Category: Healing

Posted on by

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/  

Posted on by

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/ 

Posted on by

Job – the Problem of Suffering and the Problem of God.

tree segments showing damage in the rings Copyright p tyers

Janet has written about how reflecting on the book of Job helped her come to terms with grief. We invite our readers to write reflections on topics that join prayer and life. We would also like to hear about your groups. We hope to publish the next blog at Easter. Philip Tyers, Editor

The photo shows suffering endured by a tree over many years,  invisible to outsiders.  

Janet writes:

Many years ago, as a family, we suffered a grievous loss. It was a body blow of the most radical kind, a happening which severely questions belief. I do not think that I asked, “Why did this happen to me?” Suffering happens to most if not all people at some time in their lives. It caused me to ask questions about the roots of suffering.  

Fortunately, I came across a book, which provided some answers. Harold Kushner was a rabbi. He had suffered the death of a son. His son was born with an incurable and rare disease. The son died when he was fourteen. Kushner, inevitably, had mused upon this death, had asked questions of God. It was his chapter on the book of Job that helped me most. Kushner made three statements: 

  1. God is all- powerful and causes everything that happens in this world. Nothing happens without him willing it. 
  1. God is just and fair, and stands for people getting what they deserve, so that the good prosper and the wicked perish. 
  1. Job is a good person. 

He postulated that we cannot make sense of all these statements. We must sacrifice one in order to believe in the other two. His answer, which has become mine, is that God is not all-powerful. There are things which God cannot control. When disasters of any kind occur, we should not regard them as “acts of God” but turn to God to help us to live through them. God does this in many profound ways. That is a simplistic and inadequate comment on this wise book, but it helped me, as it has helped others for many years.  

This returned me to the Book of Job itself. It has been called the “most wonderful poem of any age and language; our first, oldest statement of the never ending problem – man’s destiny and God’s way with him in this world” (Thomas Carlyle). The saga of Job’s suffering, the arguments of his friends and the magisterial arguments of God need to be read repeatedly.  

Recently, I came across Andy Roland’s ‘The Book of Job.’ The author has abbreviated the text and arranged it for private reading, for group study and for public performance. The concluding chapter discusses the meaning of Job as the author finds it. He suggests, as does Kushner, that it not only discusses the problem of suffering but also the problem of God.  

A reading of all three books requires deep and searching thought and helps us to  

  • “Forgive the world for not being perfect,  
  • Forgive God for not making a perfect world,  
  • Reach out to the people around us  
  • Go on living despite it all” (Kushner). 

REFERENCES: 

Harold Kushner: When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Pan Books; 1st published 1981, and again with new introduction 2002. ISBN 9780330490559 Also available on Kindle.

Author unknown: The Book of Job – The Bible. 

Andy Roland: The Book of Job. Filament publishing. 2019 ISBN 9781913192501  Also available on Kindle.

Photo © Philip Tyers 2026

 Text ©Janet Robinson 2026. 

Editor: Philip Tyers

Posted on by

All Saints and All Souls, Reflecting on Loss and Grief.

Nothing is Lost

When my friend was in the final stages of dementia and both speech and cognition were lost, I wondered what it must be like to lose control of one’s mind. Was it like a deep state of meditation where one is beyond thought? Where do all the memories go, all the relationships and experiences of a lifetime? I found these deeply comforting and appropriate words in a book by John O’ Donohue, where he wrote this blessing following a chapter on the subject of absence in all its forms:

May you know that absence is alive with hidden presence, that nothing is ever lost or forgotten.                                                          

May the absences in your life grow full of eternal echo.                  

May you sense around you the secret Elsewhere where the presences that have left you dwell.                                                      

May you be generous in your embrace of loss.                                  

May the sore well of grief turn into a seamless flow of presence.                                       

May you be embraced by God in whom dawn and twilight are one.

May your longing inhabit its dreams within the Great Belonging.

As I meditate on these words it reminds me that when I come to God in stillness and silence, all my experiences of life, love and loss are always present in the vast, eternal Presence which holds all of creation, beyond time and space, in peaceful and loving embrace. Nothing is ever lost, I am never alone, and there is nothing to fear.

From:         ‘Walking in wonder’ John O’Donohue

photo and text © K Marsh

All Saints’ Day, also known as All Hallows’ Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, is observed by Christians from the eve 31st October and November 1st in honour of all the saints of the Church.

All Souls’ Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance for all the faithful departed. Observed by Christians on 2 November.

Allhallowtide includes the three days from October 31st to November 3rd inclusive,

NB Dates can vary depending on the tradition of the particular Church. This is in accordance with the Western Christian tradition.

Posted on by

Healed by Love Daniel Chowning OCD. Review

Daniel Chowning: Healed by Love: Contemplation as a path of healing according to St John of the Cross

Liturgical press 2025

Blackwells £18.99. Amazon Kindle £16                                   ISBN: 9798400800122, 0012244
            eISBN: 9798400800139, E00139

The title of this book engaged my interest since, while a beginner in accessing the work of St John of the Cross, I have found the foothills of his work inspiring.

Written by a fellow Carmelite who has immersed himself in St John’s life and writings it offers a deep reflection on the healing power of contemplation to be found in his work. My review only touches the surface of the work as I will need so much more time and prayer to absorb and benefit from its teaching.

Initially I was attracted by the account of the saint’s life. Born into a very poor family and as a teenager employed as a nurse’s aide and alms seeker for the sick poor of a charitable hospital, he learned compassion and tenderness at first hand. He cared for the physically and the spiritually ill to the end of his life. Encouraged to study he was drawn to the Carmelite order and made his profession in 1564. His religious life and thought was much bound with the thinking and inspiration of Teresa of Avila and though of very different personalities they supported each other through difficult times. There being much opposition within the Church to the reforms which Teresa instigated, John was “kidnapped” and imprisoned for nine months in extreme deprivation. He escaped and lived for ten years in Andalusia where he was confessor and spiritual director to both religious and laity and there wrote all his major works. Later he became prior of a monastery in Segovia.

To the end of his life he was hounded by traditionalists who tried to destroy his reputation. He died in 1591 at the age of 49. As the author says: “He responded in love to every circumstance in life, good or bad, joyful or painful” His abiding words were

“Where there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love.”

So far, I have described only the first chapter of this remarkable book. The remaining ten chapters are a serious investigation of John’s understanding of the spiritual and psychological ills of we humans and how, despite the fact that he lived more than 400 years ago, he can still offer guidance and help for healing and forgiveness. As Sr.Elizabeth Obbard writes in her review (and I cannot do better):

“In this beautiful and very readable book, Fr. Daniel Chowning has distilled the teaching of St. John of the Cross for a new generation, linking it with his own personal, pastoral, and psychological insights. Under St. John’s guidance all are encouraged to surrender to the process of healing and transformation in Christ. It is a contemplative journey that leads to freedom and the integration of the whole person. Chowning’s writing is the fruit of many years of studying and teaching the Carmelite saints, and I was hooked from page one. Be enthused, inspired, and challenged to make the journey of contemplative love a way of life ‘costing not less than everything.’ It’s never too late to set out.”

(© 2025 by Daniel Chowning, OCD. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Used with permission.)

Janet Robinson