A few days ago, we saw how, in a passage talking about the problem of pain, Julian of Norwich stumbled into some language that comes across as being dualist, denigrating matter and embodied life while praising the soul and spiritual life. She comes by this language honestly, for even those of us who, like Julian, … Continue reading The Cart and the Horse: A Reflection on Romans 8:6-11 and Julian of Norwich
Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, the commemoration of the Angel Gabriel’s coming to Mary to tell her of her huge and harrowing role in God’s plan for Israel and the whole world. It is not, as we tend to think of it, properly a ‘feast of Mary’, but a ‘feast of Christ’, and … Continue reading The Greatest Joy Save Himself: A Reflection on the Feast of the Annunciation 2023
Overall, Julian of Norwich’s theology and spirituality are remarkably positive. She filters everything through the greatness of God’s love, which creates, sustains, and provides for all things and against which sin can be “no deed” (Ch 11). But God’s goodness and love are no excuse for complacency. There are still things that can get us … Continue reading On Spiritual Sickness
Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love is a wonderful and important record for a number of reasons. As I trust you’ve seen throughout this series, it reveals Julian not only as a visionary mystic, but also as a theologian of profound insight. But her writing is also remarkable for its openness and frankness about … Continue reading Six Words of Faith
As an urbanite and amateur urbanist, I’ve always loved the image in the Scriptures of the heavenly New Jerusalem, the city of God, to describe God’s work and our participation in it. Unsurprisingly, it’s an image that has been popular among mystics over the centuries as well, most memorably St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), whose … Continue reading The Soul as a Citadel
Matthew Root 