Songs

All Shall Be Well

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This is the anniversary of the day in 1373 when an English mystic, Julian of Norwich, was said to have been healed of a serious medical condition after experiencing a series of religious visions. In response she started writing, and produced the influential treatise “Revelations of Divine Love.”

julian

A religious order was founded in her name. You can visit them in Waukesha, Wisconsin of all places. But this is no summer getaway to the Dells – the schedule is rather severe.

I’m not inclined to believe stories of miraculous healing, especially when the recovery was supposedly a favor granted in response to an extra measure of religious devotion. But it is encouraging to think that a sudden, positive change is possible, especially when a severe illness is diagnosed.

This experience of having multiple visions apparently took Julian to a sunny place, theologically – away from a vision of a wrathful God to one more interested in peace and love, leading to the writing of these famous lines: “Sin is inevitable, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”

Which led, in turn, to the writing of this song by Sydney Carter – one I know from the work of Ann Mayo Muir, Gordon Bok and Ed Trickett, but done here by a German group called the Ohrwurm Folk Orchestra. (Ohrwurm is the German word translated as “ear worm”, which describes to perfection the kind of song that gets into your head and becomes impossible to remove).

Name a song that comforts you in times of trouble.

67 thoughts on “All Shall Be Well”

        1. If my junior colleagues make it in today I will walk up to the Capitol to watch history made with love.

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  3. Good morning. Once, when I was particularly upset with the way things were going, I picked out the CD by Boiled Lead titled From the Ladle to the Grave. This recording is one of best from BiL and I like all of it. It brings together a lot of things I like and and made me feel that there was something worthwhile in this world.

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  5. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    Most of the songs on the old “Comfort Keepers” are my comfort songs. Still love that album after lo these many years.

    Meanwhile, I am cheering for the State Senate today as they face their votes on SameSex Marriage. There are several therapists in my office who have emotional investments in the passage of this law. I hope they do it.

    All will be well, after all.

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  10. I will weigh in with “A Mighty Fortress”, a real comfort song for a Lutheran, along with “I Know that My Redeemer Liveth”. I like all the other choices today, too.

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  14. When I want to cheer myself up, this is one of my go-to choices:

    I’m dedicating this to all the dancing baboons whether or not this is the kind of music they dance to.

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  17. A little OT. Dale’s information about the monastery in Wisconsin reminds me of a book by Kathleen Norris about S. Dakota which includes information about visiting and staying at a monastery. I found her observations about living in S. Dakota very interesting as well as the info about the monastery. I think Renee would like this book.

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    1. I have read it and enjoyed it very much. We have a Benedictine Abbey ( with monks) as well as a Benedictine Monastery (wth nuns) about 15 miles east of us. I believe that Ms Norris spent time at the monastery.

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      1. those bennys have a good reputation in catholic circles. smart but not just book smart. they seem to teach them to think rather than just to hit the playback button

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      1. Kathleen Norris lived only 80 miles or so south of us in Lemmon, just across the SD border. I think the SD religious community she wrote about is in Northern SD, which to us is not much different than where we live and somewhere we end up traveling through.

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        1. Actually, East River SD and West River SD are as different from each other as West River ND and East River ND.

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        2. Or parts of S. Minnesota as far as that goes. Living on the prairie in Minnesota is not too different from living in the Dakotas.

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  18. OT – Just returned from spending a couple of hours at the State Capitol; there’s a lot of singing going on up there this morning, and some fine singers too. Heard this one quite a few times:

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  20. Julian of Norwich is particularly apt this year, where they keep singing about the yellow daffodil in the snow! Our song circle group regularly sings it, as well as several songs listed above. The one in June (3rd Saturday evening) is at our place here in Robbinsdale…

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  21. OT – The bill to legalize same sex marriage has passed, 37 votes for, 30 against. A very emotional day at the Capitol. Today they got it right.

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    1. Wootie hootie! I’ve been “stalking” the StarTrib site all afternoon — was going for a world record number of times I can hit “refresh”.

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      1. Of course, you all already probably know that the daily currant is a competitor to the onion…I was too dumb to catch that this was a spoof. I knew it was too good to be true.

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        1. That’s really too bad. I was going to suggest that we arrange a baboon party to help her pack.

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  22. Greetings all. I shall have to come back when I can actually listen to today’s blog I see.

    My appearances are going to be limited for a bit as I sort out replacing our faithful laptop, George, who was stolen from the trunk of my car last Friday (along with a pair of socks that were well on their way to being knit, dag nabbit!-bank cards and driver’s licenses are a pain to replace, but it can be done, but my knitting and some writing on the laptop that didn’t get on to the external hard drive yet, gone forever).

    Have to say, the entire process of rebuilding my entire identity on a Friday with no sleep beforehand went remarkably smoothly and all involved were nothing but nice. Tip of the hat to St Paul’s finest as well, it all could have been far more upsetting.

    Good tunes to feel better-Let It Be; Don’t Worry, Be Happy; Under the Quarter Moon. Mary Ellen Carter is the top of my list though-s&h knows I’ve been seriously challenged when that one comes out.

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    1. What a pain, mig, so sorry, but actually the driver’s license isn’t a big deal to replace. There’s a small office in South St. Paul that does it very quickly and efficiently with minimum pain.

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      1. the Sears location was very pleasant. Almost nobody there on Friday afternoon and it was all over in a jiffy. Banks and credit cards were also pretty painless. We are taking the theft of George as an opportunity to update and integrate our entire IT/communications platform, just in time to start high school, I am thinking. I have a wonderful geek friend Steve has met who is going to “consult” for me (he also may have access to some good affordable options equipment-wise). I am really very fortunate, all things considered.

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  23. It is only recently that I learned that Julian of Norwich was a woman. Husband has a history of the Byzantine Empire (I know, how can I tolerate being married to someone who likes so much excitement and lives so close to the edge) written by John Julius Norwich that confused me about Julian of Norwich.

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    1. Lovely! Thanks, Linda, such a hopeful song. Pete is opening a folk club in London in a couple of weeks. I doubt that we’ll see him stateside in a long while.

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