Debauchery More than a woman, all round stepped in divine love

THEATRE
NOT only nineteenth century but also twentieth century debauchery are currently portrayed on the West End stage. Cafe Puccini at Wyndham's Theatre recounts, or at least attempts to recount, the life of Giacomo Puccini, using excerpts from his more popular operatic works, which are interspersed by scenes with either his publisher Or his mistress, whom he subsequently marries.
Although the production was well staged the musical numbers were little more than that and would have been better suited to the "Palm Court" than the London Stage.
As a total contrast one is thrown by Made in Bangkok at the Aldwych Theatre into the depths and chaos of Bangkok where the background music is more authentic than its portrayal of the exploits of a group of British travellers in the flesh-pots of that Asian capital.
Julian — Woman of our Day Edited by Robert Llewelyn (Darton Longman & Todd, £4.95).
THIS obscure "unlettered" Norwich woman of the 14th century is becoming more and more the object of study, and is being recognised not only as a woman for our day, but also as a theologian.
These nine essays stress various aspects of her teaching and mysticism, at the basis of which is unshakable faith, love and confidence in Christ, in whom she finds the origin of all ,things.
This leads John Swanson in his very perspective essay, "Guide for the Inexpert Mystic", to coin for her the word "originist".
The following is a quotation, which serves also to give an example of the "womanly" approach of most of the other essays:"the origin of motherhood is in Christ, in God and in the Holy Trinity. So it is not that our experience of Christ is like our experience of our mother, but that the experience we have of our mother is a revelation of a part of the humanity of Christ. The origin of good, for Julian, is always in him".
In other words, women, mothers, can be, have the grace to be and should be themselves "revelations of divine love". This is perhaps one of the most important ways in which Julian can contribute to the solving of the difficulties and frustrations of feminists and the whole problem of women in the Church today. Sr Miriam