Julian of Norwich is a medieval English mystic who celebrated “Mother Jesus.” It’s not known if Julian herself was queer, but some of her ideas were. Julian is often listed with LGBT saints because of her genderbending visions of Jesus and God. Her feast day (May 8) always falls near Mother’s Day (May 10, 2015).
Her discussions of Jesus as a mother sound radical even now, more than 600 years later. In today’s understanding, Julian’s Jesus can seem to be transgender! Her omnigendered vision of the Trinity fits with contemporary feminist and queer theology.
Mother’s Day is also a great time to honor mothers whose love for their gay children helped launch LGBT organizations, including: Jeanne Manford and Adele Starr, founders of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG); and Edith “Mom” Perry of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC).
– Kittredge Cherry
Excerpted from "Julian of Norwich: Celebrating Mother Jesus"
Jesus in Love Blog
May 9, 2015
Excerpted from "Julian of Norwich: Celebrating Mother Jesus"
Jesus in Love Blog
May 9, 2015
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• A Mother's Day Prayer
• The Origins of Mother's Day
• In the Twin Cities, An Expression of Solidarity with the Mothers of Nigeria
• On the Road with Punk Rockers and Homeless Mothers
• Photo of the Day – May 13, 2012
• Thanks, Mum!
Image: Brother Robert Lentz, OFM.
1 comment:
I appreciate this on Julian of Norwich. I have read pieces of her writings after being introduced to her in a class on Christian mysticism. The professor commented on her reference to Jesus in the feminine as one that highlights the closeness of God to God's people through the incarnation; close as a mother is close to her children.
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