Our gracious Lord answered in showing very mysteriously a wonderful illustration of a lord who has a servant, and He gave insight to my understanding of both of them....For the first was thus: I saw two persons in bodily form, that is to say, a lord and a servant; and with this God gave me spiritual understanding.
The lord sits solemnly in repose and in peace, the servant stands near, before his lord reverently, ready to do his will. The lord looks upon his servant most lovingly and sweetly, and humbly he sends him to a certain place to do his will.
The servant not only goes, but he suddenly leaps up and runs in great haste because of his love to do his lord's will. And immediately he falls into a deep pit and receives very great injury. Then he groans and moans and wails and writhes, but he cannot rise up nor help himself in any way.
In all this, the greatest misfortune that I saw him in was the lack of reassurance, for he could not turn his face to look back upon his loving lord (who was very near to him and in whom there is complete comfort), but like a man who was feeble and witless for the moment, he was intent on his suffering, and waited in woe....
...I watched deliberately to see if I could discover any failure in him, or if the lord would allot him any blame, and truly there was none seen—for only his good will and his great desire were the cause of his falling, and he was as willing and as good inwardly as when he stood before his lord ready to do his will.
And in the same way his loving lord constantly watched him most tenderly....
Then says this gracious lord in his meaning: "Behold, behold, my beloved servant! What harm and distress he has received in my service for my love, yea, and because of his good will! Is it not reasonable that I reward him for his fright and his dread, his hurt and his wounds and all his woe? And not only this, but does it not fall to me to give a gift that is to him better and more honorable than his own health would have been?"
....The wonder of the illustration never went from me; for it seemed to me it was given me as an answer to my desire, and yet I could not perceive in it a full interpretation for my comfort at that time....
Twenty years after the time of the showing (short three months) I received inner teaching, as I shall say: "It is right for thee to take heed to all the qualities and conditions that were shown in the illustration even though thou thinkest that they are obscure and uninteresting to your sight."
I assented willingly with great desire, looking inwardly with deliberation at all the points and aspects that were shown at the previous time....
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Julian of Norwich (1342 - 1416)
Julian of Norwich was an English anchoress and an important Christian mystic and theologian. Her Revelations of Divine Love, written around 1395, is the first book in the English language known to have been written by a woman. Julian was also known as a spiritual authority within her community, where she also served as a counsellor and advisor. She is venerated in the Anglican and Lutheran churches. The Roman Catholic Church has not declared her to be a saint or given her the title Blessed. Accordingly, she does not appear in the Roman Martyrology, nor is she included in the calendar of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.The first printed version of the Revelations was edited by a Benedictine, Serenus Cressy, in 1670. It was reprinted in 1843, 1864 and again in 1902. Modern interest in the text increased with the 1877 publication of a new edition of the Long Text by Henry Collins. An important moment was the publication of Grace Warrack's 1901 version of the book, with its "sympathetic informed introduction" and modernised language, which introduced most early 20th century readers to Julian's writings. Following the publication of the Warrack edition, Julian's name spread rapidly and she became a topic in many lectures and writings. Many editions of the works have been published in the last forty years (see below for further details), with translations into French (five times), German (four times), Italian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Catalan, Greek and Russian.