The Divine Joy

Julian of Norwich

OUR PROTECTOR GOD SHOWED ME the divine joy when a soul comes, helpless, without any strength of its own, simply, intimately with ordinary familiarity, into God's presence. This is the soul's natural tendency when the Spirit touches it.

This showing helped me understand this, and I said, "God, in your goodness, give me yourself, for you are enough for me. If I ask for less than you, then my life no longer worships you, and I am lacking. Only in you do I have everything."

These words express the soul's loveliness, and they come close to expressing the will of God, the will of goodness, for creation. All creation, all the divine works, are contained within the divine unity, even as that unity transcends all creation.

God is that-which-has-no-end, the source of eternity, and we are made so that we are only complete when we are joined with the divine. Although we have separated ourselves, with his endurance Jesus restored our intimacy, and he keeps us safe in his love.

And he does all this out of his goodness.



Taken from Julian of Norwich, All Shall Be Well: Revelations of Divine Love, written in modern language by Ellyn Sanna (Vestal, NY: Anamchara Books, 2011) pp. 33-35.