the Carmel
From Sister Marie of the Eucharist to M. Guérin – 4 (?) December 1896

DE  
GUERIN Marie, Sister Marie of the Eucharist
À 
GUERIN Isidore

04/12/1896

From Sister Marie of the Eucharist to M. Guérin.4 (?) December 1896
JMJTJesus
My dear little Father, I've come to give another little Knock, Knock... at your bedroom door. I come to recommend you a poor beggar whom you have already showered with your benefits without his asking you. This beggar eats the food on your table, the venerable matron, your wife, does her best to find delicate and appetizing food for this poor beggar. This miserable beggar had a blister on his chest yesterday because of his state of suffering. We were able to see for ourselves the state of his miserable hovel. Imagine a real hovel, the plaster walls scratched and blackened, a poor pallet, for that is his name, composed of a mattress softer than the best featherbeds, and covered with his clothes which serve him as blankets. I will not go into the details of his clothes, quimpettes and small bodies, etc., which are lying on the ground in a corner. The little Doctor of the Monastery who speaks to you at this moment when he comes to see his patient notices the gratitude which overflows from the heart of the poor beggar towards his generous benefactors. It is indeed the case to apply these words of a modern poet: And under the dreadful rag which imprisons it very often beats a heart of gold. This poor beggar is not accustomed to good things, so yesterday in front of a dish of veal with morels, he left the latter, not really knowing what it was... Our Mother, arriving in the meantime, told the patient that these small black-brown strawberries were morels. Our beggar in his childhood having lived in opulence remembered that he liked these sorts of things very much. He regretted not having eaten them but out of a feeling of native pride he did not want to admit that he had not recognized this precious dish, so he was confused in interior regrets, and compensated himself in the evening, swallowing them greedily. You know, don't you, my dear little Father, this poor rascal for whom you have a particular affection, he also sends you his best kisses and often thinks that you are keeping him company on your side this who causes her desolation and raises her most ardent prayers to Heaven. You see, my dear little Father, according to my description the wealth of a sick Carmelite cell, but what greatly compensates is and the devoted care that is given by her sisters, the angels of the earth. I kiss you and love you with all my heart with my dear little Mother Your little Mary of the Eucharist

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