Marjory Kempe

A contemporary of Julian was Marjory Kempe. She was born into the prosperous East-Anglian town of Kings Lynn, which is about fifty miles to the north of Norwich. Her father had been mayor of the town several times. She married young and when she was about twenty, after the birth of her first child, she became seriously ill and she despaired of her life. Memories of the godlessness of her past life haunted her and in her despair she began to pray earnestly. The fear of hell was very real in the late Middle Ages. At this moment she had a comforting vision of the Lord. The extract I shall add here gives a flavour of the English used at this period.

Then on a time as she lay alone and her keepers were from her, our merciful Lord Christ Jesu, ever to be trusted (worshiped be his name) never forsaking his servant in time of need, appeared to his creature, which had forsaken him, in likeness of a man, most seemly, most beauteous, and most amiable that ever might be seen with man's eye, clad in a mantle of purple silk, sitting upon her bed's side, looking upon her with so blessed a cheer that she was strengthened in all her spirits, said to her these words: "Daughter, why hast thou forsaken me, and I forsook never thee?" And anon as he had said these words she saw verily how the air opened bright as any levin (lightning), and he sty up into the air, not right hastily and quickly, but fair and easily that she might well behold him in the air till it was closed again. And anon the creature was stabled (calmed) in her wits and in her reason as well as ever she was before, and prayed her husband as soon as he came to her that she might have the keys of the buttery to take her meat and drink as she had done before.

Although she went on to bear her husband another thirteen children she led a life of amazing spiritual activity.She seemed to have travelled over much of Northern Europe. She also met Julian of Norwich in her cell in Norwich and they discussed the validity of her visions. Julian wisely said that since the outcome of her visions was "charity" they should be accepted.

One odd fact that surprises modern readers is her continual lament that she was no longer virginal. In the end she persuaded her long-suffering husband to enter a compact of voluntary celibacy for the rest of their lives.

It is an interesting fact that for the first fifteen hundred years of the history of the church celibacy and virginity were highly prized and the married were virtually second-class spiritual citizens. Since Luther, this perception has been totally reversed.

As one reads her autobiography one is amazed at her faith and her boldness. She would rebuke sin and ungodliness wherever she went. In fact, many of her contemporaries considered her a bit mad.

There is a very interesting and readable edition of her work in modern English published by Norton Critical Editions. UK Amazon sells second-hand copies for just over £5.

The original MS was lost for centuries and was only discovered in 1934.

Julian of Norwich

As I was clearing out one of the drawers of my bedside cabinet I came across a dog-eared scrap of paper covered with my writing. I must have written it a few years ago and it contains a passage from the Revelations of Julian of Norwich, which she wrote about 1373. She lived the life of an anchoret, living in a cell attached to the church.

At the same time, our Lord showed me in a spiritual manner, how intimately he loves us. I saw that he is everything that is good and supports us. He clothes us in his love, envelops us and embraces us. He wraps us round in his tender love and he will never abandon us. As I understand it, he is everything that is good. He also showed me a tiny thing lying in the palm of my hand, the size of a hazelnut. I looked at this with the eye of my soul and thought, "What is this?" And is this is the answer that came to me. "It is all that is made" I was amazed that it managed to survive. It was so small that I thought it might disintegrate. And in my mind I heard this answer, "It lives on and will live on because God loves it." So everything owes its existence to the love of God. The first is God made it; the second is God loves it; and the third is God preserves it.

For those who did Middle English at college I give the passage from the original manuscript.

And in þis he shewed me a lytil
thyng þe quantite of a hasyl
nott. lyeng in þe pawme of
my hand as it had semed. and
it was as rownde as eny ball.
I loked þer upon wt þe eye of
of my vnderstondyng. and I
þought what may þis be. and
it was answered generally thus.
It is all þat is mad. I merueled
howe it myght laste. for me
þought it myght soden ly haue
fall to nought for lytyllhed. &
I was answered in my vnder=

stondyng. It lastyth & euer shall
for god louyth it. and so hath
all thyng his begynning by
þe loue of god. In this lytyll
thyng I sawe thre propertees.
The fyrst is. þt god made it. þe
secunde is þet louyth it. & þe þrid
is. þat god kepith it. But what

Catherine of Siena

Savonarola's memorial in Florence

The highlights to me when I went to Tuscany was my visit to Florence, probably the art capital of the world, a medieval city gifted with more talent per head of the population than any other city in history, and to see what I could find out about Catherine of Siena.

In the main square of Florence is a round grey stone (see above) that shows the spot where that amazing Christian, Girolamo Savonarola, was burnt to death in 1498. He was a flaming prophet and the Florentines could not stand any longer his sermons condemning their vain lives and classical idolatries.

These are a few shots I took when I visited Siena a few days later It was a cold autumn Tuscan day when we drove to the town. For me the most important reason to visit this fascinating medieval town was to visit any sites associated with Catherine of Sienna, a Catholic saint virtually unheard-of in the protestant circles I grew up in. Yet I feel strongly that her moral and spiritual teaching has a timeless relevance. Her teaching about our neighbour has a relevance for everyone of us.

"Your neighbour is the medium through which you can serve me..... you can perform all virtues by means of you neighbour. Love with no consideration of your own advantage, whether spiritual or temporal."

But the classic passage in her dialogues is as follows:

I ask you to love Me with the same love with which I love you. But for Me you cannot do this, for I loved you without being loved. Whatever love you have for Me you owe Me, so you love Me, not gratuitously but out of duty, while I love you not out of duty, but gratuitously. So you cannot give me the kind of love I ask of you. This is why I have put you among your neighbours: so that you can do for them what you cannot do for Me - that is, love them without any concern for thanks and without looking for any profit for yourself. And whatever you do for them I will consider done for me.

This teaching, so simple, so profound, can solve a multitude of problems. I remember sitting in a counselling session at Spring Harvest listening to a you mother weeping bitterly over her twenty years of "undistinguished service." She had probably sat in challenging meetings where the needs of heathen lands were vividly portrayed and had probably read books giving details of heroic deeds in distant lands. Her own homely domestic virtues, the loving or her children and husband, seemed very small and almost worthless. She felt condemned and second rate. The words of Catherine could have lifted her from this pit of introspective despair.

Catherine was born in 1347, the twenty-fifth child of a cloth dyer. From an early age she strongly attracted to the Lord but intensity of her devotion irritated her parents, who were hoping that she would have a fashionable marriage. Her father relented, however, and allowed to live the way she wanted. She lived in solitude and practised the most extreme austerities. Then, in 1366, she had a vision of the Lord, who told her enter the world and do His will in normal life. For the rest of her short life she was governed by two aims; loving her neighbour, especially the sick and the poor, and the conversion of sinners. She once stood with a condemned nobleman, who was being executed for treason, all the way to the gallows. She had pleaded with him about the needs of his soul. As he died he cried out ,"Jesus and Catherine"

Although she suffered a lot of ill-health those she met and influenced were deeply impressed by her radiant cheerfulness. Another trait that deeply impressed those near her was her amazing ability to point out their deepest needs of their hearts by saying a few words.

She died in 1380 of a stroke. She was only thirty-three

Afew more photos of Tuscany

Dr Johnson

Dr Johnson was a larger-than-life writer who lived in London in the eighteenth century. He was a robust Christian of the traditional sort. I was going through a book of quotations and came across pages devoted to his trenchant and witty sayings. I include a few here and I will add to the number as I do more research.

Talking about a disreputable man called Hervey he said: He was a vicious man, but very kind to me. If you call a dog Hervey, I shall love him

The next quotation sounds shocking to modern ears. It concerns corporal punishment in schools. He said: The rod produces an effect which terminates in itself. A child is afraid of being whipped, and gets to his task, and there's an end on it; whereas by exciting emulation and comparisons of superiority, you lay the foundation of lasting mischief; you make brothers and sisters hate each other.

I remember reading somewhere about the education of the celebrated historian Edward Gibbon, who, when asked how he got such a fluency in the classical languages, replied drily, "With many tears and a little blood." Life was tough in those days.

The next is to my mind a piece of eloquent wisdom that is applicable to all.

If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life he will soon find himself alone. A man, Sir, should keep his friendships in good repair.

Strange Vagabond of God

I would like to write a bit about a strange man who seems to epitomise a form of Christianity that was common in the Middle Ages but is rarely seen today. John Bradburne was a sort of wandering anchorite, a man who cared nothing for those things that seem so important to most of us. He cared nothing for money, possessions or power.

He was born in 1921 into an upper- middle-class family in Skirwith in rural Cumbria, a beautiful region of England that has the English Lake District within its borders. His family was a distinguished one. Terence Rattigan, the playwright, was a cousin and another was Christopher Soames, the last governor of what was known as Rhodesia.

He had s distinguished military career in World War 11, during which he worked with Gurkhas in Burma. After the fall of Singapore he and a fellow officer sailed in a primitive sampan all the way to Sumatra. He was decorated for his bravery.

After the war he converted to Catholicism. He tried three times to enter monasteries but failed every time. He spent a lot of time wandering around Europe and the Holy Land, doing odd jobs and sleeping wherever he could find a couch for the night. He was obvious a restless seeker after God.

He realised that material things can never really satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. He would express his deepest feelings in verse, some of it surprisingly good.

This sonnet seems to sum up his feelings.

No more, my Lord, to dream away Thy time,

Among the fading blooms of pleasure's lawn,

No more to slumber heedless of the chime

Which keeps untiring watch from dawn till dawn.

No more the quest of this world's finest views

Which can but fill the eye with fresh desire,

No more the crowding vanities and news

That keep from souls Thy Holy Spirit's fire.

No more the wanderer way, the wide unrest

And weary search for joys that will not cease;

No more, good Lord, to turn from Thy behest,

No more! We know Thy will to be our peace.

To thee we tread the road that Christ has trod,

So rest our hearts in His: Thy heart dear God.

In 1969 he found himself in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He said he was seeking a cave where he could pray. A friend, Heather Benoy, suggested to him that he could be useful looking after small leper colony at Mutemwa, an area to the east of Harare. When he got there he found a scene of utter dereliction. The lepers were dirty and hungry; their sores were suppurating and primitive huts had roofs that let in the rain. John looked around and , "I'm staying." He kept his word and spent the rest of his life in selfless service to these outcasts. feeding them, washing their open sores, tending them in sickness and reading the scriptures to them.

In 1979, at the height of the insurgency against the Smith regime, he was abducted by a gang of insurgents. They took him to a secret location and tried to tempt and humiliate him. Young girls were offered him , but he simply held his peace and quietly prayed. A smaller group to him away into the bush and shot him in the head. He was found the next day clothed simply in his under pants by a rural road.

I include a part of another of his sonnets, probably his best, that seems to sum up his life.

Your heart's desire is nearest, though unseen,

Your haven of perfection close at hand;

And that drear quest was as a fevered dream;

God's love within you is your native land.

So search none other, never more depart,

For you are homeless, save God keeps your heart.

A German pietist worth knowing

I would like to introduce you to a writer with a totally different style and message from what most Christians read today. Gerhard Tersteegen was pietist mystic who lived from 1697 to 1769. Though he was a simple weaver by profession he had a widespread and profound ministry, both by his travels and by his writings. Unless you read German it is very difficult to access his works. There is only one major work on Tersteegen in English that I know of. It contained an account of his life and selections from his writings. It was published in 1832 and the author is Samuel Jackson

God is a meek and friendly Being ; He is love ; and

he that abideth in love, abideth in God, and God in him.

(1 John, iv. 16.) Be therefore also meek, friendly, and

kind in thy whole conduct and deportment. Let the

wrathful and opposite powers of thy nature, be softened by

the Spirit of the love of Jesus, the obduracy of thy temper

be calmed, and thy obstinate self-will be bent and rendered

pliable ; and as often as anything of an opposite nature

springs up in thee, immerse thyself immediately into the

the sweet element of meekness and love. God is a placid Being, and dwells in a serene eternity ; therefore thy mind must become like a clear and silent

streamlet, in which the glory of God can reflect and pourtray

itself. Hence thou must avoid all disturbance, confusion, and irritation, inwardly and outwardly. There is nothing in the world deserves being troubled about ; even

thy past faults must only humble, but not disturb thee.

" God is in his holy temple, (Hab.iii. 20.) let all that is

within thee keep silence before him !; silent with thy lips,

silent with thy desires and thoughts, silent as it respects

thine own activity. how profitable and precious is a

meek and quiet spirit in the sight of God ! (1 Pet. iii. 4.)

God is a happy, contented, and delightful being : seek

therefore to acquire an ever joyful and peaceful spirit ;

avoid all anxious cares, vexation, murmuring, and melan

choly, which obscure the mind, and make thee unfit for

converse with God : turn thyself meekly away from it,

when thou art conscious of anything of the kind in thee.

Let thy heart be estranged from, and closed against all the

world and every creature, but entirely familiar with, and

open to God. Keep a very strict eye upon thyself, thine

evil lusts, self-love, and self-will : but towards God, be

truly free, childlike, affectionate, and confidential. Re

gard him as the friend of thy heart, and think nothing but

what is purely good of him. Though everything without,

fall into confusion, and though thy body be in pain and

suffering, and thy soul in barrenness and distress, yet let

thy spirit be unmoved by it all, placid and serene, elevated

above the accidents of all things, and delighted in and

with its God inwardly, and with his good pleasure out

wardly. If thou endeavour to exercise thyself in this manner, thy

mind will gradually become more conformed unto God,

and also more and more capable of substantially finding

this all-sufficient and most amiable Good, and of beholding his beautifying countenance.

Three Saints

In several places in the New Testament there are sobering passages concerning what John Wesley called the Great Assize, a tribunal before which all human beings must appear. On that day all of us will have to give an account of what we have done in our bodily existence. In one well-known parable( Matthew 25:31-46) we are given a picture of a shepherd separating his sheep from the goats. The nub of the parable is given in the words of Jesus. "Inasmuch as you have done this to one of the least of these my brethren you have done it to me." In this heavenly judgment the standard is simply this; has our life displayed the love of god in our dealings with our neighbour? In the classic languages this love was indicated by the words agape and caritas, words which once were adequately translated by charity. But this word has so many misleading associations that all modern translations use the word love, a word that has equally misleading associations.

In my reading I have come across three examples of Christians whose lives displayed the love of God in its power and attractiveness.

Lord Hailsham writes in his semi-autobiographical book The Door Wherein I Went ; "My grandmother knew the Bible better than anyone I have ever met and she knew it from cover to cover . She was by far the greatest and most loving woman I can remember ever having known."

A better known quotation the one regarding John Wesley. He met the theologian Alexander Knox in Ireland late in his life. Although they differred theologically Knox was able to pen these moving and instructive words;

: "So fine an old man I never saw! The happiness of his mind beamed forth in his countenance. Every look showed how fully he enjoyed 'the gay remembrance of a life well spent.' Wherever Wesley went he diffused a portion of his own felicity. Easy and affable in his demeanor, he accommodated himself to every sort of company, and showed how happily the most finished courtesy may be blended with the most perfect piety. In his conversation we might be at a loss whether to admire most his fine classical taste, his extensive knowledge of men and things, or his overflowing goodness of heart. While the grave and serious were charmed with his wisdom, his sportive sallies of innocent mirth delighted even the young and thoughtless; and both saw in his uninterrupted cheerfulness the excellency of true religion. No cynical remarks on the levity of youth embittered his discourses. In him old age appeared delightful, like an evening without a cloud; and it was impossible to observe him without wishing fervently, 'May my latter end be like his! '"

Lastly I include Southey's appreciation of William Wilberforce. The style is a bit too formal for modern taste and it contains a word not often used these days. Benignity means kind and gentle and given to gracious acts.

"There is a constant hilarity in every look and motion, such a sweetness in all his tones, such a benignity in all his thoughts, words and actions that ... you can feel nothing but love and admiration for a creature so happy and blessed a nature"