Chapter 86: Love was our Lord's Meaning
"Love was our Lord's Meaning"
THIS book is begun by God's gift and His grace, but it is not yet performed, as to my sight.
For Charity pray we all; [together] with God's working, thanking, trusting, enjoying. For thus will our good Lord be prayed to, as by the understanding that I took of all His own meaning and of the sweet words where He says full merrily: I am the Ground of your beseeching. For truly I saw and understood in our Lord's meaning that He showed it for that He wills to have it known more than it is: in which knowing He will give us grace to love Him and cleave to Him. For He beholds His heavenly treasure with so great love on earth that He wills to give us more light and solace in heavenly joy, in drawing to Him of our hearts, for sorrow and darkness which we are in.
And from that time that it was showed I desired oftentimes to learn what was our Lord's meaning. And fifteen years after, and more, I was answered in ghostly understanding, saying thus: Wouldst you learn your Lord's meaning in this thing? Learn it well: Love was His meaning. Who showed it you? Love. What showed He you? Love. Wherefore showed it He? For Love. Hold you therein and you shall learn and know more in the same. But you shall never know nor learn therein other thing without end Thus was I learned that Love was our Lord's meaning.
And I saw full surely that ere God made us He loved us; which love was never slacked, nor ever shall be. And in this love He has done all His works; and in this love He has made all things profitable to us; and in this love our life is everlasting. In our making we had beginning; but the love wherein He made us was in Him from without beginning: in which love we have our beginning. And all this shall we see in God, without end.
"merkness" = dimness.
"witten" = to see clearly.
"witten" = to see clearly.
"lerid."Notes by Grace Warrack Transcribed by John Ockerbloom (spok@cs.cmu.edu)
POSTSCRIPT BY A SCRIBE
[The Sloane MS. is entitled "Revelations to one who could not read a Letter, Anno Dom. 1373," and each chapter is headed by a few lines denoting its contents. These titles are in language similar to that of the text, and are probably the work of an early scribe. No doubt it is the same scribe who after the last sentence of the book adds the aspiration :] Which Jesus mot grant us Amen.
[And to him also may be assigned this conclusion:--]Thus endeth the Revelation of Love of the blissid Trinite shewid by our Savior Christ Jesu for our endles comfort and solace and also to enjoyen in him in this passand journey of this life.
Amen Jesu amen
I pray Almyty God that this booke com not but to the hands of them that will be his faithfull lovers, and to those that will submitt them to the faith of holy Church, and obey the holesom understondying and teching of the men that be of vertuous life, sadde Age and sound lering: ffor this Revelation is hey Divinitye and hey wisdom, wherfore it may not dwelle with him that is thrall to synne and to the Devill.
And beware you take not on thing after your affection and liking, and leve another: for that is the condition of an heretique. But take every thing with other. And, trewly understonden, All is according to holy Scripture and groundid in the same. And that Jesus, our very love, light and truth, shall shew to all clen soulis that with mekeness aske profe reverently this wisdom of hym.
And you to whom this boke shall come, thank heyley and hertily our Saviour Christ Jesu that he made these showings and revelations, for the, and to the, of his endles love, mercy and goodnes for yours and our save guide, to conduct to everlastying bliss: the which Jesus mot grant us. AMEN.
Transcribed by John Ockerbloom (spok@cs.cmu.edu)
Footnotes
1 Julian closes with the question she began with: What was the meaning of all these showings? And the answer, after twenty years of meditation, is one word: Love. "What, do you wish to know your Lord's meaning in this thing? Know it well: Love was His meaning. Who showed it to you? Love. What did He show you? Love. Why did He show it? For Love." This is the heart of Julian — and the heart of the library.