Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich read by Sr Wendy Beckett
Luke Penkett writes..
In 1993 Sr Wendy met with Donna K. Triggs in Norwich, near the Carmelite Monastery where Sister lived a solitary life. They spent an afternoon at a small studio, recording extracts from the Long Text of the Revelations. Over the course of time, however, the master recording was lost. Donna writes, ‘It is with great joy that I have been able to rediscover the original recording and re-release it as a fully re-mastered digital CD.’ The quality of the CD is wonderfully high; it is as if Sr Wendy speaks to each one of us in our shared stillness.
Sr Wendy reads from M. Lucy de Mastro’s translation, a rich mixture of both British Library MS Sloane 2499 and the Paris manuscript. Her love for Julian and her writing, which she first studied in Middle English at Oxford shows through every word we hear. A very great blessing.
Sr Wendy and I were great friends for some twenty years. We met at Dick Temple's home in Holland Park because he had bought a very rare Coptic icon. A photograph of Sr Wendy standing alongside the Coptic icon is below. We were each given a copy of the icon and soon had them in our rooms as a focus of our prayerful attention. Soon after meeting, Sister sent me a book about Mount Athos. She had been given it by another friend but passed it on to me for, ‘being Orthodox (I )would get more out of it.'
During the past few years another very dear friend gave me a cassette recording of Sr Wendy choosing recordings on Desert Island Discs broadcast in December 2012.
Sister passed away on Boxing Day in 2018. During her final year she had a series of heart attacks. She was cared for so beautifully by very dear Sr Lesley. I remember her saying that when these sorts of challenges occur, regard them as blessings. A truly Julian mindset.
She was delighted when I became Hon. Librarian and Archivist at the Julian Centre and emailed me on a couple of occasions: ‘That’s a wonderful honour and a great spiritual opportunity to be Julian’s personal special librarian,’ she wrote,’ I don’t think there is any saint like her and yet, technically, she’s not been canonised. You will be helping others to enter into the depth of her utter surrender to our Blessed Lord.’
Again, a little later, ‘How lovely of you to be in touch. What a wonderful rich and spiritually enriching assignment has been entrusted to you.'
‘Go well in it and be assured of my prayers and kindest regards.’
Now, in addition to a flood of cards and messages from Sr Wendy which I kept down the years, I have a CD and a cassette which also stir my memory. Hardly a day goes by when I do not remember Sister with deep love and gratitude for her continuing support.
Revd Dr Luke Penkett CJN, ObJN
A copy of the CD is available to purchase through the Friends of Julian ebay shop. See the link below.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/friendsofjulianofnorwich