74
or quietly flit from one place to another or from
one task to another, without creating deep and
stable bonds. â
Imaginatio locorum et mutatio multos
fefellit
â.
68
This is a false remedy which cripples the
heart and at times the body as well. We need to
help others to realize that the only way is to learn
how to encounter others with the right attitude,
which is to accept and esteem them as compan-
ions along the way, without interior resistance.
Better yet, it means learning to find Jesus in the
faces of others, in their voices, in their pleas. And
learning to suffer in the embrace of the crucified
Jesus whenever we are unjustly attacked or meet
with ingratitude, never tiring of our decision to
live in fraternity.
69
92.âThere indeed we find true healing, since the
way to relate to others which truly heals instead
68
âT
homas
à K
empis
,
De Imitatione Christi
, Lib. I, IX,
5: âDreaming of different places, and moving from one to
another, has misled manyâ.
69
âWe can benefit from the testimony of Saint Thérèse of
Lisieux, who speaks of one particular Sister whom she found
especially disagreeable, where an interior experience had a
decisive impact: âOne winter afternoon I was engaged as usual
in my little task. It was cold and growing dark⦠Suddenly
I heard in the distance the harmonious sounds of a musical
instrument. I began to imagine a well-lit room, draped in gold,
and in it, elegantly dressed young ladies exchanging worldly
compliments and courtesies. Then I looked at the poor sick
woman whom I was attending. In place of a melody, I heard
her occasional groans and sighs⦠I cannot express what took
place in my soul. All that I do know is that the Lord illumined it
with the rays of truth which so surpassed the flickering glow of
earthly revels, that I could scarcely believe my happinessâ (Ms.
C, 29v-30r, in
Oeuvres Complètes
, Paris, 1992, 274-275).
