Author: Blog Editor

The Julian Meetings are meditation / contemplative prayer groups in the Christian tradition. The blog exists to support the groups and help those drawn to meditation / contemplative prayer.
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Treasures old and new

Treasures from past and present. 

The accompanying photograph shows a tree that has over the course of a century pushed the surrounding boulders apart. 

This blog is like the scribe instructed in the Kingdom, who brings treasures both old and new from his stores Matthew 13:12.

Over its history, Christians have learned many things. For example, before he died in 257AD, Cyprian wrote  

“When we pray it is not for one person, but for the entire people; because we the whole people, are one. God, who is the Teacher of prayer and peace, taught us peace. He wished each one to pray for all, just as he, himself, has borne all together in one” 

Commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, Ch. 8. Extract from Saints on Earth: A biographical companion to Common Worship by John H Darch and Stuart K Burns.

‘We the whole people, are one’ is like a draught of fresh water to our thirsty separated world. What is slaking your thirst these days? 

On 10th. October, the Admin group are holding an open meeting on Zoom. We want to learn from you how things are going in your groups. We hope to encourage one another.  

In April 2003, meetings were preparing for the 30th. Anniversary. In the Julian Meeting Magazine Hilary Wakeman described how they started. She had visited many places and met people interested in contemplative prayer.

“In each place …We talked about contemplative prayer, and how so few people – including clergy of all denominations – seemed to know about it, which was very hard on those who felt drawn to it. We agreed that what we all wanted was some sort of network of practitioners, with regular meetings where we could pray together in this way.”  

Today in 2026 we are still meeting, still working to help people know about contemplative prayer. 

The same edition held an article by Di Cooke explaining the difference between contemplative prayer, meditation , and silent prayer. I find I slip between the three during any prayer session, but find that continuing the struggle to remain in contemplative mode especially fruitful. (see also Deidre Morris’ 2010 article).

The April 2017 magazine has Giles Fraser writing about praying alone in church.

“Of course you can do it elsewhere, but these are places set aside for it. Here the silence creeps into me, a bit like the cold. Not the silence of empty nothingness but the silence of sitting comfortably with a friend. And in to that silence I bring all that is not OK with me.   

“The chemistry of prayer is the meeting of these two elements: that little surd of hidden desperation that some (most, all?) of us carry around with us, often without owning up to it, and that vast expanse of purposeful silence, the shorthand for which is God. In my experience, these two elements are drawn to each other. And the slow reaction between them is worth breaking into any church to find.   

“There are various accelerants to this chemical reaction – the repetition of liturgical formulas, even lighting candles. Like all organised religion, this is easy enough to sneer at. But key to the reaction is silence and time. Both eat away at our excuses, our false hopes, our lack of reality. Self-serving bull-shit doesn‘t easily survive the rigours of time and silence. And in this fantasy-busting environment I am lent the courage to open the most defended bits of me to the infinite love of God. “ 

April 2016 found Ian Cowley wondering  

“what a contemplative life looks like in 21st century Britain. Part of me would like to move to a small house in West Wales or the Scottish borders, and try to live a life of quiet contemplation. But that is not a realistic option for me, or indeed for most of us. So we are faced with the challenge of working out a contemplative way of living which will be constantly at odds with the culture that surrounds us.  We who feel this call to a contemplative way of life seem like missionaries living in a world which increasingly does not understand us and speaks a strange and different language. … At the heart of the contemplative life is learning to let go: learning to live in the present moment.  … As we grow into the practice of daily contemplative prayer, we will find ourselves being drawn, more and more, to this letting go, this radical detachment and trusting entirely in God. We live in an age of anxiety, preoccupied with control, significance and security. Jesus says to his followers ‘let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.’ (John 14:27) He calls us to live gladly in the grace of the present moment, knowing that ‘sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’ (Matthew 6:34) … Our culture continually tells us what will give us security and happiness, power and control. If we long for God’s way of doing things, for lasting joy and the peace which passes understanding, we will choose to set our hearts on a different way of living and being. We then have to work out each day what this means.  This is the contemplative way of living. This is the way of life in which we depend utterly, each and every day, on the grace and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Our Julian library of magazine articles is a treasury. Many articles and poems withstand the test of time. We also need a constant input of fresh writing to set alongside it. Please send in fresh articles. 

The programme by Dr. Janina Ramirez about how Julian of Norwich’s manuscript was found is still available on BBC iplayer.  

Photograph and text © Blog Editor. Individual quotations copyright by their respective authors.

The Julian Meetings support in-person and online groups around the country. We make teaching on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation as easily and widely accessible as we can. Articles and reviews express the views only of their respective authors.   

We invite readers to contribute articles or to suggest further books for review, and are looking for further member reviewers.  

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The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer 

We start with excerpts from various articles, before moving to a paper by Jonathan Smith.  

While The Jesus Prayer has various forms, many other similar phrases or even words have a similar method and effect. Some communities use the prayer in public, either saying it together or having one member of the group say it aloud while the rest pray in the heart. 

The prayer is often said looking at an icon and using a prayer rope – see the accompanying photo. ©Philip Tyers 

Anne Stamper – The Jesus Prayer – December 2006 

 I have been aware of the Jesus Prayer for many years, but my interest in its use was further stimulated by reading ‘The way of a Pilgrim’ and then a short time afterwards being asked to review for the JM Magazine Jonathan Smith’s book ‘The power of the Jesus Prayer – a reflection and guide.’ I started to use the prayer (and attended) a guided retreat on the Jesus Prayer being led by Bishop Simon Barrington-Ward.  

(where I noted) ‘the phrases that spoke to me. ‘ 

Prayer is stepping into a river that is already flowing  

Praying with the mind in the heart  

Practicing the presence of God in Christ we can only pray in the power of the spirit. 

Prayer is not fulfilling a duty but coming up for air. 

The Jesus Prayer keeps one suspended between time and timelessness. 

Know you are welcome in the presence of God.’ 

Text ©Anne Stamper 

Barrington-Ward is also quoted by Ann Moran in her review of his book on the Jesus Prayer: “It is a practice of the presence of God, and it is being in that presence, relaxed and alert”.  © Ann Moran 

“Find a quiet place to sit alone and in silence; bow your head and shut your eyes. Breathe softly, look with your mind into your heart; recollect your mind—that is, all its thoughts—and bring them down from your mind into your heart. As you breathe, repeat: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,” either quietly with your lips, or only in your mind. Make an effort to banish all thoughts; be calm and patient, and repeat this exercise frequently” 
― Gleb Pokrovsky, The Way of a Pilgrim: The Jesus Prayer Journey—Annotated & Explained  

‘To use the Jesus prayer is to dive into a stream which is already flowing in the direction in which you wanted to go, and then being simply borne by the current’ Selected by Anne Stamper in her review of Barrington – Ward’s ‘The Great Exchange’. 

Francis Ballinger: book review; Letters of Direction / Streams of Grace JM December 2006 

“Letters of Direction”: 

“Therefore leave your soul too, to pray as suits it best, in its own way, without strain. Allow it most of the time to remain quite still. Pray along the lines which show you the needs of the world and which interest you. Nothing could be better. In a word, follow your bent; your need of quiet or of doing nothing according to what seems most natural to you at the time.” © Francis Ballinger. 

The Jesus Prayer – Jonathan Smith. 

The Jesus Prayer is very old, and its use dates back to solitary monks in the Egyptian desert in the fifth century AD.  Because of this, it has gained the reputation of being the preserve of people like monks or other ‘especially spiritual’ people, and not something for ordinary Christians.  But the Jesus Prayer and its practice is very simple, and the only thing that is really needed is the desire to draw closer to God in prayer. 

The Words of the Prayer 

There are a number of versions of the prayer, and none is more right or wrong than any other.   

The oldest form is: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.   

Also common, is a longer form:  Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.  

Shorter forms are also used: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,  

or just: Jesus, have mercy. 

Using the Prayer 

Sit comfortably and let your breathing be natural.  A good way of preparing to use the prayer is to focus on your inward and outward breath for a few minutes, which may get a little deeper.   

If you are praying alone, say the prayer quietly out loud for a few minutes.  If you are in a group were this would disturb others, you can simply say the words with your lips.   

Let the prayer enter into your mind, and when you are ready, focus on that mental repetition.  Don’t worry if the prayer goes away; just repeat it again out loud or with your lips.  It will eventually lodge in your consciousness. 

As you focus on the prayer, and with a little bit of practice, you may find that the prayer moves downwards to your chest or to your heart.  Another name for the Jesus prayer is ‘The Prayer of the Heart’.   

This may last a little time, or for the rest of the prayer period, and sometimes you may feel that the prayer fills your whole body.  But whatever happens, it is only focusing on the prayer that is important 

Worries and Distractions 

There is no right way and no wrong way of saying the prayer.  Everyone has to return to vocal or mental prayer when distractions occur, and trying to work out whether one is doing the prayer ‘right’ is one common distraction.   

Other thoughts and concerns will lead the mind away from the prayer, and everyone experiences very well-trodden paths of thought which head off in their own directions.   

The task when this happens is simply to recognize that one has been led away from the prayer, and without any self-criticism at all, to gently redirect the mind to its words. 

Various experiences can occur during the time of prayer, from feelings of love, to feelings of regret about past actions.  Some of these feelings may be quite intense.  But such things are not the purpose of the prayer, and one should not hope for, or pursue, any particular experience.  The only task is to say the prayer with as much attention as one can muster.   

The real results of saying the Jesus Prayer faithfully are not found in any experience during prayer time, but at other times.  We take whatever God’s grace grants us during our prayer into the rest of our lives, to share with those we meet, with a new awareness of Jesus’ presence with us and in the world. 

An Everyday Prayer 

The Jesus prayer can be used as a regular part of prayer life.  It can be used for five or ten minutes at the start or end of prayers of intercession.   

It can be used as an extended form of contemplative prayer for 15 or 30 minutes, once or twice a day.  If our work and family life allow, a regular time can be set aside for it in the evening or morning.  It can be used during the washing up, while we clean the house, while we walk down the street, while we sit on a train or a bus.  All that is required is an honest turning towards God, and the prayer can be used at any time, in any situation. 

Prayer time can be long or short, from a half hour set aside to focus on it, to less than a minute, as we take a moment between activities.   

It is the prayer, praying in us, that does the work; that, and the grace of God, who always comes to meet us as we turn back to him.  He will guide us in its use and show us how it fits into our lives. 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. 

Text copyright © Jonathan Smith, member of the Shoreham on Sea meeting. Written for his church, after the publication of his book, The Power of The Jesus Prayer in 2005. 

Further Reading: 

The Jesus Prayer, Simon Barrington-Ward, Oxford, Bible Reading Fellowship 1996  

Praying The Jesus Prayer Together by SSF Ramon, Brother (Author), Simon Barrington-Ward (Author), & 1 more reviewed 

The way of a Pilgrim – Various editions and translations of this book are available. 

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At the Point of Suffering

What is the point of suffering? The article is followed by a book review of a novel telling a story of people around a traumatised individual, which also uses the example of Julian of Norwich. This is followed by material to help prayer and the announcement of an on line meeting.

We probably all wish that we could ask God some questions and get the immediate clarity of response that Julian records during her Revelations of Divine Love. Many of us want to know the point of suffering. Why does it have to be this way? 

When she had her chance to ask him, it was one of the things uppermost in Julian’s mind. Why sin? Why suffering? Why pain? What’s it for? To paraphrase, she thinks, if I can’t ask this now, when can I? She does it for us as much as herself. 

God tells her that sin and pain are necessary, and that, as we have all read, “all shall be well.” He doesn’t explain explicitly why suffering is necessary, and maybe that is because it is beyond our comprehension. The sense I get is that he is asking Julian (and us) to trust, to wait, then see. But he does give her much reassurance.

All the terrible things in life seem to exist so that God can one day set them right. He won’t expand on some of his ‘privities’ or secrets, even though he seems to be bursting to tell his beloved daughter about them. Some things are being kept for us in heaven, like a wonderful surprise.

Julian speaks of God’s joy at picking us up after we fall, and of Christ’s affirmation to her that he would gladly have suffered more for our sakes if he could have. 

In Chapter 29 she asks, how can it all be made well, and God answers that if he, through Christ, can remedy the Fall of Adam, then he can certainly take care of all the lesser evils. 

Today I was praying for some people on the internet who had said they were broken. A single mother whose job had fallen through; a woman who’d lost hope and someone else who had just had two bereavements in the space of a fortnight. I was also praying for myself and my husband, who are in bits after the worst six months of our lives (and they have some competition).

“Lord,” I said, “we give all our broken pieces to you as prayer. The mess we have made of things, the mess others have made of us. Please mend us. Bless these shards of pottery and make us and our lives into new vessels. Please take these pigs’ ears and turn them into silk purses, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

As I prayed, it struck me that that is the point of suffering, or one of them. That we fail or are failed (usually both) and we turn over all the pieces to God. This so that he can make or remake us, make our lives here and in eternity even better, according to His plans (remembering that better doesn’t always look the way we think it should), and build a loving, trusting relationship with us at the same time. 

I thought of Julian, her question and answer sessions with God. He takes our sinful, broken pieces; a fall, a broken beloved Son; those who hurt him; the worst that we can do; our violence, grief, sin, pain, innocent suffering; everything awful, and turns it into the most beautiful, loving reconciliation with him. 

It becomes a new life, a reforging, a rebirthing, the commencement of Heaven on Earth. All this done with and through his love. Surely this is the pattern of all pain? Given up to God, endured with faith, it can become, it will become, it shall become “well”. 

Text ©Keren Dibbens-Wyatt; a writer and artist with a passion for prayer, poetry, story, and colour. She is a Christian contemplative who writes to encourage and entertain readers of all ages. Keren is the author of All That Is Made (Herald Press, 2025) and Recital of Love (Paraclete Press, 2020). Her work also features regularly in literary journals and anthologies. She lives in southeast England with her husband and is housebound due to chronic illness.

BOOK REVIEW. A QUESTION OF PERSPECTIVE.

Gillian Poucher sent an advance reader copy of this deeply absorbing novel. It draws a parallel between the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich and a contemporary counsellor. Their stories are told in parallel. Poucher creates a credible, historically researched, living back story for Julian, related by those around her at that time. It starts with the loss of her husband and children during the Plague. Interspersed with this, today’s characters reflect on her writings. They key character is a counsellor, called Julia, who lives next door to the remaining arch of Walsingham Abbey. Recently arrived, she is developping new friendships by joining a book club. Together, the club discover for themselves an intuitive, even spiritual perspective on life as they read Julian of Norwich ‘Revelations of Divine Love’.

“She admitted she had skipped through some of the graphic portrayals of Christ’s suffering on the cross, but had appreciated some of what she described as the homely images, in particular the idea that the whole of creation was enclosed in a hazelnut, made, loved, and kept by God. Marie bent across the table eagerly, a carrot speared on her fork. ‘It’s amazing that we’re all enfolded in divine love like that, isn’t it? I think it means that whether we’re alive or dead, we’re all safe in God’s embrace. ”

They find love and acceptance. They support each other following a suicide. They help a traumatized person recover from an event that had increasingly damaged her life. They discover that the death and resurrection of Jesus is reflected in personal suffering and recovery. We are rapidly drawn into the story, carried along through painful swerves and finally relieved by the resolution. I expect to revisit this book periodically. It refreshes my awaress of the historical Julian, and of the interconnections between our past and our present. We are held by God and can accept those around. Fiction escorts information past the sceptical modern mindset, and a spring of water heals our heart. It is a thoroughly worthwhile exploration of Julian of Norwich and how her writings can affect us. I have not read the previous books in the trilogy. This one is an accessible introduction to Julian and to her relevance for us today. 

All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. The book is due to be published on 4th. September and can be ordered on Amazon. 

Text ©Blog Editor. Picture © Heald Poucher Publications

MATERIAL TO HELP US PRAY:

QUOTATION FROM ST CLARE OF ASSISI: 

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity 
Place your soul in the brilliance of glory
And transform your entire being  
into the image of the Godhead Itself through contemplation. 
He, Christ, is the splendor of eternal glory,  
the brightness of eternal light,  
and the mirror without cloud. 
Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him,  
as you desire to imitate Him. 

(‘Franciscan Spirit’)

PUTTING THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE IN PRAYER

To demonstrate our position before God, I could open my arms as wide as possible to illustrate God, then narrow them a little to portray the Kingdom of God. A little narrower: the universe. Much narrower: the world. A 10 cm gap: the Church, or the Country. 1 cm.: us. Our worries are small by comparison with the whole. But that gap is about the size of Julian of Norwich’s hazel nut. To her, this represented everything that exists. It is simultaneously fragile and precious to God, who sustains it, holds it in existence, and cherishes it. If he does that with everything, so too does he hold us and our interests, be they personal, ecclesial, or national. 

Psalm 66: 12: “You tested us, we went through fire and water; but you brought us out into a place of liberty.”   
Overall, Psalm 66 praises God for saving people. In this context, testing is part of saving! God does a thorough job in our lives. There are no half measures for God.  

In our silence we patiently allow God to work. All things are in God’s hands. God knows our needs before we ask (Matt 6:8) and we participate as he heals/saves us and the world. We allow the Spirit to pray ‘in groans too deep for words’ Romans 8:26. 

Text © Blog Editor    

ONLINE MEETING – SAVE THE DATE – 10 OCTOBER

At present, there are about 120 active Julian Meetings across the country. The National Council are offering an opportunity for members of the groups to encourage one another. We propose to set up an open online meeting on Sat 10 Oct from 2-4pm.
How is your group running?
What encourages you?
We look forward to your replies, by responding to this email, and attending the on-line meeting – Zoom details will be given nearer the time.

The Julian Meetings support in-person and online groups around the country. We make teaching on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation as easily and widely accessible as we can. Articles and reviews express the views only of their respective authors.  https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-blog/  

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Growing in Prayer: a Book review 

 This book review gives a handy list of inspirations for expanding our prayer lives. After the review there are a series of other items to assist our prayer, 3 book notifications and an invitation to our general meeting on 10 October.

Significantly starting with “Listening to God in silence and stillness”, Growing in Prayer presents 15 short chapters, each exploring different ways of praying – of growing in prayer. This is a very practical and accessible book. Each short chapter includes a Bible quotation and a two- or three-page introduction to the way of praying with simple steps to follow and closing with a few recommended books and websites. Each chapter ends with blank pages for the reader to make notes of their experience for further reflection. The clear print and layout make it easy to use as course material.  

This book is based on a a prayer course originally developed in the Diocese of Rochester and could easily be used as a course either individually or in a group. If we are in a time of change, this could be a valuable part of that journey.   

Chapters included are:  

Listening to God in silence and stillness   

Lectio Divina  

Praying with your imagination  

Intercessory prayer  

Centering prayer  

Praying in nature  

Praying with images and symbols.  

Praying with your creativity   

Praying with poetry  

Praying with the five senses  

Praying with icons  

Praying with a labyrinth  

Praying with music  

Journaling  

The Examen  

Your notes  

© Gail Ballinger 

Growing in Prayer: exploring 15 different ways to pray for individuals and groups ; edited by Susanne Carlsson  

BRF 2026 £9.99 e-book only, ISBN 978 80039 506 0 

SUCH MATERIAL IN THE CONTEXT OF A JULIAN MEETING.

“Group meetings are willing to experiment with form, while keeping the meeting simple and single pointed.”

The first group I attended, for example, had an introduction including a scripture reading. After a quarter of an hour, the scripture was repeated, and again at the end.

In 1989 Robert Llwewlyn wrote The Fountain Within: Praying St John’s Gospel. Each chapter contained passages to be used in meditation. Short sections were to be read with a set response, then a few minutes of silence before reading the next. This would imply that a meeting would be broken into many sections.

My present group has an introduction followed by half an hour of silence. Then the leader for that session closes appropriately.

I am looking forward to hearing how your different groups are run, both normally and for a periodic different input. Could a group, for example, decide to experiment with a series of sessions using each of the chapters of this book, or would that be done seperately, before or after the regular meditation?

Our magazines contain many articles on prayer – see the LIbrary section of our website, particularly the Various Ways of Praying selection.

©Blog Editor, JM

Sister Wendy Becket: ‘I hope that once people read my book (on prayer) they will think, “ What a fool I’ve been. I didnt realise that I didn’t need a book on prayer.” You just need to have the courage and the faith to sit quietly and let God love you. Even if it is only for ten minutes a day.’ Peter Stanford: What we talk about when we talk about faith. Hodder, 2019. 

Welcome to The Julian Meetings Open Council Meeting, October 2026.
At present, there are about 120 active Julian Meetings across the country. The National Council are offering an opportunity for members of the groups to encourage one another. We propose to set up an open online meeting on Sat 10 Oct from 2-4pm.
How is your group running?
What encourages you?
We look forward to your replies, by responding to this email, and attending the on-line meeting – Zoom details will be given nearer the time.

IMAGINING THE WORLD– BOOK NOTIFICATION
John Mann presents a short passage of biblical scripture alongside a contemplative reflection for each of the 34 days from 1 September to 4 October. These are inspired by the unique landscapes of the British and Irish countrysides. They also draw on the mystical and philosophical writings of Teilhard de Chardin, Simone Weil and Søren Kierkegaard. Each day’s reflection ends with a suggested prayer. John Mann writes: ‘The threats that exist of climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation through human activity, the uncontrolled greed for the Earth’s finite resources, the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, are well known…. While wars rage and humans continue to inflict horrendous suffering on other humans … the long term concern of the effects of human activity is laid bare”. He continues through the Island Spirituality Network to lead quiet days and retreats. Imagining the World – Daily Reflections for the Creation Season. Darton, Longman and Todd / Herne Books Paperback (178x110mm), 144pp, 9781917362221, £9.99, July 2026  Compiled using material provided by DLT. ©Blog Editor, JM 

LIVING FOR JESUS AND JUSTICE BY SIMON JONES – BOOK NOTIFICATION.
This comprises of
1. a new presentation of the Beatitudes in today’s language;
2. a Daily Liturgy (with prayers for morning, midday and evening on a seven-day cycle);
3. Waymakers and Waymarkers, a 366-day calendar of people and events that bent the arc of British history towards justice; and
4. bespoke Occasional Prayers for justice-related events.
‘It’s so easy for the passion for justice to be channeled into activism whilst neglecting to nurture an inner life that fuels it. Mission spirituality is surely the rhythm of both. This new articulation of longings for a better world in prayers and liturgies along with the offering of memories of those who have gone before to light the road is a wonderful gift in that regard. It’s a great resource for individuals and communities seeking to join in God’s healing of all things, to breathe in before acting out.’ Jonny Baker, CMS
Living for Jesus and Justice; Daily Prayers for Radical Christians; Simon Jones and Red Letter Christians UK 978 1 917362 13 9 Compiled using material provided by DLT. ©Blog Editor, JM 

Treasures in Straw: The griefs and gifts of the Christmas story– BOOK NOTIFICATION
Christmas can be a magical time, but also a uniquely painful one. Inspired by
the difference she sees between Christmas as we mark it today and the original
story of the nativity, Tanya Marlow writes for everyone who struggles with
Christmas. ‘Nowadays Christmas feels like either grief or gift,’ she says, ‘but the nativity is both grief
and gift together… My invitation to you this season is to look afresh at the original Christmas story,
with the freedom to be honest in lament, exuberant in praise, or both together. Whether you love
Christmas or dread it, this is a chance to treasure those forgotten spiritual blessings that do not perish
or fade, and rediscover genuine delight in Jesus, our greatest gift.’

The Julian Meetings support in-person and online groups around the country. We make teaching on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation as easily and widely accessible as we can. Articles and reviews express the views only of their respective authors.  

Please send your comments or contributions for publication on the blog to  https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-blog/   

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The Work of Oneing, Together

knotted rope cross signifies our uniting in Christ.

We usually intersperse blogs with book reviews. In view of the death of the solitary, Maggie Ross, last month, we hear today from Ruth Mills, who uses terms based on ‘eremos’: the Desert, where Jesus went to be alone with God. Ruth is currently studying with the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield, Yorkshire.

Solitude in Community

The first time I arrived at a Julian Meeting I was drawn to the paradox of following Mother Julian’s example of sitting in eremitic silence, whilst sitting with others to do so: coming together – to be alone with God.   

Yet in the juxtaposition there is something that is, without doubt, the nature of the Oneing of the soul to God which Julian writes of in her Revelation of Divine Love.   

“The soul is preciously knitted to Him in its making by a knot so subtle and so mighty that it is Oned into God” Julian writes.   And it is because every individual is “oned” to God that. Julian reasons, all of humanity is inextricably linked to one another.  True spiritual togetherness means recognising that human separation is an illusion, and that humanity is inherently fused to the Divine from the moment of creation, expressed through the vivid imagery of a tightly bound knot.  

Those gifted in the craft of knotwork have a fine art-form of working a cord through, around and within itself in a work which bonds, and if done well, with exquisit beauty.  The work of the oneing of one’s soul with God is labour and beauty also, possibly the most wonderful and transformative undertaking of a human life.   

As a vowed celibate to the Single Consecrated Life, my life is, personally, set apart from the secular world for the Glory and the Kingdom of God, and yet the purpose of my consecration is to free me to enter more fully back into the world so that I may enter more fully into the love of Creation and humanity which follows closely in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus.   

But contemplation isn’t a work only reserved for Religious or the Church, it’s a divine work for all humanity, together.  If the Kingdom of God is encounter, communion, and coming together, then the real challenge is this: how do we come near when human constructs set us apart?   

Julian writes “prayer ones the soul to God”.   

In following Julian into silence, we are not merely withdrawing from the outside world in pursuit of stillness. Rather, we are entering into prayer that reaches beyond the confinements of the secular world towards the Creator God who is present in all places. Yes, we turn from distractions, but we do not reject the world. Instead, we turn forward, reaching more deeply into the ever-present Kingdom of God, which has already arrived and encompasses us in every place and time. 

Julian’s eremitic life was situated within the movement of the church and the people around her, setting her apart in radical solitude for prayer for the world yet gifting connection with those who sought her counsel through her cell window.  It was a position of hermitic ‘being’ pointing all souls towards the Glory of God: a work of sewing together the souls and Creator in the work of salvific oneing, not only through divine ecstatic intimacy, but in divine disruptive participation. 

From Julian’s Anchorhold to our meeting room.   

Like all skillful craft forms, we need a mentor and guide to sit alongside us, to work beside us, teaching and steadying our hands as we learn to fine-tune our spiritual practice. Here, Julian serves as our master weaver, guiding us in the art of being “oned.” 

This paradox reveals itself for the Glory of God. In our sitting together eremitically, we are silent in the shared work of Oneing – of weaving that binding knot of union with the Divine. 

A worthy work indeed. 

Text and Photograph ©Ruth Mills 

Photograph: knotted Celtic gate at the fishing village of Beadnell Bay, Northumbria. “This is my own photo- I’ve been walking the St Aidan’s way with Newcastle diocese and was in one of the villages we passed through in May- I was really stunned by it”.   

Martha Reeves (born 1941) died peacefully on June 11, 2026 in Oxford. She was a vowed Anglican solitary (or anchorite) and author of books on spirituality, for example ‘Silence, a user’s guide’. Her pen name was Maggie Ross. She In an interview with Church Times she wrote “communities are only as healthy as the solitudes that make them up; and that a life that is prayer is about being, not doing”. Her gravestone reads: ‘Sr Martha Emilie Reeves. In Silence Beholding ‘, a part quotation from her book ‘Writing the icon of the heart‘. She had written her own blog since 2006. She opened her 2020 article on “Silent Knowing” by quoting Graham Ward: “all theology must emerge from silence and result in silence”. 

“As far as my study of scripture goes, I have found that to love Christ above all things will involve three things: warmth and song and sweetness. And these three, as far as I know from personal experience cannot exist for long without there being great quiet.” Richard Rolle, The Fire of Love, C15, cited by Janet Rolinson. 

“Many children seek not to just learn about and think about God, but to experience God as the ground of their being. Meditation is one way of experiencing the presence of Jesus within. Meditation provides children with an opportunity to undertake a journey of silence and stillness as one way of helping them cope with the pressures of life”.© Gail Ballinger – August 2005 JM magazine p. 5.

The Julian Meetings support in-person and online groups around the country. We make teaching on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation as easily and widely accessible as we can. Articles and reviews express the views only of their respective authors. 

Please send your comments or contributions for publication on the blog to  https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-blog/  

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Stillness Is Deeper Than Silence 

Stillness among noise

The Julian meetings practice Christian meditation/contemplative prayer, and this web site consists of a treasury of material supporting that practice. Here one of our members contributes from his rich experience of stillness even amid demanding, even life threatening, situations.

We often speak about silence as though it is something we must achieve. We sit down, close our eyes, and then discover that the mind has not received the instruction. Thoughts arrive. Sounds continue. Memories, worries, ideas, feelings, and distractions move around us. 

That can lead people to think they are failing at silent prayer. 

But perhaps stillness is deeper than silence. 

The silence of a Julian Meeting is not, I think, a demand that we somehow empty the mind by force. Very few people can do that. Perhaps nobody can do it completely. The mind moves. It produces thoughts in the same way the body breathes and the ears hear. The problem is not that thoughts arise. The question is what we do with them. 

Do we chase them? Do we argue with them? Do we try to push them away? Or can we simply allow them to be present, without making them the centre of our attention? 

This is where contemplative prayer becomes both gentle and demanding. It asks very little from us in one sense: just sit, be present, and wait upon God. But in another sense it asks a great deal, because it asks us not to control the experience. 

Meister Eckhart and other Christian contemplative writers often point us towards this kind of detachment: not coldness, not indifference, but freedom from the need to grasp everything that passes through the mind. In that spirit, stillness is not the absence of thought. It is the grace of not being ruled by every thought. 

Another word for this may be equanimity: a balanced presence, neither grasping nor resisting. In Christian terms, I do not mean a self-made calm, achieved by effort alone. I mean something received and practised: a grace that helps us remain present before God amid whatever moves around us and within us. 

This is why I find the image of the still person in the long-exposure photograph so helpful. Around them, the world rushes past. People move, lights blur, the street is full of activity. Yet the person remains still. The movement has not disappeared. The stillness is not created by removing the movement. The stillness is found within it. 

That is often what our inner life is like. 

We may come to silent prayer with a mind full of movement. We may be tired, distracted, anxious, or restless. We may be very aware of the sounds in the room, the noises outside, or the unfinished business of the day. Yet none of that prevents stillness. It only gives us the place where stillness may be practised. 

I have found this to be true beyond the meeting room as well. There have been moments in my own life, in difficult and noisy circumstances, where I have discovered that stillness was possible even when quiet was not. I do not always manage it. Far from it. There are many times when I have followed the wrong thought, fed the wrong feeling, or made the noise louder by engaging with it. That, perhaps, is a reflection for another time. 

For now, the point is simpler. 

If thoughts arise in prayer, we need not punish ourselves. If we suddenly realise we have been carried away by them, we can gently return. No drama is needed. No failure has occurred. We return to stillness as often as necessary. 

Perhaps this is one way of understanding grace. Not as a dramatic feeling, nor as a special experience we must seek, but as the quiet strength to remain present before God amid everything that moves around us and within us. 

So the challenge may be this: not only to sit in silence during a Julian Meeting, but to carry something of that stillness into life. 

Into the street. Into the workplace. Into family life. Into uncertainty. Into noise. 

Stillness is not the absence of noise. 

Stillness is deeper than silence. 

“Be still, and know that I am God.” 
Psalm 46:10 

Text ©️ Ian Beers. Image created using Artificial Intelligence from prompts by Ian Beers 

The following recent quotations might inspire and deepen our contemplative prayer both alone and together:

Quaker Peace Testimony

Quakers find our faith moves us to love rather than war, even when that is risky. In 1928, British Quakers described their experience of the spirit of Christ in worship:

“In silence, without rite or symbol, we have known the Spirit of Christ so convincingly present in our quiet meetings that his grace dispels our faithlessness, our unwillingness, our fears, and sets our hearts aflame with the joy of adoration. We have thus felt the power of the spirit renewing and recreating our love and friendship for all our fellows.”

Facebook entry 25th June 2026 ©️ Quakers in Britain.

Sue Derbyshire and Gail Ballinger of Winchester Julian Meeting recommended the following: 

Meditation practice can turn me into a sponge. The true nature of a sponge is that it gathers water and it releases water.   It does not hold onto, own, or create water.  In meditation I am filled with the grace of God, the flowing waters of life.  

Hence, the only goal I can truly name for my meditation practice is this :  to let myself be filled over and over, so that I can act as a streaming, saturated sponge, leaking Love in a dry and dusty world. 

From ‘Hands like   Roots ‘ Notes on an Entangled Contemplative Life ‘   ©️ Therese Des Camp. Published by Santos  March 2025.   

Prayer always moves something Matthew 17:20 :

Prayer is where mustard‑seed faith begins to grow.

Sometimes God moves the mountain.

Sometimes He strengthens us to climb it.

Sometimes He reshapes the landscape entirely.

But prayer always moves something.

©️ Jess Soames, Mission Aviation Fellowship. Used with permission.

In contemplative prayer we seek consonance not only on our own behalf, but for our dissonant world.  

The Cathedral organ was being tuned. Each pipe in turn was compared with another correctly tuned pipe, and adjusted. Most of the contemplative prayer group retired to a room out of earshot and listened to an article by Evelyn Underhill that introduced our meditation.  

One stayed behind in the chapel beneath the pipes. He said afterwards, “ The whole point, as it struck me, of the tuning of the organ is to create consonance out of dissonance; and I hope that we embody that.” 

©️Philip Tyers, Julian Meetings member.

The Julian Meetings support in-person and online groups around the country. We make teaching on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation as easily and widely accessible as we can. Articles and reviews express the views only of their respective authors. 

Please send your contributions for publication on the blog to  https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-blog/ 

We invite readers to suggest books for review, and are looking for further member reviewers. We also welcome key points you learned from books you read, whether published recently or years ago.

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The Missing Peace: Book Review

Meditation as a spiritual path to peace, community and oneness.

Chris Whittington, the author of this book asserted  “To all intents and purposes, the teaching and practice of meditation, of silent prayer, has all but disappeared from institutional churches”(p.1). 

‘I was encountering (material) which was at the same time both utterly irresistible and profoundly disorientating… Alongside texts from the Christian contemplative tradition, I’d been studying texts from other traditions, particularly those of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta and Sufi Islam. I told the Abbot it seemed as if a single voice was shining through everything I was reading… he just smiled and quietly said, ‘Yes’. (p.2). 

The lack of tuition in silent prayer had concerned Hilary Wakeman when she initiated the Julian Meetings in 1973. She sought advice from church leaders, then from representatives of several contemplative prayer groups who had been running for 50 years or more. Chris had Prinknash Abbey on hand, and at the age of 18, spoke to the Abbot. 

Through his title, Chris is asserting that he has found the piece that will complete the jigsaw of our lives, and help us to discover the Peace that comes from God.

This book assembles the talks Chris has given to teach ‘meditation from the Christian wisdom tradition as a spiritual path to peace, community and oneness – as a way of clearing space to encounter the divine nature of life’. (p.128). 

Each chapter lasts between one and three pages. They are practical, showing how contemplative prayer heals our daily living. Each quotation is identified at the foot of the page. A quick flick through reveals the breadth of resources, ancient and contemporary, that he has used including Rowan Williams, Martin Laird OSA, the Cloud of Unknowing, Julian of Norwich, the Desert Fathers, and Wendy Beckett. The book is prefaced by commendations from a reliable range of writers. 

To Chris, everything follows from the simple practice taught to him by Fr. Alphege, OSB: ‘Let the prayer word and your breath flow together gently and rest there’ (p. 22). His book shows how this can benefit every aspect of our lives.  

I recommend this book as an accessible resource about the living Christian tradition of contemplative prayer and meditation.  

© Philip Tyers 

Member of The Julian Meetings 

The Missing Peace: Chris Whittington: Norwich, Canterbury Press, 2025. ISBN 978-1-78622-679-2, paperback, e-book and audiobook.  £12.99/£19.99 

We invite readers to suggest further books for review, and are looking for further member reviewers. For this or to offer a contribution for the blog, visit https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-blog/  

The Julian Meetings support in-person and online groups around the country. We make teaching on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation as easily and widely accessible as we can. Articles and reviews express the views only of their respective authors. 

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I Ease You

The Gospel discovered by the Seventeenth Century poet, George Herbert, was that Jesus eases us. He had suffered ‘a great affliction’ that broke him. He found that Jesus eased him, and described the discovery in his delightful poem, ‘Jesu’. In silent prayer, we too find that Jesus eases us. We trust that his easing can be experienced, not only by us, but by all.  

Centuries before, Abraham too had experienced a crisis.  He had been promised children, but expected to die childless. God repeated his promise. “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness”  Genesis 15:6. The accompanying picture is ‘Abraham’ by Ronald Rae.  It shows an almost cartoon face, peeking shyly at the sky, as if pondering the stars that symbolised the number of descendants he would have. The fragility of the facial expression contrasts with the solidity and size of the rock into which it is carved. Beside it is a fingerpost implying ‘walk’, and a bench implying ‘rest’. There is a right time for each.

Here is George Herbert’s poem. In his day, the letter ‘J’ had only recently been differentiated from the letter ‘I’. 

Jesu is in my heart, his sacred name 

Is deeply carved there: but th’other week 

A great affliction broke the little frame, 

Ev’n all to pieces: which I went to seek: 

And first I found the corner, where was J, 

After, where ES, and next where U was graved, 

When I had got these parcels, instantly 

I sat me down to spell them, and perceived 

That to my broken heart he was I ease you, 

                                And to the whole is J E S U. 

George Herbert , from his collection “The Temple”, 1633. 

Behind the silence which is the key part of a Julian meeting, there may be consideration of Scripture. Here Marian Sale of the Isle of Man Julian meeting, shares an article she wrote for the group. She takes key lines from a section of the bible and reflects on them using other verses and her own experience. This invites the reader to take time to ponder and let each verse sink in, rather than just flash past.  

ECCLESIASTES CHAPTER 3.  

There is a time for everything: 

1) A time to be born and a time to die.  

In John 3:4 Jesus tells us that “no one comes to see the kingdom of God unless he be born again.” Some people call themselves “born again Christians”. This can happen at any age and it does not have to be once only, like St Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Perhaps some might not experience this until they are on their death beds. The spiritual writers tell us we are likely to experience “little deaths” throughout our lives. The seed has to die to become a plant (Jn.2:24). We have to die from childhood in order to become adult. We die a bit every day. I do not intend to enter the thorny questions of euthanasia, suicide or abortion. 

 2) A time to plant and a time to uproot.  

When talking of the Pharisees, Jesus says “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots (Matt: 15:13). Also “every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matt:7:19). When Dutch Elm disease arrived on the Island, the Forestry Commission had a policy of cutting down and burning all diseased trees in order to preserve the rest.  

3) A time to kill and a time to heal. 

Although it says “thou shalt not murder” in the Ten Commandments, if a terrorist runs into a school or pop concert, brandishing a gun, it might be sensible to kill him before he commit mass murder  

4) A time to tear down and a time to build. 

Jesus tore down the tables of the money lenders in the Temple. At the moment of Jesus’ death “the curtain of the Temple was torn in two” (Matt 27:51). There is a saying:- “Ask your worst enemy to prune your roses” because the harder they are cut down the stronger the gr th for the following year. The Victorian slums were torn down in order to build more healthy and affordable housing. We still have the heritage of the magnificent mediaeval Cathedrals. 

5) A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance.  

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:11). As Jesus was being led away to be crucified, He told his disciples “Do not weep for me, weep for yourselves and for your children”(Lk.23:28). “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5). “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy”(Ps. 126:5). Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus (Jn.11:35). It is only natural to weep at the death of our relatives and loved ones, but they would not want us to wear black for years like Queen Victoria.  God turns our mourning into dancing (Ps.30:11) and the prodigal son was welcomed home with dancing (Lk. 15:25).

 6) A time to be silent and a time to speak. 

Jesus remained silent to his accusers in front of Pontius Pilate (Matt 27:14) because He knew His final destination. This was foretold by Isaiah (53:7-8) “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is silent, he did not open his mouth.”

Although Ecclesiastes was written at the time of King Solomon it is equally relevant for today. Time has nothing to do with minutes, hours and years.  Sometimes time flies, sometimes it seems to drag. 

© Marian Sale

Diane Watkins writes:  

I was a member of Beverley Julian meeting. When I was a young person, I wrote a poem which expressed my thoughts and feelings about the mystery of suffering which I include below. I have never shown it to anyone until now. 

Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? 

Yes, who will care 

When all the blood and sweat have flowed and dried 

When furrowed face is quenched with tears run cold 

And anguished heart with anguish is o’er whelmed  

For I care, God, thou knowest how I care, 

And how my caring is to nothing brought 

By others knowing much and caring naught. 

But caring’s not enough- no, we must DO , 

And doing must engage the ravening foe, 

Yet caring not how little we can do, 

And knowing just how little we can know. 

© Diane Watkins 

A sequence of verses for meditation, celebrating our union with Christ: 

I live, no longer I, but Christ who lives in me  (Gal 2:20) 

 In whom all things hold together  (Col 1:17) 

And God is all in all.  (1 Cor. 15:28) 

The Julian Meetings magazine contained a variety of materials; articles, poems, verses, and book reviews. This edition of the Blog partly revives that tradition. Please contact us with your response: https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-blog/ 

 Photograph  © Philip Tyers. ‘Abraham’, by Ronald Rae b. 1946, in the grounds of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, for mental care. 

The Julian Meetings support in-person and online groups around the country. We make teaching on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation as easily and widely accessible as we can. Articles and reviews express the views only of their respective authors. 

Please send your contributions for publication on the blog using the online form at  https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-blog/ 

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The Paradox of Poverty : a Book Review

The Paradox of Poverty: Why are the poor in spirit “Blessed”:  

Quote from the publisher: ““Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And we smile, nod, and think: “Lovely thought.” But if we’re paying attention, it’s a shocking, almost offensive thought. The grieving, the broken hearted, the marginalized, the stigmatized―all blessed, all happy? In The Paradox of Poverty, Susan Pitchford examines the ways in which followers of Christ have understood “poverty of spirit,” and the traditions that have formed around their attempts to follow Jesus on this radical path. 

  Over the centuries, those who have heard Jesus have learned the truth of his promise that we will find the greatest happiness, our deepest fulfilment―the kingdom of heaven, in fact, our blessedness and our belovedness―in the things that seem to impoverish our souls. The Paradox of Poverty looks at some of the wisdom traditions that have formed this understanding: the Scriptures, the desert mothers and fathers, the Franciscans, liberation theologians, prosperity gospel preachers, the 12-Step movement, and more. At both individual and collective levels, these traditions help us understand that varied kinds of poverty can become a “blessing” by bringing us to know our belovedness in God.” 

My interest mounted as I discovered the breadth and depth to which the writer had researched the “Paradox of Poverty of Spirit”. Susan Pritchard has produced a wealth of information and thought-provoking pages. This is a book which I would want to read again and keep for future reference. The writer shows how we become distracted from the meaning Christ set out for us in the Beatitudes. I commend this book for its insight and richness. 

Text © Michael Butler.  A Julian Meetings member. 

Image © Liturgical Press.

THE PARADOX OF POVERTY

Susan Pritchard

Published by Liturgical Press, 2025, paperback/e-book/ Kindle. 

ISBN  9798400802102 

Also available from Amazon

We invite readers to suggest further books for review, and are looking for further member reviewers. Contact us on https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-book-reviews/

We invite readers to contribute to the Blog. Contact us on https://thejulianmeetings.net/contact-for-blog/

The Julian Meetings support in-person and online groups around the country. We make teaching on Contemplative Prayer and Meditation as easily and widely accessible as we can. Articles and reviews express the views only of their respective authors.