Commemoration May 8
Dame Julian of Norwich,
Anchoress, d. ca. 1417
Reflection
“All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” Thus
poet T.S. Eliot brought to a wide audience these words attributed to Julian of
Norwich. As an anchoress (a male was
called an anchorite), she confined
herself to a small cell attached to St. Julian’s Church in Norwich, England,
vowing never to leave, so that she could pursue the contemplative life without
distraction. At the time of such a confinement, the service of burial was read
for the person, signifying the death of that person to the outside world.
What little we know of Julian is from her writings, most of
which come out of intense spiritual visions, which she called “showings,” in
which she experienced the intense love of God in a profound way. Fifteen such
showings were revealed to her within a five-hour period on May 13, 1373, when
she was 33 years old, with another showing to come the next day. She wrote a
short book of these showings immediately following these experiences, and,
after more than 15 years of meditation on these showings, she wrote a longer
version of them. Despite her being a recluse, she was sought out for spiritual
advice.
Prayer
Lord God, In your compassion you granted to the Lady Julian
many revelations of your nurturing and sustaining love: Move our hearts, like
hers, to seek you above all things, for in giving us yourself you give us all;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. (From Chain of Prayer)
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