(Interior Castle, book II: chapter 1)

"How long will you set upon a man to shatter him, all of you, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his eminence. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken…Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us." (1)


The Second Rooms

Within the second rooms await:
The will with its agenda set;
The heart with its attachments great;
The mind where guilt and worries fret.

Surrendering the will to God,
Trusting the course He'll choose is best,
And knowing the heart's frail and flawed,
Allows it to release and rest.

Into His hands, the handmaid pours:
Her heart's treasures with all their weight;
Her mind's worries with their feigned horrors --
She seeks His rest where storms abate.

As she strives forth, His call she hears;
With persistence, His presence nears.


May the sound of the Lord's calling in our lives give us the hope to persevere through the trials of detachment and surrender to God's will.

(1) Psalm 62:3-6,8


(c) Paul Buis, 2002