Julian of Norwich: Voice of Divine Love

What enabled the fourteenth-century mystic, Julian of Norwich, to communicate her hope-filled message that ‘all shall be well’, was her love of language and her gift for finding just the right words to describe her experience of divine love, such as oneing, knitt, beclosid, homely, beholdyng, blisse. In this book, Margaret Paton enters into Julian’s contemplative experience by paying particular attention to the words Julian uses, exploring their original Middle English meaning. In doing so she helps present-day readers to hear Julian’s teachings with the freshness that would have characterised Julian’s message to her original listeners.

Reflecting on Julian’s Showings, the author shares her own monstrance, inviting each of us in turn to enter the monstrance of our own lives, the place of intimate encounter with Jesus, where he shows himself to us as he did to Julian seven centuries ago.