Revelations of Divine Love

For a text so strongly Christian, I found this fascinating to read, including the well-treated introduction as an in-depth, albeit brief, biography of Julian herself. Her "revelations" are deeply spiritual and I recommend this edition of the book to anyone interested in comparative religion and/or spirituality.

(For those of you who don't wish to check my profile to try to figure out where the pragmatic tone of my review originates, I'm a non-Christian British Unitarian with pagan and Buddhist leanings. If you cared!) ( )

The scribe who put the words of Mother Julian to paper offered a warning:

"I pray God almighty that this book shall fall only into the hands of those who intend to be his lovers, and who are willing to submit to the Faith of the Holy Church, and to obey such sound and instructive teaching as is given by men of virtue, maturity, and profound learning. For this revelation contains deep theology and great wisdom, and is not meant for those who are enslaved by sin and the Devil" (213).

His warning is apt. Like my experience with The Imitation, this is the sort of writing that you have to deeply commit to before you benefit from it. If you try to skim it quickly—as if it were some modern day best-seller—it feels shallow and repetitive. On the other hand, I dare any believer to pray, open the book, and not be changed.

The form of The Revelation is simple. In 86 short chapters, Julian recounts and interprets 16 separate visions she received while praying. These visions focus on the pain Jesus was willing to bear for us, the depth of Jesus' love for us, and the incomprehensible role of evil in God's good creation.

Along the way (writing as a fourteenth century Anchorite) she shares some things that will make modern day Western-style evangelicals squirm. Specifically, her comments on St. Mary and her lengthy reflections on the motherhood of Jesus. Please don't let this dissuade you from this work. The expression "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" comes to mind.

Mother Julian was a devoted believer who was overwhelmed with the love of her God. We could all use a reminder of that.

"So it was that I learned that love was our Lord's meaning. And I saw for certain, both here and everywhere, that before ever he made us, God loved us; and that his love has never slackened, nor ever shall. In this love all his works have been done, and in this love he has made everything serve us; and in this love our life is everlasting. Our beginning was when we were made, but the love in which he made us never had beginning. In it we have our beginning"(212).

One last thought. There are more editions of this work than you can shake a stick at. I read the Penguin Classics edition, with an introduction by the translator, Clifton Wolters. His 33 page introduction was a valuable aid for me to understand the broad theme of the book as well as Mother Julian's life and setting. ( )

These accounts of the visions Julian saw are very unique and intense. I admit when I first read her writing, I was a little skeptical, but along my journey as the Holy Spirit leads and guides me, Julian's work comes back to me often... the intensity of how she describes these visions, how she mourns over the agony Christ went through as she becomes more aware of His great sacrafice and more understanding of His awesome divinity next to her humanity. Reading it is a ...startling experience - that's the best way I can describe it. But it's also a helpful way of realizing the magnitude of Christ's work. All the specific teachings/doctrine she shares through these revelations should, of course, be read along with the Scriptures to confirm if these concepts actually align with the teachings and doctrine of the Word.

ST. JULIAN OF NORWICH

from back cover: "Revelations of Divine Love is an account of the sixteen 'shewings' (or visions) which appeared to Mother Julian (1342-1416), a recluse who lived at Norwich in the fourteenth century, together with her meditations on these mystical experiences. Julian of Norwich writes in a lively and unpretentious manner and her theology is precise without ever being pedantic: above all, she has a gift for expressing profound thoughts in the simplest language. In the pages of her mystical treatise the voice of the Middle Ages sounds with a clarity difficult to parallel among the writers of the period"