Julian of Norwich—Immersing Herself in the Will of God

Julian was born around 1342.  Julian was born in a time when women had no rights.  They were property of their fathers.  They only had a few options on what they were going to do in their life.  The first option was getting married and having children.  This would make them property of their husband.  The second option was to give their life over to God. 

Julian was called to serve God.  She became what is called an Anchoress. An Anchoress secludes herself from the world.  She spent her life in one space for 40 years.  She only left the room when her body was carried out upon her death around 1416.

Julian became very ill and received images from God.  She was miraculously healed and she felt the call to go into exclusion.  She wrote about this experience and in the process has become one of the most recognized females of Christian writings. 

Her philosophy was one of hope.  In a world of disease and death Julian wrote of the love of God.  Julian had a very controversial view that suffering was not bad if it led someone into a closer relationship with God.  She had felt that her own illness had brought her closer to God.  In that, she believed God had taught her that God had no wrath but only love for the world.

Julian also did not believe that there was sin and a need for grace.  Instead she believed that the wrong of the world was to teach us how to come closer to God.  Therefor the evil of the world was to encourage us to grow in a closer relationship with God.  We have no need for redemption because God loves us and only wants us to return love.  As we face the hard moments of our life we are to turn it over to God who will make all things better.

Her writings are considered the best of the mystic theology of the time.  This contradicted the protestant reformation that taught that it was a rational experience.  We have to remember that she believed that the understanding of God went further than just the Bible.  God had given us the Bible yet what she wanted us to learn is that we can learn through other experiences.