Saint Julian's Vision

At the same time I saw this sight of the head bleeding, our good Lord showed a spiritual sight of his familiar love. I saw that he is to us everything which is good and comforting for our help. He is our clothing, who wraps and enfolds us for love, embraces and shelters us, surrounds us for his love, which is so tender that it may never desert us. And so in this sight I saw that he is everything which is good, as I understand.

... And this vision taught me to understand that the soul's constant search pleases God greatly. For it cannot do more than seek, suffer and trust. And this is accomplished in every soul, to whom it is given by the Holy Spirit. And illumination by finding is of the Spirit's special grace, when it is his will. Seeking with faith, hope and love pleases our Lord, and finding pleases the soul and fills it full of joy. And so I was taught to understand that seeking is as good as contemplating, during the time that he wishes to permit the soul to be in labour. It is God's will that we seek on until we wee him, for it is through this that he will show himself to us, of his special grace, when it is his will.

And he will teach a soul himself how it should bear itself when it contemplates him, and that is the greatest honour to him and the greatest profit to the soul, and it receives most humility ans other virtues, by the grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit For it seems to me that the greatest honour which a soul can pay to God is simply to surrender itself to him with confidence, whether it be seeking or contemplation. ...

It is God's will that we receive three things from him as gifts we seek. The first is that we seek willingly and diligently without sloth, as that may be with his grace, joyfully and happily, without unreasonable depression and useless sorrow. The second is that we wait for him steadfastly, out of love for him, without grumbling and contending against him, to the end of our lives,for that will last only for a time. The third is that we have great trust in him, out of complete and true faith, for it is his will that we know that he will appear, suddenly and blessedly, to all of his lovers. For he works in secret, and he will be perceived, and his appearing will be very sudden. And he wants to be trusted, for he us very accessible, familiar and courteous, blessed may he be.
-Julian of Norwich Revelations of Divine Love

Thanks to Rev. Everett Hobbs for this meditation.