This is our Lord's will... that our prayer and our trust be, alike, large.
Julian Of NorwichRead
Where I say that He abideth sorrowfully and moaning, it meaneth all the true feeling that we have in our self, in contrition and compassion, and all sorrowing and moaning that we are not oned with our Lord. And all such that is speedful, it is Christ in us. And though some of us feel it seldom, it passeth never from Christ till what time He hath brought us out of all our woe. For love suffereth never to be without pity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the deep connection and compassion one feels when separated from divine love, emphasizing pity and suffering as integral to love itself.
In this quote by Julian of Norwich, the essence of true feelings, such as sorrow and compassion, is tied to the experience of being distanced from one’s divine connection. It suggests that while the experience of Christ's presence may sometimes seem distant or infrequent, His enduring love provides a path through suffering, reinforcing that love inherently includes empathy for the suffering of others.
Themes
LoveSufferingCompassionDivineConnectionEmpathy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a discussion on the nature of love and compassion in a religious or spiritual context.
More from Julian Of Norwich
All quotes →Truth sees God, and wisdom contemplates God, and from these two comes a third, a holy and wonderful delight in God, who is love.
Julian Of NorwichRead
Glad and merry and sweet is the blessed and lovely demeanour of our Lord towards our souls, for he saw us always living in love-longing, and he wants our souls to be gladly disposed toward him . . . by his grace he lifts up and will draw our outer disposition to our inward, and will make us all at unity with him, and each of us with others in the true, lasting joy which is Jesus.
Julian Of NorwichRead
Peace and love are ever in us, being and working; but we be not alway in peace and in love.
Julian Of NorwichRead
And I saw that truly nothing happens by accident or luck, but everything by God's wise providence. If it seems to be accident or luck from our point of view, our blindness and lack of foreknowledge is the cause; for matters that have been in God's foreseeing wisdom since before time began befall us suddenly, all unawares; and so in our blindness and ignorance we say that this is accident or luck, but to our Lord God it is not so.
Julian Of NorwichRead
Charity keepeth us in Faith and Hope, and Hope leadeth us in Charity. And in the end all shall be Charity.
Julian Of NorwichRead
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