, so are we, soul and body, dressed in the goodness of God and enclosed. Yet is more homely than this: for all these things may waste and wear away, but the goodness of God is forever whole and nearer to us, in a manner quite beyond compare. And so our lover desires that our soul holds to him with all its strength; and holds evermore tightly to his goodness. For of all the things the heart may think, this most pleases most God, and most readily helps the soul.
For our soul is so specially loved by him who is highest, that it surpasses the knowing of all creatures: that is to say, there is no creature made who can fully grasp quite how much and how sweetly and how tenderly our maker loves us. And therefore, only with his grace and his help may we stand in spiritual contemplation, forever marvelling at the lofty, overflowing and inestimable love that almighty God has for us in his goodness. And so with reverence we can ask of our lover all that we will.
For our natural will is to have God, and the good will of God is to have us; and we can never cease from this willing nor from this longing until we have him in fullness of joy; and then we will want no more.
And he wills that we occupy ourselves in such knowing and loving until the time when we are fulfilled in heaven; and this was the reason for this lesson in love with all that now follows as you shall see. The strength and the ground of everything was shown in the first revelation. For above all things, the soul’s contemplation of, and love for, the maker makes it appear less in its own sight, and most fills the Christian with reverent fear and true meekness; and with plenty of charity to all their fellow Christians.
CHAPTER 7
It seemed to me it was to teach us this that our Lord God showed our Lady Saint Mary at the same time: that is to say, he showed the great wisdom and truth she knew in beholding her great maker, so holy, so mighty and so good. This great and noble contemplation of God filled her with holy awe; and in comparison she saw herself to be so little and so low, so simple and so poor, when set by her Lord God, that this holy awe became meekness of spirit. And thus, by this ground of meekness, she was filled full with grace and with all manner of virtues and surpasses all creatures.
While he showed me the spiritual sights I have described, at the same time I saw the bodily sight of his head bleeding freely. The great drops of blood fell down from under the crown like pellets, seeming to come straight out of the veins; and in the coming out they were brown-red, for the blood was full thick; but as they spread, they became bright-red; and when they reached the eye brows they then vanished. Meanwhile the bleeding continued before me until many things were seen and understood. There was nothing to compare with its fresh and life-like quality. The flow of blood was like the drops of water that fall off the eaves after a great shower of rain; the drops that fall so thick that no one can count them. And in shape, they were round like the scales of herring, as they spread across the forehead. These three images came to my mind at that time: the roundness of pellets as the droplets of blood poured out; herring scales, round again, as the blood spread across the forehead; and rain water dropping off the eaves of a house, for the blood’s gushing flow.
This showing was vivid and life-like; horrifying and dreadful, yet also sweet and lovely. And in all that I saw, what brought most comfort to me was this: that our God and Lord who is so holy and awesome, is also so homely and courteous. It was this that most filled my soul full with comfort and assurance.
And to make this clear to me, he gave me a clear example: the most honour a solemn king or great Lord can show a poor servant is if he is familiar with them; and especially if he deals honestly and cheerfully with them, and quite the same in private as in public. Then the poor creature thinks this: ‘Ah, what could the noble Lord possibly do to give more honour and joy to me than to show one so simple this marvellous homeliness? Truly, it is more joy and pleasure to me than if he gave me great gifts and yet remained distant in his manner.’
This bodily example was vivid enough to overpower anyone’s heart, leaving it forgetful of itself amid the joy of such great homeliness. And so it is between our Lord Jesus and our selves. For truly, it was clear to me that this is the most joy there can be: that he who is highest and mightiest, noblest and worthiest, is also the lowest and meekest, the homeliest and most courteous. And truly this marvellous joy shall be shown to us all when we see him.
And our Lord wills that we seek and trust him, enjoy and delight in him, take comfort and solace as much as we can with his grace and his help, until that time when we shall know these things truly. For as I saw, the fullest joy that we shall have is the marvellous courtesy and homeliness of our Father, who is our Maker, in our Lord Jesus Christ who is our Brother and our Saviour.
But no one in this life can fully grasp this marvellous homeliness, unless they are granted a special showing by our Lord, or through an inward flow of grace given by the Holy Spirit. But faith and belief, together with charity, deserve such a reward; and so it is to be had by grace; for in faith, with hope and charity, our life is grounded. And a showing, made to whoever God wills, plainly teaches the same, albeit rather more openly, revealing many secrets which belong to our faith and which it is helpful to know. And the showing, which comes in a moment and then is over and hidden away, is then kept in faith by the grace of the Holy Spirit until our life’s end. And thus the revelation is no different to faith, neither less nor more. And this is our Lord’s meaning when he allows it to come to an end.
CHAPTER 8
As long as I saw this sight of the head bleeding profusely, I could not cease from uttering these words: ‘Benedicite Domine!’ And in this revelation I understood six things.
The first is the sign of the blessed passion and the plentiful spilling of his precious blood. The second is the maiden who is his dear mother. The third is the blissful Godhead that always was, is and ever shall be: almighty, all wise and all love. The fourth is all the things that he has made. And yes, I am well aware that heaven and earth and all that is made is great and large, fair and good; but the reason it appeared so little in my sight was that I saw it in the presence of him who is the Maker of all things. To a soul who sees the Maker of all, all that is made seems most tiny. The fifth is this: the one that made all things for love, by the same love keeps them, and shall keep them without end. And the sixth is that I saw that God is all that is good, and the goodness that each thing has, it is he.
And all these things our Lord showed me in the first revelation, with time and space to reflect on it all. And when the bodily sight ceased, the spiritual sight remained in my understanding, and I lived in holy awe, finding such joy in what I saw. And I desired, if I could, to see more, if it were his will; or else to see the same thing again but for longer. In all this I was greatly stirred in charity towards my fellow Christians, that they might see and know the same things that I saw, for I wished it to be a comfort to them. I believed this revelation was shown for the world to see.
Then I said to those who were with me at my bedside: ‘Today is my judgement day.’ And I said this because I thought I was about to die. (For when a man or a woman comes to die, they are judged for all time, in my understanding.) So I said this that they might love God even better, and to remind them that this life is short as my own example showed. For throughout this time, I imagined I would die, and that was both marvel to me, yet also troubling, for I thought this vision was given for those who lived.
Everything I say of myself, I say for all my fellow Christians: for in my understanding, that is what the Lord God meant in this spiritual revelation. And therefore I urge you all for God’s sake, and advise you for your own benefit, to forget the contemplations of the poor creature who was given this showing, and with strength and wisdom, meekly contemplate God yourselves, that his courteous love and endless goodness might be shown to all, for the comfort of us all. It is God’s will that you receive it with great joy and pleasure, as if Jesus himself had showed it to you in person.
CHAPTER 9
The showing does not make me good unless as a result, I love God better; and if you love God better as a result, then it is more to you than to me. I say this not to the wise, for they know it well; but I say it to you who are simple, for your ease and comfort; for we are all one in that comfort. For truly I was never shown that God loved me better than the least soul that stands in his grace; for I am certain that there must be many who never received a showing nor vision but who love God better than I, simply from the common teaching of holy Church. For if I look at myself as an individual, I am nothing; but in the general body I am, I hope, oned in love with all my fellow Christians. For in this union is the life of all that shall be saved.
For in my view, God is all that is good, and God has made all that is made, and God loves all that he has made. And he that loves his fellow Christians in general, for God’s sake, loves all that is. For in humankind that is to be saved is gathered everyone: that is to say, all that is made and the Maker of all. For in humankind is God, and God is in all. And I hope by the grace of God that he who reflects on it in this way shall be truly taught and deeply comforted, if comfort is his need.
I speak only of those who shall be saved, for in this revelation God showed me no one else. But in all things I believe as the holy Church believes, preaches and teaches. For the faith of the holy Church - which I had understood beforehand and, as I hope, by the grace of God earnestly kept in use and custom - stood continually in my sight. I desired and intended never to receive anything that might be contrary to that. And with this intent I beheld the showing most carefully: for throughout this blessed showing I attended only to God’s meaning.
All this was revealed in three ways: by bodily sight; by words formed in my understanding and by spiritual sight. But I am unable to reveal the spiritual sight as openly or as fully as I might. But I trust in our Lord God Almighty that out of his goodness and love, he shall help you to receive it more spiritually and more sweetly than I am able to tell it.