Customer Reviews

All Will Be Well (30 Days with a Great Spiritual Teacher)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was a bit dazzled by D. Hunt's comments and had to provide an alternative viewpoint because this gem of a small booklet really deserves a wide readership. (Did we read the same book!?)

I guess writings about the extravagant, omnipotent love of Christ are just too much to take for some Christians. After all, how often have we been taught that God is not nurturing nor tender towards us but imposingly Holy, impassively stern and like a consuming fire. (A bit hard to relate to though!) I guess we need to go back to the divine woodshed! I am puzzled what D. Hunt would have wanted included in the booklet to avoid this "mutated offense" to Julian.

I found this a wonderful introduction to Julian's complete book "the Revelations of Divine Love". You'll encounter a God of absolute love and compassion, who has fully secured our everlasting wellbeing in Christ. This is a God and living Christ you'll find approachable and inviting, embracing us in the fullness of our frail and sinful humanity.

Certainly Julian and the editor (BTW, Caroline Myss was not the editor or compiler, she simply wrote the forward) have no illusions that we don't seriously wrestle with our sin but what is the emancipating dynamic that delivers us from that condition? The inexhaustive, omnipotent love of God that rescues, forgives and absolutely transforms. Labeling this "New Age palatability" makes me wonder how this crucial dimension of the Christian gospel message could be so misconstrued. (And also, what is "generic" about the stunning, wondrous love of God? Try Ephesians 3.14-21 for starters.)

Because this is a collection of excerpts from the larger book, one may want to move on to one of the many excellent translations of the whole writings for Julian's wider perspective. The larger book certainly has "showings" with a harder edge but still the prominent theme remains Christ's gracious, sustaining love.

One thing I agree with D. Hunt is that this is also a book for non Christians. So often have we Christians distorted the image of God to those "outside the fold", that this would start as a great corrective. Now, if only we Christians would encounter the love of God as dramatically and radically as Julian, that might make this whole discussion superfluous.

"In our true Mother, Jesus,
Our life is grounded in uncreated wisdom
That foresees all,
Along with the Father's almighty power
And the Holy Spirit's sovereign goodness.
By taking upon himself our nature,
He restored us to life,
By dying on the cross,
He carried us to eternal life.
From that moment until the end of time,
He nurtures and helps us on,
Just as the great loving concern of motherhood wishes
And the natural need of the child desires."
(from Day 22)

The popular messages of the day are about despair, disempowerment, war, wickedness, zealotry, idolatry and the antithesis of loving one's neighbor (unless that neighbor happens to sit in the next pew!). Sounds a lot like the middle ages! Yet, Dame Julian writes a timeless message of unconditional, all-encompassing love. Her powerful and unshakably beautiful faith is truly heavenly.

This small book serves as an accessible introduction to one of the great mystical bridges between God and humanity. By dividing the book into daily mediations, the reader is engaged in developing a habit of joyful exploration that becomes addictive. It is a step toward the antidote to the despair and hopelessness of our current times. Just as a constant diet of evil news creates a mindset of despair, regular positive messages of a loving God create a positive, loving mindset, which translates to hopeful, loving actions.

If you are looking for another treatise to wedge people apart, to detract from Christ's simple and powerful message of loving God and each other, or to instill or confirm the superiority of a narrow human-made dogma, you won't find it here. This book gives an appetite for joy, peace and acceptance.

I am reading this on my Kindle and especially like the easily accessed material and the form it is written in (brief daily reading, one sentence mantra for the day, evening reading to reflect upon the day's lesson, and night time prayer.) For those familiar with Julian of Norwich, I believe you will be pleased with how her original thoughts and insights are presented. For those hoping to be moved by the daily contempletive devotions, the content is rich and to-the-point enough to ensure the daily discipline of reading it, yet so delightful that it invites one to go back and re-read some of the gems found hidden within. I bought 3 other copies and gave as gifts. This is a keeper.

I was utterly disappointed with this book. I am only giving it three stars because the content is good but only because the original, the writings of Julian of Norwich, are brilliant. Unfortunately, the editors have managed to take what was brilliant and watered it down to such a point that it lacks any real luster. If you have read any of the mystics for yourself, you will probably find yourself as disappointed as I was, especially if you've read Julian of Norwich: Showings (Classics of Western Spirituality). If you have tried to read the works of mystics and felt overwhelmed or confused, you may find this book, and the others in the collection, easier to stomach. I hope that any serious student of Christian mysticism would forego this book and just be immersed in the original because this is a poor substitute for the real thing.

This book is basically written from a militant feminist perspective, with the Bible as its victim.
New Agers will no doubt be enthralled by its efforts to turn God (Jesus) into a woman. If you want to read real Christian mysticism, get "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A Kempis.

All Will be Well: 30 Days With a Great Spiritual TeacherThis book would be of interest only to non-Christian readers. In these days of what might be called "generic spirituality," many writers/editors aim for as broad (and "generic") a market as possible. That seems to be the case for Caroline Myss, editor. Using such editorial phrases as "the Sacred," she succeeds only in offending Christian--not to mention Catholic--readers. The editing of Julian's comments reveals a mutation intended to render what is completely Catholic Christianity into a kind of "new-age" palatability. Christian readers will be offended. I am. I suspect Julian of Norwich is, as well.