And All Shall Be Well

"And all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well..." 

 Julian of Norwich (c. November 8, 1342 – c. 1416) is thought of as one of the greatest English mystics. She is venerated in the Anglican and Lutheran churches, but has never been canonized, or officially beatified, by the Catholic Church.  This quote is from her major work,  Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love (circa 1393), believed to be the first book written in the English language by a woman.

I have no memory of ever hearing about this woman, but her words have echoed through my mind for as long as I can remember.  I  had no idea of the source --although I vaguely remembered a bit of it being tucked into TS Eliot's Four Quartets, which I read in college.  So, modern seeker that I am, I googled and copied the above info from Wikipedia.


It is one of the earliest prayers I remember ever offering up of my own accord.  I just read that this is what God said to Julian during a vision to she had on what she thought was her death bed when she was thirty years old.  


Most recently it popped into my head while I was being taught some Reiki healing work.  Seems like the perfect mantra for such occasions, or anytime you wish to be with and bless any kind of predicament.  A great reminder that everything changes, and that -- in the largest sense of the word-- all is well.