Julian of Norwich is the patron saint of our worshipping community. Her life and teachings are especially relevant to our times, as she lived her whole life during the many waves of the Black Plague in 14th century England. At the age of 30, after experiencing Divine revelations during a near death experience, she became an anchorite. She chose to be sealed into a small stone cell on the side of a church in Norwich to dedicate her life to prayer, contemplation, and the sharing of her “showings.” She spent the rest of her life in that one room with two windows, one connected her to the church, so she could participate in the daily prayers and sacraments and be provided with support, and the other to the outside, where people could come to her for wisdom and guidance. She was passionate about sharing the assurance and hope that had been revealed to her and so she worked on her Revelations of Divine Love, the first book in English written by a woman. In its pages, Julian bears witness to a completely unconditionally loving God whose presence dwells “blissfully within” all of nature, and who she experienced as Christ, Father and also Mother. In a time of common belief in eternal damnation and the plague as a judgement from God, she told of the absolute assurance that no matter how dire the circumstances are:
“All Shall be Well
All manner of things shall be well.”