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All Shall Be Well: A Journey Through Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love with Kris McGregor
Episode 8: The Eleventh and Twelfth Shewings — The Joy of Christ (His Blessed Mother) and the Gaze of Heaven
Summary:
In this episode, Julian of Norwich is drawn into the radiant joy of Christ—the joy He takes in His Blessed Mother, and the glory revealed in His glorified Face. In the Eleventh Shewing, Christ lovingly invites Julian to “see her”—to behold the Virgin Mary as He does, with delight and reverence. Through Julian’s vision, we glimpse the profound place of Mary in Christ’s heart and in the life of every Christian. In the Twelfth Shewing, Julian is lifted to contemplate the joy of Heaven: the Beatific Vision, where the saints behold the Face of Christ and are fully seen, fully known, and fully loved. Drawing from Julian’s text, Scripture, the Catechism, and the wisdom of the saints, this episode opens the mystery of divine joy that begins in Christ’s Passion and culminates in eternal glory.
For other episodes in this series visit: All Shall Be Well: A Journey Through Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love with Kris McGregor
Primary Source:
From Revelations of Divine Love, Long Text, Chapters XXV-XXVI, trans. Grace Warrack, Methuen & Co., 1901 (PDF edition).
You can access PDF edition here
Full Julian of Norwich Quotations Used in Episode 8:
“AND with this same cheer of mirth and joy our good Lord looked down on the right side and brought to my mind where our Lady stood in the time of His Passion; and said: Wilt thou see her?” (Ch. 25)
“And for the high, marvellous, singular love that He hath to this sweet Maiden, His blessed Mother, our Lady Saint Mary, He shewed her highly rejoicing… as if He said: Wilt thou see how I love her, that thou mightest joy with me in the love that I have in her and she in me?” (Ch. 25)
“For after Himself she is the most blissful sight. But hereof am I not learned to long to see her bodily presence while I am here, but the virtues of her blessed soul: her truth, her wisdom, her charity; whereby I may learn to know myself and reverently dread my God.” (Ch. 25)
“And Jesus in that word shewed me ghostly sight of her: right as I had seen her afore little and simple, so He shewed her then high and noble and glorious, and pleasing to Him above all creatures.” (Ch. 25)
“AND after this the Lord shewed Himself more glorified, as to my sight, than I saw Him before wherein I was learned to my understanding that it shall be thus in Heaven without end to all that shall come there. For the change of His blessed Countenance shall be the joy of the blessed without end that see Him.” (Ch. 26)
“This blessed Countenance of the Godhead fulfilleth the joy of the saints in Heaven; which blessed Countenance of the Lord is open to be seen, and shall be seen evermore of the blessed, which for His homely loving behold Him gladly; evermore enjoying Him, that is, God, their Maker and their Keeper, their Lover and their Bliss.” (Ch. 26)
Quotes from the Saints and other resources
“Lift up thine heart and behold thy Lord with eyes of love, for He hangeth there for thee… His arms stretched wide to embrace thee, His side open to receive thee, His blood flowing to cleanse thee.”
(Middle English Devotional Prose, ed. Veronica O’Mara, 1994)
“The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” (Munificentissimus Deus, §44, Pope Pius XII, 1950)
“If you ever feel distressed during your day — call upon our Lady — just say this simple prayer: ‘Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.’ I must admit — this prayer has never failed me.” (St. Teresa of Calcutta – Come Be My Light, 2007, p. 197)
“She was made a book in which the Word was written, by the power of the eternal Father, and the wisdom of the Son, and the mercy of the Holy Spirit.” (St. Catherine of Siena – Dialogue, Ch. 116; trans. Suzanne Noffke, O.P., 1980)
“From the moment I first conceived Him in my womb, I never ceased carrying Him in my heart. When I gave birth to Him, I felt as though half my heart had left me. And when He suffered the Passion, His pain became my pain, because His heart was my heart. And when He died, it felt to me as though my own heart were dying.” (St. Bridget of Sweden – Revelations, Book 1, Ch. 10; trans. Denis Searby, Oxford University Press, 2006)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
CCC 964: “Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood… joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother’s heart.”
CCC 1028:“Because of his transcendent holiness, God cannot be seen as he is unless he himself opens up his mystery to man’s immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. This contemplation of God in his heavenly glory is called ‘the beatific vision’
Scripture Featured
(Translations used: Revised Standard Version [RSV] )
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
“You show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11, RSV)
Reflection Questions for Listeners:
- How does Julian’s vision of Christ’s joy in Mary deepen your understanding of devotion to the Blessed Virgin?
- In what ways might you be called to imitate Mary’s virtues—truth, wisdom, and charity—in your daily life?
- What do you imagine it will be like to see the Face of Christ in glory? How does that hope affect the way you live now?
- Do you believe that God gazes on you with personal, homely love—even now? What keeps you from receiving that gaze more deeply?
Closing Prayer (inspired by Julian’s trust in Divine Love):
Lord Jesus Christ,
You revealed to Julian the joy You take in Your Blessed Mother,
And the joy You desire to share with us in the vision of Your glorified Face.
Draw us into that joy, even here and now,
That we might learn to love as You love,
To see as You see,
And to rejoice in what delights Your Sacred Heart.
Mary, Mother of Jesus, be a mother to us now.
Teach us to receive Christ’s love as you did—
Humbly, faithfully, and with open hearts.
Lord, prepare us for the day when Your Countenance shall be our everlasting joy.
Until then, help us to live in Your gaze—
As beloved children, seen and known,
Kept and cherished,
Now and forever.
Amen.
