Revelations of Divine Love · 37 of 127 · tr. Grace Warrack

Chapter XXVIII

"Each brotherly compassion that man hath on his fellow Christians, with charity, it is Christ in him" Thus I saw how Christ hath compassion on us for the cause of sin. And right as I was afore in the [Shewing of the] Passion of Christ fulfilled with pain and compassion, like so in this [sight] I was fulfilled, in part, with compassion of all mine even-Christians—for that well, well beloved people that shall be saved. For God's servants, Holy Church, shall be shaken in sorrow and anguish, tribulation in this world, as men shake a cloth in the wind. And as to this our Lord answered in this manner: A great thing shall I make hereof in Heaven of endless worship and everlasting joys. Yea, so far forth I saw, that our Lord joyeth of the tribulations of His servants, with ruth and compassion. On each person that He loveth, to His bliss for to bring [them], He layeth something that is no blame in His sight, whereby they are blamed and despised in this world, scorned, mocked, and outcasted. And this He doeth for to hinder the harm that they should take from the pomp and the vain-glory of this wretched life, and make their way ready to come to Heaven, and up-raise them in His bliss everlasting. For He saith: I shall wholly break you of your vain affections and your vicious pride; and after that I shall together gather you, and make you mild and meek, clean and holy, by oneing to me. And then I saw that each kind compassion that man hath on his even-Christians with charity, it is Christ in him. That same noughting that was shewed in His Passion, it was shewed again here in this Compassion. Wherein were two manner of understandings in our Lord's meaning. The one was the bliss that we are brought to, wherein He willeth that we rejoice. The other is for comfort in our pain: for He willeth that we perceive that it shall all be turned to worship and profit by virtue of His passion, that we perceive that we suffer not alone but with Him, and see Him to be our Ground, and that we see His pains and His noughting passeth so far all that we may suffer, that it may not be fully thought. The beholding of this will save us from murmuring and despair in the feeling of our pains. And if we see soothly that our sin deserveth it, yet His love excuseth us, and of His great courtesy He doeth away all our blame, and beholdeth us with ruth and pity as children innocent and unloathful.

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Themes

◆Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

God is described with distinctly human emotions such as joy, compassion, ruth, and pity, and acts with human-like intent to 'break' and 'gather' His servants.

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◆Childlike Innocenceanthropology

The infant or child as symbol of the unfallen, undivided spiritual state; return to primordial simplicity.

The passage concludes with the image of God beholding sinners 'as children innocent and unloathful,' suggesting a return to a state of primal innocence through divine grace.

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◆Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

The text details how God actively orders tribulations and scorn for the specific purpose of hindering harm from worldly vanity and preparing souls for heaven.

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◆Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The passage depicts God as an active, personal agent who feels compassion, joy, and ruth, and directly intervenes in human lives to bring about salvation.

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◆Love Of Neighbourethics

Active compassionate care for others as a central spiritual obligation or expression of divine love.

The passage centrally defines 'brotherly compassion' and charity towards fellow Christians as the very presence of Christ within the believer.

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◆Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The text describes the believer being 'oneing' with Christ and experiencing Christ's presence within them through acts of charity.

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◆Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The passage outlines a journey where tribulations serve to 'make their way ready to come to Heaven' and be up-raised in everlasting bliss.

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◆Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

The text explicitly describes the process of being 'oneing to me' (Christ) and becoming 'clean and holy,' reflecting the transformative union with the divine nature.

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