Julian of Norwich

Janina Ramirez, in her little book “Julian of Norwich” offers an excellent introduction to the fascinating figure of Julian of Norwich. Julian was so much ahead of her time in so many ways, offering challenging but significant insights as to how she experienced her relationship with God. As Ramirez points out: “Julian lived through turbulent times, but her work moves beyond the politics and issues that surrounded her, in search of more eternal truths.” They were certainly challenging times – “Julian lived through the aftermath one of the most extraordinary moments in human history – the Black Death, 1348–9. The effect on the population of England was devastating, with areas of the country unable to recover to pre-plague numbers for many centuries. East Anglia was the county worst hit by the Black Death, because of the constant stream of trading ships, bringing with them infected rats and people. It is estimated that in Norwich 7,000 of the 12,000 inhabitants died.” However, Julian is a person of strong faith, but also one who is thoughtful about her understanding of God. Of particular interest is her understanding of the feminine aspects in the nature of God. As Ramirez comments: “she does not simply introduce the idea of a feminine aspect to God to create emotional impact, as earlier writers do. To her, God is equally male and female: ‘As truly as God is our father, so truly is God our mother.’” She adds: “Julian’s attitudes towards God as mother tie in with her attitudes towards sin. A mother will forgive anything a child does because of the overwhelming sense of love, born from having grown the child inside of herself. This is the love Julian can see in God.” We certainly get hints of much to learn from Julian of Norwich.