A thought from Julian of Norwich on finding peace in ourselves.
‘He wants us to rest in him. He is all that is, and he knows that anything less is not enough for us. This is why no soul can find peace until it empties itself of all forms. Only when the soul has willingly become nothing, out for love of him who is everything, can it find true rest.’ Julian of Norwich.
Julian, at the age of 30, was close to death, or so they thought. She had visions on her ‘death bed’ and spent the rest of her life unpacking them and interpreting them. She lived in seclusion in a small room in the walls of the church in Norwich, England. Her writings, ‘Revelations of Divine Love’, are the earliest surviving English language works indisputably by a woman.
Her theology is optimistic and she writes of God’s love over and over and I really appreciate her wisdom and dedicated pursuit of the love of God.
‘From the time these things were first revealed I had often wanted to know what was our Lord's meaning. It was more than fifteen years after that I was answered in my spirit's understanding. "You would know our Lord's meaning in this thing? Know it well. Love was His meaning. Who showed it to you? Love. What did He show you? Love. Why did He show it? For love. Hold on to this and you will know and understand love more and more. But you will not know or learn anything else – ever.”’
Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
Perhaps peace in our souls is knowing this divine Love.
Today let’s pray for peace for ourselves, as it is a good place from which to work for peace with others and the wider world.
Divine Love, may we rest in You today. You are all that is, and anything less than You is not enough for us. May our souls find peace in You. May our souls find Your love to be everything. Amen