Chapter 61

And in our spiritual forthbringing He useth more tenderness of keeping, without any likeness: by as much as our soul is of more price in His sight. He kindleth our understanding, He directeth our ways, He easeth our conscience, He comforteth our soul, He lighteneth our heart, and giveth us, in part, knowing and believing in His blissful Godhead, with gracious mind in His sweet Manhood and His blessed Passion, with reverent marvelling in His high, overpassing Goodness; and maketh us to love all that He loveth, for His love, and to be well-pleased with Him and all His works. And when we fall, hastily He raiseth us by His lovely calling¹² and gracious touching. And when we be thus strengthened by His sweet working, then we with all our will choose Him, by His sweet grace, to be His servants and His lovers lastingly without end.

And in bringing us to spiritual birth, he cares for us with incomparably greater tenderness, because our soul is worth so much more in his sight. He awakens our understanding, guides our ways, eases our conscience, and comforts our soul. He lightens our heart and gives us some knowledge of and faith in his blissful Godhead. He also gives us a gracious awareness of his sweet humanity and his blessed Passion, and reverent wonder at his supreme, surpassing goodness. For love of him, he makes us love all that he loves and be pleased with him and all his works. And when we fall, he quickly raises us by his loving call¹² and gracious touch. And when his sweet work has strengthened us, we choose him with all our will, through his sweet grace, to be his servants and lovers forever, without end.

And after this He suffereth some of us to fall more hard and more grievously than ever we did afore, as us thinketh. And then ween we (who be not all wise) that all were nought that we have begun. But this is not so. For it needeth us to fall, and it needeth us to see it. For if we never fell, we should not know how feeble and how wretched we are of our self, and also we should not fully know that marvellous love of our Maker. For we shall see verily in heaven, without end, that we have grievously sinned in this life, and notwithstanding this, we shall see that we were never hurt in His love, we were never the less of price in His sight. And by the assay of this falling we shall have an high, marvellous knowing of love in God, without end. For strong and marvellous is that love which may not, nor will not, be broken for trespass. And this is one understanding of [our] profit. Another is the lowness and meekness that we shall get by the sight of our falling: for thereby we shall highly be raised in heaven; to which raising we might³ never have come without that meekness. And therefore it needeth us to see it; and if we see it not, though we fell it should not profit us. And commonly, first we fall and later we see it: and both of the Mercy of God.

After this, he allows some of us to fall harder and more grievously than we think we ever have before. Then we, who are not all wise, think that everything we have begun has come to nothing. But that is not so. We need to fall, and we need to see that we have fallen. If we never fell, we would not know how weak and wretched we are on our own. Nor would we fully know the marvelous love of our Maker. In heaven, we will see forever that we have sinned grievously in this life. Yet we will also see that our falling never harmed his love for us. We were never worth any less in his sight. Through the experience of falling, we will come to know God’s love deeply and wonderfully, forever. For that love is strong and marvelous. It cannot and will not be broken by sin. This is one way our falling benefits us. Another benefit is the humility and meekness we gain by seeing that we have fallen. Through this meekness, we will be raised high in heaven. We might³ never have been raised so high without it. That is why we need to see that we have fallen. If we do not see it, then falling will not benefit us. And usually we fall first and see it later. Both happen through God’s mercy.

The mother may suffer the child to fall sometimes, and to be hurt in diverse manners for its own profit, but she may never suffer that any manner of peril come to the child, for love. And though our earthly mother may suffer her child to perish, our heavenly Mother, Jesus, may not suffer us that are His children to perish: for He is All-mighty, All-wisdom, and All-love; and so is none but He,—blessed may He be!

A mother may sometimes let her child fall and be hurt in various ways for the child’s own benefit. But because she loves her child, she can never allow any danger to come to the child. And though our earthly mother may let her child perish, our heavenly Mother, Jesus, cannot let us, his children, perish. For he is all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving. No one but he is all these things. May he be blessed!

But oftentimes when our falling and our wretchedness is shewed us, we are so sore adread, and so greatly ashamed of our self, that scarcely we find where we may hold us. But then willeth not our courteous Mother that we flee away, for Him were nothing lother. But He willeth then that we use the condition of a child: for when it is hurt, or adread, it runneth hastily to the mother for help, with all its might. So willeth He that we do, as a meek child saying thus: My kind Mother, my Gracious Mother, my dearworthy Mother, have mercy on me: I have made myself foul and unlike to Thee, and I nor may nor can amend it but with thine help and grace. And if we feel us not then eased forthwith, be we sure that He useth the condition of a wise mother. For if He see that it be more profit to us to mourn and to weep, He suffereth it, with ruth and pity, unto the best time, for love. And He willeth then that we use the property of a child, that evermore of nature trusteth to the love of the mother in weal and in woe.

But often, when our sins and our wretchedness are shown to us, we are so afraid and ashamed of ourselves that we can hardly find anything to hold on to. But our gracious Mother does not want us to run away, for nothing would grieve him more. Instead, he wants us to act like a child. When a child is hurt or afraid, it runs to its mother for help as fast as it can. So he wants us to do the same, saying humbly as a child: My loving Mother, my gracious Mother, my precious Mother, have mercy on me. I have made myself dirty and unlike you, and I cannot make myself clean again without your help and grace. And if we do not feel comforted at once, we can be sure that he is acting like a wise mother. If he sees that it is better for us to mourn and weep, he lets us do so, with compassion and pity, until the best time, out of love. And he wants us to be like a child, who naturally trusts in its mother's love at all times, in happiness and in sorrow.

And He willeth that we take us mightily to the Faith of Holy Church and find there our dearworthy Mother, in solace of true Understanding, with all the blessed Common. For one single person may oftentimes be broken, as it seemeth to himself, but the whole Body of Holy Church was never broken, nor never shall be, without end. And therefore a sure thing it is, a good and a gracious, to will meekly and mightily to be fastened and oned to our Mother, Holy Church, that is, Christ Jesus. For the food of mercy that is His dearworthy blood and precious water is plenteous to make us fair and clean; the blessed wounds of our Saviour be open and enjoy to heal us; the sweet, gracious hands of our Mother be ready and diligently about us. For He in all this working useth the office of a kind nurse that hath nought else to do but to give heed about⁴ the salvation of her child.

And he wants us to hold firmly to the faith of Holy Church. There we will find our beloved Mother, with the comfort of true understanding and the whole blessed community. For a single person may often seem broken to himself. But the whole body of Holy Church has never been broken and never will be, for all eternity. Therefore, it is a sure, good, and gracious thing to desire humbly and firmly to be joined and united to our Mother, Holy Church, who is Christ Jesus. For the food of mercy, his beloved blood and precious water, is plentiful enough to make us beautiful and clean. The blessed wounds of our Saviour are open and rejoice to heal us. The gentle, gracious hands of our Mother are ready and work diligently for us. In all this work, he acts like a loving nurse who has nothing else to do but attend to⁴ the salvation of her child.

It is His office to save us: it is His worship to do [for] us,⁵ and it is His will [that] we know it: for He willeth that we love Him sweetly and trust in Him meekly and mightily. And this shewed He in these gracious words: I keep thee full surely.

His work is to save us, and he is honored by what he does for us.⁵ He wants us to know this, because he wants us to love him tenderly and trust him humbly and firmly. He showed this in these gracious words: I keep you completely safe.