This week’s reflection is on a quote chosen by the University Chaplain Revd Dr Harriet Harris. Image Photo by Peter Trimming from Croydon, England Dame Julian (see the Daily Reflection for 11 May, https://www.ed.ac.uk/chaplaincy/daily-prayers-and-reflections/11th-of-may-2020 ) lived in Norwich during the time of the Black Death. The city, the second in the land at the time, was infected with the deadly disease. Julian herself - we do not know her birth name, only the name she became known by as anchoress to the Church of St Julian -- suffered what was believed to be a terminal illness at the age of 30. She received sixteen mystical visions of the love of God, and spent the next twenty years pondering their meaning. She recorded her conclusions in her Revelations. Her life as an anchoress meant that she chose to live a life of prayer and contemplation in an enclosed cell attached to a church: in seclusion but part of the community. A servant will have brought food to her and taken away waste. Julian will also have had a window on to the church for mass, and another window that opened to the outside world. There are parallels for us in lockdown, especially for those who need to have their food delivered, who can open their windows but not venture out, and whose access to mass or other spiritual provision is through the window of the internet. If, at moments, we feel that our own seclusion renders us un-useful, or if we feel some guilt that by enjoying aspects of our enforced hermit-lifestyle, we might be failing to contribute to society, consider that as an anchoress, Julian grew in wisdom and provided spiritual counsel. Millions have drawn on her insights since. “[Our Lord] showed me something small, no bigger than a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand…. In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God preserves it. But what did I see in it? It is that God is the creator and protector and the lover. For until I am substantially united to him, I can never have perfect rest or true happiness, until, that is, I am so attached to him that there can be no created thing between my God and me.” Dame Julian This article was published on 2024-06-24
