Some thoughts from our archives for the feast of St Julian of Norwich…
I’m revisiting the work of Julian of Norwich on her feast day. She has a gentle and unshakeable certainty that is calming and soothing in challenging times. Today I’ve been reflecting on these words:
“And in this he showed me something small, no bigger than a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand…In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God preserves it.”
They’re some of her most famous and well known words. They remind me of the of the fragility of our human life and of all of creation. The crises we’ve faced in the past few years have taught us taught us how little control we have over the events that affect us. We will never again be quite so enthralled by that beguiling myth that we control our own destiny.
The pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis have left us all too aware that our lives are every bit as small and fragile as the hazelnut Julian describes. We will always now wonder, as she did, how anything so small and fragile could exist. That could be a despairing thought, especially in these times.
Yet, Julian’s revelation carries on and God shows her that it is held in being by the love of God. That love turns any despair we might feel in the face of our fragility into hope. As we tentatively navigate these challenging and uncertain times, that hope in the loving presence of God, holding us in being, gently cradling us in our fragility is essential.
Where are you aware of your need to be cradled in the love of God today?