How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Page)
Quote #1
And so it was twenty years and more from the time that this creature first had feelings and revelations before she had any written. Afterwards, when it pleased our Lord, he commanded and charged her that she should have written down her feelings and revelations, and her form of living, so that his goodness might be known to all the world. (I.Proem.35)
Kempe emphasizes the importance of doing things at the proper time. In most cases, this means when Jesus tells her something ought to be done. Her written narrative is no exception: although we might lament that she didn't record her experiences when they actually happened, for accuracy's sake, Kempe has no such concerns. For her, it's not about accuracy or preserving personal memory. It's about proclaiming God to the world in her own way.
Quote #2
[...] the Passion of our merciful Lord Christ Jesus still so worked in her soul that at that time she did not feel her own illness, but wept and sobbed at the memory of our Lord's Passion, as though she saw him with her bodily eye suffering pain and Passion before her. (I.56.177)
Kempe's participation in affective piety demands that she put her own bodily concerns on hold and enter imaginatively into the life and sufferings of Christ. She often requires some kind of "trigger" to do so, and it comes to her visually, from everyday life more often than not. But sometimes, a mere memory is strong enough to ignite some serious dreaming about Jesus. This makes these memories very real and very painful to her.
Quote #3
One Good Friday, as the said creature beheld priests kneeling and other worthy men with torches burning in their hands before the Easter Sepulchre [...] the memory of our Lady's sorrows, which she suffered when she beheld his precious body hanging on the cross and then buried before her eyes, suddenly filled the heart of this creature. (I.57.178-79)
Kempe is describing a ceremony during Easter week. In it, the crucifix is symbolically buried or hidden in a receptacle in the church. When this happens, Kempe is transported in her memory. But this time, it's not simply as a direct witness to the crucifixion: it's a secondary memory (Mary's, not hers), and it's a memory of emotions, not of events. Nevertheless, it's enough to ignite Kempe's compassion and her sorrow in a very real way.