I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion.
And these qualities, as they are His, whereby He saved us, so doth He impart them to the Church in her measure, and to faithful souls. These are her dowry, her jewels, her treasure, her inheritance. He giveth to her and to each soul, as it can receive it, and in a secondary way, His Righteousness, Judgment, Loving-kindness, Mercies, Faithfulness. His “Righteousness,” contrary to her former unholiness, He poureth into her, and giveth her, with it, grace and love and all the fruits of the Spirit. By His Judgment, He giveth her a right judgment in all things, as contrary to her former blindness. “Know ye not, says the Apostle 1 Corinthians 6:3, that we shall judge angels? how much more, things that pertain to this life?” “Loving-kindness” is tender love, wherewith we “love one another, as Christ loved us” John 15:12. “Mercies” are that same love to those who need mercy, whereby we are “merciful, as our Father is merciful” Luke 6:36. “Faithfulness” is that constancy, whereby the elect shall “persevere unto the end, as He saith, Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” Revelation 2:10.