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Julian of Norwich

Julian of Norwich Quotes

God's love is the foundation of all creation, and it is the answer to all of life's problems.
Julian of Norwich preaches about the all-encompassing love and providence of God, assuring that despite challenges and falls, we are always kept in His precious love, and that all shall be well in the end. She emphasizes the importance of prayer rooted in confidence and understanding, highlighting that God's goodness is the highest object of prayer, reaching down to our lowest need. Julian also reflects on the transformative power of grace, turning failings into comfort, glory, and bliss, ultimately leading us to a deeper knowledge of God's love.

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"All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well."

― Julian of Norwich

"The greatest honor we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love."

― Julian of Norwich

"He said not 'Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be dis-eased'; but he said, 'Thou shalt not be overcome."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"If there is anywhere on earth a lover of God who is always kept safe, I know nothing of it, for it was not shown to me. But this was shown: that in falling and rising again we are always kept in that same precious love."

― Julian of Norwich

"God loved us before he made us; and his love has never diminished and never shall."

― Julian of Norwich

"And all shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be exceeding well."

― Julian of Norwich

"Our Savior is our true Mother in whom we are endlessly born and out of whom we shall never come."

― Julian of Norwich

"God, of thy goodness, give me Thyself;

for Thou art enough for me,

and I can ask for nothing less

that can be full honor to Thee.

And if I ask anything that is less,

ever Shall I be in want,

for only in Thee have I all."

― Julian of Norwich

"... so our customary practice of prayer was brought to mind: how through our ignorance and inexperience in the ways of love we spend so much time on petition. I saw that it is indeed more worthy of God and more truly pleasing to him that through his goodness we should pray with full confidence, and by his grace cling to him with real understanding and unshakeable love, than that we should go on making as many petitions as our souls are capable of."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"Truth sees God, and wisdom contemplates God, and from these two comes a third, a holy and wonderful delight in God, who is love."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"...we need to fall, and we need to be aware of it; for if we did not fall, we should not know how weak and wretched we are of ourselves, nor should we know our Maker's marvellous love so fully..."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"See that I am God. See that I am in everything. See that I do everything. See that I have never stopped ordering my works, nor ever shall, eternally. See that I lead everything on to the conclusion I ordained for it before time began, by the same power, wisdom and love with which I made it. How can anything be amiss?"

― Julian of Norwich

"But for I am a woman should I therefore live that I should not tell you the goodness of God?"

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"And I saw that truly nothing happens by accident or luck, but everything by God's wise providence. If it seems to be accident or luck from our point of view, our blindness and lack of foreknowledge is the cause; for matters that have been in God's foreseeing wisdom since before time began befall us suddenly, all unawares; and so in our blindness and ignorance we say that this is accident or luck, but to our Lord God it is not so."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"...deeds are done which appear so evil to us and people suffer such terrible evils that it does not seem as though any good will ever come of them; and we consider this, sorrowing and grieving over it so that we cannot find peace in the blessed contemplation of God as we should do; and this is why: our reasoning powers are so blind now, so humble and so simple, that we cannot know the high, marvelous wisdom, the might and the goodness of the Holy Trinity. And this is what he means where he says, 'You shall see for yourself that all manner of things shall be well', as if he said, 'Pay attention to this now, faithfully and confidently, and at the end of time you will truly see it in the fullness of joy."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"Prayer is a new, gracious, lasting will of the soul united and fast-bound to the will of God by the precious and mysterious working of the Holy Ghost."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"God, of your goodness, give me yourself; you are enough for me, and anything less that I could ask for would not do you full honor. And if I ask anything that is less, I shall always lack something, but in you alone I have everything'."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"...the goodness of God is the highest object of prayer and it reaches down to our lowest need."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"Grace transforms our failings full of dread into abundant, endless comfort ... our failings full of shame into a noble, glorious rising ... our dying full of sorrow into holy, blissful life. .... Just as our contrariness here on earth brings us pain, shame and sorrow, so grace brings us surpassing comfort, glory, and bliss in heaven ... And that shall be a property of blessed love, that we shall know in God, which we might never have known without first experiencing woe."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazel nut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, 'What may this be?' And it was answered generally thus, 'It is all that is made.' I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to nothing for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning by the love of God.

In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it. The second that God loves it. And the third, that God keeps it."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"And He that made man for love, by the same love He would restore man to the same bliss, and overpassing; and like as we were like-made to the Trinity in our first making, our Maker would that we should be like Jesus Christ, Our Saviour, in heaven without end, by the virtue of our again-making."

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

"Anything less then God, ever me wanteth."

― Julian of Norwich

"Therefore this is His thirst and love-longing, to have us altogether whole in Him, to His bliss,--as"

― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

Sermon Outline

  1. The Love of God
  2. The Nature of God's Love
  3. Prayer and the Will of God
  4. Prayer should be a response to God's love, not a means of getting what we want
  5. Our will should be united with God's will through prayer

Key Quotes

“All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” — Julian of Norwich
“God loved us before he made us; and his love has never diminished and never shall.” — Julian of Norwich
“Our Savior is our true Mother in whom we are endlessly born and out of whom we shall never come.” — Julian of Norwich

Application Points

  • We should trust in God's love and goodness, even in the midst of suffering.
  • Prayer is a means of uniting our will with God's will, and of experiencing God's love and presence in our lives.
  • We should seek to know God's will and to follow it, rather than trying to get what we want through prayer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is God's love limited to those who are good?
No, God's love is available to all, regardless of our actions or circumstances.
How can we know that God is in control of everything?
We can trust in God's wisdom and love, even when things seem chaotic or unfair.
What is the purpose of prayer?
Prayer is a means of uniting our will with God's will, and of experiencing God's love and presence in our lives.
Can we really trust in God's goodness, even in the midst of suffering?
Yes, we can trust in God's goodness and love, even in the midst of suffering, because it is all part of God's plan to bring us to eternal bliss.
How can we know that God loves us?
We can know that God loves us because of the gift of prayer, which allows us to experience God's love and presence in our lives.

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