I recently met a new email friend and author, from across the pond in England. David McDermott is the author of "Prayers from Revelations of Divine Love". A fabulous little book with prayers from the 14th century English mystic, Julian of Norwich. David shared with me, his own thoughts on discovering God's beauty:

I find beauty in our Lord's creation, being by the sea, or in the countryside. I love to listen to natural sounds like the waves or birdsong. I see beauty in man's creativity, the use of gifts to bring music, art and literature to enrich the lives of others. I see beauty when a person or an organization makes a contribution to the building of our Lord's Kingdom on Earth. Beauty is in flowers, the smiles of God's goodness. I find beauty in music, especially music with natural sounds in the background. I find beauty in contemplative prayer, considering God's goodness.

 
It was while working in various careers in shipping, banking and education in Englandthat David also became a caregiver for his aunt and uncle for a time.During this time he went to the library one day and found a book,"Revelations of Divine Love." After enthusiastically reading it, he wrote a prayer translating one of the chapters (the one where Julian had the vision of the hazelnut in the palm of her hand). He continued working on Julian's prayers and eventually completed his, now published, book.For David it was a form of thanksgiving and a way to try and understand Julian's visions.  
David explains what Julian's visions have taught him:

Julian taught much about the beauty of our fundamental character, our higher entity, our soul that is joined to our Lord Jesus Christ.She describes the Lord's revelation of the soul when it departs our lower entity on the point of its expiry. She described the revelation as a glorious creature, a small child, in all perfection, and purer than a lily, that floats up to the heavenly abode. I think that chapter, number sixty-four, is my favourite. I want our Lord's message of love to reach as many as possible. Our Lord said to Julian that His message of love was for all people,"even Christians."

Who was Julian of Norwich? Why did she risk her life to publish her work? Does a 14th Century mystic have any relevancy for our times?Why has her work only become known in the last few decades? What is mysticism and contemplative prayer?
Order your book today: Prayers from Revelations of Divine Love (ISBN #978-07552-1110-4), by David McDermott (Bright Pen, 2009). Visit: www.authorsonline.co.uk  

NOTE: "Revelations of Divine Love" by Julian of Norwich is available on Kindle at Amazon

Julian of Norwich is one of my favorite mystics and I use heroft repeated quote, "All will be well." We will be featuring more onJulian of Norwich and excerpts from David's book in future blogs, Debra