"Each brotherly compassion that man hath on his fellow Christians, with
charity, it is Christ in him"
Thus I saw how Christ hath compassion on us for the cause of sin.
And right as I was afore in the [Shewing of the] Passion of Christ
fulfilled with pain and compassion, like so in this [sight] I was
fulfilled, in part, with compassion of all mine even-Christians--for
that well, well beloved people that shall be saved. For God's servants,
Holy Church, shall be shaken in sorrow and anguish, tribulation in this
world, as men shake a cloth in the wind.
And as to this our Lord answered in this manner: _A great thing shall I
make hereof in Heaven of endless worship and everlasting joys._
Yea, so far forth I saw, that our Lord joyeth of the tribulations of
His servants, with ruth and compassion. On each person that He loveth,
to His bliss for to bring [them], He layeth something that is no blame
in His sight, whereby they are blamed and despised in this world,
scorned, mocked,[1] and outcasted. And this He doeth for to hinder the
harm that they should take from the pomp and the vain-glory of this
wretched life, and make their way ready to come to Heaven, and up-raise
them in His bliss everlasting. For He saith: _I shall wholly break you
of your vain affections and your vicious pride; and after that I shall
together gather you, and make you mild and meek, clean and holy, by
oneing to me._
And then I saw that each kind compassion that man hath on his
even-Christians with charity, it is Christ in him.
That same noughting that was shewed in His Passion, it was shewed again
here in this Compassion. Wherein were two manner of understandings
in our Lord's meaning. The one was the bliss that we are brought to,
wherein He willeth that we rejoice. The other is for comfort in our
pain: for He willeth that we perceive that it shall all be turned to
worship and profit by virtue of His passion, that we perceive that
we suffer not alone but with Him, and see Him to be our Ground, and
that we see His pains and His noughting passeth so far all that we may
suffer, that it may not be fully thought.
The beholding of this will save us from murmuring[2] and despair in the
feeling of our pains. And if we see soothly that our sin deserveth it,
yet His love excuseth us, and of His great courtesy He doeth away all
our blame, and beholdeth us with ruth and pity as children innocent and
unloathful.
[1] "Something that is no lak in his syte, whereby thei are lakid
& dispisyd in thys world, scornyd" (a word like "rapyd"--probably
"mokyd," as in S. de Cressy) "& outcasten."
[2] "gruching."