“Katherine stepped forward – trembling before the [Bishop’s] barked commands – her hands tight around the crucifix that the abbess had given her. This was the moment, the moment she had both dreaded and welcomed. From this moment there was no more return that there was return from the grave…”
“Fear shook Katherine’s body as she realized the import of this time. No more walks in the garden with [her friends], no more possibility of marriage and children, no more [watching annual mystery plays with her brother]… once she entered that anchor hold, she could go nowhere else, for any reason. Ever.”
“Is it your vocation to spend your life here in prayer?”
“That day Katherine was dead and buried. And Julian… Julian of Norwich lived on”.
Excerpts from Julian’s Cell by Ralph Milton
Today we hear her words. Today we stand asking for a seed of her courage to make hard choices for the sake of the world.
Artwork:
1. Icon - Julian with Hazelnut by Br. Robert Lentz, OFM
2. Late Arriving Workers by Jesus Mafa (1973) Cameroon