In This House of Brede

by Rumer Godden

We have chosen a stillness more powerful than all activity. A detachment more fulfilling than all possession, A wisdom exceeding all knowledge And a love beyond all

‘Is it easier to “be” than to “

‘Not what thou art, nor what thou hast been, beholdeth God with His merciful eyes, but what thou wouldst be.’

‘You can do nothing of yourself,’ the old Abbess had said. ‘But you can make yourself an instrument through which strength can flow.’