In Chapter 2 Julian notes the year and date of the illness she suffered. She describes how, prior to that date, she had asked the Lord for "three gifts": "mende [mind] of His passion," "bodily sekenesse [sickness] in youth," and "three wounds":
These Revelations were shewed to a simple creature that cowde no letter ["could no letter", that is to say, illiterate. Scholars debate if this is a confession of humility, that Julian could actually write Middle English, or if she was stating that she could not read or write Latin, the official language of the church] the yeere [year] of our Lord 1373, the eighth day of May, which creature desired afore three gifts of God. The first was mende ["mind" as in memory or consciousness] of His passion. The second was bodily sekenesse [sickness] in youth at thirty yeeres of age. The third was to have of Gods gift three wounds. As in the first methought I had sume feleing in the passion of Christe, but yet I desired more be the grace of God. Methought I would have beene that time with Mary Magdalen and with other that were Crists lovers, and therefore I desired a bodily sight wherein I might have more knowledge of the bodily peynes [pains] of our Saviour, and of the compassion our Lady and of all His trew [true] lovers that seene that time [who saw at that time] His peyne [pains], for I would be one of them and suffer with Him. Other sight ner sheweing of God desired I never none till the soule was departid fro the body [No other sight or showing of God I desired until the soul departed from the body]. The cause of this petition was that after the sheweing I should have the more trew minde [true mind] in the passion of Christe.
As I described last week, Julian's spirituality is deeply connected to the Passion. She longs to stand with Mary Magdalene and the others at the foot of the cross, desiring a "bodily sight wherein I might have more knowledge of the bodily peynes of our Saviour, and of the compassion our Lady and of all His trew lovers that seene that time His peynes, for I would be one of them and suffer with Him." She desires to "have the more trew minde in the passion of Christe."
As Julian will recount, she did receive "bodily sight" of Christ's passion when her second request, sickness in youth, was granted. And in response to both the sickness and the showings of the Passion, Julian asks for "three wounds." Julian describes the wounds this way:
For the third, by the grace of God and teachyng [teaching] of Holy Church, I conceived a mighty desire to receive three wounds in my life; that is to sey [say], the wound of very [true] contrition, the wound of kinde [kind] compassion, and the wound of willfull longing to God.
To underline the point, the three wounds are directed toward Christ in his sufferings. That is, in viewing Christ's agony Julian wants to experience contrition for sin, compassion for Christ, and a deeper longing for God.
As I pointed out last week, all this is very far from progressive, spiritual-not-religious Christianity. It's even a jolt for more traditional Protestants. For example, I'll often wear a crucifix and my office is full of crucifixes. And the visible display of the body of Jesus interrupts many. That bloody vision is an interruption, a grisly intrusion. Because most Protestants, as you know, tend to display an empty cross. But Julian's showings are very much a corpus crucifix spirituality.
Julian's path is a thrice-wounded spirituality. Deeper contrition for sin. Greater compassion for Christ. And a more profound longing for God.
