Revelations of Divine Love

Julian reviews the five aspects of the Passion revealed to her. The first four are: bleeding of the head; discoloring of the face; bleeding of the body from the scourging; and death. The fifth aspect is the joy and delight of the Passion. The Lord takes delight in suffering for us and wants us to delight in salvation. The only pain he experienced was in his human form.

This joy and delight in the Passion gives rise to the motif of the “three heavens.” Julian specifies them as: the pleasure of the Father; the glory of the Son; and the rejoicing of the Holy Spirit.

The “three heavens” motif expresses the idea that the entire Holy Trinity took part in Christ's Passion. Jesus’s gracious words to Julian lead her to conceive of him as a “glad giver”—a person who thinks less of the thing he is giving than the good pleasure of the recipient. 

In the tenth showing, Jesus shows Julian his pierced side (cf. John 19:34), giving access to his sacred heart which is “riven” in half. Julian sees this as a symbol of Jesus’s endless love for mankind. Jesus addresses Julian, saying:“See how much I loved you” (76), speaking of the pleasure and delight he takes in her salvation, and inviting her to rejoice with him. 

The eleventh showing is of the Virgin Mary. Jesus asks Julian if Julian would be interested in seeing Mary, and this leads Julian to meditate upon the love of Jesus for his mother which he wants us also to share. Julian says that Jesus showed her the Virgin Mary three times: when she conceived; in sorrow under the cross; and now in heaven. 

The twelfth showing concerns the Lord as “supreme Being.” Jesus speaks to Julian, insisting that he is the highest force in the universe and the fulfillment of every desire. Jesus’s utterances fill Julian with joy.

The thirteenth showing deals with the mystery of sin and evil. Julian grieves over the question of why God allowed sin to exist. Jesus replies: “Sin is befitting, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well” (79).

Julian connects sin with the broader idea of evil and connects this in turn with the Passion of Christ, the greatest evil ever suffered. Julian considers sin as something without substance or being, a mere privation. The suffering it causes performs a purifying function, allowing us to recognize ourselves as sinners and pray for God's mercy. God does not blame us for sinning, but rather saves us from sin. Julian sees that God will reveal in heaven the reason he allowed sin to exist.  

Julian meditates on the compassion Christ has for human beings because of our sin and suffering, and the fact that God will transform evil into good. Through our suffering, God purifies us morally and raises us to greater bliss in heaven. Jesus’s Passion transforms our suffering into glory, unites us to him by showing us that we do not suffer alone, and removes the feelings of blame connected with sin.

Jesus assuages Julian's anxieties about the existence of sin. He assures her that since he transformed the Original Sin of Adam into good, he will transform all lesser evils into good as well. Jesus’s atonement is more pleasing in God's eyes than the sin of Adam was ever harmful. 

Julian stresses that we should not be anxious to understand every mystery but be content with what God has revealed to us, trusting and rejoicing in him. We should respect his “privy counsel” and not seek to know everything, but only those things pertaining to our salvation. In doing so, we imitate the saints in heaven, whose love and desires are united to God's will. 

Julian asserts that God has a “thirst” and a “longing” for human beings, a longing which will continue until all the saved are brought into union with him in heaven. Julian asserts further that because of his body, Christ is still not quite beyond suffering or in full glory and will not be so until Judgment Day.

Julian considers the various meanings of Jesus’s words: “All manner of things shall be well” (79). She affirms firstly that they mean that Christ takes care of small, humble things as well as great and noble ones. She secondly interprets it as an assurance that God will rectify all present evils—even ones that seem overwhelming to us now. Thirdly, she considers it as a premonition regarding salvation and damnation at the end of time. Julian hints that “there is a deed which the Holy Trinity shall do on the last day” (85) which will cause all manner of things to be well. 

Julian re-emphasizes that the revelations are in accord with the teachings of the Church, including those concerning the damnation of sinners, and that her aim in treating these issues is not to question the teachings, but to seek to know more about her faith. She reiterates the importance of not desiring to know too much of God's mysteries until they are revealed to us. 

There are two kinds of mysteries which God shows: those which are not to be revealed fully until the end of time, and those he wants to make open and known to us now so that we may love and cling more closely to him. God helps us to understand his mysteries and reveals them through the teaching of the Church, which is his body; for this reason, he is pleased those who receive Church teaching with humility. 

Julian learns that God “does everything which is good and endures everything which is evil” (90)—that is to say, God is willing to suffer evil, and this in itself is good and praiseworthy. Julian also learns that she must not seek to know every particular thing—such as whether a friend of hers is on the path of virtue—but be content with knowledge of God generally. This means that one should neither be distressed over any particular evil, nor rejoice over any one special good thing, but rest in the goodness of God's general will, “for all shall be well” (79).

The Lord shows Julian that he will do a “great deed” in heaven but does not reveal its exact nature. This leads Julian to meditate on the fact that God reveals those things which are useful for us to know and leaves other things as mystery for a time being. We ought to rejoice both in what he reveals and in what he hides.

God also instructs Julian about the nature of miracles, namely that he continues to perform them for the strengthening of our faith and hope and recognition of our feebleness. God “chooses to be known and honored through miracles” (93). 

Contemplating the nature of sin, Julian asserts that those who will be saved possess two wills—a lower, “animal will” that can do only evil, and a higher, “godly will” that can do only good. This godly will never actually consents to sin, and for this reason God protects such people and keeps them safe from spiritual harm even though they commit sin. Julian asserts that failure of love on our part is the only cause of all our suffering. 

God's goodness is such that he transforms sin into glory, taking away all its shame and compensating every sin with a corresponding joy. Julian cites examples from both the Old and New Testaments, including David, Mary Magdalene, Peter, Paul, Thomas, and John of Beverley—people who, though sinners at first, are now revered as saints. 

This chapter deals with sin and mercy. Julian starts with the premise that sin is a sharp scourge to the soul. God, however, loves us in spite of our sin and offers us his mercy, through union with the Church and in particular the performance of confession: “Our Lord takes tender care of us when we feel that we are almost forsaken and cast away because of our sin” (9). While we experience sorrow on earth, we will be rewarded in heaven, since God “does not want the toils and troubles of any that come there to be wasted in the least degree” (96). 

God loves us tenderly while we are in a state of sin, and we ought to show this same love to our neighbor. Yet sin remains a vile thing which we should hate and avoid. Julian warns against minimizing the importance of sin on account of God's great mercy. We must hate sin but love the soul; in so doing, we imitate God.