There is nothing more beautiful in human experience than the presence and practice of God. This is what Mother Julian (whose commemoration is today) knew - and she knew it in both joy and sorrow.
The bittersweet experience of entering into holiness, of being somehow taken out of the ordinary, which mystics experience, is certainly a gift but it also marks them with an honesty which many find disarming.
Think back for a moment to the Old Testament, to the patriarchs and prophets who were called into the presence of God - Moses was undeterred and unwavering in his mission - I can imagine he was not an easy person to be around. Jeremiah and Isaiah and their messages of destruction and redemption - but not easy words - not people you would want at the dinner table.
Mystics, generally, arouse suspicion in their own time - even Julian had officials sent to "check her out" as she lived her solitary life. But she also had a constant stream of other folk who sought to be touched by the same holiness which had touched her.
Being lifted into a place beyond ourselves - a place where there is no doubt that God is very real leaves little option for a life but to be lived in service. Service of this certain sort in a world of many doubts can be uncomfortable. Knowledge in a world of faith is regarded with suspicion - but this is the path of the mystic - to see beyond the mortal veil.
Over the centuries we should give thanks for the witness of those, including Julian, who have entered into the realms of light and tell us, in one word or another, of our precious nature in God's sight.
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