In preparation for my visit to Norwich, I had downloaded a modernized version of Revelations of Divine Love onto my Kindle. I read much of it sitting in her cell in the church which is now named after her.
There were eight larger-than-lifesize panels depicting some of the “showings” in the chapel at Ditchingham where the East Anglian Ministerial Training Course had study weekends and summer schools. The crown of thorns and Christ’s suffering on the cross are even more gruesome in Julian’s words than in the paintings, which did not prepare me for her joyful reflections. “Our Protector” (the word the editors use instead of “Lord”) “laughs with gladness at our prayers.” Our sin, she believes, cannot hurt God because God never changes. It can hurt us, but also can be the occasion of the great joy of being forgiven.
emeritablog: life after work 