How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Page)
Quote #1
"Ah, dear God, I have not loved you all the days of my life, and I keenly regret that; I have run away from you, and you have run after me; I would fall into despair, and you would not let me." (I.22.86)
Kempe offers a standard convert's lament about a misspent youth (St. Augustine of Hippo wrote an entire book on this theme). She also alludes to her torment by devils and near suicide after the birth of her first baby (her "despair"). Behind all of this is Kempe's sense of unworthiness in the face of God's grace. And now that she knows better, Kempe feels the fire of love in her heart, which makes her want to be closer to God.
Quote #2
"And, daughter, the more shame, contempt and rebuke that you suffer for my love, the better I love you, for I behave like a man who greatly loves his wife: the more envy that other men have of her, the better he will dress her to spite his enemies." (I.32.117)
Jesus tells Kempe not to worry about slander; he digs her more because of her suffering on that score. The simile of the jealous bridegroom spiting his enemies says as much: he will reward Kempe even more when she gets to heaven, and then all those naysayers will get the point. Kempe clings to this promise with both hands, especially since she gets no love from her neighbors in Bishop's Lynn.
Quote #3
"Therefore I must be intimate with you, and lie in your bed with you. Daughter, you greatly desire to see me, and you may boldly, when you are in bed, take me to you as your wedded husband, as your dear darling, and as your sweet son, for I want to be loved as a son should be loved by the mother, and I want you to love me, daughter, as a good wife ought to love her husband." (I.36.126-127)
Behind this morass of incestuous-sounding similes lies the image of Christ as bridegroom of the soul. If you carry this comparison to its logical conclusion, you'll see some erotic love language from God. The weirdness happens when Jesus switches to his persona of spiritual parent—and then to his persona as Son. The takeaway? Jesus is saying that he wants to be everything to Kempe (and to all humans), to occupy all forms of their love.
Quote #4
"For I would have you know, sir, that there is no man in this world that I love so much as God, for I love him above all things, and, sir, I tell you truly, I love all men in God and for God." (I.48.153)
The Mayor of Leicester behaves ungallantly to Kempe and more or less accuses her of being a hypocrite and "unchaste." The problem? He can't imagine how a wife (that is, not a virgin) can wear white clothes and lead a contemplative life. But Kempe will not allow him to shame her solely on the grounds that she knows what it means to live a sexual life.
Quote #5
"If it were your will, Lord, I would for your love, and for the magnifying of your name, be chopped up as small as meat for the pot." (I.57.181)
Kempe's narrative uses the phrase "chopped up as small as meat for the pot" twice in relation to the intensity of her love for God. We imagine this is a little like the modern idiom "I love you to the moon and back"—except without the violence and general mess. The idea of being willing to die for the love of God is something that Kempe and other saintly figures return to when they contemplate how adequately to demonstrate love for God. Such a death is perceived of as the absolute proof of love, and, depending on how you look at it, it's somewhat easier (or at least quicker) than enduring an entire lifetime of self-denial and ridicule.
Quote #6
The said priest read books to her for the most part of seven or eight years, to the great increase of his knowledge and of his merit, and he suffered many an evil word for her love, inasmuch as he read her so many books, and supported her in her weeping and crying. (I.58.182)
Kempe recognizes her true friends when she finds them. For one thing, they don't much mind her screaming and weeping. For another, they read to her and are patient with her conversation—which is especially important for a mystic who can't read. She recognizes that this local priest bears love for her because of these things, and she likes to think that her requirements of him prepared him for a spiritually and financially richer future (he gets a bigger benefice later in life).
Quote #7
"Daughter, if you knew how sweet your love is to me, you would never do anything else but love me with all your heart. And therefore, do believe, daughter, that my love is not so sweet to you as your love is to me." (I.64.196)
Kempe and Jesus are having one of those cute couple arguments over who loves the other more. Jesus wants the last word (naturally) by asking her to trust him—his love for her will always be greater, just as everything about him will always be greater, because, you know, he's Jesus. He also says there's only so much she can comprehend with her mortal brain. In this case, she can never truly understand the extent of his love, even though she feels loved by him.
Quote #8
"Therefore, my beloved daughter, do not be weary of me on earth, to sit alone by yourself and think of my love, for I am not weary of you, and my merciful eye is ever upon you. Daughter, you may boldly say to me, Jesus est amor meus, that is to say, 'Jesus is my love [...].'" (I.65.200)
Kempe receives some serious encouragement from Jesus here, especially when he gives her permission to own him. Kempe presents him as a bridegroom who asks his wife to be devoted and true to him and never to get tired of him, no matter how long they are together. This is one of Kempe's more successful uses of conjugal imagery.
Quote #9
[...] he often repeated these words: "Our Lord Jesus languishes for love." Those words so worked in her mind, when she heard speak of the perfect love that our Lord Jesus Christ had for mankind [...] that she could no longer keep the fire of love enclosed within her breast [...]. (I.78.225)
Kempe listens to a priest's sermon during Holy Week (which celebrates Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection), which acts as a trigger for a very real emotional response. The idea that Christ dies for the love of all humanity awakens all Kempe's compassion and feelings of love for the God who has revealed himself to her in her visions.
Quote #10
"So great is my love towards you, that I may not withdraw it from you, for, daughter, no heart may think, nor tongue tell, the great love that I have to you, and for that I take witness of my blessed mother, of my holy angels, and of all the saints in heaven, for they all worship me, for your love, in heaven." (I.84.247)
Jesus tells Kempe not only that she is the object of his great affection, but also that she's the reason all the saints look with eyes of love on him in heaven. That seems like a whole lot for one woman to handle, but consider this: Kempe is meant to be an example of what Christ wants for all human souls. So whenever we read a section of excessive lovey-doveyness concerning God and Kempe, we're pretty much meant to read it as something that applies to all of humanity.