I am just beginning to properly explore the writings of Julian of Norwich. This really struck me between the eyeballs this morning!
It is the grace of God’s goodness that our souls seek and always will, until we come to know God directly and realise he already has us enfolded in himself.
Julian of Norwich as translated by Mirabel Starr (https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=t2qmDwAAQBAJ&source=gbs_book_other_versions), p.16 [NB forgive the use of male pronouns for God who must surely be beyond gender. Julian was writing in the 14th Century. Actually she was the first woman in England whose writings were ever published.]
My reading has been interrupted this morning, as you can see, but the interruption is inviting me to stay with this quote and drink it in. (Credit to my friends’ cat Peach for knowing just when Aunty Ali needs to stay with something profound!) 🙏❤️😌
la perle 
“earliest surviving English-language works attributed to a woman”
LikeLike
… from Wikipedia is a bit different to what you have. Do you really know that there was no Latin by a woman in England published earlier? “Translated” grabbed me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelations_of_Divine_Love#The_revelations has an example of the original, which, at least in that typed form, is pretty comprehensible… mostly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well… it’s often said that Julian was the first published woman’s writing in England. Perhaps the first surviving one anyway? Hildegard of Bingen was published much earlier in Germany on many topics inc various scientific ones as well as music, art etc. She was a bit of a polymath by all accounts. Often nuns managed to get under the radar and get their writings published where other women may not have stood a chance in previous era. Lots of reasons – greater access to education, time as not busy bringing up families, the contemplative life may lend itself to study, and also some nuns came from wealthier families, and at different times and in different monastic orders sometimes they brought some of their family’s wealth with them to the convent which could have enabled them and their sisters to access learning and also even in some cases (eg Teresa of Avila in 16th C Spain) to have servants with them so they didn’t have to worry about household chores! (Most monastic houses developed a rule of life including « poverty » alongside « chastity » and « obedience » though, so that practice didn’t persist.) TMI I know!! Church nerd right here 😂
LikeLike
I hate you, WordPress. Why do you keep making me log in and then losing my comment anyway?
LikeLike
I hate it too. Am sure would be easier on Substack or something 🙄
LikeLike
Really I just wanted to say that’s a peach and a half.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😂👌🏽😻
LikeLike
And now they’ve all appeared, apart from the ones where I hit backspace twice to delete, you know, two characters and the whole comment emptied.
LikeLike
No need to apologise for the use of male pronouns – at least not to me. The image of God that we have, including the language/words we use, are always just that – an image & not the reality which is beyond knowing – except through love – “sharp darts of longing love” as The Cloud puts it.
LikeLiked by 1 person