Two prophetic women: Margeurite Porete and Julian of Norwich. One executed, the other an emerging feminist cult hero, both forgotten. They forge their way now into our consciousness at a time of crisis. Which one should we follow in the political battle to protect mother earth?
Rabbi Heschel defines a prophet as "one who interferes."
Margeurite Porete
Margeurite, a Beguine, wrote an innovative but controversial theology book in French, The Mirror of Simple Souls.
The Beguines were women of faith who lived in prayerful communities and were dedicated to the service of the poor and needy. Some wrote their meditations in prose and poetry. These women were independent of the church. They flourished in the 13th and 14th century Belgium, Germany and France.
Margeurite’s book was condemned but she refused to stop promoting her work. She was burned at the stake in 1310 for disobedience to the imperial pope Clement V based in Avignon, France.
The chief
inquisitor at Margeurite’s trial was Dominican William of Paris, O.P. Margeurite was a mystic; she saw God
reflected in the poor. She was also a
warrior prophet, a martyr for the truth.
Meister Eckhart, O.P. scholar and theologian consulted her work. He too was condemned by Avignon but later
reinstated.
Avignon had replaced Rome as the
Capitol of the Roman Catholic Church.
Many were burned at the stake by Pope John XXII especially Franciscans
who disagreed with him on the meaning of poverty for religious. Pope John XXII canonized Thomas Aquinas who
considered women lesser human beings than men.
John XXII built a summer castle south
of Avignon for vacations. The castle
vineyards still produce fine blood red wine known the world over as
Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
Julian of Norwich
Julian of Norwich (1343 - 1416) lived as an anchorite at a church in Norwich,
a northeastern port city in England. At
the time Norwich was the second largest city in the country. As an anchorite Julian lived in a small room
attached to the local church of St. Julian.
Historians don’t know her real name so she is called Julian because of
the church. There was a window to the street
in her room for contact with the outside world.
There was also an opening to the church so she could attend Mass and
receive communion. She never challenged
the Avignon papacy directly.
Julian
of Norwich wrote theology in English. She
is credited as being the first woman author to be published in English. She lived at one of the worst times in human
history: the bubonic plague, the One
Hundred Years War between England and France, the condemnation of John Wycliffe
(1328 – 1384) for his theology and his followers being killed. At the same time the Catholic Church was
ruled by corrupt Popes in Avignon.
Julian’s advice to her visitors at
her window was positive: “God is good. All will be well.” She denied sin as a
reality and wrote, all is one. She
rejected the duality of the time. For Julian God is nature; God is not relegated
to the supernatural. The soul is the defining
aspect of the person not a separate entity – the soul is sensuous. Christ is mother, the universal presence of
God in each and every person – Emanuel, a challenge to imperial patriarchy.
The stories of these women are
inspirational in facing today’s challenges of fascism and industrial
destruction of the planet. Margeurite
Porete can be remembered by union members fighting for democracy and saying NO
to corporate imperialism. Julian inspires us all in the seemingly lost struggle
to save mother earth by reminding us of what we all know – “God is good and all
will be well.”
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