A Christian mystic of the 14th century, Julian of Norwich, lived during one of the worst centuries of human history, including the black death pandemic that wiped out millions of people, famines, floods, war, and corruption. In her writing, she addressed what she believed to be at the root of suffering–the misplaced idea of God’s rejection. Suffering is part of being human, but what makes suffering so soul-destroying is our forgetfulness that the animating force of life is with us. Without this core belief in beauty and sacred worth, we engage in self-and-other-destroying behaviors, inducing further suffering. Contemplative practices invite us into union with the Sacred, healing the wounds of forgetfulness.