August 2025 – The Julian Meetings

Words used to open and close the silence at a Julian Prayer group.

OPENING PRAYER

We are your sheep,

and you are our Father and Mother.

You lead us towards peace and stillness

and are a balm for our souls.

No matter what trouble or strife we encounter

you are always there for us,

letting us know that

All Shall Be Well

and All Shall Be Well.

No matter what despair and anxieties we feel

you tell us that you are always with us

to the end of time,

and we will not be overcome.

You nourish us daily, in all circumstances,

and your balm overflows upon us,

as you enfold us in your everlasting Love.

OPENING PRAYER

Lord God, we come before you today,

in stillness and silence.

We thank you for breathing your Holy Spirit

into our lives and into our hearts.

Bless us Lord,

as we listen to your

still small voice of calm.

Amen.

The words in this following prayer came to me near the end of the 30-minute silence at my local Julian Prayer group:

OPENING PRAYER

Lord, calm our minds,

as you calmed the storm.

Let all our anxious thoughts and feelings

drift away

like ripples on a lake,

as you walk across the water

of our hearts

and take us by the hand

and say

Peace, Be Still.

OPENING PRAYER

You Lord are in this place,

your presence fills it.

I have come to rest in your presence,

taking time to just ‘Be’.

Fill me with your Holy Spirit,

Love and Peace.

Amen.

CLOSING PRAYER

Thank you for this time of stillness,

a time to share in the

Love, Peace, Joy and Hope

with everyone in this Julian group,

with angels and archangels

and with all the company of heaven.

Amen.

CLOSING PRAYER

We thank you, Lord

for this time of stillness.

For the time we have spent in your presence.

May we go forth each day

with faith, with hope, with love,

and may our souls be filled with your

eternal Light.

Amen.

Kevin Goodrich: A Pilgrimage of the heart: Walter Hilton and the English Mystical Tradition.

Darton, Longman an Todd. ISBN978-1-915412-13-3 published 2024 Available in Kindle and Hardcover

Review by Janet Robinson

This is an engaging and attractively produced book. It tells of the life and story of Walter Hilton of Thurgarton entwined with other mystics of the fourteenth century: Richard Rolle, the author of the Cloud of Unknowing, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. The author has provided a useful background of the turbulent history of the times. He suggests that the book can be used as a virtual pilgrimage, making one’s way towards a deeper understanding of the spiritual road. Besides the narrative the author includes kindly but searching, practical questions and exercises for the reader. He laces the text with interesting narrative of his visits to the places where the mystics lived and adds helpful illustrations.

This makes altogether a very useful adjunct to one’s time of stillness. I have read the book through in order to review it but I believe that when I read it again, trying to answer some of the questions and exercises, it will deepen my contemplative prayer and expand my knowledge of the men and women whose stories he tells. I found it helpful where there is a discussion of the contemplative, the active and the “mixed” life of the spirit – something that Walter Hilton clarifies. Indeed I have just been to our local secondhand bookshop and found a copy of The Ladder of Perfection by Hilton!

Two small quibbles: I cannot feel entirely sure that Margery Kempe was a true contemplative. Certainly a pilgrim, a character larger than life, extremely active and noisy. The author himself calls her the “weeping mystic.” However, the story of her life and spiritual endeavour is appealing. My other quibble is a slight lack of proof reading. For example: St Catherine’s monastery, where John Climacus may have written The Ladder of Divine Ascent is in Sinai not Greece. But I digress. Do consider A Pilgrimage of the Heart as a valuable aide for your contemplative life.

Month: August 2025

Opening and Closing the Silence

Review of A Pilgrimage of the heart: Walter Hilton and the English Mystical Tradition