My king and my God – God, love and joy – my soul and my heart are jubilant to you. My heart desires to greet, praise, magnify, and bless you, life of my soul, my God – God living and true, fountain of sempiternal light …
And with what will I reward you, my Lord, for all the good with which you have rewarded me? Behold, as I see it, you have cherished me above your glory, and for my sake you have not spared yourself. To this end you have created me for you, and you have redeemed me for yourself and have chosen me, that you may lead me right up to you and grant that I live in blessedness in you and enjoy you most happily for eternity. ….
My Lord, you are my hope; you the glory; you the joy; you my blessedness. You are the thirst of my spirit; you the life of my soul, you the jubilation of my heart. Where above you could my wonder lead me, my God? You are the beginning and the consummation of all the good, and in you all those who are glad have, as it were, a dwelling-place together. … May your most outstanding divinity magnify and glorify you because you are the source of light and the fountain of life forever. No creature suffices to praise you worthily.
Gertrude the Great of Helfta, Spiritual Exercises, VI Jubilus: Exercise of Praise and Thanksgiving, v. 201-225 (CF 49, page 101)
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