43 pages • 1 hour read
Julian of NorwichRevelations of Divine Love
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1393A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 10-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary
In the second showing, Julian sees Christ's face discolored with ghastly dried blood. She wonders how the “fair, bright, blessed Lord” (56) could possibly appear so disfigured. She concludes that the “vile, black, mortal covering” (56) which he took on in his Passion is the image of our wretched, sinful nature. She compares this to the holy vernicle—the cloth believed to have been given by St. Veronica to Christ to wipe his face during his Passion, and which retained an image of his face. It too is discolored and “far from fair” (56) but bears a faithful image of the suffering Lord. Julian stresses that Jesus was the “fairest of men” (56) before he was disfigured by the Passion.
Julian draws from this revelation the lesson that God wants us to keep searching for him, always trusting, cheerful, and diligent. For although he “works secretly” (57), he will appear suddenly and reward those that love him.
Chapter 11 Summary
The third showing treats God's omnipotence. Julian has a direct mental vision of God and sees that he does everything, is in everything, and orders all things in his providence. God has ordered everything, even things which seem to us to be due to chance or luck: “I was obliged to accept that everything which is done is well done, because our Lord God does everything” (58). According to Julian, “[t]here is no doer but he,” and just as “he made everything in the perfection of excellence” (58), so will he lead everything to its proper conclusion.
Chapter 12 Summary
In the fourth showing, Julian sees Jesus’s body bleeding profusely in the Scourging. She meditates on the nature of his blood: how it cleanses us from sin more effectively than water; how it is able to do so because it shares in our human nature; and how it flows inexhaustibly for the redemption of the world.
Chapter 13 Summary
The fifth showing deals with how Jesus’s Passion defeats the devil (whom Julian refers to as “the Fiend”) and his temptations. Julian sees that there is no anger in God because he is always thinking of the positive good of saving people. Instead, God scorns the wickedness and impotence of the devil—an action that leads her to “laugh heartily” (61) and to desire her fellow Christians to do likewise.
Julian sees three themes in this showing: “delight, scorn, and seriousness” (61): delight at the defeat of the devil; scorn of the devil's weakness; and seriousness because the devil is defeated by the suffering and hardship of Christ's Passion.
Chapter 14 Summary
The sixth showing is about joy and gratitude. Julian sees a vision that prefigures the bliss of heaven, a vision of God as a lord of a house hosting a “solemn” and joyful feast for his servants. Julian further sees God thanking those who suffer for his sake, especially in their youth, and rewarding them for their service. This heavenly bliss will have three degrees: God will show gratitude for one's service on earth; one's service—and age and time served—will be known by all in heaven; and the bliss will be endlessly new and delightful.
Chapter 15 Summary
The seventh showing deals with the question of why we experience alternations of joy and sorrow in our lives. At one moment Julian finds herself filled with joy and peace, then her feelings change to intense weariness and disgust; these two extremes alternate several times.
Julian sees that God allows us to be sometimes happy, sometimes sorrowful—and that not always in punishment for sin—for the sake of our spiritual growth and in order to show the full extent of his protection and love: “[O]ur Lord gives generously when he so wishes and sometimes allows us sorrow; and both come from the same love” (64). It is God's will that we hold on to the feelings of gladness, confident that grief and sorrow will pass away.
Chapters 10-15 Analysis
This section covers showings two through seven. From her visions of Jesus’s Passion and anticipations of heavenly bliss, Julian draws lessons about God's omnipotence, the devil's defeat, and God's protection and rewards in the midst of suffering. Only God is a “doer,” and it is God that will lead everything to its proper conclusion. Jesus’s blood cleanses us from sin because of his nearness to our humanity. Julian posits that there is no anger in God and sees the defeat of the devil as cause for hearty laughter. God allows us to experience alternations of happiness and sadness in life for the sake of our spiritual growth; in heaven all sadness will pass away.
