We’re nearing the end of this significant chunk of Julian’s Revelations of Divine Love dealing with the immensity of God’s love and the comparative insignificance of sin. Yesterday, we saw how we must remember that God’s love and peace live within us and, therefore, we are called to live within God’s love and peace accordingly. … Continue reading A Matter of Perspective: On Love, Sin, and Repentance
Yesterday we saw how Julian understood sin to be a result of a lack of awareness of God and, consequently, of love. Like the proverbial fish unaware it’s swimming in water, all too often we go through life unaware of the reality before us. Today I’d like to expand on this idea, drawing from Julian’s further … Continue reading Abiding in Peace and Love
Julian of Norwich makes a compelling argument that sin can never thwart God’s ultimate saving intent and is therefore ‘no thing’. But it’s still a pervasive force in the world — a force that brings nothing but pain. And since we are generally averse to pain as a species, and since the people most directly … Continue reading Why, Then, Do We Sin?
One of the common stereotypes often leveled against the younger generations raised in more supportive environments is that we are “precious snowflakes” — so confident in our uniqueness that we have come into the world feeling entitled to greatness. Silly and harmful generational stereotypes aside, both sides of this generalization hold some truth: We are, … Continue reading God’s Work for Me (And for You)
In popular imagination, Medieval Christianity is generally seen as having been obsessed with sin and shame and the avoidance thereof. So far, however, our study of Julian of Norwich’s writings has shown a rather shocking absence of this theme. She certainly takes sin itself seriously, but next to the grandeur of God, it is “no … Continue reading No Shame in Sin