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.

It’s as if God put out a finger and said, “

‘A vocation is a gift,’ said Dame Ursula. ‘If it has been truly given to you, you will find the strength.’

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

‘And you needn’t worry about being useful,’ said Dame Ursula. ‘When you have become God’s in the measure He wants, He, Himself, will know how to bestow you on others.’

‘Prayer has power.’ Philippa had said that to Richard, as she had said it to Penny. ‘It’s the only thing that holds when everything else fails.

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