Opening Prayer
I look upon the “hazelnut” of everything that is made and marvel that it lasts, for it is so small it could disappear into nothing. I realize it exists only because you made it, you love it, and you preserve it through your tender care.
Lord, help me to see the littleness of created things and to find my true rest in the Uncreated. My soul can never be at ease if I seek satisfaction in little things that pass away, for anything less than God will never be enough to satisfy my heart.
Amen.
Matthew 12:14-21
14And the Pharisees going out made a consultation against him, how they might destroy him. 15But Jesus knowing it, retired from thence: and many followed him, and he healed them all. 16And he charged them that they should not make him known. 17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaias the prophet, saying: 18Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul hath been well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. 19He shall not contend, nor cry out, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 20The bruised reed he shall not break: and smoking flax he shall not extinguish: till he send forth judgment unto victory. 21And in his name the Gentiles shall hope.
Blessed Julian of Norwich
Blessed Julian of Norwich famously describes a little thing the size of a hazel nut in the palm of her hand. God revealed to her: “This is everything that is made”. She evaluates three properties: “God made it; God loves it; God preserves it.” Julian differentiates “created things” from the “uncreated” God, noting that we find no rest because we seek it in the “littleness” of the nut. She also posits that all our possessions and successes are smaller than a hazel nut. The “spiritual paper cuts” of our anxieties over passing things are cured when we see their littleness. Julian explains that the soul can have no rest until it is “emptied of all created things”. If you seek peace in the “nut”, you will always be amazed that it could last.
In a vision, Julian of Norwich saw the entire creation as a hazel nut, so small it seemed it might disappear into nothingness. This “littleness” of created things reveals that we cannot find our true rest in them, as only the uncreated God can satisfy the heart. Spiritual rest is only possible when the soul “counts all creation as nothing” for the sake of loving the One who preserves and loves all that is made.
“It lasts, and it shall always last, because God loves it… Anything less than God won’t satisfy us. For this reason, no soul can be at rest until it’s emptied of all created things.”
— Blessed Julian of Norwich
Mary and the Magisterium
Blessed Julian of Norwich saw all that is made as a “little thing the size of a hazel nut”. She realized that creation lasts because God loves it, but compared to the Creator, it is “nothing”. Mary shared this understanding perfectly. Her soul was “emptied of all created things” so that she could rest in the “true Rest” of God. She loved the world for God’s sake, but never mistook the “little thing” for the Infinite.
- What "little things" am I filling my heart with that "cannot satisfy me"?
- Am I "resting in God" who is "uncreated", or am I "wearying myself with fruitless efforts"?
Closing Prayer
Father, if I should gain everything except You, I would have nothing.
Amen.
