Julian of Norwich

Excerpt from Revelations of Divine Love

by Julian of Norwich  (b. 1342)

adapted by B

Often I wondered why
by the great foreseeing wisdom of God
the beginning of sin was not hindered:
for then, I thought, all should have been well.

Sin could not be prevented, but plays a crucial part; and all shall be well.

After this the Lord brought to my mind the longing that I earlier had for Him.
And I saw that nothing prevented me but sin.
And so I looked, generally, upon us all, and thought:

If sin had not been, we should all have been clean and like our Lord, as He made us.
And thus, in my folly, until this time often I wondered why
by the great foreseeing wisdom of God
the beginning of sin was not prevented:
for then, I thought, all should have been well.

This stirring of mind was much to be forsaken,
but nevertheless I mourned and sorrowed greatly for it, without reason and discretion.

But Jesus, who in this Vision informed me of all that is needful to me,
answered by this word and said:

I could not prevent that there should be sin;
but all shall be well, and all shall be well,
and all manner of thing shall be well.