Session 8
Chapters 66-75
Ch. 66 - Julian dreamed of a fiend coming to her in her sleep to attack and kill her. She entrusted herself entirely to the mercy of God.
Ch. 67 -Julian was then shown a vision of her own soul in the center of her heart. Her soul, like yours, is a vast, boundless expanse, “a blessed kingdom” in the center of which Jesus dwells eternally. Your soul is his home.
God rejoices when we fix on him instead of on our sufferings. God’s promise is not that we will not be troubled, rather the promise is that “we will not be overcome.” God’s endless love will sustain us through all trouble.
Ch. 69 - The fiend returns and Julian “clings to God with all her trust and all her might. The fiend left her.
When the showings were over Julian denied them and attributed them to delerium. However, Jesus spoke to her saying, “It was not a hallucination.” He sought to give the showings an “unshakable place in her heart.”
Ch. 71 - Jesus wants to see “a smile on our souls.” “Our delight is his reward.”
Julian saw three expressions on our Lord’s face: passion, compassion, and eternity.
Ch. 72 - Julian saw that “we are never dead in the eyes of God nor does he ever leave us.”
Sin is the fierce opponent of bliss and prevents us from seeing clearly the blessed face of our Lord.
There are 3 kinds of knowing we need to nurture in ourselves:
Know God
Know ourselves, “which is know what we are in God, by nature and by grace.”
Know “with humility what we do to ourselves when we miss the mark.”
“God wants us to root everything in the contemplation and enjoyment of love.”
Page 198-99: unreasonable despondency. We place too much emphasis (unto despair) on our past and present transgressions and imperfections. This leads to despair which can only be lightened and lifted by love. We must ground our faith in love, make amends, and forgive ourselves.
Ch. 74 - four kinds of dread:
Fear of attack - helps us patiently trust in God when we feel vulnerable
Fear of pain - keeps us alert to our propensity to sin
Fearful doubt - is an invitation to acknowledge the depth of God’s love for us.
Holy awe - is reverent and humble reliance on the grace of God which is created by our acceptance of his endless love for us. God is great and I am small and yet God’s love for me is so vast that it seems that everything God does he does just for me.
Ch. 75 - there are 3 things we need most:
Love - God’s love is our heart’s true desire
Longing - to long for God draws us out of and away from our pain
Compassion - we are protected by God’s solidarity with us in our suffering