An echo through the centuries

I don't know anything about Mechthild of Magdeburg, except that she had a profound love for God and wrote many expressions of that love during her life, which was sometime in the 1200s (about 800 years ago). I came across a couple of those writings today and they so resonated with my spirit and with what God has been teaching me that I am compelled to share them. I can't vouch for anything else she may have written or believed... but I do see great truth in these writings.

Of the nine choirs and how they sing:
Now listen, beloved, listen with the ears of the spirit,
this is how the nine choirs sing:

We praise you Lord, that you sought us out with your humility,
We praise you Lord, that you maintained us with your mercy,
We praise you Lord, that you honoured us in your disgrace,
We praise you Lord, that you guided us with your gentleness,
We praise you Lord, that you set us in order with your wisdom,
We praise you Lord, that you protected us with your strength,
We praise you Lord, that you sanctified us with your nobility,
We praise you Lord, that you gave us insights with your intimacy,
We praise you Lord, that you lifted us up with your loving kindness.
...
Thus speaks a beggar in her prayer to God:
Lord, I thank you for having taken from me in your love all earthly riches,
that you now clothe and feed me with the goods of strangers;
for everything that, with delight, my heart clings to as its own
must become estranged from me.

Lord, I thank you for having taken from me the strength of my eyes
and that you now serve me with the eyes of strangers.

Lord, I thank you for having taken from me the strength of my hands,
and that you now serve me with the hands of strangers.

Lord, I thank you for having taken from me the strength of my heart,
and that you now serve me with the hearts of strangers.

Lord, I thank you for them that you reward them on this earth with your divine love,
so that they will feel obliged to pray to you and serve you with all their might until their holy death.

All those who, with a pure heart, leave everything for the love of God are arch beggars;
they shall rule in judgment on the last day with Jesus our Redeemer.

Lord, everything I complain to you about must be changed in me and in all sinners.

Lord, you must grant me and all imperfect religious people everything I ask you for,
for the sake of your own glory.

Lord, no matter what I do, fail to do, or suffer,
your praise must never be silent in my heart. Amen.

The thoughts contained in this next quote may take some by surprise. Those of us raised in fundamentalist churches may even bristle at what is said... but think carefully about these words. They do indeed speak truth. She is not ascribing any kind of value or importance to herself, but rather to what God has worked and is working. Let the way she presents this truth shock you out of your stupor. God intends to glorify Himself in us, and if so, then how? By this very thing:

God: What do you bring Me, My Queen?

Soul: Lord, I bring You my precious treasure; It is greater than the mountains,
Wider than the world, Deeper than the sea, Higher than the clouds, More glorious
than the sun, more numerous than the sun, more numerous than the stars,
it outweighs the entire earth!
[note: she is free to ascribe such value to this "treasure" because of her faith in Jesus, who has redeemed her and given her a new heart - His own heart - a heart with desires that far outweigh the value of the world]

God: O you, the image of My Divine likeness, made noble by My humanity [referring to Jesus, who is God as human and has redeemed us], adorned by My Holy Spirit, what do you call this precious treasure?

Soul: O Lord, I call it my heart's desire!
I have kept it away from worldly things,
I have denied others and myself my heart's desire.
Now I can no longer carry it. Where, O Lord, shall I lay it?

God: You shall place your heart's desire nowhere but in My own Divine Heart and on my human breast. There alone you will find comfort and My Spirit will embrace you.

Finally, let me share the end of Psalm 33, and then, her answer to this Psalm:

Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him,
    the ones who are looking for his love.
He's ready to come to their rescue in bad times;
    in lean times he keeps body and soul together.

We're depending on God;
    he's everything we need.
What's more, our hearts brim with joy
    since we've taken for our own his holy name.
Love us, God, with all you've got—
    that's what we're depending on.

And so, she prays:

Ah, Lord, love me passionately, love me often, love me long. For the more continuously
You love me, the purer I will be; the more fervently You love me, the more beautiful
I will be; the longer You love me, the holier I will become here on earth.

Did you know that God wants us to desire His love for us? Did you know that it is not selfish for you to seek out God's love for you? It would be selfish for me to seek out the love of others for my own consumption, but it is not selfish for me to seek out the love of God. In fact, God wants us to do so. Is this a new thought to you? God actually wants you to seek out His love for you. He actually longs for you to ask Him to love you more. And do you think He will deny such a good request?