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Pope
Benedict XVI - General Audiences |
General
Audience
On Julian of Norwich
"God's Promises are Always Greater than Our Hopes"
H.H. Benedict XVI
December 1, 2010
www.zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am still remembering with great joy the journey I made to the United
Kingdom last September. England is a land that has given birth to so
many illustrious figures who with their testimony and their teaching
have embellished the history of the Church. One of these, venerated both
by the Catholic Church as well as the Anglican Communion, is the mystic
Julian of Norwich, of whom I would like to speak this morning.
The information we have on her life -- not much -- is taken primarily
from the book in which this kind and pious woman gathered the content of
her visions, titled "Revelations of Divine Love." It is known that she
lived from 1342 to about 1430, years of torment both for the Church,
lacerated by the schism following the Pope's return from Avignon to
Rome, as well as for the people suffering the consequences of a long war
between the kingdom of England and that of France. God, however, even in
times of tribulation, does not cease to raise figures such as Julian of
Norwich, to call men back to peace, love and joy.
As she herself recounts, in May of 1373, probably on the 13th of that
month, she was suddenly stricken by a very serious illness that in three
days seemed to bring her to the point of death. When the priest who came
to her bedside showed her the crucifix, Julian not only quickly
recovered her health, but received 16 revelations that subsequently she
reported in writing and commented in her book, "Revelations of Divine
Love." And it was in fact the Lord who, 15 years after these
extraordinary events, revealed to her the meaning of those visions. "Do
you wish to know what your Lord intended and to know the meaning of this
revelation? Know well: Love is what he intended. Who reveals this to
you? Love. Why does he reveal it to you? Out of love ... So learn that
love is our Lord's meaning" (Julian of Norwich, "Il Libro delle
Rivelazioni," Chapter 86, Milan, 1997, p. 320).
Inspired by divine love, Julian made a radical choice. Like one of the
ancient hermits, she chose to live in a cell, which was near a church
dedicated to St. Julian, in the city of Norwich, at the time a very
important urban center, near London. Perhaps she took the name Julian
precisely from that saint to whom the church was dedicated and next to
which she lived for so many years, until her death. We might be
surprised and even perplexed by this decision to live as a "recluse," as
this was called in her time. However, she was not alone in making this
choice: During those centuries a considerable number of women opted for
this kind of life, adopting rules elaborated purposefully for them, such
as that composed by St. Aelred of Rievaulx. The anchorites or "recluses"
dedicated themselves within their cells to prayer, meditation and study.
In this way, they developed a very fine human and religious sensitivity,
which made them venerated by the people. Men and women of every age and
condition, in need of advice and comfort, sought them devotedly. Hence,
it was not an individualistic choice; precisely with this closeness to
the Lord, what matured in her also was the capacity to be a counselor to
many, to help those who lived in difficulty in this life.
We know that Julian also received frequent visitors, as attested in the
autobiography of another fervent Christian woman of her time, Margery
Kempe, who went to Norwich in 1413 to receive suggestions on her
spiritual life. This is why when Julian was alive she was called, as is
written on the funeral monument that houses her remains, "Mother
Julian." She became a mother for many.
The women and men who withdraw to live in the company of God, precisely
because of this decision, acquire a great sense of compassion for the
sorrows and weaknesses of others. As friends of God, they have a wisdom
that the world, from which they distance themselves, does not have. And
with kindness, they share it with those who knock on their door. I am
thinking, hence, with admiration and gratitude, of women's and men's
cloistered monasteries that, today more than ever, are oases of peace
and hope, precious treasures for the whole Church, especially in
recalling the primacy of God and the importance of constant and intense
prayer for the journey of faith.
It was precisely in the solitude inhabited by God that Julian of Norwich
composed the "Revelations of Divine Love," of which we have two
editions, a shorter one this is probably older, and a longer one. This
book contains a message of optimism based on the certainty of being
loved by God and of being protected by his Providence. In this book we
read the following wonderful words: "I saw with absolute certainty ...
that God, even before creating us loved us, with a love that has never
failed, and will never vanish. And in this love he did all his works,
and in this love he disposed that all things should be useful for us,
and in this love our life lasts for ever ... In this love we have our
beginning, and we see all this in God without end" (Ill libro delle
rivelazioni, chapter 86, p. 320).
The subject of divine love returns often in the visions of Julian of
Norwich who, with a certain audacity, does not hesitate to compare it
also to maternal love. This is one of the most characteristic messages
of her mystical theology. Tenderness, solicitude and the gentleness of
God's goodness to us are so great that, to us pilgrims on earth, they
evoke the love of a mother for her children. Indeed, at times the
biblical prophets also used this language that recalls the tenderness,
intensity and totality of the love of God, which manifests itself in
creation and in the whole history of salvation and has its culmination
in the incarnation of the Son. God, however, always surpasses every
human love, as the prophet Isaiah says: "Can a woman forget her sucking
child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even
if these may forget, yet I will not forget you" (Isaiah 49:15).
Julian of Norwich understood the central message for the spiritual life:
God is love and only when we open ourselves totally and with total trust
to this love and allow it to become the sole guide of existence, is
everything transfigured, true peace and true joy are found and one is
able to spread this around.
I would like to stress another point. The Catechism of the Catholic
Church takes up the words of Julian of Norwich when it gives the point
of view of the Catholic faith on an issue that does not cease to
constitute a provocation for all believers (cf. Nos. 304-314). If God is
supremely good and wise, why does evil and the suffering of the innocent
exist? Saints as well, precisely the saints, ask themselves this
question. Enlightened by faith, they give us an answer that opens our
heart to trust and hope: In the mysterious designs of Providence, even
from evil, God draws a greater good, as Julian of Norwich writes: "I
learned by the grace of God that I must remain firmly in the faith, and
hence I must firmly and perfectly believe that all will end well" (Il
libro delle rivelazioni, chapter 32, p. 173).
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, God's promises are always greater than
our hopes. If we entrust to God, to his immense love, the most pure and
most profound desires of our heart, we will never be disappointed. "And
all will be well," "everything will be for the good": This is the final
message that Julian of Norwich transmits to us and that I also propose
to you today. Thank you.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English,
he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our catechesis today deals with Julian of Norwich, an English mystic and
anchoress of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Julian
is best known for her book, Revelations of Divine Love, which recounts
sixteen vision or "showings" which she received during a grave illness.
The Revelations are centred on the love of Christ; in Julian's own
words: "love is our Lord's meaning." They exude an optimism grounded in
the certainty that we are loved by God and protected by his providence;
as Julian says, in speaking of God's power to bring good out of evil:
"all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well." Julian's
mysticism echoes the prophet Isaiah in using the imagery of a mother's
love to describe the affectionate care which God shows for his children,
culminating in the incarnation of his Son and the fulfilment of his
promises. Like so many holy women in every age, in spite of her
withdrawal from the world, Julian became a much-sought spiritual guide.
In our own lives, may we draw profit from her teaching that God is the
love which transforms our lives, bringing joy and peace to our hearts
and, through us, to those all around us.
I extend a warm welcome to the many student groups present at today's
Audience. Upon all the English-speaking visitors, especially those from
Malaysia, Australia and the United States of America, I cordially invoke
an abundance of joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
© Copyright 2010 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[In Italian, he said:]
I greet, finally, young people, the sick and newlyweds. The time of
Advent, just begun, presents to us in these days the shining example of
the Immaculate Virgin. May she be the one to spur you, dear young
people, on your path of constant adherence to Christ; for you, dear
sick, may Mary be the sustenance for a renewed hope; and for you, dear
newlyweds, may the Mother of Jesus be your guide in building your family
on the solid rock of faith.
[After the greetings, the Holy Father made the following appeal:]
I entrust to your prayer and to that of Catholics worldwide the Church
in China that, as you know, is going through particularly difficult
moments. We ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, to support
all the Chinese bishops, so dear to me, so that they will give witness
to their faith with courage, placing every hope in the Savior we await.
Moreover, we entrust to the Virgin all the Catholics of that beloved
country so that, with her intercession, they will be able to live an
authentic Christian existence in communion with the universal Church,
thus contributing also to the harmony and common good of their noble
people.
[Translation by ZENIT]
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