Sunday, July 24 : Julian of Norwich

Our Lord revealed to me about prayer, in which revelation I saw two conditions in our Lord’s intention. One is rightful prayer; the other is confident trust. But still our trust is often not complete, because we are not sure that God hears us, as we think, because of our unworthiness and because we are feeling nothing at all; for often we are as barren and dry after our prayers as we were before. And thus when we feel so, it is our folly which is the cause of our weakness, for I have experienced this in myself. And our Lord brought all this suddenly to my mind, and revealed these words and said: “I am the ground of your beseeching. First, it is my will that you should have it, and then I make you to wish it, and then I make you to beseech it. If you beseech it, how could it be that you would not have what you beseech?” And so (…) our Lord reveals a great strengthening (…). Where he says: “if you beseech,” he shows his great delight, and the everlasting reward that he will give us for our beseeching. And in the second reason, where he says; “How could it be that you would not have what you beseech?”, this was said as an impossibility; for it is the most impossible thing that may be that we should seek mercy and grace and not have it. For everything which our good Lord makes us beseech he himself has ordained for us from all eternity. So here we may see that our beseeching is not the cause of goodness and grace which he gives us (…): “I am its foundation” (…). Beseeching is a true and gracious, enduring will of the soul, united and joined to our Lord’s will by the sweet, secret operation of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord himself is the first receiver of our prayer, as I see it, and he accepts it most thankfully, and greatly rejoicing he sends it up above, and puts it in a treasure-house where it will never perish. It is there before God with all his holy saints, continually received, always furthering our needs. And when we shall receive our bliss, it will be given to us as a measure of joy, with endless, honorable thanks from God.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team