Saint Julian of Norwich is one of my favorite women of history. She was a remarkable woman who has contributed one of the most formative metaphors for me as I've grown in my faith.
Julian lived from 1342 to c.1416. We don't know the exact year of her death, and we don't even actually know her true name. Her name was derived from the church where she lived as an anchorite nun: St. Julian's Church in Norwich, England.
Some of you are probably wondering, "What, exactly, is an anchorite?" Anchorites were a specific group of people who lived as hermits. What is special about them is that they lived in cells attached to churches. They were walled in to their cell, meaning they did not leave their cell once entering it to begin their life of contemplation and prayer. While this seems like a drastic measure to ensure a life of solitude, life as an anchorite was actually a very popular form of devotion, especially during the medieval period. What may surprise you, however, is that it was a movement largely led by women. In the 12th century in England alone there were at least 100 anchorites living in their enclosed cells. By the time we reach the 14th and 15th centuries, the same timeframe that Julian entered her cell, we see twice as many women living the life of an anchorite than men.
What would life have been like for her, you may be wondering. What did she do all day walled into her cell? What was daily life like in that small 12 square foot room? Typical life for an anchorite included the attendance of one or two servants who helped them with daily chores (i.e.- disposing of waste, bringing food, etc.). An average anchorite cell included three windows. One window opened into a parlor area. This is where the servants would attend them. Another window would open up into the church their cell was attached to so that they could receive the sacrament of Communion and be a part of the Body of Christ through regular worship. The third and final window in an anchorite cell opened out onto the outside world. It was here that their ministry flourished. Anchorites were often considered to be wise spiritual directors and would often receive visitors, giving them advice and helping them in their discernment and spiritual growth. Such was the case for Julian's ministry.
For Julian, life went on rather normally until she was 30 years old. She became gravely ill, to the point that those close to her believed her to be on her deathbed. She was even given the Last Rites of the Church because her illness had so progressed. It was here, on the brink of death, that Julian experienced several visions, or what she called "showings," from God. She was ultimately healed of her illness after she received her visions. Soon after her healing she entered her cell and spent the next 20 years of her life reflecting on those same visions and writing what she learned.
The manuscript that she penned based on her visions is called The Revelations of Divine Love. This text is a series of insights into the suffering of Christ and his love for us. Ultimately, it is a message of hope and of love. This book is believed to be the first book written in English by a woman. There are two texts of The Revelations of Divine Love. The "Short Text" was written soon after Julian was healed of her illness. The "Long Text" was written over a 20 year period of prayer and reflection on those same visions.
I'd like to spend some time diving into one of Julian's most famous vision: the Hazelnut. Julian writes: “And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, ‘What may this be?’ And it was answered generally thus, ‘It is all that is made.’ I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to nothing for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning by the love of God. In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it. The second that God loves it. And the third, that God keeps it.”
This is a beautiful passage, and one I'd like to unpack a little. The world (or in Julian's language "all that is made") is so incredibly small when it is put in the perspective of being in the hand of God, just like the hazelnut is small in Julian's hand. Julian marvels at the smallness of the world, and wonders how something so small could even exist at all. How could it not fade away into nothingness? It would seem that smallness would mean that it inherently could not last.
Julian had every reason to marvel at the smallness of the world. She had every reason to doubt the permanence of all that is made and to wonder if the world she knew would fall into nothingness. During her lifetime, Julian experienced social, political, economic, and religious turmoil. She lived during the Black Death. From 1348 to 1351, plague decimated Europe. In Norwich alone nearly half of the population died during the three year span. This mass death toll resulted in social and economic upheaval. Julian also lived during an incredibly tumultuous political time as England was engaged in what would come to be known as the 100 Years War. This war and power struggle between England and France lasted from 1337 to 1453. On top of this war was the Peasants' Revolt that took place in 1381. This revolt swept throughout England after years of unfair taxes to fund the war and economic injustices. As if all this wasn't enough, the Catholic Church was in utter disarray during Julian's lifetime. The year 1378 saw an immense power struggle within the hierarchy of the Church. The Western Schism of the Catholic Church ensued, and there were at least two and sometimes three people claiming papal authority. What made it worse is that those people who claimed papal authority deemed the other person to be a "False Pope" and so tried to excommunicate them from the Church. During this time the papal capitol bounced between Rome (where we traditionally think of the Pope residing) and Avignon, France (where the papal capitol was held beginning in 1309 up through the beginning of the Schism).
There was nothing about life for Julian that seemed to be steady and sure. I can't help but see the turmoil of Julian's day and sympathize with her when she sees the smallness of the hazelnut, the smallness of all that is made, and wonders at how something so small could even continue to exist. And then I look at our own world. The times we live in aren't much different. We have our own series of issues in our time that have brought about social, political, economic, and even religious upheaval. It's not just that Julian lived during a tumultuous time. She spoke something inherently true about the universe. Life feels chaotic. And we can sometimes feel like our own personal smallness means that if we aren't careful, and sometimes even despite our carefulness, we will fall into nothingness.
In our smallness, our hold on God can sometimes feel tenuous. But the important thing about this vision is not that we hold on to God, but that God holds us in the palm of God's hand. In Julian's vision, it is revealed to her that all that has been made will not fall into nothingness as she fears. The smallness of the world is of no consequence because of three core truths about this world: God made it, God loves it, and God keeps it.
Practice a time of careful reading, prayer, and reflection today on those truths about God and God's relationship to this world. I've included some Scriptures below to correspond with each of these truths. Spend some time prayerfully meditating on these truths, picking out a word or phrase that stands out to you. Then offer a prayer to God in thanks.
God Made It
Psalm 8:3-5
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
Psalm 139:14-16
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.
God Loves It
Romans 5:8
But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
1 John 4:9-11
God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
God Keeps It
Philippians 1:6
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:13
For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.