Icon of Julian with her cat by Br Robert Lentz OFMThe 8th of May is the feast day of Julian of Norwich, sometimes known as Mother Julian or Lady Julian. She was an English Mystic of the late fourteenth Century, living as an anchoress in Norwich. Her life as an anchoress, finding Christ in isolation, and then finding that Christ transfigured that isolation into a communion of love, was an inspiration for many during lockdown. Her ‘Shewings’, or Revelations of Divine Love, a series of mystical visions of and conversations with Jesus, remain a source of profound wisdom and a gift to the church, present and future. For a good introduction to her work I recommend Julia Bolton Holloway’s website, she is herself an anchoress in Florence, and Robert Llewlyn’s classic work ‘With Pity, not With Blame, now reprinted by the Canterbury Press.
This poem is from my book The Singing Bowl which you can buy on Amazon or order from any good bookshop. Please feel free to use this poem in services, and print it in service bulletins, just include a brief acknowledgement that it comes from ‘The Singing Bowl’, Canterbury Press, 2013. Thanks
As always you can hear the poem by clicking on the ‘play’ button or on the title.
Show me O anchoress, your anchor-hold
Deep in the love of God, and hold me fast.
Show me again in whose hands we are held,
Speak to me from your window in the past,
Tell me again the tale of Love’s compassion
For all of us who fall onto the mire,
How he is wounded with us, how his passion
Quickens the love that haunted our desire.
Show me again the wonder of at-one-ment
Of Christ-in-us distinct and yet the same,
Who makes, and loves, and keeps us in each moment,
And looks on us with pity not with blame.
Keep telling me, for all my faith may waver,
Love is his meaning, only love, forever.
From the Amhurst Manuscript of Julian’s showingsIf you would like to encourage and support this blog, you might like, on occasion, (not every time of course!) to pop in and buy me a cup of coffee. Clicking on this banner will take you to a page where you can do so, if you wish. But please do not feel any obligation!
Malcolm Guite 
Thank you
Thank you, Malcolm
You made me happy today, Julian is one of my favorite mystics.
Hello,
I am loving your books and read one poem each evening.
It is interesting, that sometimes I find my mind doesn’t understand but I find myself in rich tears of affirmation.
Thank you! 💞
Thank you for sharing this uplifting poem. I look forward to more poems and writings from your good self.
Thank you for sharing the beauty of these words with all of us. I ordered the recommended books and look forward to reading them. “Show me again the wonder of at-one-ment Of Christ-in-us distinct and yet the same, . . ..” Yes, Lord!
I am surprised, I was not aware that anchoresses rated feast days. Was she Canonized? I think a life in seclusion and her writings certainly qualified her, but I thought there was a requirement of miracles too.
Fascinating, thanks for sharing.
She has now been formally recognised as a Doctor of the church!