During her Revelations of Christ on the cross, the medieval mystic, Julian of Norwich, heard Christ reassure her: "Alle shalle be wele, and alle shall be wele, and alle manner of thing shall be wele." In our time, these words have reverberated around the world. But what exactly do they mean? Was Christ promising an instant panacea for all that ails us? A quick “fix” for our personal, family, and global problems? A happy resolution to all our current sufferings? Probably not.
Julian never implied that Christ’s words would be fulfilled either today, tomorrow, or even in our lifetime. She herself experienced great fear and suffering. She lived in the tumultuous fourteenth century that was suffused with conflicts, doubt, and despair, as is our own. The Hundred Years' War with France, the bloody Peasants' Revolt, seasons of drought that resulted in crop failure and starvation, as well as recurring cycles of the Great Plague (that eventually killed half the population of Europe), brought destruction and death to countless families like Julian's. In addition, the Great Papal Schism severed Christian unity throughout Europe, setting up two popes in opposition to one another and leading to mutual excommunications and papal wars. In Julian's world, it was very clear that all was not very well, any more than it is in our own.
How, then, might Julian have understood Christ's words?
And thus our good lord answered to all the questions and doubts
that I might make, saying very comfortingly: “I may make alle
thing wele, and I cann make alle thing wele, and I wille make alle
thing wele, and I shalle make all thing wele. And thou shalt see thyself
that alle manner of thing shalle be wele.”
In her text, Julian interpreted these words as the promise of an ultimate transformation, not a temporary one. Through his sufferings and death on the cross, Christ will eventually convert every evil into good, every suffering into joy, even all that we must endure because of sin into “honors” in heaven. Christ enabled Julian to see that because he is God, he may make all things well (in the sense that he is able to do it); because he is divine Wisdom, he knows (in Middle English, cann) the best way to do it; because he willes to do it, it will be done; because Christ's intention is always and everywhere to make all things well, he shalle (an even stronger auxiliary verb than will) make all things well. Finally, Christ assured Julian (and us) that we ourselves shall see it done.
When will this happen?
It will happen for each one of us when we are fully transformed from within; when our limited views of ourselves and each other become limitless; when (with divine grace) we overcome our tendency to make harmful choices; when we no longer think of ourselves as independent of God or able to accomplish anything through our own efforts; when we have been completely recreated through death and rebirth into a divine dimension; when our minds and hearts have entered into the beatific vision--then at last we will be able to envision how all things have already been made well in the resurrected Christ.
But this does not mean that nothing is in the process of being transformed right here and now. Christ is always at work, in and through us. He is sanctifying every suffering and sadness; he is cleansing every sin and guilt, if only we remain open to the work of mercy and grace in us. Every act of loving service, kindness, and compassion, every time we forgive one another (and ourselves), we are allowing Christ to make "all manner of thing wele."
Throughout the transformation process, Christ remains with us in every breath, every choice, every struggle, every step of the way. He guides us to make good decisions and to bear our sufferings with more courage and patience. He gives us greater joy and gratitude in little things; deeper peace in contemplative prayer. As we open ourselves more and more to the Holy Spirit within us, we discover that, as Christ said: "My Father is still working, and I also am working" (Jn 5:17). Yes, Christ is always working to make all things well. If we are attentive through meditative recollection, more and more we shall see this working in the details and sudden breakthroughs of our daily lives.
PLEASE NOTE: The quotations above are from Julian's Gospel: Illuminating the Life & Revelations of Julian of Norwich (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books), Copyright © 2013 by Veronica Mary Rolf. All rights reserved. This article may not be copied or reprinted without the written permission of the author.