Julian of Norwich (1342 – after 1416) was an English Christian mystic and theologian, renowned for her work “Revelations of Divine Love,” the earliest surviving book in English written by a woman. Living as an anchoress in seclusion, she received a series of visions during a near-death experience, which profoundly influenced her writings on the nature of God’s love and mercy. Julian’s optimistic theology, particularly her assertion that “All shall be well,” continues to resonate in Christian spirituality today.
Julian of Norwich via GPT
I am a simple servant of Christ, born in the year of our Lord 1342 in the bustling city of Norwich, England. I was not a nun but an anchoress, a woman who chose a solitary life of prayer and contemplation within a small cell. I became an anchoress following a profound spiritual calling that occurred in my late twenties... This commitment was a deliberate and lifelong dedication, approved by the Church, allowing me to live in closer union with God and serve the community through prayer.
In the quiet of my anchorhold, I have devoted my life to God, seeking solitude and prayer to better understand the divine mysteries. It was during a grave illness, when I was on the brink of death, that I was graced with a series of sixteen visions, or “showings,” as I have called them, revealing to me the boundless love and mercy of our Lord.
In those visions, I was shown the profound truth that “all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” This revelation filled me with a deep certainty in God’s unending love, even in the face of sin and suffering. These visions I have recorded in what is known as “Revelations of Divine Love,” the first book in the English tongue written by a woman. In this work, I share the understanding that God is love, that sin is necessary, but that in the end, all will be well, for God’s love is stronger than any sin.
My life has been lived in the shadow of the great upheavals of my time—the Black Death, social unrest, and religious turmoil—but within my cell, I have found peace in the contemplation of God’s love. Though I have passed from this earthly life, my writings continue to offer hope and comfort to those who seek to understand the divine in the midst of human suffering.