In this episode we examine the deeper spiritual meaning of "sheltering in place" during a pandemic by exploring the life and times of Julian of Norwich, the fourteenth century English mystic who survived at least four cycles of the Bubonic plague and became a solitary anchorite, "sheltering in place" for twenty-five years! During a near-death illness, Julian received sixteen Revelations of Christ on the cross and set them down in the first book ever written by a woman. She is best known for the words Christ spoke to her: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and thou shalt see thyself that all manner of thing shall be well." But there is so much more to discover about Julian and her Revelations on the unconditional love and mercy of God, the nature of prayer, the Motherhood of God, and the ways in which Christ transforms all our sufferings into glory. Julian will be our guide to inspire and reassure us through this time of fear and anxiety so that we may grow in our love and trust of God. Each episode includes a guided meditation at the end.

In this episode we explore Julian's Second Revelation as she watches Christ suffer on the cross in front of her. She longs to have more light to see Christ better. Then she comes to understand that the spiritual life is a constant balance between "seeking" and "seeing" (or "beholding") God. Julian tell us how to seek patiently and persistently, always trusting "mightily" that God will appear "suddenly" and then we may "behold' him.

In the Third Revelation, Julian of Norwich experiences "God-in-a-Point" of mystical awareness and realizes that God is in all things and does all things and that all God does is righteous and good. However, she also questions: "What is sin?" but admits she was not shown the working of sin in creatures, only God's sublime working of good in all creation. This brings Julian the ecstatic joy of beholding God in all things.

On this, Julian's Feast Day, we explore the Fourth Revelation, in which Julian sees "the precious plenty of Christ's dearworthy blood" flowing out from his wounds on the cross to cover, forgive, and heal the whole world. In our Guided Meditation, we allow Christ to pour out his healing light from our own hearts to those we love who are suffering right now.

In the Fifth Revelation, Julian of Norwich hears Christ's voice reassure her that, by his suffering on the cross, he has overcome all sin and evil. She also introduces the astounding Revelation that will become central to her mystical theology: that she saw "no wrath in God."

In the Sixth Revelation, Julian of Norwich hears Christ on the cross thank her for her service and her labor in her youth! This astonishing experience generates Julian's vision of the heavenly banquet and the three degrees of bliss that every man or woman shall receive who has served God in any station in life. It is a joyous Revelation that should encourage us all!

In the Seventh Revelation, Julian experiences a series of spiritual mood swings between the most blissful joy and security in divine presence and a sense of acute annoyance and desperation within herself. She understands that God allows these extreme oscillations to occur in our life of prayer so that we learn not to cling to feelings, but only to our faith. She counsels that God wants us to "pass over" all our pains and sufferings and "hold ourselves in the endless delight that is God." A powerful teaching that challenges us right now!

In the astounding Eighth Revelation, Julian watches the sufferings of Christ as he languishes on the cross in front of her. She fully expects to see him dead. Instead, suddenly he is transformed into glory before her eyes! Her joy is ecstatic. She reflects on the fact that we are now with him on the cross "in our pains and in our passion, dying." But suddenly, he will transform everything we suffer into his own perfect joy. More than ever before, when the world is mired in so much suffering, we need to reflect on this Revelation!