- Home
- Speakers
- Basilea Schlink
- Be Reconciled
Be Reconciled
Basilea Schlink

Basilea Schlink (1904 - 2001). German religious leader, writer, and co-founder of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, born Klara Schlink in Darmstadt to a professor of mechanics. Raised Lutheran, she studied at Fröbelseminar in Kassel (1923) and Berlin’s Inner Mission girls’ school (1924), later earning a doctorate in psychology from Hamburg University in 1934 with a thesis on adolescent faith struggles. From 1933 to 1935, she led the Women’s Division of the German Student Christian Movement, resisting Nazi exclusion of Jewish Christians. In 1947, with Erika Madauss, she founded the Sisterhood in Darmstadt, taking the name Mother Basilea, growing it to 209 sisters across 11 global branches by 2001. Schlink authored over 60 books, including My All for Him, translated into 60 languages, and published tracts in 90. Her radio programs aired in 23 languages, emphasizing repentance and reconciliation, especially between Germans and Jews. Unmarried, she dedicated her life to prayer and ministry, shaping interdenominational Christian communities.
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
In this sermon by Basilia Schlink, the message is about the importance of reconciliation and letting go of grudges. The speaker shares a story of a woman who had bitterness in her heart towards her sick mother, which caused her whole life to be bitter. However, through a conversation and the light of truth, the woman was able to repent and take the first step towards reconciliation by bringing her mother a bouquet of flowers. This act of love sparked a wave of reconciliation in the village, as the mother sent her daughter to ask for forgiveness from their neighbors. The sermon emphasizes the need to clean out our hearts, let go of grudges, and allow Jesus' love to be victorious.
Scriptures
Sermon Transcription
God lives and works today, and he longs to live and work in our hearts, so that we may be reconciled with him and each other. Today's meditation by Basilia Schlenk shares what happened when somebody dared to take the first step of reconciliation and let go of grudges. Be reconciled. Don't be estranged from anyone. Go to the person who bears a grudge against you, or against whom you bear a grudge, and let love be victorious. Then the kingdom of heaven will begin. As we all know, the bitter end of one cucumber can make a whole salad bitter. Among the guests on our little land of Canaan was a woman whose whole life was bitter because she had one bitter place in her heart, bitterness toward her old sick mother. It seemed as though there was no solution to the problem. However, during our conversation, the light of truth fell into her life, turned the guilt relationship around, caused tears of repentance to flow, and showed her the next step. When she returned home, she brought her mother a bouquet of flowers. What was spoken between the two of them we don't know, but this we do know. The mother had made life difficult, not only for her daughter, but also for many others. She had many enemies in the village. But now that love had conquered the bitter relationship between mother and daughter, the other relationships could also be set aright. Since the mother was bedridden and couldn't go to the others for reconciliation, she sent her daughter to the individual neighbors to beg their forgiveness. That began a wave of reconciliation which swept through the entire village. For just as the bitterness of one cucumber can permeate a salad, so a single candle can fill a whole room with light. This testimony is a call to us to clean out the house of our heart, to let go of our grudges against others, and to let Jesus' love be victorious. For the love I lack, O Lord, give love to me. It was for love you called and called it me. O fill my heart with the tender love so true, with which I, too, may show mercy just like you. Lord, love like this give me. Give me your love, your sympathy with all, filling each sorrow, Lord, O hear my call. Dear Lord, you know me, I lack such tender care. Give me compassion, all grief and pain to share. Lord, love like this give me. You've been listening to a program written by Basilia Schlink of the Little Land of Canaan. If this program has been a help to you, we'd be happy to send you a free leaflet by the same author. Please write to God Lives and Works Today, 9849 North 40th Street, Phoenix, Arizona, 85028-4099. That's God Lives and Works Today, 9849 North 40th Street, Phoenix, Arizona, 85028-4099. Please write and ask for your free leaflet. God bless you.
Be Reconciled
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download

Basilea Schlink (1904 - 2001). German religious leader, writer, and co-founder of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, born Klara Schlink in Darmstadt to a professor of mechanics. Raised Lutheran, she studied at Fröbelseminar in Kassel (1923) and Berlin’s Inner Mission girls’ school (1924), later earning a doctorate in psychology from Hamburg University in 1934 with a thesis on adolescent faith struggles. From 1933 to 1935, she led the Women’s Division of the German Student Christian Movement, resisting Nazi exclusion of Jewish Christians. In 1947, with Erika Madauss, she founded the Sisterhood in Darmstadt, taking the name Mother Basilea, growing it to 209 sisters across 11 global branches by 2001. Schlink authored over 60 books, including My All for Him, translated into 60 languages, and published tracts in 90. Her radio programs aired in 23 languages, emphasizing repentance and reconciliation, especially between Germans and Jews. Unmarried, she dedicated her life to prayer and ministry, shaping interdenominational Christian communities.