Hard words to swallow nowadays. They were first spoken 650 years ago during the Black Death plague when day and night a little bell could be heard in the village streets indicating a priest was on the way to deliver last rites to another dying family member, or neighbor, or friend. Times were bleak. Food was scarce. There was nowhere to run. Yet, one small voice saying “All shall be well” was heard while so-called heretics were being burned and dumped in the river not far from where that woman was saying: “All shall be well.” The One Hundred Years’ War between England and France was part of daily life in the small seaport village. Two self-proclaimed popes were vying for power over the church and all the people from the baker to the candlestick maker. “All Shall Be Well. . .” Really?
The still small voice got through, somehow, in spite of it all and we recall these words six centuries later. Who was the woman? Was she a Pollyanna? Was she crazy? Was she oblivious to the suffering? No. Julian of Norwich had had a near death experience at the age of thirty. She was given those last rites by a priest while her mother stood by her deathbed waiting to close her eyes. That's as close as it gets! She lived from the age of fifty in a small room, an anchorage, attached to the church of St. Julian in Norwich, England. Her name Julian is taken from the church itself. She was one of about 300 Anchoresses in the Middle Ages. She is the one and only that we remember today. Why is that? Her message was antithetical to all that was happening around her. She spoke “truth to power” before it was fashionable. She cut through the all powerful male hierarchy with those words: “All Shall Be Well” while preachers of the day instilled fear and imposed punishment. She was the quintessential “insider-outsider.” Julian, aka Mother Julian, Lady Julian, is not one of the saints (I guess we know why) but she is commemorated yearly at the anchorage where she lived and died and spoke those hopeful words that have outlived her. She was the first woman to have a book published (posthumously) in the English language.
Twice now, I have gone to the anchorage in Norwich, UK. I plan to return for her feast day in May 2024. If you are interested in making a pilgrimage with me to Julian’s anchorage, please read on. If not, you may be interested to know more about Julian of Norwich and her message of hope and I recommend her to you with a much needed message for our time. https://julianofnorwich.org/
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Pilgrimage to the Anchorage of Fourteenth Century Mystic Julian of Norwich, UK
a UNESCO City of Literature.
May 7 - 14, 2024
The pilgrimage will coincide with Julian’s feast days. The keynote speaker during the week-long celebration will be former Archbishop of Canterbury, Reverend Rowan Williams and will take place at the nearby, magnificent Norwich Cathedral.
The week will offer Julian readings and discussions with Norwich Friends of Julian and your group leader, author and pilgrim, Marie Laure. We will make a trip to the British Library to see the manuscripts that were the basis of the first book to be published in English by any woman:Revelations of Divine Love.
We will stay next door to the anchorage at the newly refurbished, All Hallows Guest House.https://www.allhallowsnorwich.co.uk/
All the details of the pilgrimage will be discussed during three preliminary meetings:
“ART OF PILGRIMAGE” series on Thursdays, November 9, 16, 30 from 2-4 pm in person or Friday mornings 10 - 12 via Zoom. All pilgrims will begin meeting monthly in January, 2024 in preparation for the May pilgrimage. Get in touch to sign up for the series: marielaureauthor@gmail.com. There is a $30 fee for the series.
