In chapter 81, the Soul is portrayed as having reached a state of radical nothingness, where she is so diminished in her own perception that she has no concern for herself, her neighbor, or even for God in the usual sense. This state of emptiness paradoxically grants her fullness, as it allows her to be completely immersed in God’s peace and sufficiency. The Soul is described as effortlessly floating in this peace, free from inner turmoil and exterior distractions. Her actions are no longer her own, but God’s work through her, and she experiences no burden from them. This detachment and surrender are total and without any motive (“without a why”), reflecting the purest love for the Bridegroom, who is the source of her being. The chapter teaches that complete union with God involves the renunciation of self, a trustful abandonment to divine will, and a participation in God’s infinite peace, where human efforts and anxieties dissolve into the All.
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1. “Now this Soul, says Love, has her right name from the nothingness in which she rests. And since she is nothing, she is concerned about nothing, neither about herself, nor about her neighbors, nor even about God Himself.”
This passage encapsulates the radical detachment the Soul has achieved. Resting in nothingness means she has renounced not just concern for her own needs and others, but even the impulse to comprehend or grasp God intellectually. Her identity has been effaced; she has become so “small” as to be untraceable, overwhelmed by the vastness of God and detached from all created things.
2. “And this nothingness, of which we speak, says Love, gives her the All, and no one can possess it in any other way.”
Paradoxically, it is by becoming “nothing” that the Soul gains “all” – a profound mystical insight. Renouncing selfhood, she receives divine fullness. Love teaches that only in utter surrender and emptiness can one possess the All of God’s presence and grace.
3. “This Soul, says Love, is imprisoned and held in the country of complete peace, for she is always in full sufficiency, in which she swims and bobs and floats, and she is surrounded by divine peace, without any movement in her interior, and without any exterior work on her part.”
The Soul’s condition is likened to an immersion in an ocean of divine peace. The imagery of swimming and floating conveys her utter passivity and delight, her participation in a state of sufficiency and rest beyond all disturbance. She neither acts interiorly nor exteriorly from herself; all motion comes from God and remains undisturbed.
4. “If she does any exterior thing, it is always without herself. If God does His work in her, it is by Him in her, without herself, for her sake.”
This distinction shows how her actions are entirely God’s work within her; she no longer claims any initiative. Her self has been annihilated as an independent agent, and she consents fully to God’s activity, like a vessel animated entirely by divine life.
5. “Such a Soul is no more encumbered by this than is her angel by guarding her. No more is an angel encumbered by guarding us than if he never guarded us at all.”
The Soul’s engagement with the world is as light as the angel’s duty of protection. This metaphor underscores the Soul’s perfect freedom from encumbrance; her works are so fully aligned with God’s will that they impose no burden or disturbance upon her.
6. “For she has nothing of herself. She has given all freely without a why, for she is the lady of the Bridegroom of her youth. He is the Sun who shines and warms and nourishes the life of being separate from His Being.”
This affirms the Soul’s utter self-surrender, giving all “without a why” – without condition or calculation. Her union with the Bridegroom (Christ) is intimate and radiant, nourished by the divine Sun, who provides warmth and sustenance to her being, which is now wholly distinct from her separate, created self.
7. “She has retained neither doubt nor anxiety any longer.”
Having surrendered completely, the Soul is free from the turmoil of doubt and anxiety. She dwells in the stability of divine peace, her will perfectly harmonized with God’s will.
8. “A sure alliance and a true concordance by willing only the divine ordinance.”
Love concludes by explaining that the Soul’s peace and freedom arise from an unshakable union with God’s will. Her entire being is concordant with divine ordinance, resulting in perfect serenity and certainty.
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1. Why does the Soul have no concern for herself, her neighbor, or even God?
The Soul has fully entered the state of nothingness, as Love explains. She has become so small, dissolved into non-being, that she cannot even perceive her own existence or that of her neighbor. Moreover, God is so vast, so incomprehensible, that she cannot grasp or comprehend Him. This radical detachment leads her to complete indifference toward all created and even divine things in terms of conceptual knowledge or personal concern. Her being has merged into a passive receptivity of God’s presence, beyond dualistic notions of “self” or “other.”
2. What does Love mean when it says that “this nothingness gives her the All”?
Love reveals a paradoxical truth central to mysticism: by becoming “nothing,” the Soul receives the “All” – that is, she is filled with God’s presence and grace. In renouncing all self-will, desires, and claims of ownership, she makes room for the fullness of divine life. No one can possess this divine fullness by any other means than by total surrender and emptying of the self.
3. How is the Soul’s state of peace described in this chapter?
The Soul is described as being “imprisoned and held in the country of complete peace.” She is like someone floating, bobbing, and swimming in an ocean of divine sufficiency and peace. There is no movement or disturbance within her, and her exterior actions occur without her own agency. Even God’s work in her is accomplished without her acting upon it, much like an angel performs his tasks effortlessly. This peace is unshakable and cannot be disturbed by interior or exterior factors.
4. Why is the Soul’s external action not burdensome or disturbing to her?
Because the Soul has given up all claims to personal initiative or ownership, her exterior actions are not truly “hers” but are accomplished by God acting within her. This is similar to how an angel guards souls without being burdened by the task. Her perfect union with God’s will ensures that her peace remains intact, regardless of external demands or tasks. She remains interiorly detached and immersed in divine peace.
5. What does it mean that the Soul has given all “without a why”?
The phrase “without a why” indicates the Soul’s complete and unconditional surrender to God. She gives all to Him not for any reason or reward, but purely out of love and obedience. This reflects a profound selflessness and freedom from attachment or calculation. It is a giving that expects nothing in return and is motivated solely by love of the Bridegroom, who is the Sun shining and sustaining her being.
6. How does this chapter describe the Soul’s relationship with doubt and anxiety?
The Soul has transcended all doubt and anxiety. Her complete union with God’s will leaves no room for uncertainty or inner turmoil. By resting entirely in divine sufficiency, she experiences perfect peace and trust. The Soul’s condition reflects the security of a true alliance with God’s ordinance, resulting in unshakeable serenity.
7. According to Love, what is the key to the Soul’s state of peace and union?
The key lies in “a sure alliance and a true concordance by willing only the divine ordinance.” This means the Soul’s peace is rooted in her complete and perfect consent to God’s will. Her will is in total harmony with God’s, without resistance or deviation. This total alignment with divine ordinance brings her into a state of union, freedom, and peace beyond any disturbance.
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Chapter 82 teaches that the soul, fully perfected and united with divine Love, becomes entirely unencumbered in four fundamental aspects: it is free from reproach even without performing the virtues, it surrenders its personal will completely to God’s divine will, it embraces its humble yet beloved status before God, and it maintains unwavering confidence that God wills only goodness as the soul wills nothing apart from Him. This profound transformation leads the soul to lose its individual identity like a river merging back into the sea, resting wholly in God’s sovereign love. In this ultimate state of unity, the soul is marvelously fulfilled, perfectly conformed to God, and completely delighted in Love, embodying the fullness of spiritual nobility and peace.
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1. “This Soul, who is what she is perfectly, is unencumbered in her four aspects. For four aspects are required in a noble person before he might be called a gentleman and thus of a spiritual intellect.”
The chapter begins by introducing the idea that spiritual nobility or gentility requires four specific aspects of freedom or “unencumberedness.” These are qualities of a perfected soul that demonstrate true spiritual maturity. The metaphor of a “gentleman” or noble person frames the spiritual ideal as one marked by refined virtues and intellect, setting a high standard for the soul’s progress.
2. “The first aspect in which this Soul is unencumbered is that she has no reproach in her at all, even though she does not do the work of the Virtues … How could it be that Love could be able to have her practice along with the works of the Virtues, when it is necessary that works cease when Love has her practice?”
The first aspect stresses that the soul is free from blame or fault despite no longer actively performing the works of the traditional virtues. This paradox emphasizes that in the highest union with Love, the soul transcends the need for virtuous actions as understood in ordinary terms. Love itself becomes the soul’s life and activity, making the mechanical or external works redundant because the soul is wholly transformed internally.
3. “The second aspect is that she has no longer any will, no more than the dead in the sepulchers have, but only the divine will.”
Here, the soul’s will is described as entirely surrendered and subsumed into God’s will. The comparison to the dead underscores the total absence of personal desire or initiative; the soul is effectively “dead” to self-will and alive only to God’s will. This radical surrender represents perfect obedience and unity with God’s divine plan, a hallmark of spiritual unencumberedness.
4. “The third aspect is that she believes and maintains that there never was, nor is there, nor will there ever be anything worse than she, nor any better loved by the One who loves her according to what she is.”
This aspect reveals a deep humility combined with a profound assurance of divine love. The soul acknowledges its own lowliness (“never anything worse”) while simultaneously affirming it is supremely loved by God. This paradoxical self-understanding reflects the spiritual truth that God’s love does not depend on merit but on His gracious choice, which elevates the soul beyond human distinctions of worth.
5. “The fourth aspect is that she believes and maintains that it is no more possible for God to be able to will something other than goodness than it is for her to will something other than His divine will.”
The final aspect articulates the perfect congruence between God’s will and the soul’s will. Just as it is impossible for God to will evil or anything contrary to His nature, it is impossible for the perfected soul to will anything other than God’s divine will. This highlights the complete transformation and unity of the soul with God, both in nature and action, expressing the pinnacle of spiritual conformity.
6. “If she is thus unencumbered in all her aspects, she loses her name, for she rises in sovereignty … Like a body of water which flows from the sea … when this water or river returns into the sea, it loses its course and its name.”
The imagery of the river returning to the sea beautifully illustrates the soul’s dissolution of individual identity into the infinite identity of God. The “loss of name” symbolizes the loss of personal separateness and the merging into divine sovereignty. This is the ultimate spiritual state where the soul is no longer distinct but perfectly united with God’s essence and love, losing all individual ego but gaining all in God.
7. “He is, therefore this Soul is. And this satisfies her marvelously, thus she is marvelous; and this is pleasing to Love, and so this Soul is love. And this delights her.”
The chapter closes with the profound mystical truth that the soul’s identity is wholly transformed into the identity of God Himself-“He is, therefore this Soul is.” This union satisfies and delights the soul beyond all earthly pleasures. It also pleases Love itself, signifying the reciprocal and perfect relationship between God and the soul. The soul, now fully transformed and filled with divine love, exists as love itself.
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1. What does it mean that the soul is “unencumbered in her four aspects,” and why are these aspects necessary for spiritual nobility?
Being “unencumbered in her four aspects” means the soul has attained complete freedom in four essential areas that define spiritual maturity and nobility-likened here to the qualities needed for a “gentleman” or noble person of spiritual intellect. These four aspects are necessary because they show that the soul has transcended ordinary attachments, personal will, and ego-driven concerns, embodying a perfected state of union with God where it is free from reproach, independent will, self-judgment, and any discord with God’s goodness and will.
2. How can the soul be free from reproach even without actively practicing the traditional virtues?
The soul is free from reproach because, at this highest level, love alone governs its existence. The chapter explains that when Love “has her practice,” the ordinary works of the virtues cease because the soul’s transformation through love transcends the need for external or deliberate virtuous actions. The soul acts out of love itself, which perfects and fulfills the virtues internally, making external works unnecessary and the soul free of fault despite no longer performing these traditional deeds.
3. What is the significance of the soul having “no longer any will” except the divine will?
The soul having no will of its own means it has surrendered all personal desires and choices to God, analogous to the “dead in the sepulchers.” This total surrender signifies perfect obedience and unity with God’s will, where the soul acts not from self-interest but from complete alignment with divine purpose. It shows the soul’s spiritual freedom and purity, being moved only by God’s will and no other force.
4. Why does the soul believe she is both the worst and the best-loved by God?
This belief reflects profound humility combined with the assurance of God’s unconditional love. The soul recognizes its own unworthiness (“never anything worse”) but also knows that God’s love is not dependent on merit but on His gracious choice and affection for the soul “according to what she is.” This paradox teaches that divine love transcends human notions of worthiness and bestows supreme dignity on even the lowliest soul.
5. What does it mean that it is impossible for the soul to will anything other than God’s divine will?
This means the soul has been so thoroughly transformed by God’s goodness and love that its own will is perfectly conformed to God’s will. Just as it is impossible for God to will evil, it is impossible for the perfected soul to choose anything contrary to God’s divine goodness. This unity of wills expresses the highest spiritual conformity and complete participation in God’s nature.
6. Explain the metaphor of the river returning to the sea in the context of the soul’s transformation.
The metaphor illustrates the soul’s loss of individual identity as it merges into the infinite identity of God. Just as a river has its own name and course but loses both when it returns to the vast sea, the soul relinquishes its separate “name” (ego, individual selfhood) when it enters into complete union with God. In this final state, the soul is no longer distinct but fully “melted and dissolved” into God’s love and essence, resting in divine sovereignty.
7. What is the final state of the soul described in this chapter, and why is it “marvelous” and pleasing to Love?
The final state is one of perfect transformation where the soul’s identity becomes united with God’s-“He is, therefore this Soul is.” The soul is satisfied, marvelously fulfilled, and fully aligned with divine love. This state is pleasing to Love because it represents the ultimate realization of Love’s purpose: a soul completely transformed into Love itself, delighting in this union. The soul’s joy and Love’s pleasure are mutual, signaling the highest possible spiritual fulfillment.
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In chapter 83, Love reveals that the Soul, having undergone a complete transformation, no longer retains her individual name or identity, but is named by the very transformation that Love has wrought in her. This transformation is likened to the waters of rivers that, upon flowing into the sea, lose their distinct names and become wholly sea, and to fire that transforms material into itself, erasing all distinction. The Soul and Love are now one, perfectly united without any separation, as two things would imply discord, but oneness is perfect harmony. This teaches that the ultimate goal of the soul’s journey is to be so wholly absorbed into divine Love that all individual identity and will are dissolved, resulting in perfect unity, peace, and harmony with God.
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1. [Love]: “Now such a Soul is without a name, and because of this she has the name of the transformation by which Love has transformed her. So it is with the waters of which we have spoken, which have the name of sea because they are wholly sea as soon as they have entered into the sea.”
Love explains that the soul, having been wholly transformed and absorbed into divine Love, loses its individual identity or “name.” This reflects the mystical notion that in perfect union, the soul’s separate existence ceases, analogous to a river becoming indistinguishable from the sea once it merges fully. The soul’s identity now is defined entirely by the transformative act of divine Love itself, indicating a profound ontological change where personal distinctions dissolve into unity.
2. [Love]: “So also no nature of fire adds any matter into itself, but instead it makes of itself and the matter one thing, no longer two but one.”
This metaphor of fire uniting completely with its matter illustrates the depth of the soul’s transformation. Just as fire does not remain separate from the substance it consumes but becomes a singular entity with it, the soul and divine Love fuse into a single essence. This signifies that the transformation is not a mere overlay or addition, but a complete and intrinsic fusion, erasing any duality between lover and beloved.
3. [Love]: “So it is with those of whom we speak, for Love draws completely their matter into herself. Love and such Souls are one thing, no longer two things, for this would be discord; but instead they are one thing alone, and thus there is accord.”
Love emphasizes that any duality between the soul and divine Love would be disharmony. True spiritual transformation means perfect accord-a harmonious unity without separation. This unity surpasses mere cooperation or friendship; it is ontological oneness, a merging where Love’s essence fully encompasses the soul’s being, making them indistinguishable and utterly harmonious.
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1. What does Love mean by saying the Soul is “without a name”?
Love indicates that the Soul, having been perfectly united with Love, no longer retains her distinct individual identity or “name.” Her personal attributes and separateness dissolve in the profound unity of transformation. Instead, her “name” becomes the transformation itself-she is named by the divine Love that has fully absorbed her being. This signifies complete loss of self in divine union.
2. Why does Love compare the Soul’s transformation to waters entering the sea?
Love uses the image of rivers losing their name when they flow into the sea to illustrate the Soul’s transformation. Just as rivers, upon merging with the sea, lose their distinct identities and become part of the vast ocean, so the Soul, upon merging with divine Love, loses her separateness and is absorbed into the infinite reality of Love. This analogy highlights the total immersion and unification with God.
3. What is the significance of the comparison to fire?
Love explains that fire does not merely add material to itself but completely transforms it into its own essence, making them one. Similarly, the Soul does not retain her former nature but is entirely consumed and transformed into Love’s own being. This metaphor underscores the completeness and intensity of the union, where there is no longer “two” but “one,” eliminating any division between the Soul and divine Love.
4. Why does Love say that two things would mean discord, but one thing is accord?
In the mystical union, Love teaches that the soul and Love must be one, not two, because duality implies separation and discord. True divine transformation leads to a complete fusion where the soul and Love are a single reality, perfectly harmonious and without conflict. This illustrates the depth of spiritual unification, where unity brings peace and accord.
5. How does this chapter develop the theme of the soul’s transformation in Love?
This chapter deepens the portrayal of the soul’s transformation by emphasizing not only her union with Love but the complete obliteration of any separateness. The soul’s identity is no longer her own but entirely defined by the Love that absorbs her. Through metaphors of water merging with the sea and fire transforming matter, Love conveys that the soul’s journey culminates in total fusion with divine Love, resulting in harmony and a loss of self-will.
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Chapter 84 teaches that a soul completely unencumbered in her four aspects rises into divine sovereignty, no longer living by the life of grace or spirit but by the divine life itself. This soul enters an astonishing contemplation of God’s simultaneous nearness and farness, resting in a state beyond reasoning or self-effort. She becomes an instrument through which God works entirely, surrendering her will and rejecting the attempts of Reason and its disciples to impose understanding or control. Her transformation is so complete that she can no longer act of herself, nor can any contrary force affect her sanctified being, which is now immersed in divine life. This state is accessible only through divine action and cannot be grasped by those unprepared or attached to self-will.
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1. “I say, says Love, that such a Soul, who is thus unencumbered in these four aspects, rises after this in sovereignty.”
Love reveals that a soul, purified and unencumbered in her four aspects-detachment from virtue, surrender of will, humility in her own nothingness, and perfect union with divine will-ascends to a state of sovereignty. This sovereignty is not of earthly or spiritual power but a deep interior union where the soul lives from the very life of God, beyond natural and spiritual operations.
2. “For when she is thus unencumbered in her four aspects and gentle in all her off-spring, which are descended from her (no one vile is taken in marriage there, and thus she is very noble), then she falls from this, says Love, into an astonishment, which one calls ‘pondering nothing about the nearness of the Farnearness,’ who is her nearest one.”
The soul, made noble through her unencumbered aspects, enters into a profound astonishment or “pondering nothing,” an experience of being in awe before the mystery of God’s nearness that paradoxically remains distant. This “Farnearness” expresses the intimate yet transcendent presence of God, which cannot be grasped by discursive thought. The soul rests in silent wonder.
3. “Then such a Soul, says Love, lives not by the life of grace, or by the life of spirit only, but by the divine life, unencumbered-but not gloriously, for she is not glorified-but she lives divinely, for God has sanctified her of Himself in this point, and nothing which might be contrary to goodness can reach there.”
Here Love describes the soul’s elevation into divine life itself. While not yet glorified (as she would be in heaven), she participates in God’s own life, sanctified by Him, free from any contrary influence. This is a mystical state where divine action predominates, and the soul no longer lives for herself or by her own efforts but entirely in and through God.
4. “Grasp this in a divine manner, this is for as long as she is in this being: God gives you being there forever without departure from it.”
This mystical state is described as a permanent union with God, where the soul, transformed into divine being, enjoys unbroken communion. It’s not a fleeting experience but a stable state of grace, granted by God, where His presence becomes the soul’s true identity.
5. “Truly, says this Soul astonished in pondering nothing about the nearness through this Farnearness who delights her in peace, rudeness could neither speak nor ponder nor encumber her with Reason.”
The soul, in her astonishment and peace, is beyond the reach of human reason and rational discourse. This divine union transcends logical explanation, frustrating the efforts of those bound to reason’s limitations. The soul lives in a state where the usual categories of thought-what and why-have no place.
6. “This work now belongs to God, who accomplishes His works in me. I do not owe Him any work since He Himself works in me. If I should place my own [work] there, I destroy His work.”
The soul has fully surrendered her own initiative, recognizing that all true spiritual work belongs to God alone. Any attempt to insert her own effort would interfere with divine action. This signals a complete abandonment of self-will, aligning with the earlier teaching that in the final stages of union, the soul ceases even to “do” for God but simply “is” in Him.
7. “Thus I say, says this Soul, that I will not hear their rudeness anymore; they will say it no more to me, I cannot suffer it further, for I indeed have neither what nor why.”
The soul rejects the judgments and interventions of those bound by Reason and spiritual calculation. She has entered a realm where “what” and “why” are irrelevant, as divine life itself has replaced her human deliberations. This signals her complete absorption into God’s will and wisdom, surpassing all intellectual striving.
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1. What does Love mean when saying that the soul is “unencumbered in her four aspects” and rises into sovereignty?
Love explains that when the soul has surrendered and transcended her four aspects-detachment from acquired virtues, surrender of will, humble acceptance of her nothingness, and perfect conformity with divine will-she is free from all personal encumbrance. This “unencumbered” state allows her to rise into sovereignty, meaning a supreme state of interior freedom and union with God. In this sovereign state, she no longer lives by her own strength but is entirely sustained by the divine life, reigning as one with Love.
2. What is the significance of the soul’s astonishment or “pondering nothing about the nearness of the Farnearness”?
The phrase captures the paradox of divine presence: God is both near and far, intimately close yet beyond comprehension. When the soul, free from self, enters into union with God, she experiences a profound astonishment or wonder, resting in peace without needing to analyze or understand. This “pondering nothing” expresses a silent, contemplative awareness of God’s overwhelming mystery, where thought and reasoning fall away, leaving only the experience of divine presence.
3. Why does Love distinguish between the soul living “by grace” or “by the spirit” and living by “the divine life”?
Living “by grace” or “by the spirit” refers to the stages where the soul still operates within the bounds of created virtue and spiritual practice, assisted by grace but still engaging in her own efforts. However, in this advanced state, the soul lives by “the divine life” itself: God becomes her life, working within her without her own initiative. She is not glorified as in the Beatific Vision, but she participates in God’s sanctifying life on earth, a state of profound union where she no longer “does” but is wholly “done unto” by God.
4. What does the text mean when saying that this divine state “cannot be reached by what is contrary to goodness”?
This highlights the soul’s invulnerability in divine union. In this state, the soul is so immersed in God’s life that nothing impure, sinful, or contrary to divine goodness can reach or affect her. The soul’s union with God creates an impenetrable sanctuary of holiness, where evil cannot intrude. It reflects a profound security in God, a state of sanctification beyond the reach of temptation or distraction.
5. How does the soul’s rejection of Reason’s “disciples” reflect her transformation?
The soul rejects the efforts of Reason and its disciples because her transformation has surpassed rational understanding. She recognizes that human reasoning, no matter how sophisticated, cannot comprehend or guide her in this state of union with God. Attempting to impose rational frameworks would only hinder divine work in her. This rejection signifies her full surrender to God’s initiative and her refusal to be drawn back into a limited, discursive understanding of spiritual life.
6. What is meant by the soul saying, “I indeed have neither what nor why”?
The soul’s declaration reflects her release from self-will, personal intentions, and intellectual striving. She no longer operates by reasoning about “what” she should do or “why” she should do it. Instead, she lives in pure receptivity to God’s action, content with being an instrument of His will. This state is characterized by profound humility and total surrender, where personal motivations are dissolved in the divine presence.
7. What does the soul mean by saying, “This work now belongs to God, who accomplishes His works in me”?
In this advanced stage, the soul realizes that all her spiritual progress and union with God are entirely His work. She acknowledges that any attempt to contribute her own efforts would disrupt or hinder God’s perfect action within her. This signifies a complete trust and abandonment to divine providence, where she no longer labors for her own sanctity but rests in God’s transforming work.
8. Why does Love warn that those who are not prepared for this state “make themselves suffer in vain” if they try to grasp it?
Love warns that this mystical state of union cannot be comprehended by those still bound by self-will, rational calculation, or external practices. Those who have not undergone the necessary purification and detachment may attempt to grasp the divine mystery intellectually or through effort, only to find frustration and spiritual suffering. This path is accessible only to those whom God has drawn into it, through grace and surrender. It cannot be forced or prematurely claimed.
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In Chapter 85, Love explains that the Soul, completely purified and united with God, attains perfect freedom-a profound, all-encompassing liberty that pervades every aspect of her being. This freedom is not a rebellious autonomy but a state of total surrender and union with God’s will, achieved through the purifying fires of mortification and the consuming flame of divine charity. Freed from attachments, worldly obligations, and even the need for external mediations like sacraments or penance, the Soul lives not by her own will but by God’s life within her. Her noble detachment manifests as a refusal to engage with what is not of God, remaining steadfast in peace and trust in His presence. This chapter celebrates the Soul’s supreme dignity and unshakable freedom as she becomes one with Love itself.
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1. “This Soul, says Love, is free, yet more free, yet very free, yet finally supremely free, in the root, in the stock, in all her branches and all the fruits of her branches. This Soul has her portion of purified freeness, each aspect has its full measure of it.”
Love begins by emphasizing the progressive and complete liberation of the soul, depicting freedom as extending from the very root of her being through all branches and fruits. This is not simply an absence of external constraint but a total interior freedom infused by divine transformation. The phrase “purified freeness” suggests that the soul’s freedom is not willful independence but rather a freedom cleansed of self-will and ego, a freedom fully harmonized with divine will.
2. “She responds to no one if she does not wish to, if he is not of her lineage. For a gentleman would not deign to respond to a peasant, even if such a one would call him or attack him in a battlefield. And for this anyone who calls her will not find such a Soul. Her enemies have no longer any response from her.”
The soul’s freedom is expressed in her detachment from external demands or attacks. The image of a nobleman ignoring the peasant underscores the soul’s transcendence over worldly conflict and pettiness. Her “lineage” is divine; she engages only with what belongs to God, ignoring distractions or opposition. Enemies, including temptations and worldly accusations, can no longer provoke a response from her, demonstrating her complete disinterest in anything not aligned with divine truth.
3. “That is right, says this Soul, since I believe that God is in me, it is necessary that He be my help, and His goodness cannot lose me.”
The soul’s freedom is rooted in her deep conviction of divine indwelling. Recognizing God’s presence within, she trusts fully in His goodness and providence, resting in His strength rather than her own. This trust fortifies her detachment from worldly concerns and secures her in divine freedom.
4. “This Soul, says Love, is scorched through mortification and burned through the ardor of the fire of charity, and her ashes are thrown into the open sea through the nothingness of will.”
The soul’s liberation is not without cost: she has been purified by suffering (mortification) and inflamed with divine love (the fire of charity). The “ashes” represent the total consumption of her self-will, scattered into the “open sea”-symbolizing complete abandonment into the divine will and infinite freedom. The nothingness of will is not emptiness but the soul’s full union with God’s will, no longer asserting her own.
5. “This Soul is gently noble in prosperity, and supremely noble in adversity, and excellently noble in all places whatever they might be.”
The soul’s nobility-her dignity and freedom-transcends circumstances. Whether in prosperity or adversity, she remains detached and steadfast in her divine identity. This constancy is a fruit of her purified freedom, which is impervious to external fluctuations and trials.
6. “This Soul who is such no longer seeks God through penitence, nor through any sacrament of Holy Church; not through thoughts, nor through words, nor through works; not through creature here below, nor through creature above; not through justice, nor through mercy, nor through glory of glory; not through divine understanding, nor through divine love, nor through divine praise.”
In her supreme freedom, the soul’s relationship with God transcends all mediations-even those of sacraments, works, or spiritual exercises. This is not a rejection of the Church’s means but the recognition that in this state, God’s union is so complete that she no longer seeks Him through external or created means. Her love and union with God have reached a point where these practices, though once necessary and beneficial, are no longer the medium of her divine life.
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1. What does Love mean by saying that the Soul is “free, more free, very free, and supremely free”?
Love describes a progressive deepening of the Soul’s liberation, where freedom is complete at every level of her being-from the root to the branches and fruits. This freedom is not mere independence but a purified freedom, a total detachment from self-will and the world, grounded in divine union. The soul is fully free because her will has been consumed in God’s will.
2. Why does the Soul respond to no one unless they are of her lineage?
The Soul’s freedom includes a profound detachment from all that is not of God. “Lineage” here symbolizes the divine family-those who share in God’s truth and life. The Soul refuses to respond to worldly challenges, temptations, or attacks because they are not rooted in God’s truth. Just as a nobleman would not engage with a peasant in a battlefield, the Soul transcends petty disputes or worldly entanglements.
3. What is the foundation of the Soul’s freedom according to her own words?
The Soul says, “since I believe that God is in me, it is necessary that He be my help, and His goodness cannot lose me.” Her freedom is grounded in her unshakable trust in God’s indwelling presence and His goodness. This trust renders her immune to fear or discouragement, knowing that God will not abandon her.
4. What role do mortification and charity play in the Soul’s transformation?
Love explains that the Soul is “scorched through mortification and burned through the ardor of the fire of charity.” Mortification purifies the Soul by detaching her from earthly attachments, while charity-divine love-consumes her entirely. Her ashes, representing her annihilated self-will, are thrown into the “open sea,” symbolizing total surrender to the infinite mystery of God’s will.
5. How does the Soul’s nobility manifest in both prosperity and adversity?
The Soul maintains her noble character regardless of circumstances: “gently noble in prosperity, supremely noble in adversity, and excellently noble in all places whatever they might be.” This reflects her interior freedom and constancy, rooted not in external situations but in her union with God.
6. Why does the Soul no longer seek God through penitence, sacraments, or other means?
In this supreme state of union, the Soul’s relationship with God transcends all created mediations. She no longer needs to seek God through external means-penitence, sacraments, thoughts, words, works, justice, mercy, or even divine understanding and love-because she lives fully in divine life itself. Her entire being is immersed in God, so there is no longer a “seeking” but a continual being in God’s presence.
7. How does this chapter reflect the concept of libertas perfecta (perfect freedom) in mystical theology?
This chapter embodies the idea of libertas perfecta, where the Soul achieves perfect freedom by total conformity to the divine will. She no longer acts out of necessity or external obligations but from an interior spontaneity rooted in God. This freedom is not autonomy but the highest form of dependence-on God’s goodness and life within her.
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In chapter 86, the astonishment of Reason at the Soul’s bold declarations of divine sufficiency and union reveals the limits of rational understanding when confronted with the depths of mystical experience. The Soul explains that those who have not yet tasted the fullness of God’s love are naturally surprised by what they hear, but for those who dwell in God’s presence, this reality is expected and entirely fitting. Using metaphors of a king’s generous gift to a loyal servant and the contrast between Martha’s distraction and Mary’s focused intent, the text underscores the difference between worldly reasoning and the wisdom of spiritual simplicity and love. The Soul, fully immersed in God’s abundance and grace, declares her unshakable possession of her Lover and her complete satisfaction in Him, showing that what astonishes the uninitiated is, for the enlightened, the natural fruit of divine generosity.
—
1. [Reason]: “O God! O God! O God! says Reason. What is this creature saying? She is now completely beside herself! But what will my children say? I do not know what to say to them, nor how to respond to excuse this.”
Reason, representing the natural human understanding, is utterly confounded by the Soul’s declarations of divine union and freedom. This expresses how the rational mind struggles to comprehend the mystical experiences and the radical inner liberty of a soul fully immersed in God. Reason is portrayed as defensive and perplexed, unable to reconcile the spiritual reality with ordinary human expectations.
2. [Soul]: “I am not surprised, says this Soul, for these are folk with feet but no path, hands but no work, mouth but no words, eyes but no vision, ears but no hearing, reason but no reasoning, body but no life, and with a heart but no intellect, as long as they are at this stage. For this reason do your children marvel upon marvel of marvel.”
The Soul answers calmly, recognizing that those who remain at the level of superficial existence-possessing faculties but not their true, spiritual use-cannot grasp the depth of her transformation. This statement reveals the profound contrast between spiritual enlightenment and worldly blindness.
3. [Love]: “True, these are astounded, says Love, well astounded, for they are so far from the country where one has such practice in order to possess the heights. But those who are from the country in which God lives, these are not astounded at all by it.”
Love affirms that astonishment comes from distance-spiritual distance from the realm of divine intimacy. Those who live in God’s presence, having “practice” in the ways of divine love, find nothing strange in the Soul’s declarations. Love gently exposes the limitations of those who are not yet spiritually mature.
4. [Soul]: “Not at all! If it please God, says the Unencumbered Soul, this would be a mark of crudity… If a king should give one of his servants… a great gift… why would a wise man be astounded?”
The Soul uses a parable to illustrate her point: just as a wise person would not be surprised at a king’s generosity, neither should one marvel at God’s lavish grace. This highlights that divine gifts, though beyond reason, are not contrary to it; they are expressions of God’s noble liberality.
5. [Courtesy]: “…a wise man is never astounded when another does what is fitting for him to do… But the heart that is villainous and of little wisdom… has great astonishment over this.”
Courtesy affirms that astonishment reflects a lack of wisdom. It is not God’s actions that are incomprehensible, but the limitations of human understanding, which are blinded by small-mindedness and an inability to recognize divine generosity as natural and fitting.
6. [Truth]: “This is not astounding, says Truth; one has the why within him, as you have heard.”
Truth cuts through the confusion, indicating that the answer lies within-once the soul is attuned to God’s reality, divine actions become clear and unastonishing. This highlights the inward turn of mystical wisdom.
7. [Nobility of the Unity of the Soul]: “…why is anyone astounded who has judgment within him, if I say great things and new things…? My lover is great who gives me a great gift, and so He is all new and gives me a new gift.”
The Soul affirms her union with God, explaining that divine abundance and newness are natural expressions of God’s greatness. Her fullness overflows not from her own merit but from God’s creative love. This underlines the theme of God’s inexhaustible generosity.
8. [Soul]: “He is, says this Soul, and this satisfies me.”
The Soul’s satisfaction rests entirely in God’s presence and action. This brief, decisive response signals her peaceful acceptance of divine reality without the need for rational explanation.
9. [Pure Courtesy]: “Without fail this is right, says Pure Courtesy. It is appropriate for the Lover, since He is of valor, that He satisfy His beloved with His goodness.”
Courtesy reinforces that divine goodness naturally fulfills the desires of the Soul. The Soul is not overreaching; she merely receives what her Lover bestows out of His own nature.
10. “Troubled is Martha, peace has Mary… The Unencumbered Soul cannot have but one sole intent.”
This poetic contrast between Martha and Mary illustrates the Soul’s focused, undistracted devotion. Like Mary at Jesus’ feet, the Soul lives in singular intent on God, abandoning worldly concerns, which brings her into profound peace.
11. “Such a Soul often hears what she hears not… feels what she feels not.”
The Soul’s paradoxical experiences reflect her mystical detachment: her senses and faculties transcend earthly realities, being wholly absorbed in God. This evokes the mystical theme of being simultaneously present and absent, attentive and detached.
12. [Soul]: “I hold Him, says she, for He is mine. I will never let Him go. He is in my will. Let come whatever might be, He is with me. It would be a lack in me if I should be astounded.”
The chapter concludes with the Soul’s triumphant declaration of unbreakable union with her Divine Lover. This unshakable possession of God is her true freedom and her peace. She recognizes that astonishment would only betray a lack of faith in His abiding presence and generosity.
—
1. Why is Reason astounded by the declarations of the Unencumbered Soul?
Reason is astounded because the Soul speaks of an experience and state of union with God that transcends natural human understanding. Reason represents the rational faculties and the logical mind, which find it hard to comprehend how a soul can be so fully united with God, utterly free from the normal constraints of human reasoning and effort. Reason is concerned with maintaining order and explanations that satisfy the intellect, but here she is overwhelmed by the Soul’s radical statements of divine union and sufficiency.
2. How does the Soul explain why others are astounded by her experiences?
The Soul explains that those who are astounded are like people with physical faculties but no spiritual function-feet without a path, hands without work, eyes without vision, etc. These individuals live at a surface level, lacking spiritual depth and discernment, so they cannot comprehend the soul’s complete union with God. Their astonishment is natural for those who have not yet entered into the transformative reality of divine love and mystical experience.
3. What does Love contribute to this dialogue?
Love supports the Soul’s point by affirming that astonishment comes from spiritual distance. Those who live in God’s presence-the “country where one has such practice to possess the heights”-are not surprised by the Soul’s declarations, because they are familiar with the reality of divine love and abundance. Those who remain far from this “country” remain astounded because they lack the experiential knowledge of God’s ways.
4. How does the Soul use the metaphor of the king and the loyal servant?
The Soul uses this metaphor to illustrate that it is not surprising for a king to reward a loyal servant with a great, life-changing gift. A wise person would not be astonished by the king’s generosity; rather, astonishment would imply a failure to understand the king’s noble and generous character. Likewise, God’s liberality towards the Soul-granting her complete sufficiency and fullness-is natural and fitting, not something to be viewed with shock or skepticism.
5. What role does Courtesy play in this chapter?
Courtesy emphasizes that a wise and noble heart does not react with astonishment when someone acts fittingly or generously. Astonishment, in this context, betrays a lack of understanding and refinement. Courtesy contrasts this with the reaction of a villainous and foolish heart, which is overwhelmed and confused by noble generosity. This distinction underlines the idea that spiritual maturity recognizes and celebrates divine goodness rather than questioning it.
6. How does Truth clarify the situation?
Truth succinctly states that there is no reason for astonishment because “one has the why within him.” Once the soul has encountered divine reality and is inwardly aligned with it, God’s actions are self-explanatory. The clarity of truth within the soul makes what seems astounding to others perfectly understandable and natural.
7. What does the Nobility of the Unity of the Soul assert about divine abundance?
This personification of the Soul proclaims that God, her Lover, is full of abundance and fertility. His gifts are continually new, flowing with divine goodness and delight. The Soul experiences herself as pregnant and full with God’s abundance, not because of her own efforts or suffering, but purely because of God’s generosity. This highlights the theme of divine grace as a free and overflowing gift.
8. How does the text use the contrast between Martha and Mary?
The text contrasts Martha’s troubled, divided attention with Mary’s single-minded devotion. Mary represents the Unencumbered Soul’s singular intent and peace in God’s presence, while Martha, though praised, lacks this complete focus. This serves as a model for the Soul’s contemplative union with God, where the soul is no longer scattered by worldly concerns but wholly intent on divine love.
9. What is the significance of the paradoxical statements about the Soul’s perception?
The Soul’s paradoxical expressions-hearing what she hears not, seeing what she sees not, feeling what she feels not-illustrate her mystical detachment from ordinary sensory and rational experiences. These paradoxes convey her immersion in divine reality, where earthly senses are transcended and she is fully united with God. This mystical language evokes the ineffability of the experience of divine union.
10. How does the Soul conclude her response to astonishment?
The Soul concludes with a bold declaration of her possession of God: “I hold Him … I will never let Him go. He is in my will. Let come whatever might be, He is with me.” She affirms her unshakable union with her Lover, expressing that it would be a failure on her part to react with astonishment, because her experience of God’s fullness is not a sudden, alien surprise but the natural outcome of divine love.
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Chapter 87 presents the Soul’s complete transformation through divine Love, where she becomes “lady of the Virtues, daughter of Deity, sister of Wisdom, and bride of Love.” This signifies her total union with God, where she no longer struggles to practice virtues but possesses them naturally, as her being is now entirely suffused with divine grace. Reason, representing human intellect and rationality, cannot grasp this mystery and dies, symbolizing the soul’s liberation from the limitations of reason and its entry into a realm where love alone reigns. Love affirms that the Soul has become “Love itself,” signifying her full integration into the divine life and perfect union with God’s infinite goodness. This chapter highlights the soul’s passage from striving and understanding to pure being and love, marking the culmination of her spiritual journey.
—
1. “This Soul, says Love, is the lady of the Virtues, daughter of Deity, sister of Wisdom, and bride of Love.”
The Soul is given a regal and divine identity-so intimately united with God that she transcends the traditional categories of spiritual growth. To be “lady of the Virtues” means that she no longer needs to practice them by effort-they now serve her spontaneously. Her divine titles speak to the full consummation of mystical union: she shares in the essence and relationships of the Trinity-belonging entirely to Love.
2. “But it is not strange, and in a little while [Reason] will be no more. But I was, says this Soul, and I am, and I will be always without lack, for Love has no beginning, no end, and no limit, and I am nothing except Love.”
The Soul speaks with the voice of eternity. She has transcended time-bound selfhood and become identical with Love, which is eternal and infinite. Her assertion-“I am nothing except Love”-indicates a total death to self and a radical participation in God’s being. This is scandalous to Reason, who cannot fathom such identity without perceiving it as blasphemy or absurdity.
3. “Ah God! says Reason. How dare one say this? I dare not listen to it. I am fainting truly, Lady Soul, in hearing you; my heart is failing. I have no more life.”
Reason is overwhelmed and undone. In its final protest, it is portrayed as fainting-dying-in the presence of a truth it cannot comprehend. This death of Reason is not a dismissal of rationality altogether, but a symbolic representation of its limits in the face of divine mysteries that exceed its grasp.
4. “For as long as I had you, Lady Reason, I could not freely receive my inheritance, what was and is mine. But now I can receive it freely, since I have wounded you to death by Love.”
The Soul affirms that Reason had long been a hindrance to the full possession of her divine inheritance. Only when Reason is “wounded to death by Love” can she be entirely free to receive what belongs to her as God’s beloved: total union. This echoes the mystical path where active striving and moral discipline (guided by Reason) give way to pure receptivity in Love.
5. “She would ask [something] of you, Beloved of us, says Love to this Soul who is Love herself and nothing other than Love …”
Now, even the voice of Reason-if it lived-would turn into praise, recognizing the Soul’s divinization. The Soul is no longer distinguished from Love. This final statement seals the transformation: the Soul has not only been purified or elevated, but transubstantiated-she has become what she loves. The finite has been absorbed into the Infinite without being destroyed, revealing the boldest mystical vision of union.
—
1. What does it mean when the Soul is called “the lady of the Virtues, daughter of Deity, sister of Wisdom, and bride of Love”?
This language conveys the soul’s complete union with God and her full participation in divine life. To be “lady of the Virtues” means she no longer labors to practice them; rather, they are her natural expression, subordinate to her. Being called “daughter of Deity” emphasizes her divine origin and likeness; “sister of Wisdom” signifies her intimate relationship with the divine intellect (Wisdom personified), and “bride of Love” reveals her perfect union with Love itself-God. These titles highlight her elevated, mystical state where she has transcended human limitations and become fully infused with God’s being.
2. Why does Reason react with shock and resistance to the Soul’s claims about her identity?
Reason is bound by the limitations of human logic and natural understanding. It cannot grasp the soul’s union with divine Love, especially when she claims to be “nothing except Love.” This seems like blasphemy or absurdity to Reason because it exceeds the boundaries of rational comprehension. Reason’s fainting and death symbolize the collapse of limited understanding in the face of divine mystery. It acknowledges that the soul’s transformation into Love defies all human categories and requires an abandonment of rational control.
3. What is the significance of Reason “dying” in this chapter, and why does the Soul rejoice over it?
The “death” of Reason signifies the soul’s release from self-imposed limits and from the necessity of striving by rational effort. While Reason has served a crucial role in guiding the soul through moral and spiritual development, it ultimately becomes an obstacle to complete union with God. The Soul rejoices because, with Reason’s death, she is finally free to receive her divine inheritance-pure, unrestricted participation in Love. This death is not a rejection of Reason’s value but an acknowledgment that it has reached its limit and must yield to something greater: direct communion with the Infinite.
4. How does Love’s final statement about the Soul confirm her transformation?
Love’s declaration that the Soul “is Love herself and nothing other than Love” confirms her complete transformation. The soul has not just been elevated in status but has been transfigured into the very substance of divine Love. This means her essence, will, and identity are now indistinguishable from God’s love. The soul’s union is so perfect that even if Reason could speak, it would only praise and affirm the truth of this transformation. This reveals the highest mystical vision: the soul has become what it loves, participating fully in God’s life.
5. Why is the Soul’s relationship with the Virtues described as one of dominion rather than struggle?
The Soul has reached a state where the Virtues-once goals of striving and moral effort-are now fully integrated and natural to her. She no longer struggles to practice them because she embodies them effortlessly. This “dominion” reflects a stage of spiritual maturity where grace has so completely transformed her that the virtues are her spontaneous expression. It mirrors how, in mystical union, the soul transcends active striving and enters a state of pure, natural, and divine life where all virtues are fully possessed in God.
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In Chapter 88, the text explores the profound mystery of spiritual motherhood, revealing that all the Virtues are mothers, birthing Holiness as comprehensible by Reason, yet their own mother is a higher Humility born from Divine Majesty itself. This divine Humility transcends the Humility that arises from human practice, situating itself beyond the reach of language and Reason. The soul is called to a radical surrender and stripping away of all striving, desire, and service to achieve true freedom and sufficiency in God. Only in total annihilation by Love and complete reliance on God’s infinite goodness can the soul attain perfect love and union with the divine.
—
1. “I will say, says Love, what Reason would ask if she were still alive. She would ask, says Love, who is the mother of her and of the other Virtues who are of Reason’s generation, and if they are mothers of anyone.”
This opening exchange sets the stage for a profound reflection on the origins of the Virtues and their relationship to Love and Humility. Reason’s curiosity is now voiced by Love, showing that even Reason’s inquiries are ultimately surpassed and fulfilled by Love’s deeper insight.
2. “Yes, says Love herself who answers. All the Virtues are mothers.” / Soul: “Of whom? Of Peace?” / Love: “Of Holiness.”
Here, the dialogue unveils that the Virtues give birth to Holiness, but specifically to the kind of Holiness that is attainable and understandable by Reason. This means there’s a natural, rational Holiness arising from virtue, but it is limited in scope compared to what Love reveals later.
3. “Then who is mother of the Virtues?” / “Humility, says Love. Not that Humility who is Humility through the work of the Virtues, for she is a sister of the same generation of Reason.”
This distinction introduces two forms of Humility: one that is a sister to Reason and the Virtues, stemming from effort and understanding, and another, deeper Humility, who is their mother. This maternal Humility is not achieved through practice but is a pure, divine origin.
4. “This Humility, who is aunt and mother, is daughter of Divine majesty and so is born from Divinity. Deity is her mother and grandmother of her branches, by whom the buds make such great fruitfulness.”
Humility’s ultimate origin is in the divine life itself. It is not just a human achievement but a divine gift, an aspect of God’s own nature. This highlights that true Humility-leading to the highest form of Holiness-is rooted not in human effort but in God’s majesty and creativity.
5. “We are silent about it, for speaking ruins them. This one, that is, Humility, has given the stem and the fruit from these buds, because she is there, close to the peace of this Farnearness who unencumbers her from works, and turns away the speaking, makes dark there the pondering.”
The mystery of divine Humility transcends words and reasoning. Its true depth is accessible only through silence, inner stillness, and a transcendence of rationality. This “Farnearness”-God’s intimate yet inaccessible presence-clears away all striving and makes even speech futile in capturing the mystery.
6. “Whoever serves, he is not free, whoever senses, he has not died, whoever desires, he wills, whoever wills, he begs, whoever begs, he has a lack of divine sufficiency.”
This striking list describes the stages of attachment that prevent the soul from full freedom in Love. True spiritual freedom transcends service, desire, and even spiritual striving. It is a state of sufficiency, where divine grace alone sustains the soul beyond all human lack or need.
7. “But those who are always loyal to her are always overtaken by Love and annihilated through Love, and completely stripped by Love, and so have no care except for Love, in order to suffer and endure torments forever, because [these loyal ones] would be as great as God is great in goodness.”
This is the heart of the teaching: total surrender to Love, even unto annihilation. The soul that is utterly loyal to divine Humility is consumed by Love, freed from every encumbrance, and participates in God’s own life. Such souls are willing to endure infinite suffering for love’s sake, mirroring God’s infinite goodness.
8. “The Soul never loved perfectly who doubted that this would be true.”
Perfect love is absolute and unwavering. It believes fully in the transformative power of divine Humility and Love. To doubt this is to fall short of perfect union, which demands a complete trust in God’s infinite sufficiency and an embrace of annihilation in Love.
—
1. What does Love say Reason would have asked if she were still alive?
Love says that Reason, if she were still alive, would ask who the mother of Reason and the other Virtues is, and whether the Virtues themselves are mothers of anyone. This reflects Reason’s desire to trace origins and relationships within the spiritual order.
2. How does Love respond to the question about the Virtues’ motherhood?
Love reveals that all the Virtues are indeed mothers. When asked “of whom,” Love answers that they give birth to Holiness-but specifically to the kind of Holiness that Reason can grasp. This Holiness is linked to Reason’s comprehension and therefore is limited.
3. What distinction does Love make about Humility?
Love distinguishes between two kinds of Humility. The first is a Humility that comes from the practice of the Virtues-a sister to Reason. The second is a deeper, divine Humility who is the mother of all Virtues. This Humility does not arise from human effort but from Divine majesty itself.
4. What is the origin of this deeper, maternal Humility?
This Humility is described as the daughter of Divine Majesty, born directly from Deity. Thus, her origin is purely divine, making her both mother and aunt to the Virtues and grandmother to the Holiness that they engender. This portrays Humility as a bridge between the divine and the virtuous.
5. Why does the text emphasize silence and wordlessness in the face of this mystery?
The text stresses that the mystery of divine Humility and its generative power transcends language and reason. Attempting to articulate it would only ruin its depth and truth. This silence points to the ineffability of God’s majesty and the soul’s need for stillness and surrender to comprehend it.
6. What does the text say about the spiritual implications of service, desire, and striving?
It states that those who serve are not free, those who sense have not died to self, those who desire and will are still caught in longing, and those who beg reveal a lack of sufficiency. True spiritual freedom and divine sufficiency come only when the soul is completely stripped of these needs and relies solely on God.
7. How are souls who remain loyal to Humility described?
Such souls are overtaken, annihilated, and stripped completely by Love. Their sole concern is Love itself, and they endure torment and suffering willingly, aspiring to match God’s infinite greatness in goodness. This depicts a radical self-offering and identification with divine love.
8. What does the text mean when it says, “The Soul never loved perfectly who doubted that this would be true”?
This closing line affirms that perfect love requires unwavering belief in the transformative power of divine Humility and Love. Doubt diminishes the soul’s capacity for total surrender and annihilation in Love, which is the highest form of spiritual union.
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In Chapter 89, the text teaches that the Soul, through the freeness and nobility given by the Trinity, surrenders her will entirely to God, becoming so absorbed in divine love that she cannot sin unless she deliberately withdraws her will. This complete surrender brings profound peace, akin to the obliviousness of inebriation, where the Soul ceases to care about worldly circumstances and loses all capacity for self-will, whether in poverty or wealth. This state invites every soul seeking perfection to abandon self-will and become a true master over self and creation. The Soul, in this freedom, possesses all things without attachment, revealing that spiritual perfection lies in radical detachment and in a love so complete it transcends reason and calculation.
—
1. “This Soul has given everything through the freeness of the nobility by the work of the Trinity, in which Trinity this Soul plants her will so nakedly that she cannot sin if she does not uproot herself.”
The soul reaches a state of total surrender and union with the Trinity, planting her will so completely in God’s will that sin becomes impossible unless she disrupts this union. This signifies a profound mystical state where self-will is entirely relinquished.
2. “She has nothing to sin with, for without a will no one can sin. Now she is kept from sin if she leaves her will there where it is planted, that is, in the One who has given it to her freely from His goodness.”
The soul’s complete renunciation of her own will leads to a radical incapacity for sin, since sin arises from personal desire or will. Her security in God depends on maintaining this self-emptying stance.
3. “And thus, by His beneficence, He wills the return of His beloved nakedly and freely, without a why for her sake, on account of two things: because He wills it, and because He is worthy of it.”
God’s will is depicted as pure and gratuitous love, drawing the soul to Himself not for her merit but purely because of His own goodness and worthiness. This emphasizes divine generosity as the source of the soul’s transformation.
4. “And before this she had no fertile and restful peace until she was purely stripped of her will.”
True peace for the soul is only found after she surrenders all personal will. The “fertile and restful peace” is the fruit of this surrender, indicating a profound inner liberation and tranquility.
5. “This one, who is such, always resembles one who is inebriated. It does not matter to someone inebriated what happens to him, whether his fortune comes or not.”
The metaphor of inebriation captures the soul’s radical detachment from external circumstances. Like a drunken person unaware of or indifferent to fortune and misfortune, the soul in this state is impervious to worldly changes, fully absorbed in divine love.
6. “And if it did matter to him, he would not be inebriated very well.”
This reinforces that the soul’s indifference to fortune is essential for spiritual “inebriation.” If the soul clings to personal desires or concerns, she has not truly achieved the mystical state of pure surrender.
7. “If this Soul has something to will with, this means that she is poorly planted and that she can still indeed fall if she is assailed by adversity or by prosperity.”
Retaining any vestige of self-will exposes the soul to the danger of falling back into attachment and sin. Perfect union with God requires a total uprooting of self-will.
8. “And this is not all; for she is not nothing if she has something to will with, for her poverty or her wealth are in her willing to give or to retain.”
Spiritual poverty and wealth are not measured by external possessions but by the soul’s internal disposition. True poverty is having no will of one’s own, whereas even possessing the ability to choose to give or keep indicates spiritual “wealth” that contradicts perfect surrender.
9. “I would like to say, says Love, to all those who are asked and called by the desire of their interior life in the works of perfection through the effort of Reason, whether they want to or not, that if they would want to be what they could be, they would come to the stage of which we speak, and they would indeed be lords over themselves, and over heaven and earth.”
Here, Love invites all souls engaged in the pursuit of spiritual perfection to abandon reliance on Reason and embrace pure Love. This surrender makes them “lords over themselves and over heaven and earth”-an image of spiritual mastery and freedom.
10. “This none know how to say, says the Unencumbered Soul, who holds all things without heart, and who possesses all things without heart, and if her heart senses it, she is not this.”
The “Unencumbered Soul” transcends all attachments, holding and possessing nothing with emotional clinging. The moment she becomes aware of her possession, she is no longer truly free. This highlights the paradox of mystical possession: holding everything by being detached from all.
—
1. How does the Soul give everything “through the freeness of the nobility”?
The Soul gives everything not from obligation or compulsion but freely and nobly, inspired by the work of the Trinity. This self-gift arises from complete surrender to divine goodness and is characterized by a radical stripping away of self-will. Because the Trinity has freely given her the capacity for this surrender, the Soul’s return is likewise free, done in love and without any ulterior motive or claim of merit.
2. What does it mean for the Soul to plant her will “so nakedly” in the Trinity?
Planting her will “so nakedly” in the Trinity means the Soul fully immerses her will into God’s will, without reservation or hidden desires. In this state, she has no separate will to act against God’s, making sin impossible unless she uproots herself from this planted state. This signifies an almost total absorption into divine love, where her identity is inseparable from God’s will.
3. Why is the Soul unable to sin when she has no will of her own?
Sin originates from the misuse of personal will. When the Soul’s will is wholly given over to God-“nakedly” and completely-there remains no personal desire or capacity to sin. Her entire being is conformed to divine will, and thus she cannot act against it unless she deliberately pulls herself away, which would mean reintroducing her own will.
4. How does this surrender lead to peace?
Before surrendering her will, the Soul experiences restlessness and dissatisfaction. Only when she is “purely stripped of her will” does she find “fertile and restful peace.” This peace stems from complete detachment from desires, conflicts, and self-centered anxieties. The Soul, resting in God’s will, experiences harmony and stillness.
5. Why is the inebriation metaphor used to describe this Soul?
The Soul’s spiritual state is likened to inebriation because it reflects a detachment from worldly concerns and an absorption in divine love. Just as a drunken person is indifferent to what happens, whether fortune or misfortune, so the Soul in this state is indifferent to external circumstances, fully immersed in the “inebriation” of divine presence and love.
6. What does the text say about the danger of retaining something to will with?
If the Soul retains any personal will-any capacity to choose, desire, or act independently-she risks falling into sin or distraction, especially when confronted by adversity or prosperity. Retaining self-will signifies a lack of total surrender, and thus the Soul remains vulnerable to being pulled away from God’s peace.
7. How is spiritual poverty or wealth described in this chapter?
Spiritual poverty is defined not by material possessions but by the absence of self-will. True poverty is when the Soul has nothing to will with-she neither grasps nor retains anything. Conversely, if the Soul retains any capacity for desire or self-assertion, she is spiritually “wealthy,” which in this context implies a lack of perfect surrender.
8. What invitation does Love extend to those pursuing the works of perfection?
Love invites all souls who seek spiritual perfection-whether they initially desire it or not-to come to this stage of total surrender. Love promises that if they would embrace this stripping away of self-will, they would become “lords over themselves, and over heaven and earth.” This image suggests the soul’s mastery over self and a harmonious participation in the divine order.
9. How does the chapter portray the “Unencumbered Soul”?
The Unencumbered Soul is described as one who “holds all things without heart” and “possesses all things without heart,” indicating radical detachment and inner freedom. If her heart senses ownership or attachment, she is no longer truly unencumbered. This highlights the paradox: true possession comes through detachment, and any awareness of ownership signals a lapse from this spiritual freedom.
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Chapter 90 teaches that spiritual perfection is achieved by renouncing one’s own will and fully embracing the life of the spirit. This involves a disciplined effort to do the opposite of what one’s sensual nature desires, thereby feeding the virtues and allowing the spirit to rule. While this discipline can be challenging, it purifies both soul and body, ultimately leading to peace and lordship over oneself and the world. However, at the highest stage of spiritual union-the state of “Nothingness”-the soul is so united with God that it no longer needs to oppose its own will, because its desires are entirely aligned with divine love. In this stage, peace comes from freely doing what pleases one, since one’s will has become indistinguishable from God’s will.
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1. “I have said, says Love, that whoever fulfills the demand of the interior life of the spirit-if he is called to arrive at a good will… and if he leaves his will completely outside in order to live in the life of spirit, he would come indeed into complete lordship.”
Love explains that true spiritual mastery comes when a soul surrenders self-will entirely. By stepping outside personal desires, one enters the “life of spirit” where God’s will reigns. This surrender leads to lordship, a metaphor for interior sovereignty and union with the divine. Only by renouncing self-directed will can one access this spiritual authority.
2. “But I can tell you, says this Freed Soul, what is necessary before one arrives at it, that one do perfectly the contrary of his own will in feeding the Virtues until they are fat, and restraining oneself without weakening, so that the spirit always has lordship without contradiction.”
The Unencumbered Soul clarifies the path to this spiritual freedom: actively practicing contrary action-feeding virtues while denying one’s natural inclinations. This isn’t passive asceticism but an active training of the soul, strengthening the spirit’s dominion over the body and desires. “Without contradiction” highlights the purity of intention and single-minded focus needed to achieve this.
3. “Ah, my God, says Truth, how ill in the heart would the body become where there was such a spirit?”
Truth’s reflection emphasizes the potential cost of this path. A soul so detached from sensual desires and pleasures may seem at odds with the body’s needs, risking physical suffering or imbalance. Yet this tension between spirit and body is part of the transformative journey.
4. “I dare say, says this Unencumbered Soul, that the kind of will that it is necessary to have in the sad life, that is in the life of the spirit, would destroy in one brief moment the fluids of all illnesses. The ardor of the spirit has such healing powers.”
Here, the Soul asserts that the fiery zeal of the spirit, when fully embraced, not only heals the soul but can even heal the body, purging it of illness. This mystical concept aligns with the idea that a soul wholly consumed by divine love radiates an inner vitality that can overcome physical limitations.
5. “The life of which we have spoken, which we call the life of spirit, cannot have peace unless the body always does the contrary of its own will, that is, that such folk do the contrary of sensuality, or else they would fall into perdition from such a life, if they do not live contrary to their pleasure.”
Love warns that peace of spirit demands an ongoing discipline of the body. Without this, one risks falling from spiritual purity into “perdition,” indicating the soul’s loss of union with God. This insistence on counteracting pleasure reflects the radical asceticism required for maintaining spiritual focus.
6. “Those who are unencumbered do the opposite. For insofar as it is necessary that in the life of the spirit they do the contrary of their own will if they wish not to lose peace, so likewise in an opposite way, the unencumbered ones do everything that pleases them if they wish not to lose peace, since they have arrived in the stage of freeness, that is, since they have fallen from the Virtues into Love, and from Love into Nothingness.”
This final statement introduces the paradox of spiritual freedom. Those who have transcended the need for Virtues (through complete union with Love and the Nothingness of self-annihilation) no longer need to battle their desires. Their will has been so transformed into God’s will that doing what pleases them is not sinful but sanctified. This mystical inversion contrasts the earlier asceticism and shows the culmination of the soul’s journey into divine nothingness.
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1. What does Love say about achieving spiritual lordship?
Love teaches that spiritual lordship is attained when a soul completely leaves behind its own will in order to live entirely in the life of the spirit. This self-emptying and surrender to God’s will enable the soul to experience mastery over itself, where personal desires no longer dictate actions. This renunciation of will is only possible for those called to interior spiritual growth and is a prerequisite for entering this state of spiritual lordship.
2. How does the Unencumbered Soul describe the necessary preparation for spiritual lordship?
The Unencumbered Soul explains that before reaching spiritual lordship, one must practice doing the contrary of one’s own will. This involves actively feeding the virtues (strengthening virtues like humility, patience, charity) and restraining oneself from acting on selfish or sensual desires. Such discipline ensures the spirit maintains its rule over the body and its inclinations, creating a state of harmony and readiness for divine union.
3. Why does Truth express concern about this process?
Truth raises the concern that such rigorous spiritual discipline, which involves denying bodily desires and pleasures, may result in physical strain or illness. This tension between spirit and body highlights the challenge of living a purely spiritual life while still embodied. However, the Unencumbered Soul counters that the intense will required for this life has healing power, suggesting that spiritual zeal can purify not just the soul but even the body.
4. What is the role of the body’s desires in this teaching?
The body’s desires are seen as obstacles to spiritual peace and union with God. In the “life of spirit,” the soul must counteract the body’s inclination toward sensual pleasure to maintain harmony with God’s will. If one fails to live contrary to bodily pleasures, one risks spiritual downfall. Thus, the text advocates a rigorous asceticism where the body’s will is subjected to the spirit’s direction.
5. How do the unencumbered differ from those in the life of the spirit?
While those in the life of the spirit must rigorously oppose their own will and sensual desires to maintain spiritual peace, the unencumbered have transcended this need. They have fallen from Virtues into Love, and from Love into Nothingness, where their will is fully united with God’s will. For them, doing what pleases them is no longer sinful because their desires are entirely aligned with divine will. This represents the highest stage of spiritual freedom and union with God.
6. What is the paradox presented in this chapter?
The paradox is that in the earlier stages of spiritual life, peace comes from opposing one’s own will and bodily desires. However, in the final stage-the unencumbered state-peace is maintained by doing whatever pleases oneself, because the soul’s will has become fully absorbed into God’s will. This inversion highlights the transformation from active struggle (Virtues) to effortless union (Love and Nothingness).
7. How is the concept of “Nothingness” used here?
“Nothingness” represents the soul’s complete self-emptying, where it ceases to assert its own will and becomes entirely receptive to God. This is not mere negation, but a profound union in which the soul’s identity dissolves into divine love. Having “fallen from the Virtues into Love, and from Love into Nothingness” signifies the soul’s journey from disciplined effort to pure surrender and unity with God.
“The Mirror of Simple Souls” by Marguerite Porete – Part 8 of 14
In chapter 71, the Soul reveals that her actions are no longer driven by human effort or will, but entirely by God’s initiative. She neither works for God, herself, nor others, because true work-divine work-is solely God’s doing. This realization leads her into a state of profound detachment and peace, where she is drawn out of herself by a ray of divine understanding and united with God’s being. Her existence and love are absorbed into God’s own life, making her being indistinguishable from the divine “Being.” The text contrasts human labor, which is bound by self-interest and limited understanding, with the ineffable and sovereign work of divine charity, which God alone accomplishes. Ultimately, the Soul teaches that true union with God transcends human effort, resting entirely on surrender and the free movement of divine love.
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1. “This Soul, says Love, does not do any work for God’s sake, nor for her own, nor for her neighbors’ either, as was said above. But God does it, if He wills, [He] who is able to do it. And if He does not will, it does not matter to her one way or the other; she is always in one state.”
This passage underscores the Soul’s complete detachment from the illusion of autonomous action. She recognizes that she herself does nothing for God, for herself, or for others. Instead, everything that is accomplished is done by God’s own will. The Soul’s state is one of absolute surrender and stability; she is no longer moved by human desires or concerns, whether of religious duty, self-interest, or social obligation. Her peace is unshakable, rooted in divine providence rather than personal striving.
2. “Therefore there is in this soul the ray of divine understanding which draws her from herself without herself into an inexpressible divine peace, carried by one elevation of flowing love from the most high Jealous One, who gives sovereign freeness to her in all places.”
Here, the text describes the Soul’s transformation by a direct infusion of divine wisdom. This “ray of divine understanding” transports her beyond herself into the infinite peace of God. The term “without herself” conveys her utter self-emptying, as she no longer operates from ego or self-consciousness. The description of God as the “most high Jealous One” emphasizes His possessive love, which has stripped her of self and claimed her entirely. His love not only elevates her but also liberates her in a supreme and sovereign way.
3. “Jealous? says this Soul. Jealous He is truly! He shows it by His works, which have stripped me of myself completely and have placed me in divine pleasure without myself. And such a union of full peace joins me and conjoins me through the supreme height of the creation with the splendor of divine being, by which I have being which is Being.”
The Soul acknowledges God’s divine jealousy, not in a human, possessive sense, but as a purifying and unifying force. God’s jealousy has freed her from all self-centeredness and placed her in a state of divine ecstasy and peace, where she experiences union with His Being. Her very existence has become one with God’s own life, the “Being which is Being,” echoing the biblical “I AM WHO AM.” The Soul experiences herself as wholly integrated into God’s self-sufficient reality.
4. “When this Soul, says Love, is thus drawn by Him without herself, by God for her sake, this is divine work. A work of charity was never accomplished by a human body. The ones who accomplish such a work could not accomplish it [by themselves].”
This passage draws a clear line between divine and human action. True charity-the pure, perfect love that transforms-is not a product of human effort. It is a divine work, initiated and completed by God alone. The Soul recognizes that no amount of human striving can achieve this level of union and charity; it is a work that transcends human capability. By highlighting this, the text humbles human ambition and elevates the grace of God as the sole source of genuine charity and spiritual transformation.
5. “Grasp carefully, says this Soul, the two meanings of Love, for they are difficult to grasp [for] whoever has the intention of glossing this.”
The Soul hints at a deeper, layered understanding of Love. There is the human understanding of love, tied to duty and works, and the divine Love that is ungraspable and unglossable-a mystery that cannot be fully explained or taught by human means. This serves as a caution against oversimplifying or intellectualizing divine love, urging the reader to enter into the mystery through experience rather than through theory.
6. “The work of a creature (that is, the work done by human effort) cannot be compared to the divine work done by God in the creature by His goodness for the sake of the creature.”
This concluding reflection encapsulates the central teaching: the human soul, no matter how virtuous or zealous, cannot achieve the level of divine charity and transformation by its own efforts. Only God, through His infinite goodness, can accomplish this within the soul. The Soul stands as a living witness to this truth, fully surrendered to God’s action in her, with no trace of pride or self-reliance.
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1. Why does the Soul claim not to do any work for God, herself, or her neighbors?
The Soul claims not to do any work because she recognizes that all true work is done by God alone. She is no longer driven by her own will or sense of duty, but rests in complete surrender to divine action. Whether or not something is accomplished depends entirely on God’s will, not on her efforts.
2. What role does the “ray of divine understanding” play in the Soul’s experience?
The “ray of divine understanding” lifts the Soul out of herself into divine peace. It draws her beyond ego and self-will into the mystery of God’s love, resulting in a state of complete detachment and union with God. This understanding is not of her own making but a gift of God’s grace.
3. Why does the text describe God as “the most high Jealous One”?
God is called “the most high Jealous One” because His love for the Soul is so exclusive and all-consuming that it strips her of all attachments and self-interest. This jealousy is not possessive in a negative sense but represents God’s desire to draw the Soul wholly into Himself, free from any distractions or self-will.
4. What does the Soul mean when she says, “I have being which is Being”?
The Soul expresses that her entire existence has been subsumed into God’s own being, the “Being which is Being” (echoing Exodus 3:14, “I AM WHO AM”). Her life and identity are now fully united with God’s divine existence, beyond any human or creaturely reality.
5. How does the chapter distinguish between human work and divine work?
The chapter emphasizes that human work, no matter how noble, cannot compare to divine work. Divine work is initiated and completed by God alone, and true charity is a result of God’s action in the soul, not of human effort. The Soul’s transformation into love is entirely a work of God’s goodness and grace.
6. Why does the Soul caution against “glossing” the meaning of Love?
The Soul warns that Love has two meanings-one understood by human reasoning and one by divine reality-which are difficult to fully grasp or explain. She cautions that intellectualizing or reducing Love to concepts risks missing its deeper, experiential truth, which can only be known through surrender and union with God.
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In chapter 72, the text contrasts the state of souls bound by willful self-interest, termed “the land of the sad ones,” with the liberated state of spiritual peace and freeness, “the land of freeness.” The soul retains will because it still lives in the spirit, yet it must learn to surrender this will to divine grace. Love explains that the highest spiritual transformation occurs when the body is mortified and the will embraces dishonor, poverty, and tribulations, thus purifying the soul’s conscience, affections, and intellect. Through this transformation, the soul moves from being merely “soul,” which denotes life in grace and obedience to commandments, to fully “spirit,” signifying a complete union with divine love and being. This chapter emphasizes that spiritual maturity involves both renouncing self-will and embracing divine freedom.
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1. “Grasp carefully, says this Soul, the two meanings of Love, for they are beyond the land of the sad ones in the land of freeness filled with peace, where the established ones remain.”
The Soul sets the scene by contrasting two realms: one of sorrow and bondage (“the land of the sad ones”), and the other of divine freedom and peace (“the land of freeness”). This highlights the transformative journey from attachment and suffering to a state of divine liberation, where Love is fully realized. The “two meanings of Love” suggest a deeper mystery that transcends ordinary understanding and invites contemplation.
2. “When the divine Trinity created the angels… those who were evil through their perverse choice gave themselves over to the evil will of Lucifer, who willed to have by his nature what he could not have except by divine grace.”
Love recounts the fall of the angels, underscoring the pivotal role of will. Lucifer’s pride-seeking divinity through his own nature rather than grace-led to loss of being and eternal separation from God. This reinforces the idea that a self-centered will results in spiritual ruin, while surrender to divine grace leads to union with God.
3. “Alas, alas! says Truth. Why, Souls, do you love will so much, since such a loss is accomplished by will?”
Truth laments humanity’s attachment to its own will, emphasizing that it is precisely this clinging to personal desire that leads to separation from God. The exclamation conveys deep sorrow over the self-destructive nature of willfulness, contrasting starkly with the freedom found in surrender to God.
4. “I will tell you, says Love, why the Soul has will: because she still lives in spirit, and the life of spirit is still the will.”
Love clarifies that the Soul retains will because she continues to live within the realm of spirit. This suggests that even in a state of grace, the will remains active, though it must be rightly ordered-directed away from self-interest and aligned with divine love. The will is not inherently evil but must be transformed.
5. “Ah, for God’s sake, Lady Love, says Reason, tell me why you have named this chosen Soul, so beloved by you, ‘soul’ from the beginning of this book… which is a shorter name than the name ‘spirit.'”
Reason raises a profound question about the Soul’s identity, pondering why she is called “soul” rather than “spirit.” This distinction points to the different stages of spiritual growth: “soul” indicates the life of grace (rooted in obedience to commandments), while “spirit” signifies a deeper transformation and union with God, which transcends mere moral adherence.
6. “When the body is completely mortified and the will delights in dishonor, in poverty, and in tribulations, then it is completely spirit, and not otherwise. Therefore such spiritual creatures have purity in conscience, peace in affection, and intellect in reason.”
Love provides the key to becoming “completely spirit”: through radical detachment from bodily comfort and self-interest, embracing suffering, and allowing the will to rest in God’s purposes. This marks the highest stage of spiritual maturity, where the soul becomes wholly spirit, characterized by purity, peace, and divine intellect.
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1. What two “lands” are contrasted in this chapter, and what do they symbolize?
The chapter contrasts “the land of the sad ones” and “the land of freeness filled with peace.” The “land of the sad ones” represents souls who remain bound by their will and live in a state of spiritual sadness or imperfection, while the “land of freeness” symbolizes the realm of peace and spiritual liberty where souls are established in God’s love and grace.
2. Why did Lucifer and some angels lose the beatific vision and fall into hell?
Lucifer and his followers willed to attain by their own nature what could only be received through divine grace. This perverse choice led them to lose their “being from goodness,” resulting in their eternal separation from God and the loss of the vision of Him.
3. According to Love, why does the soul still possess will?
Love explains that the soul possesses will because she still lives in the spirit, and the life of the spirit involves the activity of will. The will remains necessary for spiritual growth and movement toward God, but it must be transformed and purified.
4. Why does Reason ask why the soul is called “soul” and not “spirit,” and what is Love’s response?
Reason questions why the chosen soul is referred to simply as “soul” instead of the higher name “spirit.” Love responds that those who live a life of grace through obedience to God’s commandments are rightly called “soul,” while “spirit” refers to those who have undergone a deeper transformation through complete detachment and mortification of the body and self-will.
5. What does Love say is required for the soul to become completely “spirit”?
Love states that the soul becomes completely spirit when the body is fully mortified and the will delights in dishonor, poverty, and tribulation. Only then does the soul possess purity in conscience, peace in affection, and intellect in reason, fully embodying the life of the spirit.
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Chapter 73’s main teaching centers on the necessity of the complete death of the spirit’s self-will for the soul to enter into perfect union with God. Divine Love explains that as long as the soul clings to its own will-even the spiritual will-it cannot experience the sufficiency of divine life. Only by fully renouncing the self-through what Love calls the death of the spirit-does the soul become an empty vessel ready to be filled with God’s own pleasure. In this state, the soul transcends any concern for honor or dishonor, sin or virtue, surrendering entirely to God’s will and living only for His pleasure. This surrender enables the soul to enter into the paradoxical state of “Farnearness,” where God’s intimate presence is made manifest through His divine election and grace.
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1. “Ah, for the sake of God, says Reason, Lady Love, I pray that you tell me why the spirit must die before one loses the will.”
Reason’s plea highlights a deep question: why must the spirit undergo a form of death before the will can be relinquished? This sets up the entire chapter’s focus on the spiritual necessity of dying to self-will before divine sufficiency can be received.
2. “Because, says Love, the spirit is completely filled with spiritual will, and no one can live the divine life as long as he has will, neither can he have sufficiency unless he has lost the will.”
Love explains that the human spirit is by nature consumed with its own spiritual will, even when this will seems noble. True divine life is impossible without losing this self-generated will. The surrender of will is a precondition for receiving divine sufficiency.
3. “When the spirit is perfectly dead, then he has lost the sense of his love and killed the will which gives life to [this sense], and in this loss the will is perfectly filled by the sufficiency of divine pleasure.”
This passage teaches that spiritual death involves losing even the sense of personal love and will. Paradoxically, this loss creates the space for divine sufficiency and supreme spiritual life to take root. It’s a dying that leads to a higher, unencumbered, glorious existence.
4. “No one is my beloved, says Divine Love, who fears to lose or to gain, but only the one who loves for the sake of my pleasure; for otherwise she would be for her own sake, and not for my sake and with me.”
Divine Love asserts that true love for God must be utterly disinterested in personal loss or gain. The soul’s desire must be wholly for God’s sake, not for her own benefit. This challenges even seemingly virtuous motives, urging total abandonment to God’s pleasure.
5. “And if she had committed as many sins as the whole world ever did, and as many good deeds as all those who are in paradise…such a Soul…would have neither dishonor nor honor for her own sake, nor the will to hide or conceal her evils.”
Here we see the radical humility of the soul in divine love. Even if her sins or good deeds were exposed to all, she would feel no dishonor or pride. This state reflects complete detachment from self-concern and a profound trust in God’s will.
6. “They leave it to the concern of their Master, who hides or shows their sins according to His will. And in this way these Souls…behave, [those] who are vessels by such election.”
This passage underlines the soul’s utter surrender to God’s will regarding her reputation and destiny. The “Farnearness” (a beautiful paradox of proximity and distance) symbolizes the divine intimacy that accompanies this complete surrender, where the soul’s self-effacement becomes the vessel of divine life.
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1. Why does Love say that the spirit must die before one can lose the will?
Because the spirit is filled with spiritual will, and no one can live the divine life as long as they cling to their own will. When the spirit dies-meaning it gives up this self-will-it creates the emptiness necessary to be filled by the sufficiency of divine pleasure. This death to the will leads to the birth of the supreme, unencumbered, and glorious life in God.
2. How does Divine Love describe the kind of soul that is fit to be in union with Him?
Divine Love describes this soul as one who loves only for God’s pleasure, without seeking gain or fearing loss. This soul is not motivated by self-interest but is entirely given over to God’s will, whether that involves personal honor or dishonor.
3. What does Love say about the soul’s attitude toward her sins and virtues?
Love explains that even if the soul had committed all the sins of the world or performed all possible good deeds, she would neither feel dishonor nor pride for her own sake. She would have no desire to hide her faults or show her virtues because she lives entirely for God’s sake and not her own. Her sins and virtues are left to God’s discretion.
4. How does Truth describe the souls who reach this state of complete surrender?
Truth says that such souls leave everything-whether the revelation or concealment of their sins-to their Master’s will. These souls are described as vessels chosen by God’s election, living in a state called the “Farnearness,” where God’s intimate presence makes them open to His noble gift of grace.
5. What is meant by the “Farnearness” mentioned at the end of the chapter?
“Farnearness” is a paradox expressing the soul’s deep connection to God. It suggests that though God seems distant in His transcendence, He is intimately present in the soul’s complete surrender. This term captures the mystery of divine union in which the soul, by losing itself, is brought into intimate nearness with God.
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In chapter 74, Love reveals the true and exalted identity of the soul, which far surpasses the simple name “soul” often used to describe her. While this simple name serves as a point of entry for Reason’s limited understanding, the soul’s true nature is deeply noble, characterized by purity, celestial grandeur, and profound peace. She is a “spouse of peace,” united with divine love in a secure, impregnable place where no intermediary disturbs her communion with God. From her humble position in the “valley,” she perceives both her own lowliness and God’s greatness. This union with divine love nourishes and fortifies her in the glorious land where her Beloved dwells. In contrast, Love highlights that souls preoccupied with worldly cares, like Martha, remain distracted and unable to access this life of profound peace and union with God.
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1. “Reason, says Love, on account of your rudeness I have named her many times by her surname.”
Love gently chastises Reason for its limited understanding, explaining that her use of the term “soul” is a concession to Reason’s rough and incomplete grasp of deeper realities. Love suggests that Reason can only approach these profound mysteries through simple categories and labels, such as “soul,” which only hint at the soul’s true dignity.
2. “Her right name is perfectly noble. She has the name ‘pure,’ ‘celestial,’ and ‘spouse of peace.'”
Love reveals the deeper identity of this soul, whose true nature transcends the simplistic label “soul.” These noble names-“pure,” “celestial,” and “spouse of peace”-express the soul’s intimate union with God, her participation in divine purity and heavenly life, and her role as the beloved of peace.
3. “For she is seated in the bottom of the valley, from which she sees the height of the mountain, and from which she sees the mountain from the height as well.”
This paradoxical image portrays the soul’s simultaneous humility and exaltation. By being “seated in the bottom of the valley,” she achieves a vantage point where she can perceive the divine heights of God, and from those heights, she perceives the depths of her own humility. The soul’s identity is marked by this reciprocal vision.
4. “No intermediary can penetrate her. And for security the wise man places his treasure there, that is, the gift of unity of divine love.”
This statement emphasizes the soul’s impenetrable union with God-no created thing can intrude into this secret chamber of divine intimacy. Love describes this space as a secure treasure-house where divine love’s unity is entrusted to the soul. This highlights her role as a vessel uniquely chosen to bear the fullness of God’s love.
4. “This is the nourishment of my chosen bride; this is ‘Mary of peace,’ and so she is ‘married by peace,’ because Fine Love makes her peaceful in this land.”
The soul is likened to “Mary of peace,” a symbol of divine union and tranquility. The phrase “married by peace” suggests that the soul has entered into a spiritual marriage with God, characterized by peace and nourished by divine love. This sets her apart from souls like “Martha,” who remain distracted by earthly cares and cannot partake of this sublime life.
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1. Why does Love call this Soul by such a small name as “soul”?
Love explains that the name “soul” is used because Reason’s understanding is too rough and limited to grasp the soul’s true nobility. The simple name serves as a gloss or category that helps Reason begin to approach the deeper reality, though the soul’s real identity is far more exalted.
2. What are the more fitting names that describe the soul’s true nature?
The soul is called “pure,” “celestial,” and “spouse of peace,” highlighting her perfect purity, her participation in the heavenly life, and her intimate union with divine peace and love.
3. How does the soul’s position in the valley relate to her spiritual vision?
The soul’s humility, represented by her position “in the bottom of the valley,” allows her to see both the height of the mountain (God’s grandeur) and from the mountain the depth of her own lowliness. This reciprocal vision emphasizes her grounded yet exalted state.
4. What does Love say about the soul’s security and the treasure she holds?
Love describes the soul’s secure state where no intermediary can penetrate her. The wise one (God) places the “treasure” of divine love’s unity in her, making her the dwelling of this priceless spiritual gift.
5. How does Love contrast the soul’s peaceful life with that of Martha?
Love explains that the soul enjoys a life of divine peace because of her union with Love, while Martha, symbolizing an active and distracted soul, remains troubled and distant from such a life. Martha’s cares and preoccupations prevent her from entering into this profound spiritual marriage.
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Chapter 75 teaches that the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration reveals the soul’s journey into divine mysteries. Only a few, the specially chosen and spiritually prepared, are granted the grace to witness the brilliance of divine truth. The mountain signifies the soul’s elevation above worldly distractions, and the command to remain silent points to the need for humility and secrecy to prevent spiritual pride. Those who genuinely possess divine insight have no desire to hide or display it, as they are detached from personal ambition and wholly devoted to God. Through this, the Soul emphasizes that divine illumination is reserved for those who are pure, humble, and fully open to God’s will.
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1. “We perceive, they say, that Jesus Christ was transfigured on Mount Tabor, where there were only three of his disciples. He told them that they must neither speak about it nor say anything about it until His resurrection.”
The Soul recounts the familiar Gospel story of the Transfiguration, where Jesus revealed His divine glory to Peter, James, and John, instructing them not to disclose this vision until after His resurrection. This historical event becomes a spiritual exemplar, emphasizing both the exclusivity of divine revelations and the necessity of discretion in sharing them.
2. “Ah, sheep! says this Soul, how your intellect is bestial! You leave the kernel and take the chaff.”
The Soul criticizes those who focus on superficial interpretations of divine mysteries. These people interpret Christ’s command to conceal the Transfiguration as a justification for their own secrecy and prideful concealment, missing the deeper spiritual lesson. The Soul contrasts this with the true spiritual understanding, showing how the bestial intellect clings to appearances rather than essence.
3. “He did it so that you might know that few folk will see the brightness of His transfiguration, and that He shows this only to His special friends, and for this reason there were only three.”
The Soul reveals that the limitation of witnesses at the Transfiguration signifies that God’s deepest revelations are reserved for those specially prepared or chosen, the “special friends” of God. The number three symbolizes the rarity and selectiveness of such divine illumination, available only to those in intimate friendship with Him.
4. “This was in demonstrating and in signifying that no one can see the divine things as long as he mixes himself or mingles with temporal things, that is, with anything less than God.”
The mountain setting of the Transfiguration serves as a metaphor for the elevation of the soul above temporal distractions. Only those who detach themselves from earthly concerns can ascend to the clarity and brilliance of divine mysteries. The mountain thus represents the spiritual ascent needed for vision and understanding.
5. “This was to demonstrate that you cannot say a word about the divine secrets lest you take vainglory from them.”
The instruction to maintain silence about the vision until after the resurrection highlights the danger of spiritual pride and vainglory. Sharing divine secrets for personal prestige corrupts their purity. True spiritual humility refrains from seeking recognition, leaving the timing and revelation of such secrets to God’s will.
6. “For thus I swear to you, says this Soul, that whoever has something to conceal or hide, he has something to show; but whoever has nothing to show, he has nothing to hide.”
This paradoxical statement uncovers a profound truth: those who possess genuine divine experiences do not need to hide them, for they are humble and without pride. In contrast, those who hide or conceal likely have something to prove or show off, driven by their own ego rather than by God. The truly illuminated soul is transparent, open, and has no need for concealment.
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1. Why were only three disciples present at the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor?
The Soul explains that the three disciples symbolize how few people are granted the privilege to witness divine mysteries. The Transfiguration was shown only to Christ’s “special friends,” demonstrating that such deep revelations are reserved for those specially chosen or prepared by God.
2. Why was the Transfiguration revealed on a mountain?
The mountain signifies the necessity of spiritual elevation and detachment from worldly distractions. Only those who rise above temporal concerns-who separate themselves from anything less than God-can perceive the divine mysteries. The height of the mountain represents the soul’s ascent to purity and clarity.
3. Why did Jesus command His disciples to remain silent about the Transfiguration until after His resurrection?
This command highlights the danger of pride and vainglory. Speaking of divine secrets too soon could lead to self-exaltation and misuse of spiritual gifts. Silence preserves the humility and integrity of the experience, ensuring that glory is given to God alone, not to human ambition.
4. How does the Soul criticize those who conceal their spiritual experiences?
The Soul points out that those who hide or conceal something often do so because they desire to show or prove something later, driven by ego. In contrast, the truly illuminated soul, who has nothing to prove, has nothing to hide. This soul’s humility and transparency reveal a detachment from self-interest.
5. What deeper meaning does the Soul draw from the Transfiguration story?
The Soul interprets the Transfiguration as an allegory of the soul’s ascent to divine knowledge, showing that only those free from earthly attachments and personal ambition are granted this vision. It also teaches the importance of humility and silence in the face of divine revelation, allowing God to reveal what He wills, when He wills.
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In Chapter 76, the Soul explains that those who are truly transformed by divine love, such as Mary Magdalene, Saint Peter, and Saint John the Evangelist, have no concern for worldly shame or honor. Mary Magdalene’s sins were publicly known, yet her love for God and the Lord’s praise made her indifferent to human judgments. Similarly, Peter and John’s moments of failure did not prevent them from being instruments of God’s miraculous works and revelations. The Soul teaches that once a person is overtaken by divine grace, personal failings lose their sting, and one’s reputation, whether good or bad, becomes irrelevant. God’s actions through the soul-whether seen or hidden-are His alone, and the mature soul no longer seeks to hide its past nor claim honor for divine works. This chapter emphasizes spiritual freedom from human opinions, centering on God’s transformative love.
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1. “Ah, for the sake of God, behold the repentant sinner. She had no dishonor because of what Jesus Christ said to her, that she had chosen the better part and the most sure, and, what is greater, that it would never be taken from her.”
This introduces Mary Magdalene as a model of the soul completely detached from worldly shame and concerns. Her recognition by Jesus signifies that repentance and divine love transcend earthly judgment. The “better part” she chose is pure devotion to Christ, an irrevocable spiritual union untouched by public opinion.
2. “She had no dishonor from the fact that her sins might be made known before all people, through the witness of the Gospel itself, which says, in the hearing of all, that God delivered seven enemies from her.”
Here, Love teaches that even public acknowledgment of sin-symbolized by the “seven enemies”-cannot shame the soul who is truly forgiven and transformed. This suggests that spiritual identity and divine union are not marred by one’s past, as long as one stands in God’s grace.
3. “What dishonor would Saint Peter have, since God resuscitated the dead in his shadow even after he denied God three times?”
Peter’s denial, a public and grave failing, did not ultimately disqualify him from God’s favor or miraculous power. This illustrates that divine election and grace operate beyond human failings, and that the soul’s true worth is found in God’s purpose, not in its past.
4. “What shame and what glory did Saint John the Evangelist have, since God wrote through him the true apocalypse even after he had fled from the capture by which Jesus Christ was taken?”
John’s moment of fear and flight contrasts with his later role as the seer of Revelation, showing that God’s working through a soul is not hindered by past failures. This affirms the soul’s detachment from the human preoccupation with honor or shame.
5. “I maintain, says this Soul, that he and the others had neither dishonor from this nor honor, nor the wish to hide or conceal themselves, and that it is of no concern to them that God might accomplish something through them, and for their sake and for the people, since it would be a divine work.”
The Soul declares that once the ego is dead, the soul has no attachment to either shame or honor. The focus shifts entirely to God’s will and action, rendering human judgments irrelevant. Divine work transcends personal reputation, and humility allows the soul to become a pure vessel.
6. “These examples are sufficient for those who have intellect to grasp what remains to be said. This book is not written for the others.”
This final assertion emphasizes that the text is intended for those spiritually mature enough to comprehend this radical teaching of self-abandonment and divine sufficiency. The soul’s union with God leads to complete indifference toward personal gain or loss, as the divine work speaks for itself.
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1. Why does the Soul claim that the repentant sinner (Mary Magdalene) has no dishonor?
The Soul explains that Mary Magdalene’s repentance and devotion to Jesus bring her no dishonor, despite her sins being publicly known through the Gospel, which recounts how she was freed from seven demons. Instead, Jesus praised her by saying she had “chosen the better part,” a path of loving union with God that no one could take from her. Her complete surrender to divine love makes her indifferent to human judgment. She cares for nothing but God, which lifts her above shame and worldly perceptions. Her story demonstrates that divine grace transforms even public sinfulness into a testimony of God’s mercy.
2. How does the Soul use the example of Saint Peter to illustrate the teaching?
The Soul points to Saint Peter, who denied Jesus three times-a public and grave failure. Yet God worked miracles through him afterward, including raising the dead by his mere shadow. This indicates that Peter’s earlier denial did not leave a stain of dishonor on his soul; rather, his repentance and restored love allowed him to become a conduit of divine power. Peter’s example shows that one’s sins, when repented of and forgiven, cannot limit God’s grace or reduce the soul’s dignity in His eyes.
3. What does the Soul say about Saint John the Evangelist’s moment of weakness?
The Soul recalls that Saint John fled when Jesus was captured-a moment of weakness and fear. However, this did not stop God from choosing him as the writer of the Apocalypse, the revelation of divine mysteries. This demonstrates that even after personal failure, the soul can be entrusted with profound divine truths and missions. John’s weakness did not cause lasting dishonor, nor did his later spiritual responsibility bring him vainglory. His story teaches that honor and shame are irrelevant in the face of God’s purposes.
4. What is the Soul’s overall attitude toward honor and shame?
The Soul expresses a complete indifference to human judgments of honor and shame. It neither claims personal honor for what God accomplishes through it nor feels shame for its past failings. The Soul insists that the works are purely divine and should not be attributed to human merit. It teaches that spiritual maturity involves transcending concern for personal reputation, recognizing that both failures and successes are caught up in God’s providence and mercy.
5. What point does the Soul make by saying the book is “not written for the others”?
By stating that the book is “not written for the others,” the Soul acknowledges that this teaching is for those with the spiritual capacity and intellect to grasp the deeper truths of divine love and humility. The message-that human honor and shame are irrelevant and that true transformation comes through surrender to God-is profound and requires a mature spiritual perspective. This comment serves as a boundary, marking the text as guidance for those willing to move beyond superficial understandings of sin and virtue.
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The main teaching of Chapter 77 of The Mirror of Simple Souls reveals that God’s gifts and love are limitless, always available and ever-flowing for those ready to receive them. Love’s generosity cannot be diminished, but the soul’s capacity to receive depends on its readiness and willingness to respond to divine calls. When Love calls through messengers-virtues, graces, and inner promptings-the soul must not refuse, or it risks remaining burdened and self-enclosed, deprived of the spiritual freedom Love offers. This chapter emphasizes vigilance, humility, and surrender, illustrating that refusal of divine invitations leads to spiritual stagnation, while obedient and receptive souls are drawn into deeper union with God’s unbounded goodness.
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1. Soul: “Ah, for the sake of God! says this Soul. Since God has accomplished this grace for them, is [grace] still as large for giving as it was? Has He now set end and limit to the gifts of His goodness?”
The Soul poses a profound question: Does God’s generosity ever run dry? It reflects the human tendency to wonder whether God’s love and grace are limited. This question sets the stage for Love’s response, highlighting that divine generosity knows no bounds and that God’s gifts are inexhaustible for those willing to receive them.
2. Courtesy: “Without fail, not at all, says Courtesy, His divine goodness could not suffer it. He retains what He also gives, that is, the great gifts which He has to give are the same things which were never given, nor spoken by a mouth, nor pondered by a heart, if one might desire or know how to dispose oneself.”
Courtesy emphasizes that God’s gifts are limitless and eternal. The “great gifts” of divine love are so profound that they transcend human comprehension and expression. The divine generosity is not confined by human understanding or desire but is always greater than we can imagine.
3. Soul: ” …if Love asks of them something of what she has furnished them, that they not refuse her because of anything which might happen, at whatever hour it be, nor because of any Virtue which Love sends to be the messenger.”
Here the Soul warns those still on the journey to be ready and willing to respond when Love calls. Divine Love sends messengers-virtues and graces-that ask the soul to surrender further. The refusal of these calls leads to spiritual stagnation and inner turmoil.
4. Love: “No one knows it, says Love, except me, I alone. I sent you Thrones to purify you and adorn you, the Cherubim to illumine you, the Seraphim to enflame you … And I swear, says Love, I leave you in your own blind protection in saving yourselves.”
Love reveals that divine messengers-symbolized by Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim-are constantly sent to the soul to purify, enlighten, and inflame it with divine love. However, if the soul refuses these graces, Love allows it to struggle in its own blindness, trapped in self-reliance and encumbrance. This passage echoes the idea that divine grace must be met with human receptivity.
5. Love: “Ah Soul, says Love, how you are encumbered with yourself!”
Love laments the soul’s self-imposed burdens. This line captures the heart of the chapter: the soul’s resistance, fear, and attachment to self hinder it from freely receiving and cooperating with divine love. Encumbered by ego and self-protection, the soul blocks the very graces that would free it.
6. Soul: “Truly, says this Soul, my body is feeble and my soul is fearful. For often I am burdened, whether I want to be or not, with these two natures, which the unencumbered neither have, nor are able to have.”
The Soul acknowledges its struggle with bodily weakness and spiritual fear. This tension between divine calling and human frailty creates an inner conflict that prevents complete surrender. The Soul contrasts its experience with that of the “unencumbered,” those who have transcended self and live freely in divine love.
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1. Why does the Soul ask if God has set a limit to His gifts?
The Soul, reflecting on God’s abundant grace given to those fully surrendered to Him, wonders whether this generosity has any bounds. The question arises from the soul’s awareness of its own limitations and its desire to know whether God’s outpouring of goodness ever diminishes. This expresses a deep longing for reassurance that divine love and grace are infinite and continuous for those who are receptive.
2. How does Courtesy respond to the Soul’s question about the limits of God’s gifts?
Courtesy firmly assures the Soul that God’s goodness knows no limits. Divine generosity retains what it gives-meaning that God’s gifts are never exhausted but continually offered. Courtesy emphasizes that the gifts are so immense they transcend human comprehension, never having been “spoken by a mouth nor pondered by a heart.” In essence, God’s capacity to give remains infinite, conditioned only by human readiness to receive.
3. What warning does the Soul offer to those still journeying toward God?
The Soul warns those who are still “not in being” (not yet fully transformed) to be vigilant and ready to respond when Love calls. Love sends messengers-virtues and graces-that may ask for sacrifices or deeper surrender. If these calls are ignored, the soul risks spiritual stagnation, confusion, and encumbrance. The warning underlines the importance of attentiveness and responsiveness to divine invitations, regardless of personal fear or obstacles.
4. What imagery does Love use to describe how she calls the Soul?
Love describes sending the Thrones to purify and adorn, the Cherubim to illumine, and the Seraphim to enflame the Soul. These images evoke the grandeur and layered nature of divine calling. Love explains that these messengers come to communicate her will and call the soul to higher stages of being. However, Love also laments that the soul has ignored these messengers and remains self-absorbed and spiritually burdened.
5. Why does Love say that she leaves the Soul in its “own blind protection”?
Love explains that despite sending messengers and graces to help free the soul, the soul’s refusal to obey and respond has left it trapped in self-reliance and blindness. Love respects the soul’s free will, but this leaves the soul encumbered and in a state of spiritual heaviness. The phrase “blind protection” highlights the soul’s false sense of safety in its self-centeredness, which ultimately prevents it from attaining the freeness Love desires to give.
6. What contrast does the Soul draw between itself and the “unencumbered”?
The Soul acknowledges its own frailty, burdened by both body and soul, in contrast to the unencumbered who are free from such constraints. This contrast emphasizes the difference between souls still struggling with attachments and fears, and those who have fully surrendered to divine love and live in a state of spiritual freedom. The “unencumbered” experience a lightness and peace that the struggling soul has not yet attained.
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In Chapter 78 of The Mirror of Simple Souls, Love reveals the tragic condition of souls who, despite being invited by divine Love through the Virtues, refuse to surrender their self-will and embrace the teachings of perfection. These souls remain entangled in themselves, encumbered both in body and spirit, because they resist the freeing guidance of Love and remain focused on their own efforts rather than divine surrender. True freedom, both physical and spiritual, is offered through simple obedience to Love’s counsel and the Virtues’ guidance, but those who cling to self-driven striving, no matter how ardent, remain trapped in self-centered servitude. Only those illuminated by the “true Sun” and who yield fully to God’s will achieve the “annihilation” of self that leads to divine delight and ultimate freedom.
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1. “Ah, Soul enchained, says Love, how you have such pain and so little gain! And all because you have not obeyed the teachings of perfection, about which I disputed with you in order to unencumber you in the flower of your youth.”
Love laments the soul’s stubbornness in refusing the call to perfection. The soul’s suffering, paired with minimal spiritual progress, is portrayed as a direct result of resisting the transformative teachings offered by Love. This reflects the consequences of missed opportunities for surrender and spiritual freedom.
2. “Nevertheless, you have never willed to change, and you have not willed to do anything. Instead you always refused my calls about what I would have you know through such noble messengers, as you have heard before. Such folk, says Love, live encumbered with themselves until they die.”
Here, Love highlights the soul’s persistent refusal to heed divine messengers (Virtues, interior inspirations), which leads to a lifelong entrapment in the self. This shows how the refusal of divine will results in a self-imposed spiritual bondage, persisting until death.
3. “Ah, without fail, says Love, if they would will it, they could be delivered from that to which they are and will be in great servitude for so little profit, from which, if they had willed it, they might have been delivered in return for so small a thing.”
Love reveals that liberation from self-encumbrance is accessible, and the cost-complete surrender to God’s will-is small compared to the weight of persistent servitude to the self. This points to God’s readiness to free souls if only they would yield.
4. “I say, says Love, they could be completely free both in soul and in body if they had followed my counsel by the Virtues, who tell them my will… And because they would not do it, they are all living, as you heard, with themselves.”
This underscores the role of the Virtues as channels of God’s will. The soul’s failure to obey these promptings keeps it trapped in a narrow, self-focused existence. Love contrasts this with the potential for total freedom through obedience.
5. “The annihilated free ones, adorned by delights, know this, for they see through themselves the servitude of the others. Because the true Sun shines in their illumination, they see the little specks in the rays of the Sun by means of the splendor of the Sun and of the rays.”
Here, Love contrasts the “free ones”-souls fully surrendered to God’s love-with those still encumbered by themselves. The image of the “true Sun” illuminating hidden flaws symbolizes how divine light exposes imperfections, while also empowering and freeing those who surrender.
6. “For the true Sun of Justice never healed any soul without healing the body when He did His miracles on earth. And often still it is so, but He does not do this for anyone who has no faith in Him.”
This shows the intimate link between faith, healing, and liberation. Divine justice and love heal not only the soul but also the body, but only in those open to trust and surrender. This reinforces the need for faith and willingness.
7. “I have said, says Love, that those with whom I disputed through their interior life concerning obedience to the Virtues and who did nothing… will live encumbered with themselves until they die.”
Love reiterates the fate of the disobedient souls: a lifelong burden of self-centeredness, resulting from their refusal to heed the Virtues. This starkly contrasts with the promised freedom for those who cooperate with divine will.
8. “And again I say that even if they drive themselves each day with themselves to enlarge upon the perfection of the apostles by the effort of the will, they will not be unencumbered from themselves… for rudeness and the disputes about the interior life do not give deliverance.”
Love warns that external efforts, no matter how fervent, are futile without inner surrender and the “fiery ardor” of the interior life. Mere willpower and harsh self-discipline, disconnected from divine inspiration, cannot free the soul.
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1. What does Love accuse the soul of at the beginning of the chapter?
Love accuses the soul of being “enchained” and suffering greatly with little spiritual gain because it refused to obey the teachings of perfection. Love points out that this disobedience resulted in the soul’s being encumbered with itself throughout life.
2. How does Love explain the soul’s resistance to the teachings of perfection?
Love explains that despite noble messengers and repeated divine invitations through the Virtues, the soul persistently refused to change and refused Love’s calls, choosing instead to remain attached to self-will and self-focus.
3. According to Love, what is the result of ignoring the Virtues and Love’s counsel?
The result is that such souls remain trapped in servitude to themselves, encumbered by self-centeredness and spiritual blindness. This state persists throughout life, leaving them weighed down in both body and soul.
4. How does Love describe the possibility of deliverance for these souls?
Love emphasizes that deliverance is possible and could be achieved for “so small a thing”-that is, by surrendering fully to God’s will, as shown through the Virtues. This surrender brings both spiritual and bodily freedom, but the soul must will it.
5. What is the contrast between the encumbered souls and the “annihilated free ones”?
The “annihilated free ones” are those who have surrendered fully to God and live adorned by divine delights. They are illuminated by the “true Sun,” seeing both their own flaws and the servitude of those still trapped in themselves. In contrast, the encumbered souls remain self-focused and blind to divine freedom.
6. How does the “true Sun” (Christ) function in this chapter’s imagery?
The “true Sun” represents Christ, whose illumination reveals imperfections (symbolized by “little specks in the rays”) and brings healing and strength. Love highlights that Christ’s healing extends to both soul and body but requires faith and surrender.
7. Why does Love insist that even effortful striving cannot deliver the encumbered souls?
Love warns that external efforts, even if they mimic the perfection of the apostles, will not deliver souls if they are driven by self-will rather than divine inspiration. Without the “whirling fiery ardor” of interior love and surrender, all such striving remains self-focused and futile.
8. What is the overall warning that Love gives in this chapter?
The warning is that souls who resist Love’s invitations and refuse to obey the Virtues will live and die encumbered with themselves. Deliverance is possible but requires humble surrender, and without it, no amount of personal effort or discipline will bring true freedom.
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In Chapter 79, the Unencumbered Soul advises those pursuing perfection to remain attentive to the ardent calls of the spirit’s will, as this path leads to union with the “Freeness of Willing Nothing,” where the soul is fully satisfied in God’s presence. Love emphasizes that this life serves as a preparatory servant for the soul’s divine union, and that those who align their judgments and desires perfectly with the spirit’s prompting will attain proximity to the divine being. The text underscores that true spiritual love requires detachment from worldly and bodily attachments, mirroring the humility and purity of Jesus Christ, and highlights the example of John the Baptist as one who embodied this unencumbered strength. Ultimately, Love is revealed not as a destroyer but as a nurturing and deeply satisfying presence, sustaining those faithful to her in their spiritual journey.
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1. “Therefore I say, says this Unencumbered Soul, to all those who live in the effort of the life of perfection, that they take care that they do not refuse the calls of the ardor of the desire of the will of the spirit, that they hold dearly to the attaining of the better thing after this life which one calls the sad life and the life of the spirit.”
The Unencumbered Soul urges those on the path of perfection to be vigilant and responsive to the deep desires of the spirit’s will. This highlights the importance of recognizing and following divine inspiration, which propels the soul beyond the limitations of this temporal, “sad” life into spiritual fulfillment. It emphasizes an active openness and cooperation with the calls of grace.
2. “This life is the handmaid and servant who prepares the place for the arrival and lodging of the great being of the Freeness of Willing Nothing, by which the Soul is in all points satisfied. That is, [the Soul is satisfied] by this nothingness which gives all things. For the one who gives all, possesses all, and not otherwise.”
Love reveals that earthly life serves as preparation for the soul’s eventual union with the state of “Freeness of Willing Nothing,” a radical detachment that paradoxically satisfies all desires. By surrendering everything-including self-will and attachments-the soul becomes truly fulfilled. This echoes a central theme of The Mirror: divine fullness is attained only through self-emptying.
3. “Ah, again, says this Soul, I would say to those who are sad that the one who guards the peace and satisfies perfectly the will of the ardor of desire piercing the work of his spirit… such a one will attain, as the rightful heir, worthy proximity to this being of which we speak.”
The Unencumbered Soul counsels that inner peace, combined with an unwavering commitment to divine will, leads to spiritual inheritance. Those who align their entire being with the ardor of the spirit’s desire are drawn into the very presence of the divine. This offers a path from spiritual sadness to joyful proximity with God.
4. “She has no emptiness in her which would not be completely filled by me, which is why she cannot host either care or memory, and so she possesses no semblance of them. And yet, says Love, piety and courtesy are not departed from such a Soul, as long as there is time and place.”
Love describes the soul’s transformation into a vessel entirely filled with divine presence, leaving no room for worldly concerns or anxieties. Yet this fullness does not breed indifference; rather, the soul retains gentleness, compassion, and appropriate social grace. This reflects a delicate balance between total detachment and gracious engagement with the world.
5. “And whoever would be courteous would never love except what he ought. One never loves the Humanity who loves temporality. One never loves divinely who loves something corporally.”
This teaching connects courtesy with the proper ordering of love. True courtesy springs from divine love, which cannot coexist with attachment to temporal, bodily things. The text insists on purity of affection: only those free from worldly attachments can fully love Christ’s humanity and divinity, with a clear hierarchy of love centered on God.
6. “Ah, says Reason, how strong such souls are shows in the Baptizer!”
Reason highlights the example of John the Baptist as a model of the strong, unencumbered soul. This evokes an ideal of prophetic strength, unwavering loyalty to divine will, and a life dedicated to spiritual truth. It affirms that detachment from self and the world cultivates a strength exemplified by such holy figures.
7. “Love does not destroy but instead instructs and nourishes and sustains those who pledge faithful loyalty to her, for she is satisfying and deep and a richly flowing sea.”
This closing insight underscores the nurturing aspect of divine Love. Far from annihilating the soul’s essence, Love enriches and sustains it in profound ways. Love’s depth and abundance provide both strength and fulfillment to those who faithfully follow her call, suggesting an image of divine care and inexhaustible grace.
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1. What does the Unencumbered Soul advise those striving for perfection?
The Unencumbered Soul advises all those pursuing a life of perfection to remain open and responsive to the calls of the spirit’s will. It warns against refusing these calls, emphasizing that true spiritual progress requires surrender to the ardent desire of the spirit. This receptivity leads them toward “the better thing” – union with God beyond this earthly, sorrowful existence. The soul’s progress depends on aligning its will with the divine will, which prepares it for complete fulfillment in the “Freeness of Willing Nothing,” where it receives everything from God.
2. How does Love describe the purpose of earthly life in relation to the soul’s perfection?
Love presents earthly life as a “handmaid and servant” that prepares the soul for union with God. This life is not an end but a necessary stage, meant to ready the soul for the arrival of the divine presence – the Freeness of Willing Nothing. This “nothingness” paradoxically grants the soul everything, as total surrender and detachment from self enable complete possession of God. Love stresses that one who gives all (including self-will) gains all, revealing the transformative paradox at the heart of spiritual perfection.
3. What is the connection between piety, courtesy, and the perfect soul?
The text teaches that piety and courtesy are integral to the soul’s perfection and must never be abandoned. Even the most glorified soul, such as Jesus Christ’s human soul, maintained perfect piety and courtesy, serving as an example for all. This means that even in advanced spiritual stages, humility, kindness, and proper regard for others remain essential virtues. A soul truly united with God retains these virtues, as they reflect the Divine nature itself and ensure the soul’s love is rightly ordered.
4. How does Love warn against the danger of attachment to the body or temporal things?
Love cautions that one cannot truly love God while remaining attached to corporeal or temporal things. Those who focus on the material or bodily realm will not experience divine love, as they remain entangled in what passes away. True spiritual love requires transcending the physical and detaching from the ego. The text highlights that those who love temporal things cannot love God in His fullness, and those who love Divinity deeply will feel little attachment to material concerns. This radical detachment is essential for union with God.
5. What role does John the Baptist play as an example in this chapter?
Reason points to John the Baptist as an example of a soul living unencumbered by the self. His life illustrates the strength and freedom that come from complete surrender to God. John the Baptist embodies the virtues of detachment, humility, and unwavering fidelity to divine will. His example serves as a powerful model for readers, showing that even in this life, one can live in profound spiritual freedom, unshackled from the distractions of self-interest or worldly attachment.
6. How is Love portrayed in this chapter?
Love is portrayed not as a harsh or destructive force but as a nurturing, instructive presence. Love teaches, nourishes, and sustains those who are loyal and faithful. It is depicted as a vast, satisfying sea, rich with depth and sustenance, offering the soul all it needs when it is receptive and open. This depiction contrasts with any harsh notions of renunciation by highlighting that Love is itself the fulfillment of desire and the deepest satisfaction for the soul that surrenders to it.
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In chapter 80, the Soul, having crossed the sea of detachment and immersed herself fully into God’s will, sings and chants to guide others still encumbered by selfhood. Her song is not self-serving but a charitable act that testifies to the freeness and divine union she now enjoys. Through vivid imagery, the Soul confesses her absolute indebtedness to God for every moment of self-will and recognizes that it is only through God’s infinite Love that this debt is canceled. The union between her surrender and God’s generosity merges into a single, boundless embrace. This transformative Love, embodied by the “Ravishing Most High,” dissolves the Soul into divine Love, rendering her unable to speak of its mysteries except through silence. Her total relinquishment of all selfhood leads to a continuous flow of divine understanding and praise, as she becomes a wellspring of love and knowledge radiating from union with God.
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1. “I sing, says this Soul, one hour singing, another chanting, and all for those who are not yet unencumbered, so that they might hear something about freeness, and whatever else is necessary until they arrive at this stage.”
The Soul’s song is not merely for self-expression or personal delight but a mission of love and instruction. By singing and chanting, she reaches out to souls still bound by self-will and worldly attachments. Her melodies transmit hints of the “freeness” she has tasted – the radical freedom of the soul surrendered to God. This demonstrates the Soul’s charity, as she seeks to guide others into this profound union with the divine.
2. “This Soul has perceived by divine light the being of the land of which she must be. And [she] has crossed the sea in order to suck the marrow of the high cedar.”
Here, the Soul’s journey is described as a crossing of a metaphorical sea, moving from selfhood into the land of divine union. The “marrow of the high cedar” symbolizes the innermost life of God, rich and nourishing. The crossing signifies total surrender-only by plunging into the sea of divine will can one reach this profound intimacy with God. The imagery suggests both the difficulty and the reward of this journey.
3. “Such a Soul has fallen from me into nothingness, moreover, into less than nothingness without limit. For as God is incomprehensible with regard to His power, so also is this Soul indebted by her incomprehensible nothingness by even one hour of time that she had possessed a will contrary to Him.”
The Soul acknowledges her utter poverty and unworthiness before God. She recognizes that even a single moment of self-will places her in infinite debt to God, for whom her own will is nothing. This radical self-emptying and recognition of her “less than nothingness” paradoxically prepare her for union with God. The passage highlights the contrast between God’s infinite power and the soul’s profound dependence.
4. “Ah, dear Lord, You Yourself will pay it. For Your full goodness overflowing with courtesy could not allow that I not be freed of it by the gift of Love by whom You caused to pay in one moment all my debts.”
The Soul rejoices in the divine generosity that erases her debts. God’s infinite love and mercy compensate for her inability to repay Him. This reflects the theology of grace: the soul cannot attain perfection by effort alone but must rely on God’s initiative and the gift of Love, embodied in Christ, to reconcile her debts. The phrase “one moment” indicates the instant of divine grace that transforms the soul.
5. “These two debts continue, one contrary to the other, and are made completely one from now on. And I completely consent to it, for it is the counsel of my nearest one.”
The paradox of the soul’s infinite debt and God’s infinite generosity is reconciled in Love. The debts, though opposites, merge into a single mystery of union: the soul offers her nothingness, and God offers His fullness. This merging reflects the deepest mystical union, where opposites are reconciled, and the soul consents to this dynamic of love and grace.
6. “The Ravishing Most High who overtakes me and joins me to the center of the marrow of divine Love in whom I am melted, says this Soul.”
The “Ravishing Most High” represents God’s irresistible love that draws the soul into the heart of divine life. The imagery of being “melted” signifies total dissolution of the self in God’s love, leaving no room for self-will. This is the climax of mystical union: the soul no longer acts independently but is wholly infused and animated by divine love.
7. “It is necessary to be silent about this being, says this Soul, for one cannot say anything about it.”
The ineffability of this union is underscored here. The soul recognizes that words fall short of describing the depths of her experience of divine love. Silence becomes the only fitting response, acknowledging both the majesty of God and the limits of human language. This recalls apophatic (negative) theology, which affirms God’s presence through what cannot be said.
8. “No, truly, says Love, no more than one could enclose the sun in a dwelling could this Soul say anything about this life, compared to what is there, to speak the truth.”
Love amplifies the Soul’s statement by using a vivid image: trying to capture the sun in a room. The life of union with God is too vast and radiant to be contained in human words or concepts. This highlights the infinite distance between divine reality and human expression, while also conveying the glory and light of this life.
9. “Ah, Lady Soul, says Astonishment, you are a well-spring of divine Love, from which well-spring of divine Love is born the fount of divine Understanding; from which well-spring of divine Love and from which fount of divine Understanding is born the flow of divine Praise.”
Astonishment marvels at the Soul’s transformation into a source of divine love and understanding. The image of a wellspring suggests abundance and unceasing flow, as the soul, filled with divine love, becomes a source of spiritual understanding and praise. This progression from love to understanding to praise highlights the natural fruitfulness of mystical union.
10. “I relinquish everything, says this one confirmed in nothingness, perfectly in the divine will.”
The Soul’s final statement encapsulates her complete surrender. Having embraced nothingness and renounced all self-will, she rests in perfect harmony with God’s will. This total relinquishment is not loss but fulfillment – a profound union where the soul receives everything in return for giving everything up.
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1. Why does the Soul sing and chant in this chapter?
The Soul sings and chants as an act of charity and service for those who are still encumbered by attachments and self-will. Her song is not for personal delight but to communicate the experience of “freeness” and the transformative journey she has undergone. By doing so, she offers others a glimpse into the life of union with God and encourages them to embark on the path of surrender and detachment. The Soul becomes a bridge for others, drawing them toward divine freedom.
2. What does it mean for the Soul to have ‘crossed the sea’ to reach the ‘marrow of the high cedar’?
The imagery of crossing the sea symbolizes the Soul’s transition from the realm of selfhood into the realm of divine union. This sea represents the deep and often turbulent journey of surrendering personal will, ego, and attachments. The ‘marrow of the high cedar’ signifies the innermost richness of God’s being – the very substance of divine love and wisdom. Only by immersing oneself in the depths of divine will (symbolized by the sea) can the Soul access this intimate and nourishing union with God.
3. How does the Soul describe her sense of indebtedness to God, and what theological insight does this provide?
The Soul acknowledges that even a single moment of possessing a will contrary to God places her in an infinite debt to Him. She confesses her “nothingness,” and even “less than nothingness,” recognizing her complete dependence on divine mercy. This reflects a deep theological understanding: human efforts are utterly insufficient to repay God for the gift of life and love. The Soul’s indebtedness is contrasted with God’s infinite generosity and the mystery of grace, wherein God Himself pays the debt through the gift of His Love.
4. What is the ‘gift of Love’ mentioned in the Soul’s response, and how does it resolve her indebtedness?
The ‘gift of Love’ refers to God’s overwhelming mercy and generosity, expressed through the divine initiative that reconciles the soul to Himself. The Soul realizes that she cannot repay her debt, but God, in His infinite courtesy and fullness of goodness, cancels it through Love. This evokes the Christian understanding of Christ’s redemptive work and the grace that enables human beings to be united with God. The “one moment” by which Love cancels all debts symbolizes the instantaneous and total sufficiency of divine grace.
5. What is the significance of the merging of the Soul’s debt and God’s generosity into ‘one debt’ in this chapter?
The merging of the two debts – the Soul’s infinite obligation and God’s infinite giving – illustrates the paradoxical nature of divine union. The Soul consents to this mystery, recognizing that what she owes God (everything) and what God gives her (everything) are reconciled in love. This reflects the mystical teaching that in divine union, opposites are overcome: human insufficiency is embraced by divine fullness, and the soul’s offering of her nothingness is met by God’s infinite generosity.
6. Who is the ‘nearest one’ that the Soul refers to, and what role does He play in her transformation?
The ‘nearest one’ is identified as the “Ravishing Most High” – God Himself – who overtakes the Soul and joins her to the core of divine Love. His ravishing presence transforms the Soul, melting her into the divine will and freeing her from all selfhood. This imagery conveys the totality of divine embrace and the dissolution of the soul’s independent will into God’s perfect will, marking the apex of mystical union.
7. Why does the Soul declare it is necessary to be silent about her experience?
The Soul realizes that her experience of union with God is ineffable – beyond the capacity of human words to express. Just as one cannot capture the brilliance of the sun within a house, so too can the soul not articulate the vastness of divine love and union. This silence is a recognition of the limits of language and a reverence for the mystery of God’s presence. It points to apophatic theology, which acknowledges that God’s essence transcends all human understanding.
8. What connection does Astonishment make between the Soul’s love and understanding?
Astonishment marvels at the Soul’s transformation, declaring her a wellspring of divine Love, from which arises divine Understanding, and from there the flow of divine Praise. This connection highlights a natural progression: Love leads to deeper insight into God (Understanding), which in turn inspires a spontaneous outpouring of praise and worship. It illustrates the fruitfulness of mystical union, where love generates knowledge, and knowledge leads to glorification of God.
9. How does the Soul’s final declaration, “I relinquish everything,” encapsulate the teaching of this chapter?
The Soul’s final statement expresses total surrender and alignment with the divine will. Her relinquishment of all selfhood and attachments is not loss but gain, as it leads to her being fully united with God. This total giving of oneself epitomizes the mystical path described in this chapter: through detachment, surrender, and embracing one’s nothingness, the soul is filled with divine love and drawn into perfect union. It’s the culmination of her journey across the metaphorical sea into the ‘marrow’ of God’s life.
“The Mirror of Simple Souls” by Marguerite Porete – Part 7 of 14
Chapter 61 of The Mirror of Simple Souls presents Love’s teaching on the soul’s seven ascending stages, each surpassing the last in spiritual depth and illumination. The first four stages are marked by the soul’s servitude and striving, but the fifth brings a freedom grounded in charity. The sixth stage offers a fleeting yet transformative glimpse of the soul’s eternal glory, a “showing” orchestrated by the Trinity’s “gentle Farnearness.” This revelation is so swift and profound that the soul cannot grasp it, and her own understanding is utterly dissolved in divine light. Love affirms that the highest knowledge and possession lie not in the soul’s efforts but in surrender to God’s work, where she is lost in and transformed by His glory.
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1. “I have said, says Love, that there are seven stages, each one of higher intellect than the former and without comparison to each other. As one might compare a drop of water to the total ocean, which is very great, so one might speak of the difference between the first stage of grace and the second, and so on with the rest: there is no comparison.”
Love introduces a mystical ascent of the soul through seven distinct stages, each progressively surpassing the previous in depth and understanding. The metaphor of comparing a drop of water to the ocean emphasizes the vast and unbridgeable difference between each stage, highlighting the immense transformative power of Divine Love and the soul’s gradual detachment from worldly limitations.
2. “Of the first four stages none is so high that the Soul does not still live in some great servitude. But the fifth stage is in the freeness of charity, for this stage is unencumbered from all things.”
Here, Porete distinguishes between the earlier stages-where the soul remains bound by spiritual servitude and obligation-and the fifth stage, which marks a breakthrough into total freedom through charity. The soul sheds all attachments and is liberated into a life of pure, selfless love. This shift signifies a movement beyond obedience and spiritual labor into the natural, unforced flow of Divine Love.
3. “The sixth stage is glorious, for the aperture of the sweet movement of glory, which the gentle Farnearness gives, is nothing other than a glimpse which God wills the Soul to have of her glory itself, which will be hers forever.”
Porete describes a momentary unveiling of the soul’s eternal glory in the sixth stage, granted by what she calls the “gentle Farnearness” of God-an intimate manifestation of divine presence. This fleeting glimpse is a foretaste of the full union that awaits the soul after death, allowing her to taste the ineffable joy of her destined union with God.
4. “The Farnearness is the Trinity Himself, and [He] manifests His showing to her, which we name ‘movement,’ not because the Soul moves herself in the Trinity, but because the Trinity works the showing of her glory in this Soul. Of this none know how to speak, save the Deity alone.”
The paradox of God’s “Farnearness” encapsulates the mystery of divine transcendence and immanence: though God is infinitely beyond comprehension, He draws intimately near to the soul. The term “movement” refers not to the soul’s action but to God’s self-revelation, which is beyond human articulation. Only the Divine can truly speak of such mysteries, underscoring the soul’s passive reception of glory.
5. “And the light of this understanding takes from her all understanding of herself and of God and of all things.”
In the final stages, the soul’s understanding is wholly eclipsed by divine illumination. God’s light is so overwhelming that it annihilates the soul’s natural and spiritual comprehension, leading her into a state of total unknowing. This profound surrender of all understanding-of self, of God, and of the world-is the height of mystical union.
6. “There is no surer thing to understand, there is no more profitable possession than this work.”
Love affirms the incomparable value of this journey of the soul into divine union. The path of annihilation and self-surrender culminates in a possession that transcends all earthly and spiritual gain: the soul’s total immersion in God’s love and glory. This is the ultimate fulfillment of human and divine desire.
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1. What does Love say about the seven stages of the soul?
Love explains that there are seven stages, each one vastly higher than the previous, just as a drop of water is incomparable to the vast ocean. This metaphor emphasizes the radical difference between stages of spiritual ascent.
2. How do the first four stages differ from the fifth stage?
In the first four stages, the soul remains in “great servitude,” bound by spiritual obligations and attachments. The fifth stage marks a shift into freedom, where the soul is unencumbered by all things and lives in the freeness of charity.
3. What is the “gentle Farnearness” that Love mentions?
The “gentle Farnearness” refers to the intimate yet incomprehensible presence of the Trinity. It represents God’s self-revelation to the soul, offering her a glimpse of the glory that she will possess eternally.
4. How does the sixth stage prepare the soul for the seventh?
In the sixth stage, the soul experiences a brief but profound glimpse of her destined glory, which is a foretaste of the seventh stage. This showing is granted so quickly and subtly that the soul is barely aware of it, reflecting the depth of God’s work in her.
5. What happens to the soul’s understanding in the final stages?
The soul’s understanding of herself, God, and all things is entirely eclipsed by the divine light. This loss of understanding signifies a total immersion in God, where the soul’s own faculties are overwhelmed by divine presence.
6. What does the Spouse of the Soul reveal about the “movement” of the Trinity?
The Spouse explains that the “movement” refers not to the soul’s action, but to the Trinity’s act of revealing the soul’s glory. This divine “movement” is beyond human comprehension and can only be expressed by God Himself.
7. How does the soul respond to the glimpse of glory?
The soul humbly acknowledges that she has no perception of the gift when it is given. She realizes that if she were aware of the gift, she would become the gift itself, which will only happen fully in eternity after her bodily death.
8. What does Love say about the value of this work?
Love declares that there is no surer or more profitable thing than this path. It represents the highest spiritual good and the ultimate possession: union with God.
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Chapter 62 of The Mirror of Simple Souls highlights the distinction between souls who are dead to mortal sin and living in grace, yet remain attached to worldly comforts and minimal virtue, and those who live by the spirit with deeper detachment and love. While these souls avoid serious sin and obey God’s commands, they cling to honors, wealth, and pleasures, albeit without sinful excess. Their salvation is secure but “uncourtly,” meaning it lacks the nobility and grandeur of total surrender to God, such as Christ exemplified. They do not strive for the heights of spiritual perfection but are content with doing the minimum required for salvation. This chapter calls readers to reflect on the difference between mere sufficiency in the spiritual life and the higher calling to die to self and live wholly for God.
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1. “Such folk, of whom we have spoken, who are dead to mortal sin and born into the life of grace, have no reproach or remorse of conscience, but instead they are acquitted before God by what He commands alone.”
Love here distinguishes between those who live a life of basic virtue, avoiding mortal sin, and those called to deeper union. These “little ones” are indeed acquitted, but their relationship with God is transactional-doing what is commanded, but not necessarily moved by love. Their lives lack the abandonment and freedom of the more advanced souls.
2. “They desire honors, indeed, and are bewildered if someone despises them, but they keep themselves from vain glory and from impatience, which guides them toward death to sin.”
Even though these souls are “dead to mortal sin,” they are still attached to the world’s recognition and comforts. They exhibit basic restraint from sinful pride and impatience but lack the detachment and humility of those who have surrendered all. Their holiness is moderate, sufficient for salvation, but not heroic.
3. “Ah, without doubt, says the Unencumbered Soul, such folk are little on earth and very little in heaven, and are saved in an uncourtly way.”
The Unencumbered Soul (representing the soul fully surrendered in love) gently critiques these “little ones” for their minimalism in holiness. Their salvation is secured, but it lacks the grandeur and nobility of those who seek not just to avoid sin but to lose themselves entirely in God’s love.
4. “Indeed, I believe it, says Reason, and so they are, for if they would say otherwise, they would be lying. But they do not wish to do anything else. They indeed say to me, Reason, that they are not restricted by anything if they do not wish to be, for God has not commanded them to do more.”
Reason observes that these souls settle for what is commanded, without pursuing the greater counsels of love. Their logic is correct-they fulfill obligations-but they stop short of the deeper call to imitate Christ’s total self-gift.
5. “Ah, without fail, says Desire, uncourtly they are. They have forgotten that it would have not been sufficient for Jesus Christ to act on their behalf if He had not done all that humanity could accomplish unto death.”
Desire passionately points out that Jesus gave everything, even unto death, for our salvation. By comparison, these souls’ minimal response-doing only what is required-seems inadequate and “uncourtly,” lacking the beauty and extravagance of love that true union with God calls for.
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1. Who are the “little ones” that Love speaks of in this chapter?
These “little ones” are souls who are dead to mortal sin and born into the life of grace. They follow God’s commands, avoiding serious sin, and are preserved in grace. However, they are not fully detached from worldly attachments and are content with a minimal spiritual life.
2. What attitudes do these souls have toward wealth and status?
They desire honors and are troubled when they are despised. They enjoy riches and become saddened when they experience loss. However, they refrain from excessive love of these things, understanding that God’s will should guide them, and they avoid letting these attachments become sinful.
3. Why does Love call these souls “little”?
Love calls them “little” because, though they avoid mortal sin and live a life of basic virtue, they do not embrace the deeper, self-emptying love that would make them great in the kingdom of God. Their spirituality is minimal and safe rather than extravagant and heroic.
4. What is meant by saying their salvation is “uncourtly”?
Their salvation is “uncourtly” because it lacks the nobility and refinement of souls who surrender completely to God. Though they avoid sin and obey God’s commands, they do not seek the perfection of love or the imitation of Christ’s total self-gift. Their path to salvation is valid but lacking in splendor.
5. How does Desire contrast these souls with Jesus Christ?
Desire points out that Jesus did not only fulfill what was necessary for salvation; He went far beyond by offering Himself completely, even unto death. These souls, by contrast, are content with doing just what is required, not embracing the fullness of love and sacrifice that Christ modeled.
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Chapter 63 teaches that souls who are content with mere sufficiency in their relationship with God – those who live only to avoid mortal sin and gain salvation – are compared to crude peasants excluded from the intimate and noble court of divine Love. While these souls are saved through Christ’s promises, they do not share the profound union and courtesy of those who live fully in God’s love and imitate Christ’s suffering and humility. The text emphasizes that such “sufficient” souls, though saved, remain spiritually small and lacking in the refinement and depth that mark the lives of those truly immersed in divine charity.
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1. “Ah, most sweet Jesus Christ, says this Soul, do not trouble yourself about such folk. They are so exceedingly selfish that they forget you, on account of their rudeness in which they have sufficiency.”
The Soul expresses frustration at those who are content with mere salvation, describing them as “selfish” and “rude.” Their concern is limited to personal sufficiency rather than love of God. This reflects a critique of spiritual mediocrity and a desire for deeper devotion and self-giving love.
2. “Ah, without fail, says Love, this is great crudity.”
Love reinforces the Soul’s judgment, labeling this attitude as “crudity”-an unrefined, coarse approach to God’s grace. This language highlights how such souls are spiritually immature and insensitive to the higher call of divine love and generosity.
3. “In this, Lady Love, that they are kept outside the court of your secrets, much like a peasant would be kept from the court of a gentleman…”
The Soul uses a vivid metaphor comparing these complacent souls to peasants barred from a noble court, suggesting that while they may attain salvation, they are excluded from the deeper mysteries and intimacy of divine love. Their spiritual “lineage” or refinement is lacking.
4. “These will never forget the gifts of your suffering, which are always a mirror and exemplar for them.”
The Soul contrasts the peasant-like souls with those who continually remember Christ’s passion. This remembrance of Christ’s suffering inspires generosity and devotion beyond mere sufficiency, marking a deeper, more noble spirituality.
5. “Those here [in the court], says Love, are saved much more courteously than are the others.”
Love underscores the distinction between the spiritually mature and those who settle for the minimum. Salvation “more courteously” points to a nobler, more intimate participation in God’s grace, beyond the crude grasp of mere salvation.
6. “These, too, are small, indeed so small that one could not compare them to the greatness of those who are dead to the life of the spirit and live the divine life.”
Love concludes by acknowledging that while these souls are saved, their stature is minuscule compared to those who die fully to self and live wholly for God. This closing underscores the transformative power of deep spiritual surrender.
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1. According to the Soul, why should Jesus Christ not trouble Himself about certain souls?
The Soul argues that these souls are exceedingly selfish and forget Christ, content with the minimum required for salvation. They are “rude” and “crude,” concerned only with sufficiency and lacking true devotion.
2. How does Love characterize the attitude of these “sufficient” souls?
Love calls their attitude “great crudity,” meaning spiritual coarseness and lack of refinement. This highlights their immature and base approach to divine matters.
3. What metaphor does the Soul use to describe the exclusion of these souls from deeper spiritual intimacy?
The Soul compares these souls to peasants barred from a noble court, suggesting they are kept outside the “court of [Love’s] secrets.” They lack the spiritual nobility and refinement needed for deeper union with God.
4. What distinguishes the souls who are called into Love’s court from those who are merely content with salvation?
The souls in Love’s court never forget Christ’s suffering and live in constant remembrance of His gifts. They imitate His rejection, poverty, and torments, whereas the others remain content with sufficiency and forget His love.
5. How does Love describe the manner of salvation for those content with sufficiency compared to those deeply united with God?
Love explains that the “sufficient” souls are indeed saved, as Christ promised, but in a much less “courteous” way than those who have fully died to self and live in the divine life. Their salvation lacks the depth and intimacy of the higher spiritual path.
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In chapter 64, Marguerite Porete reveals the profound mystery of the souls who have died completely to the life of the spirit and entered into unmediated union with the divine. These souls, transcending all spiritual consolations, no longer desire intermediaries between themselves and God; they have even relinquished memory of human affections and spiritual sentiments. Their entire being is consumed by pure divine love, described as a boiling, inflaming fire that purifies and unites without consuming. This love is a mutual exchange of divine intimacy, a perfect, unbreakable union between God and the soul. Thus, these souls embody the highest state of mystical union, where divine love alone reigns supreme.
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1. [Love]: “No one tastes of this life if he has not died by this death.”
Love declares that access to the divine life-the deepest intimacy with God-demands a complete dying to the natural and spiritual self. Only by passing through this radical death (not just to sin, but to all created loves and even spiritual consolations) can one truly taste the union with God. This reflects the mystical notion that the ultimate union with God requires total renunciation and transformation.
2. [Truth]: “This [life] carries there, says Truth, the flower of the love from the Deity. There is no mediary between these Souls and the Deity, and they desire no mediary.”
Truth highlights the absolute purity of this union. The “flower of love” symbolizes the ultimate bloom of divine union. The soul, having died to everything, stands in direct, immediate union with God, with no need for intermediaries such as saints, angels, or even personal desires for consolations. This expresses the idea of pure love and total absorption in the Divine.
3. “Such Souls cannot suffer the memory of any human love, nor the will of divine sentiment, for the sake of the pure divine Love which this Soul has by Love.”
The text emphasizes the radical detachment of these souls from even the memory of created loves, including noble or spiritual ones. The soul’s will is conformed so entirely to divine love that even thoughts of other affections or spiritual sentiments are absent. This underscores the depth of spiritual poverty and total divine possession.
4. [Love]: “This domination by Love alone, says Love, gives her the flower from the boiling of love, by the witness of Love herself.”
Love describes the soul’s state as one of complete domination by divine love. The “boiling of love” suggests an intense, dynamic, and consuming love that produces the “flower,” or perfection, of divine union. The soul becomes a witness to love itself, living as a reflection of God’s own love.
5. “This is true, says Love. This love of which we speak is the union of lovers, the inflaming fire which burns without consuming.”
Love affirms that this mystical union is like the passionate fire of lovers, an inflaming but non-consuming blaze that evokes the biblical imagery of the burning bush (Exodus 3:2) and symbolizes the sustaining and transforming power of divine love. The soul is thus both consumed and preserved, losing herself in love while remaining fully alive in God.
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1. What is the “life” that Love says no one can taste unless they have died by “this death”?
The “life” refers to the highest union with God, a life infused entirely with divine love. “This death” signifies dying not only to mortal sin or human attachments but even to spiritual consolations and the self-will, leading to a state of pure, unmediated divine union.
2. According to Truth, what characterizes the relationship between these souls and the Deity?
Truth explains that these souls have a direct and immediate union with the Deity, with no mediary in between. They do not desire intermediaries or even the memory of human love, as their souls are completely taken over by pure divine love.
3. Why can these souls not “suffer the memory of any human love, nor the will of divine sentiment”?
These souls are so absorbed by divine love that all created loves, even noble human affections or spiritual consolations, are obliterated from their memory and will. Their entire being is focused solely on pure love of God, which leaves no room for anything else.
4. What does Love mean by “the boiling of love” and “the flower” it produces?
“The boiling of love” refers to the intense, fervent experience of divine love, a spiritual fervor that transforms the soul. “The flower” represents the perfection and beauty that emerge from this intense love-a soul fully alive in God’s love, radiating its fragrance.
5. How is the union of these souls with God described at the end of the chapter?
The union is described as “the union of lovers, the inflaming fire which burns without consuming.” This image emphasizes the soul’s total immersion in divine love-a fire that transforms and sustains rather than destroys, mirroring the biblical burning bush.
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Chapter 65 teaches that the souls seated “on the mountain above the winds” have transcended all human fears, honors, and disturbances, entering a state of unshakable spiritual security and freedom. These souls, fully surrendered to divine Love, no longer rely on the virtues-such as Modesty, Fear, and Reason-as active guides, but retain them as protective boundaries at the threshold of their spiritual life. In this high state, the soul is more truly invested with divine life than with its own created spirit, and its body becomes more refined through the action of that spirit. The chapter emphasizes that the soul’s highest dwelling is in the “sweet country of understanding-nothing,” a realm beyond concepts and efforts, where the freeness of Love reigns entirely.
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1. “Now, Reason, says Love, you have heard something about these three deaths by which one comes to these three lives. Now I will tell you who it is who is seated on the mountain above the winds and the rain.”
Love introduces the concept of those who have surpassed the ordinary spiritual struggles and reside in a state of stability and elevation-symbolized by a mountain “above the winds and rain.” These souls have transcended emotional disturbances and worldly attachments, symbolizing the soul’s ascension beyond both external pressures and internal spiritual struggles.
2. “They are those who, on earth, have neither shame nor honor, nor fear on account of something which might happen. Such folk, says Love, are secure, and so their doors are open, and yet nothing can disturb them, and no work of charity dares to penetrate.”
These souls exhibit perfect spiritual detachment and stability. They are unaffected by honor or shame, neither swayed by praise nor discouraged by criticism. Their openness signifies vulnerability to God, but also a confident security. The refusal of “works of charity” to penetrate reflects the soul’s absolute surrender to God’s will alone, beyond human merit or moral striving.
3. “Ah, for the sake of God, Lady Love, says Reason, tell us what will become of Modesty, who is the most beautiful daughter which Humility has; and Fear also, who has done for this Soul so many benefits and so many lovely services, and even myself, says Reason, who has never slept while these Virtues had need of me.”
Reason expresses anxiety about being excluded from this elevated state, along with Virtues like Modesty and Fear. These represent the soul’s earlier reliance on humility, caution, and rational self-monitoring in the spiritual life. Reason is worried that the soul’s radical freedom might result in the loss of these guides.
4. “Not at all, says Love, since you three will remain in her entourage, and you three will be the guardians of her gate…You will show loyalty only in this, that you be as gates, for otherwise havoc would be created by you.”
Love reassures Reason that Modesty, Fear, and Reason are not abolished but transformed. They become guardians at the threshold of the soul’s inner life, serving as protective boundaries rather than active agents. This illustrates a profound mystical truth: even in the highest states of union, virtues like humility and reason are not discarded but repositioned to preserve the soul’s integrity.
5. “Thus it is better that the Soul be in the sweet country of understanding-nothing, where she loves, than she is in her own body to which she gives life.”
The “sweet country of understanding-nothing” represents the mystical state where the soul has transcended not just sin and spiritual practice, but even spiritual understanding itself. In this state, the soul is pure love, living in God, detached from self and even from its own identity. This passage encapsulates the core of Porete’s mystical vision: the soul’s perfect union with God beyond knowledge, virtue, and self-awareness.
6. “And the freeness of Love has such power.”
Porete concludes with a simple yet profound statement about the absolute liberty of divine love. This love operates beyond human limitations, reason, or even the soul’s own spiritual discipline. Love’s freedom lifts the soul into union with God, where no external or internal compulsion can reach.
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1. Who are those seated “on the mountain above the winds and the rain”?
They are souls who have transcended both internal and external disturbances. On earth, they are untroubled by honor, shame, or fear of what might happen. Their detachment and openness place them beyond the reach of worldly concerns and even works of charity, as they are wholly surrendered to God’s will.
2. Why does Reason express concern about Modesty, Fear, and herself being left behind?
Reason is concerned that these virtues, which played vital roles in guiding the soul’s spiritual journey (especially during earlier stages of growth), might be excluded now that the soul has attained such an elevated state. Reason worries that without their presence, the soul might fall into danger or lose its grounding.
3. How does Love respond to Reason’s concern about Modesty, Fear, and Reason?
Love assures Reason that these virtues are not eliminated but repositioned. They remain as guardians at the threshold of the soul’s spiritual dwelling, acting as gates to keep out influences contrary to Love. Their role changes from active guides to passive protectors, ensuring the soul remains secure in its union with God.
4. What does the phrase “the sweet country of understanding-nothing” mean?
This phrase represents the mystical state where the soul transcends even spiritual understanding and virtue. It points to a union with God where love is the only reality, and all human concepts and efforts-including reasoning and even virtuous striving-are surpassed in favor of pure love.
5. How does the chapter describe the relationship between the soul’s spirit and body in this state?
The soul’s spirit is described as better invested by divine life than it is by its own created nature. Similarly, the body becomes more refined through the influence of the spirit, and the grossness of the body diminishes. Ultimately, the soul’s union with God is more substantial than its union with the body that animates it.
6. What is the role of “the freeness of Love” in this chapter?
The “freeness of Love” refers to the absolute liberty and power of divine love to elevate the soul into union with God. This love operates beyond human reasoning, merit, or control, drawing the soul into a state of spiritual freedom where it lives wholly in God’s love.
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Chapter 66 conveys that the Soul finds profound joy not by clinging to Reason and the practices of the Virtues, but by transcending them and entering into a higher, divine learning directly imparted by Love and the Holy Spirit. The Soul once studied the ways of virtue as stepping stones toward God, but now she has progressed beyond them to where human efforts and reasoning no longer suffice. This divine teaching, inscribed by the Spirit upon the Soul like precious parchment, is silent and ineffable, marking a union with God that surpasses human comprehension. The joy comes from surrendering to this new state, where the Soul’s understanding is opened to the inexpressible wisdom of Love.
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1. [Soul]: “And truly she is little, for she will not remain very long until she arrives at her end, says this Soul, from which she will have great joy.”
The Soul acknowledges the fleeting nature of the earthly and intellectual life. “Her end” refers to the culmination of her spiritual journey-complete union with God. Joy arises not from temporal achievements but from progressing beyond them into the divine.
2. [Reason]: “All the same, says Reason, tell me what has given you more joy?”
Reason, which represents the rational faculties and moral guidance, inquires about the source of the Soul’s newfound joy. This sets the stage for Love’s explanation of how divine learning surpasses human reasoning.
3. [Love]: “It is from this, says Love, that she has taken leave of you and of the works of the Virtues. For as long as this Soul was cloaked in love, she took lessons in your school through desire of the works of the Virtues.”
Love explains that the Soul’s joy stems from moving beyond Reason and the Virtues. While the Virtues guided the Soul’s earlier development, she now transcends them, advancing to divine learning where love itself becomes the teacher. This stage involves release from effort and striving, as she now lives by pure love.
4. [Love]: “Now she has entered upon and is so surpassing in divine learning that she begins to read where you take your end. But this lesson is not placed in writing by human hand, but by the Holy Spirit, who writes this lesson in a marvelous way, and the Soul is the precious parchment.”
This profound statement reveals that divine learning surpasses all human effort and reasoning. The Holy Spirit inscribes wisdom directly onto the soul, making her the “precious parchment” upon which divine truths are written. This surpasses any external teaching or virtue, as it unfolds in silent, ineffable communion with God.
5. [Love]: “The divine school is held with the mouth closed, which the human mind cannot express in words.”
Here, Love encapsulates the heart of mystical theology: the ultimate truths of God’s love are beyond language and comprehension. The “divine school” is silent and inward, accessible only through direct experience of God’s love, transcending all that can be articulated.
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1. What is Holy Church the “Little” referred to in this chapter?
Throughout Porete’s work, the institutional Church, which is governed by Reason, is referred to as Holy Church the “Little.” This is contrasted with Holy Church the “Great,” which consists of souls that have achieved the fifth stage of spiritual progress – the state of the annihilated and unencumbered soul. Further discussion can be found in Chapter 19.
2. What has given the Soul her newfound joy?
The Soul’s joy comes from leaving behind Reason and the works of the Virtues. While she once learned through moral striving and rational understanding, she now surpasses these, entering into a divine learning that is infused directly by Love and the Holy Spirit.
3. How does Love describe the Soul’s progression beyond Reason and Virtues?
Love explains that as long as the Soul was “cloaked in love,” she took lessons in the school of Reason and Virtues. Now, however, she has reached a point where she reads at the place where Reason and the Virtues end. This indicates a complete transcendence of intellectual and moral training in favor of direct divine teaching.
4. How is the Soul’s divine learning depicted in this chapter?
Divine learning is portrayed as being beyond human writing or comprehension. It is written by the Holy Spirit in a “marvelous way” upon the Soul, making her a “precious parchment.” This knowledge is silent, ineffable, and directly infused, representing a deep mystical union with God.
5. What does the phrase “the divine school is held with the mouth closed” mean?
This phrase means that the ultimate truths and experiences of divine love cannot be expressed in words or taught through human reasoning. The soul’s union with God surpasses language, being an intimate and silent communion that only God’s Spirit can bestow.
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In chapter 67, Love explains that the Soul who dwells in God participates in the divine life of the Trinity in a profound and intimate way. God is described as utterly self-sufficient, existing “of Himself, in Himself, through Himself,” needing nothing from outside Himself. Similarly, the Soul, fully united with God, draws everything from Him alone, mirroring this divine independence. The chapter emphasizes the unique relationships within the Trinity: the Father is unbegotten and gives His divine life to the Son, who is born of the Father and equal to Him, while the Holy Spirit proceeds from both. Through this explanation, the text highlights how the Soul is drawn into the mystery of the Trinity, sharing in the mutual love and life of the divine Persons.
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1. “Ah, Love,” says Reason, “I pray that you say something to me about the country where this Soul dwells.”
Reason, personifying the rational mind, seeks understanding of the realm where the Soul resides in its highest union with God. This inquiry marks a transition from rational investigation to the contemplation of divine realities.
2. “I say to you,” says Love, “that the One who is, where this Soul is, is of Himself, in Himself, through Himself, without receiving anything from another except from Himself alone.”
Love describes the divine nature of God as utterly self-sufficient, independent of any external source. This emphasizes God’s complete being and the Soul’s participation in God’s self-sufficient existence when united in divine love.
3. “Therefore this Soul,” says Love, “is in Him, of Him, and according to Him without receiving anything from another except from Him alone.”
The Soul, having transcended creaturely dependence, now exists entirely in, of, and according to God, mirroring the divine self-sufficiency. This highlights the profound union and identification of the Soul with God’s own life.
4. “Thus is she in God the Father,” says Truth. “For we believe that there is no person in the Trinity who has not received from His person, save only the person of the Father.”
Truth brings in the doctrine of the Trinity to explain the nature of this union. The Soul’s place is likened to that of the Son and Holy Spirit, except the Father, who gives of Himself without receiving. This sets up a theological model for understanding the Soul’s union with the divine Persons.
5. “For God the Father possesses the divine power of Himself without receiving it from any other. He possesses the outpouring of His divine power and gives to His Son the same which He possesses of Himself, and the Son receives it from the Father. So that the Son is born of the Father and so is equal to Him. And from the Father and from the Son is the Holy Spirit, one person in the Trinity. He is not born, but He is. The Son is born of the Father and the Holy Spirit is from the Father and from the Son.”
Here Love and Truth weave together a rich theological statement of the Trinity: the Father as unoriginated source, the Son as begotten from the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from both. The Soul’s dwelling in this “country” implies her participation in the inner life of the Trinity, where she becomes so united with God that she mirrors the relations of the Persons themselves. This underscores the text’s mystical aim: describing the Soul’s union as a participation in the very life of the Trinity.
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1. What does Love reveal about the country where the Soul dwells?
Love reveals that the country where the Soul dwells is in God Himself. Specifically, Love describes that “the One who is, where this Soul is, is of Himself, in Himself, through Himself, without receiving anything from another except from Himself alone.” This profound statement points to God’s utter self-sufficiency-His being is independent and self-generating. The Soul, when perfectly united with God, shares in this reality. Just as God’s life and existence derive from His own being, the Soul, in its perfected union, draws life and being solely from God. It no longer depends on created things, external aids, or intermediaries. This illustrates the radical transformation of the Soul through union with God, where its life becomes entirely rooted in divine being.
2. How does Love describe the Soul’s relationship to God in terms of reception and giving?
Love emphasizes that the Soul, in this perfect union, is “in Him, of Him, and according to Him without receiving anything from another except from Him alone.” This description mirrors the interior life of the Trinity. In this state, the Soul receives all it needs directly from God and depends solely on Him for its existence and sustenance. There is a sense of pure receptivity from God alone, and no dependence on anything external or created. This teaching reflects the deepest level of mystical union, where the Soul becomes so identified with the divine life that it shares in God’s own self-sufficiency. However, this reception is not a passive state but a dynamic participation in God’s life, aligning the Soul’s will, love, and essence with God’s being.
3. How does Truth relate this teaching about the Soul to the inner life of the Trinity?
Truth highlights that this mystery corresponds to the inner life of the Trinity, particularly focusing on God the Father. Truth says that there is no person in the Trinity who has not received from His person, except for the Father. The Father is unbegotten-He receives nothing from another but instead gives His divine being and power to the Son. The Son is born of the Father and receives everything from Him, yet is equal to Him. The Holy Spirit, proceeding from both the Father and the Son, is not born but proceeds, forming a unity within the Trinity. This explanation parallels the Soul’s journey into divine life: just as the Father possesses His divine being without derivation, so too the perfected Soul, in union with God, shares in this divine independence. This illustrates that the Soul’s ultimate destination is not merely moral improvement or closeness to God but an immersion into the very life and relationality of the Trinity.
4. How does Love describe the relationships among the divine Persons of the Trinity?
Love provides a profound summary of the relationships within the Trinity: the Father, as the unbegotten source, possesses divine power “of Himself” and gives it to the Son. The Son is born of the Father and thus receives this divine power, being equal to the Father in essence and divinity. The Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son-not through generation (as the Son is begotten) but through procession. This emphasizes the inter-relationality and mutual love of the Trinity, where each Person is distinct yet united in divine essence. The Soul, through its union with God, is drawn into this divine dance of love and life. The description illustrates how mystical theology, particularly in the beguine and medieval traditions, sees the human Soul’s highest destiny not as separate from God but as fully immersed in and participating in the divine relationality of the Trinity.
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Chapter 68 teaches that the Soul, through the divine work of the Trinity, is wholly drawn into union with God, experiencing a profound transformation whereby her will aligns entirely with the divine will. In this state of mystical union, the Soul is embraced by the ravishing spark and light of divine love, experiencing an indescribable sweetness, beauty, and goodness that far surpass earthly understanding. Consequently, she distances herself from those who live by the limited, rational counsel of worldly Reason-those she compares to “beasts and donkeys”-who cannot grasp the hidden language of divine love and mystery she has learned in God’s secret court. The chapter highlights the contrast between the Soul’s peace and fullness in divine union and the spiritual ignorance of those confined by mere human reasoning.
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1. “This Soul, says Love, is totally dissolved, melted and drawn, joined and united to the most high Trinity. And she cannot will except the divine will through the divine work of the whole Trinity.”
This opening presents a profound mystical image of the Soul’s total absorption into the divine life. The Soul is described as being “dissolved” and “melted,” indicating the complete loss of separate selfhood and immersion into God. Her union with the Trinity is so complete that her own will is entirely conformed to God’s will-not through her effort alone but through the divine action (“divine work”) of the Trinity itself. This evokes the language of spiritual marriage and consummate union in mystical theology, where the soul no longer acts independently but participates fully in the Trinitarian life.
2. “And a ravishing Spark and Light joins her and holds her very close.”
The ravishing spark is a brief yet powerful mystical illumination and ecstatic union that momentarily lifts the soul to the sixth stage of union with God. When this divine encounter closes, the soul returns to the fifth stage. The expression “holds her very close” emphasizes the profound intimacy of this union, depicting it as a divine embrace or containment. In this state, the soul is secure, cherished, and enclosed in God’s presence. As Porete beautifully states in Chapter 58, “no one would be able to believe… the peace upon peace of peace which the Soul receives.”
3. “O very small person, rude and poorly behaved, she says.”
This stark contrast between the Soul’s exalted state and those who live “by the counsel of Reason” sets up a biting critique. The Soul calls out those who, while appearing wise or rational by worldly standards, are in fact “rude and poorly behaved.” This suggests that human reason alone, without the illumination of divine love and mystical experience, is inadequate and even crude. The Soul’s tone conveys both sorrow and frustration toward those who cling to rationalism and miss the deeper mystery of divine union.
4. “To all those, she says, who live by-your counsel, who are such beasts and donkeys that on account of their rudeness I must hide from them and not speak my language to those who prefer death to the being of life where I am in peace without moving myself.”
The Soul expresses disdain for those bound by Reason’s counsel, likening them to “beasts and donkeys.” This animal imagery highlights their stubbornness and lack of spiritual sensitivity. The Soul feels compelled to “hide” her mystical language and insights from them, recognizing that they are not receptive to the secret wisdom of divine love. Their preference for “death” over “the being of life” indicates a rejection of spiritual awakening and union with God in favor of attachment to worldly reasoning and self-sufficiency.
5. “I must be silent and hide my language, which I learned in the secrets at the secret court of the sweet country, in which country courtesy is law, and Love moderates, and Goodness is the nourishment.”
Here the Soul describes the ineffability of her mystical knowledge, which she acquired in the divine presence (“the secret court of the sweet country”). This “sweet country” is an image of the inner life of God, marked by “courtesy,” “Love,” and “Goodness,” contrasting with the crudeness of the rationalistic world. The Soul’s “language” is not comprehensible to those who lack spiritual receptivity; it is a language of divine courtesy, love, and goodness that transcends human understanding and speech.
6. “The sweetness draws me, the beauty pleases me, the goodness fills me. What therefore can I do, since I live in peace?”
The Soul concludes by expressing her complete contentment and fulfillment in God. The triple description-“sweetness,” “beauty,” and “goodness”-highlights the overwhelming joy and satisfaction found in the divine life. The Soul experiences peace and stability in this union, beyond the reach of those who cling to Reason’s limited domain. Her rhetorical question underscores her acceptance of this peace and the inability or unwillingness to engage with those who cannot understand or share in this profound experience.
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1. How is the Soul described in her union with the Trinity?
The Soul is described as “totally dissolved, melted and drawn, joined and united to the most high Trinity.” This vivid imagery emphasizes her complete absorption into the divine essence. Her will is no longer her own but is entirely conformed to God’s will, not through her own effort, but through the action of the Trinity itself. The divine union is not a merging of equals but a participation in God’s life that transforms the Soul. This portrays the culmination of the Soul’s spiritual journey, where personal striving gives way to divine initiative.
2. What role do the “ravishing Spark and Light” play in the Soul’s union with God?
The “ravishing Spark and Light” are the intense, ecstatic experience and divine illumination that transform the Soul when it is temporarily lifted to the sixth stage before being returned to the fifth. The “Spark” is the aperture, while the “Light” represents the divine wisdom and knowledge imparted. Together, they describe a mystical embrace or captivating experience in which the Soul is “held very close” by God, fully embraced by the Trinity’s love and radiance.
3. How does the Soul view those who live by Reason’s counsel?
The Soul views those who live by Reason’s counsel as spiritually blind and unrefined, referring to them as “very small person, rude and poorly behaved,” and likening them to “beasts and donkeys.” These metaphors suggest their stubbornness, lack of spiritual receptivity, and attachment to worldly reasoning. The Soul laments their inability to grasp divine mysteries, implying that they remain trapped in a limited, earthly mode of existence while she has transcended it through her union with God.
4. Why does the Soul say she must “hide her language” from those who live by Reason?
The Soul explains that she must “hide her language” because these individuals, bound by Reason and worldly wisdom, cannot comprehend or appreciate the secret, mystical knowledge she has learned in “the secret court of the sweet country.” This secret court represents the intimate inner life of God, marked by divine courtesy, love, and goodness. The Soul’s language-the expression of her divine knowledge and love-is unintelligible to those who prefer the “death” of spiritual ignorance over the “being of life” she experiences in her union with God.
5. What is the “sweet country” the Soul refers to, and how does it contrast with the world?
The “sweet country” is an allegory for the inner life of the Trinity, a realm of divine courtesy, love, and goodness. It stands in stark contrast to the world governed by Reason’s limited understanding. In this divine realm, love moderates all interactions, goodness is the soul’s nourishment, and spiritual beauty draws and pleases the soul. The Soul finds herself fully immersed in this environment, experiencing peace and fulfillment. The contrast emphasizes the radical difference between the peace of union with God and the disorder of earthly reasoning.
6. How does the Soul describe her experience of divine union?
The Soul describes her experience with poetic expressions: “The sweetness draws me, the beauty pleases me, the goodness fills me.” These sensory-rich descriptions convey the profound spiritual fulfillment she finds in God. She experiences an overwhelming attraction to divine sweetness (love), aesthetic delight in God’s beauty, and complete satisfaction through divine goodness. Her closing rhetorical question-“What therefore can I do, since I live in peace?”-expresses her acceptance of this state of spiritual rest, beyond the reach of worldly distractions or misunderstandings.
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In chapter 69, the Soul contrasts the laborious practice of the virtues with her own transcendent state of union with God. While those living by Reason’s counsel strive through virtuous works and observances-often entangled in external forms and customs-the Soul has been drawn into the Divine beyond such labors. Her love and faith are anchored directly in God’s presence, beyond written teachings or external rituals, because true love needs no witness. She criticizes those who seek God only through created things or conventional practices, likening them to donkeys trapped in outward religiosity. The Soul underscores that true spiritual birth requires the death of attachments and the self (Rachel) to bring forth the new life of mystical union (Benjamin). She concludes by affirming that God’s presence is not confined to sacred spaces but permeates all creation, accessible everywhere to those living in perfect union with the Divine will.
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1. “It seems to me, says this Soul, to be labor full of care. At the same time, nevertheless, one earns one’s bread and sustenance by means of one’s labor in this care. Jesus Christ exalted it by His own body…”
The Soul recognizes the practice of the virtues as a laborious effort, filled with care and diligence. However, it’s acknowledged as a necessary path for many, providing spiritual “bread and sustenance”-that is, a means of growth and salvation. This labor is not rejected but seen as a stage in the journey, one which Jesus Himself exalted through His Incarnation, compassionately acknowledging the struggles of those still striving through works.
2. “Truly, says this Soul, I am freed from this, for my better thing is elsewhere, which is so far from this that one would not be able to compare it: the end of my better thing is in God who is beyond time.”
The Soul contrasts the path of virtue-practice with her own state of mystical union. She has been liberated from the burdens of labor and care, transcending temporal works because her goal-her “better thing”-is rooted in the timeless reality of God Himself. This hints at a mystical, contemplative path where union with God renders such external striving unnecessary.
3. “And so, Reason, says this Soul, you ask us whence are we guided? I say to you, from Him alone, says this Soul, who is so strong that He can never die, about whom the teaching is not written, neither by the works of exemplars or by teachings of men…”
Here the Soul underscores that her guidance and knowledge come directly from God, not from human intermediaries, Scripture, or even saintly examples. This illustrates the depth of her interior life, marked by a direct, unmediated relationship with the Divine-a state where love itself serves as both guide and testimony.
4. “Such folk, says this Soul, whom I call donkeys, seek God in creatures, in monasteries for prayer, in a created paradise, in words of men and in the Scriptures.”
The Soul speaks sharply against those who confine their search for God to created things or external forms of piety. She compares them to “donkeys,” emphasizing their spiritual ignorance or slowness. For her, such an approach remains stuck in the realm of creaturely mediation and can hinder the birth of a deeper, mystical knowledge of God.
5. “Without a doubt, says this Soul, in such folk Benjamin has not been born because Rachel is still living. It is necessary that Rachel die in the birth of Benjamin, for until Rachel dies, Benjamin cannot be born.”
This rich biblical metaphor suggests that mystical union (Benjamin) can only be born when self-will or attachment to created forms (Rachel) dies. Rachel’s death signifies the soul’s complete surrender and detachment, allowing the birth of a new, deeper experience of God-one beyond external labor or pious striving.
6. “I find Him everywhere, says this Soul, and He is there. He is One Deity, One sole God in Three Persons, and this God is everywhere.”
The Soul concludes by affirming the omnipresence of God: He is found not in specific places, works, or institutions, but everywhere. This universal presence is grasped in a state of spiritual union where the soul, freed from temporal attachments, perceives God in all things. It marks the Soul’s transition from external practices to a life fully immersed in the Divine presence.
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1. How does the Soul describe the practice of the virtues, and what significance does she ascribe to it?
The Soul characterizes the practice of virtues as a laborious process, filled with care and diligence. She sees it as a necessary and commendable work, particularly for those not yet united with God in the highest way. This labor “earns bread and sustenance,” meaning it provides spiritual growth and guidance towards salvation. Jesus Christ Himself, through His Incarnation and sacrificial death, elevated and sanctified this path, recognizing the struggles of those who labor within it and binding them to Himself through Scripture and His living example.
2. What contrast does the Soul draw between her own state and the labor of virtue-practice?
The Soul contrasts her state of spiritual union with God to the labor of those practicing virtues. She declares that she is freed from such labor because her “better thing” lies elsewhere: in union with God, beyond time and beyond the realm of human effort. Her spiritual end is so far removed from the toil of virtue-practice that it cannot be compared. This indicates a mystical state where she abides in God’s presence and love, transcending temporal works and entering into a deeper, interior reality of grace.
3. Why does the Soul claim that her guidance comes from God alone, and not from human teachings or Scriptures?
The Soul asserts that her guidance comes solely from God, who is eternal and beyond all human formulations. She explains that the teaching she follows cannot be captured by written words, examples of saints, or doctrines. Instead, it is an intimate, direct knowledge given by God Himself, who is “so strong that He can never die.” Her reliance on God alone signifies her profound trust and faith in divine love, where Love itself becomes both the teacher and the witness. She insists that to demand additional proofs or witnesses in love would betray true belief.
4. Why does the Soul call certain people “donkeys” and what does this term imply?
The Soul refers to people as “donkeys” to signify their spiritual ignorance or stubbornness. These are individuals who seek God only in external forms-creatures, monasteries, words of men, Scriptures-without progressing into the interior union with the Divine. She criticizes them for clinging to forms and customs without advancing toward the deeper truth. By using this metaphor, she contrasts the mystical path with one that remains entangled in the created order, suggesting that true spiritual birth (Benjamin) cannot occur until self-will and attachments (Rachel) die.
5. What is the significance of the metaphor of Benjamin and Rachel in this chapter?
The metaphor of Benjamin and Rachel draws from the biblical story in Genesis, where Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin. Here, Rachel represents the self, attachments, or created forms, while Benjamin symbolizes the new life or birth into deeper union with God. The Soul insists that unless Rachel (self-will or attachment) dies, Benjamin (mystical birth) cannot come forth. This highlights the necessity of a complete surrender and death to self in order to experience divine union, moving beyond external labor into interior love.
6. How does the Soul describe the presence of God, and where does she claim to find Him?
The Soul proclaims that she finds God everywhere, as He is present in all things, not confined to churches, monasteries, or any particular sacred spaces. She highlights that God is one Deity in three Persons, omnipresent and accessible everywhere to those who are united with His will. This reflects the Soul’s mystical understanding of God’s pervasive presence, available to those who have transcended the external forms of religion and entered into an intimate, continual communion with the Divine.
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In chapter 70, the Soul articulates her complete dependence on divine grace for her very being. She asserts that her existence is not her own but is wholly God’s life in her, recognizing that outside of God there is nothing and no independent self. This realization leads her to embrace radical humility and self-emptying, affirming that all she is comes from God and nothing is beyond Him. Love further underscores that this state of perfect union and innocence is unique, made possible by the grace that overcomes the separation caused by sin. The chapter thus portrays the Soul as fully immersed in divine love, her identity entirely dissolved into God, who is simplicity itself, beyond all created distinctions and descriptions.
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1. “I am what I am, says this Soul, by the grace of God. Therefore I am only that which God is in me, and not some other thing.”
The Soul declares her entire identity is grounded in divine grace. Her existence and essence are not self-derived but flow wholly from God’s being within her. This radical identification with God emphasizes humility and the total relinquishment of self apart from God. It echoes the biblical phrase from Exodus-“I AM WHO AM”, suggesting her union with God’s self-existence, the source of all being.
2. “And God is the same thing that He is in me, for nothing is nothing. Thus He is Whois.”
The Soul recognizes that God’s presence in her is not diminished or altered. The phrase “nothing is nothing” reflects the idea that apart from God (Who Is), nothing truly exists. Her existence is inseparably tied to God’s being, underscoring a profound ontological humility: she has no independent reality or substance apart from divine indwelling.
3. “Therefore I am not, if I am, except what God is, and nothing is beyond God.”
This statement highlights the mystical annihilation of self-the Soul negates her own being to assert that only God truly is. She acknowledges her own being as purely a manifestation of God’s life within her, resonating with the notion of deiformity-being shaped wholly into God’s likeness and existence.
4. “I do not have anything but God, in whatever part I might find myself, for He is nothing except Himself, to speak the truth.”
The Soul affirms that all her desires, possessions, and essence are God alone. She rejects any created possession or status, claiming absolute poverty and simplicity. The phrase “He is nothing except Himself” signals the incomprehensibility and sufficiency of God, who fills her entirely.
5. “This Soul loves in Truth, that is, in the Deity, but Truth loves in the One by whom this Soul has being, and thus is all work of charity complete in her.”
The relationship between the Soul and God is mutual and reciprocal. The Soul loves within Truth (which is God), and Truth (God) loves within her. This completes the “work of charity,” signifying a perfect and divinized love that originates from God and returns to Him through her. Her love is not merely human affection but divine charity actualized within her being.
6. “This is true, says Love, for all others, except this Soul, are hidden through the lack of innocence, on account of the sin of Adam.”
Love (as a voice) clarifies that the Soul’s profound union with God is not the norm for most souls, who are “hidden” or veiled by sin inherited from Adam. This “hiddenness” signifies the loss of original innocence and the obscuring of the soul’s capacity to love purely. In contrast, this Soul, having been purified, is fully transparent to God’s love and presence.
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1. What does the Soul say about her identity and existence?
The Soul proclaims that she is what she is by the grace of God alone. Her identity is entirely determined by the divine indwelling, and she exists as God is within her. She acknowledges that apart from God, she is nothing, affirming the radical humility and dependence on divine grace.
2. How does the Soul describe the relationship between God’s being and her own?
The Soul explains that God’s being in her is the same as God’s being in Himself, for God cannot be divided or altered. She asserts that “nothing is nothing,” meaning that any existence outside God is void. She claims no independent substance but understands herself as fully defined by God’s own self-existence.
3. What does the Soul mean by saying “I am not, if I am, except what God is, and nothing is beyond God”?
Here, the Soul expresses mystical self-annihilation. Her being is so absorbed in God that she negates her own existence apart from Him. Nothing is greater or more real than God, and her existence is not a separate entity but a reflection of God’s own life. This indicates a complete surrender of ego and selfhood.
4. How does the Soul describe her possession of God?
She declares that she has nothing except God, and no matter where she is, God is her only possession. This indicates spiritual poverty and absolute detachment from all created things, recognizing God alone as her fulfillment and wealth.
5. How is love depicted in this chapter?
Love is described as reciprocal and complete. The Soul loves in Truth, meaning in the reality of the divine nature, while Truth (or God) loves within her as the source of her existence. This mutual love signifies the complete perfection of charity within the Soul.
6. What role does innocence play in the Soul’s state?
Love observes that only this Soul has attained the state of innocence that allows her full union with God. Others are still hidden and veiled from this union due to the original sin of Adam. This highlights the rarity of such a union and the purity required to attain it.
7. Why does the Soul say “He is nothing except Himself, to speak the truth”?
This statement reflects the ineffability and simplicity of God, who is beyond all attributes and descriptions. The Soul recognizes that God cannot be reduced to any created form or concept-He simply is, and His existence is sufficient in itself.
“The Mirror of Simple Souls” by Marguerite Porete – Part 6 of 14
Chapter 51 teaches that the soul, through complete self-emptying and surrender, becomes transformed into likeness with the Godhead-not by nature, but through love and grace. This transformation is marked by the soul’s recognition of her nothingness, which paradoxically grants her union with the All, who is God. In losing all personal will, desires, and spiritual practices, she gains absolute freedom and rests entirely in the divine will, unmoved and unencumbered. Her life becomes one of silent repose, beyond prayer or action, and in this stillness she becomes the dwelling place of God, likened to the “precious Esther,” chosen to live hidden in the chamber of divine will.
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1. “It is fitting, says Love, that this Soul be similar to the Godhead, for she is transformed into God, says Love, which is why she has retained her true form, which is granted and given to her without beginning from One alone who has always loved her by His goodness.”
The Soul, having reached complete union, is described as being transformed into God. This is not pantheism but a mystical identification-her form remains, yet it has become perfectly receptive to divine life. Her identity is now grounded in eternal love, bestowed by God “without beginning.” This affirms the soul’s likeness to the Godhead through a love that transcends time and individuality.
2. “Ah, Love, says this Soul, the meaning of what is said makes me nothing, and the nothingness of this alone has placed me in an abyss below less than nothingness without measure.”
The Soul, in response, plunges into profound humility. Awareness of divine majesty reduces her to “less than nothingness.” This paradoxical self-emptying is not despair but the gateway to divine fullness. The deeper she knows her nothingness, the more capacity she has to receive God.
3. “And the understanding of my nothingness, says this Soul, has given me the All, and the nothingness of this All, says the Soul, has taken from me prayer, and I pray nothing.”
This is the heart of apophatic spirituality: the Soul gains “All” by realizing her nothingness. But this All is itself “nothing” in worldly or conceptual terms. Even prayer ceases-replaced by a silent, total resting in God. This is the radical contemplative state: beyond asking, beyond effort, immersed in divine will.
4. “I repose completely in peace, says this Soul, alone and nothing and all in the courtesy of the goodness of God alone, without moving myself away from the one will …”
Here, the Soul describes her state as total repose, unified with God’s will. She possesses “nothing and all” through absolute detachment and surrender. Her peace flows not from external goods or even interior experience, but from resting in the one will-God’s alone.
5. “For as long as I will nothing, says this Soul, I am alone in Him without myself, completely unencumbered … But when I will something … I have lost freeness.”
The act of willing-even of willing good-reintroduces the self and its burdens. True freedom lies in the absence of self-will. This is the essence of mystical poverty: to will nothing is to be in God without encumbrance. Self-will breaks the unity; its absence preserves it.
6. “O very precious Esther, says Love, you who have lost all your practices, and through this loss have the practice of doing nothing … in this nothingness … you are unconscious and remain dead. But you live, beloved … in His will completely …”
Love addresses the Soul as “Esther”-the hidden queen. Her greatness lies in losing even spiritual practices. She has entered the pure “practice of doing nothing,” living in divine will alone. Her death to self is her truest life. She dwells now in God’s chamber, where He delights to remain-a symbol of mutual indwelling in perfect love.
This chapter presents one of the deepest mystical teachings of the Mirror of Simple Souls: that true union with God entails utter emptiness of self, total rest in the divine will, and a passive, receptive identity that paradoxically becomes most like the Godhead.
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1. What does it mean for the Soul to be “similar to the Godhead”?
It means the Soul has been wholly transformed into God by love, not by nature but by grace and union. She retains her identity but now reflects the divine through total conformity to God’s will, having been eternally loved and formed by Him.
2. How does the Soul understand her own identity in relation to God?
The Soul recognizes herself as “nothing,” and this awareness places her in an “abyss below less than nothingness.” This deep humility paradoxically grants her the “All,” because in losing all self-claim, she becomes fully open to receive God.
3. What is meant by the Soul saying she “prays nothing”?
She has gone beyond all forms of active prayer and desire. In her state of union, she neither asks nor strives-she simply rests in God’s will. This is the contemplative state where the soul is so unified with God that even prayer becomes unnecessary.
4. Why does the Soul reject even the act of willing something good?
Because any act of willing reintroduces the self and its preferences, which breaks the pure union with God. To will anything-even a good-makes her “with herself,” not with God. Only by willing nothing can she be totally unencumbered and free.
5. What is the paradox of “nothing and all” that the Soul describes?
By becoming nothing, she receives all-that is, God Himself. But even this “All” is experienced as a kind of nothingness because it is beyond grasping, naming, or possessing. The soul dwells in divine fullness precisely through emptiness.
6. How is this Soul addressed by Love, and why is this significant?
Love calls her “precious Esther,” a biblical allusion to a hidden queen chosen for a divine mission. This emphasizes the Soul’s hidden nobility and election. She has given up all spiritual practices yet paradoxically fulfills the highest “practice” by doing nothing but resting in God.
7. What is the final dwelling place of the Soul according to Love?
She lives “unconscious and dead” in the nothingness of her Lover, yet fully alive in His will. This will is called His “chamber,” a place of intimacy, where He delights to dwell with her. Her soul has become the resting place of God.
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Chapter 52 presents a vision of the soul’s complete immersion in divine Love, where she is no longer guided by intellect or virtue but by love alone, which unites her to God beyond understanding. Love praises the soul as nobly born, worthy of entering the divine “manor” because she is transformed, not by knowledge, but by love’s total embrace. Like iron consumed by fire, the soul loses her own form and is wholly invested with God’s essence, resting in absolute peace without need or desire. She no longer seeks help or consolation, even from God’s power, wisdom, or goodness, for she lives entirely from God’s peace and has become nothing in herself so as to lack nothing in Him. Living with one will, one love, and one work in union with God, she transcends even the practice of virtues, remaining in a hidden, naked nothingness that continuously reveals the All. In this state, she is deepened, enlarged, and made supremely secure, held in the unceasing embrace of divine righteousness.
—
1. “O very high-born one, says Love to this precious pearl, it is well that you have entered the only noble manor, where no one enters if he is not of your lineage and without bastardy.”
Love praises the soul’s nobility, identifying her as one born of divine origin-“not of bastardy.” Entry into the “noble manor” symbolizes entrance into the innermost depths of divine love, a domain only accessible to souls conformed wholly to God, free of any spiritual impurity or duality.
2. “This Soul … has entered into the abundances and flowings of divine Love … not by the attainment of divine Understanding … but by attainment absolute of her love.”
The soul is united to divine Love not through intellect or enlightenment, but through pure love. Marguerite sharply distinguishes between understanding and love, insisting that union is not cognitive but affective-a radical surrender of being through love alone.
3. “All this … is like iron invested with fire which has lost its own semblance … So also this Soul is completely invested … and transformed into this greater part.”
The metaphor of iron transformed by fire signifies the soul’s complete assimilation into divine love. Her own identity is consumed and replaced by the divine reality, just as iron glows and becomes fire-like when heated. She no longer acts or lives from herself but from the divine greater part.
4. “She remains and is transformed into the greater part of the absolute eternal peace without anyone finding her.”
The soul disappears into divine peace-so deeply hidden in God that she cannot be located or defined. Her identity has been dissolved in the peace of God, and she is no longer accessible to any external force, idea, or intervention.
5. “What never was given, nor is, nor will be, makes her naked and places her in nothingness … she desires neither assistance nor to be spared …”
Here Marguerite reveals the radical detachment of the soul. Her love is so pure it is untouched even by the desire for God’s help or consolation. She is stripped of all needs, expectations, and spiritual claims-even divine favors are relinquished.
6. “He is, says this Soul, and nothing is lacking to Him. I am not, and so nothing is lacking to me.”
A profound paradox: in being “nothing,” the soul lacks nothing, because her identity is absorbed into the sufficiency of God, who is. Her negation of self is the gateway to fullness, as she partakes of divine being through annihilation.
7. “Such being makes me have one love and one will and one work in two natures.”
The soul becomes so united with God that her love, will, and action are now indistinguishable from His. The phrase “in two natures” evokes Christological language, hinting at the mystery of divine-human union.
8. “This Soul leaves the dead to bury the dead, and the sad ones to work the Virtues … she rests … in the greater part, but she uses all things.”
The soul transcends ordinary spiritual labor (“working the Virtues”) and leaves behind those still bound to the lesser ways. Yet she does not despise or abandon these things-she “uses all things” from her place of transcendence, which reflects mastery, not rejection.
9. “These showings make her deep, large, supreme, and sure. For they make her always naked, All and Nothing …”
Divine revelation expands the soul’s interior capacity-making her vast, firm, and deeply rooted. Her paradoxical state of being “All and Nothing” is her ultimate form of union: fully possessing God and yet stripped of all self.
—
1. According to Love, how does the soul enter the “noble manor” of divine love?
The soul enters the noble manor not through intellect or birthright in the worldly sense, but because she is of a noble spiritual lineage-unmixed with “bastardy,” meaning she is pure, divinely conformed, and wholly given over to love. Her entrance is based on her essential transformation through love.
2. What distinction does Love make between divine understanding and divine love?
Love insists that the soul does not attain divine Love through divine Understanding or intellect, since no amount of enlightenment can grasp Love’s flowings. Rather, the soul reaches it through absolute attainment of love itself, bypassing intellectual mediation.
3. What is the significance of the metaphor comparing the soul to iron transformed by fire?
The metaphor illustrates how the soul, like iron immersed in fire, loses her distinct form and is entirely absorbed into the greater divine reality. She is no longer distinguishable by her own properties but becomes an extension of divine Love-transfigured, consumed, and sustained by it.
4. Why does Love say the soul desires “neither assistance nor to be spared” by God’s power, wisdom, or goodness?
Because the soul has been stripped of all need and self-interest. She is fully surrendered, resting in divine peace and desiring nothing-even divine consolation. This reveals a love so pure that it seeks no reward or relief, not even from God’s attributes.
5. What does the soul mean when she says, “He is, and nothing is lacking to Him. I am not, and so nothing is lacking to me”?
She expresses the mystical paradox of self-annihilation: by no longer existing as a separate “self,” she shares in God’s all-sufficiency. Her being is now wholly God’s being, and in her nothingness she lacks nothing because God is her All.
6. What does it mean that the soul “has one love and one will and one work in two natures”?
This refers to the soul’s deep union with God: her desires, actions, and love are no longer her own but God’s. The phrase “two natures” echoes Christological language, suggesting a unity that preserves distinction but merges action and will in perfect harmony.
7. How does Love contrast the soul’s state with that of those who “work the Virtues”?
Love implies that the soul has transcended the realm of deliberate virtue practice. She has passed beyond active moral effort into a state of resting in divine peace, though she still “uses all things” as needed. Her life is no longer oriented toward spiritual achievement but complete divine conformity.
8. What effect do the divine “showings” have on the soul?
These revelations expand and deepen the soul, making her “deep, large, supreme, and sure.” They continually show her her nakedness and nothingness, which paradoxically reveals to her the All-Powerful. In this way, she remains in a state of total self-surrender and divine fullness.
——————–
Chapter 53 emphasizes the radical distinction between the knowledge attained through Reason and the divine understanding granted through Love. The Soul, now fully immersed in Love, declares that the deepest truths of God cannot be grasped or explained by Reason, no matter how refined or persistent it may be. In fact, Reason’s efforts to question and understand these mysteries only distort and prolong what Love reveals directly and simply to the soul that is wholly surrendered. Love affirms that true comprehension belongs only to those who are ruled by Fine Love and have died to all forms of selfhood-“dead by all deaths”-so that nothing remains to resist divine union. This chapter critiques rationalism in the spiritual life and upholds a theology of experiential, transformative knowledge available only through total annihilation of the self in God.
—
1. “O most sweet abyssed one, says Reason, at the bottom without bottom of total humility, and very noble rock on the broad plain of truth, alone on the mountaintop except for those in your domain…”
Reason begins with a reverent and poetic address to the Soul, acknowledging her profound humility and elevated spiritual state. The language is paradoxical-“bottom without bottom”-to evoke the ineffable depth of the Soul’s annihilation and transformation. Reason recognizes the Soul’s elevated status but simultaneously shows its own distance from that state.
2. “I pray that you say what is meant by these hidden meanings which Fine Love mentions.”
Reason, though admiring, is still bound to the mode of inquiry and seeks clarification of the ineffable truths expressed by Love. However, this appeal already reveals Reason’s limits: the truths of Fine Love transcend rational explanation and cannot be neatly grasped through discursive understanding.
3. “Reason, says this Soul, if anyone would tell these to you and should you hear, still you will never grasp them.”
The Soul immediately rebuffs Reason’s request, pointing out the fundamental incommensurability between the truths of divine Love and the faculties of human reason. Even if spoken plainly, these mysteries remain inaccessible to Reason. The Soul suggests a radical epistemological rupture: this knowledge is only given by and through Love.
4. “Your questions have dishonored and ruined this book… You have revealed this book to those in your domain who move along at a snail’s pace.”
There is a sharp rebuke here: Reason’s persistent questioning has diluted the power of the book, forcing expansions and clarifications for readers not yet ready to grasp divine things. The Soul laments how the text must be adapted for the slow-moving and rationalistic minds under Reason’s domain, implying a loss of mystical immediacy.
5. Love: “Revealed? Truly, in this matter Reason and all her students can only be against what does not seem to them to be well said…”
Love joins the critique, underscoring that Reason and her disciples resist what eludes rational clarity. Anything not “well said” in Reason’s terms is suspected or dismissed. This affirms the tension between divine Love’s radical speech and Reason’s demand for coherence, system, and clarity.
6. “That one alone understands it whom Fine Love rules… whoever grasps clearly must be dead by all mortifying deaths…”
Understanding, in the world of this Soul, is not cognitive but existential. It requires the complete death of self-“all mortifying deaths”-so that Love may reign entirely. Only such a person, annihilated of ego, can receive the divine truths Love reveals. This statement caps the chapter with a mystical affirmation: the gate to true knowledge is death to the self.
This chapter reinforces the fundamental incompatibility between rational inquiry and divine Love’s mystical knowledge. Reason is portrayed as an obstacle-well-meaning, even admiring-but ultimately incapable of entering the realm that Love opens only to those who have died entirely to self.
—
1. Why does Reason approach the Soul with such reverence at the beginning of the chapter?
Reason recognizes the Soul’s utter humility and exalted state, calling her “abyssed” and “alone on the mountaintop.” This reflects Reason’s awareness that the Soul has reached a spiritual height far beyond rational comprehension. The language reveals both admiration and the distance between them.
2. What does the Soul say about Reason’s request to understand the hidden meanings revealed by Love?
The Soul responds bluntly that Reason will never be able to grasp these truths, even if they were plainly told to her. These mysteries of divine Love are not accessible to Reason or discursive thought, only to those governed entirely by Love.
3. How does the Soul criticize Reason’s role in relation to the book’s message?
The Soul accuses Reason of having “dishonored and ruined” the book by forcing it to become lengthy and explanatory for those governed by Reason. This suggests that the book’s original simplicity and mystical immediacy are compromised when adapted to rational minds.
4. What is Love’s assessment of Reason and her students in this chapter?
Love confirms the Soul’s criticism by stating that Reason and her students are “one-eyed”-they see but do not understand. They instinctively oppose whatever doesn’t conform to their rational categories, showing the limitation of Reason in spiritual matters.
5. Who alone, according to the Soul, can understand the truths spoken by Love?
Only those who are fully ruled by Fine Love and who have undergone “all mortifying deaths” can understand these truths. This means complete self-emptying and death to the ego are prerequisites for truly grasping divine reality.
6. What does the phrase “dead by all deaths” signify in this context?
It refers to the total annihilation of self-will, pride, knowledge, and desire. Only by dying to all attachments and false selves can the Soul become receptive to the divine mysteries revealed by Love.
——————–
Chapter 54 teaches that the soul’s full understanding of divine love and the truths expressed in this book requires passing through three spiritual “deaths.” The first two deaths-symbolizing detachment from sin and nature-can still leave remnants of Reason’s influence. But the third and most profound death involves a total annihilation of the self that only those who have transcended all earthly ties and fears can grasp-those “on the mountain.” This state lies utterly beyond the reach of Reason and its methods, and only Love can speak truthfully about it. The chapter affirms that ultimate union with God demands a complete dying to self that reason cannot endure or comprehend, and only divine Love can lead the soul through this final transformation.
—
1. [Reason]: “Ah, treasure house of Love, says Reason, tell us about how many kinds of death it was necessary for you to die before you understood this book perfectly.”
Reason, recognizing its limits yet still compelled to inquire, turns with awe and humility to Love for insight into the mysterious process of transformation the Soul undergoes. The metaphor of “kinds of death” refers to the stages of self-annihilation that precede the reception of divine wisdom. Reason’s language acknowledges that understanding this book is not a matter of intellectual effort but of profound inner death.
2. [Soul]: “Ask Love, says this Soul, for she knows the truth about it.”
The Soul defers to Love, indicating that the authority for interpreting the path lies not in the Soul’s own reflective powers, nor in Reason, but in Love-who embodies divine truth. The phrasing subtly implies that only Love can disclose the true mystery behind the deaths required for divine understanding.
3. [Reason]: “Ah, Lady Love, for the sake of God’s mercy, says Reason, tell it to us, not only for me and for those whom I have nourished, but also for those who have taken leave of me …”
Here Reason shows a rare humility and even generosity, appealing not only for its own sake but for the benefit of others-both those still under its tutelage and those who have transcended it. This underscores the transitional role of Reason: while it cannot attain the divine truths directly, it still plays a part in guiding others to the threshold.
4. [Love]: “Those who have taken leave of you will still have something of your nourishment after two kinds of death by which this Soul has died. But the third death, by which this Soul died, no one living grasps except the one on the mountain.”
Love describes a hierarchy of deaths: the first two involve a death to sin and to nature-visible progress in the ascetical life-but the third death is an ineffable, mystical annihilation. Only the one “on the mountain”-an image suggesting solitude, elevation, and spiritual height-can know this final death. It is a state beyond comprehension, beyond even the living.
5. [Reason]: “Ah, for God’s sake, says Reason, say what kind of folk are on the mountain.”
Reason is overwhelmed and curious, not content with being excluded. It asks who these elevated souls are. This question implies both reverence and a kind of desperation; Reason reaches the edge of its own domain and peers out into the unknowable.
6. [Love]: “They have neither earthly shame nor honor, nor fear of anything which might come.”
The people on the mountain-those who have undergone the third death-live free from all attachments to worldly values, praise or blame, fear or ambition. Their souls are stripped of every earthly concern. This total dispossession is the condition for receiving divine union in its most radical form.
7. [Reason]: “Ah, God, Lady Love, says Reason, for God’s sake, answer our questions before you say any more, for I have horror and fear to hear of the life of this Soul.”
At last, Reason confesses terror. The life of the Soul appears too foreign, too unsettling, too absolute in its negation of the familiar human order. The deeper the revelation, the more Reason recoils. This moment dramatizes the boundary between rational knowledge and mystical experience-where Reason itself must fall silent.
This chapter reveals the abyss between reason and divine wisdom. The Soul’s journey requires three “deaths”: progressive stages of detachment culminating in a final, mysterious annihilation that only the most spiritually elevated attain. Reason is shown as reverent but ultimately fearful and powerless before this mystery, whereas Love alone speaks the truth of such transformation.
—
1. What does Reason ask at the beginning of the chapter, and why?
Reason asks how many deaths the Soul had to undergo in order to understand the book perfectly. She seeks this knowledge not just for herself but for her followers and those who have moved beyond her guidance. This question reflects Reason’s desire to grasp the path of transformation leading to divine wisdom, despite her acknowledged limitations.
2. Why does the Soul redirect Reason’s question to Love?
The Soul tells Reason to ask Love because Love alone “knows the truth about it.” This shows that the ultimate authority for understanding the divine mysteries lies with Love, not Reason or the Soul’s own reflection. It reinforces the theme that divine knowledge transcends rational understanding.
3. What are the three “deaths” Love refers to, and who can grasp them?
Love says that after two deaths, those who have left Reason may still retain something of her nourishment. But the third death-the most profound-is incomprehensible to any living soul, except “the one on the mountain.” This implies that full union with God requires complete annihilation, beyond even what the intellect or moral effort can achieve.
4. What characterizes those who dwell “on the mountain”?
They are entirely free from earthly shame and honor and have no fear of anything to come. These souls have transcended all human attachments and concerns. They live in a radical spiritual freedom that is the fruit of total self-emptying.
5. How does Reason respond to the description of this life, and what does this reveal about her limits?
Reason expresses horror and fear, asking Love to pause before continuing. This reaction highlights Reason’s inability to comprehend the life of the Soul who has undergone the third death. It reveals the limits of rational faculties when confronted with the mystical annihilation and total union with God.
6. What role does Love play in this dialogue?
Love is the only one capable of articulating the deeper mysteries of the Soul’s transformation. She represents divine wisdom and authority, in contrast to Reason’s limited reach. Love gently yet firmly delineates the boundary between what Reason can nourish and what only Love can reveal.
——————–
In Chapter 55, Love explains that while many souls live virtuous and spiritually disciplined lives – mortifying the body, practicing charity, and desiring martyrdom – they often become lost in their own works, believing that this state of striving and spiritual satisfaction is the highest possible good. These souls, though devout, are subtly bound to their own will and desire, and thus remain spiritually one-eyed, lacking the full vision of divine freedom. They mistake their state of perpetual desire and virtuous effort for perfection, failing to see that true union with God requires the abandonment of even these holy attachments. Marguerite warns that such souls “perish on the way” because their spiritual satisfaction blinds them to the deeper, self-emptying life of pure Love that transcends all desire and merit.
—
1. “Reason, says Love, those who live as described in this book (these are the ones who have attained the being of such a life) understand quickly without it being necessary to explain the glosses.”
Love begins by distinguishing those who have attained the “being” described in the book from those still under the governance of Reason. Such souls, living from divine union rather than through rational explanation, immediately grasp the truths of Love without the need for commentary or interpretation. The intuitive knowledge of the soul united to God transcends Reason’s laborious questioning.
2. “There are two types of folk who live the life of perfection by the works of Virtues in affections of the spirit.”
Love introduces a critique of the traditional spiritual life centered on the active practice of virtues. Though these lives may appear holy and committed, they remain bound to the spiritual faculties and are not yet free of self. These “affections of the spirit” are still driven by will, effort, and self-conscious striving.
3. “They possess such great pleasure in their works that they have no understanding that there might be any better being than the being of the works of the virtues and death by martyrdom.”
This type of soul delights in virtue and sacrifice, mistaking the satisfaction derived from these works for the highest spiritual state. Their error lies in equating spiritual effort and visible devotion with union with God, failing to see that such satisfaction can obscure the call to deeper annihilation.
4. “Such folk are happy, says Love, but they are lost in their works, on account of the sufficiency which they have in their being.”
Love delivers a sharp paradox: these virtuous souls are “happy” but “lost.” Their reliance on works and the self-satisfaction they derive from them becomes a spiritual trap. The “sufficiency” they experience-believing they have attained the goal-prevents them from moving beyond themselves into divine nothingness.
5. “Such folk, says Love, are called kings, but they are in a country where everyone is one-eyed. But without fail, those who have two eyes consider them to be servants.”
This vivid metaphor suggests that the spiritually active are respected among their peers (“kings among the one-eyed”) but seen as limited from the perspective of the soul with full vision (“those who have two eyes”). The true mystic sees that these souls, still bound to effort and desire, are servants-not yet free in divine love.
6. “Servants they are truly, says this Soul, but they don’t understand it. They are like the owl who thinks there is no more beautiful bird in the wood than young owls.”
The Soul echoes Love’s critique, noting that these devout people, like owls admiring their own kind, are blinded by self-satisfaction. Their attachment to their own desire for virtue leads them to believe they are at the pinnacle of spiritual life, unaware that a deeper freedom exists.
7. “Thus they perish on the way because they are satisfied by what desire and will give to them.”
The chapter ends with a powerful warning: those who remain attached to spiritual desire and the will’s activity may fail to reach divine union. They “perish on the way” because they are content with lesser goods-good in themselves, but insufficient to carry the soul into the radical self-emptying required for divine indwelling.
This chapter functions as a contemplative and prophetic critique of the spiritually devout who remain entangled in the self, even through seemingly holy acts. Marguerite, through the voice of Love and the Soul, invites the reader to consider a deeper path-beyond desire, beyond virtue, into the naked freedom of divine nothingness.
—
1. Who are the two types of people described by Love in this chapter?
Love describes those who live a life of spiritual perfection through the works of virtues and affections of the spirit. These include people who mortify the body through charitable works and find pleasure in these actions, believing that the highest spiritual life consists in virtuous striving, martyrdom, and continual desire to do good.
2. Why does Love say that such people are “happy, but lost”?
They are “happy” because they find satisfaction and spiritual joy in their good works. However, they are “lost” because their satisfaction blinds them to the possibility of a higher spiritual state. They remain attached to their own being and efforts, which keeps them from the self-emptying required for union with God.
3. What does it mean that they are “in a country where everyone is one-eyed”?
This metaphor suggests that these people are seen as spiritual leaders or “kings” among others who are also limited in their vision. However, from the perspective of those with full spiritual sight-those completely surrendered in Love-they are still incomplete, functioning more as “servants” than as those truly free in God.
4. How does the owl metaphor deepen the critique of spiritual desire?
The Soul compares these people to owls who believe their own kind are the most beautiful, illustrating the spiritual self-satisfaction of those who dwell in desire. Just as owls are blind to greater beauty, these souls cannot see beyond their current spiritual state and thus remain trapped in what they perceive as the highest good.
5. What danger does Marguerite warn about through the phrase “they perish on the way”?
The warning is that those who become content with desire, will, and virtue-without transcending them into divine detachment-risk never reaching union with God. Their journey ends prematurely because they cling to spiritual goods that are still bound to the self, rather than letting go into the total poverty and freedom of divine Love.
——————–
Chapter 56 teaches that while the Virtues play a valuable role in the spiritual life, they are not the final goal and cannot lead the soul to the fullness of divine union. The Virtues, though sincere and holy, are astonished and even scandalized when Love says that those who live entirely by their counsel may perish-not in sin, but by remaining stuck in a limited, self-reliant form of piety. Love affirms that ultimate understanding belongs to the intellect illumined by Divine Love, which surpasses the labor and merit of virtuous works. The Soul supports this by noting that the Virtues, like a poor lord offering a small wage, can only take one so far; they cannot teach what they themselves do not possess-namely, the experience of abiding in the All of God. Thus, the soul must seek out the Love who is the mother of Divine Understanding, for only she can bring the soul into the fullness of divine life beyond the limits of desire, effort, and virtue.
—
1. “Ah, God, alas! say the Virtues. Lady Love, who will offer honor to us since you say that those perish who live totally by our counsel?”
The Virtues express dismay and confusion over Love’s radical claim that those who live solely by the guidance of Virtues perish. They feel dishonored and spiritually displaced, as their very purpose is to guide souls to holiness. Their protest illustrates the central tension between the active life of virtue and the contemplative, annihilated life of union that Marguerite espouses.
2. “For we cannot perceive that one can perish who does everything according to our teaching, through the ardor of desire which gives true sentiment of Jesus Christ.”
The Virtues cling to the traditional path of desiring Christ and acting righteously, but they acknowledge a limit: they cannot perceive beyond the realm of will and effort. This signals the gulf between their sphere-rooted in desire, effort, and obedience-and the realm of Love, which transcends all grasping, even holy striving.
3. “To be sure, says Love. There is mastery in the intellect, for there is the kernel of divine food.”
Love affirms the importance of divine intellect-not in the rational, discursive sense, but as the receptacle of divine wisdom. True understanding of God’s depths lies beyond the operational realm of the Virtues and is instead rooted in the still, receptive intellect illumined by Love.
4. “We are made by you for the purpose of serving such Souls.”
The Virtues begin to understand their secondary role: they exist not as ends, but as servants to the higher purpose of union with God through Love. They are not denied, but relativized, acknowledged as necessary in the soul’s early stages but not the culmination.
5. “Whoever serves a poor Lord a long time becomes poor in waiting for a small wage.”
The Soul warns that serving only the Virtues (here compared to a “poor Lord”) leads to spiritual impoverishment. One who clings to the Virtues alone remains stuck in a lower spiritual economy-working for a “wage” rather than receiving the fullness of God’s gratuitous Love.
6. “How will the Virtues teach their pupils what they do not possess and never will possess?”
This rhetorical question underscores the limitation of the Virtues. While they are good and necessary, they cannot convey the fullness of Divine Love because they themselves are not immersed in it. The soul seeking divine union must go beyond the pedagogical reach of the Virtues.
7. “Let that person ask this Love who is the mother of Understanding and of Divine Light…”
Marguerite distinguishes between two “Loves”: the lesser, which is a product of human understanding, and the greater, who is the very source of Divine Light and true Understanding. Only the latter can teach the mystery of how souls perish in Virtues-because she knows the All and abides in the All.
8. “…on account of the greater part of the All in which this Soul stops and remains, and so she cannot do other than remain in the All.”
The Soul who abides in Divine Love rests not in works or striving, but in the All-total union with God. This state is marked by stillness, simplicity, and a deep ontological resting in divine plenitude. It is inaccessible to those who dwell only in active virtue.
—
1. Why do the Virtues complain to Love at the start of the chapter?
Because Love has said that those who live totally by the counsel of the Virtues “perish.” The Virtues feel dishonoured and fear their teaching is being declared useless or even dangerous.
2. What underlying assumption makes the Virtues sure their path cannot lead to ruin?
They are convinced that anyone who ardently desires Jesus Christ and performs works of virtue and mortification must be safe. They cannot imagine that self-reliance on virtuous activity could block deeper union with God.
3. How does Love answer their anxiety?
Love says the “kernel of divine food” lies in the intellect illumined by Love, not in external works. The Virtues were created to serve souls who will eventually move beyond them; their office is preparatory, not ultimate.
4. Why does the Soul call the Virtues “a poor Lord” who pays a small wage?
Works of virtue give a limited, “earned” recompense. A soul that serves only these works remains spiritually poor, because she never receives the free, limitless gift of Divine Love that lies beyond merit and wage.
5. What key criticism does the Soul level against the Virtues as teachers?
They cannot teach what they themselves “do not possess and never will possess” – namely, the experience of resting in the All of Divine Love. Hence pupils must turn to Love, not to the Virtues, for the final stage.
6. Which Love must one consult to understand how “those who live in the Virtues perish,” and why?
The text distinguishes between a “daughter of Understanding” (ordinary human love) and the “mother of Understanding and of Divine Light.” Only this higher Love, source of true enlightenment, knows the whole mystery because she lives in the “greater part of the All.”
7. What practical lesson does Marguerite draw for readers?
Virtuous practice is good, but if one stops there, self-satisfaction prevents entry into the radical poverty where God alone is All. To reach union, a soul must let Love lead her beyond virtue, desire, and will into pure, self-emptying rest in God.
——————–
In Chapter 57, the Soul, Love, and the Holy Spirit explore the condition of the “sad ones,” souls who, though still operating within the domain of virtue and spiritual practice, are set apart from the “lost” by their profound awareness of their own insufficiency. Unlike the lost, who believe themselves complete in their virtue, the sad ones recognize that a higher, freer state exists-one beyond asking, desiring, or possessing-and they grieve their distance from it. This sorrow, born of humility and longing, prompts them to seek guidance from Divine Understanding, who teaches them the path toward the “land of willing nothing,” where the unencumbered rest in the fullness of divine being without movement, need, or exchange. Their sadness is thus a holy sorrow that prepares them for the radical dispossession required for true union with God.
—
1. “Now we will tell you also about those who are sad who are servants and merchants, but they act more wisely than the lost do.”
This introduces a new class of souls-the “sad ones”-who, although not yet free, are in a more advanced spiritual position than the “lost.” They still operate within the realm of virtue and labor (hence servants and merchants), but their sorrow comes from an awareness of something greater. Their wisdom lies in their dissatisfaction with mere virtue.
2. “Because, says Love, the sad ones maintain that there is a being better than theirs, and so they understand well that they do not have understanding of this better thing which they believe.”
The defining quality of the sad ones is humility: they know they lack the fullness of divine being. Unlike the lost, who believe their state of virtue is the highest possible, the sad recognize a higher state beyond them. This self-perception of spiritual poverty is what marks their path toward eventual freedom.
3. “They maintain instead that they are miserable and sad … and those who are sad know this. Thus she [Lady Understanding] teaches them the right royal road, which runs through the land of willing nothing.”
Their sadness opens the way to Divine Understanding. Recognizing their insufficiency, they cry out for help and are taught the path to “willing nothing,” the pure self-emptying necessary for divine union. Sadness becomes a grace that moves them beyond self-sufficiency and prepares them for total detachment.
4. “So, if they are sad, they can come to the being of the unencumbered ones, of whom we speak, according to the teaching of this Divine Light.”
The sad are not yet unencumbered but have the potential to become so. Their sorrow is a threshold condition-painful but necessary. The unencumbered dwell in pure divine being without movement, desire, or effort, and the sad may arrive there by surrendering through the guidance of Divine Light.
5. “Truly, so long as a soul makes any calls to Understanding or to Love … one can indeed say that the one who asks often is little or poor, and [this is true] of whoever asks for something.”
The Holy Spirit affirms the soul’s poverty as a mark of its immaturity. To ask implies lack and separation; thus, even the act of seeking shows one has not yet arrived. Full union means no longer asking or needing, for all is fulfilled in the divine.
6. “Every being, whatever it might be, is but a game of catch or child’s play compared to the supreme being of willing nothing …”
This profound statement relativizes all spiritual effort, desire, or striving-no matter how virtuous. Only the being of “willing nothing,” the total passivity and freedom of divine union, is true fulfillment. Everything else is preparatory or transitional.
7. “For the unencumbered one in his righteous being could neither refuse, nor desire, nor promise anything in exchange for something which someone could give him; but instead, [the unencumbered one] would want to give everything for the sake of maintaining loyalty.”
The unencumbered are described as having transcended exchange or desire. Their only movement is one of pure generosity, not based on merit or gain but on fidelity to divine being. This is the end-point toward which the sad ones are journeying.
This chapter reveals the importance of spiritual sorrow-not as despair but as holy dissatisfaction. The “sad ones” are those who intuit that virtue and effort, while good, are not the end. Their sadness becomes a holy longing that opens them to Divine Understanding and prepares them for the radical detachment of divine union.
—
1. Who are the “sad ones,” and how do they differ from the “lost”?
The sad ones are souls who still operate within the realm of virtues-serving and “trading” like servants and merchants-but unlike the lost, they realize that there is a higher state of being they have not attained. Their sorrow comes from this awareness and humility, while the lost believe they have already arrived through virtue alone and thus are deluded.
2. Why does Love esteem the sad ones more than the lost, even though they practice similar things?
Love values the sad ones because they recognize a superior state beyond their current one and acknowledge their lack of understanding. This self-awareness and longing make them open to further spiritual illumination, unlike the lost, who remain complacent in their virtue.
3. What is the significance of the sad ones acknowledging that they are “miserable and sad”?
This confession of misery is spiritually significant because it denotes humility, an accurate self-assessment, and a readiness to be taught. It is the sadness of longing for what they do not yet possess-the divine fullness-and this longing prompts them to seek guidance from Divine Understanding.
4. What role does Lady Understanding play for the sad ones?
Lady Understanding, illumined by divine grace, responds to the cries of the sad ones. She teaches them the “right royal road” that leads through the “land of willing nothing.” This path leads beyond effort and desire into the passive receptivity of divine union.
5. What is meant by the phrase “land of willing nothing,” and why is it important?
The “land of willing nothing” refers to a state of complete detachment from self-will, desires, and even spiritual ambitions. It is the place where one no longer seeks or asks but simply abides in God’s will. It is essential because it marks the transition into the highest form of union, the state of the unencumbered.
6. According to the Holy Spirit, why is asking a sign of being “little or poor”?
To ask implies lack and separation; it shows that the soul has not yet attained union and completeness. In contrast, the unencumbered soul no longer asks because it is wholly aligned with divine being, beyond need or exchange.
7. How does the chapter characterize the state of the unencumbered ones?
The unencumbered dwell in pure divine being, without movement, desire, or need. They do not bargain or seek return; rather, they give all in fidelity. Their state is described as the “supreme being of willing nothing,” in which perfect freedom and love are realized.
8. What is the spiritual value of sorrow in this context?
Sorrow becomes a grace that signals spiritual readiness. It is the pain of realizing one’s insufficiency and longing for divine fullness. Far from being a hindrance, this sorrow motivates the soul to seek Divine Light and prepares it for the radical detachment necessary for true union.
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In Chapter 58, Porete explores the sublime state of the soul in the fifth stage of union with God, where it is utterly annihilated of self-will and filled only with divine presence. Reason questions how such a soul can give anything, but Love responds that the soul gives what God gives through her-divine treasures, not her own. This stage is marked by profound peace and the absence of desire, and although the soul occasionally experiences the sixth stage-a fleeting, ravishing spark of divine glory-it cannot remain there long. Nonetheless, this brief encounter overflows and leaves the soul more noble, detached, and free, stabilizing her even more firmly in the fifth stage. This deep peace, inaccessible to those who still live in desire, is a divine gift received passively, prior to any awareness, and reflects God’s own glory acting in the soul beyond her knowledge or effort.
—
1. “Ah, for God’s sake, says Reason, what do these Souls have to give who are so annihilated?”
Reason expresses confusion at the paradox of the annihilated soul-one who has nothing of her own left-being capable of giving anything at all. From the perspective of Reason, which values agency, possession, and merit, annihilation seems like a total void. Yet this is the threshold of a deeper mystery that Love proceeds to reveal.
2. “To give? says Love. Truly, says Love, whatever God has of value.”
Love responds with a shocking reversal: the annihilated soul gives precisely what God values most. Because she has been emptied of self, she becomes a pure vessel of divine overflow. She offers not from herself but as a transparent medium of divine presence. Her nothingness becomes God’s everything.
3. “She is in the depths of the fifth stage with her Lover. There nothing is lacking to her…”
The fifth stage marks the full annihilation of will. The soul is so united with God that she lacks nothing-her identity is fused with divine sufficiency. She no longer operates from desire or effort but rests in a complete surrender where union and peace are constant.
4. “…she is often carried up to the sixth, but this is of little duration. For it is an aperture, like a spark, which quickly closes…”
The sixth stage is portrayed as a momentary “spark,” an ecstatic flash of even more sublime union-what the text calls the “Ravishing Farnearness.” This is a superabundant grace that the soul cannot hold or retain, as it belongs entirely to God’s movement. It is a taste of divine glory, given and then withdrawn.
5. “The overflowing from the ravishing aperture makes the Soul… free and noble and unencumbered from all things.”
Even though brief, the divine spark leaves a permanent mark. It frees the soul more completely from self and from all attachment. The soul, having tasted this divine ravishment, dwells more deeply and nobly in the fifth stage, fully detached and receptive.
6. “…at the fifth she has no will. And because at the fifth stage… she has no more will… no one would be able to believe… the peace upon peace of peace which the Soul receives…”
The hallmark of the fifth stage is the death of will. This is not apathy or passivity, but a profound stillness where the soul is no longer moved by her own desires, only by God’s hidden workings. The result is unspeakable peace-a layered, all-encompassing rest that cannot be imagined unless one abides in it.
7. “Understand these divine words in a divine manner through Love, hearers of this book!”
The author exhorts readers to transcend intellectual analysis and to receive these teachings spiritually, through the disposition of divine Love. These mysteries are not grasped by reason but by love’s own light.
8. “The work of the Spark… is nothing other than the showing of the glory of the Soul. This does not remain in any creature very long…”
The divine spark is a brief unveiling of the soul’s ultimate glorification in God-a kind of eschatological glimpse. It is too pure, too divine to last in time-bound creatures, but its imprint transforms the soul forever.
9. “The peace… from the operation of my work… is so delicious that Truth calls it glorious food.”
Love refers to the fruit of this divine union as “glorious food,” echoing Eucharistic overtones. It is sustenance not for those who desire, but for those who have been emptied of desire-who will nothing, seek nothing, possess nothing.
10. “Such Souls would govern a country if it had the need, and all without themselves.”
In a final paradox, Love claims that annihilated souls are so filled with divine peace and wisdom that they could govern a nation without ego, ambition, or personal investment. Their actions would flow purely from divine will, unaffected by self.
This chapter reveals the exquisite paradox of the annihilated soul: possessing nothing, she becomes a vessel for everything. She dwells in a stable, will-less peace (the fifth stage) and receives momentary flashes of divine glory (the sixth), returning transformed. Her identity is no longer hers-it is God’s alone.
—
1. Why does Reason question the capacity of annihilated souls to give anything?
Reason operates from a human logic that values possession, autonomy, and effort. From this view, a soul that has been annihilated-emptied of will and self-seems to have nothing left to contribute or offer. Hence, Reason cannot understand how such a soul could give anything meaningful.
2. How does Love answer Reason’s concern?
Love explains that the annihilated soul gives not from herself but from God. She gives “whatever God has of value,” because her emptiness makes her a vessel of divine gift. Her giving is no longer personal or self-originated; it is divine self-giving through her.
3. What defines the fifth stage of the soul?
The fifth stage is marked by the complete loss of personal will. The soul lives in continual union with God, lacking nothing and resting in divine peace. She does not fall back to the fourth stage because she has transcended desire and self-driven will entirely.
4. What is the nature of the soul’s experience of the sixth stage?
The sixth stage is an ecstatic, momentary state described as a “spark” or “aperture”-an overwhelming grace in which the soul is ravished by divine nearness. However, this state is fleeting and cannot last because it is beyond what a creature can sustain. After it passes, the soul returns to the fifth stage, but remains deeply changed.
5. How does the brief experience of the sixth stage affect the soul?
The soul emerges from the sixth stage more free, noble, and detached. Even though the ecstatic state does not last, its “overflowing” transforms her interiorly, stabilizing her more securely in the peace of the fifth stage.
6. What is the “peace upon peace of peace” that Love speaks of?
It refers to the layered, unspeakable peace that the soul experiences in the fifth stage after having passed through the sixth. This peace cannot be understood or believed unless one has directly received it. It is the fruit of pure union with God, where the soul no longer acts from self at all.
7. Why must these teachings be understood “in a divine manner through Love”?
The truths expressed in this chapter surpass intellectual reasoning. They pertain to the inner life of divine union and can only be grasped through love, humility, and a heart attuned to God. Human logic alone will misread or resist them.
8. What is the significance of the phrase “before the Soul has any perception or awareness of His work”?
This emphasizes that God acts freely and sovereignly in the soul without her cooperation or even awareness. His grace precedes any perception, showing that union is entirely God’s doing, not the result of the soul’s effort.
9. What is meant by the soul being able to “govern a country… and all without themselves”?
This paradox underscores the soul’s perfect detachment and surrender. Even if she were placed in charge of great external responsibilities, her actions would flow purely from God’s will, without ego, control, or self-reference. She would act effectively, yet not from herself.
10. Who is excluded from the nourishment of the “glorious food” Love mentions?
Those who still remain in desire-who have not yet reached the state of will-less peace-cannot be fed by the divine peace that Love calls “glorious food.” This nourishment is only for the annihilated soul, emptied of self and united to God in love.
——————–
In Chapter 59, Porete presents the Soul’s journey as a triple conquest: first over sin through grace, then over nature through spiritual life, and finally over spirit itself through divine life. This final stage, the life of God in the Soul, is marked by utter self-loss-a state where the Soul is “without herself,” not present in self, neighbor, or even in God as object, but dissolved in pure divine being. This annihilation is brought about by the brief, ungraspable movement of the divine Spark, which opens and transforms the Soul in a flash of unspeakable glory. Paradoxically, the Soul only truly “belongs to herself” when she has no part of herself remaining, for she lives wholly in God. Aware of the ineffability of this state, the Soul turns from the sublime to the humble, choosing to speak “about little things” for the sake of those still on the path-those who yearn, strive, and remain “with themselves,” but who may yet be drawn toward this total union.
—
1. “At the beginning this Soul conquered by means of the life of grace, grace which is born in the death of sin. Afterward, she conquered by means of the life of the spirit, which is born in the death of nature. And now, she lives the divine life, which is born in the death of the spirit.”
Porete outlines a mystical progression in three phases: from grace (born of renouncing sin), to spiritual life (born of renouncing nature), to divine life (born of renouncing even the spirit). This final “death of the spirit” indicates total self-emptying-even of all spiritual striving or identity-making way for a divine mode of existence beyond human categories. It is a transformation that demands successive, deeper renunciations of ego and self-possession.
2. “This Soul… who lives the divine life, is always without herself.”
To be “without herself” means to be entirely dispossessed of personal identity, no longer anchored in self-reflection, emotion, or ego. The soul does not even cling to its identity in God or others. This is the full realization of annihilation: a radical freedom and dispossession that permits divine life to flow unhindered. It is the paradox of true belonging-she belongs to herself precisely when she no longer lays claim to herself.
3. “When she is no part of herself, neither in God nor in herself, nor in her neighbors; but in the annihilation by which this Spark opens her by the approach of His work.”
This annihilation goes beyond theological or moral categories-it involves a loss even of one’s spiritual identity, roles, or attachments. The soul is stripped bare not just of sin or self-will, but even of her relational identity with God and others. Only the divine Spark-God’s immediate and unmediated action-gives her form and movement, and even this is fleeting. The emphasis is on the mystical receptivity to divine glory beyond comprehension.
4. “How one would be a grand lord who could comprehend the profit of one movement of such annihilation.”
Porete emphasizes the immeasurable value of a single movement of annihilation, likening it to a royal dignity. This is not power or knowledge in a worldly sense, but the profound humility and detachment that allows one to be filled entirely by God. Comprehending the value of such divine negation would be a rare spiritual greatness-an honor of spiritual nobility.
5. “Do not be displeased if I speak afterward about little things… not for those who are this, but for those who are not who yet will be, and will beg continuously as long as they are with themselves.”
Porete turns to her readers with pastoral concern, acknowledging that such exalted states are not the norm. She will return to “little things”-practical teachings-for the sake of those still journeying, still encumbered by selfhood and desire. The contrast between the annihilated and those “with themselves” reinforces the radical nature of divine union, while extending hope to those still seeking.
—
1. What are the three successive ways by which the Soul has conquered, according to Love?
The Soul first conquers through the life of grace, which is born in the death of sin. Then she conquers through the life of the spirit, born in the death of nature. Finally, she lives the divine life, born in the death of the spirit. Each stage represents a deeper self-emptying: from moral conversion, to transcendence of natural inclinations, and finally, to the dissolution of even spiritual self-awareness.
2. What does it mean for the Soul to be “without herself”?
To be “without herself” means the Soul has reached a state of complete annihilation of self, where she is no longer anchored in her identity-not in herself, not in God as object, nor in her neighbors. She is radically dispossessed, no longer participating in her own being, but entirely opened by the divine Spark acting within her. This dispossession is the condition of living the divine life.
3. According to Love, when does the Soul truly belong to herself?
Paradoxically, the Soul belongs to herself only when she is no part of herself. That is, when she is utterly emptied-even of self-consciousness or identity-she is most truly her own, because she is entirely given over to divine action. Her being becomes God’s possession through annihilation rather than acquisition.
4. What role does the divine “Spark” play in the Soul’s state of annihilation?
The Spark represents an intensely brief, sublime movement of divine glory that opens the Soul by its approach and annihilates her understanding. It is not sustained or graspable, and no one can speak fully of its mystery. This Spark enacts the soul’s transformation and produces an interior forgetting of self-an annihilation that results in profound, wordless union.
5. Why does the Soul express the need to “speak afterward about little things”?
Though the chapter discusses high mystical truths, the Soul turns to practical matters for the sake of those who have not yet reached this state of union. She speaks to those who are still with themselves, still yearning, still on the path. It reflects Porete’s pastoral concern to bridge the mystical with the moral, addressing the spiritual needs of seekers still caught in desire and effort.
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In Chapter 60 of The Mirror of Simple Souls, Marguerite Porete outlines the necessary spiritual progression through three distinct “deaths”-the death of sin, the death of nature, and the death of the spirit-each of which purifies the soul and prepares her for union with Divine Love. The first death brings moral purification through obedience to God’s Law; the second overcomes natural inclinations; and the third annihilates even spiritual striving, ushering the soul into the divine life beyond self, will, and understanding. Porete emphasizes the vast distance between the initial life of grace and the final state of glory, underscoring the need for an inner fire of desire, the cooperation of human nature, and the draw of divine righteousness to aid the soul’s ascent. Her compassionate inclusion of both “noble ones” and “little ones” reveals a pedagogical purpose: to illuminate the path for all souls, regardless of their current stage, and to call them toward the sublime state of total annihilation in Love.
—
1. “The first is the death of sin … by which the Soul must die completely so that there no longer remains in her color, or taste, or odor of anything which God prohibits in the Law.”
This “death of sin” is the foundation for all later spiritual progress. Marguerite affirms that complete detachment from all sinful inclinations is necessary-not just in action, but in every sensory and inner residue. Only when the soul is emptied of all that is contrary to divine law can it be said to truly live by grace. This is the first purification, associated with the moral and legal life in accord with divine commandments.
2. “Ah, to you most noble ones, annihilated and uplifted by great admiration and stupefied by conjunction of union of Divine Love, do not be displeased if I touch on something for the little ones …”
Marguerite here acknowledges a twofold audience: the spiritually advanced (“noble ones”) and the beginners (“little ones”). The contrast underlines the radical distance between those who still have a will (the moral and active life) and those who have passed beyond it in the mystical, annihilated state. Her pedagogical method juxtaposes the two to make the divine nobility of the higher path more evident.
3. “…pay attention and hasten yourselves, for it is a very great way and a very long road from the first stage of grace to the last stage of glory which the gentle Farnearness gives.”
This reflects the arduous and transformative journey from initial conversion to union with God. Marguerite doesn’t downplay the difficulty but encourages urgency and attentiveness. The “gentle Farnearness” is her term for God’s paradoxical intimacy-in-distance, and the “last stage of glory” refers to that ineffable union which transcends desire and understanding.
4. “When these two natures are together … and with the third nature … through righteousness … this concord is finely noble.”
She identifies three “natures”: (1) the soul’s natural energy, (2) the ardor of spiritual desire, and (3) the righteous glory that draws the soul. The union of these three elements-body, spirit, and divine grace-forms a complete harmony. This is not merely moral development, but mystical transformation, culminating in the adornment of the soul with divine beauty.
5. “…jealousy of Love and the work of charity, by which I am burdened, cause this book to be made, so that you little ones might be of this sort without interruption …”
Marguerite’s motivation is deeply charitable. Her “jealousy of Love” reflects divine zeal, and her burden is the mystical obligation to share what she has seen. Even though many readers are still “little ones,” she hopes to awaken in them the yearning for annihilation and union. The text is not just a description of mystical states, but an invitation to transformation.
—
1. What are the three deaths the Soul must undergo before entering the free and annihilated life?
The first death is the death of sin, where the Soul becomes completely free of anything prohibited by God’s Law, including all traces such as “color, taste, or odor.”
The second is the death of nature, where the Soul transcends its natural desires and faculties.
The third is the death of the spirit, which leads to divine life-this is the full annihilation where the Soul is beyond self, nature, and spiritual effort.
2. Who are considered to live by the life of grace, and what characterizes this stage?
Those who have undergone the first death (death of sin) live by the life of grace. They follow God’s Law by avoiding what He forbids and doing what He commands. This stage is marked by moral uprightness and spiritual obedience but does not yet involve mystical union or annihilation of will.
3. Why does Love address both “noble ones” and “little ones” in this chapter?
Love addresses both groups to contrast their spiritual states. The “noble ones” have reached annihilation and union with Divine Love, while the “little ones” are beginners still attached to their will and reason. This dual address serves both as a teaching tool and a compassionate gesture to uplift those not yet advanced.
4. What does Marguerite mean by “the long road from the first stage of grace to the last stage of glory”?
She refers to the vast spiritual distance between initial conversion and complete union with God. The “first stage of grace” involves moral effort and obedience, while the “last stage of glory” is the state of divine union beyond desire, will, and understanding-attainable only through total annihilation.
5. How does the interplay of nature, spiritual desire, and righteousness form a “noble concord”?
When the natural energy of the person, the ardor of spiritual desire, and the attraction of divine righteousness (or glory) all come into harmony, they form a powerful dynamic that supports total self-surrender. This unity is “noble” because it leads to a state in which the soul is adorned and drawn entirely by God.
6. What is Marguerite’s stated purpose in writing this book, according to this chapter?
Marguerite says she is compelled by “jealousy of Love” and “the work of charity” to write the book. Her aim is to guide the “little ones” so that they may aspire to the annihilated life-even if only in will-and to encourage the advanced to persevere. Her writing is an act of spiritual generosity.
“The Mirror of Simple Souls” by Marguerite Porete – Part 5 of 14
Chapter 41 teaches that the soul utterly surrendered to divine Love is freed from all anxiety over past sins and from any hope placed in her own merits. Completely annihilated in herself by the sheer goodness of God, she no longer acts from her own initiative-not even for God’s sake-because God alone now acts through her. This self-emptying renders her beyond the reach of Reason and Nature, so that she feels nothing of her union with God, yet abides in Him truly and silently. Such a soul is unconcerned with either the joys of heaven or the torments of hell, seeking only God’s will. Even Holy Church, upon hearing this, stands in reverent silence, acknowledging that this mystery surpasses Scripture and cannot be grasped by Reason, but only by the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
—
1. “Thus such a Soul has no anxiety from sin which she might have ever committed, nor hope in something which she might be able to do, but only in the goodness of God.”
This opening establishes the soul’s radical detachment from both guilt and merit. Her peace does not come from forgetting sin or denying goodness, but from being totally emptied of self-regard, depending only on God’s pure goodness. This is the fruit of a complete interior death: she neither clings to her failures nor takes refuge in her accomplishments.
2. “And the secret treasure of this goodness alone so annihilates her within herself that she is dead to all feeling from within and without, to the extent that such a Soul no longer does any works, neither for God’s sake nor for her own.”
Here, the soul enters into a profound spiritual passivity-not from negligence but from a divine stillness. She is so overcome by the mystery of divine goodness that she no longer acts even for God, but simply is in God. This language echoes mystics like Eckhart or Ruysbroeck, where annihilation means resting entirely in God’s operation, not one’s own.
3. “This Soul, says Love, is no longer with herself, which is why she must be excused from everything.”
Being “no longer with herself” suggests complete self-transcendence. The soul no longer lives by her own lights, and so cannot be judged by ordinary standards. Her life is hidden with God, and thus she must be excused from typical expectations of piety, works, or moral effort.
4. “And the One in whom she is does His work through her, for the sake of which she is entirely freed by the witness of God Himself, says Love, who is the worker of this work.”
This is the high point of divine indwelling: God acts entirely through her, and her freedom consists in His sole agency. This is not Quietism but the mystical vision of total union, where divine Love is the sole source of life and movement.
5. “She is where she loves, says Love, without her feeling it.”
Though she does not feel God’s presence, she dwells in Him. This paradox underscores that spiritual union at this stage transcends awareness or emotion. The soul’s love is no longer experienced as possession but as dispossession-she abides in Love even without consolation.
6. “For whoever does anything by the movement of himself, says Love, is no longer without himself … But the one … who has died from love neither feels nor understands either Reason or Nature.”
This distinction between natural and supernatural life is crucial. The soul who acts from herself is still moved by nature or reason. But the soul who has died from love is moved only by God, and thus transcends rational and natural categories. Reason and Nature are good in themselves, but here they are surpassed.
7. “Such a Soul wills none of the joys of paradise … nor does she refuse any torments of hell …”
This extraordinary statement expresses the soul’s total indifference to reward or punishment-her will is aligned so purely with God’s that she seeks neither consolation nor escape. She no longer loves God for His gifts but simply because He is.
8. “Most sweet Holy Spirit, teach it to us, for this word surpasses our Scripture, and so we cannot grasp by Reason what Love says.”
Here, the Church herself is astonished. The soul’s state transcends theological comprehension and even Scripture as traditionally interpreted. This is not a critique of Scripture but an acknowledgment that divine union passes into mystery beyond discursive knowledge. Love speaks what Reason cannot grasp, and even Holy Church listens in reverent silence.
—
1. Why does the Soul in this chapter no longer feel anxiety over sin or hope in her own good works?
Because her entire trust and orientation are centered solely in the goodness of God, not in anything she has done or might do. She has been so inwardly annihilated by this divine goodness that she has died to both interior and exterior activity. Her past sins and future efforts no longer carry any emotional or spiritual weight; all is surrendered to God.
2. What does it mean that the Soul “no longer does any works, neither for God’s sake nor for her own”?
It means that she is completely passive before God-not from laziness or disobedience, but because she has been utterly emptied of self-will. She is not moved even by religious motivations; she does not act “for” God because she is in God, and God is acting through her. Her own selfhood has been transcended.
3. How does Love explain that this Soul is “no longer with herself”?
Love explains that the Soul is “no longer with herself” because she is fully given over to God-she is not guided by her own will, reason, or natural inclinations. She has become so interiorly detached that she cannot even seek or find God by her own power. God alone works in her, and this divine operation excuses her from all ordinary obligations or judgments.
4. What is meant by the Soul being “where she loves, without her feeling it”?
This phrase expresses the deep mystery of mystical union: although the Soul feels no emotional or conscious awareness of God’s presence, she dwells in Him through Love. Her union is real and complete, but it exists beyond the realm of sensation or intellect.
5. What does this chapter say about Reason and Nature in relation to the soul’s state?
It says that whoever acts from their own movement is still influenced by Reason and Nature, whereas the soul who has “died from love” is beyond both. She neither feels nor understands Reason or Nature because her life is now entirely absorbed in divine Love, not in created faculties or structures.
6. How does the Soul relate to joy and suffering in this chapter?
She is completely indifferent. She wills neither the joys of paradise nor the avoidance of the torments of hell. Her will is so united to God that she does not seek reward nor fear punishment; she desires only God’s will, whatever that may entail.
7. How does Holy Church respond to this teaching, and what does it signify?
Holy Church is amazed and reverent, admitting that what Love says “surpasses our Scripture” and cannot be understood by Reason. This shows that the state of the Soul described here is a profound mystical grace that transcends ordinary theological categories. Even the Church, in her wisdom, listens with humility and awe.
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In Chapter 42, the Soul is revealed as utterly emptied of self-knowing nothing and willing nothing-and it is precisely through this radical unknowing and unwilling that she receives everything. The Holy Spirit teaches that such a Soul, through the power of Love (not by divine nature), possesses the hidden treasure of the Trinity itself, because she shares in all that the Spirit possesses, which includes all that the Father and the Son possess. This profound mystical union is possible because the Soul is entirely dead to the world, allowing the Trinity to dwell in her fully and eternally. The chapter emphasizes that this spiritual state, which surpasses the grasp of Reason and even Holy Church’s usual categories, is the fruit of divine grace and the utter annihilation of self in Love.
—
1. “This Soul knows only one thing, that is, she knows nothing. And so she wills only one thing, that is, she wills nothing.”
This radical “unknowing” and “unwilling” is not ignorance or apathy but the fruit of perfect detachment and self-emptying. The soul has renounced all claims to knowledge and volition apart from God. In doing so, she becomes receptive to the fullness of divine wisdom and will, which transcend human capacities. Her interior poverty becomes the space in which divine fullness can be poured.
2. “This knowing-nothing and this willing-nothing give her everything, says the Holy Spirit, and allow her to find the secret and hidden treasure which is enclosed in the Trinity forever.”
The paradox at the heart of this teaching is that renouncing all personal striving allows the soul to receive “everything.” The “everything” is not material or even merely spiritual goods-it is the mystery of God Himself. The “secret and hidden treasure” refers to an intimate union with the inner life of the Trinity, granted not by nature but by the transformative power of Love.
3. “She possesses all that I have, and the Father and the Son have nothing which I do not have in myself … thus this Soul possesses … the treasure of the Trinity, hidden and enclosed within her.”
This statement reveals the depth of the soul’s union with God. Through her union with the Holy Spirit, the soul mystically shares in all that belongs to the Father and the Son. The presence of the Trinity within her is not symbolic-it is an ontological inhabitation, hidden but real. The soul becomes a living sanctuary of the divine.
4. “Because she is dead to the world and the world is dead in her, the Trinity will dwell in her forever.”
The condition for this indwelling is total detachment from the world-both its attractions and its fears. The soul’s death to the world allows her to live in God alone. This death is not loss but transformation. The indwelling of the Trinity is a perpetual state, not dependent on emotional experience but rooted in divine constancy and the soul’s spiritual death and rebirth.
Overall Insight:
This chapter expresses the peak of mystical union: a soul so emptied of self that she knows and wills nothing but God, and in that emptiness, receives all. The soul becomes a hidden vessel of the Trinity itself, living in silent possession of the divine mystery, no longer distinguished from Love, but abiding wholly within it.
—
1. What does the Holy Spirit say the Soul knows and wills?
The Soul knows only one thing-that she knows nothing-and she wills only one thing-that she wills nothing. This total renunciation of self-knowledge and self-will is the ground of her spiritual poverty and openness to divine fullness.
2. What is the result of the Soul’s “knowing-nothing” and “willing-nothing”?
According to the Holy Spirit, this knowing-nothing and willing-nothing give the Soul “everything,” allowing her to discover the “secret and hidden treasure” enclosed in the Trinity. This signifies profound mystical union with God through the power of Love.
3. How does the Soul come to possess all that the Holy Spirit possesses?
Since the Holy Spirit possesses everything that the Father and the Son possess, and the Soul possesses all that the Holy Spirit has, the Soul therefore mystically possesses the treasure of the Trinity itself-though not by nature, but by Love.
4. What condition allows the Trinity to dwell in the Soul?
The Trinity dwells in the Soul because she is “dead to the world and the world is dead in her.” This death is spiritual detachment from all worldly concerns, which makes her a pure vessel for divine indwelling.
5. How does this teaching relate to Holy Church’s understanding?
Holy Church is amazed and confesses that such teaching “surpasses our Scripture” and cannot be grasped by Reason. This suggests that the depth of mystical union described here transcends the external forms and rational categories of doctrine.
6. By what power does the Soul possess the treasure of the Trinity, if not by divine nature?
The Soul possesses it “through the power of Love,” not by divine nature. This means her union with the Trinity is not ontological equality, but a loving participation granted by grace.
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Chapter 43 teaches that the Souls fully united to God through Love become, in essence, the true Holy Church-not by ecclesiastical function but by inward participation in the Trinity itself. These Souls no longer live by Reason but by pure Love, having given up all they possess, including their will, in a total self-offering to God. In return, the Trinity dwells in them and gives them all that It has-not by nature, but by the right of Love. Their memory, understanding, and will are now fully absorbed in God’s Being, and their actions flow not from themselves but from divine ordination. These Souls exemplify perfect love: not seeking reward, they return all to God purely for His sake, becoming vessels of divine sustenance for the whole Church.
—
1. “These Souls, says Love, are properly called Holy Church, for they sustain and teach and feed the whole Holy Church. And not merely they, says Love, but the whole Trinity within them.”
Love identifies the fully annihilated Souls-those utterly conformed to God’s will-not simply as members of the Church but as its very heart, its substance. They are Holy Church in its truest form, because the indwelling Trinity acts in and through them. This radical statement redefines the Church not as institutional first, but as mystically incarnated in the souls who live in perfect unity with God.
2. “We wish to say, says Holy Church, that these Souls are of the life above us, for Love dwells in them and Reason dwells in us.”
Institutional or “Little” Holy Church acknowledges a hierarchy-not of authority but of spiritual elevation. These Souls dwell above Reason’s domain because they are governed by Love, not by doctrine or rational guidance. Reason may teach and interpret, but it bows to what it cannot grasp: divine Love in its pure operation.
3. “Ah, Reason, says Love, you will always be one-eyed, you and all those who are fed by your doctrine. For, to be sure, one has faulty vision who sees things before his eyes and does not understand them at all.”
Love critiques Reason’s limitations-its partial vision. Even when faced with divine realities, Reason fails to comprehend them fully. This reflects the soul’s journey beyond rational faith into a lived union, where knowing is no longer cognitive but experiential and mystical.
4. “This Soul … has given everything to us, whatever she held dear … without wishing anything in return in heaven or on earth, but for the sake of our will alone.”
The Soul’s self-gift is absolute-nothing is held back. She desires neither reward nor consolation but only God’s will. This is pure charity: a self-emptying that mirrors the kenosis of Christ. Her total offering opens her to receive the fullness of divine life.
5. “Thus what we possess in us, says the Holy Spirit, is by divine nature, and this Soul possesses it from us in herself by right of Love.”
A bold theological claim: by Love-not by nature-the Soul shares in what God has by essence. This is not ontological equality but a deep participation through Love’s gift. It stresses that divine union is possible, not by merit, but by Love’s sheer generosity.
6. “This Soul … possesses memory, understanding and will in the abyss completely in One Being, that is, in God.”
The human faculties-memory, understanding, and will-are now entirely subsumed in God. They no longer function in autonomy but are integrated into divine Being. The Soul lives from God’s life, not her own, and therefore acts only through God’s ordination.
7. “There is not any greater discernment than temperance, nor a greater richness than sufficiency, nor a greater power than love.”
This triad-temperance, sufficiency, and love-summarizes the transformed soul’s character. Her wisdom is restraint (temperance), her wealth is contentment (sufficiency), and her strength is divine charity (love). These virtues express the economy of divine life: quiet, hidden, total.
This chapter establishes the mystical identity of the annihilated Soul with Holy Church itself. She is not merely a member of the Church; she is its living, nourishing heart, because the Trinity dwells and acts in her without mediation. Her total detachment and radical union with God become the source from which the institutional Church is fed, taught, and sustained.
—
1. Why does Love say that these Souls are properly called “Holy Church”?
Because they sustain, teach, and feed the entire Church-not through their own power, but through the indwelling Trinity. Love emphasizes that the presence of the whole Trinity within these Souls makes them, in essence, the living substance of the Church.
2. How does Holy Church distinguish between herself and these Souls?
Holy Church acknowledges that these Souls belong to a higher spiritual life-one governed by Love rather than Reason. While the institutional Church functions through rational guidance and scriptural interpretation, these Souls live beyond that, guided directly by Love and united to God.
3. What critique does Love make of Reason in this chapter?
Love rebukes Reason as “one-eyed,” meaning it has partial vision and lacks true spiritual understanding. Though Reason sees divine realities, it cannot grasp them because it is not united with Love. This underscores the limitation of purely rational or doctrinal approaches to divine mysteries.
4. On what basis does the Holy Spirit give everything to the Soul?
The Holy Spirit gives everything by right of Love. The Soul, having given everything of herself to God-her will, her affections, and her identity-without seeking anything in return, receives everything that the Trinity possesses, not by nature, but as a gift of Love.
5. How does the Soul return what she receives from the Trinity?
The Soul renders all things back to God freely, just as she received them, without desire for reward in heaven or on earth. Her only motivation is to do God’s will, reflecting a pure love that mirrors the generosity of the Trinity.
6. What does the chapter say about the Soul’s faculties-memory, understanding, and will?
The Soul possesses these faculties in the abyss, fully absorbed in One Being, which is God. She no longer acts with her own memory, understanding, or will, but entirely through God’s Being, showing her total transformation and union.
7. What virtues summarize the wisdom of the Soul in this state?
Temperance (true discernment), sufficiency (true richness), and love (true power). These virtues reflect a divine order in the soul’s life, grounded not in striving, but in resting in God’s sufficiency and overflowing Love.
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Chapter 44 teaches that the soul who languishes in divine love undergoes a profound interior battle, warring against vice through the acquisition of virtue-a struggle so intense it is likened to sickness and ultimately leads to death, not of the body, but of self-will. This “death from love” signifies complete detachment from the world and the surrender of all personal desires, leaving the soul hidden in God and invulnerable to sin, the flesh, or the devil. Such a soul no longer wills anything of her own but lives entirely in the repose of God’s will, possessing perfect peace. Her transformation reveals that true union with God is attained only when the soul has relinquished her own will entirely and lives solely by the divine will, rendered through love.
—
1. Reason: “Ah, Lady Love … what does a Soul do who languishes in love?”
Reason, still operating within its framework of analysis and inquiry, turns to Love for insight into the experience of the soul that is consumed by divine longing. This question sets the stage for revealing how intense divine desire becomes a kind of transformative suffering.
2. Love: “She wars against vices … in acquiring virtues.”
Love responds that such a soul is not passive in her longing; she actively battles sin and cultivates virtue. The soul’s desire for union with God fuels her interior struggle-a warfare not against the world, but against vice within herself, to attain divine likeness.
3. Soul: “Ah, very sweet Love … one must certainly call such a strenuous life sickness and a life of war.”
The Soul confirms that the path of love is agonizing, even likening it to an illness-spiritually painful yet redemptive. Love is not romanticized here; it is a burning fire that consumes the soul, demanding heroic endurance and radical purification.
4. Love: “She has so languished in love … that she has died from love.”
This turning point introduces the mystical “death from love”-a symbolic death in which the soul is entirely taken out of herself. She no longer clings to the world, self-will, or created things. Her identity becomes lost in divine union, not by annihilation but by transformation.
5. Love: “She has finished with the world … she lives in the repose of peace.”
The soul’s death to the world brings about profound invulnerability: demons, the flesh, and worldly distractions can no longer reach her. Her will no longer reacts to created things; she lives in perfect stillness, untouched and at rest in God.
6. Reason: “Such a Soul … has no more will … we have no merit before God except as we leave our will.”
Even Reason now concedes the truth of Love’s teaching: true merit before God comes not from effort or calculation, but from the total surrender of will. Only in letting go of self-will does the soul align fully with divine love.
7. Soul: “I believe this … since I will nothing.”
The Soul affirms the teaching experientially: her peace comes from willing absolutely nothing apart from God’s will. This is the mystical paradox-by surrendering will, the soul finds completeness and lacks nothing.
8. Love: “What do you know, Lady Soul?” / Soul: “I have proven it by certain tests … I almost died from it.”
This exchange shows the soul’s journey through trial and stripping. She has been tested by God’s school of goodness, where the renunciation of all will led her to the brink of total transformation. Her survival and peace now rest in God’s will alone.
9. Soul: “One has no more will who wills nothing … has nothing with which to will except the will of Him …”
This is the heart of the teaching: the soul who truly gives her will to God retains nothing for herself-not even the capacity to will apart from Him. Her will becomes God’s will. This is not loss, but the most intimate union.
This chapter captures the soul’s final passage through the fiery school of divine love. By dying to her own will and detaching from all created things, she lives now entirely in and from God. The soul’s “death from love” is not an end, but an entrance into peace, invulnerability, and the deepest possible unity with the divine will.
—
1. What does a soul do when she “languishes in love”?
She wages war against vice by acquiring virtue. Her yearning for God makes her fight tirelessly to purify herself, leading to an intense spiritual struggle that is both exhausting and sanctifying.
2. How does the Soul describe this process of longing and virtue-acquisition?
She calls it a “great and perilous war” and likens it to a sickness. The battle for holiness is not romantic but a painful, consuming experience that can feel like illness or death.
3. What does it mean that the Soul has “died from love”?
It means that the Soul has completely detached from the world and self-will. She no longer lives by her own desires but is entirely hidden in God, untouchable by the world, sin, or temptation. This “death” is the full absorption of the soul into divine peace and will.
4. What is the result of this spiritual death for the Soul?
She lives in perfect peace, immune to the world, flesh, and demons because they can no longer find her in any worldly work or attachment. She desires nothing and wills nothing except God’s will.
5. How does Reason respond to this transformation?
Reason admits that such a soul has no more will and recognizes that true merit before God comes from surrendering one’s will entirely. This admission marks Reason’s conversion to Love’s wisdom.
6. What does the Soul say about her experience of willing nothing?
She confirms that her peace comes from giving up all will of her own. She states that she “almost died” from this surrender, but it was the only path to complete union with God’s will-having no will but His.
7. How is the will of the Soul described at the end of the chapter?
The Soul who truly gives her will to God has nothing left with which to will except the divine will itself. She is emptied of self and lives entirely by God’s ordination, becoming one with His intention.
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Chapter 45 teaches that souls who have surrendered their will entirely to God live in the freeness of divine charity. Having come to a profound awareness of their own nothingness, they no longer desire anything, nor act from self-will. This nothingness is not a void but a place of radical receptivity, where God alone acts. The chapter emphasizes that all human comprehension-even of divine things-is nothing compared to the infinite, ungraspable mystery of God’s essence. Thus, true spiritual freedom arises not from understanding or striving, but from relinquishing all claims to will or knowledge, allowing God to work freely in the soul. This self-emptying becomes the soul’s liberation and perfection in love.
—
1. “Such ones live in freeness of charity who have no more will. And whoever would ask such persons what they want, in truth they would say that they want nothing.”
Here, Love defines true spiritual freedom as a state of total self-abandonment, where the soul desires absolutely nothing for itself. Having no will of its own, the soul lives in the pure charity of God, free from all attachments and self-interest. This “freeness of charity” is not merely passive; it is a sign of having been wholly transformed by divine love.
2. “They have arrived at the understanding of their nothingness… the understanding of such belief is that one can understand nothing about it.”
The soul reaches a paradoxical insight: it knows it is nothing, but even this nothingness is beyond full comprehension. This reflects the mystic’s apophatic realization-God is infinitely beyond knowing, and likewise, the creature’s nothingness before God is not a measurable absence but a total poverty of being. This humility opens the soul to divine fullness.
3. “Nothing? says Reason. / No, says Love.”
Here, Reason confronts Love with incredulity about the idea of ‘nothingness’ being the path to God. Love corrects Reason by showing that even the highest intellectual understanding falls short of divine reality. The soul that embraces its own nothingness is more in touch with truth than the one who tries to grasp God through rational comprehension.
4. “Even if one did not place in this comparison His power, His judgment, His knowledge, His goodness… still it would be nothing.”
This section illustrates the utter transcendence of God. Even the most exalted human or angelic comprehension, even of divine attributes, pales before the true essence of God. A spark of His goodness exceeds all created understanding. The created intellect cannot contain the infinite-thus, even the least of God remains unreachable in its fullness.
5. “What will the Soul do who believes this about you? / She will do nothing, says God; but I will do my work in her without her.”
The culmination of the teaching is this: the soul that has truly emptied itself does not act, but is acted upon by God. Divine charity works in her without her own intervention. This is the radical passivity of union, where the soul rests in its own nothingness and is thereby made a vessel for God’s own action.
6. “The understanding of this nothingness… releases her completely and frees her, for nothing is lacking to her since she wills nothing.”
The paradox of mystical freedom is that by willing nothing, the soul lacks nothing. This detachment is not bleak or nihilistic-it is total liberation into the sufficiency of divine love. Having no self-centered desires, the soul is finally free to live entirely in and from God, receiving everything in His love.
—
1. What characterizes the soul that “has no more will,” according to Love?
Such a soul lives in freeness of charity. When asked what they desire, these souls truthfully reply that they want nothing. This is because they have reached the recognition of their nothingness and no longer act from their own will but are entirely given over to God’s will.
2. What is the significance of “nothingness” in this chapter?
“Nothingness” signifies both the soul’s recognition of its utter poverty before God and its total surrender. This awareness is so deep that even trying to comprehend it is beyond the soul’s capacity. The understanding of nothingness frees the soul completely, making space for God to work in it without hindrance.
3. How does Reason respond to the idea of ‘nothingness,’ and what is Love’s reply?
Reason questions the notion, asking skeptically, “Nothing?” Love replies affirmatively-yes, nothing. Love explains that even the most sublime understanding or comparison of God’s attributes would still be nothing compared to His actual essence. The smallest spark of His goodness exceeds all comprehension.
4. How does the soul’s belief in its own nothingness relate to God’s action in it?
God declares that the soul who believes in its nothingness does nothing-but God Himself acts in her. This belief places her in such a degree of self-emptying that she cannot act on her own. Her powerlessness becomes the condition for divine activity.
5. What paradox about spiritual freedom is revealed at the end of the chapter?
The paradox is that the soul, by willing nothing, lacks nothing. This detachment leads to total liberation. Freed from its own will, the soul no longer experiences deficiency or need-it rests entirely in God’s sufficiency.
6. What does this chapter teach about knowledge and comprehension of God?
It teaches that no amount of human understanding-no matter how high-can grasp even the smallest part of God’s essence. Every attempt to understand God falls short, and even what we do understand is “nothing” compared to what remains hidden in Him.
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Chapter 46 teaches that the soul who has reached a high degree of union with God comes to a profound awareness of divine transcendence. Even as she receives gifts and understanding from God, she perceives that all she knows and experiences is nothing compared to the infinite fullness of God Himself. The smallest spark of His goodness, hidden within His own divine knowledge, surpasses all created understanding. This realization leads the soul not to despair, but to a serene humility and contentment, as she entrusts herself entirely to Love, who alone knows God as He is. In this surrender, she is freed from striving, resting in the mystery of a God whose greatness always exceeds comprehension.
—
1. “Now this Soul has fallen and arrived at understanding of the greater part. Truly, but only in the sense that she understands nothing of God, compared to the whole of Him.”
The soul is said to have reached an “understanding of the greater part,” yet paradoxically, this means realizing how little she understands of God. The deeper her insight, the more she recognizes the immeasurable distance between her perception and the divine fullness. True understanding reveals the soul’s incapacity to comprehend God, not through ignorance, but through awe-filled recognition of His transcendence.
2. “Ah, dear! says Reason. Does one dare call nothing a thing which is of God?”
Reason, surprised and almost scandalized, questions how something that comes from God could be called “nothing.” This reflects the natural tendency of reason to attribute weight and value to anything divine. However, what follows challenges reason’s framework by relativizing even the gifts of God compared to God Himself.
3. “Truly, whatever might be given us or will be from Him is indeed nothing… still it would be nothing compared to one sole spark of His goodness, which remains in His understanding, beyond our understanding.”
The soul asserts that even the most exalted gifts from God are “nothing” in comparison with the unfathomable depths of His being. The analogy of “one sole spark” of divine goodness, which lies hidden in God’s own understanding, renders all perceived gifts infinitesimal. This isn’t a denial of the value of God’s gifts but an act of adoration that highlights His infinite transcendence.
4. “Oh… and what might be thus from the whole of Him, since one can speak so much of the goodness of the least part of Him?”
This rhetorical awe climaxes in a question: if such divine glory is found in just a fragment, how unfathomable must the whole of God be? The soul marvels at the disproportion between what can be known or said and the unspeakable grandeur of God in Himself.
5. “Ah, most sweet Love, says this Soul, this you alone know, and it is sufficient for me.”
The soul surrenders intellectual striving to Love, acknowledging that Love alone comprehends the mystery of God. The soul finds peace not in understanding but in trusting Love’s knowing. It is a consummate act of mystical humility: to rest in the sufficiency of what Love knows, even if the soul herself cannot.
—
1. What does it mean that the Soul has “arrived at understanding of the greater part”?
Although it sounds like progress, this “understanding of the greater part” actually reveals to the soul how infinitely beyond her God remains. She recognizes that all she understands is as nothing compared to the incomprehensible whole of God.
2. Why does Reason object to calling something from God “nothing”?
Reason finds it contradictory to label something divine as “nothing,” since reason associates God with all that is supremely valuable. The soul’s mystical insight, however, goes beyond this logic, emphasizing God’s total transcendence.
3. How does the Soul respond to Reason’s objection?
The Soul affirms that even the highest gifts or revelations given by God are “nothing” in comparison to a single spark of His goodness that remains hidden in His own divine understanding. Her insight relativizes all things before God’s infinite grandeur.
4. What is meant by “a sole spark of His goodness”?
This image illustrates how even the smallest, most hidden aspect of God’s goodness surpasses all the soul can experience or comprehend. It points to the infinite excess of divine reality over any created participation in it.
5. How does the Soul finally react to this overwhelming contrast between what is known and what is beyond knowledge?
The Soul turns to Love, acknowledging that only Love can comprehend God fully. She is content in this surrender, resting in the sufficiency of Love’s knowledge rather than striving for her own.
6. What is the theological significance of calling God’s known gifts “nothing”?
This language reflects a mystical theology of negation: the closer one draws to God, the more one sees that even divine gifts fall short of God’s essence. It fosters humility, detachment, and a deeper trust in God’s incomprehensible being.
——————–
In Chapter 47, the soul reaches a profound awareness of her own nothingness-not only in terms of her incapacity for good apart from God, but also in recognizing that even the true gravity of her sins lies beyond her comprehension, known only to God. Through this realization, she relinquishes all self-will and knowledge, entering a state of radical humility and interior poverty. This detachment liberates her, allowing her to live in the freeness of perfect charity, guided solely by divine grace. She ceases to judge herself or others, resting in pure intention, and finds peace in all things, because peace now abides within her. Firmly rooted in this inward transformation, she becomes unshakable, seated in the throne of peace, living from the depths of a good conscience and in total harmony with God’s will.
—
1. “Now I will tell you, says Love, how she has arrived at understanding of her nothingness. Thus she understands that neither she nor any other understands the nothingness of her horrible sins and faults, compared to what is in the knowledge of God about them.”
The soul has come to see her own utter nothingness-not only in the face of God’s grandeur but also in relation to the mystery of her own sinfulness. Even her worst sins are only truly known in their depth and horror by God alone. This humbling insight reveals that true self-knowledge is not a matter of psychological introspection, but of surrender to divine knowledge, which alone sees the truth of both sin and grace.
2. “Such a Soul, says Love, has retained no will, but instead has arrived at and fallen into willing nothing and the certain knowledge of knowing nothing.”
The soul’s total surrender is marked by a twofold kenosis: she wills nothing and knows nothing. This is not ignorance or passivity, but the highest form of spiritual poverty. By emptying herself of all self-will and self-reliance, she is free-available for God’s work and action. This “knowing-nothing” is a mystical state of humility and receptivity that releases the soul from all grasping.
3. “And this knowing-nothing and willing-nothing have released and freed her.”
Freedom is paradoxically found in this utter abandonment. What the world might see as a loss of autonomy is, in truth, the soul’s liberation. She is no longer bound by illusions of control or self-merit but rests in God alone. This is the heart of true contemplative peace.
4. “Such a Soul, says Love, maintains the counsel of the Gospel which says: ‘Have a simple eye and then you will not sin.'”
The “simple eye” refers to spiritual singleness and purity of intention. Because the soul is no longer divided by self-interest or judgments, she perceives all through the lens of charity. Her simplicity protects her from sin-not by effort, but by orientation of the heart.
5. “So this Soul is at peace in all that God suffers from her, for she has true intention in all her undertakings and peaceful repose in the actions of her neighbors.”
The soul is not disturbed even by her faults, because she knows they are permitted by God for her transformation. Her peace flows from right intention and from refusing to judge her neighbor, instead resting in the belief that goodness is present in all. Her repose is rooted in deep trust in God’s providence.
6. “This Soul has her peace in all places, for she carries peace with her always, so that, because of such peace, all places are comfortable for her, and all things also.”
Peace is no longer circumstantial. Because the soul carries interior peace-born of detachment and divine union-she finds comfort in all things. She is no longer tossed about by externals, for her rest is in God alone, and therefore portable and unshakable.
7. “Thus such a Soul seats herself without moving herself on the throne of peace in the book of life, in the witness of a good conscience and in freeness of perfect charity.”
This final image conveys regal stillness: the soul is enthroned in peace, inscribed in the book of life. She lives in the freedom of perfect charity and the quiet testimony of a conscience purified by grace. Her transformation is complete-not by achievement, but by surrender.
—
1. What does it mean that the soul understands her “nothingness”?
The soul has come to realize not only her utter dependence on God but also that even the depth of her sins and faults cannot be truly comprehended by herself or anyone else-only God fully knows them. Her “nothingness” is a recognition of her radical insufficiency and total need for divine grace.
2. How does the soul relate to her will and knowledge in this state?
She has completely relinquished both. She “wills nothing” and knows “nothing,” not from apathy or ignorance, but from a mystical humility. This total detachment from her own faculties of control and understanding liberates her and allows God to act freely within her.
3. How is this emptiness connected to freedom?
By letting go of all personal will and knowledge, the soul becomes free from the burdens of self, pride, and judgment. This interior poverty opens her to God’s action alone, granting her peace and spiritual freedom beyond self-effort.
4. What Gospel counsel does the soul fulfill, and how?
She fulfills the counsel: “Have a simple eye and then you will not sin.” This means she lives with pure, undivided intention. Her gaze is fixed on God without distraction or duplicity, leading her away from sin and toward clarity, simplicity, and peace.
5. How does the soul respond to her own faults and the actions of others?
She is at peace with her own faults because she accepts all that God permits and trusts His judgment. Likewise, she has “peaceful repose” in the actions of her neighbors, making no critical judgments but assuming all is ordered in divine goodness.
6. Why is the soul said to have peace in all places and things?
Because peace resides in her-not in circumstances. Having been inwardly transformed and freed, she carries peace with her, making every place comfortable and every experience bearable. Her peace is stable, not dependent on external conditions.
7. What is the final image of the soul in this chapter, and what does it signify?
She is seated “on the throne of peace in the book of life,” resting in the witness of a good conscience and the freeness of perfect charity. This image conveys her secure position in divine life, characterized by stillness, assurance, and love perfected.
——————–
Chapter 48 teaches that true spiritual freedom is found only in the soul who has completely renounced her own will, even the subtle desire that God’s will be fulfilled in her to her own honor. As long as a person wills anything for themselves-even something that appears holy-they remain a servant of their own will and not truly free. Such souls settle for a limited spiritual state, deceived by a sense of calm that is rooted in self-satisfaction. Only the soul governed by Faith and Love, rather than Reason, Fear, or personal desire, is truly unencumbered. This soul is liberated from fear and attraction alike, resting entirely in God without seeking anything for herself, and thus she alone receives the kingdom of God.
—
1. “Thus the Soul wills nothing, says Love, since she is free; for one is not free who wills something by the will within him, whatever he might will.”
True freedom, in Love’s teaching, is found in complete self-emptying-not even willing God’s will for oneself. Any inward claim, even the desire that God act through us for our honor, is a subtle form of self-service and thus bondage to self-will. Love redefines freedom as the absence of all personal claims or desires.
2. “For when one is a servant of oneself, one wills that God accomplish His will to one’s own honor… God refuses His kingdom.”
Self-will, even masked in piety, seeks its own glory through God’s action. This is a betrayal of true charity. The soul who seeks divine will only when it honors her cannot receive God’s kingdom, for she still clings to herself. Such self-regard obstructs the soul’s full entry into divine life.
3. “Such folk… are not calm no matter how much they think they are… their state is sufficient for them.”
Those attached to their own spiritual progress or reputation may appear composed, but inner rest eludes them. They mistake complacency for peace, clinging to a self-satisfied sense of spiritual sufficiency that blinds them to greater depths of surrender.
4. “They do not have as much worthiness… as to think there is no one greater than they, and this keeps them from arriving at what is better.”
Pride subtly blocks spiritual growth. When one unconsciously assumes spiritual superiority or completeness, they close themselves off from greater graces. True humility opens the soul to what is better by acknowledging its utter need.
5. “Certainly not… Since will remains in them they are servants of their will.”
Freedom and satisfaction are impossible where self-will reigns. As long as one clings to personal desire-even in spiritual matters-one lives in servitude. The will, rather than being surrendered, becomes a tyrant that keeps the soul chained.
6. “A Soul enters such servitude… who believes completely these two Virtues, that is, Reason and Fear, and this insatiable Will.”
Reason and Fear, though often seen as moral virtues, can bind the soul if unaccompanied by Faith and Love. If the soul depends solely on rational control or fear of loss, it falls into anxious striving and inner dissatisfaction.
7. “But the one alone is free… whom Faith and Love govern, for they remove such a one from all servitude, without fear of frightening things, without desire of delectable things.”
Faith and Love liberate the soul completely. No fear or desire moves such a soul; she neither shrinks from suffering nor clings to sweetness. Governed only by God’s presence through pure Faith and Love, she transcends all spiritual ambition and becomes truly free.
This chapter critiques subtle forms of spiritual egoism and affirms that only total surrender-beyond even the desire for divine action in oneself-opens the soul to perfect liberty in God.
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1. What does Love say about the nature of true spiritual freedom?
Love teaches that true freedom is found in willing nothing-in complete detachment from personal will. As long as the soul retains any inward desire, even for God’s will to be done in her to her own honor, she is not truly free but remains a servant of herself.
2. Why does Love say that God refuses His kingdom to certain souls?
Because these souls desire that God’s will be accomplished in a way that benefits their own honor or reputation. Such a desire reveals self-interest and self-will, which are incompatible with the total self-emptying required to receive God’s kingdom.
3. How are such souls deceived in their spiritual state?
They may believe themselves calm and satisfied, but Love reveals this as a false peace. Their spiritual opinion of themselves is “sufficient” for them, which means they settle for a limited state and do not seek greater detachment or deeper union with God.
4. What keeps these souls from progressing further in spiritual life?
Their inability to see anyone as greater than themselves. This subtle pride keeps them from humbling themselves and becoming receptive to what is “better”-namely, fuller transformation in God.
5. What does the Soul say about those who remain servants of their own will?
The Soul explains that as long as the will remains active and attached-even in spiritual things-one remains a servant of that will. True freedom only comes when the will itself is relinquished.
6. How can a soul fall into spiritual servitude, even with good intentions?
When it depends entirely on Reason and Fear, it may appear morally upright but is still governed by inner striving and caution rather than surrender. This reliance leads to spiritual exhaustion and a lack of true peace.
7. According to Love, who is the truly free soul?
The soul governed by Faith and Love. These virtues lift the soul beyond fear and desire, freeing her from all servitude. She is not moved by frightening things nor drawn by pleasurable ones, and so rests entirely in God.
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In Chapter 49, the main teaching is that the soul who has entirely renounced her own will is the most noble and free. Such a soul no longer desires heaven, fears hell, or seeks any created thing; she wills absolutely nothing except that God’s will be done. This state of “willing nothing” is held to be far more worthy than even the greatest spiritual achievements, such as miracles, martyrdom, or mystical raptures, because all such acts still involve the soul’s active will. In contrast, the soul who rests in God’s will without any self-directed desire has reached a state of pure love and divine nobility, surpassing all multiplicities of religious action. This radical detachment and simplicity of spirit marks the soul’s highest freedom and closest union with God.
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1. “Such a Soul no longer has will, and thus it does not matter to her what God might do, only that He might always do His will.”
The soul’s nobility comes precisely from the total abandonment of her own will. She is detached from outcomes, spiritual rewards, or any created good. Her only desire is for God to act according to His own will-whether it exalts or humbles her. This pure consent to God’s being is the essence of spiritual nobility.
2. “She does not need hell, or paradise, or any created thing. She neither wills nor not-wills anything which might be named here.”
This radical detachment includes even the desire for salvation or avoidance of damnation. The soul does not seek paradise nor flee from hell-not from presumption or despair, but because she has transcended self-interest altogether. Her identity is dissolved into God’s will, leaving her without any personal preference.
3. “Nothing, says Love, she wills nothing. But to say this seems indeed strange to those who desire great burdens from multiplicities of love.”
Love affirms that the soul wills absolutely nothing-an idea shocking to those who equate holiness with intense spiritual striving and acts of love. The paradox is that deeper union comes not through more activity, but through the death of personal will-even the will to love greatly.
4. “Such folk, says this Soul, are so blind that a great thing seems little to them.”
People who cling to their own religious zeal, efforts, or virtues are spiritually blind. They cannot see the greatness of the soul who wills nothing, because they measure sanctity by visible or felt expressions. This blindness prevents them from grasping the depth of spiritual simplicity.
5. “This willing nothing in God is more worthy than willing good for God’s sake.”
Here we reach the heart of the chapter. Even willing good for God’s sake involves self-movement, and thus a residual selfhood. The soul who wills nothing in God rests in a higher nobility-it is not what she does for God that matters, but how she disappears into God’s own will.
6. “Suppose that willing this good they could do miracles and receive martyrdom each day… and still… there would be no comparison since will remains.”
No matter how heroic one’s deeds may be-daily martyrdom or miraculous power-if they arise from one’s own will (even if aimed toward God), they are lesser than the total surrender of self-will. The soul who wills nothing surpasses all such acts by her simple, passive union with God.
7. “They could even be raptured into heaven each day to see the Trinity… as was Saint Paul the Apostle!”
Even the loftiest mystical experiences do not compare with the soul’s nobility who wills nothing. This is not a dismissal of visions or raptures, but a profound theological claim: that the height of sanctity lies not in what is seen, but in what is surrendered-the soul’s own will.
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1. What does it mean that the soul “no longer has will,” and why is this considered noble?
It means the soul has surrendered all personal desire, including even the desire for spiritual rewards like heaven or the avoidance of hell. She desires only that God’s will be done, entirely apart from her own advantage or perception. This radical detachment and surrender to God’s will is considered noble because it reflects the purest form of love-one that is free, selfless, and unencumbered by any personal claim.
2. Why does the soul not desire “hell, or paradise, or any created thing”?
Because she is utterly detached from all self-interest, even spiritual self-interest. Her only concern is that God be God, and His will be fulfilled. She does not cling to fear of punishment or hope of reward, but rests in God’s freedom entirely.
3. Why does Love say that this will-less state seems “strange” to others?
Because many people, even devout ones, still attach value to acts of devotion, experiences, and efforts-what Love calls “multiplicities of love.” To them, the idea of willing nothing seems passive or unambitious. They do not understand that in God’s eyes, the pure abandonment of will is far more noble than any multiplicity of religious action.
4. According to the Soul, what causes people to misjudge the greatness of willing nothing?
Blindness. People who are still bound by their own will, even in spiritual matters, misjudge the greatness of such detachment. A truly great spiritual reality-willing nothing-seems “little” to them because they evaluate sanctity by effort and emotional intensity rather than surrender.
5. How is “willing nothing in God” more worthy than “willing good for God’s sake”?
Willing good for God’s sake still involves a personal movement of the will-it still centers around what I do for God. In contrast, willing nothing in God is a total renunciation of self-direction. It is not about doing for God but about being entirely at rest in Him, allowing Him to act freely. This is more worthy because it reflects a deeper union with God’s own freedom and sovereignty.
6. Why are even miracles, martyrdom, and mystical raptures considered lesser than this state?
Because they still involve the soul’s will-even if aimed at God. These acts may be heroic and holy, but as long as the will remains active and claims some initiative or identity, there is still selfhood. The soul that has no will and simply rests in God has gone beyond such self-referential holiness into pure union.
7. What is the ultimate spiritual principle affirmed by this chapter?
That the noblest soul is the one who has surrendered her will entirely to God-not to gain something from Him, but because she desires nothing but His will. This total detachment is more precious than any act or experience, because it reflects the soul’s complete poverty of spirit and union with divine freedom.
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Chapter 50 teaches that the soul, in the highest state of union, becomes entirely conformed to God, as wax takes the shape of a seal-bearing His divine imprint through the love that unites them. This transformation is not symbolic but actual, as the soul receives its identity directly from God in the union of Love. The soul recognizes that God’s acts of mercy, including the Incarnation and Passion, were never contrary to His divine nature but perfectly consistent with His eternal Wisdom and Goodness. Even when the soul momentarily stumbles in theological speculation, Love and the Father gently affirm her belonging and her insight into divine mysteries. Ultimately, the chapter reveals the nobility of a soul so united to God that she is called His “first-born daughter” and “heir-apparent,” sharing in the intimate life of the Trinity through the Spirit’s gift of Love.
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1. “This Soul is engraved in God, and has her true imprint maintained through the union of Love. And in the manner that wax takes the form of the seal, so has this Soul taken the imprint of this true exemplar.”
This striking image conveys the soul’s total conformity to God through love. Just as soft wax takes on the exact imprint of a seal, the soul, fully surrendered and united in divine love, becomes a perfect expression of the divine likeness. Her form is no longer her own, but bears the shape of God’s will, truth, and character. It is not imitation but transformation.
2. “For even if God loves us… He did not love us in contradiction to Himself.”
Here the soul reflects on divine love not as something arbitrary or sentimental but rooted in God’s own truth and consistency. God’s acts-especially the Incarnation and Passion-are not contradictions of His divine nature, but expressions of His goodness. The soul recognizes that divine love is not opposed to justice or wisdom, but fulfills them.
3. “All that the Trinity had created in His wisdom would have to have been condemned eternally if Jesus Christ the Son of God had not been taken away from Truth in order to save us all.”
This is a moment of theological reflection bordering on error, but the soul catches herself, realizing that God cannot act contrary to truth. The idea of the Son being “taken away from Truth” is immediately rejected as impossible. This moment dramatizes the soul’s wrestling with the mystery of salvation and justice, leading to deeper humility and trust.
4. “Yes, sweet beloved, says Love, my friends know it well that this cannot be.”
Love corrects the soul gently, affirming the orthodoxy of God’s nature. True friends of God know that He never contradicts Himself. This moment of correction affirms that the soul, while daring in her expression, remains within the bounds of divine truth due to her intimacy with Love.
5. “But I have said it to you, you who are my dear love, says the Person of God the Father, because such must be my first-born daughter who is heir-apparent to my realm…”
This final divine affirmation lifts the soul to a position of highest intimacy with God. She is called the Father’s “first-born daughter” and “heir-apparent,” sharing the secrets of the Son through the Holy Spirit. This exalted language indicates the mystical union she enjoys-her soul now participates in the inner life of the Trinity through love, not by merit, but by grace freely given.
Overall Insight:
This chapter portrays the soul’s final conformity to God through the mystical imprint of love. Her will, nature, and understanding have been so transformed that she bears the very form of divine wisdom, becoming a living seal of God’s will. Though her thoughts briefly stumble in trying to comprehend the mystery of salvation, divine Love and the Father Himself affirm her identity and correct her gently, showing her exalted place within the life of God.
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1. What does it mean that the soul is “engraved in God” like wax from a seal?
It means that the soul has been fully conformed to God’s will and nature through the union of Love. Just as wax takes the exact shape of a seal, this soul bears the perfect imprint of God, not by imitation but by transformation, having lost all personal will and identity apart from Him.
2. How does the soul describe God’s love in relation to His nature?
The soul emphasizes that God’s love is never in contradiction to Himself. Even the Incarnation and Passion were consistent with divine Truth and Wisdom. God’s mercy operates within, not against, His divine justice and nature.
3. Why does the soul momentarily question the logic of divine salvation?
She wonders aloud if salvation required God the Son to be “taken away from Truth,” which would suggest a contradiction in God. But she quickly realizes the impossibility of this and affirms that divine acts of love never violate divine truth, showing her ongoing purification and deepening understanding.
4. How does Love respond to the soul’s momentary confusion?
Love gently reassures her, affirming that “my friends know it well that this cannot be.” Love corrects the soul’s theological misstep without condemnation, affirming her closeness to God and her participation in divine truth.
5. What final affirmation does God the Father give to this soul?
God the Father calls her His “dear love,” His “first-born daughter,” and “heir-apparent to [His] realm.” This declaration confirms the soul’s exalted mystical union with the Trinity, wherein she shares in divine secrets through the Holy Spirit’s love.
6. What does this chapter reveal about the nature of mystical union?
It reveals that true mystical union is not about emotional experiences or spiritual accomplishments, but about a complete transformation into the likeness of God. The soul becomes the very image of divine Love, receiving divine knowledge and participating in the Trinitarian life through pure, will-less receptivity.
7. How does this chapter balance theological daring with orthodoxy?
While the soul explores a risky theological idea (that Christ had to be removed from Truth to save humanity), she immediately recognizes its impossibility. This tension shows the depth and honesty of mystical questioning, while Love and the Father affirm the truth, keeping the soul anchored in divine orthodoxy.
“The Mirror of Simple Souls” by Marguerite Porete – Part 4 of 14
In Chapter 31, the Soul reaches a profound peace through her union with Love, recognizing that although she is limited and cannot love or comprehend God as He deserves, her will to love suffices. Love assures her that God, her Beloved, does not require more than what she can give and that He lacks nothing-this truth becomes the source of her calm. The Soul accepts that God’s incomprehensibility is not a frustration but a consolation, because it means that her love for Him can endlessly grow without limit. She no longer needs to hear about Him through intermediaries; knowing that He is beyond all knowing is itself enough. This chapter teaches that the soul’s true repose lies in loving God for His own sake, trusting that what is lacking in her is more than fulfilled in Him, and resting in the silence of what cannot be said.
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1. “Ah, very sweet Soul, says Love, what do you want Him to give you? Are you not a creature? Do you want to have from your Lover something which is not entrusted to Him to give you, nor to you to take?”
Love begins by gently reminding the Soul of her creatureliness and the bounds of divine generosity. The Soul must be content with the measure given her, not striving to receive what cannot be possessed by a creature. This affirms humility as the foundation of divine love.
2. “For you told me that between a lover and a beloved there is no lordship. But indeed there is, as it seems to me, since the One has everything and the other has nothing compared to His All.”
The Soul expresses a poignant realization: despite Love’s earlier teaching of equality in love, the apparent imbalance between God’s plenitude and her nothingness still wounds her. This is the cry of a lover who wants full reciprocity but acknowledges the abyss between Creator and creature.
3. “Your will suffices for your Lover … He will love nothing without you, thus you are not without Him.”
Love consoles the Soul by revealing that her willing desire is enough. God does not seek equivalency in giving but communion of will. The profound mutual indwelling-“He will love nothing without you”-shows how divine love elevates the soul into partnership, not possession.
4. “I do not have anything which I love more strongly than the one who suffices me … if what I love is not sufficient for me, I would disintegrate or diminish from so little of love as I have.”
The Soul reaches a sublime honesty: her entire being is anchored in God, and without Him, she would dissolve. This line is a mystical confession of utter dependence-her identity, peace, and even capacity to love hinges upon God’s sufficiency.
5. “He has in Him the abundance of all goodness without any lack. And this is the sum of my peace and the true repose of my thought, for I do not love except for His sake.”
This is the heart of mystical peace. The Soul finds rest not in what she receives but in the perfection of the One she loves. Her love is entirely theocentric-directed toward God’s goodness for its own sake-and this detachment becomes her repose.
6. “The best thing which one could say about Him to me is nothing compared to what He is in Himself … I have the sum of my questions in what cannot be said to me about Him.”
In this luminous conclusion, the Soul transcends all speech and knowledge. What truly satisfies her is the truth that God is incomprehensible. The unknown depths of God become her final peace; her questions dissolve into awe, not answers.
7. “And such is the Lover of my soul, says the Soul herself.”
The Soul closes with this serene affirmation. Having passed through desire, longing, and divine correction, she comes to simple clarity: the incomprehensible God is her Lover, and this is enough. She no longer seeks anything but to rest in what she cannot grasp.
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1. Why does Love initially challenge the Soul’s desire to receive more from God?
Love reminds the Soul that she is a creature and that God does not give anything beyond what is appropriate for a creature to receive. This is meant to calm the Soul’s restless longing by grounding her in the truth of her created nature and the sufficiency of what she has already received.
2. What tension does the Soul express regarding the idea of equality in love between the Lover (God) and the beloved (herself)?
The Soul recalls that Love once told her that there is no lordship in true love, implying equality. However, she now feels there is lordship, because God has everything and she, by comparison, has nothing. This reveals the Soul’s deep longing for complete mutuality with God and her pain at the perceived imbalance.
3. How does Love respond to the Soul’s desire to improve her capacity to love?
Love assures the Soul that her will is sufficient for her Lover. God values her desire and intention more than her capacity. Her sincere will to love is accepted by God as full love, and this divine acceptance brings peace.
4. What central conviction gives the Soul peace in the face of her perceived insufficiency?
The Soul finds peace in the fact that although she lacks fullness, her Beloved lacks nothing. Since He is the sum of all goodness, her love is satisfied not by her own possession, but by the certainty that He possesses all. This trust in God’s sufficiency becomes the ground of her own rest.
5. Why does the Soul say that the best thing someone can tell her about God is “nothing”?
Because God is incomprehensible, no human description can do Him justice. The Soul finds peace in the mystery itself-she desires no words or images to replace the truth of God’s unknowability. This mystical insight affirms that love for God grows by loving what cannot be grasped.
6. How does the chapter depict the dynamic between longing and satisfaction in divine love?
The Soul experiences both intense longing and deep satisfaction. Her desire to love as God deserves is met by the assurance that her will suffices. She is calmed not by fulfillment of desire in a finite sense, but by entering into the infinite mystery of God’s being, where love continually renews itself without end.
7. What does this chapter suggest about the nature of perfect love in the spiritual life?
Perfect love rests not in possession or comprehension but in total surrender to the Beloved. It is a love that finds peace in the mystery, accepts its own limits, and rejoices in the other’s perfection. True spiritual maturity is shown in this tranquil, trusting love.
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Chapter 32 teaches that the soul, wholly enflamed by divine Love, rests in the stillness of her own mind because her entire being is centered not on what she can receive from God, but on God Himself in His unknowable abundance. She declares that the infinite, incomprehensible goodness that remains hidden in God is more hers than any gift or grace she could possess, because she loves it more. This radical orientation of love toward what cannot be grasped means that her treasure is entirely in God’s mystery, and her will is so united with His that she cannot will anything apart from Him. Even if glory or joy were offered from another source, she would refuse it unless it came directly from God. Though she recognizes the limits of speech in describing God, she affirms that even hearing something imperfectly expressed is better than silence, because it still kindles love for the incomprehensible Spirit who is her All.
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1. “Love makes them remain, Love who is the mistress of the doing of this book.”
Love is presented not merely as an emotion but as the very agent of stillness, interiority, and authorship. The Soul remains in her mind-detached from external distraction-through the action of Love, who governs the entire unfolding of this spiritual journey. Love is personified as both guide and authority, implying that the depth of the soul’s contemplation and interior rest is Love’s own doing.
2. “I do not love myself nor Him nor His works except for the sake of Himself.”
This radical purity of intention defines the soul’s perfection. Even her love for God is not motivated by personal gain, consolation, or reward but solely for God’s own sake. The soul renounces even spiritual possessiveness, reflecting a self-emptying love that mirrors divine charity.
3. “What He possesses is more mine than what I possess or ever will possess… I love better what is in Him beyond my intellect than I do what is in Him and in my intellect.”
The soul’s treasure lies not in her own experience or understanding of God but in what remains utterly inaccessible-God’s infinite, ungraspable goodness. This paradoxical claim reveals a spiritual maturity: what the soul cannot possess or comprehend is more “hers” because her love is anchored in God’s mystery rather than in finite gifts.
4. “Where the greater part of my love is, there is the greater part of my treasure.”
This line echoes Matthew 6:21, but with a mystical twist. The soul’s treasure is not in anything tangible or intelligible but in the infinite unknown of God. This is a contemplative love that surrenders the need to grasp or claim, resting instead in what surpasses understanding.
5. “If He himself would not give it to me properly from Himself, I would lack it for all me forever… I cannot will anything without Him.”
The soul has been so consumed by divine Love that she can no longer accept even joy or glory unless it comes directly from God. Her will is utterly united to His-any other source of consolation or joy is repugnant. This is a description of total spiritual poverty and radical dependence on God alone.
6. “To hear one describing it and talking about it is better than hearing nothing said!”
Although the soul acknowledges that God is ultimately incomprehensible, she still finds value in human attempts to speak of Him. This humility accepts the poverty of language without dismissing it, cherishing every effort to articulate divine things as better than silence, even though silence is the true dwelling place of God.
—
1. What role does Love play in keeping the soul within her own mind?
Love is the force that stabilizes and gathers the soul inward. She is described as the “mistress” of the book’s unfolding, suggesting that it is through Love alone that the soul can dwell in her own depths, detached from external distractions. Love is the agent of stillness and interiorization.
2. Why does the soul say that what God possesses is more hers than what she herself possesses?
The soul values what remains in God’s infinite being beyond her comprehension more than the gifts or experiences she receives from Him. Because her love is focused more on what she cannot grasp than what she can, the “greater part” of her treasure is in the unknowable abundance of God. Her love determines her ownership-what she loves more, she claims more deeply.
3. How does the soul respond to Reason’s challenge to prove this claim?
She explains that she loves the infinite, incomprehensible goodness in God far more than the portion she can understand or experience. Her argument is that because her love is centered on the unknowable, this makes the unknowable more hers than anything she could actually receive, comprehend, or hold.
4. What does the soul say about receiving anything from another source besides God?
The soul adamantly refuses to receive even joy or glory from any creature-even if it were offered in abundance-unless it comes directly from God. She would rather be deprived or die eternally than accept anything apart from Him. This demonstrates the soul’s radical fidelity and total dependence on God alone.
5. What does the soul say about her ability to desire anything apart from God?
She declares that she has been so inflamed by Love that she literally cannot will anything apart from God. Her will has become one with His, and she no longer has the capacity or inclination to desire anything outside of that union.
6. How does the soul describe the limitations of speaking about God?
She admits that no one can comprehend or describe the Spirit, and she compares such efforts to trying to count the waves of the sea in a storm. Nonetheless, she concludes that hearing someone speak of God-even inadequately-is better than hearing nothing at all. This shows a humble acknowledgment of the value of limited human expression in contemplating divine mystery.
7. What is the central proof the soul offers for her total possession of God?
Her central proof is that her love is placed more in what she cannot understand about God than in what she can. Since her heart is set on His infinite, ungraspable goodness, that is where her treasure lies. The intensity and direction of her love-not her understanding-determine her possession.
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Chapter 33 portrays the soul’s ecstatic wonder at the limitless generosity of God, who grants her not only the vision of the Triune God but also perfect insight into all created beings-angels, saints, and even the smallest creatures-illuminated by that primary vision. Overwhelmed, the soul confesses she can scarcely remain composed, for the sheer immensity of these gifts eclipses any spiritual practice or method. She recognizes that her physical body is incapable of such perception, yet her purified spirit beholds these realities for eternity, as a testament to God’s unending goodness. Ultimately, the chapter teaches that the pinnacle of the contemplative life is sustained amazement-a continual, passive reception of divine revelation that transcends effort and occupies the soul in perpetual praise and wonder.
—
1. “Ah, Lord, says the Soul, how am I still remaining in my mind when I ponder the gifts of your goodness, you who have given my soul the vision of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit whom my soul will see for eternity?”
The soul begins in a state of awe and spiritual astonishment, overwhelmed by the immensity of divine generosity. The promise of eternal vision of the Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-is too great to be grasped or even endured calmly. This ecstatic amazement suspends ordinary consciousness, shaking the very foundation of the soul’s mental composure.
2. “Since I will see so great a thing as the Trinity, the understanding of angels, souls, and saints will not be taken from me, nor even the vision of little things, which is to say, all things which are less than God!”
The soul acknowledges that in receiving the beatific vision of God, she is also gifted with knowledge and perception of all creation. Nothing-from the highest celestial beings to the smallest created things-is excluded. This reflects the completeness of divine illumination: to see God is to see all things in their proper light.
3. “Ah, Lord, says the Soul, what have you done for me? Truly, Lord, I am completely amazed over what I understand about it, so that I do not know what amazes me, nor do I have any other practice, nor can I have, for the continuation of this understanding.”
The soul expresses total disorientation in the face of such divine generosity. Her amazement is so deep that it becomes her only spiritual “practice.” She no longer strives through effort or method; her whole spiritual life is absorbed in wonder, a passive receptivity to what God is doing in her. This reveals a contemplative state beyond discursive reasoning or structured devotion.
4. “Lord, as I have no other cause to be amazed than that you have given to my soul the vision of the whole Trinity, of angels and souls, such as you have not given to your precious body which is joined to the nature of the Father in the person of the Son, so it is a marvel that I am able to live!”
In a bold and paradoxical statement, the soul claims to have received a vision even beyond what was granted to Christ’s physical body. This is not theological assertion but mystical hyperbole: the soul is so enraptured by divine intimacy that it feels as though it has been uniquely privileged-even more than what the senses could grasp in the Incarnation. The weight of this intimacy feels unbearable, and yet the soul survives it.
5. “But still, Lord, it is so great a thing to see the angels and the souls to whom you have given the vision of your sweet face. Corporality is not worthy to see such angels and souls, and, by greater reason, corporality cannot see the Trinity since it cannot see the angels nor the souls.”
The soul reflects on the limitations of the body. Corporeal vision is too coarse to perceive angels, let alone the Trinity. This underlines the spiritual nature of her gift-her spirit alone is capable of receiving this vision, suggesting a purification and elevation that bypasses the limitations of physical existence.
6. “Nevertheless, you have given this gift to my spirit for eternity, as long as you are God.”
The chapter concludes with a declaration of permanence: the soul’s vision of God and of all creation is not temporary or fleeting but eternal. This is a divine pledge, grounded not in the soul’s merit but in God’s unchanging nature. The eternal duration of the vision is a reflection of God’s own eternity, into which the soul is invited.
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1. What is the Soul’s initial reaction upon contemplating God’s gifts?
She is utterly amazed and almost unable to remain composed in her mind, overwhelmed by the promise of eternal vision of the Trinity and all creation.
2. What additional “visions” does the Soul realize she will share along with the Trinity?
She will also see angels, souls, saints, and even “little things”-all created order-in their true light, because knowing God fully illumines the knowledge of all that exists.
3. Why does the Soul claim she has “no other practice” or way to continue after this amazement?
Her amazement itself becomes her sole spiritual “practice”-no further method or exercise is needed because wonder at God’s generosity fully occupies her spirit.
4. How does the Soul compare her gift to what was given to Christ’s human nature?
She exclaims that she seems privileged even beyond Christ’s physical experience-having received a vision surpassing what His body could behold-emphasizing the boundless nature of divine gift.
5. What limitation of the body does the Soul acknowledge in perceiving these gifts?
She notes that corporeal (bodily) vision is too coarse to perceive angels or the Trinity; only the purified spirit can receive these supernatural visions.
6. What assurance does the Soul receive about the duration of these gifts?
She is assured that these visions are given “for eternity,” lasting as long as God Himself, so that her contemplative amazement will never cease.
7. What does this chapter teach about the relationship between divine revelation and the contemplative life?
It shows that the highest contemplative state is one of sustained wonder and passive receptivity, in which the soul’s sole “work” is to remain amazed and receptive to God’s boundless generosity, rather than to perform structured practices.
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Chapter 34 reveals that the soul, transformed by divine Love, finds its true activity in perfect non-action: by fully embracing her utter nothingness, she allows God to work within her and thereby receives all that He wills to give. Love instructs that only when the soul ceases striving from its own power does it enter into the fullness of divine action. Yet, acknowledging human frailty, Love permits the soul to “do the best she can” until she truly understands her nothingness-always remembering her creaturely origins to guard against pride. The soul’s humble confession of unworthiness before Christ’s infinite mercy culminates in a plea to be freed from the debt of love so that her will may henceforth be wholly conformed to God’s perfect will.
—
1. “For God’s sake, Love, says this Soul, I pray that you say what I will do, for you know this and you know the gifts from the goodness of my Lover.”
The Soul, aware of her own incapacity, appeals to Love to prescribe her next steps. She acknowledges Love’s intimate knowledge of her state and the divine gifts she has received, seeking guidance that transcends her own feeble will.
2. “The best that I can tell you is that if you understand perfectly your nothingness you will do nothing, and this nothingness will give you everything.”
Love teaches the core mystical paradox: perfect non-action-recognizing one’s utter nothingness-is itself the path to receiving all from God. True union requires the soul to relinquish all self-effort, thereby making room for divine action.
3. “If you cannot come perfectly to understand your nothingness … it is necessary for you to do something, truly, the best that you can do, or you will diminish … As God has transformed you into Himself, so also you must not forget your nothingness.”
Recognizing human frailty, Love allows that the Soul may need to act-“the best that you can do”-until she fully realizes her nothingness. Even in the midst of divine transformation, the soul must remember her creaturely origin and continue a humble practice as long as self-forgetfulness is incomplete.
4. “Ah, Lord … I am certain that I am worthy of nothing other than my horrible faults … but my goal and my hope is … that, if none had sinned except me alone, so you would have ransomed my soul by your overflowing love …”
The Soul lays bare her sense of unworthiness, contrasting her sins with Christ’s sacrificial love. In a bold act of faith, she claims that even if she alone had sinned, God’s mercy would have sufficed-affirming both God’s infinite charity and her total dependence.
5. “I pray you … that you free me of this debt … so that from now on I might will in all things your perfect will.”
The chapter closes with the Soul asking to be unbound from her sense of indebtedness, so that her will can be wholly aligned with God’s. This complements Love’s earlier teaching: only when the Soul is freed from her own striving and debt can she will and act in full conformity with divine will.
—
1. What does the Soul ask Love to tell her at the chapter’s outset?
The Soul pleads with Love to instruct her in what she should do next, acknowledging that Love alone understands her condition and the divine gifts she has received.
2. What is Love’s primary prescription for the Soul, and why is it paradoxical?
Love advises the Soul to do nothing by fully realizing her own nothingness. This is paradoxical because non-action-perfect surrender-becomes the means by which she receives everything from God.
3. Under what condition does Love permit the Soul to act, and what is the caveat?
If the Soul cannot yet fully grasp her nothingness, Love allows her to “do the best that she can.” However, she must continually remember her creaturely origin and remain humble, lest she “diminish” from the spiritual heights she has attained.
4. How does the Soul express her unworthiness in relation to Christ’s sacrifice?
The Soul confesses she merits only condemnation for her sins but trusts that even if she alone had sinned, Christ’s overflowing love would have ransomed her. She thus accentuates both her sinfulness and Christ’s infinite mercy.
5. What debt does the Soul feel she owes God, and what does she request?
The Soul feels indebted because she can “do nothing” to repay God’s love. She asks to be freed from this debt so that her will may be completely aligned with God’s perfect will going forward.
6. How does Chapter 34 illustrate the interplay between divine transformation and human effort?
It shows that while divine love calls the Soul to perfect non-action (surrender), human frailty may still require provisional acts of striving (“the best you can do”) until full passivity in God’s will is achieved.
7. Why must the Soul continually remember her “nothingness,” even after being transformed by God?
Remembering her nothingness preserves humility and prevents spiritual pride. It honors the truth of her creaturely dependence and keeps her receptive to grace rather than relying on her own perceived progress.
8. What is the ultimate goal the Soul expresses at the chapter’s end?
The Soul’s ultimate goal is to will only God’s perfect will in all things-achieved by being released from her sense of debt and fully surrendered to divine love.
——————–
In Chapter 35, Marguerite Porete explores the radical intimacy between the soul and God by showing that if divine love is truly eternal and inseparable-God will never love without the soul-then the soul must have been loved from eternity, even before her temporal creation. The Soul boldly employs mystical logic to assert her timeless participation in God’s eternal will and wisdom, challenging Reason’s temporal categories. Although Reason initially rebukes this claim, it ultimately yields to Love’s higher authority, acknowledging that in the transformed soul “Love who accomplishes her will” supersedes all ordinary reason. The chapter thus affirms that in mystical union the soul transcends linear temporality, existing within God’s eternal knowledge and love, and that divine authority and insight take precedence over human logic.
—
1. Soul: “You have said that He who is in Himself and of Himself without beginning will never love anything without me, nor I without Him.
Love: It is true, says Love, I assure you.”
The Soul begins by recalling Love’s own teaching: divine love is inseparable between God and the soul. If God will never love anything apart from her, the Soul reasons, then that mutual love must have no beginning. Love’s affirmation underscores that this bond transcends temporal sequence.
2. Soul: “Since He will never love … without me, I say therefore that He never loved anything without me. In addition, since He will be in me through love forever, therefore I have been loved by Him without beginning.”
The Soul draws a daring logical syllogism: God’s eternal future love implies an eternal past love. She claims that if God’s willing of her is timeless, then she must have been loved from eternity-a mystical claim that dares to place her in the eternal “before” Creation.
3. Reason: “Watch what you say … Have you forgotten that you have just barely been created, and that once you were not?”
Reason objects with ontological realism: the Soul had a beginning in time and did not exist before Creation. Reason warns that the Soul’s conclusion contradicts basic creation doctrine, revealing a tension between mystical logic and rational order.
4. Soul: “If I err … Love errs with me who makes me believe and think and speak.”
The Soul appeals to Love’s authority, suggesting that any error must lie in Reason, since Love is the source of her mystical convictions. This turns the debate from logical deduction to a question of spiritual authority.
5. Soul: “If I am loved without end … I have also been loved by them without beginning. For as He will love me without end … I have been in the knowledge of His wisdom … since He loved … the work which He would do in me by His divine power.”
The Soul refines her argument: God’s timeless knowledge and will toward her created effect means that, in God’s eternal knowing, she “existed” as the object of love before creation. Mystically, she participates in God’s eternal purpose, bridging the gap between creaturely beginning and divine eternity.
6. Reason (after hearing Love): “Now … I promise you obedience and peace … because Love wills it I cannot do the contrary.”
Reason, humbled, yields to Love’s higher authority. Even the rational faculty concedes that in the soul transformed by Love, mystical logic and divine authority override ordinary ontological categories. Reason pledges to abide in the harmony Love dictates.
—
1. What syllogism does the Soul use to argue that she has been loved “without beginning”?
She argues that because God will never love without her in eternity (future), He therefore has never loved apart from her (past). Thus, her relationship with God precedes time.
2. How does Reason initially object to the Soul’s claim?
Reason reminds the Soul that she was created in time and did not exist “once”-so she cannot have been loved before her creation.
3. On what authority does the Soul reject Reason’s objection?
The Soul appeals to Love’s authority, claiming that because Love instills these convictions in her, any error must reside in Reason, not in Love.
4. How does the Soul refine her mystical logic to bridge divine eternity and creaturely creation?
She points out that in God’s eternal wisdom and will, she was “known” and “loved” before being brought into temporal existence; her creation was the realization of an eternal divine purpose.
5. What does Reason’s final response reveal about the relationship between reason and Love in Porete’s mysticism?
Reason ultimately yields to Love, acknowledging that when Love dwells in the soul, divine authority and mystical insight supersede ordinary rational categories; Reason pledges obedience and peace to Love’s will.
——————–
In chapter 36, the Soul celebrates her liberation from Reason’s authority through the “nobility and courtesy” of her Bridegroom, Divine Love. Love confirms that the Soul’s every thought, word, and deed now originates in Christ’s own will, rendering any human faculty subordinate. The mutual willing-God wills that the Soul will, and she wills only what God wills-establishes a perfect “concord” that becomes her rest. Reason, in humbled submission, acknowledges Love’s supremacy. Ultimately, the Soul’s mastery is won not through human striving or legal obligation, but through the gift of divine peace, which rules her heart and frees her from all debt and fear.
—
1. Soul: “Now the debts are turned, … for the nobility of the courtesy of my Spouse would not deign any longer to leave me in your service, nor in that of any other.”
The Soul declares that the roles of mastery and service have been reversed: Reason no longer governs her because her Bridegroom-Christ as Divine Love-has “redeemed” her from subjection. This overturning of “debts” emphasizes that the soul’s ultimate allegiance is to God alone, not to any created faculty or law.
2. Love: “This is the truth, most sweet Soul … I swear it and confess it to you.”
Love confirms the Soul’s liberation. This divine affirmation is itself a sacrament of freedom: the assurance that the Soul need no longer submit to Reason’s judgments, for she is now governed entirely by the will and courtesy of her Spouse.
3. Reason: “Ah … you think and say and do whatever you wish, since Love wills it and confirms it.”
Reason challenges the Soul’s assertion that her thoughts, words, and deeds now flow from Love’s authority and so she can do whatever she wills. Reason questions whether its own jurisdiction has really been superseded by the higher law of divine union-thereby acknowledging Love’s primacy over rational order.
4. Soul: “What is done is proper to herself, for by myself I cannot do anything if my Lover Himself does not do it in me.”
The Soul articulates the mystical principle of divine cooperation: no action of hers is possible apart from the Lover’s working within her. This echoes John 15:5 (“apart from me you can do nothing”) and underscores the soul’s absolute dependence on Christ’s indwelling power.
5. Soul: “Willing is always necessary for Him, for I do not will except that He wills in me, and He wills that I might will. In this He gives me rest by His courtesy.”
Here the Soul describes the mutuality of desire: God wills that she will, and she wills only what God wills. This reciprocal “concord” establishes the deepest rest-spiritual peace born of perfect harmony between divine and human will.
6. Soul: “By giving peace to me, you have made yourself the master. For whatever portion of my sins I find, whether to come or already there, always your peace dwells in me.
The Soul recognizes that true mastery-the power to govern her interior life-is exercised by means of peace. God’s gift of peace, not compulsion or law, secures her obedience. The indwelling peace eradicates guilt over past or future sins, making Love the sovereign guide of her life.
—
1. What reversal of roles does the Soul announce at the start of the chapter?
The Soul declares that her “debts are turned”-Reason no longer governs her because her Bridegroom (Divine Love) has redeemed her. She is freed from service to Reason and any created power.
2. How does Love confirm the Soul’s new state of freedom?
Love swears to the truth of the Soul’s liberation, affirming that the Soul is now governed entirely by the Spouse’s courtesy and will, not by Reason or any other created authority.
3. How does Reason respond when the Soul claims to act solely by Love’s will?
Reason first challenges, but then concedes that the Soul can “think and say and do whatever” Love confirms, acknowledging Love’s authority over Reason.
4. What is the “concord” between God’s will and the Soul’s will, and what fruit does it bear?
The concord is that God wills the Soul’s willing and the Soul wills only what God wills. This perfect harmony yields deep rest-inner peace-as the Soul’s primary spiritual fruit.
5. How does the Soul describe the way God exercises “mastery” over her?
God’s mastery is exercised through the gift of peace. By granting her peace, He guides her without compulsion or guilt, making peace the ruling principle of her interior life.
6. What is the chapter’s teaching about the relationship between human reason and mystical love?
The chapter shows that mystical love (Divine Love) ultimately transcends and subsumes human reason. Reason must yield to Love’s higher authority in the soul’s transformed state.
——————–
In chapter 37, the Soul expresses that her sins-though incomprehensible in their true deformity to anyone but God-will one day be understood in paradise, not to her shame but to the glory of God’s mercy and generosity. The revelation of her faults will serve to highlight the immensity of divine compassion, bringing her peace rather than remorse. Love affirms that perfect charity consists in always willing God’s will, and that such union removes all grounds for a guilty conscience. The Soul acknowledges that she is merely the vessel of divine understanding and that any wisdom or insight she communicates is entirely the work of Love within her. Thus, the chapter reveals that true peace, glory, and understanding arise not from personal merit, but from the Soul’s transformation through divine charity and God’s gratuitous action.
—
1. Soul: “Lord, no one in this world can understand my sins in so ugly and hideous a figure as they are-only you can.”
The Soul acknowledges the unique clarity with which God alone perceives the depths of her sinfulness. Human judgment fails to grasp the full “ugliness” of her faults; only divine omniscience truly sees their gravity.
2. Soul: “But, Lord, in paradise all those who will be there will understand them, not to my distress but to my very great glory. For in seeing that by my sins I have angered you, your mercy … and your largesse full of courtesy will be understood.”
The Soul looks forward to heaven, where sins-and God’s response-will be perfectly transparent. Far from shame, this revelation will magnify God’s mercy and lavish grace, bringing the Soul “very great glory” as all see her redeemed by divine courtesy.
3. Love: “Such courtesy … gives peace of conscience to this Soul … to will perfectly your will is perfect charity.”
Love defines perfect charity as the will aligned with God’s will. In this union, remorse or guilt cannot abide, for they signal a failure of charity. Divine courtesy-God’s gracious forgiveness-secures the Soul’s conscience, enabling her to act from pure love without fear of condemnation.
4. Love: “The Soul was created for nothing other than to have within her without end the being of pure charity.”
This summation elevates the purpose of creation to its highest end: the Soul’s eternal indwelling of pure charity. All else-works, virtues, even the memory of sin-serves this single destiny of infinite love.
5. Soul: “Nothing comes from a work when it is necessary that the work is nothing … whatever is in me … of divine understanding … you … have said it in me and through me by your goodness …”
The Soul humbly recognizes that any spiritual insight she possesses is not her own achievement but the work of Love within her. Good works “come from nothing” when true transformation depends solely on divine agency, and she attributes all glory to Love’s gratuitous action.
—
1. Why does the Soul say only God can fully understand her sins?
Because human perception is limited; only God’s infinite knowledge can grasp the true “ugliness” and depth of her faults.
2. How does the Soul anticipate the revelation of her sins in paradise?
She expects that others’ understanding of her sins-and God’s merciful response-will bring her “very great glory” by showcasing divine courtesy and forgiveness.
3. How does Love define “perfect charity”?
Perfect charity is willing God’s will perfectly; when the Soul’s will is fully aligned with God’s, remorse and guilt disappear as they indicate a lack of charity.
4. What ultimate purpose of creation does Love state?
That the Soul be filled always with pure charity-divine love-as her eternal destiny.
5. Why does the Soul claim “nothing comes from a work” in her spiritual life?
Because genuine transformation and understanding arise not from her own efforts but from Love’s gracious action within her; her works are “nothing” apart from God’s work in her.
This chapter teaches that the full disclosure of our sinfulness in heaven will magnify God’s mercy, establishing perfect peace of conscience, and that our ultimate purpose is to be eternally possessed by divine charity-an outcome wholly rooted in God’s gracious love, not our own works.
——————–
In Chapter 38, the Soul humbly acknowledges her utter poverty and unworthiness, marveling that divine Love would willingly “suffer” her presence and grant her such grace despite her failures and the irrecoverable loss of time spent in spiritual idleness. She recognizes that Love, as an expression of God’s mercy, places the treasure of divine grace precisely in the abyss of her insufficiency-not because she deserves it, but because such generosity magnifies the nobility and courtesy of the Giver. While Reason cannot fully comprehend this mystery, she concedes that everything accomplished in the Soul through Love is good and divinely ordered. The chapter thus affirms that the recognition of one’s spiritual poverty is not a barrier but the very condition in which the Holy Spirit plants His gift of love, far exceeding what words can express.
—
1. “O overflowing and abundant Lover, and courtesy without measure for my sake-for thus it seems to me, says this Soul-when you will to suffer [me]!”
The Soul begins in astonished reverence, marveling that Love-the Divine-chooses to tolerate and even embrace her poverty and imperfection. The phrase “suffer me” echoes the language of Christ’s patient endurance, indicating that Love freely bears with her despite her unworthiness.
2. “To suffer, Lord? Indeed, you will to suffer [me], more willingly than anyone could say, lest I remain in what I deserve, that is, in this wretched body without limiting the time.”
Here the Soul acknowledges that she deserves to remain forever bound to her corruptible, sinful condition. Yet Love wills otherwise-Love chooses to raise her up. The Soul sees this as unthinkable mercy, a divine preference for compassion over strict justice.
3. “And at the same time, because of whatever mercy might be in you, I cannot recover the loss of past time, for it is necessary, sweet Lover, to guard your righteousness.”
The Soul recognizes a divine paradox: God’s mercy is boundless, yet His righteousness must also be upheld. The time lost in sin and idleness cannot be undone, and she accepts that loss as irretrievable in justice.
4. “Nevertheless, it cannot be that the lost time might never be returned to me, and that I would be so far from loving and understanding and praising you.”
Despite her acceptance of divine justice, she believes Love will transform even lost time into an opportunity for greater praise and love. This anticipates a mystical restoration-perhaps not temporal, but spiritual-through grace.
5. “How many moments of an hour have I been idle, and in how many deficiencies have I fallen, I who am in the abyss of total poverty?”
The Soul contemplates the depth of her need and failure, measuring it not in general terms, but in precise, painful awareness of each moment of spiritual sloth.
6. “And nevertheless, so it seems to me, you have willed to place the gift of such grace, which you have described above, in this abyss of poverty.”
This is the mystery at the heart of divine love: that the very depths of human poverty are chosen as the dwelling place of God’s highest grace. The Soul marvels that divine generosity is not withheld from misery, but precisely directed toward it.
7. “Described? says the Soul. Truly, Lady Love, everything you have said about this grace through the mouth of a creature would only be muttering compared to your work.”
The Soul admits that human speech, even Love’s speech through her, can barely scratch the surface of divine grace. All expression pales before the lived, interior experience of Love’s action.
8. Reason: “Ah, for God’s sake! Lady Love,” says Reason, “I indeed have heard what is said, willingly I would hear no more, except that I might grasp this perfectly, says Reason.”
Reason, witnessing the overwhelming mystery of Love’s generosity, yields with reluctant awe. She longs to understand, but confesses that she cannot fully grasp such a sublime mystery.
9. Love: “Truly,” says Love, “and it is given by the Holy Spirit Himself.”
Love affirms that the experience the Soul speaks of-this grace in poverty-is not a human insight but a divine gift, bestowed by the Holy Spirit alone. It transcends the intellect.
10. Reason: “Therefore I say,” says Reason, “that I cannot grasp it, except that it seems to me that everything which this Soul has done, which is by you, is very well done.”
In the end, Reason concedes. Though she cannot comprehend the grace given, she sees its fruit and recognizes its divine origin. She bows to the mystery of Love at work in the Soul.
—
1. Why is the Soul astonished that Love “wills to suffer” her?
Because she sees herself as deeply unworthy and immersed in spiritual poverty. That Love would tolerate-let alone embrace-her miserable condition is to her an overwhelming act of divine courtesy and compassion.
2. What does the Soul mean by “lest I remain in what I deserve”?
She acknowledges that, by justice, she deserves to remain trapped in her sinful, mortal condition. Yet Love’s mercy intervenes to draw her beyond this just fate.
3. How does the Soul reconcile God’s mercy with His righteousness?
She admits that even God’s mercy cannot undo the objective loss of time wasted in sin. God’s righteousness must be preserved, meaning that past time cannot be literally restored. However, she believes that Love can transform the loss into spiritual gain.
4. Why does the Soul refer to herself as being in “the abyss of total poverty”?
She is profoundly aware of her inner emptiness, failures, and lack of merit. She sees herself as utterly destitute before God, having wasted countless moments and fallen into many deficiencies.
5. How does the Soul interpret the placement of grace within this “abyss”?
She sees it as the supreme expression of divine generosity-that God chooses to deposit His most precious gift of grace in the very place of greatest need and unworthiness.
6. What does the Soul mean by saying that human language only “mutters” about divine grace?
She recognizes that even the most eloquent speech, including Love’s own articulation through her, falls short of capturing the mystery and magnitude of divine grace. It can only gesture toward the truth.
7. How does Reason respond to the Soul’s mystical experience?
Reason is overwhelmed and admits that she cannot fully comprehend what has been revealed. She no longer desires more words, only the ability to grasp what she’s already heard. In the end, she affirms that the fruits of the Soul’s life show that it is indeed the work of Love.
8. Who does Love say gives this gift of grace?
Love states that the gift is given “by the Holy Spirit Himself,” affirming that this is a supernatural action beyond human understanding.
——————–
Chapter 39 teaches that the Soul, transformed completely by divine Love, transcends the governance of Reason and the structured life of visible virtues. While Reason formerly guided the soul through counsel, virtue, and discretion, she now humbly desires to serve as the Soul’s handmaid, recognizing that a higher order has taken root-one invisible to most but superior in essence. Love affirms that the Soul, being wholly united with and transformed into Love, lives beyond the rule of Reason, just as Christ’s divinity remained untouched by His human suffering. In this state, the Soul owes no allegiance to Reason or to the moral order of virtue as such but owes only love to Love itself. This marks the soul’s true spiritual freedom, where discretion no longer applies, and every action flows from the immediate, sovereign movement of divine Love within her.
—
1. “Now, Lady Love, says Reason, I pray you, guide me so that I might serve her completely as her simple handmaid. For I understand that I cannot have greater joy nor greater honor than to be the servant of such a lady.”
Reason begins the chapter in a posture of humility, expressing a desire to become a servant of the transformed Soul. This reflects a reversal of the previous order, where Reason ruled. Now, Reason recognizes that there is something higher-namely, the state of the Soul who has been transformed by Love-and wishes to serve it.
2. “I confess it to you, says Love, that you cannot do better than to confess and say it.”
Love affirms Reason’s newfound humility. There is no higher role Reason can play now than to acknowledge her own limits and give way to the superior rule of Love within the Soul.
3. “Ah, most sweet Love, says Reason, what would I do with the people whom I have to govern who will never see any ordering in this Soul, that is, in her practices and activities?”
Reason struggles with the apparent disorder in the Soul’s external behavior. To those governed by Reason, the Soul seems disordered because she no longer follows the visible patterns of virtuous works and disciplined conduct. Reason is concerned with how others will perceive this.
4. “Why do you say that? says Love. Is there a better ordering than that of this Soul?”
Love challenges Reason’s criteria for order. What seems disordered to Reason is, from Love’s perspective, the highest order-a divine spontaneity that surpasses moral calculation and structured virtue.
5. “Not at all, says Reason … but of such types there are few on the earth. I dare to say it.”
Reason concedes that such a divine ordering exists, even if rare and misunderstood by most. This shows Reason’s growing humility and willingness to be taught by Love.
6. “I call an ordering, says Reason, the life of the works of the Virtues in perpetuity, through my counsel and the counsel of Discretion, as in the exemplar of the works of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Reason defines “ordering” as a life consistently shaped by virtues and moral reasoning, modeled after Christ. This is the classical Christian view of sanctity through habitual virtue.
7. “Reason, says Love … what the humanity of Jesus Christ suffered, the divinity did not feel. I speak in a similar way to you, says Love, concerning the Soul.”
Love offers a theological analogy: just as Christ’s divinity was untouched by the sufferings of His humanity, the inner life of the Soul, transformed by Love, is not disturbed by the operations of Reason or external virtues. This shows a mystical interiority beyond outward moral behavior.
8. “This Soul herself is Love, and Love has no difference from her. In everything it is appropriate to have discretion, except in Love.”
This is the central mystical teaching of the chapter: the Soul is so fully united with Love that she is Love. In her, all duality ceases-there is no longer a difference between lover and beloved. Discretion, which Reason values highly, has no place in such pure Love, which is beyond measure or calculation.
9. “All things owe me allegiance, including the works of the Virtues counseled by Reason, refined by Discretion, except the one alone who is grasped by Love and transformed into Love. This one owes me only love, and for this is he free, for Love has freed him.”
Love redefines allegiance. Even virtue, reason, and discretion owe allegiance to Love. But the Soul transformed into Love is no longer subject to them-she owes only love, and this is her freedom. This final image crystallizes the theme: true spiritual liberty comes not through the governance of reason, but through transformation into Love.
—
1. Why does Reason desire to serve the Soul, and how does Love respond?
Reason desires to serve the Soul because she recognizes the greatness and dignity of the Soul transformed by Love. She sees that there is no greater honor than to be a servant of such a lady. Love confirms that this is the wisest thing Reason could do, affirming her place now as a handmaid rather than a guide.
2. What concern does Reason raise about how others perceive the Soul’s lack of external order?
Reason is troubled that others, especially those governed by reason and discretion, will not understand the Soul’s way of life, since her practices and actions seem unordered or unconventional. This reflects the tension between visible virtue and hidden mystical union.
3. How does Love redefine what true “ordering” is in the spiritual life?
Love challenges Reason’s idea of order, saying that the Soul’s ordering is superior-though invisible to Reason’s standards-because it flows directly from Love. True order, for Love, is not the regularity of virtue but the spontaneous operation of divine Love in the Soul.
4. What does Love mean when she compares the Soul to the divinity of Christ in relation to His humanity?
Love uses the analogy to show that just as Christ’s divinity remained untouched by the suffering of His humanity, so too the Soul, transformed by Love, transcends the operations of Reason and Virtue. Her essence abides in God while her external life may appear unstructured.
5. Why does Love say that discretion is not needed in Love?
Because Love operates beyond measure, calculation, or moderation. While discretion is necessary in all other virtues and actions, pure Love is absolute and self-giving, and in it, the Soul acts not from calculation but from union with God’s own movement.
6. What is the ultimate freedom that Love gives to the Soul, according to this chapter?
The Soul who is transformed into Love owes nothing but Love itself-she is not subject to the law of virtues or the governance of Reason. This freedom is a spiritual liberation in which the Soul is no longer bound by external expectations but is moved directly by God.
——————–
Chapter 40 teaches that true wisdom, according to Love, is found in the soul that dwells in the abyss of humility-one who acknowledges her complete lack of righteousness and sees herself beneath all creatures, even demons, without comparison or self-justification. This profound self-emptying is not an act of despair but the highest wisdom, because it opens the soul entirely to God’s mercy. Such a soul has become “nothing and less than nothing,” and it is precisely this nothingness that Love exalts, for God raises the least to the highest by His loyal goodness. The small-minded cannot grasp this paradox, but to Love, this soul is supremely wise.
—
1. “Among my chosen ones, I call this Soul supremely wise, but a small mind does not know how to estimate or understand a thing of great value.”
Love affirms that this particular Soul is supremely wise-not because of human understanding or intellectual greatness, but because of a deeper spiritual reality that surpasses common perception. Those with “small minds” (attached to worldly judgment) cannot comprehend the worth of this Soul, for true wisdom here is not measured by visible virtue or learning but by hidden depth.
2. “What do you call wise? … The one in the abyss of humility.”
In a striking inversion of worldly values, Love defines wisdom not as knowledge, power, or outward righteousness, but as the Soul’s radical awareness of her own unworthiness. This abyss of humility is not self-hatred but a clear spiritual perception: she knows she possesses no righteousness of her own and is thus utterly dependent on God’s grace.
3. “One … who has no injustice in anything and knows he has no righteousness in anything.”
This paradox expresses perfect humility. The Soul commits no injustice (because she is aligned entirely with God’s will) but claims no merit of her own. Her wisdom is the fruit of detachment from both guilt and self-congratulation-she does not measure herself at all, living instead in God’s truth.
4. “She sees herself beneath all creatures, in the sea of sin.”
The Soul does not compare herself with others favorably but sees herself as the lowest of all. This isn’t scrupulous exaggeration-it is a deep interior vision of her radical poverty before God. She even perceives herself as beneath the demons-not in moral standing, but in her utter emptiness of merit.
5. “She has heard for a long time through the Holy Spirit that God will put the least in the highest solely by His loyal goodness.”
This is the culmination of her wisdom: she trusts entirely in God’s mercy, not in her own virtue. It is by divine goodness alone that she will be raised up. Her humility becomes the foundation for exaltation, in keeping with the Gospel truth that “the last shall be first.”
Overall Insight:
Love’s declaration that this Soul is “supremely wise” reveals a mystical theology of humility as the highest wisdom. The Soul’s self-knowledge, born of grace, leads her to see herself as less than nothing-yet without despair, for she clings to divine goodness. In this lies her true greatness.
—
1. Why does Love call this Soul “supremely wise”?
Because she dwells in the abyss of humility-she recognizes she has no righteousness of her own and sees herself beneath all creatures. Her wisdom is not based on human reasoning but on her radical self-emptying and her full dependence on God’s mercy.
2. What is Love’s definition of wisdom in this chapter?
Wisdom is being in “the abyss of humility,” which means having no sense of injustice in oneself but also no claim to righteousness. It is the complete acknowledgment of one’s nothingness and unworthiness before God.
3. How does the Soul view herself in relation to other creatures and even demons?
She sees herself as beneath all creatures, including the demons-not because she is more evil, but because she makes no comparisons or claims at all. In her self-perception, she is nothing and less than nothing.
4. How is the Soul’s understanding of her own sinfulness described?
She sees herself in “the sea of sin,” as a slave to it, without making comparisons to others. This radical self-awareness strips her of all pride and places her at the bottom-where she becomes the object of God’s pure mercy.
5. What is the source of the Soul’s assurance despite her sense of unworthiness?
Her confidence comes from the Holy Spirit, who has revealed to her that God will raise the least to the highest by His “loyal goodness.” Her humility opens her to God’s gracious exaltation.
6. What does Love say about those with “small minds”?
Love says that small minds cannot recognize the greatness or value of this Soul, because such wisdom-rooted in profound humility and self-emptying-is invisible to worldly or superficial judgment.
7. How does this chapter reinforce the central spiritual theme of transformation in Love?
It shows that true transformation happens through utter self-surrender and humility. The Soul’s transformation into Love itself is not through virtue in a moralistic sense, but through her recognition of complete dependence on God’s mercy.
“The Mirror of Simple Souls” by Marguerite Porete – Part 3 of 14
In Chapter 21 of The Mirror of Simple Souls, the main teaching centers on the paradoxical truth that the Soul, having once obeyed the Virtues with full devotion under Reason’s guidance, eventually transcends them not by rejection but by surpassing their external practice through perfect union with Divine Love. Though she no longer “practices” the Virtues in the conventional sense, the Virtues now dwell in her more perfectly because she lives by their essence, not their form. Love, who reveals Himself to be God, explains that this Soul has been transformed into Him by love’s righteousness, becoming His own without self-possession. This culminates in a profound mystical state in which the Soul, entirely given over to Love, no longer acts from herself but from God within her, having passed beyond moral striving into divine assimilation.
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1. “It is true that this Soul takes leave of the Virtues, insofar as the practicing of them is concerned, and insofar as the desire for what they demand is concerned. But the Virtues have not taken leave of her, for they are always with her, but this is from perfect obedience to them.”
Love clarifies that the soul’s apparent departure from the Virtues is not a rejection but a transcendence of active, willful practice. The soul no longer strives to practice the virtues because she has become a perfect vessel of them. Her earlier obedience has brought her to a point where the virtues are no longer external obligations but internalized presences, infused by Divine Love.
2. “For if a man serves a master, it is he whom the man serves, and the master does not belong to him… [But later] the servant leaves the master for a better master.”
This analogy reveals the transformation of the soul: like a servant who outgrows a teacher and finds a higher one, the soul transcends the external governance of the Virtues once she is mastered by Love itself. The Virtues now serve her in return, not out of reversal of hierarchy but because the soul has been elevated by grace into union with God.
3. “So this Soul has gained and learned so much with the Virtues that she is now superior to the Virtues… she has within her the mistress of the Virtues, whom one calls Divine Love.”
The soul has internalized all that the Virtues could offer and more, because Divine Love-who is above all virtues-now dwells in her. The soul’s condition surpasses moral excellence: she lives by a divine infusion, no longer needing moral scaffolding, having become the dwelling place of Divine Love.
4. “Reason: To whom does she belong then? says Reason.
Love: To my will, says Love, which transformed her into me.”
The soul now belongs entirely to Love. Not to herself, not to Reason, not even to the Virtues. Love, which is God, has absorbed her into divine will, indicating full deification of the soul-not ontologically, but through righteousness of love.
5. “Love: I am God, says Love, for Love is God and God is Love, and this Soul is God by the condition of Love. I am God by divine nature and this Soul is God by righteousness of Love.”
This is the central mystical declaration of the chapter: a bold articulation of deification. Love identifies itself as God, echoing 1 John 4:8 (“God is Love”), and states that the soul, through perfect union and love, has become God-not by nature, but by participation. The soul is not obliterated but transformed so completely by divine charity that it lives God’s life through infused love.
6. “This precious beloved of mine is taught and guided by me, without herself, for she is transformed into me, and such a perfect one… takes my nourishment.”
The soul no longer acts with self-possession. Her own will has been entirely taken up by Love’s will. The phrase “without herself” suggests not self-annihilation, but a complete divine possession in which God becomes the soul’s guide, teacher, and sustenance. She lives entirely in God, by God, and for God.
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1. Why does Reason perceive a contradiction between the Soul leaving the Virtues and still having them more perfectly than others?
Reason is confused because the text says the Soul has “taken leave” of the Virtues, which sounds like abandonment. Yet it also says that the Soul possesses the Virtues more perfectly than anyone. This seems contradictory unless understood in a deeper, spiritual sense.
2. How does Love resolve this apparent contradiction?
Love explains that the Soul has ceased practicing the Virtues in an active, effortful way and no longer desires what they demand because she has reached perfect obedience. The Virtues now abide in her not as external demands but as internal realities-she lives them spontaneously through union with Love.
3. What is the significance of the servant-master analogy used by Love?
The analogy shows how the Soul once learned from the Virtues as a servant learns from a master. But once the servant surpasses the master in wisdom and status, the roles reverse. Similarly, the Soul becomes greater than the Virtues because she is transformed by Divine Love, who is their source and mistress.
4. What role does Divine Love play in the transformation of the Soul?
Divine Love is the principle by which the Soul is united to God. Love is not merely a virtue but God Himself. When the Soul is transformed by Divine Love, she becomes God’s own by righteousness of Love, living no longer by self but by God’s indwelling.
5. What does it mean when Love says the Soul is “God by righteousness of Love”?
It means that through perfect love and surrender, the Soul participates in God’s life-not by nature (as God is divine by essence), but through righteousness, meaning she is entirely united with God’s will and filled with His love. It is an expression of mystical union and deification.
6. How does this chapter portray the highest stage of spiritual life?
The highest stage is not moral striving but complete transformation into Divine Love. The Soul no longer belongs to herself or even to the Virtues but to God directly. She is taught, guided, and nourished by Love itself, having no will or movement apart from God.
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Chapter 22 teaches that the Soul, transformed by Divine Love, rises like an eagle above all natural limitations, surpassing the realm of Nature to live in the freedom and nourishment of God’s splendor. By taking leave of “Lady Nature,” the Soul is no longer subject to the demands of the flesh, the instability of emotions, or the sway of worldly consolations and trials. Her interior is filled with Pure Charity and Goodness, which make her completely self-sufficient in God, joyful without excess, and sober without sorrow. This divine indwelling of the Trinity sanctifies her and renders her available to all while attached to none. The chapter closes with a warning to spiritual beginners not to settle for lesser goods but to pursue the fullness of divine union with courage and generosity of heart.
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1. “And so this Soul is like the eagle, because this Soul flies high, indeed, very high, higher than any other bird because she is feathered by Fine Love.”
The eagle, a classical symbol of spiritual elevation and vision, represents the Soul’s exalted state through Divine Love. “Feathered by Fine Love” suggests that Love is not only the cause of ascent but also the means-granting the Soul the strength and capacity to rise beyond all created things, including the natural order. Her soaring flight implies detachment, freedom, and a clarity of spiritual sight superior to all others.
2. “She sees more clearly the beauty of the sun, the rays of the sun, and the splendor of the sun, and the rays which feed her with the marrow of the high cedars.”
This poetic vision conveys the Soul’s direct perception of Divine Truth (“the sun”), not through mediated symbols but through experiential intimacy. The imagery of “rays” feeding her with “marrow” underscores that her nourishment is no longer from external virtues or created nature, but directly from the radiance and inner substance of God. The “high cedars” likely symbolize saints or spiritual greatness-yet even these are surpassed, as she now feeds on their inner life source.
3. “Thus this Soul says to the unhappy Nature who through many days has made her remain in servitude: ‘Lady Nature, I take leave of you; Love is near me and I free myself by her without fear, and contrary to all else.'”
This marks the Soul’s formal renunciation of all attachments to natural inclinations, instincts, or limitations. “Lady Nature” is personified as a former mistress who once ruled the Soul through necessity and desire. Now, aided by Love, the Soul announces her final liberation from even the noblest human drives. She is free “contrary to all else,” meaning her detachment defies not only nature but conventional piety and fear alike.
4. “This Soul is not fearful of tribulation; she is not detained for consolation, nor is she lowered on account of temptation, nor is she diminished by any subtraction.”
The Soul has reached a state of pure equanimity. She is unmoved by suffering, unbound by desire for comfort, and unshaken by temptation or loss. This indicates that she no longer acts from self-interest or vulnerability, but from the rootedness of Divine Love itself. Her identity and sustenance are no longer affected by the flux of created things.
5. “She is at all times sober without sadness, joyous without dissolution, for God has sanctified His name within her and there the Trinity is at home.”
In this profound line, we see the characteristics of divine indwelling: a quiet, balanced joy (“sober without sadness”) and a dignity of spirit (“joyous without dissolution”) that results from union with the Trinity. The sanctification of God’s name within her indicates total interior transformation-God now dwells in her as in a temple, and she shares in His eternal life.
6. “To you little ones who in desire and will take prey for your nourishment, desire that you be such as she is.”
This is a direct exhortation to the reader or spiritual seeker. “Little ones” implies beginners on the path, and “take prey for your nourishment” refers to those who still seek spiritual or emotional satisfaction from things lesser than God. The author calls them to aim higher-not to settle for partial goods or spiritual crumbs, but to aspire to the Soul’s complete union with God.
7. “For whoever desires the lesser part and desires not the greater part, such a one is not worthy of the least of God’s blessings because of the cowardice of a poor heart.”
This striking and challenging conclusion criticizes spiritual mediocrity. To desire “the lesser part” (created consolations, virtues for their own sake, spiritual pride) without aspiring to complete surrender to Love is, in this text’s view, a failure of courage and love. The phrase “cowardice of a poor heart” indicates that fear and smallness of spirit keep souls from reaching their divine destiny.
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1. Why is the Soul compared to an eagle in this chapter?
The Soul is compared to an eagle because she rises higher than all others, symbolizing her spiritual ascent beyond the natural and created order. She flies with the wings of “Fine Love,” which empowers her to see and receive divine realities-especially the rays and splendor of the “sun,” a symbol for God. Her vision is clearer, and her nourishment is drawn from the deepest sources of divine life.
2. What does it mean when the Soul says she takes leave of “Lady Nature”?
To take leave of “Lady Nature” means the Soul has transcended the limitations and demands of human nature, including desires, fears, and the instinctual life. Nature had once bound the Soul in “servitude,” but now, through Love, she is freed from all natural inclinations. This is a renunciation not of the body per se, but of being governed by anything other than divine Love.
3. How does Love describe the Soul’s freedom from external conditions like tribulation, temptation, and consolation?
Love explains that the Soul is no longer affected by suffering (tribulation), the need for comfort (consolation), temptation, or loss. She remains unshaken and undiminished in all circumstances. This reflects her perfect detachment and full identification with Divine Love, which makes her invulnerable to changes in fortune or emotional states.
4. What is meant by “She is at all times sober without sadness, joyous without dissolution”?
This means that the Soul possesses a stable, serene joy that is not excessive or fleeting. “Sober without sadness” indicates a deep peace without gloom, and “joyous without dissolution” implies a joyful state that does not lose itself in ecstasy or emotionalism. Her joy is grounded in the indwelling presence of the Trinity, who has made His home within her.
5. What warning or exhortation is given to spiritual beginners at the end of the chapter?
The text exhorts “little ones”-those beginning the spiritual journey-not to settle for lesser spiritual goods or temporary satisfactions. Instead, they are called to desire the greater part: full union with God. Those who cling to lesser desires are said to be unworthy even of God’s smallest blessings because of their “cowardice of a poor heart,” which reflects spiritual timidity and lack of generosity in love.
6. What role does “Pure Charity” and “Pure Goodness” play in the Soul’s condition?
Pure Charity and Pure Goodness are the divine qualities that fill the Soul and cause her to be content, detached, and generous. Because she is immersed in these, she asks nothing from anyone and has become “common to all things,” meaning she belongs to all and is constrained by nothing. These divine gifts anchor her in God’s fullness.
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Chapter 23 teaches that the soul united with God through pure love becomes perfectly balanced, strong, and invulnerable-like a castle fortified against all opposition-by holding together a profound awareness of her own poverty and the illumination received from God. In this state of deep humility and divine union, she is so transformed that she becomes spiritually intoxicated, not merely by what she receives, but by what God Himself enjoys. Through the mystery of love’s transformation, she participates in the joy of the Trinity without directly “drinking” of it. This mystical inebriation surpasses comprehension, as she shares in the divine delight simply because her Lover drinks of it. The soul is thus lifted above herself, emptied of self, yet filled with divine praise and freedom. Her faculties remain but are wholly surrendered, submerged in divine humility, and made radiantly free by God’s love.
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1. “This Unencumbered Soul, says Love, is balanced by means of a yoke with two equal weights … One of these weights … is her true understanding of her poverty … The left weight … is strength. The one on the right is the high understanding which the Soul receives from the pure Deity.”
The Soul’s spiritual stability is described through the imagery of a balanced yoke, symbolizing an equilibrium between self-awareness and divine enlightenment. The “understanding of her poverty” roots the Soul in profound humility, while divine understanding lifts her toward union with God. Strength sustains her along this path, suggesting that spiritual maturity involves a dynamic interplay between lowliness and exaltation. This balance renders the Soul invulnerable to interior or exterior attack-she is like a “castle in the sea,” inaccessible and serene.
2. “She is so deeply awed … by the understanding of her poverty that she seems … completely beside herself. And she is so inebriated … by the grace of the pure Deity that she is forever inebriated … from what she never drinks nor will ever drink.”
Here, Love describes the Soul as overcome by two paradoxical experiences: utter abasement in self-knowledge and ecstatic intoxication through divine grace. The most startling image is that of becoming “drunk” from a wine she “never drinks.” This points to a mystical union so deep that the Soul shares in what Christ drinks-in other words, she participates in divine joy and glory without having direct access to its essence. Her transformation in Love allows her to be affected by God’s own experience, not merely her own.
3. “The clearest wine, the newest, the most profitable … is the wine from the tap at the top. This is the supreme beverage which none drinks except the Trinity … the Annihilated Soul is inebriated … from what she never drinks nor ever will drink.”
This vivid metaphor of the divine “barrel” deepens the mystical paradox. The “top tap” contains the most sublime intimacy of God-reserved for the Trinity alone-yet the Soul is somehow inebriated by it. This expresses the Soul’s participation by communion rather than by possession. Through divine Love, she shares in the joy and delight of the Trinity, though she does not herself drink it. Her state is one of profound receptivity, transformed by what belongs to her Lover, not herself.
4. “In this barrel … are, without fail, several taps … The humanity [of Christ] … drinks at the most noble tap after the Trinity … Virgin Mary … and … the ardent Seraphim drink, on the wings of whom these Free Souls fly.”
The hierarchy of drinkers at the “divine barrel” reflects a spiritual order: Christ’s humanity drinks most nobly, followed by Mary, then the Seraphim. The Free Souls-like the one described-soar with the Seraphim, suggesting that though they may not drink from the highest tap, they participate in this divine ecstasy through union with those who do. This imagery underscores the mystical solidarity between God and all the elect in the ecstatic circulation of divine Love.
5. “Such a Soul … possesses memory, intellect, and will, in an abyss through humility and is highly penetrated with understanding through subtlety, and very free in all places by the love from the Deity.”
The Soul, while still fully human-with memory, intellect, and will-is transfigured through humility and subtlety, meaning she is no longer limited by natural categories. Her faculties are immersed in the “abyss” of God’s presence. Her freedom is no longer a choice between things, but an effortless availability to God in all things. Her very being is irradiated by divine understanding and Love.
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1. What does the imagery of the “yoke with two equal weights” symbolize in the Soul’s spiritual life?
The yoke symbolizes the Soul’s perfect balance and interior stability. One weight is her deep understanding of her own poverty (humility), and the other is divine understanding (illumination). These opposing yet equal forces create a spiritual equilibrium that makes the Soul strong and unshakable-like a fortified castle in the midst of the sea.
2. Why is the Soul described as inebriated by something she never drinks?
The Soul is so united with her Lover (God) that she shares in His joy and delight as if they were her own, even without directly experiencing or “drinking” them. Her inebriation signifies a mystical participation in divine bliss beyond what is accessible to creatures-she is transformed by the joy God Himself receives.
3. What is the significance of the barrel and its multiple taps?
The barrel represents the infinite goodness of God, and the taps symbolize different degrees of participation in divine delight. Only the Trinity drinks from the topmost tap-pure, ineffable joy. Christ’s humanity, Mary, and the Seraphim drink in hierarchical order. The Soul, though she does not drink from this supreme source, is nonetheless intoxicated by it through her union with the Lover.
4. How does Love explain the transformation that enables the Soul to be inebriated from what she does not drink?
Love explains that the transformation occurs through righteousness and union in Love, whereby the Soul becomes one with her Lover. There remains a distinction of nature, but not of affection or union. Because her Lover drinks the supreme wine, she, being one with Him in love, feels its effect without consuming it.
5. What does Holy Church’s exclamation reveal about the value of such a Soul?
Holy Church admires the Soul’s sublime elevation and calls for her to be loved purely and guarded closely. This expresses the Church’s recognition of the Soul’s spiritual nobility and the necessity of reverence toward souls who have attained such intimate union with God.
6. How are the faculties of memory, intellect, and will described in the transformed Soul?
These faculties remain, but they are immersed in an abyss of humility, penetrated with divine understanding, and freed entirely through divine Love. The Soul retains her human capacities but they are utterly transformed and governed by God, making her free, subtle, and wholly available to Him.
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Chapter 24 teaches that souls who dwell in the righteous freeness of Pure Love are utterly detached from desire, emotional feeling, and spiritual affection, for even these can bind the soul and disturb the deep peace that Pure Love requires. Such souls do nothing that would disrupt their interior stillness; they live from the fullness of the divine presence within and do not seek anything beyond themselves. Their purity is preserved not by avoidance but by fullness-they have become transparent vessels of the divine sun, shining outward without being tainted by anything external. Because of this, they alone grasp the “greater part” of divine understanding. They live in a paradoxical state: utterly alone and free in all things, yet universally open and available to all. Like the sun, they illuminate without absorbing any impurity, having their being entirely from God and in God.
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1. “[Reason]: Ah, Love, says Reason, when are such Souls in the righteous freeness of Pure Love?”
Reason, still seeking to understand the mystery of divine union, asks Love to define the precise moment or condition in which souls live in pure, unencumbered freedom-the “righteous freeness” that is the fruit of perfect love. The question reveals Reason’s humility and awareness of its own limitations when it comes to the depths of divine transformation.
2. “Love: When they possess neither desire, nor feeling, nor at any time affection of spirit. For these things would enslave them because it is too far from the peace of freeness where few folk allow themselves to remain.”
Love responds that true freeness in God comes only when the soul is utterly emptied of all self-originating movements-no desires, no felt emotions, not even spiritual affections. These seemingly good things are revealed as subtle forms of selfhood that disturb the soul’s total openness to God. Very few remain in this radical detachment, which is the threshold of divine peace.
3. “Also these Souls, says Love, do nothing which would be contrary to the peace of the being of their interior, and so they carry in peace the ordinance of Love.”
Such souls live entirely from the inner ground of peace and do not disturb that interior stillness with disordered action. Their every movement flows from the harmony of divine love, which has become their guiding law. “Ordinance” here refers not to an external command, but to the divine order now written into their being.
4. “Such persons are so filled that they possess the divine sun within themselves, without begging for anything beyond themselves, by which they can guard a purity of heart.”
These souls are completely indwelt by God (“the divine sun”) and so are never needy. They do not seek outward consolations or even graces, because they already contain the Source. This fullness enables them to maintain a radical purity of heart-not through effort, but through divine indwelling.
5. “And no others than they, says Love, have understanding of the greater part. And if they did not have understanding of it, they could beg for the lesser part, and still they would not have their sufficiency.”
Only these souls grasp the “greater part”-likely meaning God’s own joy and freedom. Without that understanding, even begging for lesser spiritual gifts would leave one empty. True sufficiency lies not in what one receives from God, but in the deep participation in God’s own being and understanding.
6. “Such Souls are alone in all things, and common in all things, for they do not encumber their being on account of something which might happen to them.”
These souls live a paradox: they are inwardly detached (“alone in all things”) and yet universally present and available (“common in all things”). Nothing exterior binds or agitates them. They are rooted in being, not circumstance.
7. “For as completely as the sun has light from God and shines on all things without taking any impurity into it, so also such Souls have their being from God and in God, without taking impurity into themselves on account of things which they might see or hear outside themselves.”
Here, the soul is likened to the sun-radiant, pure, and untouched by external defilements. This simile captures the essence of contemplative transformation: the soul does not react to the external world because she no longer lives from it. Her being is hidden in God, from whom she receives both existence and light.
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1. What does it mean for a soul to be in the “righteous freeness of Pure Love”?
To be in this freeness means the soul is totally detached from all inner movements such as desire, feeling, and spiritual affection. These elements, while often valued, are seen here as potential enslavers, pulling the soul away from the unbroken peace and selflessness required by Pure Love.
2. Why must the soul be free from desire, feeling, and spiritual affection to remain in divine peace?
Because even subtle inner movements introduce self-centeredness or emotional disturbance, which compromise the total inner stillness and openness necessary for dwelling in God’s peace. Only those who let go of all inner possessiveness can remain in the pure freeness of divine love.
3. How do these souls maintain purity of heart without seeking anything outside themselves?
They are filled with the divine sun-God’s own presence-within themselves. This indwelling fullness prevents them from needing to “beg” or seek externally, and so they can preserve purity not through avoidance, but through a fullness that excludes all impurity.
4. What is the “greater part” that only these souls understand?
The “greater part” refers to the deepest divine realities-God’s own peace, joy, and nature-which are not accessible through effort or lesser spiritual experience. This understanding comes only through transformation and indwelling; without it, one may seek lesser gifts but remain spiritually insufficient.
5. In what way are these souls both “alone in all things” and “common in all things”?
They are alone in that they are free from attachment to any created thing. Yet they are common in that they belong to all and are available to all, because their detachment frees them to love universally without clinging or fear.
6. What is the significance of comparing these souls to the sun?
Like the sun, these souls shine outwardly with light and warmth, yet take in no impurity from the world around them. The image emphasizes that their source is divine, and that their interior remains undefiled despite being fully present in the world.
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In Chapter 25, the main teaching is that the soul entirely united to God through pure love no longer experiences joys or spiritual sensations in a separate or perceptible way, because she has died to self-will and become wholly one with the divine will. Like a fire that does not feel its own burning, she is so transformed by the fire of divine love that she no longer perceives it as something external or even internal-she simply is that fire. This state excludes all need for spiritual consolation or external support, which are seen as signs of incompleteness. Because she is stripped of all “matter,” including the desire for experiences or means to God, she sees clearly and acts rightly in all things through humility and divine charity. She becomes at once solitary in God and universally available in love, a vessel of divine largesse untouched by the distractions of sense or effort.
—
1. “[Reason]: Now tell me, Love, says Reason, do such Souls feel any joys within them or outside them?”
Reason begins with a simple yet profound inquiry-whether souls who dwell in pure divine love experience joy in the way others might expect. This question assumes that joy is something one can locate or feel as a discrete experience, either internally or externally.
2. “[Love]: Not at all as regards your question, says Love, because their nature is mortified and their spirit is dead. For all will has departed from them, and on account of this [such a Soul] lives and remains, and is, because of such mortification, in divine will.”
Love responds paradoxically: such souls do not experience joy as Reason defines it because their nature and will have been entirely mortified-they are dead to themselves. But precisely through this death of will, they now live fully in God’s will. Their joy is not felt as a separate emotional state but is instead identical with being rooted in divine will-an ontological transformation, not a passing feeling.
3. “That which burns has no cold, and the one who swims has no thirst.”
Love uses metaphor to convey a mystical paradox: the soul so immersed in divine love no longer notices or experiences love as an external object. Like a swimmer no longer feels thirst, the soul engulfed in divine fire is no longer “aware” of fire-it has become fire itself. The soul doesn’t feel joy as something added or separate, because it is joy in its divine essence.
4. “She is fire in herself through the power of Love who transforms her into the fire of Love.”
The soul is no longer a subject that experiences love; she has become love. Transformation is so complete that there’s no longer a division between lover and beloved, experiencer and experience. The soul is fully conformed to God’s nature through Love.
5. “This fire burns of itself in all places and in all moments of an hour without consuming any matter…”
This mystical fire is divine-eternal, active, and self-sufficient. It burns without consuming, echoing the burning bush in Exodus. The soul, now one with this divine fire, is sustained by God directly, without intermediaries, and is no longer dependent on external stimuli or acts for spiritual growth.
6. “Whoever feels something of God through matter… this is not the total fire… only blindness about the understanding of the goodness of God.”
Love criticizes those who seek divine experience through external means or their own effort. While such efforts may be well-intentioned, they reflect an incomplete understanding. True divine love is unmediated and does not rely on anything outside the soul’s union with God.
7. “The one who burns with this fire, without seeking matter… sees clearly in all things…”
The soul fully surrendered to God, seeking nothing and attached to nothing, has clarity of vision. With no selfish will or personal matter clouding her interior, she discerns all things rightly. Her vision is pure because her being is purified.
8. “She is alone in Him by the virtue of true humility. And she is common to all things through the largesse of perfect charity…”
This soul is in a state of paradox: utterly alone in God through humility, yet universally open to all through charity. Her radical detachment has made her radically available. She has transcended self and is both singularly God’s and universally loving.
This chapter intensifies the spiritual portrait of the annihilated soul. She does not “feel joy” because joy, like will, is transcended in the abyss of divine union. She is not a subject that feels-she is a flame that is.
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1. Why does Love say that such souls do not feel joys within or outside themselves?
Because their nature is mortified and their spirit is dead-they have relinquished their personal will and now live entirely in the divine will. In this state, joy is no longer experienced as a distinct feeling but is absorbed into their very being.
2. What metaphor does Love use to explain why these souls do not feel the fire of divine love?
Love says, “That which burns has no cold, and the one who swims has no thirst.” Just as fire doesn’t feel fire and a swimmer doesn’t feel thirst, the soul fully immersed in divine love becomes the fire itself and therefore does not “feel” it as something separate.
3. What does Love mean by saying the fire “burns of itself …without consuming any matter”?
This divine fire is self-sustaining and spiritual-it is not fueled by created things or external matter. The soul united to God in this way is no longer dependent on anything outside itself to love or serve God.
4. How does Love critique spiritual practices that rely on matter or effort?
Love says that relying on external things or human effort to grow in divine love is “blindness about the understanding of the goodness of God.” Such striving is still limited and not the total fire of pure divine love.
5. What allows the soul to see clearly and act rightly in all things?
Because the soul is detached from all matter and free from self-will, she sees without obstruction. Her vision and judgment are purified by humility, allowing her to act with true charity and divine clarity.
6. What paradox does the soul embody at the end of this chapter?
She is “alone in Him by the virtue of true humility” and at the same time “common to all things through the largesse of perfect charity.” This means she is utterly united to God in solitude and equally open to all in love.
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Chapter 26 teaches that the Soul who has entered into Pure Love loves nothing except for God’s sake alone-not even the noblest of things-unless they are willed by God and directed toward His love. In this radical detachment, the Soul is alone in God, emptied of self-interest, and sees herself as nothing in God and God as nothing in her, expressing a mystical union free of possessiveness or image. Such a Soul no longer desires even divine consolations, for any craving for spiritual sweetness would hinder the delicate enterprise of Fine Love. Instead, she dwells in silent meditation that transcends sense and emotion, guided solely by Pure Love, which alone instructs her without intermediary.
—
1. “Such a Soul no longer loves anything in God, nor will she love anything, however noble it may be, if it is not solely for the sake of God and for the sake of what He wills, and for the sake of God in all things and all things for the sake of the love from Him.”
The soul has reached the highest refinement of love, where even noble things-spiritual delights, saints, virtues, or divine attributes-are not loved for themselves, but purely because God wills them. All attachments have been stripped away except for God’s will and love. This is the epitome of detachment and spiritual purification: to will nothing but what God wills, and to love nothing except for God’s sake.
2. “And through such love is this Soul alone in the Pure Love of the love of God. Such a Soul is so transparent in understanding that she sees herself to be nothing in God and God nothing in her.”
The soul’s union with God has become so radical that she exists in a state of total self-effacement. The phrase “she sees herself to be nothing in God and God nothing in her” expresses the obliteration of any imagined division, likeness, or possession. There is no “thingness” left-even God is no longer grasped as an object within her. This paradox articulates the absolute simplicity and emptiness necessary for union in Pure Love.
3. “Now give attention, noble lovers, to the one dwelling through meditation on Love, without creaturely hearing.”
The text addresses those advanced in the spiritual path-“noble lovers”-and invites them to a silent, interior meditation that transcends all created forms of knowledge or spiritual instruction. “Creaturely hearing” stands for all external or sensory forms of spiritual input, which must now be relinquished.
4. “For such meditation-which the Soul takes in Love, without willing any of Love’s gifts, called consolations, which comfort the Soul by the feeling of the sweetness of prayer-such meditation teaches the Soul, and no other practice teaches her except Pure Love.”
True spiritual learning at this stage no longer comes from prayerful sweetness, spiritual gifts, or even elevated understanding. The soul learns only through Pure Love, which strips her of all self-seeking. Desiring the comforts of God-consolations-would hinder her from advancing in this radical enterprise of “Fine Love,” which demands poverty of spirit and total abandonment to God.
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1. What is the only motive for love in the purified Soul at this stage?
The only motive for love is God Himself-His will, His love, and His presence in all things. The Soul loves nothing except for the sake of God, even if it is noble or spiritual in nature.
2. What does it mean when Love says the Soul is “alone in the Pure Love of the love of God”?
It means the Soul is entirely absorbed in God’s love with no admixture of self-will, desire for reward, or emotional consolation. She dwells in pure, unselfish love without distraction, consolation, or dependence on anything else.
3. How does the Soul see herself and God at this point?
She sees herself to be nothing in God, and God nothing in her. This paradox expresses radical detachment and total transparency-there is no possession, no image, no duality. All boundaries have dissolved in the simplicity of pure being.
4. What kind of meditation is recommended, and what is it free from?
The meditation is one that abides in Love without relying on creaturely hearing-i.e., without dependence on external senses, thoughts, or teachings. It is pure, silent, interior dwelling in God.
5. Why are divine consolations considered an impediment at this stage?
Because seeking the comfort of God through emotional or spiritual sweetness involves self-will and attachment. These consolations, though good in earlier stages, can obstruct the Soul’s progress in “Fine Love,” which requires complete surrender and the renunciation of all spiritual self-interest.
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Chapter 27 teaches that meditation on Pure Love has only one purpose: to enable the soul to love God loyally and selflessly, without seeking any personal consolation or reward. True love is undivided and cannot have multiple aims, for any self-interest weakens its purity. The soul must be emptied of herself, surrendering even spiritual comforts, and seek only to do God’s will. Her will becomes one with God’s, not through her own effort but through the divine operation of the Holy Trinity within her. Pure Love thus transforms the soul into a vessel of unwavering fidelity, resting not in feelings but in the perfection of willing only what God wills.
1. “Meditation on Pure Love has only one intent alone, which is that the Soul love always loyally without wishing to have anything in return.”
This opening line defines the entire thrust of Pure Love: it is utterly disinterested, not seeking consolations, rewards, or any reciprocal affection. True love is loyal, free of self-interest, and focuses solely on loving for love’s sake. This radical purity makes the soul capable of divine union, where the motive is no longer benefit but fidelity.
2. “And the Soul can do this only if she is without herself, for Loyal Love would not deign to have any consolations which might come from her own seeking.”
To love loyally, the soul must be emptied of self. “Without herself” means transcending ego, desire, and even spiritual ambition. If she were to seek consolation-even spiritual-it would compromise the purity of love, introducing a self-referential motive that Love refuses to accept.
3. “Meditation on Love knows well according to the better part that she must not excuse herself from her work, which is to will perfectly the will of God.”
True meditation is not about introspection or the pursuit of interior comfort, but about uniting the will entirely with God’s. The “better part” refers to the superior way of surrender-where obedience to God’s will becomes the soul’s only labor and joy.
4. “For the one who wills that God cause him to experience God’s will in comforts does not trust perfectly in God’s goodness alone, but in the gifts of His riches which He has to give.”
To desire the experience of God’s will, rather than the will itself, is to seek the sweetness of the gift over the Giver. This is a subtle form of spiritual egoism. Pure trust rests in God’s goodness alone, whether He gives consolation or not.
5. “And without fail, says this Soul, whoever would love well would not remember to take nor to ask, but instead always would wish to give without retaining anything in order to love loyally.”
The soul reaches a state where it forgets self-entitlement entirely. She does not think in terms of receiving, only of giving. This radical generosity is the mirror of divine charity, which pours itself out without counting the cost or requiring return.
6. “For whoever would have two goals in one same work will enfeeble the one for the other.”
Divided intention weakens love. If the soul seeks both God and self-fulfillment, her love loses its single-heartedness and therefore its spiritual power. Pure Love is unified, undistracted, and simple.
7. “And so Loyal Love has only one sole intent, that she might always be able to love loyally. For she has no doubt about the love of her Lover…”
The Soul’s only concern is to remain loyal in her love. She has full confidence in God’s love-it is her own constancy that she questions. This doubt about herself, not about God, is the fruit of humility and clarity in love.
8. “And also of her [own] power she cannot will anything, for her will is no longer her own nor in her, but instead is in the One who loves her.”
This culminates the teaching: the soul’s will has been so united with God’s that it no longer resides in her as a private faculty. Her being is transparent, and the will of God moves within her as her own. This is a mystical transference, not annihilation, in which divine will becomes operative within the soul.
9. “And this is not her work but instead is the work of the whole Trinity, who works His will in such a Soul.”
This final line attributes all this transformation to the action of the Trinity. Pure Love, total surrender, and the unity of wills is a divine work, not a human achievement. The soul’s role is consent, receptivity, and faithfulness. The transformation into divine likeness is the loving labor of God alone.
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1. What is the single intent of meditation on Pure Love, according to Love?
The sole intent of meditation on Pure Love is that the soul loves always with loyal, disinterested love-without wishing to receive anything in return. This love is entirely selfless and directed toward God alone.
2. Why must the soul be “without herself” in order to love loyally?
Being “without herself” means the soul must renounce all self-interest, even spiritual consolations or satisfaction. Only by forgetting herself can she love purely, since Loyal Love rejects all comforts that come from personal seeking.
3. How does Pure Love relate to the will of God?
Pure Love requires the soul to perfectly will the will of God without exceptions. She trusts that God knows and wills what is best, and her only desire is that His will be done in her, not that she experience His will in comforting ways.
4. Why does seeking God’s consolations show imperfect trust?
Desiring consolations from God shows trust in His gifts rather than in His goodness alone. Perfect trust surrenders to God’s will regardless of personal feeling or benefit.
5. What is the danger of having more than one intention in love?
If a soul has multiple goals-such as loving God and also seeking spiritual pleasure-her love is weakened and divided. Pure Love requires unity of purpose: to love God loyally without self-seeking.
6. How does the soul view herself in relation to God’s love?
She has complete confidence in God’s love for her, but she doubts her own fidelity. Her only concern is whether she remains true in loving as she should.
7. What happens to the soul’s will in this state of Pure Love?
The soul’s will no longer resides in herself; it is fully united with the will of God, who works His will in her. She no longer acts from her own power but is moved by divine initiative.
8. Who is ultimately responsible for this transformation of the soul’s will?
The transformation is not the soul’s own work but that of the entire Trinity, who operates within her to bring about this union of wills and pure, loyal love.
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In Chapter 28 of The Mirror of Simple Souls, the soul is described as having entered such an intimate union with God that she no longer feels joy as an external sensation because she has become joy itself. Immersed in the divine, she rejoices more in what is incommunicable and eternal than in passing spiritual consolations. Her will is one with God’s, like fire and flame, and she is transformed by Love into Love, losing all sense of individual identity. The soul acknowledges her own smallness in love, yet knows that whatever love she possesses flows entirely from God. This chapter portrays the consummation of mystical union: a state beyond feelings or selfhood, where the soul is entirely given over to God’s being, will, and joy.
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1. “Such a Soul, says Love, swims in the sea of joy, that is in the sea of delights, flowing and running out of the Divinity. And so she feels no joy, for she is joy itself.”
The soul has become so deeply immersed in divine joy that it no longer experiences joy as an emotion distinct from itself. Rather, it is entirely assimilated into the very substance of joy, which flows from God. The paradox is that by losing the capacity to “feel” joy in the usual sense, the soul becomes joy itself-its nature entirely suffused with divine delight.
2. “She swims and flows in joy, without feeling any joy, for she dwells in Joy and Joy dwells in her. She is Joy itself by the virtue of Joy which transforms her into Joy itself.”
This repeated imagery of indwelling and identity shows the depth of union the soul shares with God. Feeling has given way to being; affective experience has been transcended by ontological transformation. The soul no longer seeks joy because it is joy-unified with divine Joy through the operation of Love.
3. “She rejoices more in that which can be communicated to no one than what can be communicated, because the latter is mediocre and only of the moment, and the former is infinite and eternal.”
The soul values most what is incommunicable-those hidden divine mysteries that transcend words, time, and shared human experience. These intimate touches of God’s eternal nature surpass all temporal consolations or spiritual gifts, which, by comparison, are fleeting and “mediocre.” True joy lies in what cannot be grasped or shared: the soul’s secret participation in God.
4. “Now there is one common will, as fire and flame, as the will of the Lover and the one who is loved, for Love has transformed this Soul into Love herself.”
The union between God and the soul is now likened to the inseparable relationship between fire and flame-two aspects of one reality. There is no longer a distinction between the will of the soul and that of God; Love has unified them so completely that the soul is not only loved but has become Love itself.
5. “Ah! very sweet Pure Divine Love, says this Soul, how it is a sweet transformation by which I am transformed into the thing which I love better than myself!”
The soul, speaking in ecstasy, acknowledges the sublime nature of this transformation: it has become what it loves more than itself-God. This is the ultimate fulfillment of mystical love, in which the soul is re-created into the likeness of its beloved.
6. “And I am so transformed that I have lost my name in it for the sake of Love, I who am able to love so little.”
By losing her “name,” the soul lets go of any individual identity, self-reference, or personal claim. This is spiritual annihilation in the highest mystical sense: the self has vanished into Love, even though the soul humbly admits it can love only a little-emphasizing the gratuitous nature of the transformation.
7. “However little I can love, it is in love, for I do not love except by Love.”
Even the soul’s capacity to love is not its own-it is Love loving through her. This underscores the radical passivity and receptivity of the mystic soul. Love is both the source and the agent of all true love, completing the full circle of mystical union.
—
1. What does it mean for the soul to “swim in the sea of joy” without feeling joy?
The soul has become so fully united with divine joy that it no longer experiences joy as a distinct feeling. Rather than receiving joy from without, she has become joy itself through her union with God. Joy is no longer something she possesses-it is what she is.
2. Why does the soul prefer what cannot be communicated to others over what can?
The soul rejoices more in the incommunicable aspects of divine union because they are eternal and infinite. In contrast, communicable experiences are transient, partial, and temporal-only “mediocre and of the moment.” The deepest joy lies in secret union with God, beyond words or sharing.
3. How does the imagery of “fire and flame” describe the union between God and the soul?
Just as fire and flame are inseparable, so too are the will of the Lover (God) and the beloved (the soul) unified into one common will. Love has so transformed the soul that her own will is no longer separate but identical with God’s.
4. What does the soul mean when she says she has lost her name for the sake of Love?
The soul has renounced all self-identity and ego, losing even her spiritual name or self-concept in the all-consuming presence of divine Love. This “losing of the name” symbolizes total self-emptying and transformation into Love itself.
5. Why does the soul say she can love only a little, and yet claim to love by Love?
This statement reflects the soul’s humility. Though she acknowledges her human incapacity to love adequately, she affirms that true love happens through Love itself-that is, God. Any love she has is not from herself, but is God’s love acting in her.
6. What does this chapter reveal about the nature of divine transformation?
Divine transformation is not merely ethical or emotional-it is ontological. The soul is not just close to God or inspired by Him; she is changed into joy, into love, into the very attributes of God Himself. This transformation strips away the self entirely and brings about a mystical identity with the divine.
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Chapter 29 teaches that the Soul, having been transformed by Pure Love, enters into a state of “righteous freeness,” in which she acts in complete harmony with the inner peace of her being and refuses to do anything that would violate it. This condition is likened to the innocence of an infant, who instinctively rejects anything displeasing. The Soul in this state lives entirely in divine simplicity and innocence, responding only to what is consonant with God’s will. Her freedom is not self-willed but rooted in perfect spiritual peace, untouched by external demands or inner disturbance. Reason, in this encounter, learns that true wisdom lies in surrendering to this divine innocence, where all is governed by the tranquil operation of Love.
—
1. “[Reason]: Now, Lady Love, says Reason, I pray you that you say what you meant when you said that this Soul is in the righteous freeness of Pure Love, when she does nothing which might be contrary to the demand of the peace of her being within.”
Reason asks for clarification about what it means for a soul to live in the “righteous freeness” of Pure Love. The focus here is on an interior state of unbroken spiritual peace. For such a soul, everything must align with the deep inner stillness and harmony that characterizes perfect union with God. Reason still seeks understanding through distinctions and rational categories, but Love is guiding it into the realm of childlike simplicity.
2. “Love: I will tell you what it means, says Love. It means that she would do nothing, regardless of what happens, which might be contrary to the perfect peace of her spirit. Instead the truly innocent one does it, and the being of which we speak is true innocence.”
Love responds with clarity: the soul acts only in ways that preserve the perfect interior peace she now possesses. This doesn’t mean passivity, but a radical non-disturbance-her every action flows from divine simplicity and inner harmony. She has become “true innocence,” acting from a source deeper than moral calculation: the pure motion of divine Love.
3. “Reason, says Love, I give you an example. Look at the infant who is purely innocent: does he allow a thing to be done, great or small, if he is not pleased by it?”
Love gives Reason a parable: the image of an infant. This simile connects the soul’s pure freeness with the spontaneous, uncompromised resistance of a child to anything that violates its nature. In this comparison, the soul is not immature, but utterly innocent and free-unaltered by external coercion or internal conflict.
4. “Reason: Without fail, Love, no, and well I can perceive it, and by this I am wise from my question.”
Reason is satisfied. It concedes to the superiority of Love’s insight, recognizing that this profound inner freedom is not irrational but supra-rational-a wisdom that transcends ordinary reasoning. The soul in pure freeness mirrors divine simplicity, unbound by fear, self-interest, or even consolations.
—
1. What does Reason ask Love to clarify at the beginning of this chapter?
Reason asks Love to explain what it means when she said that the Soul is in the “righteous freeness of Pure Love,” particularly how this relates to the Soul doing nothing that contradicts the peace of her inner being.
2. How does Love define this “righteous freeness”?
Love explains that the Soul in this state would never do anything-regardless of the situation-that might disturb the perfect peace of her spirit. Her will is in harmony with divine innocence and simplicity.
3. What does the example of the infant illustrate in this context?
The infant represents pure innocence: it refuses anything it does not find pleasing. Similarly, the Soul in divine freeness does not permit anything within or around her that would violate her inner peace and harmony with God’s will.
4. What transformation has occurred in the Soul to allow her to live in this state?
The Soul has become “true innocence,” having been transformed by Love. She now lives in such unity with divine peace that her actions are no longer self-directed but entirely in accord with the divine will and simplicity.
5. What is Reason’s reaction to Love’s explanation?
Reason accepts Love’s answer with humility and insight, acknowledging that he now understands and gains wisdom from his question. This shows the submission of rational understanding to divine Love and spiritual innocence.
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Chapter 30 teaches that God’s essence infinitely transcends all human and angelic understanding, even in the beatific vision. Love reveals that nothing which can be said about God can compare to what He is in Himself, and that even the saints who see His face grasp less than He deserves to be known and loved. The Soul, overwhelmed by this truth, laments that despite giving her whole self-body, heart, and soul-to God, she feels she has received little in return. Yet Love gently reminds her that all she gave was already God’s, and in her total gift of self, she has in fact received the best part: deep union with Love Himself. The chapter thus presents the mystery of divine generosity hidden in the soul’s surrender and the paradox of joy found in knowing one cannot possess or comprehend the One who has given all.
—
1. “Ah, Lady Love,” says Reason, “I ask mercy of you, in praying that you satisfy this Soul by saying at least all that one can say about Him who is all in all things.”
Reason, as the faculty of understanding, desires to give rest to the Soul by exhausting the knowable content about God. This reveals Reason’s limitation: it believes peace can come through complete knowledge, yet it does not grasp that Divine Mystery surpasses the intellect.
2. “She always finds Him there, that is, in all things… All things are fitting for her, for she does not find anything anywhere but that she finds God there.”
Love responds that the Soul already lives in a state of divine awareness – she perceives God in all things. Her peace is not dependent on what can be said about God, but on her union with Him. Her soul is so divinely attuned that every created thing mediates the divine presence to her.
3. “Everything which this Soul has heard about God… is at best nothing (to speak properly) compared to what He is of Himself, which never was said, is not now said, nor will be.”
This profound assertion demolishes any notion that God can be adequately captured by language. Love affirms the Soul’s longing but insists that all speech about God falls short of His ineffable reality. Divine self-knowledge infinitely exceeds creaturely comprehension or praise.
4. “All creatures… who remain in the vision of the sweet face of your Spouse, have comprehended and will comprehend less about Him… compared to what He is worthy of.”
Even in the beatific vision, no creature can grasp God in His fullness. This underscores the infinite gap between God’s essence and created understanding, reinforcing both awe and humility in the soul’s contemplative love.
5. Soul: “Now very sweet Love… why would He be so gracious to create me and ransom me and recreate me in order to give me so little, He who has so much to give?”
The Soul, overwhelmed, laments that she receives so little from a God who has so much to give. This speaks from the ache of divine longing – the more the soul is united to God, the more she becomes aware of the abyss between the finite and the infinite.
6. “I would give Him everything if I had something to give… And however little I have… I have held nothing from Him… and He has given nothing to me, but keeps everything. Ah, Love… is this the portion of the lover?”
The Soul expresses the paradox of spiritual poverty: having given all, she feels she has received nothing. This mirrors the cruciform path of love, where total self-donation leads not to possession but to dispossession – yet this very surrender is the lover’s portion.
7. Love: “If you have given Him everything, the best part has come to you. And… you have not given Him anything which was not His own before you gave it to Him.”
Love gently corrects the Soul: all she gives was already God’s, and in giving all, she receives the best – union, transformation, and participation in Divine Life. Her offering, though seemingly impoverished, places her in the stream of God’s own self-gift.
8. Soul: “You speak truly, sweet Love… I could not deny it even if I wanted to.”
The Soul ultimately assents to the truth that her gift was itself God’s grace in her. This humble admission shows a soul emptied of self, living by love alone – receptive, obedient, and surrendered in the face of divine majesty.
—
1. Why does Reason ask Love to speak everything that can be said about God to the Soul?
Reason hopes that if Love can articulate everything about God, the Soul will be fully satisfied and can rest peacefully in her being of innocence without needing further inquiry or movement.
2. How does Love respond to Reason’s request for complete knowledge about God?
Love affirms that the Soul already finds God everywhere because He is in all things. Love insists that nothing said or ever to be said about God can compare to what He truly is in Himself, which transcends all speech and comprehension.
3. What does Love say about the knowledge of God even in the beatific vision?
Love reveals that even those souls who behold God’s face in heaven comprehend less about Him than He deserves, and far less than He understands and loves in Himself. This emphasizes the mystery of God’s infinite being, which remains beyond full grasp even in glory.
4. How does the Soul react to Love’s teaching about the unknowability of God?
The Soul is stunned and sorrowful. She laments that though God created, ransomed, and renewed her, He seems to have given her very little in return. She expresses a deep desire to give everything to God, and pain that He, having everything, seems to hold back.
5. What theological paradox does the Soul express about giving and receiving?
The Soul claims she has nothing of her own to give, yet she has given God everything – her body, heart, and soul – and still feels she has received nothing in return. This reflects the paradox of divine love, where the more one gives, the more one becomes aware of one’s nothingness and of God’s hidden generosity.
6. What insight does Love provide about the Soul’s gift to God?
Love points out that everything the Soul has given to God was already His, and that in giving all, the Soul has received the best part. Her total self-offering, though it seems empty, has actually brought her into deepest union with God.
7. How does the chapter express the theme of divine unknowability and loving surrender?
It affirms that God infinitely exceeds all knowledge, even in heaven, yet He is fully present to the Soul who loves. The Soul’s longing and surrender are met not with comprehension, but with deeper participation in God’s mystery – a love beyond reason and reward.
“The Mirror of Simple Souls” by Marguerite Porete – Part 2 of 14
Chapter 11 deepens the understanding of the soul annihilated in Love by articulating nine mystical qualities that define her hidden and incomprehensible state – offered by Love for the benefit of contemplatives. First, the soul is so buried in humility and a sense of her nothingness that she is, paradoxically, impossible to find. Second, she is saved by faith alone – not through works – because her faith so fills her with the inner reality of the Trinity that nothing created can enter her attention. Third, she is alone in Love, forsaking all created consolations. Fourth, she does nothing for God in the conventional sense, because she trusts entirely in God’s own work within her. Fifth, she omits nothing for God, since her will is wholly conformed to His. Sixth, she cannot be taught, for her love reaches beyond all created knowledge. Seventh, nothing can be taken from her, because her treasure is God alone. Eighth, nothing can be given to her, because she already possesses the All in God. And ninth, she has no will of her own, for God’s will acts in her and through her entirely. The soul, full of divine Love, lives in a luminous paradox: utterly nothing in herself, yet dwelling in the all-sufficiency and ungraspable richness of God.
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1. “The first point, says Reason, which you said is that one cannot find such a Soul.”
This is a paradox. The Soul is so annihilated in humility and self-knowledge of her own nothingness and sin that she becomes invisible, unknowable, even to herself. The “unfindability” is not a literal disappearance, but rather the mystical truth that the soul emptied of all ego and self-will can no longer be located within the categories of created being. Her humility is so radical that she sees herself as worse than all sinners, meriting the most extreme divine vengeance. Yet this very recognition is what makes her the perfect vessel of Divine Love.
2. “The second point is that this Soul is saved by faith without works.”
Here, Love teaches a Pauline truth in its most mystical form. The soul is immersed in the reality of God through faith-not merely intellectual assent, but a total interior surrender that consumes all attention and energy. She is so absorbed in God’s being-Father, Son, and Spirit-that she can no longer perform discrete “works” as such. Her faith is her whole life, and this deep union renders her incapable of distraction by created things. It also means that she no longer functions from self-directed effort but from divine influx alone.
3. “The third point is that she is alone in Love.”
To be alone in Love means radical detachment. The Soul relies on no created consolation, not even heavenly promises. Her hope is in God’s goodness alone. She is likened to the phoenix-a unique, solitary being that lives and dies in flames, then rises anew. This solitude in Love is not isolation but a state of total sufficiency in the Beloved, a mystical aloneness in divine intimacy.
4. “The fourth point is that this Soul does nothing for God.”
Another paradox. She does nothing for God because she is entirely surrendered to God. Her actions are not her own; they are God’s. She rests in His will, trusting entirely in His love. This annihilation of self-will is not sloth but the deepest form of charity, where the Soul neither claims nor initiates anything but lets herself be the instrument of divine action.
5. “The fifth point is that this Soul omits nothing to do for God which she might be able to do.”
Though she does nothing for God of her own initiative, she omits nothing that God wills. She is entirely responsive, perfectly aligned, incapable of even thinking a contrary thought. This union of passivity and complete availability makes her a vessel of divine action. She omits nothing, not because of her own diligence, but because she no longer exists apart from God’s will.
6. “The sixth point is that one cannot teach her anything.”
The Soul has transcended all human knowledge. No created understanding can compare to what she loves, which is the unknowable God. Even if she were given all the knowledge of past, present, and future creatures, it would mean nothing compared to the Mystery she is immersed in. She prefers what is eternally not-given over all that is given. Her learning is love-infused, unmediated, and divine.
7. “The seventh point is that one cannot take anything from her.”
The Soul possesses nothing but God. So nothing can be taken from her-not wealth, honor, body, life-because none of these are her possession. Only God is her All. This reveals the soul’s invincibility: she is unstealable, untouchable, because her treasure is in the uncreated. Her security is not in having but in being one with the Source of all.
8. “The eighth point is that one cannot give anything to her.”
As nothing can be taken from her, so nothing can be added. She already possesses the All she desires: God Himself. Any created gift is worthless compared to what she loves, which is God in His unapproachable and incomprehensible mystery. The soul even says, “There is no lesser part,” meaning that all distinctions of lesser and greater fade in the face of divine simplicity. She desires only what God retains for Himself, and this is both her grief and her glory.
9. “I say as well, says Love, that if this Soul would possess all the understanding and the love and the praise which ever was given and will be given by the divine Trinity, this would be nothing compared to what she loves and will love. And she will never attain this love through understanding.”
Love begins by proposing a radical counterfactual: even if the Soul somehow held every conceivable gift-all understanding, all love, and all praise that has ever existed or ever will exist in the Trinity-it would still pale in comparison to the one object of her desire: the infinite, unmediated Love of God. This hyperbole isn’t meant to be taken arithmetically but rhetorically: it highlights the boundlessness of the divine Love that the Soul craves.
Distinction Between Gifts and the Giver: The imagined gifts (understanding, love, praise) are all created or creaturely-even if they originate in the Trinity, they remain “given” insofar as they stand in relation to the Soul. But the Soul’s ultimate longing is not for gifts, however splendid, but for God Himself-the Giver who is Love. Thus every gift, no matter how transcendent, remains ontologically inferior to communion with the Person of God.
Apophatic Edge – “Never Attained Through Understanding”: The closing clause, “And she will never attain this love through understanding,” reaffirms that intellectual ascent-even the loftiest theological insight-cannot bridge the gap to the divine Mystery. True union with God’s Love is not a matter of comprehension or knowledge; it is an ontological participation in Love itself. Understanding can point toward God, but it cannot become God or contain Him.
10. “Nevertheless, Lady Love, she says, my love is so certain that I would prefer to hear something slanderous about you than that one should say nothing about you.”
The Soul boldly declares that she would rather hear false accusations against Love (“something slanderous”) than complete silence about Love’s goodness. This paradox highlights the depth of her devotion: any spoken word-even if inadequate or erroneous-keeps divine Love alive in the heart. Silence, by contrast, is like a spiritual death, as it withholds remembrance of God.
11. “And without fail I do this: I slander because everything I say is nothing but slander about your goodness. But whatever slander I commit must be pardoned me by you.”
The Soul confesses that every attempt to speak of Love’s goodness inevitably falls short-what she utters misrepresents or diminishes the infinite reality. Thus, in a mystical twist, her praise becomes “slander,” not because she intends harm, but because human language is inherently incapable of doing justice to divine perfection. This echoes Porete’s broader apophatic theme: the more one tries to name God, the more one errs. True knowledge of God lies beyond words; any conceptual praise is a kind of “blasphemy” relative to the absolute Otherness of God. Knowing this limitation, the Soul preemptively asks for pardon.
This passage also calls attention to the theme of Language as both Mediator and Obstacle: we need words to commune with God and one another, yet words always distort the divine Mystery. The Soul embraces this tension rather than fleeing from it.
In sum, this quote shows the Soul’s radical humility and devotion: she prefers the flawed utterance of Love’s name to its omission, yet she recognizes that all her speech is a kind of “slander” against divine greatness. Her plea for forgiveness reveals her confidence in Love’s mercy, and her paradoxical stance invites us to hold both the necessity and inadequacy of our own words about God.
12. ” … that I might accomplish the enterprise of this book … For insofar as I ask of Love something for myself on account of love, I will be with myself in the life of the spirit, in the shadow of the sun where one cannot see the subtle images of the drawing power of divine Love and of the divine generation.”
The passage elucidates the tension between language as mediator and obstacle in Porete’s very act of writing the Mirror of Simple Souls. In so far is she must use language to delineate the spirit’s annihilation in union with God, she is obstructed from being with God, and “[she] will be with [herself] in the life of the spirit.” To be with herself in the spirit means to not be with God in the annihilated spirit – this forms the crux of the dilemma.
Porete further explains this with the metaphor of the sun. “[T]he shadow of the sun” is the linguistically mediated expression of the mystical experience which is not the direct, unmediated expereince of the sun, i.e., God. There “one cannot see … the divine generation.” Language can never peer into the place where the mystical experience is generated.
13. “The ninth point is that one cannot say anything about her.”
This is the climax. The Soul speaks in self-awareness but confesses that everything said of Love is slander, because all language fails before the divine. Even praise falls short. She continues speaking because silence would be worse-yet acknowledges that speech itself falsifies the Reality. Her lament is her glory, her complaint her praise. She dwells in the “shadow of the sun,” the divine mystery that both reveals and hides, and yearns for the unspeakable.
This chapter forms a mystical crescendo where Love, through Reason, draws out a vision of the Annihilated Soul so stripped of self that she cannot be found, taught, robbed, or gifted. Her only reality is the incomprehensible God who gives Himself by not giving, speaks by silence, and acts by annihilation. It is a vision of union that passes through negation, where all that remains is Love loving in her.
—
1. Why “one cannot find this Soul,” and what does that reveal about her humility?
Because she is so profoundly aware of her own sinfulness and nothingness that she considers herself less than all sinners. Her radical humility “annihilates” her self-image, rendering her invisible to human judgment-even her own-so she cannot be located within any created category.
2. What does it mean that this Soul is “saved by faith without works”?
Her faith is so all-consuming that it fills her entirely with the Triune life, leaving no room for distinct “works.” She trusts God’s goodness implicitly, and thus, though she no longer performs works as such, she abides in the salvific activity of faith itself, which Love affirms surpasses all works.
3. How is the Soul “alone in Love,” and why is she likened to the phoenix?
She seeks no comfort or help from any creature-heavenly or earthly-but rests solely in God’s goodness. Like the phoenix, she stands unique and solitary, renewed by divine fire, fully satisfied in the Beloved and needing nothing else.
4. What paradox lies in the statement “this Soul does nothing for God”?
The paradox is that the Soul’s entire life is God’s action in her. She no longer acts for God as a separate agent; instead, she lets God act through her. Her will is wholly seized by Love, so she does nothing in her own name.
5. Why “she omits nothing to do for God,” even though she “does nothing for God”?
Because her will is perfectly aligned with God’s. She cannot will anything contrary to Him, so by default she “omits nothing” that God intends. Her perfect availability makes her exhaustively responsive to divine will, even though she no longer initiates action.
6. What is signified by saying “one cannot teach her anything”?
She is infused with such a superior, uncreated knowledge of God’s mystery that every creaturely truth appears nothing in comparison. To her, all created learning pales before the ineffable Reality she loves, so no teaching can augment her understanding.
7. Why “one cannot take anything from her,” not even life or love?
Because her only true possession is God. Since she holds nothing of her own-only the unassailable treasure of divine Love-no external force can deprive her of her ultimate good. Losses of honor, wealth, or life touch only what she has voluntarily relinquished.
8. What does “one cannot give anything to her” teach about her sufficiency?
It teaches that no created gift can add to her fulfillment, for she already possesses the inexhaustible gift of God’s own being. Only the Giver-God-can satisfy her, and that “greater part” remains solely His domain, highlighting her total sufficiency in divine Love.
9. How is it possible that “this Soul possesses no will”?
Her personal will has been entirely surrendered to God. She exercises no will apart from His; whatever she “consents” to is God’s will acting in her. This perfect conformity means she has no independent will at all-only God’s.
10. “If this Soul would possess all the understanding … this would be nothing compared to what she loves … ” Why does Love compare “all understanding” and “all praise” to “nothing” next to the Soul’s desire?
To show that even the loftiest gifts-being able to comprehend every truth or offer every hymn-are ontologically inferior to the infinite, unmediated Love of God that the Soul craves.
11. What does the impossibility of “attaining this love through understanding” teach about the limits of theology?
It reminds us that intellectual study can point toward God but cannot substitute for the soul’s direct, participatory experience of divine Love.
12 “And in this greater part … is enclosed the supreme mortification of the love of my spirit … ” What is the “greater part,” and how does it mortify the Soul’s own love?
The “greater part” is God’s hidden, ungraspable Essence. Encountering it kills off all creaturely attachments-even spiritual consolations-so that the Soul’s own love is purified and emptied.
13. How can “mortification” also be called the Soul’s “total glory”?
In mystical theology, dying to self (mortification) is the very pathway to being clothed in divine life (theosis). The Soul’s hiddenness in God becomes its ultimate honor and transformation.
14. “I would prefer to hear something slanderous about you than that one should say nothing about you … ” Why would the Soul choose “slander” over silence regarding Love’s goodness?
Because even a flawed word keeps divine Love alive in the heart, whereas silence lets the memory and praise of God die away.
15. In calling her own praise “slander,” what is the Soul confessing about language and the divine?
That every human attempt to describe God inevitably falls short-and thus “mistrepresents” the infinite Reality-yet such attempts are driven by love and are therefore pardoned by God.
16. “But the more I hear tell of you the more I am amazed … great villainy … feign discernment … ” How does hearing another’s testimony of God’s goodness both enrich and test the Soul’s faith?
It renews her wonder by revealing new facets of divine mystery, but it also exposes false teachers whose “feigned discernment” can mislead the unwary. Any insight mediated by language is not equal the immediate experience of God which is ineffable.
17. ” … in the shadow of the sun where one cannot see the subtle images of the drawing power of divine Love … ” If the “sun” is God, what does it mean to stand “in the shadow of the sun”?
If the sun is God Himself, then standing directly in the sun represents an unmediated experience of God while standing in the shadow represents a mediated one. This mediation proceeds by images, thoughts or language. Here Porete is primarily concerned about communicating her experience of the annihilated soul which paradoxically cannot be communicated by language.
18. Why would the “subtle images” of divine attraction vanish in that shadow?
The unmediate experience of God is only possible outside of the shadows, that is, beyond images, thoughts or any other form of cognition.
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Chapter 12 clarifies a central paradox of the annihilated soul: that she truly possesses no will, nor can she will to possess one, because this very lack is the perfection of divine will operating in her. While Reason struggles with the apparent contradiction – seeing the soul’s longing to will God’s will as a form of possessing will – Love and the higher intellect correct this by showing that such longing is itself a divine movement, not originating in the creature. The soul’s sufficiency is not in her own power, but in being entirely carried by divine Love. True sufficiency lies in her utter incapacity to possess the divine will as her own, since God’s justice retains His grandeur. Yet this incapacity is the soul’s glory: her will is dissolved in the divine will, and thus she is fully sufficed, not by what she holds, but by what God alone enacts in her. This teaching exalts the mystery of divine union, where perfect surrender and the loss of will allow the soul to live entirely in God’s being.
—
1. “Now listen and grasp well, hearers of this book, the true intellect by which this book speaks in different places, that the Annihilated Soul neither possesses will, nor is able to possess it, nor is able to will to possess it, and in this the divine will is perfectly accomplished.”
Love issues a clarion call to understand the key mystical principle: the Annihilated Soul has no will of her own. She cannot have one, nor even will to have one. And in this utter emptiness of self-will, God’s will is perfectly enacted. Thus, the soul’s “conformity” to the divine will is not achieved by the soul willing it, but by her not willing anything so that God’s will can act in the resulting empty space.
2. “The Soul does not possess sufficiency of divine Love, nor divine Love sufficiency of the Soul, until the Soul is in God and God in the Soul, of Him, through Him, in such a state of divine rest. Then the Soul possesses all her sufficiency.”
Neither the soul nor divine Love alone is sufficient; only their mutual indwelling-God in the soul and soul in God-brings true “sufficiency.” This mutual in-gift establishes the “divine rest” in which the soul’s completeness is found. Spiritual sufficiency emerges from union, not from either party in any degree of isolation.
3. Intellect of Reason: “It seems … that the ninth point says … the Annihilated Soul wills nothing compared to what she would will to will, which will she cannot possess … from this she has a lack and no sufficiency.”
Reason reads the text and concludes that the soul’s lack of self – will renders her insufficient-she wants a will she cannot have, and thus remains incomplete. This is the natural mind’s dilemma: absence of will equals deficiency.
4. Soul: “Ah, Intellect of Reason … you take the shell and leave the kernel … your intellect is too low … Intellect of Divine Love … grasps it well without hesitation, for she is this herself.”
The Annihilated Soul chides Reason for simplistic thinking which takes only the superficial meaning (“the shell”). In contrast, Divine Love’s intellect, infused in the soul’s essence, comprehends this paradox. This highlights Porete’s recurring theme: only love-grown intellect can truly grasp these Mysteries.
5. Height of Intellect of Love: “If this Annihilated Soul wills the will of God-and the more she wills it, the more she would will to will it-she cannot possess this through the smallness of creaturehood, because God retains the grandeur of His divine righteousness. But God wills that she would will this, and that she would possess such a will. Such a will is the divine will …”
This passage refines the paradox: the soul’s desire is God’s will, yet she cannot will it as her own will because the divine will’s infinite grandeur always exceeds creaturely capacity. Rather, it is God who wills the soul to will His will, establishing her as participant in His divine life. The soul’s inability to appropriate God’s will preserves the Creator-creature distinction. The soul’s final annihilation has to be God’s doing: God reaches down to the Soul because the Soul cannot reach up to God.
6. “This divine will … courses through her in the veins of divine Understanding and the marrow of divine Love and the union of divine Praise. But the [created] will of the Soul inhibits these.”
The divine will is envisioned as life-giving blood-understanding as veins, love as marrow, praise as union. Yet any residual exercise of the soul’s own will “inhibits” this flow. Only through complete self-abandon can the full nourishment of divine life permeate the soul.
7. Love: “Therefore … how can the Soul possess will, since Clear Understanding understands that the will is one being among the beings … which a creature cannot possess if she possesses it by willing nothing?”
Love appeals to “Clear Understanding” (the infused intellect) to explain that a created being simply cannot “possess” its own will if it truly wills nothing. Will, as a distinct faculty, stands or falls on self-assertion; the Annihilated Soul’s self-negation precludes any such possession.
8. Love: “Now Reason has heard … the answer to her questions, except … where Reason says that the Unencumbered Soul possesses in her a lack of sufficiency. I will tell her … it is from willing the divine will, which the more one wills it, one possesses less of such a willing of his sufficiency. But this same will is the will of God alone and the glory of the Soul.”
Love finally answers Reason’s objection that, if an Annihilated Soul wills nothing, then this is a lack, not a sufficiency. Rather, the opposite is the case, because lack of the creaturely will is the sufficiency of the Divine will: The soul’s emptiness is the canvas on which God’s glory is painted. Or another metaphor: the Annihilated Soul is the empty stage on which the drama of the Trinity unfolds. The real lack would be the soul attempting with self-will to will God’s will, which she cannot do since creaturely will cannot attain to Divine will.
Final Comment:
This chapter culminates Porete’s teaching on the will: spiritual perfection is not self-assertion, the soul’s self-willing of God’s will. This only results in finite creaturely will displacing God’s infinite will. Rather, spiritual perfection is granted by self-annihilation, the soul’s complete surrender and willing nothing so that God’s will wills in the soul. Paradoxically, then, the Annihilated Soul is both utterly empty and radiantly full. What looks like lack to the natural mind is actually the soul’s gateway into the divine life – and thus her true sufficiency and rest.
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1. What is the chapter’s core thesis about the Annihilated Soul’s will?
Porete argues that the Annihilated Soul possesses no independent will, cannot have one, and cannot even will to have one. In this utter self-emptying, God’s will alone is perfectly accomplished in her.
2. How does Reason initially misread this thesis, and why?
Reason interprets the soul’s lack of will as a deficiency-if the soul has no will, she must be incomplete and suffer a “lack of sufficiency.” This reflects the natural mind’s assumption that will is an essential faculty for any being.
3. What is Love’s key clarification in response to Reason’s objection?
Love explains that the soul’s “lack” is in fact her gift: by surrendering her will, she allows God’s infinite will to will in her. Although she desires to will God’s will, she cannot ever fully possess it-preserving the Creator-creature distinction.
4. Why can the Annihilated Soul never “possess” God’s will as her own?
Because God’s will is infinite and upheld by divine righteousness. No finite creature can contain or appropriate the fullness of God’s will; to attempt to do so would collapse the distinction between Creator and creature.
5. What role does the Infused Intellect of Love play in understanding this paradox?
The Infused Intellect of Love (the soul’s God-given, participatory knowing) grasps the paradox naturally-seeing self-emptying as true freedom. By contrast, the natural intellect (Reason) only sees the “shell” of emptiness and mistakes it for lack.
6. How does Porete define the soul’s true sufficiency?
True sufficiency arises not from the soul or from divine Love in isolation but from their mutual indwelling – “the Soul is in God and God in the Soul.” Only in that state of divine rest does the soul “possess all her sufficiency.”
7. What does Porete mean when she says “the more one wills [God’s will], one possesses less of such a willing of his sufficiency”?
The more the soul tries to will God’s will with her own self-willing, the less she possesses of the sufficiency of God’s will. Paradoxically, its the loss of creaturely will that makes room for the infinite will of God, and is thus the soul’s sufficiency.
8. How does the Creator-Creature distinction remain intact even in perfect union?
The soul cannot will God’s will with her own self-willing since a creature’s capacity can never attain to God’s. Thus, although the soul’s will is God willing in her, she never ceases to be a finite creature. She cannot contain or exercise the infinite divine will unless God wills it for her.
9. What is the paradox presented in “if this Annihilated Soul wills the will of God … she cannot possess this through the smallness of creaturehood,” and how does the clause “God wills that she would will this, and that she would possess such a will” resolve it?
The paradox is that although the Soul desires God’s infinite will ever more deeply, her finite, creaturely nature makes it impossible for her to fully contain or own that boundless will on her own. The resolution comes in acknowledging divine initiative: God Himself wills that her will become His own. In other words, God transforms her limited desire so that her will is no longer merely creaturely but is enfolded into and empowered by the infinite divine will.
These questions should help tease out Porete’s central argument: spiritual perfection lies not in strengthening our will, but in its complete surrender, so that only God’s will moves in us.
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Chapter 13 explores how Reason, though content with earlier explanations given for the Actives and Contemplatives, requests clarification for the sake of the common folk, who may struggle to grasp the paradoxes spoken of the annihilated Soul. These paradoxes – such as possessing all things yet nothing, or willing all yet willing nothing – confound Reason, whose natural counsel is to desire holy things, fear sin, and strive for heaven. Yet Love explains that for souls governed by Fine Love, all experiences – honor or shame, torment or comfort, hell or paradise – are equally dear, for they no longer will or not-will anything apart from what God wills in them. These souls are so emptied that God alone moves them, and their peace lies in perfect acquiescence to His will, beyond all personal judgment or preference. They possess all, because they possess God, yet feel they possess nothing, since even divine gifts are counted as nothing compared to God’s very self. Thus, Love reveals that only through the light of faith and the power of divine love can one understand this book’s mysteries, which exceed the grasp of Reason alone.
—
1. Reason’s Request for Clarity: “I pray again that you declare them for the sake of the common folk … for there are several double words which are hard to grasp with their intellect.”
Reason recognizes that the paradoxical language (“neither shame nor honor … possesses all and possesses nothing … wills all and wills nothing”) can overwhelm ordinary readers. She asks Love to distill these truths into accessible explanations, so that all-even the “preciously elected”-can see the “true light of Truth” and the “perfection of Charity.”
2. The Double Words Summarized: “This Soul takes no account of shame, nor of honor … and so neither desires nor despises poverty … neither masses nor sermons … neither fasts nor prayers …”
Reason rehearses the core paradoxes: the Annihilated Soul is utterly detached from every pair of opposites-social status, material condition, religious practices, even ultimate destinies. To the natural mind, this appears bizarre: how can a soul thrive without caring for any of these?
3. Love’s First Clarification: Equanimity in All States – “Such Souls … possess as equally dear shame as honor, poverty as wealth, torment as comfort … in hell as in paradise … in small estate as in great … they neither will nor not-will anything of these prosperities nor adversities.”
Love explains that the Annihilated Soul’s indifference is really a perfect equanimity: every condition-honor or shame, plenty or want-matters to her only insofar as God wills it. She neither seeks nor rejects any circumstance; she rests in the one will of God that ordains all things.
4. Love’s Second Clarification: Ignorance of Divine Plan – “These Souls know not what is best for them … nor by what means God wishes to dispense justice or mercy … and for this the Unencumbered Soul possesses no longer any will to will or not-will, except only to will the will of God, and to accept in peace the divine ordinance.”
Beyond equanimity, these souls acknowledge their inability to understand God’s providence. They no longer presume to choose or refuse any path-only to will whatever God wills and to receive it in tranquil obedience. Their peace arises from total trust, not from insight into divine strategies.
5. The Final “All and Nothing” Paradox: “This Soul possesses God by divine grace … and whoever possesses God, possesses all things. And so [the book] says she possesses nothing, for all that this Soul possesses from God … seems to be nothing to her. And thus … she possesses all and so possesses nothing, she knows all and so knows nothing.”
Here Love ties together the chapter’s paradoxes. Possessing God is the only true possession-and it inherently includes everything. Yet because God’s essence infinitely transcends all creaturely gifts, even that possession seems “nothing” to the soul’s eye. Similarly, her infused knowledge (“knows all”) registers as “knowing nothing” beside the infinite Mystery.
In response to Reason’s plea, Love shows that what appear as “double words” of contradiction are in fact expressions of the Annihilated Soul’s radical freedom and unshakeable peace. By surrendering her own will and all creaturely preferences, the soul lives solely by the one will of God, embraces every condition equally, and dwells perpetually in the sufficiency of possessing God alone-paradoxically “all” and “nothing” at once.
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1. Why does Reason ask Love to explain the paradoxes “for the sake of the common folk”?
Because ordinary readers (and even some contemplatives and actives) struggle with the book’s seemingly contradictory phrases-e.g., “possesses all and possesses nothing.” Reason hopes that Love’s plain explanations will illuminate these mysteries so anyone moved by faith and love can grasp them.
2. What does it mean that the Annihilated Soul “possesses shame as honor, poverty as wealth, torment as comfort”?
It means the soul treats every experience-whether painful or pleasurable, lowly or exalted-as equally dear, because she neither seeks nor avoids any state apart from God’s will. All conditions are embraced in perfect equanimity.
3. How can the Soul be “in hell as in paradise,” and why is this not despairing?
This paradox indicates that the soul’s inner peace is unaffected by external circumstances-even the torments of hell or the bliss of paradise. She rests solely in God’s will, so every realm is lived in tranquil obedience, not as judgment or reward but as God’s ordained space of her journey.
4. Why does the Soul “neither desire nor despise” religious practices like Mass, sermons, or prayer?
Because her devotion is no longer dependent on external forms. She remains obedient to Church practices out of love, but her spirit is free: she neither clings to nor rejects these means, seeing them simply as expressions of divine ordinance.
5. What does it signify that the Soul’s “nature is reordered” so she “gives to Nature all she asks … without remorse of conscience”?
Her bodily and emotional needs are met with trust. She cares for herself as necessary, without guilt, because her reordered nature desires only what aligns with God’s will-never seeking excess, never rejecting life’s necessities.
6. How does Love address Reason’s claim that the Soul “possesses all and so possesses nothing”?
Love explains that true possession is having God (who contains all things). To the soul’s eyes, however, even God’s gift seems “nothing” compared to the infinite Mystery. Thus she truly has “all,” yet experientially “nothing.”
7. Why does the Soul “know all and so knows nothing”?
Her infused understanding grasps divine mysteries (“knows all”), but relative to God’s infinite essence, her knowledge remains an unmeasurable “nothing.” She is aware both of her union and of her unknowing before the divine Mystery.
8. What practical effect does this radical equanimity have on the Soul’s peace?
Because she wills only what God wills-without preference for pleasure or avoidance of pain-she is never disturbed by life’s ups and downs. Her peace is anchored in divine love, not in shifting circumstances or personal desires.
9. How do faith and love function as “two strings in the bow” for those striving?
Reason notes that only those armed with faith (trust in God) and love (the soul’s surrendered affection) can live into these paradoxes. With these virtues, one is free to “love and do what you will,” reflecting St. Augustine’s maxim on love’s primacy over law.
These questions should help navigate the chapter’s challenging contrasts and see how they reveal the soul’s complete freedom in God.
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Chapter 14 teaches that the Soul, through the virtue of Faith, comes to a profound contemplative understanding of God’s nature and the mystery of the Incarnation. She knows by faith that God is all-powerful, all-wise, and perfectly good, and that the work of the Incarnation was accomplished by the unified action of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each fully participating in joining human nature to the divine person of the Son. While God Himself remains one in divine nature, the person of the Son now possesses both divine and human natures – body and soul – without division, and is thus uniquely the point of union between God and humanity. True contemplation lies in believing, speaking, and thinking in accordance with this mystery of the Trinity: three persons in one God, one power, one wisdom, one will. God’s divine nature fills all things, while the glorified humanity of Christ is in paradise and in the Sacrament of the Altar, making this mystery both heavenly and sacramental.
—
1. “She knows, says Love, by the virtue of Faith, that God is all Power, and all Wisdom, and perfect Goodness …”
Porete begins by grounding the Soul’s knowledge of God not in speculative reason but in the virtue of Faith. Faith here is presented as a participatory gift that enables the soul to affirm God’s attributes: omnipotence, omniscience, and perfect benevolence. This establishes that true contemplation of God arises from faith’s assent to the divine self-revelation.
2. ” …and that God the Father has accomplished the work of the Incarnation, and the Son also and the Holy Spirit also.”
Love emphasizes the joint action of all three Persons of the Trinity in the Incarnation. The Father “accomplished” it by will, the Son by assumption of human nature, and the Spirit by effecting unity. This triune work underscores the coherence of divine action: one salvific plan enacted by Father, Son, and Spirit.
3. “Thus God the Father has joined human nature to the person of God the Son, and the person of God the Son has joined [human nature] to the person of Himself, and God the Holy Spirit has joined [human nature] to the person of God the Son.”
This compact Trinitarian schema affirms the hypostatic union: the Father’s will, the Son’s person, and the Spirit’s indwelling all converge to unite human nature with the second Person. The repetition highlights different roles-begetting, assuming, and indwelling-while maintaining that it is a single, indivisible union.
4. “So then God possesses in Him one sole nature, that is divine nature; and the person of the Son possesses in Him three natures, that is, this same nature which the Father possesses, and the nature of the soul and the nature of the body, and is a person of the Trinity; and the Holy Spirit possesses in Him this same divine nature which the Father and the Son possess.”
Porete here articulates two key nuptial paradoxes:
Divine Simplicity: The Trinity shares one divine nature-undivided and co-essential.
Christ’s Person: The Son uniquely possesses three natures-divine, human soul, and human body-while remaining one Person. This succinctly conveys orthodox Christology: one Person, two natures, yet here expanded to three to distinguish the soul and body.
5. “To believe this, to say this, to think this is true contemplation. This is one Power, one Wisdom, and one Will. One God alone in three persons, three persons and one God alone.”
Contemplation is defined as faith-filled affirmation of Trinitarian mystery. Knowledge of divine simplicity and unity in distinction is not an abstract puzzle but the essence of mystical vision. The soul, by faith, participates in the triune attributes as co-identical in the Godhead.
6. “This God is everywhere in His divine nature, but humanity is glorified in paradise, joined to the person of the Son as well as to the Sacrament of the Altar.”
Porete contrasts God’s omnipresence with humanity’s localized glorification. Though God’s nature fills all things, human nature is exalted only in two “paradisal” unions-eternal (heaven) and eucharistic (the altar). This underscores the sacramental economy: the Incarnation and Eucharist as two loci where human nature truly participates in divine life.
Final Analysis:
In this chapter, Porete uses faith as the lens for true theological knowledge, summarizing the core mysteries of Trinity and Incarnation in a manner accessible to the soul “annihilated” by love. She presents these dogmas not as intellectual abstractions, but as mystical horizons-the very substance of contemplative union. By affirming that “to believe, to say, to think” these truths is contemplation, she unites orthodox doctrine with apophatic practice, showing that the soul’s simplest acts of faith are themselves windows into divine mystery.
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1. What faculty allows the Soul to understand God according to this chapter?
The Soul understands God by the virtue of Faith, not by natural reason. Faith enables her to affirm God’s nature and the mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation.
2. What are the essential attributes of God that the Soul knows through Faith?
She knows that God is all Power, all Wisdom, and perfect Goodness.
3. How does Porete describe the involvement of the Trinity in the Incarnation?
Porete teaches that all three Persons of the Trinity are involved:
* The Father joins human nature to the Son.
* The Son joins human nature to Himself.
* The Holy Spirit also joins human nature to the Son.
This shows the unity and cooperation of the Trinity in salvation history.
4. According to this chapter, how many natures does the person of the Son possess?
The Son possesses three natures:
* Divine nature (shared with the Father and the Spirit)
* Human soul
* Human body
This is Porete’s way of describing the full reality of the Incarnate Word.
5. What does Porete define as “true contemplation”?
To believe, say, and think these Trinitarian and Christological truths is true contemplation. For Porete, contemplating God consists in resting faithfully in these revealed mysteries.
6. How does Porete affirm the doctrine of the Trinity?
She states: “One Power, one Wisdom, and one Will. One God alone in three persons, three persons and one God alone.” This affirms the unity of essence and distinction of persons central to Trinitarian belief.
7. Where is God said to be present in His divine nature, and where is glorified humanity located?
God is everywhere in His divine nature (omnipresence), while glorified humanity is in paradise and joined to the person of the Son in heaven and to the Sacrament of the Altar on earth.
8. What is the significance of the Sacrament of the Altar in this context?
The Sacrament of the Altar (the Eucharist) is one of the two places where humanity is joined to the person of the Son-the other being in paradise. It affirms the real presence of Christ and the exaltation of human nature through the Eucharist.
9. How does Porete present the mystery of contemplation as mirroring the mystery of the Trinity and the Incarnation, and what does this suggest about the nature of union between the soul and God?
Porete presents contemplation not merely as intellectual reflection but as a participation in divine mysteries. To “believe, say, and think” the truths of the Trinity and Incarnation is, for her, true contemplation-suggesting that the soul’s contemplative union with God mirrors the interpersonal unity of the Trinity and the joining of divine and human natures in Christ. Just as the Trinity acts as one in the Incarnation, and just as human nature is united to God in the person of the Son, so too the contemplative soul is joined to God in an intimate and mystical union. This implies that contemplation is not separate from doctrine but is the soul’s interior participation in the same unity that defines God’s own being and action.
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Chapter 15 teaches that the Holy Sacrament of the Altar is the means by which true Christians receive both the divinity and the humanity of Christ, not through sensory perception but through the Light of Faith. While the physical senses detect only bread, faith affirms with certainty the real presence of Christ’s glorified body – true God and true man – ordained by the Trinity for the nourishment of the Church. This presence is not subject to human or angelic vision, even in glory, but is known spiritually and sacramentally by faith. The chapter emphasizes that Christ’s humanity in the Eucharist neither comes nor goes in a physical sense but remains as ordained by divine power, accessible only to faith, not reason or sense. The Soul, illuminated by divine light, enters into union with Love through this mystery, desiring to be dissolved entirely into the will of the Beloved. Thus, profound union and spiritual nourishment come through the subtle perception of the intellect enlightened by faith and love, not by outward signs.
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1. “True Christians receive this divinity and this humanity when they take the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.”
Porete begins by affirming the profound reality of the Eucharist: it is not symbolic but the true reception of both the divinity and humanity of Christ. The emphasis is on the real presence, experienced by those who are genuinely united to God in love and faith. She is not explaining it in scholastic terms but rooting the mystery in lived spiritual participation.
2. “Take this Sacrament, place it in a mortar with other things, and grind this Sacrament until you can no longer see nor feel the Person… I tell you truly… He is not there.”
This startling image emphasizes the sacramental presence of Christ: His presence is not physical in the way ordinary objects are. Once the accidents (appearance of bread) are destroyed, the Real Presence ceases. But Porete insists we must “understand in a holy way,” not as though Christ is coming and going in a spatial sense. The presence is mysterious, sacramental, and wholly governed by divine ordinance, not human logic or perception.
3. “The humanity of Jesus Christ neither comes nor goes.”
This statement echoes orthodox Eucharistic theology while transcending it through mystical language. Christ’s humanity is eternally joined to the Godhead and remains constant; what changes is our perceptibility of His presence. The sacramental modality of Christ’s presence is not subject to physical movement or change.
4. “Those in glory … no longer see Him glorified except by [this] intellect.”
This is a remarkable mystical insight: even the blessed in heaven, including angels and saints, see Christ’s Eucharistic presence not sensibly, but spiritually, through the intellect of the spirit. Porete aligns the soul’s faith-driven vision of Christ in the Eucharist with the beatific knowledge of the glorified, but notes a difference: the glorified no longer need faith, while we still believe in what we cannot see.
5. “We see [the glorified humanity] by the virtue of Faith … our faith contradicts all these [senses] …”
Here, the heroism of faith is lifted up. Despite all appearances, faith insists that this is not bread but the precious body of Christ. Porete thus champions a faith that transcends the senses, inviting the soul to rest in divine certainty, not empirical evidence.
6. “The divine Trinity has ordained the Holy Sacrament … for the purpose of feeding and nourishing and sustaining the Holy Church.”
Porete underscores the ecclesial and nourishing purpose of the Eucharist. This is not a private spiritual experience but one meant to sustain the whole Church-a Trinitarian gift designed for communal growth into divine union.
7. “No one can arrive at a profound depth … without … subtlety of a great natural sense and … the Light of Intellect of the Spirit.”
Here we see the mystical epistemology that undergirds the entire book: knowledge of divine mysteries cannot come from reason alone. It requires a refined spiritual intuition, a spiritual intellect, and ultimately a transcendent love. The soul must be made subtle, receptive, and one in will with God.
8. “She comes from Love and there she wishes to be dissolved … to possess only one will in Love: that is, the sole will of the one whom she loves.”
Porete ends the chapter by returning to the theme of total union through love. The Eucharist is not only a sacrament of presence-it is also the means by which the soul is drawn back into her origin in Love, dissolved of all self-will, and made one with the divine. This is the ultimate fruit of the Sacrament: mystical union with Love itself.
—
1. What do true Christians receive in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, according to Porete?
They receive both the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. The sacrament is not merely symbolic; it is a real participation in the fullness of Christ. This reception is understood through faith, not through the senses or reason.
2. What does Porete’s metaphor of grinding the sacrament in a mortar teach us about Christ’s Eucharistic presence?
It teaches that Christ’s sacramental presence is not material in the way ordinary physical objects are. Once the visible form is destroyed, the presence ceases-not because Christ “comes and goes,” but because His presence is divinely ordained and bound to the form of the sacrament. His humanity “neither comes nor goes” in a physical sense; it remains eternally joined to the divine, but the sacramental mode of presence depends on divine will.
3. Why does Porete say that even the saints and angels see Christ’s Eucharistic presence in the same way as we do?
Because no one, not even those in glory, sees the glorified humanity of Christ in the Eucharist by the senses. Rather, it is seen through the intellect of the spirit. In heaven, faith is no longer needed, but even there, the Eucharistic presence is not a matter of physical sight-it is a spiritual perception.
4. How does faith operate in contrast to sensory experience in the Eucharist?
Faith contradicts the senses. While the eyes, taste, smell, and touch perceive only bread, faith affirms that what is truly present is the precious body of Jesus Christ, both true God and true man. Faith goes beyond sensory data and affirms divine truth.
5. What is the ultimate purpose of the Sacrament of the Altar according to this chapter?
It is ordained by the Divine Trinity to feed, nourish, and sustain the Holy Church. The Eucharist is not just a mystical experience for individuals but a sacrament of communion and support for the entire Body of Christ.
6. According to Porete, what is required to penetrate the depth of this mystery?
One must have great natural subtlety, the Light of the Intellect of the Spirit, and deep inner refinement. Divine mysteries are not accessed through ordinary reasoning, but through illumined intellect and spiritual intuition, guided by love.
7. How does the soul participate in the Eucharistic mystery through love?
The soul, born of Love, longs to return to Love and be dissolved into it, so that it no longer possesses a separate will. In the Eucharist, the soul is drawn into union, receiving the being toward which she tends, resting in God alone with one will: the will of her Beloved.
Commentary on Chapters 14 and 15:
The placement of Chapter 15 directly after Chapter 14 is not accidental. Porete is offering a profound mystical theology of union, and she does so by unfolding it in three successive modes:
Chapter 14: The Incarnation and Hypostatic Union – She presents the union of divine and human natures in the Person of Christ, emphasizing the Trinity’s unified action. This is the foundational ontological union-God becoming man.
Chapter 15: The Eucharist (Real Presence) – She then transitions to the sacramental presence, where the union of Christ’s humanity and divinity is communicated to us. The Eucharist becomes the means by which Christ’s Hypostatic Union becomes present to the Church and intimately interiorized by the soul.
Implied Continuity: Union in Contemplation – Though not yet fully developed in these chapters, Porete is leading toward the final mystical union, where the soul, simplified and annihilated, comes to rest in God alone, as Christ is fully present in her by grace and love, just as He is in the Eucharist.
In this structure, Porete is subtly showing that:
* The Incarnation is not just a historical event, but a template for union.
* The Eucharist is not just a sacrament, but a real mode of that union made available to the soul.
* The contemplative union is not a metaphor – it is a participation in the same mystery: the joining of human and divine in love.
Christological and sacramental realism undergirds Porete’s mysticism. Her radical contemplative path is not disembodied – it’s grounded in the concrete reality of Christ, both in history and in the Eucharist.
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Chapter 16 teaches that the Soul united to God through Love and Faith lives in a profound simplicity and surrender, in which she “knows all and knows nothing” and “wills all and wills nothing.” This paradox arises because the Soul knows all that is necessary for salvation through faith, yet remains ignorant of the hidden workings of God within her, which He alone possesses and does not share. Likewise, she wills only what God wills in her, and so her own will is entirely relinquished, made “nothing” in light of God’s sufficiency. Because of this complete rest in the divine will, she desires nothing external – not masses, prayers, fasts, or even anxiety over sin – since her whole being is immersed in the eternal presence of God, who is equally present with or without such practices. She is beyond self-concern, sin, or fear, as her peace is fixed in the Trinity. Though she has no anxiety, her love for others remains pure; if she could help her neighbor, she would do so fully. Yet her thoughts are so divinely focused, unimpeded by created things, that no worldly concern can stir her inner rest, which reflects the tranquil and all-sufficient goodness of God Himself.
—
1. “Reason, says Love, to what I said, that the Unencumbered Soul knows all and so knows nothing, I answer you that she knows by the virtue of Faith what is necessary for her to know for her salvation.”
Love clarifies to Reason that the soul’s knowledge operates on two levels. By Faith, the soul knows all that is essential for salvation. This is not empirical or speculative knowledge but sufficient and salvific. At the same time, the soul “knows nothing” of what God alone knows and does within her. Thus, mystical union transcends discursive understanding-it is a knowing through unknowing.
2. “She wills all things, says Love, and so wills nothing; for this Soul … wills so perfectly the will of God that she neither knows, nor is able, nor wills in her own will except the will of God.”
This paradox captures the soul’s total conformity to God. She is so united with the divine will that she can be said to will “everything” (because she embraces God’s total will) and “nothing” (because she has no personal or separate will). This is the annihilation of self-will in the fire of divine charity.
3. “This daughter of Zion desires neither masses nor sermons, neither fasts nor prayers.”
At first glance, this seems iconoclastic, even heretical-but Love makes a distinction. These practices are good for those still begging (i.e., seeking God), but this soul no longer begs. She possesses God. For her, external means are not necessary because she abides in the divine presence always, without mediation.
4. “Why would this Soul desire these things named above since God is surely everywhere, without this as with this?”
This rhetorical question underscores the soul’s radical detachment from created means. The presence of God is not confined to rituals or devotional acts. The soul sees God everywhere and in everything, hence has no need to chase after Him in particular actions.
5. “This Soul has no anxiety about sin which she might have ever committed … nor about the sins or anxiety in which her neighbors remain.”
The soul’s detachment extends even to the past and the sufferings of others. But this is not indifference-it is the fruit of resting in God’s perfect will and providence. She is so united to God’s will that His displeasure at sin becomes hers, but she is not anxious, because anxiety implies disunion, and she is at rest in God.
6. “This means, says Love, that this Soul does not belong to herself, which is why she cannot have anxiety. For her thought is at rest in a peaceful place, that is, in the Trinity.”
Here is the heart of Porete’s mystical theology: self-annihilation leads to divine rest. The soul no longer belongs to herself-her ego is gone. As a result, she has no anxiety, no striving, no disturbance. She rests in the Trinity, in a state of pure being, beyond all fear or concern.
7. “It is His displeasure itself which gives to this Soul such displeasure.”
This subtle line highlights that even the soul’s sense of moral repulsion at sin is not her own. Her response is not moralism but participation: she feels God’s own sorrow, not by effort but by union.
8. “The Trinity has no anxiety in her on account of such displeasure, and so also this Soul who is at rest in [the Trinity] has no anxiety.”
Because God is not anxious, neither is the soul who rests in God. This mystical calm coexists with sorrow for sin and compassion for others, but it remains free of turbulence. It is a peaceful sorrow, a serene compassion-marks of perfect charity.
—
1. What does it mean that the soul “knows all and so knows nothing”?
The soul “knows all” through the virtue of Faith, meaning she knows everything necessary for salvation without needing discursive knowledge. Yet she “knows nothing” of what God works in her by Himself, since this action is beyond her comprehension. Her knowledge is thus total in one sense (by faith) and nonexistent in another (by mystical unknowing).
2. Why does Love say the soul “wills all things and so wills nothing”?
Because the soul is perfectly conformed to the will of God, she wills all that God wills. Yet since her will is completely surrendered, she has no independent will of her own-hence, she wills “nothing.” Her own will is annihilated in the divine will.
3. Why does this soul no longer desire masses, sermons, fasts, or prayers?
Because she no longer seeks God-she possesses Him. These devotional practices are useful for those still on the way (the “beggars”), but she is already united with God and sees Him in all things, at all times. Thus, external means are no longer necessary for her communion with Him.
4. Is this rejection of external devotions a condemnation of them?
No. Love affirms that such devotions are good and necessary for many souls. But this particular soul has moved beyond them, not out of contempt, but because her interior union with God is so complete that nothing external adds to her relationship with Him.
5. Why does this soul have no anxiety about her past sins or the sins of others?
Because she no longer belongs to herself-her selfhood is lost in God. She shares in God’s displeasure at sin, but without being disturbed or anxious. Her rest in the Trinity is so profound that even sorrow is free of inner turmoil.
6. What does Love mean when she says the soul “does not belong to herself”?
It means the soul has undergone complete self-surrender and annihilation of ego. She has no self-will, no self-possession, no sense of personal agency apart from God. She exists entirely within and from God’s will.
7. Does this union with God make the soul indifferent to others?
No. If she could help others, she would do so with all her power. Her thoughts are simply so united to the divine that she is not disturbed by others’ struggles; she shares God’s own compassion, but without being drawn into anxious striving.
8. How does the soul’s state reflect the nature of God Himself?
Because God is without anxiety-even in His displeasure at sin-the soul united with Him shares this divine serenity. Her compassion is God’s compassion, and her peace is God’s peace. She is thus a mirror of divine life: sorrowful without despair, active without agitation, present without striving.
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Chapter 17 teaches that the Soul united to God through Love lives in such pure righteousness and divine simplicity that she gives to Nature all that it legitimately requires without guilt or spiritual disturbance. These Souls are entirely detached from temporal possessions, not out of ascetic effort or moral calculation, but because their interior peace rests so wholly in God that anxiety over earthly needs is impossible for them – even if they were to live until the end of time. If they possess anything and know another is in greater need, they would give it away without hesitation, even in the face of absolute scarcity, because their justice and charity are divine in origin and unclouded by self-interest. Their peace and innocence are so profound that to deny Nature its rightful sustenance would be, for them, a breach of divine righteousness and a disturbance of the harmony in which they live. They use the elements and all created things with the same innocent freedom that comes from God’s original intent in creation, and they dwell in a spiritual condition beyond guilt or grasping, upheld by a “high place” of inner repose established in Love.
—
1. “This Soul gives to Nature whatever she asks. And it is true, says Love, that this Soul has neither care nor love for temporal things which she would know how to gain in refusing Nature her demand …”
The Soul, fully united with God, no longer clings to or values temporal things. She grants Nature what is needed without resistance or anxiety, not out of indulgence but because refusal would arise from selfishness or guilt. Her purity allows her to respond freely to natural needs without attachment.
2. “But such creatures are so excellent that one would not dare to speak overtly about them, especially about their practice by which these Souls possess being from good intellect.”
Love emphasizes the hidden and sacred nature of such souls, warning against revealing too much lest those with “simple intellects” misunderstand and misuse the teaching. These souls live from a divinely illumined intellect, rare and easily misjudged.
3. “Such Souls… possess, by righteousness of their being which is pure and divine being, such a condition within them that they possess nothing.”
This radical dispossession is not merely external but existential-they possess nothing, not even spiritually, except God. Their confidence in divine providence is total; they remain untroubled even if deprived of all earthly means until Judgment Day.
4. “If they possess something … and should they know that others might have greater need than they, such Souls would never withhold anything …”
These souls, moved by Divine Love, are utterly selfless. Even if famine loomed and no more sustenance would grow, they would still give freely. This generosity arises not from moral obligation but from the perfection of divine justice living within them.
5. “Such is their nature, through pure righteousness; and such righteousness is Divine Righteousness, who has given his measure to the Soul.”
Their generosity and non-possession are not just virtues but the outworking of Divine Righteousness itself in the soul. They have become the living measure of God’s justice and love-what they do is the expression of God’s own rightness.
6. “Why would such Souls feel guilty about taking what is necessary if necessity asks it?… Who would make his conscience guilty about taking the necessities from the four elements …?”
Love uses the image of the four elements to affirm that such souls receive necessities from creation as innocently and peacefully as breathing air or feeling warmth. Their communion with God frees them from guilt and inner conflict in receiving what is needed.
7. “They possess the good foundation, says Love, and the high place which holds them in repose from all things.”
Ultimately, these souls are anchored in divine peace, a “high place” above conflict, anxiety, or lack. They are not indifferent, but at rest-freely responding to the needs of Nature and neighbor without any loss of interior stillness.
—
1. What does it mean that the Soul “gives to Nature whatever she asks”?
It means the Soul, having no attachment to temporal possessions or self-will, does not resist the natural needs of the body. She freely allows Nature to be sustained with what is necessary without guilt or conflict, because she lives in total simplicity and innocence.
2. Why does Love caution against speaking overtly about these Souls and their practices?
Love warns that such Souls are so spiritually advanced and their practices so subtle that those with “simple intellects” might misunderstand them, potentially harming themselves or misapplying the teaching. The depth of their life in God is too easily misread.
3. How does such a Soul view the idea of possession?
The Soul lives in a state of total dispossession-she “possesses nothing” in the deepest sense. Her being is so aligned with Divine Righteousness that she holds on to nothing, even spiritually, except God. Her identity is one of radical freedom and unownership.
4. What would such a Soul do if someone else had a greater need than she?
She would give freely, without hesitation, even if it meant she would be left with nothing. Her charity is so pure that even the threat of future deprivation would not stop her from helping someone in greater need.
5. How does Divine Righteousness justify the actions of these Souls regarding giving and receiving necessities?
Divine Righteousness affirms that it is just for these Souls to take what is necessary and to give freely. It argues that guilt would only arise from selfish withholding, not from innocent use of creation. Their righteousness is itself a participation in God’s justice.
6. What is the significance of the example of the four elements?
The example illustrates how these Souls receive from creation without guilt, just as one naturally accepts light or warmth. Their relationship to created things is innocent, untroubled, and free from possessiveness-they take only what Nature requires, with complete peace of heart.
7. What sustains the peace and freedom of such Souls?
Their peace comes from their rootedness in Divine Love and Righteousness. They rest in the “high place” of God’s own life and will, beyond anxiety or self-concern. Their repose is total-they are not anxious even about their own survival, trusting completely in God.
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Chapter 18 teaches that souls deeply transformed by divine Love no longer know how to speak of God, not out of ignorance but because their knowledge has been drawn into the mystery of unknowing. They cannot say where God is or who God is in the ordinary way, because true divine Love has overtaken them with such subtlety and surprise that all creaturely modes of speaking fall away. Those who speak of God freely and with certainty have not been touched by the pure seed of divine Love, which removes the impulse to articulate and replaces it with silent understanding. In such souls, comprehension is profound yet fleeting, as the subtle presence of the divine Lover causes them to grasp much and quickly forget, not through confusion but through a divine forgetfulness that keeps them ever open and emptied for Love.
—
1. “Such creatures know no longer how to speak of God, for they know not how to say where God is any more than how to say who God is.”
This opening statement emphasizes the deep unknowing that characterizes the soul united with God. The soul, immersed in Divine Love, transcends all conceptual and locational knowledge of God. The inability to speak of God is not ignorance but the fruit of a union so intimate that God exceeds all names and categories. It signals a contemplative realization beyond discursive reason.
2. “For whoever speaks of God when he wishes and to whom he wishes and where he wishes to speak, must not doubt, but know without doubt… such a one never once felt the true seed of divine Love…”
Here, Love rebukes those who speak easily or confidently of God. True divine Love humbles the soul, striking it with awe and a kind of wordless astonishment. The soul that feels this “true seed” is rendered silent, no longer able to speak of God as if He were an object to be grasped or discussed at will. The mark of divine Love is reverent muteness, not spiritual verbosity.
3. “…which makes the Soul completely surprised without being aware of it.”
The encounter with Divine Love is so profound it catches the soul off guard, awakening it to a reality too vast and subtle to be articulated. This surprise is not emotional shock but a contemplative displacement-being drawn out of oneself into the mystery of God, beyond self-awareness or spiritual self-possession.
4. “For the true pure seed of divine Love, without creaturely matter, which is given by the Creator to the creature…”
The divine Love that transforms the soul is purely spiritual-“without creaturely matter”-and directly imparted by God. It is not mediated through sense, intellect, or created forms. This purity strips the soul of any ability or even desire to reduce God to concepts or language.
5. “And the custom of such Souls is to understand much and to forget quickly through the subtlety of the Lover.”
The final line beautifully captures the paradox of contemplative knowing. These souls “understand much,” not in the sense of accumulating knowledge, but of being infused with divine understanding. Yet they “forget quickly,” not from weakness but because the Divine Lover moves so subtly that nothing is clung to. This forgetting is the fruit of being led continually into deeper silence, trust, and surrender.
—
1. Why do such souls no longer speak of God?
Because they no longer know how to speak of God-neither where God is nor who God is. Their union with God transcends all conceptual and verbal categories. They have entered into a state of divine unknowing where language fails and silence becomes the truest expression of their experience.
2. What does the Soul imply about those who speak of God freely and confidently?
The Soul criticizes such behavior, asserting that those who can speak of God “when he wishes and to whom he wishes” have never truly experienced the “pure seed of divine Love.” True divine Love leaves the soul awestruck and silent, not talkative or presumptuous.
3. What is the “true pure seed of divine Love,” and what does it do to the soul?
It is a gift directly from the Creator, unmediated by created things (“without creaturely matter”), which utterly transforms the soul. This divine seed removes the soul’s ability and inclination to speak about God, replacing it with a silent, deep, contemplative knowing.
4. What is meant by the soul being “completely surprised without being aware of it”?
This describes a mystical experience of divine encounter that transcends even the soul’s conscious awareness. The soul is overtaken by God in such a subtle and total way that it cannot reflect on itself or the experience-it simply abides in the mystery.
5. How does the chapter describe the intellectual disposition of such souls?
These souls “understand much and forget quickly.” This paradox means that while they are filled with divine insight, they do not cling to thoughts or retain them as possessions. Their understanding flows from the subtle presence of the Divine Lover and quickly dissolves into deeper silence.
6. What is the significance of “forgetting quickly” in this context?
“Forgetfulness” here is not a lack but a spiritual grace. It signifies the soul’s detachment from even spiritual understanding. The soul follows the movement of God moment to moment, without clinging to past illuminations, thus remaining wholly surrendered and open.
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Chapter 19 teaches that the most exalted souls-those who are entirely surrendered to God-remain hidden, not only from the world but even from the highest theological virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity. These virtues dwell within the souls and serve them, yet cannot fully comprehend their identity or worth, which is known to God alone. Such souls surpass the understanding of the institutional Church (called here “Holy Church the Little”), for they belong to a deeper spiritual reality governed by Divine Love (“Holy Church the Great”). Their lives are not defined by desire or will but by total self-emptying, making them uniquely receptive to God’s noblest gifts. They are royal in dignity-daughters, sisters, and spouses of the King-yet entirely unknowable except by the One who created and continually re-creates them through Love.
1. “O Holy Trinity, say Faith, Hope, and Charity, where are such supreme Souls who are such as this book describes? Who are they? Where are they? What do they do?”
The theological virtues-Faith, Hope, and Charity-express a yearning to locate and understand these exalted souls. Their questions highlight both the mystery and the hiddenness of these souls, even to divine virtues themselves, suggesting that such souls are rare, veiled, and surpass ordinary spiritual categories. The amazement of the Church is anticipated, underlining how these souls exceed the expectations of conventional religious understanding.
2. “In truth, Holy Church the Little, says Love; this is the Church who is governed by Reason, and not Holy Church the Great, says Divine Love, who is governed by us.”
Love distinguishes between two “Churches”: one governed by Reason (“Holy Church the Little”) and another governed by Divine Love (“Holy Church the Great”). This reflects a mystical hierarchy-those led by rational structures versus those moved entirely by divine infusion. The souls described here belong to the latter, and thus, their lives remain incomprehensible to those guided only by Reason.
3. “Without fail, as you know, says Love, a thing which God has created knows not how to find these Souls.”
No created being, not even the theological virtues themselves, can fully locate or identify these souls. They dwell in a divine hiddenness that makes them spiritually elusive. This reinforces their sanctity: they live in union with God beyond created categories.
4. “You are with them in all moments of the hours, for you make them noble.”
Faith, Hope, and Charity may not comprehend the full nature of these souls, but they are constantly present within them and elevate their dignity. The virtues are servants and adornments of these souls, not their origin or measure.
5. “But who they are-for the purpose of speaking of their worth and their dignity-this is known neither to you nor to them, which is why the Holy Church cannot know it.”
Their true identity and divine nobility are unknowable even to themselves and to the virtues that dwell in them. This is the reason why institutional religion (Holy Church) cannot grasp them. They are known only to God, existing in a hiddenness akin to the hidden life of Christ.
6. “God alone, says Love, who has created them and redeemed them, and perhaps re-created them many times for the sake of Love by whom alone they are exiled, annihilated and forgotten.”
God alone knows these souls, having not only created and redeemed them but also “re-created” them repeatedly through trials and self-emptying love. Their lives involve continual annihilation of self and forgetfulness of self in divine Love-a process unintelligible to natural or ecclesial categories.
7. “Are not all the Virtues praised, written and commanded for the sake of these Souls, and not the Souls for the sake of the Virtues?”
This bold inversion elevates these souls above even the virtues. Virtues exist for their perfection, not the other way around. The soul, in its highest state, is not formed by virtues but is served by them, being receptive only to God.
8. “Whoever wishes to have these gifts [must] accompany neither desire nor will, for otherwise he will not have [the gifts].”
To receive the sublime gifts of divine nobility, the soul must be emptied of all desire and self-will. This teaching reflects the theme of annihilation-only through complete detachment can one receive God’s highest favors.
9. “No created thing enters within their souls except God alone who created the Souls.”
This closing line sums up the chapter’s vision of the soul’s inaccessibility. Even the highest spiritual powers, the Church, and the virtues cannot penetrate these souls-only God dwells within them. This radical theocentrism excludes all creaturely intrusion and places these souls in a unique intimacy with God alone.
—
1. Why do Faith, Hope, and Charity ask Love about the souls described in the book?
They are astounded by the sublimity of these souls and seek to understand who they are, where they are, and what they do, especially since these souls seem hidden and surpass normal categories of sanctity. Their inquiry reflects the mystery surrounding such souls, even to the highest theological virtues.
2. What distinction does Love make between the “Holy Church the Little” and the “Holy Church the Great”?
“Holy Church the Little” is governed by Reason and represents the institutional or rationally organized Church. In contrast, “Holy Church the Great” is governed by Divine Love and is aligned with these exalted souls. The latter transcends rational comprehension and reflects a mystical, God-governed reality.
3. Why does Love say that no created thing can know who these souls are?
Because these souls are hidden in God alone. Even the virtues that dwell in them-Faith, Hope, and Charity-do not know their full identity or worth. Only God, who created and continually re-creates them through love, knows them fully.
4. What is the relationship between these souls and the theological virtues?
The virtues dwell within these souls and make them noble, but they do not define the souls. Instead, the virtues are said to exist for the sake of these souls, not the other way around. This reveals the radical exaltation of such souls and their primacy in God’s plan.
5. What is required of a soul to receive the singular gifts of divine nobility mentioned in the chapter?
The soul must completely renounce desire and self-will. Only in such emptiness and surrender can the soul be receptive to the pure gifts of divine nobility, which God does not bestow on those who remain attached to personal desire or volition.
6. Why can’t even Holy Church understand these souls, according to Love?
Because Holy Church, as a created reality, cannot enter into or comprehend the interior of these souls. Only God, who dwells in them and created them, knows them intimately. Their nature and union with God are beyond all creaturely knowledge or ecclesial recognition.
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Chapter 20 teaches that the exalted souls who are united to God are ultimately known and understood only by God Himself, not even by other souls who may share in similar spiritual graces. Although these rare souls-“those-who-are-such”-may recognize one another through shared divine practice and the singular gift bestowed on them, they cannot fully comprehend each other’s dignity, for that remains a mystery held by God alone. Reason is humbled by this truth and stands in awe of the uniqueness and divine origin of such souls. Love affirms that all human and created understanding, even enlightened or spiritually elevated, falls short of grasping the full measure of God’s intimate work in the soul. This chapter emphasizes the transcendence and incomprehensibility of divine union.
—
1. Reason: “You say that no one understands these souls except God who created them.”
Reason repeats the central claim from earlier: the ultimate mystery of these exalted souls lies beyond all created comprehension. This sets the stage for a further probing into whether even similar souls might have some knowledge of one another.
2. Love: “Those-who-are-such, if they were, or if they are, would understand their companions by their practice, but even more by the virtue of the gift which is given to them, which is singular.”
Love affirms that souls of the same kind-those fully united to God-can recognize one another through their spiritual practice and especially through the shared divine gift that marks them. However, this recognition is not total comprehension; it is a fellowship of likeness in being and grace.
3. Reason: “Singular, says Reason, and without fail it is singular, for in hearing it I am singularly amazed.”
Reason, despite being a faculty of order and analysis, is overwhelmed by the uniqueness of the gift given to these souls. The repetition of the word “singular” emphasizes both the rarity and incomparability of such spiritual states. Even Reason can do nothing but marvel.
4. Love: “Even so such souls would not understand the dignity of these Souls, for God alone understands them, God who created them.”
Even among souls of the same lofty rank, full knowledge of one another’s inner worth and divine elevation is impossible. Their dignity is known only to God. This reaffirms a major theme: the soul’s ultimate identity and glory are hidden in God alone, never fully accessible to creation-even to other exalted souls.
This chapter clarifies an apparent paradox: while these souls can recognize each other by shared divine life and practice, the depths of their identity remain veiled, known only to their Creator.
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1. What is Reason’s concern at the beginning of this chapter?
Reason is troubled by the idea that no one understands the exalted souls except God and wants clarification, especially since the book also suggests that similar souls might recognize each other.
2. How does Love clarify the nature of this recognition among such souls?
Love explains that those-who-are-such (souls united to God) can recognize each other, not through full comprehension, but by their shared spiritual practice and more deeply by the singular divine gift they have received.
3. What is the meaning of the word “singular” in this context?
“Singular” refers to the utterly unique and incomparable nature of the divine gift given to these souls. Reason is struck by this and repeats the word to express both intellectual and spiritual amazement.
4. Can even other perfect souls understand the full dignity of these exalted souls?
No, Love insists that even souls who share in this divine union cannot comprehend the full dignity of their companions; only God, who created them, can know their true worth.
5. What does this exchange reveal about the limitations of both reason and spiritual likeness in grasping divine mystery?
It shows that reason can recognize its limits and be amazed by divine mysteries, and even spiritual likeness cannot penetrate the full depth of God’s work in a soul. Only God fully knows the soul He has formed and exalted.
“The Mirror of Simple Souls” by Marguerite Porete – Part 1 of 14
Overview:
The Mirror of Simple Souls is a profoundly mystical and theologically radical work that traces the soul’s journey through spiritual purification, self-annihilation, and union with God. Structured as a dialogical unfolding between the Soul, Love, and Divine Wisdom, the text maps an inner path that transcends conventional virtue, devotional practices, and ecclesiastical forms. The central teaching of the work is that the soul must pass through seven stages or conditions, culminating in a state of naked nothingness, where she is wholly annihilated of self-will and rests entirely in God’s divine will. In this condition, the soul becomes one with God not by imitation or merit, but by being transformed in the ground of love-where distinction between self and God disappears in simplicity.
Early chapters deal with the soul’s struggle against the desires of the body and the distractions of the intellect and will. The soul must first pass through active virtue and affective devotion, but the text repeatedly insists that these are merely stages. To stop here is to remain “sad” and bound to the “affection of the spirit,” a subtle form of spiritual self-love. True transformation occurs when the soul ceases even to love God with a possessive love and allows God to love in her, through her, and as her-without intermediary. In this surrender, the soul comes to dwell in the state of “freeness,” where she wills nothing and does nothing for herself. Her only reality is Divine Being, who “is,” while she “is not.” All action ceases because divine will has entirely replaced the soul’s own.
In this radical passivity, the soul moves beyond fear, virtue, and even ecclesiastical patterns, into a freedom that transcends the institutional Church’s categories. The text boldly asserts that the perfect soul no longer takes Holy Church as exemplar, not because she is rebellious, but because she has fulfilled and surpassed all virtue in divine humility. While still revering the Church and its sacraments, the soul is no longer defined by its external forms. This is not lawlessness, but the full realization of divine indwelling. The soul now dwells in God as God dwells in her, by pure love, without why.
A major theme is the paradox of “Farnearness,” a mystical nearness to God that feels like distance because it surpasses sensation and understanding. The soul is united to God in a mode beyond all creaturely categories, beyond merit, thought, and feeling. She no longer prays, not out of irreverence, but because she is entirely surrendered and receptive. This surrender is so total that she receives even divine love as seed, without clinging, owning, or reciprocating in the creaturely sense. She is love because God is love in her.
Throughout the later chapters, the author warns against the subtleties of Nature-especially the refined forms of spiritual pride that masquerade as virtue. Nature, even when disguised in gentleness or self-denial, subtly asserts its rights. The soul must pass through great suffering, even putting to death the “friends” of virtue and devotion who once aided her, but now must be relinquished. This painful detachment leads to true humility and entrance into divine simplicity.
The final chapters assert that the soul, now stripped of everything, returns to her “prior being”-that is, to the divine source from which she came, before she existed. This is not annihilation in the negative sense, but the fulfillment of her origin in God, who alone is. The soul no longer exists for herself but in and as the Divine. This is the mystery of deiformity: the soul becomes what God is, not by nature but by love and union.
The conclusion and the appended approvals emphasize the radical nature of this teaching. Leading clerics confirm its orthodoxy but also warn that it is not for the many. It is a divine practice meant for the few who are called to such nakedness and freedom. The text ends not with doctrinal finality, but with a gesture of humble offering and intercessory hope-that those who are prepared may receive it as seed and bear fruit a hundredfold.
In sum, The Mirror of Simple Souls is a mystical theology of spiritual death and divine union. It calls the soul beyond action and virtue, beyond self and thought, into a simple, undivided being in God. Its path is one of annihilation, not destruction; detachment, not despair; and union, not absorption. At its heart lies the paradoxical teaching that to be everything in God, the soul must become nothing in herself-and in that nothingness, she discovers what God is: All.
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This introductory poem to The Mirror of Simple Souls establishes the necessary spiritual posture for understanding the book: humility, love, and faith must precede and govern reason. The reader is warned that intellectual brilliance alone-particularly that of theologians and scholars-will be insufficient for grasping the deep mysteries presented within. Instead, one must be overtaken by Humility, who guards the treasury of divine knowledge and mothers all virtues. Love and Faith, presented as the true mistresses of the soul’s house, must elevate the reader above the limits of reason. Even Reason herself must submit to Love and Faith, acknowledging their authority and vivifying power. Thus, the reader is invited to abandon prideful reliance on rational understanding and instead entrust themselves wholly to the loving illumination of divine truth.
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1. “You who would read this book, / If you indeed wish to grasp it, / Think about what you say, / For it is very difficult to comprehend;”
Porete immediately signals that this is not a text for casual reading. It requires deep spiritual engagement, not just intellectual curiosity. The phrase “think about what you say” suggests that the reader’s speech and perhaps inner dialogue must be purified-a call to inner stillness and spiritual receptivity.
2. “Humility, who is keeper of the treasury of Knowledge / And the mother of the other Virtues, / Must overtake you.”
Humility is personified and presented as the gatekeeper to divine knowledge, not Reason. This flips scholastic assumptions on their head: instead of intellect or learning granting access to truth, it is a dispossession of self and an entrance into humility that opens the door to true wisdom. Humility here is not a moral posture but a metaphysical key.
3. “Theologians and other clerks, / You will not have the intellect for it, / No matter how brilliant your abilities, / If you do not proceed humbly.”
Porete addresses the learned class directly and provocatively. No degree of academic or theological training will suffice. Only humility makes the soul capable of understanding this work-again emphasizing that mystical insight is not acquired but received, and only in spiritual poverty.
4. “And may Love and Faith, together, / Cause you to rise above Reason, / [Since] they are the ladies of the house.”
Love and Faith are described as sovereign powers within the “house” (symbolic of the soul or this spiritual text), and they must elevate the reader beyond Reason. This is a bold mystical claim: that true understanding surpasses rationality and occurs in a supra-rational realm governed by divine Love and Faith.
5. “Even Reason witnesses / In the Thirteenth Chapter of this book, / And with no shame about it, / That Love and Faith make her live / And she does not free herself from them, / For they have lordship over her, / Which is why she must humble herself.”
Porete anticipates resistance from Reason, the traditional guide in theological inquiry. But she stages Reason as a character who herself testifies to the necessity of submission to Love and Faith. This narrative move prepares the reader to let go of analytical control and to welcome a more yielding, receptive mode of spiritual understanding.
6. “Humble, then, your wisdom / Which is based on Reason, / And place all your fidelity / In those things which are given / By Love, illuminated through Faith.”
The reader is asked to consciously renounce their reliance on rational wisdom and to entrust themselves wholly to what is given-a passive stance, reliant on grace. The illumination of Love through Faith evokes the Pauline triad (faith, hope, love), with Love here taking central stage as the animating force of divine life.
7. “And thus you will understand this book / Which makes the Soul live by love.”
Porete concludes by stating the purpose of the book: not to inform the mind, but to make the soul live-and specifically live by love. This phrase sums up the entire spiritual orientation of the work: it is a book for the transformation of the soul into love, not merely for comprehension or doctrine.
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1. Why does Porete emphasize the difficulty of understanding this book?
Porete stresses that the book is “very difficult to comprehend” not because of obscure language or theological complexity, but because it requires a spiritual posture of humility. The understanding she speaks of is not intellectual but experiential, mystical. Only a soul surrendered in humility can grasp the truths revealed here, which transcend rational analysis.
2. What role does humility play in the reader’s approach to the text?
Humility is described as the “keeper of the treasury of Knowledge” and the “mother of the other Virtues.” This means that all true spiritual knowledge is guarded by humility and accessed only through it. Without humility, even the most brilliant minds are blind to the deeper truths of God. Thus, humility is not just a virtue-it is a necessary condition for divine union and understanding.
3. Why does Porete caution theologians and scholars in particular?
She warns theologians and clerks that their intellectual abilities, however great, will be useless unless they approach her book with humility. This is a direct challenge to the scholastic mindset of her time, which prized rational theology. Porete insists that divine truths, especially the truths of love and annihilation of self, are grasped only through the heart, not the intellect.
4. What is the significance of Love and Faith being called “ladies of the house”?
In calling Love and Faith “ladies of the house,” Porete portrays them as the ruling principles of the soul’s interior life. They preside over Reason, who must take a subordinate position. This personification expresses the mystical hierarchy in which Love and Faith are not simply emotional or doctrinal elements but the very powers by which the soul is transformed and led into union with God.
5. How does Reason relate to Love and Faith in Porete’s vision?
Reason is acknowledged as a valuable faculty but must be humbled and made to serve Love and Faith. In chapter 13 (as foreshadowed here), Reason herself testifies that she is enlivened by Love and Faith and remains subject to them. This suggests that while Reason is not rejected, it is relativized-it must be transcended by the soul to reach divine wisdom.
6. What does it mean to “rise above Reason”?
To rise above Reason means to transcend discursive, logical thinking in order to enter a mode of knowing grounded in Love and illuminated by Faith. This is not irrationality but supra-rationality-a higher order of perception available to the soul emptied of self and filled with divine grace. It is a movement from the mind to the heart, from control to surrender.
7. What is the ultimate purpose of the book, according to the final lines of the poem?
The purpose is not intellectual mastery but spiritual transformation. The book is meant to make “the Soul live by love.” This means that the soul’s entire being and movement become rooted in divine Love, a Love that consumes self-will and unites the soul wholly to God. The book is a mirror not for the mind but for the soul seeking its annihilation and renewal in Love.
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Chapter 1 (The Prologue) introduces the spiritual journey of the Soul through seven stages of grace, culminating in divine union and fruition in the “land of life.” Love, personified, speaks directly to actives, contemplatives, and especially those annihilated in true love, calling them to attentive, humble listening. The chapter presents a powerful allegory: just as a noble maiden in a distant land falls in love with the reputation of King Alexander and comforts herself with his image, so too does the Soul-captivated by the renown of divine Love-find consolation in this book, which serves as a painted image or living memorial of the Beloved. The Soul acknowledges that though she once felt distant, the gift of this book makes Love present in a transformative way. The author concludes by affirming that Love originates in God and communicates divine truth in a way the “little ones” may grasp, preparing the Soul to advance through the seven stages of being which will be unfolded throughout the book.
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1. “Soul, touched by God and removed from sin at the first stage of grace, is carried by divine graces to the seventh stage of grace, in which state the Soul possesses the fullness of her perfection through divine fruition in the land of life.”
Porete begins with a vision of the soul’s spiritual journey as a divine ascent through seven stages of grace. This mystical itinerary culminates not in knowledge or moral virtue, but in divine fruition-a term that implies enjoyment, union, and rest in God. The “land of life” echoes biblical images (e.g., Psalm 27:13) and signifies not merely heaven but a condition of total spiritual transformation in this life, accessible through grace.
2. “Here Love speaks: As for you actives and contemplatives, and perhaps those annihilated by true love…”
Love herself becomes the speaker, personified and authoritative. The addressees include three types: the actives (engaged in works), the contemplatives (inward, meditative souls), and the annihilated (those utterly emptied of self through divine love). This third category is the highest and most radical-those whose ego has been consumed in God. Porete identifies this condition as necessary for understanding her book.
3. “I pray you by love, says Love, that you hear through great effort of the subtle intellect within you and through great diligence, for otherwise all those who hear it will grasp it badly…”
Even though Love transcends reason, understanding this message still demands the “subtle intellect”-not discursive logic, but spiritual perception. Porete acknowledges that the truths of love are paradoxical and elusive unless one listens with both interior refinement and humble attentiveness. Misunderstanding is easy; true hearing is rare.
4. “Listen with humility to a little exemplum of love in the world… as a parallel to divine love.”
The exemplum functions like a medieval parable. Its simplicity conceals profound mystical symbolism. The earthly story is meant to mirror divine reality, inviting readers to enter through the imagination into deeper spiritual truths.
5. Exemplum: “Once upon a time, there was a maiden, daughter of a king… her will loved him because of the great renown of his gentility…”
The maiden symbolizes the soul. Her distant love for Alexander-a noble king of legendary generosity and majesty-represents the soul’s yearning for God. Her love is awakened by hearsay, by fama (reputation), and grows into a consuming desire even without contact. This reflects the via amoris (way of love), in which longing precedes possession, and distance intensifies devotion.
6. “She thought to herself that she would comfort her melancholy by imagining some figure of her love… And so she had an image painted…”
The image becomes a means of remembering and loving the one who is absent. This mirrors the spiritual soul’s use of symbols, prayer, or sacred texts as a way of keeping alive the longing for divine presence. Yet the image is not the same as the reality-it is a trace, a bridge, not the fulfillment.
7. Soul: “In truly similar fashion… He gave me this book, which makes present in some fashion His love itself.”
Porete identifies herself with the maiden. The book she offers is an image of divine love, just as the painted portrait was an image of Alexander. It is a medium of remembrance and desire, pointing beyond itself. But unlike the distant king, this Lord is not far off-His friends dwell in His palace. This foreshadows Porete’s teaching that divine union is possible now, not merely in the afterlife.
8. “It is not true that I am in a strange land and far from the palace where the very noble friends of this Lord dwell…”
This overturns the initial theme of distance. Though God seems far, in reality, the soul-if purified-can dwell where His “noble friends” are. The contemplative, annihilated soul already participates in the divine life. This redefines exile and home: exile is self-will; home is union with God.
9. Author: “Thus we shall tell you how our Lord is not at all freed from Love, but Love is from Him for us…”
This paradoxical statement defends divine Love as God’s own nature. God is not freed from Love because He is Love; Love is not a force apart from Him, but His own self-communication. Thus, what seems poetic is in fact deeply theological: Love originates in God and returns to Him through the soul.
10. “Love can do everything without any misdeed.”
This radical claim sets up one of Porete’s most controversial theses: that divine Love is above law, beyond moral calculation, and cannot sin. This foreshadows the soul’s eventual liberation from the “virtues” as stepping stones-because in pure union, the soul no longer needs intermediaries or effort. This anticipates the trials with ecclesiastical authority she would face.
11. “There are seven stages of noble being, from which a creature receives being…”
Porete introduces the book’s structure: the seven stages of the soul’s spiritual development. This is reminiscent of earlier mystical ladders (e.g., Bernard of Clairvaux’s Ladder of Love), but her version is interior and contemplative, climaxing not in moral perfection but in non-being-the soul’s annihilation in God.
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1. What is the significance of the seven stages of grace in the soul’s journey?
The seven stages represent a spiritual ascent culminating in the soul’s union with God. The final stage is described as divine fruition-a state of complete perfection in which the soul experiences God directly, beyond effort or virtue. It echoes traditional mystical ladders but reorients them toward annihilation of self and immersion in Love.
2. Who is the speaker in this chapter, and why is that significant?
The speaker is personified Love, not the author or a theological figure. This conveys that what follows is not merely human wisdom but a direct expression of divine Love. It emphasizes the book’s authority as coming from God’s own love communicated to the soul.
3. What kinds of readers are invited to listen to Love’s teaching, and what is required of them?
Love addresses the actives, contemplatives, and especially those annihilated by true love. These are souls at different stages of the spiritual path, culminating in the one who has lost all self-will in God. Love insists that readers must listen with a subtle intellect and great diligence, suggesting that this teaching is spiritually demanding and cannot be grasped by superficial understanding.
4. What is the purpose of the exemplum (story of the maiden and Alexander)?
The exemplum illustrates the soul’s yearning for God through the allegory of a maiden who falls in love with a distant, noble king. It reflects how the soul is drawn to God by hearing of His greatness, suffers in His absence, and finds comfort through remembrance. It reveals that longing and love precede possession, and that even symbols (like the painted image or this book) can mediate divine presence.
5. What does the soul mean when she says, “He gave me this book”?
The book is described as a gift from God, given to the soul as a means of remembering and loving Him. Like the painted image in the exemplum, it represents God’s love and communicates His presence in a mediated form. It affirms that the text is not a personal composition but a spiritual instrument given by grace.
6. How does Porete challenge the notion that God is far away?
While the soul at first seems to be far from God, she later affirms that she is not in a strange land, but close to the divine “palace” where the friends of God dwell. This reflects her key teaching: that union with God is possible here and now, not just in the afterlife. The sense of distance is due to the soul’s immaturity, not God’s absence.
7. What theological claim does the author make about Love and God?
The text boldly asserts that “our Lord is not freed from Love, but Love is from Him for us,” and “Love can do everything without any misdeed.” This establishes that God is Love, and true love, being from God, is incapable of sin. It sets up the controversial idea that when the soul is fully united to Love, she is beyond moral law-not lawless, but consumed by divine spontaneity.
8. How does this prologue set the tone for the rest of the book?
It establishes a mystical and paradoxical tone, blending humility with bold spiritual claims. It invites the reader into a deep journey marked not by striving but by annihilation, not by theology alone but by divine encounter. It warns that only the “subtle intellect” will understand and that what follows will challenge conventional spiritual thinking.
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Chapter 2 presents Love’s purpose for the book: it is a gift made especially for the “little ones” of Holy Church to help them grow in worthiness toward the perfection of life and the peace attainable through perfect charity. This charity is a divine gift from the entire Trinity. The book will unfold this gift through the enlightened intellect of Love and in dialogue with Reason, guiding the soul toward its highest spiritual fulfillment.
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1. “As for you little ones of Holy Church, says Love, I have made this book for you…”
Love, the personified speaker in the text, addresses the “little ones of Holy Church,” referring to those who are humble, simple, and perhaps spiritually immature, but willing to be formed. The phrase “little ones” recalls Christ’s teaching about the childlike heart necessary for receiving the kingdom of God. This sets a tone of humility and receptivity, suggesting that the book is a guide for those who are open to learning and growing in love.
2. “I have made this book for you, so that you might hear in order to be more worthy of the perfection of life and the being of peace…”
Love reveals her purpose in the creation of the book: to help the soul become more “worthy” of perfection of life and peace. These are two key goals of spiritual life: perfection representing the fulfillment of the soul’s union with God and peace symbolizing the inner tranquility that comes from such a union. The book serves not just as instruction but as an invitation to deeper holiness and communion with God. The idea of being “worthy” here does not refer to merit in the conventional sense but to readiness or openness to receive divine grace.
3. “To which the creature is able to arrive through the virtue of perfect charity, the gift given by the whole Trinity…”
This statement connects the soul’s journey to charity, which is both a theological virtue and a gift from the Trinity. Perfect charity (love) is the highest form of love, transcending self-interest and focused on the love of God and neighbor. The book’s purpose is to help the reader reach this highest state of love, which is the ultimate means of attaining both perfection and peace. By attributing this gift to the whole Trinity, Porete emphasizes the divine initiative in the soul’s journey; it is not by human effort alone, but by the outpouring of God’s love that the soul progresses.
4. “You will hear explained in this book through the Intellect of Love and following the questions of Reason.”
This phrase is rich in mystical and intellectual depth. Love promises that the book will be understood through the Intellect of Love, which suggests a wisdom that transcends mere rationality. Love is the source of understanding, and the intellect guided by love leads to a deeper, more transformative comprehension of the divine. The phrase “following the questions of Reason” suggests a dialogue between reason and love, implying that human intellect and faith must work together. However, the Intellect of Love leads, guiding the reader toward a deeper, experiential understanding of truth, while reason serves as a supporting framework. This duality hints at the mystical balance Porete often emphasizes between mind and heart in the soul’s union with God.
Analysis:
In this chapter, Love lays the foundation for the entire book’s purpose: the spiritual formation of the reader, particularly those who are humble and open. This chapter reaffirms that the mystical path being outlined in the book is for those who seek perfection in life and peace, attainable through charity, which is a divine gift. Porete distinguishes between human effort and divine grace in the spiritual journey, making clear that while the soul must respond to God’s initiative, the ultimate perfection is a gift from the Trinity.
Additionally, Porete places importance on reason and intellect being subordinated to love and faith. The “Intellect of Love” suggests that true understanding of divine matters requires an affective engagement with God. This allows us to understand that mystical insight is more than intellectual assent-it involves spiritual awakening and love’s transformative power. Thus, the book promises to guide the reader into this more profound union with God through both reason and love, blending intellect with divine experience.
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1. Who is the intended audience of the book, and why is this important?
The book is intended for the “little ones of Holy Church”-those who are humble, receptive, and spiritually open. This is important because the book’s teachings are not for the intellectually proud or self-sufficient; it is for those who are willing to be formed and purified by divine love. Humility and openness are essential for receiving the deep spiritual truths Porete presents.
2. What is the central gift that the book aims to lead the reader toward?
The central gift the book aims to lead the reader toward is perfect charity-a love that is pure and selfless, given by the Trinity. This perfect love enables the soul to achieve both perfection and peace, which are the ultimate goals of the spiritual journey. The book reveals how this gift works in the soul, leading to transformation and union with God.
3. What role does reason play in understanding the teachings of this book?
Reason is an important partner in the spiritual journey, but it must be guided by love. While reason can frame and support the intellectual understanding of spiritual matters, it is the Intellect of Love that reveals the deepest truths. The soul must balance reason and love, allowing the heart to lead the intellect towards mystical understanding, rather than relying solely on rational analysis.
4. How does this chapter highlight the relationship between grace and human effort?
This chapter emphasizes that while the soul must engage in the spiritual journey, the ultimate source of perfection and peace is the grace of God. Perfect charity, the love that brings the soul to union with God, is a divine gift that originates in the Trinity. Human effort, symbolized by the pursuit of humility and receptivity, is necessary, but it is always in response to the grace of God that leads the soul toward perfection.
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Chapter 3 emphasizes that the foundation of spiritual life begins with obeying the commandments of Holy Church, which call us to love God fully-with heart, soul, and strength-while also loving ourselves rightly and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Love explains each aspect of the commandment in practical terms: keeping our thoughts on God, speaking truthfully, working purely for His sake, and aligning our will to His rather than seeking personal gain. These are essential for salvation, not optional. The example of the rich young man illustrates that while following the commandments is necessary, perfection lies beyond them-in renouncing all and living in total charity, which is the fullness of the virtuous life.
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1. “Therefore we shall begin, says Love, with the commandments of the Holy Church, so that each might be able to take his nourishment in this book with the aid of God…”
The commandments of the Holy Church are presented as foundational for understanding the teachings of the book. By beginning with them, the author emphasizes the importance of obedience to divine law and the necessity of God’s grace to understand the deeper spiritual truths being conveyed. The notion of “nourishment” suggests that the commandments are not just rules to follow but a means of spiritual sustenance that prepare the soul for the journey of transformation. The idea that the reader needs “the aid of God” underlines that spiritual growth is not only a matter of personal effort but also depends on God’s continual assistance.
2. “God… commands that we love Him with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength; and ourselves as we ought, and our neighbors as ourselves.”
This is a reference to the Great Commandment as outlined in the Gospels (Matthew 22:37-39). The commandment to love God fully and our neighbors as ourselves is central to the Christian life. Porete expands on this by breaking it down into specific actions that demonstrate love in its fullness: the love of God, self, and neighbor. Each form of love is connected to a distinct aspect of the human being: heart (emotion and thought), soul (truth and integrity), and strength (action and work). This multifaceted love is not simply an abstract sentiment but involves every part of one’s being and every action. The love of self is also important, but it must be oriented correctly, not for personal gain but in alignment with God’s perfect will.
3. “First, that we love Him with all our heart: that means that our thoughts should be always truly in Him.”
Loving God with all our heart emphasizes the centrality of thought and intention in the Christian life. The heart, often seen as the seat of affection and intention, must be wholly focused on God. This means that the mind and emotions should always be directed toward God, even in ordinary life. This form of love entails continual mindfulness of God, striving to maintain an inner disposition of reverence, gratitude, and awe toward Him.
4. “And with all our soul: that means that until death we do not speak but the truth.”
The soul is considered the essence of the person, and loving God with one’s soul involves a commitment to truthfulness and integrity. Truth-telling is a profound act of love, as it aligns the person with God’s own truth. The phrase “until death” suggests that this commitment to truth is a lifelong journey, indicating the perseverance required to maintain fidelity to God’s will through every stage of life. Living truthfully is not merely a matter of words but a deep alignment of the inner and outer person.
5. “And with all our strength: that is, that we accomplish all our works purely for Him.”
Loving God with all our strength calls for action and service. It is not enough to love God in thought or word; this love must be demonstrated through our works. The emphasis here is on purity-acting not for personal gain or glory but solely for God’s honor and the advancement of His kingdom. The love of God is made visible in the labor and effort we put forth in our daily lives, as an expression of our total surrender to His will.
6. “And ourselves as we ought: that means that in doing this we do not give attention to our gain but the perfect will of God.”
Porete highlights the importance of self-love in the proper sense: to love ourselves is to seek the will of God rather than selfish desires. This challenges any inclination toward selfishness or self-centeredness. True love of self is in alignment with God’s will, and in this context, it leads to the transformation of the soul to be more fully like Christ. This concept of self-love is key to spiritual maturity, as it involves detaching from worldly desires and focusing on what God intends for us.
7. “And our neighbors as ourselves: that is, that we neither do, nor think, nor speak toward our neighbors anything we would not wish they do toward us.”
This section reiterates the Golden Rule: to love others as we love ourselves. This commandment is grounded in the concept of mutual respect and empathy. Loving others involves a total commitment to their well-being, not just in actions but in thoughts and speech. It challenges the soul to go beyond superficial interactions and cultivate a deep love that desires the good of others even in the unseen realms of thought and intention. This is a call to spiritual purity in all aspects of relating to others.
8. “These commands are of necessity for salvation for all: nobody can have grace with a lesser way.”
Porete affirms that these commandments are not merely ideals but essential prerequisites for salvation. There is no shortcut to grace or spiritual perfection-one cannot receive God’s grace apart from following these fundamental commandments. These directives serve as the foundation upon which the soul’s journey toward union with God is built. They ensure that the path of love and purity is maintained in every area of life, which is necessary for salvation.
9. “Note here the example of the rich young man who said to Jesus Christ that he had kept these since infancy, and Jesus Christ said to him: ‘One thing is necessary for you to do, if you want to be perfect…'”
The story of the rich young man serves as a cautionary example of how even the outward observance of the commandments is not enough for spiritual perfection. The young man had followed the commandments but was still attached to his wealth, which was hindering his ability to fully follow Christ. Jesus’ call to sell all he had and give to the poor demonstrates that true perfection requires not just obedience to the commandments but also detachment from worldly attachments. Perfection in love involves an absolute surrender to Christ and an openness to give up everything for Him.
Analysis:
In this chapter, Porete presents the Great Commandment as the central principle of Christian life, emphasizing the necessity of loving God, self, and neighbor in fullness. Each aspect of love is described in detail, showing how it must permeate the inner thoughts, actions, and relationships of the soul. Porete’s focus is on purity of intention-loving God with the heart, soul, and strength, and loving others as ourselves in a way that mirrors God’s love.
The chapter also challenges the reader to recognize that true perfection is not simply a matter of external obedience but involves an interior transformation that calls for detachment from selfish desires, as seen in the example of the rich young man. The ultimate message is that perfect charity, grounded in these commandments, is essential for salvation, and no one can attain grace apart from this full commitment to love.
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1. What is the significance of the commandments of the Holy Church in this chapter?
The commandments of the Holy Church are presented as the foundational requirements for salvation and spiritual perfection. They are not just rules to follow but a pathway to union with God, grounding the soul in love for God, self, and neighbor. These commandments form the structure for the soul’s journey of transformation and ultimate perfection.
2. How does the chapter define “loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength”?
Loving God with all our heart means focusing our thoughts and emotions on God. Loving Him with all our soul means living truthfully and aligning our lives with His will. Loving God with all our strength refers to performing all our actions purely for God, without self-interest, and as an expression of our total devotion to Him.
3. What does Porete say about the importance of loving our neighbors as ourselves?
Loving our neighbors as ourselves means treating others with the same respect, care, and kindness we desire for ourselves. It involves not just actions but also thoughts and words, ensuring that our interactions are rooted in empathy and charity. This commandment extends to all areas of life, fostering a spirit of mutual respect and selflessness in our relationships.
4. What is the lesson from the story of the rich young man?
The story of the rich young man teaches that external adherence to commandments is not enough for spiritual perfection. True perfection involves an interior detachment from worldly attachments, such as wealth. The young man’s inability to give up his possessions shows that true love and commitment to Christ require a willingness to surrender everything for His sake, and this is essential for perfect charity.
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Chapter 4 presents Charity as a sovereign virtue entirely governed by Love, detached from all self-interest and earthly considerations. Charity neither claims ownership nor seeks repayment, but selflessly attends to others’ needs, giving freely without fear, shame, or anxiety. She lives with a radical disregard for worldly value, treating all as refuse in light of divine love. Her generosity is boundless-even promising beyond her means-trusting that the more she gives, the more she will receive. Charity’s wisdom lies in her ability to profit spiritually where others lose, transcending all entanglements. To live in perfect charity, one must be mortified in spiritual affections, allowing the work of charity to transform the soul completely.
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1. “Charity obeys no created thing except Love.”
In this opening statement, Charity is depicted as the supreme virtue that answers only to Love, which is understood here as the highest divine force or God Himself. This suggests that charity is not governed by any worldly authority, desire, or rule; it is aligned directly with the will of God, which is perfect Love. Charity’s obedience to Love places it outside of the influence of selfish motives or external pressures. Charity becomes a reflection of God’s pure will in the world, serving as an ultimate model for human behavior.
2. “Charity possesses nothing of her own, and should she possess something she does not say that it belongs to her.”
Here, Charity is described as self-emptying and detached from personal ownership. The implication is that true charity does not cling to possessions or material wealth, as these are not the focus of its existence. Rather, charity’s purpose is to serve others and give away what is of value, without claiming ownership. This reflects the spirit of poverty-a radical detachment from earthly possessions in favor of a greater attachment to God and others. The point is that charity operates out of generosity, not selfish accumulation.
3. “Charity abandons her own need and attends to that of others.”
Charity is portrayed as a self-sacrificial virtue, putting the needs of others above its own. This is a reflection of the Christ-like love that abandons personal desires and focuses entirely on serving the needs of others. By “abandoning her own need,” charity transcends self-interest and is concerned solely with the well-being of those in need. This is a powerful expression of selflessness and altruism, emphasizing that charity is not motivated by personal gain or satisfaction, but by a desire to serve.
4. “Charity asks no payment from any creature for some good or pleasure that she has accomplished.”
True charity is disinterested in reciprocity or reward. It is given freely without any expectation of receiving something in return, be it material compensation or personal gratification. This shows the purity of charity, which is not motivated by any form of transaction or exchange. Charity’s only reward is the fulfillment of God’s will and the benefit of the other person, not personal benefit. This underscores the unconditional nature of divine love, which seeks the good of others without a thought for self.
5. “Charity has no shame, nor fear, nor anxiety. She is so upright that she cannot bow on account of anything that might happen to her.”
Here, charity is described as being free from the limitations that often accompany human existence, such as shame, fear, and anxiety. These emotions are often tied to self-consciousness and concern for one’s own reputation or future. However, charity operates from a place of freedom, remaining steadfast and upright, regardless of the external circumstances. The lack of fear or anxiety indicates that charity is grounded in the peace and security that come from total trust in God, not in the approval of others or the outcome of one’s actions.
6. “Charity neither makes nor takes account of anything under the sun, for the whole world is only refuse and leftovers.”
This line presents a radical detachment from the world and its values. Charity does not measure its actions or rewards based on earthly standards of success, wealth, or status. The phrase “the whole world is only refuse and leftovers” suggests that worldly possessions and achievements are of little value compared to the eternal goods of charity, which focus on the spiritual well-being of others. This points to the transcendent nature of charity-its focus is on heavenly things, not earthly rewards.
7. “Charity gives to all what she possesses of worth, without retaining anything for herself, and with this she often promises what she does not possess through her great largesse, in the hope that the more she gives the more remains in her.”
Charity’s giving is depicted as generous, to the point of promising what it does not have. This reflects a bold trust in divine provision. The idea that “the more she gives, the more remains in her” echoes the paradoxical nature of spiritual generosity. In the kingdom of God, the act of giving does not diminish but multiplies. Charity’s act of giving is a manifestation of divine love, which is infinite and can never be exhausted. The emphasis here is on the abundance of God’s love and how it continually replenishes the heart that seeks to give to others.
8. “Charity is such a wise merchant that she earns profits everywhere where others lose, and she escapes the bonds that bind others and thus she has great multiplicity of what pleases Love.”
This statement emphasizes the wisdom and fruitfulness of charity. Charity, as a “wise merchant,” operates in a way that appears paradoxical to worldly standards: while others may lose or fail in their efforts, charity’s giving results in spiritual profit. This suggests that spiritual rewards are not always visible in worldly terms, but charity’s actions result in a greater abundance of grace and divine favor. Moreover, charity “escapes the bonds” that bind others, pointing to the freedom that comes with living out this virtue. The multiplicity of what pleases Love indicates that charity not only pleases God but also leads to a bountiful spiritual life.
9. “And note that the one who would have perfect charity must be mortified in the affections of the life of the spirit through the work of charity.”
Perfection in charity requires a mortification of the affections-a deep purification of the soul’s attachments and desires. To embody perfect charity, one must undergo a spiritual purification, which often involves sacrifice and self-denial. Mortification is not about suppressing love but about aligning the soul with God’s perfect will, removing any selfish attachments that might hinder the free flow of divine charity. This is the work of charity itself: to purify the soul so that it can more fully reflect God’s love.
Analysis:
In this chapter, charity is presented as the most noble virtue, defined by radical selflessness and detachment from the world. It is freely given, unconditionally, and without any expectation of return. Charity’s ultimate purpose is to serve others and fulfill God’s will, rather than seeking self-gratification or earthly rewards. The paradoxes of charity-giving without possessing, promising without holding, and profiting where others fail-show the transformative power of divine love.
Charity’s true power lies in its ability to give freely and abundantly, with the trust that God will replenish the soul with all it needs. This chapter calls the reader to a life of radical generosity, trust in divine providence, and purification through mortification, demonstrating that the highest form of love is one that gives without holding back.
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1. How is Charity defined in this chapter?
Charity is defined as the highest virtue, characterized by selflessness, detachment from personal gain, and a radical commitment to serving others without seeking any reward or recognition. Charity obeys only Love (God), giving freely and abundantly to others, trusting that God will provide all that is necessary for the soul’s fulfillment.
2. What is the significance of Charity “possessing nothing of her own”?
This highlights charity’s detachment from material possessions and personal gain. Charity gives freely and does not claim ownership of anything, showing that true generosity comes from a place of poverty of spirit. The virtue of charity is not concerned with accumulating wealth or power but with serving others out of love for God.
3. How does Charity reflect the paradox of giving more and receiving more?
Charity’s giving is paradoxical in that the more it gives, the more it receives, not in material terms, but in spiritual abundance. This reflects the eternal truth that in the kingdom of God, generosity never depletes but instead leads to greater spiritual rewards. Charity’s trust in God’s provision allows it to give without fear of running out, confident that divine love replenishes all that is given.
4. What is required to have perfect charity, according to the final line of the chapter?
To have perfect charity, one must undergo mortification of the soul’s attachments and desires. This involves a spiritual purification that allows the person to give freely, without any selfish motivations or attachments, aligning their will fully with God’s. The work of charity itself purifies the soul and leads to perfect love.
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Chapter 5 presents the life of the soul in the “peace of charity” as a state of total annihilation of self, where the soul no longer acts, wills, or learns according to natural faculties, but is wholly immersed in divine Love. This soul, likened to the Seraphim with six wings, seeks no mediation between itself and God, desiring only direct union. Her understanding, will, and being are surrendered entirely to God, whom she loves and praises without measure. Her knowledge of divine goodness and Christ’s Passion only deepens her awareness of their incomprehensibility. With the wings of contemplative insight and divine rest, she flies to the heights of union, abiding in God’s presence without fear, for she lives within the divine will. This soul fears nothing, not even the torments of the world, because God-omnipresent, omnipotent, and all-loving-dwells in her as Father, Brother, and Spouse.
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1. “Thus there is another life, which we call the peace of charity in the annihilated life.”
Porete introduces a distinct form of mystical life-a state of interior stillness called the peace of charity, experienced by the soul that has been completely annihilated (emptied of self). This phrase draws on the mystical tradition of annihilation found in Ruysbroeck, Eckhart, and the Cloud of Unknowing, where the soul surrenders all self-will, identity, and striving.
2. “A Soul… who is saved by faith without works… who is only in love… who does nothing for God… who leaves nothing to do for God… to whom nothing can be taught… from whom nothing can be taken nor given… and who possesses no will.”
Here, Love lists paradoxes that define the annihilated soul. She is saved not by actions but by a state of being-in love. She acts not for God, but in union with Him; thus, her “doing” dissolves. Teaching or giving presupposes separation, which no longer applies. Even the will-normally central in spiritual effort-is absent. This echoes a radical passivity: the soul is not inert, but wholly permeable to divine action.
3. “Alas, says Love, who will give to this Soul what is lacking to her, for it was not ever given, is not now given, nor will be?”
Love mourns the ungraspable mystery of this soul’s perfection. Nothing can be added to or given to this soul-she lives in a divine plenitude that defies acquisition. The lament expresses the paradox of this soul’s poverty and sufficiency: she lacks nothing, yet receives nothing.
4. “This Soul, says Love, has six wings like the Seraphim.”
The soul is likened to a Seraph, the highest choir of angels whose sole function is loving adoration. The comparison affirms the soul’s pure love and immediate union with God, bypassing all mediation. This sets the stage for an allegorical reading of Isaiah’s Seraphim (Isaiah 6:2).
5. “She no longer wants anything which comes by a mediary… for she does not seek divine knowledge among the masters of this age, but in truly despising the world and herself.”
This soul seeks no external instruction or spiritual nourishment through human channels. Instead, knowledge arises from inward detachment-a total renunciation of worldly esteem and self-regard. Porete’s emphasis on despising herself is not morbid but signals mystical poverty: the ego must vanish to make room for God.
6. “Great God, how great a difference there is between a gift from a lover to a beloved through a mediary and a gift that is between lovers without a mediary!”
This exclamation captures the soul’s longing for immediacy with God. Divine union, like the love between two who share intimacy without intermediaries, is qualitatively superior to mediated grace. The heart of mystical life is this directness: God alone giving Himself to the soul, and the soul receiving without anything in between.
7. “With two wings she covers her face from Jesus Christ our Lord…”
Covering the face symbolizes reverence and unknowing. The soul perceives divine goodness but understands that all comprehension pales beside the reality of God. It is an image of luminous ignorance: to see is to see that one cannot see.
8. “With two other wings she covers her feet…”
Covering the feet signifies humility before Christ’s Passion. The deeper the soul’s insight into Christ’s suffering, the more she realizes its incomprehensibility. The Passion is not merely an event to reflect on-it is a divine act only God can truly know.
9. “With the two others the Soul flies, and dwells in being and rest.”
The final pair of wings enable flight-a metaphor for ecstatic ascent. But the soul does not fly to do or to become-she dwells in being and rests in the divine will. Being and rest are not passive, but the fulfillment of love: stillness in the heart of God.
10. “She cannot fear anything if God dwells in her…”
Fear vanishes in divine indwelling. Even the most terrible natural evils-torment, beasts, elemental forces-cannot touch her peace. Her immunity does not come from strength, but from complete surrender to God who is everywhere present, omniscient, omnipotent.
11. “He is our Father, our Brother and our Loyal Lover… and as such, says this Soul, He is the Lover of our souls.”
Porete concludes with a profoundly tender theology. God is not only transcendent but intimately relational: Father, Brother, and Lover. The soul that lives in annihilated peace knows Him not as a concept but as the One who loves her personally and without end.
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1. What is meant by “the peace of charity in the annihilated life”?
It refers to a state of deep interior stillness where the soul lives entirely in love (charity) and has been stripped of all ego, self-will, and personal initiative (annihilation). In this state, the soul is fully surrendered to God and rests in divine union, no longer acting but being acted upon.
2. Why does Love present a list of paradoxical traits (e.g., a soul who “does nothing for God”)?
These paradoxes express the soul’s complete absorption into divine will. She acts not for God as if separate, but from within God’s own activity. Doing, willing, learning, and even giving or receiving all presuppose duality-yet this soul exists in radical union where duality has vanished.
3. What does it mean that this soul can neither be taught nor given anything?
It means she has reached a state where external forms of knowledge and spiritual effort are no longer needed. She lives in a kind of divine immediacy-knowing through love, receiving through pure being-beyond the help of intermediaries like teachers or spiritual exercises.
4. Why is this soul likened to a Seraph with six wings?
The Seraphim are the highest choir of angels, known for their pure, fiery love of God. The image suggests that the soul has entered into this angelic mode of existence, consumed by love, reverent in mystery, and lifted into divine stillness and flight.
5. What do the six wings symbolize?
Two wings cover her face: Humble reverence before God’s goodness, acknowledging her unknowing.
Two cover her feet: Humility before Christ’s Passion, recognizing her inability to grasp its full mystery.
Two wings allow flight: The soul ascends into rest and being-symbolizing union with God and perfect repose in His will.
6. What is the role of ‘no mediation’ in this chapter?
Porete emphasizes that the highest union with God occurs without a mediary. This means the soul receives love, knowledge, and divine presence directly from God-not through saints, sacraments, or even Christ in His humanity, but from God as God in Himself. This is the mystical ideal of immediacy.
7. Why is there no fear in this annihilated soul?
Because God dwells fully within her. She is united to omnipotent, omniscient, all-good Love. Nothing external can threaten or disturb her because she no longer lives from her ego or in relation to the world-she lives entirely from God’s presence and sees everything from His eternal perspective.
8. What does the final description of God as Father, Brother, and Lover reveal about Porete’s mystical theology?
It reveals her deeply intimate and affective understanding of God. God is not abstract or distant, but personally close-related to the soul through familial and spousal bonds. This threefold title points to a total and tender union, encompassing authority, solidarity, and mutual desire.
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Chapter 6 teaches that the Soul, having been transformed and liberated by divine Love, enters into such a profound state of rest and freedom in the peace of charity that she no longer serves the Virtues in the way she once did. Previously, she had submitted herself entirely to the Virtues, even to the point of torment and servitude. But now, exalted by the courtliness of Love, she takes leave of them-not in contempt, but in transcendence-declaring her freedom from their former dominion. The Soul’s journey through the purifying demands of virtue was necessary, but now she has been drawn into a higher state beyond the labor of moral striving: a state of spiritual liberty, divine intimacy, and peaceful repose in God.
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1. “This Soul by such love, says Love herself, can say to the Virtues that for a long time and for many days she has been in their service.”
Love introduces the Soul’s claim, affirming that she has lived under the governance of the Virtues for a long time. This sets up the chapter’s primary movement: the Soul’s progression from moral effort to spiritual freedom. The “such love” is a transformative, divine love that has altered her relationship to virtue itself.
2. “I confess it to you, Lady Love, says this Soul, there was a time when I belonged to them, but now it is another time. Your courtliness has placed me outside their service.”
The Soul speaks with deep self-awareness, recognizing her past devotion to the Virtues. Yet she now claims to have been lifted by Love beyond their governance. This introduces Porete’s radical theme: that divine Love can draw the soul beyond the active practice of virtues-not in contempt of them, but by transcending them. “Courtliness” here evokes both feudal and courtly love imagery-Love is a noble sovereign who lifts the Soul into divine intimacy.
3. “Virtues, I take my leave of you forever,
I will possess a heart most free and gay;
Your service is too constant, you know well.”
The Soul’s farewell to the Virtues is total and irreversible (“forever”). She now enjoys an inner freedom and joy (“free and gay”) that comes not from striving but from resting in God. This is the fruit of spiritual annihilation-freedom from the tyranny even of goodness as duty. The constant demand of the Virtues is burdensome: even virtuous striving can become an obstacle if it binds the Soul to a self-conscious effort instead of allowing her to lose herself in God.
4. “Once I placed my heart in you, retaining nothing;
You know that I was to you totally abandoned;
I was once a slave to you, but now am delivered from it.”
The Soul acknowledges a period of total surrender to the Virtues. However, she now views that past stage as slavery. The “deliverance” marks a mystical breakthrough-Porete describes a passage from labor to spiritual spontaneity, where love, not effort, governs the Soul’s actions.
5. “Thus I lived a while in great distress,
I suffered in many grave torments, many pains endured.
Miracle it is that I have somehow escaped alive.”
The path of moral striving is depicted as spiritually painful and exhausting. Porete does not romanticize the ascetical life; instead, she portrays it as a necessary crucible that must eventually be transcended. The Soul’s “escape” is likened to a miraculous release and hints at a mystical death and rebirth: she has died to the self that labored and been reborn into a self that rests.
6. “This being so, I no longer care: I am parted from you,
For which I thank God on high; good for me this day.
I am parted from your dominations, which so vexed me.”
This gratitude signals joy and relief. The “dominations” of the Virtues are seen as tyrannies once necessary, now outgrown. The Soul’s language is daring-speaking of the Virtues as oppressive-not because they are bad, but because they belong to a lower state now transcended.
7. “I was never more free, except as departed from you.
I am parted from your dominations, in peace I rest.”
Now free from the “dominations” of the Virtues, the Soul enjoys peace-a central theme in Porete’s mystical teaching. Peace here is not the fruit of virtue but of divine union. The Soul abides in God alone, not in the order of created things, even virtuous ones.
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1. What does the Soul confess to Love at the beginning of the chapter?
The Soul acknowledges that she once belonged to the Virtues and served them faithfully, but that time has passed. Through Love’s “courtliness,” she has been lifted out of their service into a higher state.
2. Why does the Soul say she is taking leave of the Virtues?
The Soul claims that their service, though once fully embraced, has become too constant and burdensome. She now possesses a “heart most free and gay,” no longer bound by the obligations of virtue because she has entered into the freedom of divine Love.
3. How does the Soul describe her past relationship with the Virtues?
She describes it as one of complete self-giving, even calling herself their slave. Though it involved deep devotion, she also recalls great distress, torment, and pain. Her spiritual journey through the virtues was difficult and demanding.
4. What is the tone of the Soul’s farewell to the Virtues, and what does it signify?
The tone is both thankful and relieved. She is grateful to God for her deliverance and expresses peace in her separation. This signifies her transition from the active life of effort to the contemplative rest of being-in-God through Love.
5. What does the Soul mean when she says, “I was never more free, except as departed from you”?
This statement reflects the mystical paradox of Marguerite’s teaching: true spiritual freedom is found not in the struggle to do good, but in the soul’s surrender to divine Love. Only in leaving behind the governance of the Virtues does the soul experience complete inner freedom and rest.
6. How does this chapter relate to the theme of “annihilation” in Marguerite’s mysticism?
It illustrates the Soul’s annihilation of self-will and even of moral striving. By no longer living through the effort of virtue but by divine Love alone, the Soul is emptied (annihilated) of self and rests in the pure being of God.
7. Is Marguerite Porete rejecting the Virtues altogether in this chapter?
Not exactly. She does not reject the Virtues as evil, but presents them as a necessary but lower stage on the spiritual path. The Soul must pass through them, but ultimately transcends them when she is united with Love in total freedom and peace.
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Chapter 7 teaches that the Soul who has reached the heights of divine union through Love has been so thoroughly emptied of self-of her own intellect, will, and desires-that she is now moved entirely by the will of God within her. In this state of annihilation, she is untouched by external conditions or inner agitation; honor and shame, wealth and poverty, fear and longing no longer affect her. She has become so receptive to divine action that even her capacity to speak meaningfully of God dissolves, for she no longer experiences God through concepts or affections but is instead possessed by Love itself. Her actions conform to the Church’s commandments, but without personal desire or volition-because her will is absorbed into God’s. This is not a void, but a fullness: in having nothing of her own, she possesses all in God.
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1. “This Soul, says Love, takes account of neither shame nor honor, of neither poverty nor wealth, of neither anxiety nor ease, of neither love nor hate, of neither hell nor of paradise.”
The Soul has transcended all dualities and opposites of worldly and spiritual life. She neither fears hell nor desires paradise, neither seeks honor nor flees shame. This radical detachment signals her complete annihilation and surrender to God, no longer moved by reward, punishment, or emotion. It’s the state of absolute inner freedom and divine indifference-a hallmark of the noble soul.
2. “Ah, for God’s sake, Love, says Reason, what does this mean, what you have said?”
Reason is again bewildered by the paradoxes of divine love. Porete stages Reason as the voice of conventional theology and moral logic, unable to grasp the mystical states Love reveals. This question reflects how the path of annihilation challenges rational and doctrinal boundaries.
3. “What does this mean? says Love. Certainly the one knows this, and no other, to whom God has given the intellect-for Scripture does not teach it, nor the human mind comprehend it, nor does creaturely work deserve to grasp it or comprehend it.”
Love responds by declaring that this knowledge is a gift-infused, not acquired. It transcends Scripture, intellect, and works. This reiterates Porete’s emphasis on divine illumination: the soul who knows these truths is not self-taught, nor even scripturally taught, but God-taught in a way beyond human merit or understanding.
4. “Thus this gift is given from the most High, into whom this creature is carried by the fertility of understanding, and nothing remains in her own intellect.”
The Soul is carried into God by a superabundant, fertile divine knowledge that displaces her own. Her intellect is emptied to receive divine fullness. This “fertility” contrasts with sterile rationalism-it is a fecundity of unknowing that overflows with God’s wisdom.
5. “And this Soul, who has become nothing, thus possesses everything, and so possesses nothing; she wills everything and she wills nothing; she knows all and she knows nothing.”
A cluster of holy paradoxes. In her nothingness, she paradoxically “possesses everything”-because she is one with God who is All. But she also “possesses nothing,” because self-possession has been lost. The same applies to will and knowledge. These antitheses echo apophatic mysticism, where the soul transcends all finite categories in union with God.
6. “And how can it be, Lady Love, says Reason, that this Soul can will what this book says, when before it said that she had no more will?”
Reason again raises a logical contradiction: if the Soul has no will, how can she now be said to will anything at all? The question illustrates the limits of discursive reason in the face of mystical union, where language stretches and breaks.
7. “It is no longer her will which wills, but now the will of God wills in her; for this Soul dwells not in love which causes her to will this through desiring something. Instead, Love dwells in her who seized her will, and Love accomplishes Love’s will in her.”
Love clarifies: the Soul’s will is now entirely God’s. She no longer wills by way of desire or intention. Rather, Love itself dwells and acts in her. This is the essence of mystical passivity or non-action: her will has been seized by Love, and now God acts within her without resistance.
8. “Thus Love works in her without her, which is why no anxiety can remain in her.”
Love’s activity in the Soul is not mediated by the Soul’s effort. This “without her” expresses a profound passivity-an infused activity of God alone. As a result, anxiety vanishes, since there is no striving left. Her peace is absolute because all self-originated desire and will have died.
9. “This Soul, says Love, no longer knows how to speak about God, for she is annihilated from all her external desires and interior sentiments, from all affection of spirit;”
Speech about God requires a distance between subject and object. But this Soul has been annihilated from even the spiritual faculties-desire, feeling, affection-so she cannot even speak of God, for there is no longer a “self” to speak. She is not only silent but silenced by Love.
10. “so that what this Soul does she does by practice of good habit according to the commandment of the Holy Church, without any desire, for the will is dead which gave desire to her.”
The Soul still acts externally-she lives according to the Church’s commandments and customs-but her interior is empty of desire or motive. Her will is dead, so even her outward piety is no longer “hers” in the usual sense. This protects Porete from charges of antinomianism: the Soul appears obedient, but her obedience arises not from will but from union.
—
1. Why does the Soul “take account of neither shame nor honor, neither poverty nor wealth” and even neither “hell nor paradise”?
Because she has been emptied of all self-regard and desire. She is no longer moved by external opposites or internal inclinations. Her love of God is so pure that it seeks neither reward nor fears punishment. She lives in total detachment, beyond all created goods and evils, anchored only in God.
2. Why is Reason unable to understand what Love is describing?
Reason is limited to natural knowledge, moral logic, and doctrinal boundaries. But what Love describes is a divine mystery, a gift of God that surpasses Scripture, human comprehension, and any merit-based achievement. Only one who has received this direct illumination from God can understand it.
3. What does Love mean when she says, “this Soul, who has become nothing, thus possesses everything, and so possesses nothing”?
This paradox expresses the mystical state of union with God. By becoming “nothing” (dying to self), the Soul is united with God who is “everything.” She possesses all in God but nothing as her own possession. Her knowledge, will, and being are now God’s, not hers.
4. How does Love answer Reason’s concern about the Soul still willing, even after she was said to have no will?
Love explains that it is not the Soul’s own will that acts now, but the will of God acting in her. Her own will has been seized and emptied by Love. Thus, it is God’s will that wills through her, without desire or self-interest.
5. What does it mean when Love says, “Love works in her without her”?
It means the Soul is so annihilated that even her actions are no longer attributed to her own initiative. Love (God) is the sole actor. She is passive, receptive, and entirely moved by divine will, not by her own decisions or affections.
6. Why can this Soul no longer “speak about God”?
Because speaking about God presumes a subject (the soul) contemplating an object (God). But the Soul has been annihilated-there is no self to speak. She has transcended even spiritual affection and contemplation. Her union is too deep and simple for language.
7. How does the Soul live outwardly if her will and desires are dead?
She continues to live according to the commandments of the Holy Church through the habit of virtue, not out of conscious will or desire. Her external life remains faithful, but her interior is detached from all intention. Obedience becomes a spontaneous fruit of divine indwelling.
8. What is the significance of the Soul having “no anxiety”?
Anxiety arises from self-will, fear, and desire. Since the Soul has none of these-her will is now God’s, her desires are dead-she is perfectly at peace. Nothing can disturb her because nothing moves her but God.
9. What does this chapter reveal about Marguerite Porete’s view of perfection?
Perfection, for Porete, is not moral achievement or spiritual effort, but self-emptying to the point where God alone acts in the soul. It is a state of annihilation, detachment, and divine indwelling where the soul no longer even desires God, but simply is in God.
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Chapter 8 teaches that the Soul, having passed through long servitude under the guidance of Reason and the Virtues, reaches a point of spiritual freedom where she no longer practices the Virtues in their earlier, effortful form. Reason, puzzled and scandalized, fails to grasp this higher state and believes the Soul is deluded for abandoning the very practices that lead to salvation. But Love corrects this misunderstanding: the Soul has not rejected the Virtues but has so fully interiorized and transcended them that they now serve her spontaneously and effortlessly. Formerly, the Virtues demanded constant sacrifice and discipline, often tormenting Nature; now, the Soul is so united with Love that the Virtues follow her will without resistance. This is not a loss of virtue, but a consummation-where the Soul, once a servant, becomes a mistress of the very powers that once ruled her.
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1. Reason: “What a wonder! This Soul no longer has any sentiment of grace, nor desire of spirit, since she has taken leave of the Virtues who offer the manner of living well to every good soul, and without these Virtues none can be saved nor come to perfection of life; and whoever possesses them cannot be deceived. Nevertheless, this Soul takes leave of them. Is she not out of her mind, the Soul who speaks thus?”
Reason is struck by the paradox that the Soul has “taken leave of the Virtues,” which are typically regarded as essential for salvation and perfection. In Reason’s view, abandoning the Virtues seems irrational, as they are seen as the means to live well and reach the perfection of life. This reveals the conflict between the natural order of reason and the divine paradox being described. For Reason, the Virtues represent the foundation of spiritual life, yet the Soul has moved beyond them, raising a question about the nature of true perfection and divine love.
2. Love: “Without a doubt, not at all, for such Souls possess better the Virtues than any other creatures, but they do not possess any longer the practice of them, for these Souls no longer belong to the Virtues as they used to; also they have been servants long enough to become free from now on.”
Love responds by reframing the Soul’s relationship with the Virtues. She explains that the Soul, having once served the Virtues, has transcended the need to practice them in the conventional way. The Soul has become so perfected by Love that she no longer operates in the realm of the Virtues as a servant, but has become free. This freedom does not imply a rejection of the Virtues but a transformation in the Soul’s spiritual state. She no longer practices them because she has become them. This is a radical departure from the standard understanding of moral growth.
3. Reason: “When were they servants?”
Love: “When they lived in the love and the obedience of you, Lady Reason, and also of the other Virtues.”
Love indicates that the Soul was once a servant to Reason and the other Virtues when she was on the path of spiritual growth, obeying their rules and moral commands. This is a necessary stage of spiritual development, where the Soul’s efforts are directed towards living virtuously and according to reason. But once this stage has been perfected, the Soul no longer needs to live in obedience to the Virtues because she is now elevated beyond them.
4. Love: “When Love dwells in them, and the Virtues serve them without any contradiction and without labor by such Souls.”
This marks the critical moment of transformation: when Love (divine Love) takes full possession of the Soul, she transcends the need for the active practice of the Virtues. The Virtues, now perfected within her, become natural to her being. She is no longer bound by the labor of working on individual virtues, because Love itself is now at work in her, perfectly ordering all things.
5. Love: “Such Souls who have become so free have known many days what Dominion knows how to do. And if someone were to ask them about the greatest torment a creature could suffer, they would say that it would be to live in Love and to be still in obedience to the Virtues.”
Love suggests that these Souls have learned the deep mystery of freedom. Their freedom lies in surrendering completely to Love, which paradoxically involves transcending the labor of virtue. The greatest torment, they say, would be to live in Love but still remain bound by the structures of the Virtues. This is a striking contrast: while the Virtues once guided the Soul, they are now surpassed by the full and free expression of divine Love. This expresses a profound mystical experience where the Soul is no longer bound by traditional moral structures but operates entirely in the freedom of Love.
6. Love: “Thus it is that the Virtues demand honor and possessions, heart and body and life. This means that such Souls leave all things, and still the Virtues say to this Soul, who gave all this to them retaining nothing to comfort Nature, they say to her that the just are saved at great pain.”
The Virtues, in their highest form, demand total self-surrender: heart, body, and life. For the Soul to have left all these things behind shows her complete abandonment to divine Love. Even though the Virtues commend the Soul for such sacrifices, they still acknowledge the tremendous pain involved. This reveals a paradox in the mystical journey: the Soul who seeks perfection must undergo suffering, even in the abandonment of the Virtues, as she transcends them.
7. Love: “Such Souls have perfected the Virtues, for such Souls do nothing more for the Virtues. But instead, the Virtues do everything which such Souls wish, without dominating and without contradiction, for such Souls are their mistresses.”
In this final statement, Love reveals the mystical fulfillment of the Soul’s union with God: the Soul no longer works for the Virtues, but the Virtues now work for her. The Soul has become the mistress of the Virtues, not by rejecting them, but by having them perfected in her being. This signifies the Soul’s complete union with God’s will, where the Virtues serve her naturally and without conflict. It marks the ultimate freedom: not the freedom to act on her own, but the freedom to act entirely in accordance with divine love and will.
Summary Commentary:
In this chapter, we see the tension between Reason, which is bound by conventional moral categories, and the deeper mystical insight of Love. While Reason cannot comprehend why the Soul would abandon the Virtues, Love explains that these Souls transcend them by becoming perfected within them. The Soul’s true freedom lies in surrendering to divine Love, beyond the labor of moral striving, and entering into a state where the Virtues no longer demand effort, but naturally flow from the divine indwelling. This reflects a mystical understanding of perfection, where the Soul becomes so united with God that even the highest virtues are no longer required as separate practices but are seamlessly integrated into her being.
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1. Why does Reason think it’s a wonder that the Soul has abandoned the Virtues?
Reason is astonished because the Virtues are typically seen as essential to spiritual growth and salvation. According to Reason, no one can live a good life, be saved, or achieve perfection without practicing the Virtues. The Soul’s departure from the Virtues challenges the conventional understanding that they are necessary for salvation.
2. How does Love respond to Reason’s concern about the Soul abandoning the Virtues?
Love explains that the Soul has not actually abandoned the Virtues but has transcended them. While the Soul once served the Virtues, she has now become so perfected by divine Love that she no longer needs to practice them in the traditional sense. The Soul has achieved freedom, having completed the training that the Virtues offered, and now operates naturally in the fullness of Love.
3. What does Love mean when she says that the Soul has become “free” from the Virtues?
Love means that the Soul has reached a state of spiritual maturity where she no longer needs to follow the strictures of the Virtues as a servant. Instead, she is now able to live perfectly in divine Love, where the Virtues naturally manifest without any effort or conscious practice. The Soul’s freedom is not a rejection of the Virtues, but an elevation beyond the need to struggle with them.
4. What does Love say about the relationship between the Soul and the Virtues after the Soul becomes free?
Love states that once the Soul is free, the Virtues no longer demand anything from her. Instead, the Virtues serve the Soul, carrying out her desires without any contradiction or effort on her part. The Soul has become the mistress of the Virtues, embodying them perfectly, which demonstrates her complete union with divine Love.
5. How does Love describe the greatest torment a creature could suffer, according to the Souls who have reached perfection?
Love says that the greatest torment for these Souls would be to live in Love but still be in obedience to the Virtues. This paradoxical statement reveals that the Souls have transcended the need to practice the Virtues because they now live fully in divine Love. The struggle to align oneself with the Virtues becomes unnecessary once Love has taken full possession of the Soul.
6. What do the Virtues demand from the Soul, and how does the Soul respond?
The Virtues demand everything from the Soul-honor, possessions, heart, body, and life. The Soul willingly gives up all of these, but even after this total surrender, the Virtues acknowledge that the just are saved with great difficulty. Despite the pain involved, the Soul is now so united with divine Love that the sacrifice becomes natural and necessary.
7. What is the significance of the Soul becoming the “mistress” of the Virtues?
Becoming the mistress of the Virtues signifies the Soul’s complete union with divine Love. It means that the Soul no longer practices the Virtues as separate actions but embodies them fully. The Virtues are no longer something she struggles with or works toward; they are seamlessly integrated into her being, and she directs them effortlessly, as they now serve her.
8. How does this chapter challenge traditional views of virtue and spiritual growth?
This chapter challenges the conventional view that the Virtues are the primary means of spiritual growth and salvation. Instead, it presents the idea that true spiritual perfection transcends the active practice of the Virtues, and is found in complete union with divine Love. The Soul no longer needs to strive to be virtuous because Love itself has perfected the Soul, and the Virtues are integrated into her being.
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Chapter 9 teaches that the Soul fully united to Love no longer possesses any personal will or desire-not for purgatory, paradise, or even certainty of salvation-because to desire anything would separate her from the pure freedom of Love. In this annihilated state, the Soul lives only by Understanding, Love, and Praise, with no self-reflection or judgment of her own condition, for she no longer possesses self-consciousness in the usual sense. Her nature, now transformed and ordered by Love, asks for nothing forbidden, and she lives without anxiety except in true necessity. This mysterious state cannot be grasped by Reason, the senses, or conventional religious teachers, but only by those whom “Fine Love” calls and transforms in an instant. Such a Soul, utterly passive and free, becomes a true student of Divine Wisdom, resting in humility, truth, and love-the highest gift God gives to a creature.
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1. [Love]: “Whoever would ask such free Souls, sure and peaceful, if they would want to be in purgatory, they would say no; or if they would want to be certain of their salvation in this life, they would say no; or if they would want to be in paradise, they would say no. But then with what would they will it? They no longer possess any will, and if they would desire anything, they would separate themselves from Love. For the One who possesses their will knows what is their good, and this is their sufficiency without them knowing it and without being assured of it.”
In this passage, Love explains that the Souls who have transcended the need for the Virtues and perfected themselves in divine Love no longer possess a will of their own. They no longer desire anything-whether it be purgatory, certainty of salvation, or paradise-because their will has been wholly absorbed into the will of God. This reflects the idea that true spiritual freedom comes when the individual no longer desires anything for themselves but is completely united with divine will. The phrase “the One who possesses their will knows what is their good” suggests that these Souls trust entirely in God’s wisdom and providence, recognizing that His will is their sufficiency, even if they are not explicitly aware of it.
2. [Love]: “Such Souls, however, live by understanding, by Love, and by praise. This is the habitual practice of such Souls without moving themselves, for Understanding, Love, and Praise dwell in them.”
Love characterizes these Souls as living in a constant state of divine understanding, Love, and praise. This is not a conscious striving or effort on the part of the Soul; rather, it is a state of being in which these qualities are naturally manifested because the Soul has been fully transformed by God. There is no separation between what they do and what they are, as they have become fully aligned with divine virtues, operating without personal effort.
3. [Love]: “Such Souls do not know how to consider themselves good or evil, no longer possessing understanding of themselves, nor knowing how to judge if they are converted or perverted.”
This statement highlights the Soul’s transcendence of self-awareness. These Souls no longer judge themselves based on traditional moral categories of good or evil because they have reached a state of complete unity with divine Love. Their actions and existence are no longer governed by personal judgment or self-assessment; they simply live in divine Love, free from self-consciousness or concern about their own moral standing. This absence of self-judgment shows the depth of their freedom from personal will and ego.
4. [Love]: “To speak more briefly, let us take one Soul as an example, says Love. Such a Soul neither desires nor despises poverty nor tribulation, neither mass nor sermon, neither fast nor prayer, and gives to Nature all that is necessary, without remorse of conscience. But such Nature is so well ordered through the transformation by unity of Love, to whom the will of this Soul is conjoined, that Nature demands nothing which is prohibited. Such a Soul has no anxiety about anything which she lacks, unless it is in the hour of her necessity. And no one can lose this anxiety if he is not innocent.”
In this passage, Love elaborates on the way such Souls behave. They are not concerned with the material conditions of life (poverty, tribulation, rituals like mass or prayer) because their will has been wholly united with God’s will. The Soul’s natural inclinations (Nature) are aligned with divine will, so she desires nothing that would be considered sinful or contrary to God’s law. Their lack of anxiety about their own needs reflects the peace that comes from complete trust in God. Even in moments of necessity, there is no anxiety, as the Soul knows that God will provide. This reinforces the idea that true freedom comes when one has surrendered the will and relies entirely on God’s will.
5. [Reason]: “For the sake of God! says Reason. What are you saying?”
Reason, as is typical throughout the dialogue, expresses confusion or resistance to the idea that the Soul no longer has a will of her own. Reason represents the human intellectual approach, which finds it difficult to comprehend the state of the Soul described by Love. This reaction underscores the challenge of understanding divine union from a human, rational perspective, which operates on categories of self-will and desire.
6. [Love]: “I answer you thus, Reason, says Love. As I said to you before, and again I say it to you, that none of the masters of the natural senses, nor any the masters of Scripture, nor those who remain in the love of the obedience to the Virtues, none perceive this, nor will they perceive what is intended. But of this be certain, Reason, says Love, for no one perceives it except those whom Fine Love’ calls. But if by chance one finds such Souls, they will speak the truth about it, if they wish. And do not think that anyone can understand them, but only those whom Fine Love and Charity call.”
Love responds to Reason by explaining that this state of the Soul is beyond the understanding of human reason, even the highest intellectual and spiritual authorities (those who are masters of senses, Scripture, or the Virtues). Only those whom “Fine Love” (a deep, divine Love) calls will understand this state. This emphasizes the mystical and incomprehensible nature of the Soul’s transformation. It is not something that can be understood through human intellect or religious adherence alone; it is a gift that God bestows upon those whom He chooses.
7. [Love]: “This gift, says Love, is given any time in a moment of an hour, and whoever possesses it guards it, for it is the most perfect gift which God gives to a creature. This Soul is a student of Divinity, and she sits in the valley of Humility and on the plain of Truth, and rests on the mountain of Love.”
Finally, Love describes this gift as the most perfect gift that God can give to a creature: the complete union with divine Love, where the Soul no longer has a will of her own but is fully aligned with God’s will. This gift is fragile and must be carefully guarded. The Soul who receives it becomes a “student of Divinity,” continually growing in humility, truth, and Love. The imagery of the valley of Humility, the plain of Truth, and the mountain of Love highlights the progression of spiritual growth, from humble submission to God to the highest union with divine Love.
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1. Why do these liberated souls refuse to will anything-even salvation, paradise, or purgatory?
Because they no longer possess a personal will; their will is entirely united with God’s. Desiring anything would mean separating from Love. Since Love itself now possesses their will, they are content in a divine sufficiency that operates without their conscious knowledge or assurance.
2. What becomes the daily activity or “practice” of such souls?
Their life becomes a constant state of Understanding, Love, and Praise. These are not external acts they perform, but inward realities that dwell within them. They no longer exert effort to achieve these virtues; they live by them, effortlessly and continually.
3. How do such souls view their own moral state-whether good or evil?
They have no self-knowledge in this regard. They do not judge themselves as good or evil, converted or perverted. Their self-understanding is lost in God, and they no longer reference themselves through moral categories-they are beyond self-reflection.
4. How do these souls relate to religious practices and physical needs?
They neither desire nor despise spiritual practices (e.g., Mass, fasting, prayer), nor do they feel compelled by them. They give their body what it needs without guilt, because their nature has been reordered by Love. Their desires are so attuned to God’s will that they never seek anything prohibited.
5. What kind of anxiety do they still experience, if any?
They experience no anxiety except in moments of real physical necessity. Even this minimal anxiety can only be entirely lost by someone who is innocent-implying that only the fully purified soul is completely free of all worry.
6. Why does Reason object to what Love is saying, and how does Love respond?
Reason is scandalized-what Love says seems to contradict traditional teachings and religious norms. Love responds by asserting that neither masters of the senses, Scripture, nor even those faithful to the Virtues can understand this path. Only those whom Fine Love and Charity call will perceive and speak truth about it.
7. What is the nature of the gift these souls have received, according to Love?
It is the most perfect gift God gives-a momentary yet enduring transformation that unites the soul to God beyond will or knowledge. This soul becomes a “student of Divinity,” resting in Humility, Truth, and Love-dwelling symbolically in valley, plain, and mountain respectively.
8. What does it mean that this soul no longer moves herself?
It means she is no longer driven by self-generated desire, effort, or thought. All movement arises from God within her-Love and Understanding are not things she uses; they are her condition. She is passive, receptive, and entirely moved by God.
9. Why is this state so difficult to understand or recognize?
Because it transcends the categories of religious obedience, moral striving, and intellectual knowledge. It is a mystical gift, hidden from those who rely solely on reason, discipline, or external religion. Only those called by Fine Love can even recognize or affirm it.
10. How might one verify whether a soul truly lives in this state?
Such a soul can speak truthfully of her state if she wishes, but she cannot be understood except by others who have been similarly called by Fine Love and Charity. This makes the state inherently self-verifying among those who share it, and invisible to those outside it.
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Chapter 10 presents twelve mystical names by which Love identifies the Soul who has been transformed by divine union, at the request of Reason who seeks to offer some understanding to the “Actives.” These names-such as The Very Marvelous One, The Not Understood, Most Innocent of the Daughters of Jerusalem, and Oblivion-express the Soul’s hiddenness, divine grounding, humility, illumination, and total self-forgetfulness. Each name signifies a stage or quality of the Soul’s annihilated and exalted state: her foundation in the Church, her enlightenment by understanding, her adornment with Love, her peace and fulfillment in divine will, and ultimately, her being lost in God beyond comprehension. Through this naming, Love reveals the Soul’s true nobility, invisible to ordinary understanding but grasped by the hearing heart of the devout.
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1. “Ah, Love,” says Reason, “name this Soul by her right name, give to the Actives some understanding of it.”
Here, Reason acts as the intermediary for the “Actives”-those who live in the way of the virtues, spiritual effort, and moral striving. They cannot grasp the nature of the liberated Soul through conceptual understanding, so Reason pleads with Love to provide names-poetic, symbolic designations that might give them some glimpse or hearing of what they cannot directly perceive.
2. “She can be named, says Love, by twelve names…”
Love answers by offering twelve mystical titles. Each name is a window into the soul’s state of union with God. They are not descriptions in the usual sense, but revelations-each compressing a mystery, meant to resonate spiritually rather than instruct didactically. The twelve-fold naming evokes fullness and perfection, echoing biblical and liturgical symbolism (e.g., twelve tribes, twelve apostles).
3. “The very marvelous one.”
This name stresses the Soul’s astonishing transformation-a marvel to angels and saints, and beyond human comprehension. Her state is not the result of effort or merit, but of divine wonder.
4. “The Not Understood.”
A key name: this Soul cannot be understood by intellect or moral reasoning. Her identity is hidden even from herself, echoing the apophatic tradition-she is lost in God beyond concept.
5. “Most Innocent of the Daughters of Jerusalem.”
Innocence here is not moral naiveté but the purity that comes from utter union with God’s will. She surpasses even the holy “Daughters of Jerusalem” (symbolic of devout souls), being the most stripped of self.
6. “She upon whom the Holy Church is founded.”
Radically bold: the Soul in union with Love becomes a foundation stone of the Church-not institutionally, but spiritually. The Church is built not only on Peter, but on union with God.
7. “Illuminated by Understanding.”
Not intellectual comprehension, but divine illumination-an inner light that comes from being possessed by Love. Understanding is now an infused state, not a skill or acquired knowledge.
8. “Adorned by Love.”
Love not only transforms but beautifies the soul. Her only ornament is Love itself; all her dignity and glory come from being clothed in divine affection.
9. “Living by Praise.”
Her entire being is praise. She no longer praises as an action; she is praise in essence-her existence is perpetual glorification of God.
10. “Annihilated in all things through Humility.”
Self-will, ego, striving-all are annihilated. True humility is not thinking lowly of oneself, but no longer being for oneself. Her nothingness becomes the space where God dwells.
11. “At peace in divine being through divine will.”
This is the still point: she rests not in her understanding of God, but in God. Her peace is unshakable because it comes from surrender into divine being itself.
12. “She who wills nothing except the divine will.”
Her will is perfectly one with God’s. Not just obedience, but ontological unity: she no longer has a will of her own. What God wills, she wills-effortlessly.
13. “Filled and satisfied without any lack by divine goodness through the work of the Trinity.”
She is entirely full. There is no hunger, no longing, no incompletion. The Trinity’s work in her is total. Her satisfaction is not emotional but ontological: nothing is missing.
14. “Her last name is: Oblivion, Forgotten.”
This is the apex of self-emptying. She is forgotten-by the world, by herself, even in some way as an object of knowledge. Her identity has dissolved into God. She is hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3). This “oblivion” is not loss but divine concealment.
15. “And without fail,” says Pure Courtesy, “it is right that she be thus named, for these are her right names.”
Pure Courtesy-symbolizing divine gentleness and appropriateness-confirms that these names are true and fitting. The language may seem lofty or strange to the Actives, but it is accurate in a deeper register of spiritual truth.
16. “Ah, Love,” says Reason, “you have named this Soul by many names, by which the Actives have some understanding of her, which would only be by hearing the very noble names by which you have named her.”
Reason acknowledges that these names do not provide intellectual grasp, but they convey something through their nobility and resonance. The Actives can now begin to revere what they cannot understand-recognizing holiness through the language of Love.
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1. Why does Reason ask Love to name the Soul for the Actives?
Reason understands that the Actives-those still engaged in the path of moral and religious striving-cannot comprehend the state of the liberated Soul through explanation. So, she asks Love to name the Soul in a way that can offer them a glimpse or reverent hearing of the mystery they cannot grasp intellectually.
2. What is the significance of naming the Soul with twelve titles?
The twelve names reflect a symbolic fullness and spiritual perfection (echoing scriptural patterns like the twelve tribes or apostles). Each name expresses a distinct aspect of the Soul’s union with God, not as individual attributes but as facets of a single, complete transformation in Love.
3. What does the name “The Not Understood” reveal about the nature of the Soul in this state?
It indicates that the Soul transcends all human understanding. She cannot be grasped by intellect, theology, or natural reason-even by herself. Her identity is hidden in God, emphasizing the apophatic tradition and the mystery of divine union.
4. How does “Annihilated in all things through Humility” relate to the core theme of self-emptying?
This name shows the complete disappearance of self-will and ego. The Soul no longer asserts anything for herself, and this radical humility opens the way for God to fully inhabit her. True humility is not thinking little of oneself, but the loss of self in God.
5. What does “Living by Praise” imply about the Soul’s daily existence?
It means that the Soul’s entire being is a continuous act of praise. She no longer needs to perform acts of devotion-her very existence is glorification of God. This is praise as ontological condition, not verbal or ritual expression.
6. Why is the Soul called “Oblivion, Forgotten” as her final name?
This name captures the culmination of her journey: she has been entirely forgotten by the world, and even by herself. All identity has dissolved into God. It expresses the hiddenness of divine union and the Soul’s final detachment from all that is not God.
7. What does Love mean by saying “none perceive this… but only those whom Fine Love calls”?
Love is highlighting that the understanding of this state cannot be taught, inherited, or reasoned into. Only those chosen by Divine Love (called by “Fine Love”) can know it from within. It is a grace, not an achievement.
8. How does this chapter challenge the perspective of the Actives and even the theologians?
It reveals that those who live by effort, reason, obedience to virtues, or study of Scripture cannot grasp the Soul’s state of union. This challenges a view of salvation or holiness based on merit, replacing it with a radical surrender to Love.
9. What theological truth is implied in the title “Filled and satisfied… by the work of the Trinity”?
It shows that the soul is now the dwelling place of the Triune God. The satisfaction she experiences is Trinitarian in origin-perfect, lacking nothing, and flowing directly from divine goodness. It is a profound statement about the inner life of grace.
10. How do these names function for the reader who is not yet in the state of the Soul described?
They serve as invitations and signposts. While the reader may not understand them fully, the names stir longing, reverence, and perhaps a loosening of reliance on one’s own effort. They suggest that divine union is real and attainable-not by work, but by surrender.
“The Sparkling Stone” by John van Ruysbroeck
Overall Synthesis of The Sparkling Stone by John van Ruysbroeck
The Sparkling Stone is a contemplative and mystical treatise that outlines the full path of the soul’s ascent into union with God and its subsequent return to the world as a channel of divine love. The work is structured around a detailed articulation of the stages of inner purification, spiritual illumination, divine union, and the fruition of that union in a transformed, charitable life. Ruysbroeck’s approach is both deeply metaphysical and profoundly experiential, rooted in the Christian mystical tradition and drawing especially on the themes of Trinitarian love, self-emptying, and the interior life.
At the heart of the work is the idea that the soul must be purified of all disordered loves and false attachments before it can begin to perceive and enjoy God. This purification involves both moral virtue and detachment from all images, concepts, and even self-conscious striving. The soul must be emptied of self through humility, peace, and interior silence. As this process deepens, the soul becomes increasingly receptive to divine grace, leading to the possibility of a contemplative union in which the soul perceives God with “bare thought” and rests in His simplicity.
This contemplative life reaches its peak in a mystical union that Ruysbroeck calls “fruition”-a direct, loving adherence to God in which the soul experiences both the indrawing and outpouring touches of the Divine. In the indrawing, the soul is drawn out of itself and absorbed into the mystery of God’s own being, entering into the simple unity of the Trinity. This results in a state where the soul no longer sees itself as distinct but becomes one with God “without difference and without distinction.” This union is marked not by activity but by a peaceful, loving rest in God’s own life, a state that surpasses the intellect and draws the soul into the “darkness” of God-His unknowable essence.
However, this highest experience of God is not the end of the soul’s journey. For Ruysbroeck, true union must give birth to action. The soul, having been transformed by love, is sent back into the world by God. It now lives what he calls the “common life,” marked by a balance of contemplation and active charity. This God-seeing person seeks only the glory of God, not his own. He is a vessel of virtue, a source of help to others, and lives out of the inexhaustible abundance of the Holy Spirit. He is both hidden in God and manifest in love for the world-rooted in the divine life and bearing fruit in acts of compassion and justice.
Throughout The Sparkling Stone, Ruysbroeck emphasizes that none of this can be achieved by mere effort or desire, but only through divine grace and conformity to Christ. He also repeatedly warns against self-deception-those who think they enjoy God while clinging to images, attachments, or self-interest are deluded. The true contemplative is marked by total inward purity, an open and surrendered heart, and a willingness to follow God both into the solitude of contemplation and the demands of daily life.
In essence, The Sparkling Stone presents a map of the soul’s transformation in God. It leads the reader from purification through illumination to the heights of divine union and back down again into a world transfigured by love. The work is at once a rigorous theological vision of Christian mysticism and a deeply personal testimony to the life of grace.
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Prologue: In the prologue of The Sparkling Stone, Ruysbroeck outlines the ideal of Christian perfection as a harmonious integration of four qualities: moral zeal, interior spiritual depth, contemplative union with God, and loving outflow toward others. True holiness is not found in isolation or imbalance, but in the unity of these dimensions, each enriching and tempering the others. When they are present together, the soul is in a perfect state and, through the continual increase of divine grace, it grows ever deeper in virtue and the knowledge of truth-both before God in hidden intimacy and before others in visible witness.
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“The man who would live in the most perfect state of Holy Church must be a good and zealous man; an inward and ghostly man; an uplifted and God-seeing man; and an outflowing man to all in common.”
Ruysbroeck opens with a concise map of Christian perfection: moral zeal, inner depth, mystical vision, and loving action. Each trait points to a distinct dimension of the spiritual life – ethical integrity, contemplative interiority, union with God, and generous charity. Perfection is not found in just one of these, but in their harmonious integration.
“Whenever these four things are together in a man, then his state is perfect;”
The “perfect state” is not a singular achievement, but a balanced fullness of spiritual life. These four dimensions – virtue, interior life, vision of God, and outward love – must coexist. Ruysbroeck avoids extremes: no mysticism without virtue, no charity without contemplation.
“and through the increase of grace he shall continually grow and progress in all virtues, and in the knowledge of truth, before God and before all men.”
Perfection is dynamic, not static. Even the perfect soul is still “growing,” not by human strength but by divine grace. This growth deepens both virtue (moral excellence) and truth (spiritual knowledge), lived transparently before God (inwardly) and before all men (outwardly).
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1. What four qualities define the person who lives in the most perfect state of Holy Church according to Ruysbroeck?
Ruysbroeck identifies four qualities:
A good and zealous man: One who lives a morally upright life and is fervent in devotion and works.
An inward and ghostly man: A person rooted in interiority, attuned to the spiritual life, and sensitive to the workings of grace.
An uplifted and God-seeing man: One who lives in contemplation, raised above himself through divine illumination, beholding God.
An outflowing man to all in common: One who expresses his union with God in active love and generosity toward all.
These four aspects represent the integration of moral virtue, contemplative depth, mystical union, and active charity.
2. Why does Ruysbroeck say that all four aspects must be present together?
He teaches that a person’s state is perfect only when all four qualities are united. This union ensures that no part of the spiritual life is isolated or overemphasized. For example, contemplation without charity, or zeal without interiority, would be incomplete. True perfection lies in the balance and interpenetration of all four.
3. How does Ruysbroeck describe spiritual progress in the perfect soul?
Spiritual progress is described as a continual growth through the increase of grace. The perfect person doesn’t remain static but advances in virtue (moral life) and knowledge of truth (spiritual insight). This growth is visible before God (indicating interior, divine knowledge) and before all men (indicating visible fruitfulness and witness).
4. What does the phrase “knowledge of truth before God and before all men” imply about the nature of true wisdom?
True wisdom is not merely intellectual or private. It is a lived knowledge that arises from grace, is perceived by God, and bears fruit in the world. The phrase implies both mystical knowledge (known in divine intimacy) and practical knowledge (manifested in moral and charitable action). It is a wisdom that shines inwardly and outwardly.
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Chapter 1. Ruysbroeck outlines three essential qualities that constitute a truly good man: a clean conscience free from mortal sin, a threefold obedience to God, the Church, and one’s rightly formed conscience, and a sincere intention to glorify God in all actions. These qualities together make a soul open and receptive to divine grace. Ruysbroeck insists that without any one of these, a person cannot be considered good or in the grace of God. Yet he also affirms that even the most sinful person can become good in an instant if he sincerely resolves to live by these principles, for such a resolution disposes the soul immediately to God and fills it with grace.
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“The first, which a good man must have, is a clean conscience without reproach of mortal sin.”
The foundation of goodness is moral integrity. A clean conscience means not only the absence of serious sin, but also a deep alignment of the will with God. Ruysbroeck begins with purification – the necessity of being reconciled with God through repentance and confession, in accordance with the teaching of the Church.
“Whosoever wishes to become a good man must examine and prove himself with due discernment, from that time onward when he could first have committed sin.”
Conversion begins with self-examination – an honest and discerning review of one’s life from the first moment of moral responsibility. Ruysbroeck emphasizes the Church’s guidance, underscoring the importance of tradition, confession, and moral seriousness.
“The second thing which pertains to a good man is that he must in all things be obedient to God, and to Holy Church, and to his own proper convictions.”
Goodness is not only about avoiding sin, but also about active obedience. This includes:
Obedience to God: the ultimate source of truth;
Obedience to Holy Church: the visible authority and sacramental life;
Obedience to one’s own convictions: the properly formed conscience, when aligned with grace.
All three must harmonize. Ruysbroeck refuses both legalism and mere individualism.
“So shall he live without care and doubt, and shall ever abide without inward reproach in all his deeds.”
The fruit of true obedience is peace – not anxiety or scrupulosity, but a quiet conscience, rooted in fidelity. This spiritual tranquility is a mark of the good man.
“The third thing which behoves every good man is that in all his deeds he should have in mind, above all else, the glory of God.”
The good man is not self-centered, but God-centered. Every action should aim at the glorification of God, either explicitly or implicitly. This orientation sanctifies even mundane work.
“If… he has not always God before his eyes, yet at least there should be established in him the intention and desire to live according to the dearest will of God.”
Ruysbroeck allows for human frailty. Even when direct attention to God lapses, a fixed intention toward God’s will preserves the purity of the act. This is a pastoral and deeply Carmelite insight – intention sanctifies.
“These three things, when they are possessed in this way, make a man good.”
Goodness is not a vague ideal, but the result of three concrete principles: a purified conscience, obedience to divine and ecclesial authority, and the God-centered aim of one’s life.
“And whosoever lacks any one of these three is neither good nor in the grace of God…”
Ruysbroeck speaks with clarity and seriousness. These are not optional virtues – without them, the soul is not rightly disposed to grace.
“But whenever a man resolves in his heart to fulfil these three points… in that very instant he becomes good, and is susceptible of God, and filled with the grace of God.”
Here is the heart of Ruysbroeck’s theology of transformation: the will’s turning to God is decisive. The soul that sincerely chooses these three pillars – contrition, obedience, and the glory of God – is immediately “susceptible” to grace, regardless of past sin. God rushes in where the will opens.
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1. What is the first requirement for becoming a good man, and how is it to be fulfilled?
The first requirement is a clean conscience, free from the guilt of mortal sin. To achieve this, a person must engage in serious self-examination, discerning his sins from the first moment he became morally responsible. This self-scrutiny should be guided by the precepts and customs of Holy Church, meaning it includes sacramental confession and genuine repentance. Purity of conscience is foundational because it prepares the soul for grace and aligns the will with God’s law.
2. What threefold obedience defines the second mark of a good man?
A good man must be obedient in three ways:
To God: This is the highest obedience, aligning oneself with divine law and grace.
To Holy Church: This involves submission to ecclesial authority, the sacramental life, and Church teachings.
To one’s own proper convictions: That is, a rightly formed conscience, consistent with truth and charity.
These three are not in competition but must work in harmony. Ruysbroeck insists on equal obedience to all three, emphasizing that a well-ordered soul lives in peace, free from doubt and inward reproach.
3. According to Ruysbroeck, how should a good man orient his actions, and what does this imply about human limitations?
The good man should orient all his actions toward the glory of God. This is the supreme intention that should underlie every deed. However, Ruysbroeck acknowledges human limitations – a person may not always consciously think of God during busy tasks. Still, if the deep intention and desire to do God’s will is firmly established in the heart, the action remains pleasing to God. This affirms that habitual intention, rather than constant attention, sustains the spiritual life amidst daily responsibilities.
4. What does Ruysbroeck say about the person who lacks any one of the three qualities of a good man?
He states firmly that without any one of these three – purity of conscience, obedience, or the intention to glorify God – a person is neither good nor in the grace of God. The three are essential and interconnected. Missing even one disrupts the soul’s receptivity to grace. Ruysbroeck speaks with pastoral seriousness, urging complete commitment rather than partial virtue.
5. Can a person become good instantly, even after a life of sin? If so, how?
Yes, according to Ruysbroeck, in the very instant that a person resolves in his heart to fulfill these three principles, he becomes good. This act of sincere will – turning toward God with contrition, obedience, and the desire to glorify Him – opens the soul to grace. Even the worst sinner can become “susceptible of God” and be filled with grace through this authentic inner conversion. This underscores Ruysbroeck’s belief in the transformative power of the will under grace.
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Chapter 2. Ruysbroeck teaches that a morally good man becomes truly spiritual-what he calls a “ghostly” man-by progressing through three interior transformations: freedom from images, spiritual freedom in desire, and the felt union with God. To be free from images means to let go of all disordered affections and attachments that form impressions in the soul, even in relationships or devotions, unless they are entirely oriented toward God. This detachment prepares the soul to ascend freely in prayer and love without interior hindrance, exercising a spiritual liberty that lifts it toward God in all its actions. When the soul lives in this imageless ascent, it begins to experience an inner union with God-a dynamic communion in which desire and grace continually renew one another. This perpetual rhythm of ascent and union is what constitutes the true interior or ghostly life. Without these three stages, a man may be externally virtuous but cannot be considered truly spiritual.
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“If, further, this good man would become an inward and ghostly man, he needs must have three further things. The first is a heart unencumbered with images; the second is spiritual freedom in his desires, the third is the feeling of inward union with God.”
Ruysbroeck now moves from moral goodness to interior transformation – from being good to being ghostly (i.e., spiritual). He sets out three progressively deeper requirements: detachment from images, inner freedom, and mystical union. These are not arbitrary but flow organically from the purified moral life described earlier.
“He who would have a heart void of images may not possess anything with affection, nor may he cling to any one, or have intercourse with him with attachment of the will…”
The first stage, freedom from images, requires detachment of the will. Ruysbroeck is not condemning love of persons or things per se, but rather any disordered affection – clinging to others for selfish or fleshly reasons. Such attachments implant images in the soul that crowd out the simplicity required for God.
“All intercourse and all affection which do not aim purely at the honour of God bring images into a man’s heart… born, not of God, but of the flesh.”
The key distinction is between love that arises from the Spirit and love born of the flesh. Only those relationships and affections ordered to God’s glory are spiritually safe. Disordered affections create “images” – not just visual impressions, but interior distractions and idols that cloud the heart.
“If a man would become spiritual, he must forsake all fleshly lusts and loves and must cleave with longing and love to God alone, and thus possess Him.”
Ruysbroeck here calls for radical detachment, but it is not an emptying for its own sake. The soul must “cleave” to God alone, not by suppression but by longing and love. The goal is not negation but divine possession through desire purified of all lesser loves.
“This loving possession of God makes a man inwardly free from ungodly images; for God is a Spirit, of Whom no one can make to himself a true image.”
Since God is pure Spirit, no finite image can represent Him adequately. To possess God spiritually is to be drawn into a formless, imageless communion. The purified soul becomes image-free not through effort alone, but through love’s union with the imageless God.
“Certainly in this exercise a man should lay hold of good images to help him; such as the Passion of our Lord…”
Ruysbroeck is pastoral here. He acknowledges the use of holy images – meditating on Christ’s Passion, for instance – as stepping stones. But even these must give way in the final stage to what he calls imageless Nudity, the pure presence of God unmediated by form.
“The second condition is inward freedom. Through this, the man should be able to raise himself towards God in all inward exercises, free from images and encumbrances…”
Once the heart is cleansed of images, the soul gains inward freedom. This freedom is not passive but active – it enables the soul to rise in prayer, praise, worship, and love, drawn by God’s grace. It is the liberty of a heart unburdened and ready to soar.
“Through this inward exercise, he reaches the third state; which is that he feels a ghostly union with God.”
The climax of the process is inward union – a spiritual and experiential oneness with God. This is not merely conceptual but felt, lived, and transformative. It is the culmination of detachment and freedom: an infused union of the soul with God.
“Whosoever… has an imageless and free ascent unto his God, and means nought else but the glory of God, must taste of the goodness of God…”
Ruysbroeck makes clear that pure intention – desiring only God’s glory – is the gateway to divine taste and experience. The soul encounters God in freedom and simplicity, beyond all created forms.
“And in this union, the inward and spiritual life is made perfect… activity and union perpetually renew themselves; and this perpetual renewal… is a ghostly life.”
Here we see Ruysbroeck’s mystical dynamism: union is not static. It perpetually draws the soul deeper through renewed desire and new acts of love. The rhythm of union and activity, of resting and rising, constitutes the living pulse of the spiritual life.
“So you are now able to see how a man becomes good through the moral virtues and an upright intention; and how he may become ghostly through the inward virtues and union with God.”
Ruysbroeck summarizes: the journey moves from moral goodness (virtues and intention) to spiritual depth (inward virtues and mystical union). The two stages are not opposed, but integrated – the one prepares for the other.
“But without these said points, he can neither be good nor ghostly.”
The path is exacting. Without the threefold moral foundation and the threefold spiritual ascent, the soul remains unformed. Ruysbroeck offers both invitation and warning: the mystical life is open to all, but not cheapened.
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1. What are the three qualities that make a good man into an inward or “ghostly” man?
To become an inward or spiritual (ghostly) man, a person must possess:
A heart unencumbered with images – meaning freedom from attachments that implant created forms or “images” into the soul.
Spiritual freedom in his desires – the ability to rise to God in prayer and devotion without distraction or inner bondage.
The feeling of inward union with God – a lived, experiential communion that renews the soul continually.
These qualities move the soul from moral goodness to mystical interiority.
2. What does Ruysbroeck mean by “images,” and why must the heart be free from them?
By “images,” Ruysbroeck refers not only to mental pictures but to attachments, affections, and created forms that clutter the soul and distract it from God. These images originate from fleshly or self-centered love, not from the Spirit. To be inward, the soul must forsake such attachments and cleave to God alone. Even relationships or religious devotions that are not ordered purely to God’s glory can become spiritual distractions if they create interior “images.”
3. Can any images be useful in the spiritual life according to Ruysbroeck?
Yes – good images can be temporarily useful. Ruysbroeck allows for the use of holy meditations, especially on the Passion of Christ or anything that stirs greater devotion. These can serve as helps or stepping-stones. However, in the final stage of contemplative union, the soul must let go of all images – even good ones – to enter into the imageless “Nudity” of God, who as Spirit cannot be fully grasped or imagined.
4. What is “spiritual freedom,” and how does it affect the soul’s relation to God?
Spiritual freedom is the soul’s ability to lift itself freely toward God in all its exercises – such as thanksgiving, praise, worship, prayer, and love. It means being unbound by attachment, imagination, or interior distractions. This freedom is enabled by grace and interior zeal and makes the soul light, mobile, and responsive in its communion with God. It is the condition necessary for the unhindered ascent of the soul.
5. What is the nature and function of “inward union with God” in the spiritual life?
Inward union with God is a felt, experiential communion where the soul is joined to God beyond all images and desires only His glory. This union perfects the spiritual life, but it is dynamic – not static. It leads to new stirrings of desire and acts of love, which in turn deepen the union. Ruysbroeck describes this as a perpetual renewal: activity (the soul’s loving ascent) and union (its resting in God) feed each other continually. This rhythm is the very life of the inward man.
6. What is the relationship between moral goodness and the ghostly life according to Ruysbroeck?
Moral goodness – consisting of virtues, a clean conscience, and right intention – is the foundation for the ghostly life. Without it, no true inwardness can take root. But the ghostly life goes beyond moral virtue to include detachment from images, spiritual freedom, and union with God. The two levels are integrated: the moral prepares the way; the spiritual completes it. Without both, a man is neither truly good nor truly inward.
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Chapter 3. Ruysbroeck describes how the spiritual man becomes a God-seeing man through three interior conditions: a profound awareness of the soul’s abysmal foundation in God, an unstructured and imageless “wayless” movement of love toward Him, and a dwelling in divine fruition. The soul, grounded in God’s immeasurable depths, is drawn into a love that transcends reason and method, and experiences a continual transformation-melting into unity and burning in the eternal fire of divine love. This consuming love both differentiates and unifies: the soul sees itself as distinct from God, yet in the act of surrender, it loses all distinction and becomes one with Him. Such a life cannot be taught, for it surpasses human instruction and is known only by the direct revelation of God’s eternal truth within the soul.
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“Further, you must know that if this ghostly man would now become a God-seeing man, he needs must have three other things. The first is the feeling that the foundation of his being is abysmal … the second is that his inward exercise should be wayless; the third is that his indwelling should be a divine fruition.”
Ruysbroeck now transitions from the “ghostly” (inward) man to the God-seeing man, who lives in the most elevated spiritual state. This ascent requires three things:
Awareness of one’s abysmal foundation – a mystical sense of the soul’s unfathomable depth and receptivity to God.
Wayless exercise – the soul must operate beyond rational forms, structures, or methods.
Divine fruition – the soul rests in a direct and blissful participation in God’s own life.
These three mark the transition from contemplative practice to mystical union.
“The union with God which a spiritual man feels … as being abysmal-that is, measureless depth, measureless height, measureless length and measureless breadth … And there it feels itself to be one life with God.”
Union with God, in its deepest realization, is immeasurable and limitless. The soul is stretched in every direction-depth, height, length, and breadth-until it becomes lost in divine vastness. This abysmal awareness leads to the soul’s melting into Unity and dying to self, until it becomes one life with God. Ruysbroeck stresses that such union is not metaphorical; it is experientially real, yet it leads to a knowledge that is ignorance, a knowing beyond all knowing.
“And from this there arises the second point, which is an exercise above reason and without condition … he can always enter, naked and unencumbered with images, into the inmost part of his spirit.”
The second trait of the God-seeing soul is its wayless exercise-an interior movement that is beyond all form, reason, or method. In this state, the soul remains empty, image-free, and surrendered, continually drawn by the Divine Unity. This drawing is an eternal interior pull, a loving invitation that only those detached from self can fully feel. It leads to a spiritual fire that consumes the soul in love, demanding total self-surrender.
“This eternal demand of the Divine Unity kindles within the spirit an eternal fire of love … in the transformation within the Unity, all spirits fail in their own activity … and feel nothing else but a burning up of themselves in the simple Unity of God.”
Here Ruysbroeck describes the paradox of divine transformation: the soul, though actively loving, loses all personal initiative and is consumed by a divine fire. This is the purest form of union, in which even love itself becomes God’s action within the soul. The soul no longer sees itself as distinct; it is burned into undifferentiated unity, even though, when it reflects, it still knows itself as “other.” This mystical fire is ceaseless and eternal, the mark of the God-seeing life.
“And thus you may see that the indrawing Unity of God is nought else than the fathomless Love, which lovingly draws inward, in eternal fruition, the Father and the Son and all that lives in Them.”
The movement of the God-seeing soul is nothing less than participation in the Trinitarian Love itself. This love is fathomless and all-consuming, drawing everything into the unity of divine life. All creation, all the saints, all lovers of God, are continually drawn into the inner life of the Trinity, and this movement is itself eternal beatitude. It is not merely something the soul contemplates-it is something the soul becomes.
“And therefore we must all found our lives upon a fathomless abyss; that we may eternally plunge into Love … and be melted away … and eternally wander and sojourn within the Glory of God.”
The conclusion is poetic, rapturous, and visionary. Ruysbroeck teaches that the spiritual foundation must be radical poverty and abyssal receptivity, a total openness to divine immensity. The soul is to plunge, ascend, stray, and dissolve within the infinite Love of God. This mystical journey is not a static vision but a dynamic, unending participation in divine love and glory. All the metaphors-depth, height, wandering, melting-describe the God-seeing soul’s eternal movement into the unknowable God.
“Behold! by each of these images, I show forth to God-seeing men their being and their exercise, but none else can understand them. For the contemplative life cannot be taught. But where the Eternal Truth reveals Itself within the spirit all that is needful is taught and learnt.”
Ruysbroeck closes with a sober note: these things cannot be grasped intellectually or transmitted by teaching. Only the God-seeing soul can understand, because only such a soul experiences these truths inwardly. The contemplative life is given not by instruction, but by the inner revelation of Eternal Truth. This affirms the radical interiority and grace-dependence of the mystical path: it is a gift, not a technique.
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1. What are the three qualities required for a ghostly man to become a God-seeing man?
Ruysbroeck teaches that three further conditions must be met for a spiritual man to become a God-seeing man:
An abysmal foundation – the soul must feel itself rooted in a depth beyond all measure, stretching into height, length, and breadth, until it perceives itself as one with God.
Wayless inward exercise – the soul’s prayer and love must rise beyond reason, method, or image, into pure, formless movement toward God.
Divine fruition – the soul must dwell in a continuous, unmediated enjoyment of God’s being, consumed by divine love.
These mark the transition from inward recollection to mystical contemplation and union.
2. What does Ruysbroeck mean by the “abysmal foundation” of the God-seeing soul?
The “abysmal foundation” refers to the soul’s mystical realization that it exists within a measureless divine reality. This experience reveals the soul as immersed in the limitless depth, height, length, and breadth of God. The soul feels itself melting into unity, surrendering all distinct identity as it dies to itself and lives in God. This abysmal awareness is both foundational and transformative, opening the soul to God’s infinite mystery.
3. What characterizes the “wayless” exercise of a God-seeing soul?
“Wayless” exercise is the soul’s pure, unmediated ascent toward God, free of forms, images, or rational processes. The soul is drawn by the interior pull of Divine Unity, beyond all method or structure. It becomes increasingly detached from self and from all possessions, entering inwardly into the inmost depths of the spirit, where it finds an eternal light and an eternal demand to become one with God. This exercise is entirely passive-active, a movement of total surrender and continual transformation.
4. How does the soul experience the Divine Unity and the eternal fire of love?
In the state of mystical union, the soul experiences the Divine Unity as a consuming fire. This fire is the eternal love of God, which continually draws the soul into itself. As the soul yields more and more to this indrawing, it is inflamed with desire, but also burned up in love, losing its sense of separate existence. It feels both the craving for union and the transformation through union. Though it can still observe a distinction between itself and God, in the act of burning, it experiences only undifferentiated unity.
5. What is the ultimate destiny of the God-seeing soul, according to Ruysbroeck?
The God-seeing soul is destined for eternal fruition in divine love. It is drawn into the fathomless Love that unites Father and Son and all who live in them. The soul eternally plunges, ascends, strays, and melts into the mystery and glory of God. This journey is not static contemplation but a dynamic and endless participation in the raptures of divine goodness. The soul is continually burnt up in love, and this perpetual burning is its blessedness and joy for all eternity.
6. Why does Ruysbroeck say that the contemplative life “cannot be taught”?
Because the God-seeing life transcends reason, image, and instruction, it cannot be conveyed through teaching. It is an experiential mystery, accessible only to those who have been interiorly transformed by grace. Ruysbroeck emphasizes that only the Eternal Truth, revealing itself directly within the soul, can teach what is needed. This underscores the contemplative path as one of divine revelation, not intellectual attainment.
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Chapter 4. This chapter teaches that to the one who overcomes self and all created things, God grants a “sparkling stone” and a “new name” known only to the recipient-symbols of intimate, hidden union with Christ. The sparkling stone is Christ Himself: radiant, weightless, humble, and filled with divine love. Through this gift, the soul receives inner illumination, divine truth, and eternal life. Its smallness and lightness signify Christ’s humility in the Incarnation and His hidden presence in the hearts of those who love Him. The new name, given in this stone, represents the unique, eternal identity bestowed upon the soul as it is spiritually reborn through grace and the workings of the Holy Spirit. This mystical name reflects the soul’s particular love and service to God and remains forever as its true spiritual self, formed through divine union.
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“To him that overcometh … will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a sparkling stone, and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”
Ruysbroeck begins with a mystical interpretation of Revelation 2:17. The “overcomer” is the soul who transcends self and all else. To such a soul, God grants both hidden manna-a symbol of interior delight in God-and a sparkling stone, the profound gift of Christ Himself. This passage sets the tone for a deeply symbolic meditation on divine union and personal transformation.
“By this sparkling stone we mean our Lord Christ Jesus, for He is, according to His Godhead, a shining forth of the Eternal Light, and an irradiation of the glory of God, and a flawless mirror in which all things live.”
The “sparkling stone” is Christ, radiant with divine light and truth. The metaphor suggests both beauty and humility: Christ is exalted in His Godhead and yet accessible, unassuming, and even overlooked. He reflects God’s glory and reveals life itself, a mirror in which all creatures are known and held.
“This stone is also like to a fiery flame, for the fiery love of the Eternal Word has filled the whole world with love and wills that all loving spirits be burned up to nothingness in love.”
Christ is not only radiant, but consuming. The divine love is fire-purifying, transforming, and annihilating selfhood in divine union. Here, the mystic path is expressed in paradox: the goal is to be burned up to nothingness, losing oneself completely in divine love.
“He made Himself so small in time that the Jews trod Him under their feet. But they felt Him not.”
The stone’s smallness symbolizes Christ’s humility and hiddenness in the Incarnation. Though divine, He made Himself so lowly that He could be disregarded and despised. This is the paradox of divine majesty veiled in human weakness-a central theme in Ruysbroeck’s Christology.
“That the stone is round teaches us that the Divine Truth has neither beginning nor end… that it is smooth and even… that the Divine Truth shall weigh all things evenly.”
The physical properties of the stone are layered with symbolic meaning: roundness signifies eternity; smoothness, divine justice. The mystic sees in every aspect of Christ’s being not just abstract doctrine but direct, experiential revelation of God’s character.
“This noble stone… is particularly light; for the Eternal Word of the Father has no weight… yet bears heaven and earth by Its strength.”
This lightness suggests spiritual sublimity and omnipresence. Christ bears all creation not by force, but by divine buoyancy. In a mystical paradox, the Light that supports all is itself weightless-transcending even space and time.
“Behold, this is the sparkling stone which is given to the God-seeing man, and in this stone a new name is written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”
The “new name” symbolizes the unique, intimate knowledge and identity conferred by God in union. It is hidden, ineffable, and personal-known only to the soul and God. This name denotes both a new essence and a secret communion.
“All spirits in their return towards God receive names… according to the nobleness of its service and the loftiness of its love.”
Ruysbroeck teaches that spiritual ascent is marked by interior transformation. The “name” is a sign of one’s vocation, purified essence, and place in the divine order-bestowed not by merit alone but by grace and divine love.
“When we have lost this name of innocence through sin… we are baptized once more in the Holy Ghost. And thereby we receive a new name which shall remain with us throughout eternity.”
The loss of innocence is not final; repentance opens the soul to new depths of grace. Through spiritual rebirth in the Holy Spirit, a new name-a new identity in God-is granted. This name, rooted in the gifts of Christ, endures forever.
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1. What is the “sparkling stone” given to those who overcome, and what does it symbolize?
The “sparkling stone” refers to Christ Himself, given to those who overcome themselves and the world through spiritual victory. Symbolically, it represents the divine presence of Christ as radiant light, inner truth, and eternal life. It is described as white and red like fire (symbolizing purity and divine love), small and light (indicating humility), and round and smooth (signifying God’s eternity and justice). The stone also points to the hidden and often unrecognized reality of Christ’s humility in the Incarnation, being so small that He is trodden underfoot yet not perceived.
2. How does Ruysbroeck describe the humility of Christ in relation to the sparkling stone?
Ruysbroeck emphasizes that Christ, the Eternal Word, humbled Himself to such a degree that He became “a worm, and no man,” despised and rejected. The stone is called calculus, meaning “treadling,” because Christ made Himself so small that He was trampled underfoot by men, particularly by those who did not recognize Him. His humility was such that He became weightless in the eyes of the world, yet He bore heaven and earth by His divine strength.
3. What is the spiritual significance of the stone being round, smooth, and light?
Each quality of the stone carries spiritual meaning:
Roundness: Symbolizes the Divine Truth as eternal-without beginning or end.
Smoothness and evenness: Represents the impartial and perfect justice of God, who rewards each according to his merits.
Lightness: Indicates the spiritual sublimity of the Eternal Word, who, though bearing all things, remains transcendent, gentle, and accessible. Christ’s lightness also allows human nature, through union with Him, to ascend above the heavens.
4. What is the “new name” written in the stone, and who receives it?
The “new name” is a mystical name given to the soul that has overcome self and been transformed through union with God. It symbolizes a unique and secret identity granted by God, known only to the recipient. This name is not merely a label, but a participation in divine mystery-bestowed through grace and love. It reflects the soul’s eternal destiny and place in God’s glory, corresponding to the soul’s service and love.
5. How does Ruysbroeck connect the concept of “names” to spiritual transformation and eternal identity?
Ruysbroeck teaches that every spirit receives a name upon returning to God. This name reflects the dignity of the soul’s love and service. The original name of innocence given at baptism is lost through sin, but can be replaced through a new baptism in the Holy Ghost. This new name is eternal, signifying the soul’s rebirth, transformation, and glorification in Christ. The naming expresses the uniqueness and mystery of each soul’s path in God.
6. What three works does God wish to accomplish in us, according to Ruysbroeck, in order to bestow this new name?
While the specific three works are not detailed in this chapter, Ruysbroeck refers generally to God’s desire to effect interior transformation through self-overcoming, loving union, and the grace-filled activity of the Holy Spirit. Those who cooperate with these divine operations-especially by overcoming sin, being reborn in love, and living a life of service and contemplation-are granted this new name that endures eternally.
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Chapter 5. Ruysbroeck teaches that God, in His universal love, calls all human beings to union with Himself as the foundational work of grace, but this call requires a free and willing response from the soul. He distinguishes five types of sinners-those who are spiritually negligent, those who sin mortally yet do good, unbelievers, hardened godless individuals, and hypocrites-all of whom resist this divine invitation in different ways. Yet, all may be saved if they awaken, repent, and submit to grace. Ruysbroeck emphasizes that grace is always at work, tailored to each person’s capacity, enabling them to renounce sin, grow in virtue, and even reach perfection, provided they surrender entirely to God’s initiative. He concludes that even worldly gifts, though lesser and morally neutral, can either aid sanctity or fuel sin depending on how they are received and used.
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“The first work which God works in all men in common consists in His calling and inviting them all, without exception, to union with Himself.”
God’s universal call to union is the foundational act of grace offered to every person. This divine invitation precedes any merit or disposition in the soul and demonstrates God’s unconditional love and desire for communion with all humanity. It is the basis upon which further spiritual progress depends; without responding to this call, no further grace or sanctification is possible.
“Now I have observed that all sinners may be divided into five kinds.”
Ruysbroeck introduces a typology of sinners, each failing to respond rightly to God’s call, though all are still recipients of it. This classification is not meant to judge, but to help souls examine their state and the barriers preventing union with God.
“To the first kind belong all those who are careless of good works… prefer to live in worldly employments and in multiplicity of heart.”
These are the lukewarm and distracted, whose attachment to comfort and earthly concerns makes them spiritually unfit. Their fragmentation of heart keeps them from receiving or retaining grace.
“To the second kind belong those who have willingly and wittingly fallen into mortal sin, yet also do good works…”
This group lives in contradiction: they perform external good while clinging to grave sin. Their inner division renders their good works ineffective for union with God, as love for sin overpowers love for God.
“The third kind of sinners consists in all unbelievers, and those who err in faith…”
For Ruysbroeck, true faith is foundational. Regardless of virtuous living, without the right orientation to God through faith, no one can attain true holiness or union with Him.
“To the fourth kind belong those who abide in mortal sin without fear and without shame…”
These are hardened sinners, rejecting even the basic knowledge of God. They deny spiritual reality and virtue entirely, making conversion difficult though not impossible. Their state borders on blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
“The fifth kind of sinners are those hypocrites who do outward good works… to acquire a name for holiness…”
These souls are outwardly pious but inwardly corrupt. Their intentions are self-serving, and thus they are furthest from God, though perhaps appearing closest to others. Their hypocrisy blocks grace.
“Whenever a sinner enters into himself… he draws near to God.”
Despite the darkness of sin, the door to repentance remains open. Self-examination and true contrition are the beginnings of return. The call of grace remains active and persistent.
“He must of his own free will resolve to leave sin and to do penance. And so he becomes one aim and one will with God.”
Human freedom is crucial in the spiritual journey. Cooperation with grace-through willful renunciation of sin and penance-enables the soul to be unified with God’s will, leading to the restoration of grace and spiritual life.
“We should all conceive of God in this way: First… He calls and invites all men… Secondly… He through grace flows forth… Thirdly… we can become one life and one spirit with God…”
Ruysbroeck summarizes his theology of grace in three acts: (1) the universal call, (2) the outpouring of grace to those who respond, and (3) the transformation of the soul into unity with God. This process reveals God’s initiative and human response as co-essential.
“For all that we are, and all that we have received… are all the free gifts of God.”
Everything-natural and supernatural-is a gift. Recognizing this calls for gratitude, humility, and the dedication of all gifts back to God in service. Even natural goods like beauty or wealth become spiritual occasions depending on their use.
“There are many gifts… which are for the good an aid to virtue; but for the wicked an aid to sin…”
Temporal blessings are morally neutral but can become occasions of sin or virtue depending on the heart’s orientation. The good use them for God’s glory; the wicked, for selfish gain. This underscores the need for purity of intention in all things.
This chapter thus moves from a universal doctrine of grace to a discerning examination of the ways sin obstructs its fruitfulness, always holding out the hope of transformation through repentance and cooperation with grace.
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1. What is the first and universal work that God performs in all human beings?
The first and universal work of God in all people is His invitation to union with Himself. This call is extended to every person without exception-both the good and the wicked. It is the necessary first step, and no one can receive further gifts or graces from God unless they respond to this initial divine call. Without this turning toward God, the soul remains closed to spiritual progress.
2. Who are the five kinds of sinners Ruysbroeck describes, and what characterizes each type?
Ruysbroeck distinguishes five kinds of sinners:
First kind: Those who are careless of good works, absorbed in worldly comfort and sensual pleasures, and distracted in heart. They are incapable of receiving or preserving grace due to their spiritual negligence.
Second kind: Those who commit mortal sin knowingly, yet perform good works, fear God, and admire the just. However, their love of sin still outweighs their love of God, rendering them unworthy of grace.
Third kind: Unbelievers and heretics-those who err in faith. Regardless of their good actions, without true faith (which is the foundation of all holiness), they cannot please God.
Fourth kind: Hardened sinners who live in mortal sin without shame or fear. They scoff at virtue, consider religion deceitful, and live as though God does not exist. They sin against the Holy Ghost and are rarely converted.
Fifth kind: Hypocrites, who perform good works outwardly but for selfish motives (e.g., reputation or gain). They appear holy externally but are inwardly false, cut off from God and true virtue.
3. Can any of these five kinds of sinners be saved? If so, how?
Yes, any sinner can be saved if he enters into himself, becomes displeased with his sins, and freely chooses to renounce sin and do penance. God continually calls all sinners to union with Him. Through sincere self-examination and cooperation with grace, a sinner can align his will with God’s, receive His grace, and begin the path of transformation.
4. What three truths should we understand about God’s relationship with souls, according to Ruysbroeck?
God calls all people-good and bad-to union with Himself, freely and without distinction.
God’s grace flows into those who are obedient to this call and willing to receive it.
Union with God becomes possible when a soul surrenders completely to grace, renouncing self and becoming one will and one spirit with God.
These three truths reveal the dynamism of grace: God’s initiative, man’s response, and the resulting unity.
5. How does God’s grace operate differently in each person?
Grace works in each person according to their capacity to receive it. It follows divine order, adapting itself to the soul’s readiness, disposition, and openness. Some receive the grace to leave sin; others, to grow in virtue; and still others, to persevere in the highest perfection. The key is submissiveness to grace, which enables the soul to be transformed and empowered for the spiritual life.
6. What role does free will play in responding to God’s grace?
Free will is essential in responding to God’s grace. Although God initiates the call and offers His gifts freely, the soul must voluntarily choose to renounce sin and cooperate with grace. Without this free and willing response, the effects of grace remain dormant. Union with God is not imposed but entered into through freedom and love.
7. How are worldly goods like health, beauty, and wealth to be understood in this framework?
Worldly goods are lesser gifts of God and are morally neutral. They are given to both the good and the wicked. For the virtuous, they become aids to holiness when used in service of God and others. For the wicked, they become occasions of sin, leading to pride, indulgence, and selfishness. Thus, the spiritual value of these goods depends entirely on the disposition and intention of the person who possesses them.
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Chapter 6. Ruysbroeck distinguishes sharply between hirelings and faithful servants of God, emphasizing the inner motivation behind one’s spiritual life. Hirelings serve God not out of love, but for personal gain-seeking either temporal goods or eternal life for their own benefit-and thus remain trapped in self-love, fear, and spiritual misery. Though their actions may conform externally to religious law, they lack the transforming power of divine love. In contrast, faithful servants have surrendered self-interest and entrusted their needs entirely to God; through this detachment, they receive divine grace, which births true love in the soul. This love casts out fear, brings confidence and peace, and unites the soul with God’s will. Thus, the core difference lies in whether one serves from self-love or divine love, the latter being the mark of true spiritual fidelity.
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“Some men receive the gifts of God as hirelings, but others as faithful servants of God; and these differ one from another in all inward works, that is, in love and intention, in feeling and in every exercise of the inward life.”
Ruysbroeck introduces a crucial spiritual distinction: not all who receive divine gifts relate to them equally. The interior disposition-especially love and intention-determines whether one is merely a hireling (acting for reward) or a faithful servant (acting from love). This difference penetrates to the deepest levels of the inner life.
“All those who love themselves so inordinately that they will not serve God, save for their own profit and because of their own reward, these separate themselves from God, and dwell in bondage and in their own selfhood.”
Self-love, when disordered, becomes the root of spiritual bondage. The hireling serves God not out of devotion, but for self-interest-temporal or eternal. This turns the soul inward upon itself and estranges it from divine communion.
“Although these men seem to keep within the law and the commandments of God and of Holy Church, they do not keep within the law of love.”
Outward conformity to religious norms does not guarantee union with God. Ruysbroeck insists on love as the core of authentic obedience; without love, even the observance of law remains spiritually barren.
“Their whole inward life is doubt and fear, travail and misery. For they see on the right hand eternal life, and this they are afraid of losing; and they see on the left hand the eternal pains of hell, and these they are afraid of gaining.”
The hireling is tormented by fear-caught between the desire for heaven and the dread of hell. This fear arises not from reverence, but from clinging to self-preservation. The soul becomes trapped in anxiety, never tasting the freedom of divine love.
“Their fear of hell springs from self-love, which seeks its own.”
This diagnosis is severe: even religious fear can be corrupt if rooted in selfishness. True spirituality must transcend self-interest, even the self-interest that longs for salvation.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; but by this is meant that fear which is exercised upon the right side, where one considers the loss of eternal blessedness…”
Ruysbroeck nuances fear: the “fear of the Lord” can be salvific if it awakens the soul to its deepest longing for God. This preparatory fear leads to virtue and opens the soul to grace.
“From that very hour in which, with God’s help, he can overcome his selfhood… God bestows upon him His grace.”
The turning point is detachment from self. The soul, no longer centered on its own needs, entrusts everything to God. This self-emptying prepares it to receive divine grace freely.
“Through grace, he feels true love: and love casts out doubt and fear, and fills the man with hope and trust, and thus he becomes a faithful servant…”
Grace births love, and love drives out fear. The faithful servant trusts in God and acts out of love, not obligation. This transformation marks the soul’s entry into true spiritual freedom.
“Behold, this is the difference between the faithful servant and the hireling.”
The chapter culminates in a contrast: the hireling remains in fear, ruled by self-love and self-interest, while the faithful servant, freed by grace, lives in love, trust, and union with God’s will.
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1. What fundamental distinction does Ruysbroeck make between different types of recipients of God’s gifts?
Ruysbroeck distinguishes between hirelings and faithful servants. Hirelings serve God for their own benefit-seeking temporal rewards or even eternal life for self-interest. Faithful servants, by contrast, serve God out of pure love, seeking not their own gain but God’s glory. This distinction touches every aspect of the interior life: intention, love, feeling, and practice.
2. How does self-love affect the spiritual life of the hireling?
Inordinate self-love traps the hireling in spiritual bondage and alienates him from God. He does good works not out of love, but from a desire for reward or fear of punishment. This focus on self causes all his spiritual activities-prayer, virtue, obedience-to be rooted in anxiety and self-interest, rather than in true union with God.
3. Why are the works of hirelings spiritually ineffective, even when they appear religious?
Their works lack the law of love. Though they follow the external commandments of God and the Church, they do so out of necessity or fear rather than devotion. Because their intention is self-centered, their actions remain spiritually barren. Their religious life is marked by fear, doubt, and inner misery.
4. What kind of fear is considered the “beginning of wisdom” according to Ruysbroeck?
The fear that is the beginning of wisdom is the reverent fear of losing blessedness-of being separated from God. This fear arises from humanity’s innate desire for beatitude and can prompt the soul to leave sin and seek virtue. While it is still imperfect (since it stems from self-interest), it plays a preparatory role in spiritual growth.
5. How does a person transition from a hireling to a faithful servant of God?
The transition occurs when a person, with God’s help, overcomes selfhood and entrusts everything to God’s will. This detachment makes the soul receptive to divine grace. Once grace is received, it produces true love, which casts out fear and fills the soul with hope and trust. The person then acts from love, becoming a faithful servant.
6. What are the signs of a faithful servant as opposed to a hireling?
A faithful servant acts from love, trusts God fully, and is united with His will. He serves not for reward or out of fear, but because he loves God for His own sake. His interior life is marked by peace, confidence, and charity. The hireling, on the other hand, is anxious, fearful, and self-centered, never fully trusting or surrendering to God.
7. How does Ruysbroeck describe the effect of divine love on the soul?
Divine love, once received through grace, dispels fear and doubt. It brings hope, trust, and inner freedom. Love transforms the soul’s motivations, making it act not for self-preservation but out of joyful union with God. It is love that finally unites the servant to God in fidelity and truth.
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Chapter 7. This chapter distinguishes between the faithful servants of God, who obey His commandments through outward works and active virtue, and the secret friends of God, who go beyond obedience to embrace an interior life of love and spiritual union with Him. While faithful servants serve God visibly through the Church and good deeds, the secret friends are drawn inward by grace to a deeper, contemplative relationship, forsaking all attachments for God alone. Though both vocations are valid and grounded in divine love, the contemplative life is the “better part,” praised by Christ in Mary over Martha’s busy service. Yet Ruysbroeck cautions that true contemplatives must also serve when love demands it, and those who avoid both action and contemplation are deceived. Ultimately, divine love is the one thing needful, whether expressed outwardly in service or inwardly in union.
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“We must now observe the great difference which there is between the faithful servants and the inward friends of God.”
Ruysbroeck sets the stage by clearly distinguishing two categories within the spiritual life. This foundational contrast introduces the chapter’s central theme: not all who serve God do so at the same depth of union or intimacy.
“The faithful servants have chosen to keep the commandments of God…this is called the outward or active life.”
Faithful servants are those who obey God and the Church through visible good works and virtues. They are commendable in their obedience and moral life, but their focus is external-rooted in action and service rather than inner contemplation.
“But the inward friends of God choose to follow, besides the commandments, the quickening counsels of God…with a willing abandonment of all that one may possess outside God with lust and love.”
The secret friends go further-they live a life of inward devotion, renouncing all worldly attachments for the sake of pure union with God. This deeper path includes the “counsels” (not merely commandments), pointing to a voluntary, love-driven surrender beyond obligation.
“But He sends His servants outwards…but He calls and invites His friends inwards.”
God’s grace works in both vocations, but in distinct ways: the servants are sent into the world for works of service, while the friends are drawn inward for union and contemplation. This reflects the classic distinction between the active and contemplative lives.
“As long as a man is divided of heart…he is unstable of mind.”
Interior unity is a prerequisite for contemplative grace. Those who remain inwardly distracted or attached to the temporal cannot enter into the deeper interior exercises of divine friendship. The contemplative path requires interior stillness and undivided attention to God.
“Though he may live according to the commandments of God, inwardly he abides in darkness…he knows not what inward exercises may be.”
Even the outwardly virtuous may remain spiritually immature if they lack inner recollection. This is not a moral failing, but a limitation in spiritual depth; the inward path is hidden from them because they have not turned fully toward God within.
“For his exercise is more outward than inward, more of the senses than of the spirit.”
Ruysbroeck critiques those whose devotion remains sensory and active without becoming spiritual and contemplative. Even good external works can become distractions if they overshadow the love of God which should animate them.
“Certain gross and outward men always condemn and blame the inward and contemplative men, because they have in mind that these are idle.”
This reflects the perennial misunderstanding between active and contemplative lives. Those immersed in external service may wrongly judge contemplatives as lazy, not recognizing the hidden fruit and intensity of interior union.
“But our Lord gave His judgment…Mary hath chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Ruysbroeck appeals to the Gospel account of Mary and Martha as divine affirmation of the contemplative life’s superiority. Mary represents the secret friends of God, whose love-centered interiority is eternal and unshakable.
“That One Thing which is needful for all men is Divine love.”
All spiritual distinctions ultimately converge in this essential truth: divine love is the foundation of both lives. Love is what makes outward service meaningful and inward contemplation fruitful. Without love, neither path is complete.
“But there are found some foolish men who would be so inward that they would neither act nor serve…”
Ruysbroeck rejects false quietism-those who feign contemplative depth but neglect active charity are deceived. True divine friendship includes a readiness to serve when love demands it. The authentic contemplative is also obedient to the call of charity.
“All secret friends of God are also at the same time faithful servants…but all the faithful servants are not secret friends.”
This concluding distinction clarifies the hierarchy: the contemplative contains within it the active (as in Mary, who can also serve), but the active does not necessarily contain the contemplative. The highest form of life is to be both-loving God within and serving Him without.
This chapter emphasizes both the dignity of active service and the superiority of contemplative union, while warning against false forms of both. True love of God is the key that unites and elevates every vocation.
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1. What distinguishes the faithful servants of God from the secret friends of God?
Faithful servants follow God’s commandments and lead outwardly virtuous lives in obedience to God and the Church. Their spiritual path is characterized by active service, good works, and moral conduct-this is the “outward” or “active” life. In contrast, the secret friends of God go beyond mere obedience and follow God’s counsels with interior love. They practice an inward cleaving to God, abandoning all attachments not grounded in divine love. Their life is contemplative and marked by a deep, interior communion with God.
2. How does God direct His faithful servants versus His secret friends?
God sends His faithful servants outward to perform external good works, being active in the world and the Church’s service. Secret friends, however, are called inward by God and instructed in the hidden ways of the spiritual life. They are led into deeper interior exercises and drawn into intimate union with Him. Each is guided according to their disposition-those more attuned to external action serve actively, while those capable of deeper love and detachment are led to contemplation.
3. Why can’t a divided heart enter the contemplative life?
A divided heart-one that clings to temporal things or is swayed by external joys and sorrows-cannot focus wholly on God. This instability prevents a person from being recollected and spiritually still, which are necessary conditions for receiving the grace of inner contemplation. Only when the heart is wholly turned inward, detached from the senses, and steadfast in desire for God can the person engage in the secret exercises of divine friendship.
4. Why do some outwardly faithful people remain unaware of the contemplative life?
Even though they obey God’s commandments and perform good works, their attention remains fixed on their actions rather than on God Himself. They may be sincere and without hypocrisy, but their focus on outward tasks prevents them from discovering the deeper exercises of love and contemplation. They prioritize what is seen and done rather than inward union, and thus the contemplative dimension remains hidden from them.
5. What example does Ruysbroeck use to illustrate the tension between active and contemplative life, and what is its meaning?
He uses the Gospel story of Martha and Mary. Martha, who represents the active life, complains to Jesus that Mary is not helping with service. Jesus acknowledges Martha’s diligence but praises Mary, who represents the contemplative life, for choosing the “better part.” This illustrates that while active service is good and necessary, interior union with God is better and eternal. It confirms the superiority of the contemplative life when done in love.
6. What is the “One Thing” that is needful for all men, and how is it expressed differently in servants and friends?
The “One Thing” is Divine love, which is essential to both vocations. The faithful servants express this love in obedience and external works, while the secret friends live this love through inward cleaving to God. Love is the root of both paths, but the contemplative expression of it is more perfect, as it unites the soul more intimately with God.
7. How does Ruysbroeck respond to those who avoid both action and genuine contemplation?
He strongly criticizes those who claim to be so inward that they refuse to act, even when their neighbor is in need. These are not true contemplatives but self-deceived. Authentic secret friends of God also become faithful servants when necessary. No one can be rightly called a friend of God who does not also keep His commandments and serve when love requires it.
8. Are all faithful servants also secret friends of God? Why or why not?
No, not all faithful servants are secret friends. While the faithful servants live morally good and obedient lives, they may not be called into the deeper contemplative experience due to their orientation toward external works. However, all secret friends are also faithful servants, for true contemplatives also serve when needed, uniting interior love with active charity.
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Chapter 8. In this chapter, Ruysbroeck draws a subtle but vital distinction between the secret friends and the hidden sons of God. While both live in God’s presence and love Him inwardly, the friends still relate to God through their own spiritual activity and retain a sense of selfhood in their union. Their journey is upward, guided by reason and deliberate adherence, but they do not transcend all forms and images to enter the imageless “Nudity” of pure divine union. In contrast, the hidden sons die entirely to self and to all inward striving, passing beyond reason, images, and even the sweetness of grace into the formless depths of God, led solely by His Spirit. This total abandonment allows them to live not by their own efforts but by a God-formed life, in full conformity with divine love. Yet Ruysbroeck affirms that all faithful people-servants, friends, and sons-are children of God according to their capacity and obedience, provided they persevere. True mysticism, he insists, is never contrary to ecclesial obedience or moral vigilance, and the highest union demands radical self-renunciation and fidelity.
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“But the friends possess their inwardness as an attribute, for they choose the loving adherence to God as best and highest of all that they ever can and will reach: and that is why they cannot with themselves and their own activity penetrate to the imageless Nudity.”
Secret friends of God attain a high degree of interiority, choosing loving adherence to God as their greatest good. Yet their union is mediated through their own being and spiritual activity. Their love and vision, though deep, do not pass into the “imageless Nudity”-the radical simplicity and undifferentiated oneness of God beyond all forms and activities.
“For the simple passing into the Bare and Wayless, they do not know and love… their highest inward life ever remains in Reason and in Ways.”
These friends are still tethered to the structures of reason, method, and personal striving. They do not enter the utter abandonment required for union in “bare and wayless love”-a mystical state transcending all human frameworks. Their spiritual path is noble, but it is not yet the most radical surrender of self.
“And though they feel themselves uplifted to God in a mighty fire of love, yet they keep something of their own selfhood, and are not consumed and burnt to nothingness in the unity of love.”
Even in intense love and union, they retain a sense of self. They have not been wholly annihilated in the fire of divine unity. This distinguishes them from the hidden sons, who are utterly consumed in God and live only from His life, not their own.
“The inward life of the friends of our Lord is an upward-striving exercise of love… but how one possesses God through bare love above every exercise, in freedom from one’s self, this they do not feel.”
The friends live in a continual ascent, yet always through effort and self-awareness. They have not passed into the effortless divine life of the hidden sons, who possess God not through striving but through selfless being and divine indwelling.
“But could we renounce ourselves, and all selfhood in our works, we should, with our bare and imageless spirit, transcend all things… And then we should feel the certainty that we are indeed the sons of God.”
To become a hidden son of God requires a complete renunciation of all self-reference-even in our good works and intentions. In this total death to self, the soul enters into the imageless life of God, receiving a divine mode of being and knowing itself as truly God’s child-not by image, but by participation.
“Nevertheless, you should know that all good and faithful men are the sons of God… But because of the inequality of their adherence and their exercises, I call some the faithful servants of God and others I call His secret friends, and others again His hidden sons.”
Ruysbroeck affirms that all the just are sons of God in a general sense through grace and virtue. However, he distinguishes between them according to the depth and purity of their spiritual life. The faithful servants, secret friends, and hidden sons are on the same path, but they differ greatly in how deeply they have renounced themselves and become transparent to God.
“And so no one is disobedient or contrary to God save he who does not keep His commandments… And therefore such failings [venial sins] do not make us disobedient, for they do not drive out the grace of God nor our inward peace.”
Despite the lofty spiritual distinctions, Ruysbroeck grounds his teaching firmly in obedience to God’s commandments, the Church, and conscience. Even the most hidden sons are still subject to the ordinary moral and ecclesial life. Minor faults, while lamentable, do not remove one from grace unless they breach obedience.
“And by these words I have explained to you what I said at the beginning: namely, that every man must needs be obedient in all things to God and to Holy Church and to his own conscience…”
He ends with a pastoral note of humility and clarity: his mystical distinctions are not meant to dismiss the obligations of Christian life. All authentic mysticism is rooted in obedience, humility, and the Church. The higher one rises, the deeper must be one’s fidelity.
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1. What is the fundamental difference between the secret friends and the hidden sons of God?
The secret friends of God adhere to Him with intense love and interior devotion, yet they do so through their own spiritual activity and awareness. Their union with God remains mediated by their sense of self and deliberate striving. In contrast, the hidden sons of God go beyond this: they undergo a total death to selfhood and enter into a state of imageless, wayless love. This is a complete union where nothing of the self remains, and the soul lives only by the Spirit of God, not by its own powers.
2. How do the secret friends relate to God, and what limitations remain in their union?
Secret friends love God fervently and are raised in a fire of love toward Him. However, they still retain a subtle selfhood-they value their own spiritual activity, their gifts, and the sweetness they receive from God. Their love is exercised through reason, discernment, and upward striving. As a result, their union with God is real but not total; they cannot enter the “bare and wayless” love, because their own being and effort stand as intermediaries between them and God.
3. What characterizes the hidden sons of God, and how is their state different from that of the friends?
The hidden sons have transcended not only outward attachments but even inward ones-they have abandoned all self-reliance and self-reference. They have died to their own spiritual striving and activity, and thus their union with God is not mediated by self, image, or method. They are led purely by the Spirit of God into the “Nudity” or divine simplicity. In this death-like passing into God, they become inwardly certain of their divine sonship, living from God rather than toward Him.
4. Why can the secret friends not attain the highest beatitude according to Ruysbroeck?
Because they do not completely renounce their selfhood. They still find meaning and rest in their inner works, in the sweetness of God’s presence, and in spiritual consolation. Although they turn away from external pleasures, they still “rest upon the way,” meaning they do not fully pass into the imageless and formless union that characterizes the highest mystical state. Thus, they do not attain the full blessedness that comes from total self-emptying.
5. What is the “bare and imageless spirit,” and how does it relate to mystical union?
The “bare and imageless spirit” is the soul stripped of all concepts, images, methods, and even self-awareness. It refers to a state of pure receptivity to God where the soul no longer acts from itself but is led wholly by God. Only in this state can the soul be united with God beyond mediation. This is the state of the hidden sons, who transcend all that is created-even in themselves-to enter into the divine life directly.
6. How does Ruysbroeck affirm that all faithful people are still sons of God?
He states that all faithful and virtuous people are sons of God in a general sense because they are born of the Spirit and moved by it according to their capacity. Whether as servants, friends, or hidden sons, all live by God’s grace and love Him sincerely. The distinctions lie not in worth but in degree of surrender, receptivity, and spiritual elevation.
7. What warning does Ruysbroeck give regarding the erasure of names from the Book of Life?
He warns that even those once righteous-whose names were written in God’s Book-can fall away if they turn inwardly toward sin and do not persevere to the end. Perseverance in one’s chosen turning toward God is necessary. Failure to endure in grace leads to the loss of participation in God and the fruit of virtue, regardless of one’s earlier state.
8. What balance does Ruysbroeck strike between mystical theology and ecclesial obedience?
Despite the depth of his mystical teaching, Ruysbroeck firmly maintains that all must obey the commandments of God, Holy Church, and the dictates of conscience. No spiritual experience or interiority exempts one from obedience. Even venial sins, while not destroying grace, must be lamented and guarded against. His vision is not antinomian but thoroughly orthodox and rooted in Catholic discipline.
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Chapter 9. Ruysbroeck explores the path by which a soul becomes not merely a servant or friend of God, but a hidden son-a soul so transformed that it lives entirely in God and not in itself. This transformation requires more than moral virtue or spiritual experience; it demands an eternal death to self, in which the soul forsakes even its own spiritual works, virtues, and understanding, to pass into the imageless, wayless simplicity of God’s own life. True divine sonship is attained when the soul, moved by the Holy Spirit and purified of all selfhood, surrenders entirely in love and is led into union with God through the Eternal Word. There, beyond all reason, image, or desire for self, the soul becomes radiant with divine light, living no longer by its own power but by God’s own being, in a ceaseless hunger for the Infinite.
Ruysbroeck continues that the soul’s ultimate blessedness lies in a simple, abyssal immersion in God-a state beyond reason, knowledge, and activity-where the soul is swallowed up into the unmoved Quiet of the Godhead. In this union, the soul lives simultaneously in God and in itself: contemplatively resting in God while actively exercising love. Though this immersion transcends all virtue and understanding, it does not dissolve the soul’s created being but fulfills it in its proper end. This state is marked by an eternal, self-emptying love, likened to a river pouring irreversibly into the sea, which neither increases merit nor alters the soul’s nature, but confirms and sustains the soul’s possession of God. Yet conscious knowledge remains essential; for to be united with God without knowing it would be meaningless. Thus, the soul’s eternal life is defined not only by union, but by discerning love and awareness, sustained in the darkness of divine mystery and the bright simplicity of God’s transforming light.
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“But I still longed to know how we may become hidden sons of God, and may attain to the God-seeing life.”
This longing introduces the central concern of the chapter: how to move beyond the states of servant and friend to the deeper union of being a hidden son of God-a state marked by transformation and the vision of God.
“We must always live and be watchful in all virtues, and beyond all virtues must forsake this life and die in God…”
The path begins with a foundation in virtue but does not end there. True transformation involves a mystical death-a complete surrender of self into God-transcending even the virtuous life.
“If we are born of the Spirit of God, we are the sons of grace… nevertheless, they do not feel established nor possessed of God, nor assured of eternal life…”
Being born of the Spirit grants one grace and the capacity for virtue, but this alone does not confer the assurance or possession of God that comes with the deeper transformation into divine sonship.
“…when we transcend ourselves… then we cease, and we and all our selfhood die in God. And in this death we become hidden sons of God, and find a new life within us: and that is eternal life.”
True sonship is not achieved by doing, but by ceasing-by surrendering every part of self into God, allowing His divine life to be born within us. This death of the self is the gateway to eternal life.
“In the Presence of God, we must forsake ourselves and all our works… there we shall possess God in an eternal death to ourselves.”
Even our works, though good, must be relinquished. Possession of God comes not by offering, but by self-forgetting. Eternal death to self leads to eternal union.
“When we go towards God by means of the virtues, God dwells in us; but when we go out from ourselves and from all else, then we dwell in God.”
This sharp distinction contrasts indwelling grace with full immersion in the Divine. In the first, God comes to us; in the second, we go to God-entirely and without mediation.
“…if above all things we would taste God… we must go forth into God with our feeling, above reason… into the simple bareness of our intelligence.”
To experience God directly, we must rise above discursive thought and rational understanding into a state of pure, imageless contemplation-a loving, intelligent emptiness.
“…we are wrought and transformed through the Eternal Word, Who is the Image of the Father… This Light is nothing else than a fathomless staring and seeing.”
Union is effected by the Eternal Word-Christ-who draws us into divine likeness. The seeing here is not intellectual but ontological: we become what we behold, and behold what we become.
“In this simple staring we are one life and one spirit with God: and this I call a contemplative life.”
The essence of contemplative life is not effort or striving, but simplicity and stillness. In the gaze of love, the soul becomes one spirit with God, sharing His life.
“With this contemplation, there is bound up an exercise which is wayless… there shines perpetually the simple ray of the Splendour of God…”
The contemplative path is “wayless”-beyond method, structure, or goal. God’s light shines perpetually, but it is only perceived when the soul stops navigating and simply rests.
“…love cannot be lazy… this is a hunger which cannot be appeased… a perpetual striving after the unattainable… neither be silent on it nor speak of it…”
Love, even in stillness, is active. It is a ceaseless yearning for the Infinite-an unattainable that paradoxically possesses and consumes the soul. It eludes language and intellect.
“…the Spirit of God is driving us and enkindling us in this restlessness of love… burning us to nothingness in His Selfhood…”
This divine love is both a compulsion and a consummation. It burns away selfhood, not in violence, but in union-drawing the soul into the very life and essence of God.
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“This possession is a simple and abysmal tasting of all good and of eternal life; and in this tasting we are swallowed up above reason and without reason, in the deep Quiet of the Godhead, which is never moved.”
The author begins by describing union with God as a “tasting” beyond all rational comprehension. This is not a conceptual knowledge but an experiential immersion-utterly simple, wordless, and passive. The “deep Quiet” of the unmoved Godhead evokes the ultimate stillness and peace, inaccessible to any self-directed effort or understanding.
“We are poor in ourselves, but rich in God; hungry and thirsty in ourselves, drunken and fulfilled in God; busy in ourselves, idle in God.”
Here, the paradoxical nature of mystical union is highlighted. The soul lives a dual life: emptiness and striving in its creaturely self, but fullness and rest in God. This tension is not a contradiction but a necessary dynamic of spiritual transformation-holding both poles while anchored in love.
“And thus we live wholly in God, where we possess our blessedness; and we live wholly in ourselves, where we exercise ourselves in love towards God. And though we live wholly in God and wholly in ourselves, yet it is but one life…”
The mystical life is simultaneously fully divine and fully human. The soul lives “wholly in God” through union, and “wholly in itself” through love’s active practice. This twofold reality expresses the mystery of grace and cooperation-God’s gift and our loving response.
“For we cannot wholly become God and lose our created being, this is impossible.”
This is a critical clarification. While the soul is deeply united to God, it does not become God in essence. There remains an ontological distinction-maintaining the soul’s created nature even in the depths of mystical immersion.
“If we follow this brightness without pause, back into that Source from whence it comes forth, there we feel nothing but a quenching of our spirit and an irretrievable down-sinking into simple and fathomless love.”
The mystical path involves a complete surrender into God, described as “quenching” and “down-sinking.” The “brightness” is divine illumination, and following it leads to utter self-loss in love-no longer self-aware, but immersed in God’s own being.
“This down-sinking is like a river, which without pause or turning back ever pours into the sea…”
This vivid image captures the soul’s continual movement toward God. Just as a river flows without return into the sea, the soul pours itself into God in a constant, irreversible surrender. The river’s resting place is the sea; the soul’s is God.
“Now this immersion is above all virtues, and above every exercise of love…”
The author places the immersion into God above all spiritual acts or virtues. This “being in God” is not an action but a state of transformation and rest that transcends all movement of the soul-pure receptivity.
“Our reason abides here with open eyes in the darkness, that is, in an abysmal ignorance…”
This is a key apophatic insight. Even enlightened reason is “blinded” in the divine depths. Yet this ignorance is not a lack but a surpassing-a knowing beyond knowing, where God’s incomprehensible splendor enfolds and transforms the soul.
“Without our own knowledge, we cannot possess God; and without the practice of love, we cannot be united with God…”
Despite the emphasis on passivity and immersion, the author insists that knowledge and love remain essential. Awareness and will are engaged: we must know that we possess God, and we must actively love. This guards against a quietism that denies human responsibility.
“This is life eternal, that they should know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent.”
The chapter closes with Christ’s own words affirming that eternal life is rooted in knowing God. This knowledge is not intellectual but experiential, grounded in union, love, and a continual returning into God through the Spirit.
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1. What initial desire sets the stage for this chapter?
The author expresses a deep longing to understand how one may become a hidden son of God and attain the God-seeing life. This inquiry leads into a distinction between merely being born of the Spirit and being transformed through a total death to self in God.
2. How does the author describe the path beyond virtue to divine sonship?
While the virtues are necessary, they are not the end. The soul must move beyond them-through spiritual watchfulness and self-renunciation-into a mystical death in God. This death to self, including the abandonment of even one’s own works, leads to new life in God, which is eternal life.
3. Why are those who are born of the Spirit not necessarily hidden sons of God?
Though those born of the Spirit possess grace and can perform good works, they are not assured of eternal life because they still retain some measure of selfhood. True sonship demands a complete death to self and surrender into God’s being.
4. What is meant by “eternal death to ourselves,” and how is it linked to possessing God?
“Eternal death to ourselves” means a continual, interior surrender of all that is not God-including self-will, self-awareness, and even spiritual accomplishments. This radical relinquishment is the only way to truly possess God in His fullness, without mediation.
5. How does the author contrast two movements: God dwelling in us vs. us dwelling in God?
When we live virtuously, God dwells in us through grace. However, when we transcend ourselves completely, we go forth and dwell in God. This latter state is superior because it implies a full union with God beyond all works or self-reference.
6. What does it mean to go “above reason” into the “simple bareness of intelligence”?
It means that to truly taste and experience God, the soul must move beyond discursive thought and intellectual reasoning into a pure, imageless awareness. This bareness is not ignorance but a luminous simplicity that opens the soul to God as He is.
7. What role does the Eternal Word play in this transformation?
The Eternal Word (Christ) is the divine image through which we are wrought and transformed. Contemplation of this Word draws the soul into divine likeness. In beholding this Light, we participate in God’s life and become one spirit with Him.
8. How is contemplative life described in its essence?
It is a life of “simple staring” or loving awareness in which the soul is unified with God in stillness and love. This is not passive, but an active state of being where no method or distinction remains-only union.
9. Why is the contemplative path called “wayless”?
Because it transcends all techniques, forms, and structured exercises. It is not a path in the usual sense but a resting in God where the soul is drawn and illumined by the unmediated Splendour of God’s presence.
10. How does love operate in this stage of contemplation?
Love becomes a “restless hunger” for the Infinite-unceasing, unsatisfied, yet consuming. It compels the soul onward even in the stillness of contemplation. This love surpasses speech and silence, expressing itself as a divine yearning.
11. What is the effect of the Spirit of God in this contemplative soul?
The Spirit enkindles and propels the soul into this divine hunger, ultimately burning away all that is not God. The self is reduced to nothingness-not in despair but in divine union-leaving only God’s own life and identity in the soul.
12. What is the nature of the possession of God described in this passage?
The possession of God is described as a “simple and abysmal tasting of all good and of eternal life”-a mystical experience that swallows the soul above and without reason. It takes place in the “deep Quiet of the Godhead,” a state of perfect stillness beyond intellectual comprehension. The soul cannot access this reality through reason or ascetic practice alone; it is a gift experienced in the depths of contemplative union.
13. How does the soul experience a twofold life in God and in itself?
The soul lives “wholly in God” where it possesses blessedness, and “wholly in itself” where it actively exercises love toward God. These two aspects-contemplative union and active devotion-form one single life that is twofold in feeling. The soul is both poor and rich, hungry and full, active and still. This paradoxical tension reflects the soul’s ongoing transformation in God without the loss of its created nature.
14. Why does the author say we can never become God in essence?
Although the soul is united to God in love, it cannot lose its created being or become God in essence. The ontological distinction between Creator and creature remains. This affirms the orthodox view that even the deepest union with God preserves the integrity and limits of the human person, avoiding pantheism or absorption.
15. What is the significance of the metaphor of the river and the sea?
The metaphor of the river flowing into the sea expresses the soul’s irreversible surrender into God. Just as the river’s natural destination is the sea, the soul’s true resting place is in the infinite depth of God. This “down-sinking” is an eternal, uninterrupted movement of love that carries the soul out of itself and into God’s possession.
16. How does this immersion in God compare to the exercise of virtues and love?
This immersion is described as being above all virtues and above every exercise of love. It is not a work or act but a passive state of being-a total surrender into God. While virtues and exercises help prepare the soul, the immersion is their fulfillment and surpassing, marked by simplicity and self-loss.
17. What role does knowledge play in this state of union with God?
Despite the surpassing of reason, the soul must still know that it possesses God. Knowledge and discernment are essential to truly possessing and enjoying union. The author uses the analogy: just as it is useless to be a lord of all the world without knowing it, so it would be meaningless to possess God without awareness. Knowledge with discernment confirms and stabilizes the experience of eternal life.
18. How is eternal life defined in this section, and what scriptural support is given?
Eternal life is defined as knowing and loving God with discernment. The soul must not only be immersed in God but also be conscious of that immersion. The author cites Christ’s words from John 17:3: “This is life eternal, that they should know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent.” This affirms that contemplative knowledge and relational love form the heart of eternal life.
19. How does the soul relate to the divine brightness that shines into it?
The brightness from God teaches truth and stirs the soul to virtue and love. If the soul follows this brightness back to its Source with unbroken gaze, it experiences a quenching of self and a descent into simple, fathomless love. This movement is likened to being transformed and re-formed in God’s own selfhood, beyond all conceptual understanding.
20. What does the author mean by the “abysmal ignorance” in which reason remains?
Even at its highest, reason stands “with open eyes in the darkness”-an “abysmal ignorance.” This is not a deficiency but a recognition of God’s overwhelming mystery. The divine splendor is so great it blinds reason and remains hidden. Nevertheless, this darkness is filled with the light and simplicity of God that transforms the soul from within.
21. Why does this immersion not earn any new reward, and what is its lasting significance?
This immersion in God is not a meritorious act, so it does not gain further reward. Instead, it sustains the soul in the possession of God and the good already received. Like a river always flowing to its end, the soul’s immersion is continual and defines its resting-place. It is the ultimate fulfillment, not a means to another end.
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Chapter 10. Ruysbroeck teaches that although the soul is truly one with God in love, it must eternally remain distinct from Him in essence, and this paradox is essential to authentic spiritual life. The soul experiences God in four ascending ways: first, through His grace, which stirs devotion and virtue; second, by living in God through a brightness that enlightens reason; third, by being transformed and immersed in God beyond all distinctions; and fourth, by feeling the yearning hunger of love that longs for the infinite God yet can never be satisfied. This unfulfilled craving arises not from lack, but from the overwhelming abundance of divine goodness, which inflames the soul’s desire beyond all bounds. The spiritual life, then, is marked by a ceaseless interplay of union and distinction, of divine touches that both draw the soul into surrender and awaken it to freedom, in a love that is at once stormy and sweet, ever active, yet ever resting in God.
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“Though I have said before that we are one with God and this is taught us by Holy Writ, yet now I will say that we must eternally remain other than God, and distinct from Him… And we must understand and feel both within us, if all is to be right with us.”
Ruysbroeck affirms the paradox that grounds his mystical theology: the soul is truly united with God, yet remains eternally distinct as a creature. Both realities-union and distinction-must be held together in spiritual awareness, or the soul will fall into error, either of self-exaltation (pantheism) or despair (separation). This duality underpins all that follows in the chapter.
“From the Face of God… a brightness shines upon the face of our inward being… especially are we taught in this brightness to feel God and ourselves in four ways.”
This “brightness” refers to the interior illumination that flows from divine presence. It teaches the soul four forms of spiritual awareness, progressively deeper, each describing how we experience both God’s nearness and our own distinct being.
“First, we feel God in His grace… like as the sun, by its splendour and its heat… He enlightens and gladdens and makes fruitful all men who desire to obey Him.”
The first mode of feeling is ethical and ascetical. God’s grace is like sunlight, giving warmth and vitality. Yet this grace requires our cooperation in four forms: inward recollection, fraternal charity, penitential humility, and elevation of heart in prayer. Through these, God remains with us, and this forms the foundation of all spiritual life.
“Secondly: when we possess the God-seeing life, we feel ourselves to be living in God… there we experience the transformation of our whole selves in God.”
The second mode is contemplative: an inner awareness that we live in God, and a surrender to divine brightness that leads to transformation. The soul no longer lives merely from God’s grace, but within His very life. Yet even here, reason operates as an intermediary, unable to reach beyond itself unless the soul “leans out” into pure contemplation.
“Third… we feel ourselves to be one with God… swallowed up in the fathomless abyss of our eternal blessedness… we cannot experience in any other way than in the immersion in love.”
In this deepest union, all faculties fall silent in essential fruition, a passive but luminous state beyond activity. However, any return to reflection breaks the experience and reinstates the sense of difference. This is not loss of selfhood, but rather a foretaste of eternal unity without absorption.
“Fourth… we feel God and ourselves… there arises within us a gaping and eager craving… even though God gave all that He could give, if he gave not Himself, we should not be appeased.”
Here, Ruysbroeck articulates the paradox of spiritual hunger at the height of union. Even while God pours out His sweetness, the soul, still other than God, burns with insatiable longing. This “wildness of love” arises from God’s touch-both drawing inward into unity and pouring outward into desire. Love becomes a storm, a lightning-flash, as the soul is stretched by its own yearning.
“For everything that we can conceive… we find in Him without measure… and the more we taste of them, the more we long to taste… and the more the flood of His sweetness flows through us and over us…”
This climactic vision returns to the theme of divine sweetness and its incomprehensibility. The soul tastes God’s gifts, and through them, God Himself. But the more it receives, the more it thirsts-because the divine is infinite and the soul finite. Scripture supports this with references to the Song of Songs and the Psalms, confirming the overwhelming, unspeakable joy that cannot be exhausted.
Summary Insight:
Ruysbroeck’s purpose in this chapter is to hold the soul in a delicate balance: total union with God in love, and yet eternal distinction in being. The four “feelings” or stages progress from grace to participation, transformation, unity, and finally the burning love that arises from this paradox. The soul cannot rest in God apart from its own active longing. In fact, it is the very distinction between God and the soul that allows love-wild, yearning, and storm-like-to exist eternally. Thus, perfect unity does not annihilate the soul’s otherness, but rather intensifies its desire and consummates its blessedness.
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1. Why does Ruysbroeck insist that we must feel both our oneness with God and our distinction from Him?
Ruysbroeck emphasizes that both truths-our unity with God and our eternal distinction from Him-must be experienced simultaneously because they safeguard the soul from spiritual error. Unity without distinction leads to pantheism, while distinction without unity leads to despair. True mystical life lives from both realities: a deep union in love, and a humble acknowledgment of creaturehood. Holy Scripture, he says, affirms both, and only in holding both can we be “right.”
2. What is the first way we feel God within us, and what practices does it require?
The first way is feeling God’s presence through His grace, which acts like sunlight-enlightening, warming, and making fruitful the soul. This grace stirs the soul to action and cannot be passively received. Ruysbroeck describes four required practices:
Inward recollection, to remain in contact with the fire of love;
Charity, going out toward others in brotherly love;
Penance, humbling oneself and resisting lust;
Praise and prayer, lifting the heart above itself to God.
These practices engage the whole person-mind, heart, and will-and constitute the total exercise of reason-based devotion.
3. How does Ruysbroeck describe the second way we experience God?
The second way is through the God-seeing life, where we perceive ourselves living in God. A divine brightness shines into our inner being and enlightens the reason. When we remain in this brightness, we experience how our created life flows into God’s eternal life. As we go beyond reason with “simple sight” and yearning, we undergo transformation and become enwrapped in God. This experience is contemplative and intuitive, not rationally grasped.
4. What characterizes the third way of experiencing God, and why can it not be sustained through reason?
The third way is the feeling of oneness with God, experienced when the soul is immersed in God through love. It is a state of essential fruition, in which all faculties stand idle-not lost, but inactive in restful union. However, this cannot be rationally comprehended. The moment the soul reflects on it or tries to understand it, it falls back into distinction and perceives God as other again. The union is thus real, but reason cannot contain it.
5. What causes the soul’s craving and restlessness in the fourth feeling of God?
In the fourth way, the soul feels both God and itself. From this arises a “gaping and eager craving”, because the soul senses God desires to give Himself entirely, yet it cannot receive Him fully. The more it tastes, the more it longs, because finite desire meets infinite goodness. This tension leads to the “wildness of love”-a burning yearning that flares like lightning, driven by divine touches that both draw the soul into union and leave it free to seek more. The soul is caught in a storm of love: active, unfulfilled, and yet overflowing with grace.
6. How does Ruysbroeck describe the dual divine touch in this chapter?
Ruysbroeck speaks of two divine touches:
The inward-drawing touch, which pulls the soul out of itself toward unity and requires self-renunciation and surrender.
The outpouring touch, which gives the soul freedom to seek, ask, and be filled with every spiritual delight.
Together, they form a rhythm of passive receptivity and active longing, drawing the soul deeper into God while preserving its desire and individuality.
7. Why is the soul’s desire never satisfied, even when God gives Himself?
Though God gives Himself in love, the soul remains a finite vessel receiving an infinite source. Every taste of God only awakens deeper longing. Ruysbroeck compares this to drinking from the sea-no matter how much is drunk, the sea remains. The more the soul receives, the more its capacity to desire expands. This insatiability is not a flaw but a sign of its spiritual vitality. The soul is made to be eternally hungry for the infinite God.
8. How does Ruysbroeck support his teaching using Scripture?
He cites Psalm 34:8 – “O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet,” to affirm the personal experience of divine sweetness. He also references the Song of Songs – “I sat down under his shadow… and his fruit was sweet to my taste” – to evoke the intimate, ecstatic delight of divine union. These scriptural images validate the soul’s desire and the endless depths of joy that God offers in mystical love.
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Chapter 11. Ruysbroeck emphasizes the profound difference between the full radiance of divine glory enjoyed by the saints in heaven and the limited, shadowed enlightenment possible in our earthly state. Though both derive from the same divine Sun, our mortal condition veils the clarity of divine vision, offering only a mediated experience through grace. Yet this shadow is already illuminated enough to guide us into virtue and contemplation. Through love and self-abandonment, the soul can be drawn into union with God even now, tasting the sweetness of Christ, the divine Fruit, who both absorbs and transforms the soul. This mystical union unfolds uniquely in each soul, marked by a “new name” inscribed in the Book of Life, revealed through Christ’s redemptive death. The soul’s journey is trinitarian: drawn inward by the Father, nourished by the Son, and taught by the Holy Spirit, as it anticipates the noonday glory where the saints eternally rejoice in God’s selfhood.
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“There is a great difference between the brightness of the saints and the highest brightness or enlightenment to which we may attain in this life.”
Ruysbroeck begins by affirming a key mystical distinction: even the most exalted contemplative experiences on earth fall short of the beatific vision of the saints in glory. The soul in this life is still veiled in the “shadow” of mortality and cannot receive the divine radiance directly.
“For it is only the shadow of God which enlightens our inward wilderness… But the state of the saints is transparent and shining, and therefore they receive the brightness without intermediary.”
Using metaphorical language, he contrasts earthly contemplation (a shadowed, mediated illumination) with the saints’ direct, unfiltered reception of divine light. The soul’s impurity in this life causes dimness; but the saints, fully purified, receive God’s light without obstruction.
“Now we see through a glass darkly, says St Paul… but if we would become one with the brightness of the Sun, we must follow love, and go out of ourselves into the Wayless…”
Echoing 1 Corinthians 13:12, Ruysbroeck underscores our current obscurity, yet offers a path forward: love. It is by love’s self-transcendence, by “going into the Wayless” (i.e., abandoning all methods and created forms), that we may be drawn into union with God’s brightness.
“The state of the Jews… was cold and in the night… but though our state in the Christian faith is but still in the cool and morning hour… the day has dawned.”
He offers a typological reading of salvation history: the Old Covenant as darkness, Christianity as dawn, and the life of the saints as full noon. Christians have begun to walk in the light, though not yet at its zenith.
“The state of the saints is warm and bright… they live and walk in the noon-tide… and each one according to the degree of his enlightenment, tastes and knows the fruits of all the virtues…”
The glorified saints fully experience the fruition of virtue, bathed in divine brightness. Their enlightenment is individualized by their personal measure of virtue and grace, but all participate in divine glory.
“The Fruit of God is the Son of God, Whom the Father brings forth in our spirit… It rather absorbs us into Itself and assimilates us with Itself.”
This is a profound mystical statement. Christ is the “Fruit” tasted in contemplation, but this fruit is not something the soul takes in; rather, it takes in the soul. Divine union transforms the soul more than the soul appropriates God.
“In this overcoming of all things, we taste of the hidden manna… we receive the sparkling stone… in which our new names were written before the beginning of the world.”
He alludes to Revelation 2:17, emphasizing that this mystical tasting corresponds to the soul’s eternal identity in God. The “new name” symbolizes the unique grace and vocation known only in God.
“Whosoever feels himself to be forever united with God, he possesses his name according to the measure of his virtues… and of his union.”
Union with God is personal and variable: each soul possesses its “name”-its divine identity-according to its degree of virtue, recollection, and transformation.
“The Lamb of God… has opened for us the Book of Life… And these names cannot be blotted out, for they are one with the Living Book, which is the Son of God.”
Christ’s death gives us access to the “Book of Life,” where the elect are inscribed. This metaphor underscores the unchangeable nature of God’s salvific knowledge and our incorporation into Christ.
“In the measure in which each man can overcome himself… he tastes the sweetness of the Inborn Fruit… and the Holy Ghost teaches him that he is the heir of God.”
The soul’s spiritual inheritance is linked to its self-renunciation and openness to God’s inner touch. The Spirit confirms divine sonship through interior tasting and experiential knowledge.
“Each one has been named separately, and his name is continually made new through new graces and new works of virtue.”
Mystical identity is dynamic: the soul’s name unfolds through progressive sanctification. It is not fixed as a static label but grows with each new grace and act of love.
“And therefore every knee shall bow before the Name of Jesus… in His name we are called and chosen, and adorned with grace and with virtues, and look for the glory of God.”
All salvation centers on Christ. His name is above all others, and in Him, the elect are chosen, sanctified, and prepared for divine glory.
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1. What is the fundamental difference between the brightness the saints enjoy and the enlightenment attainable in this life?
The saints in glory enjoy a direct, unmediated vision of God’s brightness, for their state is transparent and spiritual, free from the grossness of the mortal condition. In contrast, the enlightenment we can attain in this life is only a “shadow” of God-it is mediated, dimmed by our corporeality and the limitations of our fallen nature. Though the same divine Sun enlightens both states, our perception remains veiled, as St. Paul says, “we see through a glass darkly.”
2. How does Ruysbroeck describe the contemplative path toward divine union despite these limitations?
Ruysbroeck teaches that even in this shadowed state, the soul can be drawn into union with the divine light by love. This requires going “out of ourselves into the Wayless,” abandoning self and method to be drawn by God’s initiative. In this self-emptying love, the soul can be lifted into a contemplative life suitable to our mortal state, wherein we perceive the truth necessary for salvation and are gradually united with God.
3. What distinction does the author make between the spiritual states of Jews under the Old Covenant and Christians under the New?
The Jews, in the Old Covenant, are described as walking in darkness, “in the land of the shadow of death,” lacking the fullness of divine presence due to original sin. Christians, by contrast, live in the “cool and morning hour”-still early and imperfect, but the day has dawned. Through Christ and grace, they begin to walk in the light, although not yet at its noonday intensity, as the saints do.
4. How does Ruysbroeck describe the noonday state of the saints, and what do they experience there?
The saints live in the noon-tide brightness of God’s glory. With enlightened and open eyes, they experience the overflow of divine light. They taste the fruits of all virtues and, most sublimely, the knowledge and union with the Trinity in Unity. This union is described as surpassing and intoxicating, causing them to rest entirely in God’s selfhood.
5. What is meant by “the Fruit of God” and how is it experienced by the contemplative soul?
The “Fruit of God” is Christ, the Son of God, whom the Father brings forth in the depths of the soul. This fruit is “infinitely sweet” but cannot be consumed or assimilated by the soul; rather, it absorbs and transforms the soul into itself. When the soul is drawn inward by this Fruit, it abandons all else and tastes the hidden manna-the spiritual nourishment that grants eternal life.
6. What role does the concept of the “new name” play in this mystical theology?
The “new name” signifies the unique identity and vocation of each soul in God, known only to the one who receives it. It is inscribed in the eternal Book of Life, united to the Son of God. This name unfolds over time through the reception of new graces and acts of virtue, symbolizing a dynamic and personal relationship with God, ever renewed in union and transformation.
7. How does the mystery of Christ’s death relate to the revelation of the Book of Life and the names within it?
Christ, the Lamb of God, by His death, opened the Book of Life, breaking its seals and making accessible the divine plan of salvation. In this book are written the names of the elect, eternally chosen and inseparable from the Son. Through Christ’s sacrifice, all the virtues are fulfilled, and the elect are empowered to live according to the divine will and receive their destined union with God.
8. What is the relationship between the Trinity and the soul’s experience of union, according to this chapter?
The soul, in overcoming itself and dying to all created things, is drawn inward by the Father, touched by the Son (the divine Fruit), and taught by the Holy Spirit. In this trinitarian movement, the soul becomes aware that it is an heir of God. Each divine Person contributes uniquely to the soul’s transformation, culminating in experiential union and the confirmation of its eternal name and identity.
9. Why is Christ’s name exalted above all other names, and how does this affect the elect?
Christ’s name is exalted because He has conquered sin and death on behalf of humanity, fulfilling all virtue in its highest form. In His name, the elect are called, chosen, sanctified, and adorned with grace and virtue. His victory enlightens human darkness and secures for the soul its path to divine glory. Hence, every knee shall bow to His name in adoration and gratitude.
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Chapter 12. Ruysbroeck presents the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Thabor as a symbol of the soul’s ascent into divine union through contemplation. The mountain signifies the elevation of the soul’s “bare intelligence,” where, having become like Peter in truth, James in detachment, and John in grace, the soul is led by Christ into an interior solitude and illuminated with the light of Eternal Wisdom. Here, distinctions fall away in a unified experience of God-seeing, tasting, being, and knowing become one. Through the Father’s inward voice and the Spirit’s burning love, the soul is drawn into the embrace of the Trinity, becoming one being and one joy with God. This mystical union is rooted in Christ’s redemptive mission and reveals the soul’s eternal name and place within the divine good-pleasure. Ultimately, each soul becomes itself a fruition of love, wholly satisfied in God, with no desire beyond this intimate embrace.
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“And so, that the Name of Christ may be exalted and glorified in us, we should follow Him up the mountain of our bare intelligence, even as Peter, James and John followed Him on to mount Thabor.”
Ruysbroeck begins by urging the soul to imitate the apostles in their ascent of Mount Tabor, the site of Christ’s transfiguration. “The mountain of our bare intelligence” symbolizes the elevation of the mind stripped of images and distractions-a contemplative ascent into divine understanding. This is not just a psychological effort but a spiritual one: a climb in purity, truth, virtue, and love.
“So soon as we are like Peter in knowledge of truth, and like James in the overcoming of the world, and like John in fulness of grace possessing the virtues in righteousness…”
Each apostle represents a spiritual virtue required for this ascent: Peter symbolizes firm faith and doctrinal truth; James, asceticism and detachment from the world; and John, fullness of love and grace. Only when these three conditions are fulfilled in the soul does Christ lead it up the contemplative mountain.
“…Jesus brings us up on to the mountain of our bare intelligence to a hidden solitude, and reveals Himself to us in glory and in Divine brightness.”
At the summit of contemplation, Christ manifests His divine radiance to the soul in solitude. This hidden place is beyond the noise and clutter of the senses-it is an inner stillness where divine glory is disclosed, a foretaste of heaven.
“The Wisdom of God enfolds our bare vision and the simplicity of our spirit in a wayless, simple fruition of all good without distinction…”
Here Ruysbroeck describes the union of the soul with divine Wisdom as “wayless” and “without distinction”-terms characteristic of apophatic mysticism. The soul enjoys a simple, undivided taste of divine Goodness, no longer fragmented by created categories. This is pure fruition, the delight of God Himself.
“And therefore, if we ever remained with Jesus on mount Thabor… we should continually experience a growth of new light and new truth…”
The contemplative life is dynamic, not static. To remain “on the mountain” is to dwell continually in contemplative awareness, receiving ever-deepening illumination from the Father’s voice. The soul is gradually transformed as it listens and responds to this divine touch.
“Between our pleasure in God, and God’s pleasure in us, there arises the practice of true love.”
Contemplative union is mutual. God delights in the soul, and the soul delights in God. This mutual joy gives rise to “true love”-not a fleeting feeling, but a sustained state of being rooted in the divine will. Here, the soul finds its identity (“name and office”) and purpose in God.
“The outpouring touch of God quickens us… and teaches us to know truth and to discern the virtues…”
God’s grace outwardly strengthens the soul’s reason, discernment, and ability to live virtuously. This is the “outpouring” touch-a divine energizing and stabilizing in the spiritual life that makes the soul able to receive more without faltering.
“But the indrawing-touch of God demands of us, that we should be one with God, and go forth from ourselves, and die into blessedness…”
In contrast, the indrawing touch calls the soul to lose itself entirely in God-to “die into blessedness.” This death is not physical but mystical: the surrender of self-will and ego to be subsumed into the eternal love between Father and Son.
“Then we hear the voice of the Father… for He says: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.”
Union with Christ draws the soul into the Trinitarian mystery, where it shares in the eternal delight of the Father in the Son. In this union, the Father’s voice is heard not externally, but within the soul, as the seal of divine adoption and intimacy.
“There all our powers fail us… and become all One and one All, in the loving embrace of the Threefold Unity.”
In the culmination of contemplation, even the soul’s highest faculties are overcome. The soul “falls from itself” and becomes absorbed in the Trinity-not losing its identity, but becoming fully what it was always meant to be: one with God in love.
“For then each one is himself a Fruition of Love, and he cannot and dare not seek for anything beyond his own.”
This final statement is striking: in the deepest union, each soul becomes not merely a recipient but a fruition of divine Love. So total is this satisfaction that the soul seeks nothing beyond what it already possesses in God. It rests, consumed in Love.
Summary Reflection:
Ruysbroeck uses the image of the Transfiguration to describe the mystical ascent of the soul into divine union. The contemplative life, when matured in faith, detachment, and love, becomes a Mount Tabor where Christ reveals His divine nature in radiant wisdom. The soul, drawn by the voice of the Father, is led into ever-deepening union, first by grace and then by surrender, until it is lost in the embrace of the Trinity, transformed into a living fruit of divine Love.
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1. What does the ascent of Mount Thabor symbolize in the spiritual life?
Mount Thabor symbolizes the ascent of the soul into contemplative union with God through the purification and elevation of the “bare intelligence”-the mind stripped of images and distractions. Just as Peter, James, and John ascended with Christ to witness His transfiguration, the soul ascends when it becomes like Peter in knowledge of truth, like James in detachment from the world, and like John in fullness of grace. This ascent leads to an encounter with the glory and divine brightness of Christ in a hidden, interior solitude.
2. What are the spiritual qualities represented by Peter, James, and John?
Peter represents the knowledge of truth and firm faith; James signifies overcoming the world and detachment; and John embodies fullness of grace and the possession of virtues in righteousness. These three together form the necessary spiritual foundation for the soul to be led by Christ up the mountain of contemplation.
3. What happens to the soul when Christ reveals Himself on this spiritual mountain?
When Christ reveals Himself, the soul enters into a state of divine illumination where the “living book” of Eternal Wisdom is opened. The soul is enfolded in God’s Wisdom and enters a simple, undivided fruition of all good, transcending distinctions like seeing, knowing, tasting, and being. This is a foretaste of union with God, where the soul receives light, truth, and the inward touch of the Father drawing it deeper into unity.
4. What is meant by the “bare vision” and “simplicity of spirit” in this context?
“Bare vision” refers to the soul’s capacity to see God without the mediation of images or concepts-pure, simple awareness. “Simplicity of spirit” is the soul’s inward unity and freedom from distraction, which allows it to receive God directly and fully. Together, these dispositions enable the soul to enter into the “wayless” experience of divine fruition, where it is simply absorbed in God without multiplicity or conceptual barriers.
5. How does the voice of the Father play a role in this mystical experience?
The voice of the Father is heard by those who ascend with Christ, affirming their identity as “chosen sons” and expressing divine pleasure in them. This inward voice is both an act of divine self-communication and a confirmation of the soul’s union with Christ. It draws the soul further inward and strengthens it with grace, forming the basis for the reciprocal delight between God and the soul-out of which true love arises.
6. What is the difference between the outpouring and indrawing touches of God?
The outpouring touch vivifies and strengthens the soul, filling it with grace, illuminating reason, and enabling discernment of virtue and truth. It stabilizes the soul in God’s presence. The indrawing touch, however, draws the soul into complete union with God, calling it to go out of itself, die to self, and be immersed in eternal Love-the love that eternally unites the Father and the Son. This is the deepest mystical experience, demanding full surrender and resulting in deification.
7. What is the ultimate goal or fruit of this contemplative ascent?
The ultimate goal is union with the Threefold Unity of God-becoming one being, one life, and one blessedness with God. In this union, all distinctions vanish, and the soul becomes itself a Fruition of Love, fully satisfied in God and unable to seek anything beyond this intimate participation in divine life. It is a state of resting in God’s embrace, marked by joy, simplicity, and perfect contentment.
8. Why does the soul, once in this union, no longer seek the joy of others?
In the depth of union, each soul is so fully absorbed in its own unique experience of divine Love that it cannot be distracted by the joys of others. This is not selfishness, but the total saturation of the soul in God’s presence. Each soul becomes a “Fruition of Love,” meaning that it is both the receiver and expression of divine joy, utterly fulfilled and complete in God.
9. What theological truth is revealed about Christ’s mission through this mystical teaching?
Ruysbroeck underscores the eternal plan and pleasure of the Father and the Son: that the Son should take on human nature, die, and bring the elect back to their origin in God. The mystical union of the soul with the Trinity is made possible only through Christ’s redemptive work, and the soul participates in this mystery by being uplifted through the Son into its divine origin.
10. What is the significance of the “good pleasure of God” in this teaching?
The “good pleasure of God” refers to the divine delight in the Son and in the souls who are united with Him. It is both the origin and the end of the soul’s journey: the Father is pleased with the Son and with those united to Him. This divine delight draws the soul inward into contemplation and fulfills it with grace. The good pleasure of God is the environment in which love, transformation, and eternal fruition occur.
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Chapter 13. Ruysbroeck teaches that true fruition of God requires three foundational dispositions: a peaceful renunciation of all inordinate attachments for the glory of God, an inward silence free from all images and distractions, and a pure, loving adherence to God that is itself the enjoyment of Him. Beyond this, three higher states deepen this union: resting in bare Essential Love, a mystical “sleep” in which the spirit loses awareness of self, and a final beholding of a divine “Darkness” where the soul experiences oneness with God beyond all reason and distinction. In this ineffable union, the soul finds God as its total peace, joy, and rest-dying to itself in blessedness and living again in virtue at love’s prompting. Those who dwell in these states enter a mode of contemplative life so natural that divine union becomes as effortless and continuous as breathing, forming the basis for the common life to come.
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“If a man would have fruition of God, three things are needful thereto; these are, true peace, inward silence, and loving adherence.”
Ruysbroeck begins by outlining the essential conditions for enjoying union with God. These three dispositions-peace, silence, and love-are not merely preparatory but constitutive of fruition. True peace implies moral alignment with God’s will, silence indicates the stilling of all images and distractions, and loving adherence suggests a total and selfless attachment to God.
“Whosoever would find true peace between himself and God must love God in such a way that he can, with a free heart, renounce for the glory of God everything which he does or loves inordinately…”
True peace is founded on detachment. This renunciation is not negative but a joyful surrender of anything that interferes with God’s glory. It’s a practical asceticism rooted in love, indicating that inner peace is inseparable from purity of heart and intention.
“The second thing is an inward silence; that is, that a man should be empty and free from images of all things which he ever saw or of which he ever heard.”
Inward silence goes beyond the absence of noise-it is the interior emptiness from all sensory and mental distractions. This condition allows the soul to be receptive to God in simplicity. It is the undoing of all conceptual barriers to divine immediacy.
“The third thing is a loving adherence to God, and this adherence is itself fruition…”
Ruysbroeck defines fruition not as a reward after preparation, but as the very act of clinging to God in pure love. This love is mutual and experiential: the soul loves and feels loved. Fruition is thus a living relationship grounded in love rather than abstract contemplation.
“The first of these points is to rest in Him Whom one enjoys… in bare Essential Love. There love has fallen in love with the lover, and each is all to the other…”
In the higher stages of fruition, Ruysbroeck speaks of a mystical rest wherein love and the soul become indistinguishable. “Essential Love” implies a union beyond faculties and images, where mutual indwelling takes place-God rests in the soul and the soul in God.
“This is called a falling asleep in God; that is, when the spirit immerses itself, and knows not how, nor where, nor in what it is.”
The second higher stage is described with the language of mystical unknowing. Like sleep, it is a surrender of control. The soul is immersed in God’s mystery without understanding-a total yielding of consciousness, akin to ecstatic absorption.
“The spirit beholds a Darkness into which it cannot enter with the reason… and one with God without difference and without distinction.”
The final stage surpasses reason and distinction. This “Darkness” is not the absence of God but the overwhelming presence of divine mystery. The soul loses all sense of self and enters undifferentiated union-a state of death to self and life in God.
“And this is an unfathomable abyss wherein man must die to himself in blessedness, and must live again in virtues, whenever love and its stirring demand it.”
Union with God is not static. Even after being lost in God, the soul returns to action, compelled by love to live out the virtues. This expresses Ruysbroeck’s recurring theme: the rhythm of contemplation and active life, rooted in divine love.
“Lo! if you feel these six points within you, then you feel all that I have, or could have, said before.”
Ruysbroeck concludes by saying that these six stages encapsulate his entire teaching. Anyone who experiences them naturally understands contemplation, introversion, and union with God as intimately as they understand their own physical life. It’s a radical statement about the integration of divine life into the soul.
“And from these riches there comes that common life of which I promised to speak to you at the beginning.”
This final line signals a transition. The contemplative heights just described are not an escape from the world but the foundation for the “common life”-a sanctified, active life flowing from divine union. This prefaces the final theme of integrating contemplation into ordinary Christian life.
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1. What are the three basic conditions necessary for the soul to have fruition of God?
Ruysbroeck states that three things are necessary for a soul to have fruition of God:
(1) True peace, which requires loving God so deeply that one is able to freely renounce everything that is done or loved inordinately or contrary to God’s glory;
(2) Inward silence, which is a complete emptiness of mind and heart from all images or memories of created things;
(3) Loving adherence to God, which is itself the essence of fruition-clinging to God not for gain but out of pure love, in which the soul both loves and feels loved by God.
2. How does Ruysbroeck define “true peace” and how is it attained?
True peace is the harmonious relationship between the soul and God, which is only attained through the renunciation of all inordinate attachments. One must be willing to surrender all actions, desires, and possessions that do not glorify God. This peace is not mere passivity but a fruit of a disciplined love that seeks God’s will above all.
3. What is meant by “inward silence” and why is it important for union with God?
Inward silence refers to the soul’s emptiness and detachment from all sensory and mental images-anything it has seen or heard. It is a profound stillness and openness that allows the soul to be fully receptive to God. Without this silence, the clutter of created forms and concepts obstructs the direct experience of God.
4. What is “loving adherence,” and why does Ruysbroeck equate it with fruition?
Loving adherence is the soul’s firm and affectionate clinging to God, not for personal gain but out of pure, selfless love. Ruysbroeck says this is fruition because true enjoyment of God comes from this very act of union in love. It is an experience of mutual delight: the soul loves God and knows it is loved by Him in return.
5. What are the three higher mystical states that establish the soul more deeply in divine fruition?
Ruysbroeck identifies three advanced states that deepen and stabilize one’s capacity for enjoying God:
Resting in Him Whom one enjoys: A state in which love possesses the soul and the soul possesses love, so fully that both are one in essential love.
Falling asleep in God: The spirit enters a state of complete immersion in God, where it no longer knows itself or its surroundings-a kind of spiritual unconsciousness.
Beholding a Darkness: A state beyond reason and understanding, where the soul feels itself dead to self and indistinguishably one with God. This is the apex of mystical union, marked by peace, rest, and joy in the divine abyss.
6. What role does the “Darkness” play in the mystical life according to Ruysbroeck?
The “Darkness” symbolizes the divine mystery that surpasses all understanding and reason. In this state, the soul experiences itself as dead to its own identity and fully merged with God, without distinction or difference. It is not the darkness of absence, but the overwhelming presence of divine incomprehensibility. Here, God becomes the soul’s total rest, peace, and joy.
7. What happens to the soul after it experiences union with God in this “Darkness”?
After experiencing the abyss of divine union, the soul is not removed from action but is reawakened to live again in virtue, whenever love stirs it. The death to self is not final obliteration but a prelude to a new, love-driven life. The soul becomes so rooted in God that contemplation and union become as natural and accessible as ordinary life.
8. How does this chapter anticipate the “common life” mentioned at the end?
Ruysbroeck concludes by stating that anyone who experiences these six stages (three foundational, three higher) is so deeply united to God that contemplation, introversion, and fruition become second nature. From this rich inner life arises the “common life”-an active, outward life infused with divine love. This foreshadows the integration of contemplation and action in the final part of the book.
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Chapter 14. Ruysbroeck describes the “common life” as the mature and balanced life that emerges when a soul, having attained union with God through contemplation and fruition, is sent back into the world by God. Such a person lives not for himself but entirely for God’s glory, acting as a transparent instrument of divine love and power. He is rich in virtues, deeply rooted in God, and able to serve others without depletion, since he draws from the inexhaustible fountain of the Holy Spirit. This life is universal because it unites perfect contemplation with perfect action. But only those who have passed through the full purgation and elevation of the spirit-the six degrees of transformation outlined previously-can live it. Ruysbroeck warns against self-deception: no one can truly contemplate God unless they are stripped of self-love, images, and attachments. The soul must be open, truthful, and inwardly free to ascend from virtue to virtue, until it sees, enjoys, and becomes one with God.
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“The man who is sent down by God from these heights into the world is full of truth and rich in all virtues.”
Ruysbroeck begins by describing the contemplative who has reached union with God and is then “sent down” into the world. This soul carries divine truth and virtue, not from self-effort alone, but as an overflow of divine participation.
“And he seeks not his own but the glory of Him Who has sent him.”
The sign of true union is the death of self-interest. Such a person lives for God’s glory, not personal recognition, showing the radical humility that marks authentic contemplation.
“And hence he is just and truthful in all things, and he possesses a rich and a generous ground, which is set in the richness of God…”
The virtues of justice and truthfulness are not mere moral achievements, but expressions of a “ground” in God. The contemplative is fertile soil, rooted in divine abundance, from which all virtue flows.
“And therefore he must always spend himself on those who have need of him; for the living fount of the Holy Ghost, which is his wealth, can never be spent.”
The contemplative naturally overflows in service. He gives himself to others because the Spirit within him is inexhaustible. This challenges the false dichotomy between contemplation and action.
“And he is a living and willing instrument of God, with which God works whatsoever He wills and howsoever He wills…”
The contemplative becomes a docile instrument of God’s will-completely pliable, without resistance. God’s work through him is spontaneous and unselfconscious.
“And these works he reckons not as his own, but gives all the glory to God.”
Even when working in the world, the soul attributes nothing to itself. It is free from spiritual pride because it knows that everything is God’s.
“And so he remains ready and willing to do in the virtues all that God commands, and strong and courageous in suffering and enduring all that God allows to befall him.”
This person is wholly surrendered in both action and suffering. Obedience and endurance are united in love, making him spiritually invincible.
“And by this he possesses a universal life, for he is ready alike for contemplation and for action, and is perfect in both of them.”
Ruysbroeck presents the ideal of the “universal life,” which harmonizes contemplation and action in perfection. It is not withdrawal from the world but being fully available to God in all modes of life.
“And none can have this universal life save the God-seeing man; and none can contemplate and enjoy God save he who has within himself the six points…”
Only those who have passed through the six stages of purification, contemplation, and union can enter this mature, universal state. Superficial or premature claims to contemplation are illusions.
“And therefore, all those are deceived who fancy themselves to be contemplative, and yet inordinately love, practice, or possess, some creaturely thing…”
True contemplation demands radical detachment. Any disordered love or attachment disqualifies a person from the vision and enjoyment of God.
“…or who fancy that they enjoy God before they are empty of images, or that they rest before they enjoy. All such are deceived.”
Ruysbroeck warns against spiritual presumption. One must first be emptied of mental images and fully united in love before resting in God. There are clear stages and prerequisites.
“For we must make ourselves fit for God with an open heart, with a peaceful conscience, with naked contemplation, without hypocrisy, in sincerity and truth.”
The path to God requires honesty, openness, inner peace, and a stripped-down, image-free contemplation. Hypocrisy and false mysticism must be purged.
“And then we shall mount up from virtue unto virtue, and shall see God, and shall enjoy Him, and in Him shall become one with Him, in the way which I have shown to you.”
The soul is led progressively, virtue by virtue, into vision, enjoyment, and unity with God. This is the fruit of the true contemplative path Ruysbroeck has laid out in the preceding chapters.
“That this be done in all of us, so help us God. Amen.”
Ruysbroeck closes with a prayer of intercession: may this path to divine union and universal life be realized in all readers who sincerely seek it.
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1. What characterizes the person who is “sent down by God” from the heights of contemplation into the world?
The person sent down by God from the heights of contemplation is marked by fullness of truth and richness in all virtues. He no longer seeks his own interests but lives entirely for the glory of the One who sent him. His inner “ground” is immersed in God’s richness, making him just, generous, and constantly self-giving. Because he is rooted in the inexhaustible fountain of the Holy Spirit, he becomes a source of help for others and lives as a vessel through which God works freely and powerfully.
2. How does this person relate to his actions and to suffering?
He does not claim his works as his own, attributing everything to God and glorifying Him alone. He is equally ready for action or contemplation, depending on God’s will. In doing so, he is obedient and humble in action, and strong and courageous in suffering. He accepts all things as coming from God, responding with full surrender.
3. What does Ruysbroeck mean by “universal life”?
“Universal life” refers to a state in which a person is perfectly prepared for both contemplation and action. This is not an alternating balance but a simultaneous readiness and completeness in both dimensions. Only a “God-seeing man”-one who has passed through all the degrees of contemplation and union-is capable of living this life.
4. What are the six points Ruysbroeck refers to, which are prerequisites for this universal life?
These six points were outlined in the previous chapter and include:
True peace (detachment from inordinate attachments),
Inward silence (freedom from all images),
Loving adherence (pure love and union with God),
Rest in God (possession of God in essential love),
Falling asleep in God (a complete immersion in God beyond knowledge), and
The Darkness of unknowing (union beyond all reason and distinction).
Only those who have progressed through these points are capable of living in constant contemplation and action.
5. What false assumptions about contemplation does Ruysbroeck warn against?
Ruysbroeck warns against assuming one is contemplative while still loving or clinging to created things inordinately. He also rejects the idea that one can enjoy God before being emptied of images or that one can rest in God before genuine union. These missteps are self-deceptions that short-circuit the true path.
6. What inner dispositions are necessary for authentic contemplation?
An open heart, a peaceful conscience, image-free contemplation (“naked contemplation”), and total sincerity and truthfulness are essential. One must be emptied of all falsehood and hypocrisy to become a fitting vessel for divine union and contemplation.
7. What is the ultimate goal of the contemplative journey, according to this chapter?
The ultimate goal is union with God through vision, enjoyment, and transformation. As one climbs “from virtue unto virtue,” the soul sees God, delights in Him, and becomes one with Him in love. This union is not only personal fulfillment but leads to an active life of love and service in the world, grounded in the divine will.
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