JULIAN OF NORWICH (1343-1416)

I offer you the visions of Julian of Norwich, the anchorite and mystic of the church in Norwich, England.

Born in 1343, there is not a soul that could have told you where she came from in Norwich. No one was even certain that her name was Julian and she wasn’t talking. There is no information on her lineage at all. There are some tiny shreds of information, though. She was wealthy. Her bearing was very dignified indeed. Her wardrobe and veils were of the finest quality.

There are two accounts from that time; one that says she came from a convent not far away from the church in Norwich, and another that states that she was a 30 year old widow. No one came looking for her when she left her prior home. No brother, no sister, no sheriff, no nobody. It is reported that her

mother was alive and visited her once she established herself in the church. This wealthy and gracious lady just showed up one day and life at the church changed in ways no one would have ever expected.

Julian was said to be erudite, educated, charming, soft-spoken, stubborn, determined, kind, generous,

and weird. Her mission was to devote her life entirely to God, but more than that, she wanted to know every detail about Christ’s passion on the cross, and to do that she wanted to be completely isolated in a cell in the church. She would give away her fantastic silk and satin duds and pay to have the stone and masonry cell attached to the church in the way that other anchorites of that time did. No small country church could afford to build additions, so all expenses would come out of her purse. She chose the name Julian, which followed the tradition of other contemplatives who would take the name of the church that they were attached to.

She would rough it. With her maid, of course. And her cat. Don’t forget the cat. Eccentricities aside, the work of knowing Christ and his sacrifice would be her deepest desire until the day she died. She asked God to make her ill, even to the brink of death so that she could know Christ’s pain on the cross, which he would narrate to her himself. Yes, you read that correctly. God could not resist her prayer.

During Julian’s lifetime England was in a very uneasy state. She survived not one, but three waves of the bubonic plague and a never-ending war with France. She suffered other illnesses which caused her great suffering and it is in this state that she would receive sixteen (16) “shewings” or showings of Christ’s crucifixion as told by Jesus himself. All’s I can say is hold on to your hats and buckle up.

We will read one or two divine revelations as time permits. We will talk about them and we will

meditate upon them, and most certainly we will pray about them. We will come to know the depths of God’s love for us. Come to the church sanctuary at 6pm and come sit in the choir chancel. Please enter the sanctuary in silence. Ready your heart and mind for an extraordinary experience of divine love.