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Julian of Norwich: Selections from Revelations of Divine Love―Annotated & Explained
Teachings from this fourteenth-century mystic provide spiritual direction and call for you to open yourself, body and soul, to divine love.
Many people are familiar with the phrase "All shall be well" but do not know much, if anything, about Julian of Norwich, the fourteenth-century English mystic who wrote those words. Thomas Merton declared her to be "without a doubt one of the most wonderful of all Christian voices," and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says that her writings "may well be the most important work of Christian reflection in the English language."
This accessible introduction to Julian's Revelations of Divine Love, an extended reflection on a series of her mystical visions, includes an informative introduction that addresses the historical, cultural and sociological context of Julian's life and writings. Mary Earle's facing-page commentary focuses on Julian's profoundly hopeful vision of humanity and God, her creative imagery and her rigorous honesty about the spiritual life. Drawing directly from Julian's text, Earle addresses a variety of topics essential to understanding Julian's mysticism, including the infinite nature of God, the life of prayer, God's suffering with us, the eternal and undying life of the soul, the motherhood of Jesus and the motherhood of God, "all shall be well" and more.
Drawing directly from Julian's text, the commentary addresses a variety of topics including the infinite nature of God, the life of prayer, God's suffering with us, the eternal and undying life of the soul, the motherhood of Jesus and the motherhood of God, "all shall be well" and more.
Many people are familiar with the phrase "All shall be well" but do not know much, if anything, about Julian of Norwich, the fourteenth-century English mystic who wrote those words. Thomas Merton declared her to be "without a doubt one of the most wonderful of all Christian voices," and former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says that her writings "may well be the most important work of Christian reflection in the English language."
This accessible introduction to Julian's Revelations of Divine Love, an extended reflection on a series of her mystical visions, includes an informative introduction that addresses the historical, cultural and sociological context of Julian's life and writings. Mary Earle's facing-page commentary focuses on Julian's profoundly hopeful vision of humanity and God, her creative imagery and her rigorous honesty about the spiritual life. Drawing directly from Julian's text, Earle addresses a variety of topics essential to understanding Julian's mysticism, including the infinite nature of God, the life of prayer, God's suffering with us, the eternal and undying life of the soul, the motherhood of Jesus and the motherhood of God, "all shall be well" and more.
Drawing directly from Julian's text, the commentary addresses a variety of topics including the infinite nature of God, the life of prayer, God's suffering with us, the eternal and undying life of the soul, the motherhood of Jesus and the motherhood of God, "all shall be well" and more.
- GenresNonfictionSpirituality
224 pages, Hardcover
First published November 21, 2013
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About the author
Julian of Norwich
49 books262 followersJulian of Norwich was the most important English mystic of the 14th century. Her spirituality is strongly Trinitarian and basically Neoplatonic.
In her Revelations of Divine Love Julian relates that in May 1373, when she was 30 years old, she suffered a serious illness. After she had been administered extreme unction, she received 16 revelations within the span of a few hours. When she wrote her Revelations, she was a recluse at Norwich, supported by the Benedictine convent of Carrow. Anchorite seclusion was a rather common form of life in 14th-century England among Christians with high spiritual aspirations. A woman of little formal education - she calls herself "unlettered" - Julian writes in a beautifully simple style and shows a solid grasp of traditional theology.
Julian's revelations, a mixture of imaginary and intellectual visions, bear all the characteristics of true mysticism. According to her, her visions came in fulfillment of three petitions of her youth: to have in mind the Passion of Christ, to have a critical bodily sickness at 30 years of age, and to receive the wounds of "true contrition," "genuine compassion," and "sincere longing for God." The revelations consist mostly of visions of the crucified Christ occasioned by the sight of a crucifix which the priest had left at her bedside. But through the Passion, Julian is led to intellectual visions of the Trinity and of the universe as it exists in God. Thus she is confronted by the teachings of sin and damnation, which she finds hard to reconcile with God's grace in Christ. Nevertheless the accepts the traditional Church doctrine of the existence of an eternal rejection. Yet on the sinfulness of those who will be saved she hedges: "In every soul to be saved is a godly will that has never consented to sin, in the past or in the future. Just as there is an animal will in our lower nature that does not will what is good, so there is a godly will in our higher part, which by its basic goodness never wills what is evil, but only what is good." Obviously she finds herself unable to accept that divine goodness could ever allow the elect to be truly sinful. Her fundamental outlook is optimistic. The Lord tells her: "All shall be well," and "You will see for yourself that all manner of thing shall be well."
Little is known of Julian's later years, not even the date of her death. She is last referred to as a living person in a will dated 1416. Apparently even during her life she enjoyed a certain renown, for people came from afar to see and consult her.
Further Reading
There are two versions of the Revelations, one much longer than the other. It is not known whether the short one is merely an excerpt from the older one or whether it is the first authentic report on which Julian elaborated in the longer version. A critical edition is being prepared by Sister Anna Maria Reynolds and James Walsh. Meanwhile, a modernized edition of the short version is A Shewing of God's Love (1958) by Anna Maria Reynolds. Several modern translations of the longer version, under the title Revelations of Divine Love, are by Roger Hudleston (1927), James Walsh (1961), Anchoret Juliana (1966), and Clifton Wolters (1966). Important studies of Julian are Paul Molinari, Julian of Norwich: The Teaching of a 14th Century English Mystic (1958), and James Walsh, ed., Pre-Reformation English Spirituality (1966).
In her Revelations of Divine Love Julian relates that in May 1373, when she was 30 years old, she suffered a serious illness. After she had been administered extreme unction, she received 16 revelations within the span of a few hours. When she wrote her Revelations, she was a recluse at Norwich, supported by the Benedictine convent of Carrow. Anchorite seclusion was a rather common form of life in 14th-century England among Christians with high spiritual aspirations. A woman of little formal education - she calls herself "unlettered" - Julian writes in a beautifully simple style and shows a solid grasp of traditional theology.
Julian's revelations, a mixture of imaginary and intellectual visions, bear all the characteristics of true mysticism. According to her, her visions came in fulfillment of three petitions of her youth: to have in mind the Passion of Christ, to have a critical bodily sickness at 30 years of age, and to receive the wounds of "true contrition," "genuine compassion," and "sincere longing for God." The revelations consist mostly of visions of the crucified Christ occasioned by the sight of a crucifix which the priest had left at her bedside. But through the Passion, Julian is led to intellectual visions of the Trinity and of the universe as it exists in God. Thus she is confronted by the teachings of sin and damnation, which she finds hard to reconcile with God's grace in Christ. Nevertheless the accepts the traditional Church doctrine of the existence of an eternal rejection. Yet on the sinfulness of those who will be saved she hedges: "In every soul to be saved is a godly will that has never consented to sin, in the past or in the future. Just as there is an animal will in our lower nature that does not will what is good, so there is a godly will in our higher part, which by its basic goodness never wills what is evil, but only what is good." Obviously she finds herself unable to accept that divine goodness could ever allow the elect to be truly sinful. Her fundamental outlook is optimistic. The Lord tells her: "All shall be well," and "You will see for yourself that all manner of thing shall be well."
Little is known of Julian's later years, not even the date of her death. She is last referred to as a living person in a will dated 1416. Apparently even during her life she enjoyed a certain renown, for people came from afar to see and consult her.
Further Reading
There are two versions of the Revelations, one much longer than the other. It is not known whether the short one is merely an excerpt from the older one or whether it is the first authentic report on which Julian elaborated in the longer version. A critical edition is being prepared by Sister Anna Maria Reynolds and James Walsh. Meanwhile, a modernized edition of the short version is A Shewing of God's Love (1958) by Anna Maria Reynolds. Several modern translations of the longer version, under the title Revelations of Divine Love, are by Roger Hudleston (1927), James Walsh (1961), Anchoret Juliana (1966), and Clifton Wolters (1966). Important studies of Julian are Paul Molinari, Julian of Norwich: The Teaching of a 14th Century English Mystic (1958), and James Walsh, ed., Pre-Reformation English Spirituality (1966).
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 22, 2016
In the year 1373, Julian of Norwich was on what everyone thought was her deathbed when she had a visionary experience (or "shewings") in which Jesus Christ spoke to her. She recovered from her illness and wrote down her recollection of the revelations given to her. She continued to revisit them in her mind and in her prayers, and over a period of 20 years had many insights and new understandings of what she had seen and heard. In this rendition, Mary Earle organizes Julian's words under different topics/themes, and then adds her own annotations on the facing pages. The book is short in length, but very long on hope and the assurance of divine love. One question comes up over and over in her ponderings: why did God allow sin to enter into a world that was created out of love? She prays for understanding and receives this beautiful response from Jesus, "Sin is befitting, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." Mary Earle's annotation on these words is "in other words, sin has a function-it is, in some way, necessary," but "sin is never the last word." Julian's writings are the first penned in English by a woman, and she shared them out of love. I expect she would be pleased to see how the experiences and insights that gave her own life such meaning continue to inspire centuries later!
September 2, 2021
Julian has such a tender, intimate understanding of God. Her fleshing out of the Trinity feels embodied and real. Her understanding of God as mother is warm. Her commitment to seeing the love of God in all, and through all, and with all, is comforting, grounding, and inspiring.
"Thus Jesus Christ who does good for evil is our true mother... God is our mother as truly as he is our father; and he showed this in everything, and especially in the sweet words where he says, "It is I,"
that is to say,
"It is I: the power and goodness of fatherhood.
It is I: the wisdom of motherhood.
It is I: the light and the grace which all blessed love.
It is I: the Trinity.
It is I: the unity. I am the sovereign goodness of all manner of things.
It is I that makes you love.
It is I that makes you long.
It is I: the eternal fulfillment of all true desires."
"Thus Jesus Christ who does good for evil is our true mother... God is our mother as truly as he is our father; and he showed this in everything, and especially in the sweet words where he says, "It is I,"
that is to say,
"It is I: the power and goodness of fatherhood.
It is I: the wisdom of motherhood.
It is I: the light and the grace which all blessed love.
It is I: the Trinity.
It is I: the unity. I am the sovereign goodness of all manner of things.
It is I that makes you love.
It is I that makes you long.
It is I: the eternal fulfillment of all true desires."
May 12, 2020
This review is not in regards to Julian of Norwich’s work but rather this book. While it is framed as a helpful introduction to her writings, I thought it lacked much. Most disappointing was that all her sixteen visions weren’t even accounted for. In the end, this felt more like a collection of quotes than selections from Revelations of Divine Love. I’m sure this book would be useful in certain settings (perhaps in a classroom alongside teaching?), but I found it lacking.
August 6, 2019
Great way to get a introduction to Julian's Long Text.
August 18, 2025
dnf @ 40% - commentary
September 25, 2025
The copious notes in this book are quite helpful. This is not the full text, but rather thematic excerpts. Well worth reading and adding to my St. Julian collection.
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March 6, 2015I liked it, but I enjoyed reading the whole Showings or Revelations of Divine Love better.
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April 26, 2015Favorite quote: All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews