ToughEnough
06-18-2007, 10:30 PM
:hugon dearest :fishy 's seeking greater spirituality :hugoff
:hugon and fishies who are feeling they are to blame when they are not :hugoff
One of the most wonderful things to come out of the fourteenth century was a very wise woman, Julian of Norwich, who was very close to God and wrote a remarkable little book about various "showings" revealed to her by God. She was a great mystic in her day and her wisdom and message of love and hope are still treasured today. It was in a meditation prayer group I learned of her some years ago. The most famous line is "all will be made well" but right up there is the "hazelnut" passage about God's creation and how He loves all of it.
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"In this vision he showed me a little thing, the size of a hazelnut, and it
was round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and
thought "What may this be?" And it was generally answered thus: "It is all that is
made." I marvelled how it might last, for it seemed it might suddenly have
sunk into nothing because of its littleness. And I was answered in my
understanding: "It lasts and ever shall, because God loves it."
-- Julian of Norwich
Commentary by:
http://www.saintnicholas.contactbox.co.uk/archive/julian.htm
God showed Julian a spiritual vision of His simple loving. God is our clothing, wrapping us and holding us in His love, which is so tender and will never leave us. Julian understood this to mean that God is everything that is good. This picture then developed into a small object, a hazelnut, in the palm of her hand. It was round as a ball. Asking God what it was, she knew that ‘it is all that is made". It was so small it could have disappeared; but Julian understood that it would continue always because God loves it, just as everything is loved and has its being by the love of God.
The hazelnut, which represents everything we can see and touch, has three characteristics: God made it, God loves it and God keeps it. God is therefore, Maker, Lover and Keeper of all.
Dear fishies, I was just moved to post this here as some words of comfort when we wonder "are we doing the right thing?" or "was I to blame?" or "is this all going to work out?" or "will there ever be an end to this pain?" May it comfort you as much as it has comforted me.
:butterfly
tuffs
:hugon and fishies who are feeling they are to blame when they are not :hugoff
One of the most wonderful things to come out of the fourteenth century was a very wise woman, Julian of Norwich, who was very close to God and wrote a remarkable little book about various "showings" revealed to her by God. She was a great mystic in her day and her wisdom and message of love and hope are still treasured today. It was in a meditation prayer group I learned of her some years ago. The most famous line is "all will be made well" but right up there is the "hazelnut" passage about God's creation and how He loves all of it.
---------------------------
"In this vision he showed me a little thing, the size of a hazelnut, and it
was round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and
thought "What may this be?" And it was generally answered thus: "It is all that is
made." I marvelled how it might last, for it seemed it might suddenly have
sunk into nothing because of its littleness. And I was answered in my
understanding: "It lasts and ever shall, because God loves it."
-- Julian of Norwich
Commentary by:
http://www.saintnicholas.contactbox.co.uk/archive/julian.htm
God showed Julian a spiritual vision of His simple loving. God is our clothing, wrapping us and holding us in His love, which is so tender and will never leave us. Julian understood this to mean that God is everything that is good. This picture then developed into a small object, a hazelnut, in the palm of her hand. It was round as a ball. Asking God what it was, she knew that ‘it is all that is made". It was so small it could have disappeared; but Julian understood that it would continue always because God loves it, just as everything is loved and has its being by the love of God.
The hazelnut, which represents everything we can see and touch, has three characteristics: God made it, God loves it and God keeps it. God is therefore, Maker, Lover and Keeper of all.
Dear fishies, I was just moved to post this here as some words of comfort when we wonder "are we doing the right thing?" or "was I to blame?" or "is this all going to work out?" or "will there ever be an end to this pain?" May it comfort you as much as it has comforted me.
:butterfly
tuffs