"All Shall Be Well": An Exposition and Development of the Theme of Universal Salvation in Julian of Norwich's Revelations of Divine Love.

Julian of Norwich (ca. 1342-ca. 1416) was a fourteenth-century English mystic. She received sixteen private revelations from God. In the Thirteenth Showing, God revealed that "sin is necessary, but all shall be well." This paper explores and develops the theme of universal salvation in Julian's Revelations of Divine Love. It introduces the readers to her reflections on God's manifestations, with the focus on God's compassion for all creation. In view of the dynamic tension between Julian's visions of all shall be well and the teachings of the Catholic Church on human sin and the eternal fire of hell, two developments are presented. First, reference is made to the thought of St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) for a deeper comprehension of Julian's reflection on sin, bearing in mind the different contexts of Julian and Augustine. Then, this paper brings Julian's loving and joyful trust in the love of God for all things into dialogue with the contemporary calls of Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) and Karl Rahner (1904-1984) for Catholics to hope for universal salvation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]