From Sr Marie Dosithée Guérin to her brother
G+J
From our Mother of Le Mans
25th May 1864
Dear brother
Your letter was eagerly awaited, for it seems to me that I live only for you; all the little details that you give me interest me (in April 1865, I. Guérin will be assigned to the service of the insane, but from this spring of 1864, he finds himself confronted with abnormal cases.)
I find that you don't give me enough; you tell me of the religious help you can enjoy, but you don't speak to me if you take advantage of it, so that I don't know how you live or what the character of your friends is.
I'm surprised you take care of surgery and dissect, I thought there were only doctors.
I can see that the spectacle of poor humanity leads you to many reflections. Yes my dear friend, we are not created for the present life because our destiny would be very unhappy, more unhappy than that of the animals; we are constantly running after happiness and we cannot find it; honours, pleasures, even riches are not capable of obtaining them for us since you see that celebrities are going to die in the hospital. It is true to say with Solomon, the most favored monarch in the world: vanity of vanities, all is vanity except to love God and serve him; the older you get, the more you will understand.
The world is only ungrateful, it makes us look good when it hopes for something from us, and it despises us and abandons us when it sees us in disgrace, what madness to cling to it and to love it !
You ask me if God hasn't forgotten to give a soul to these idiotic beings you have before your eyes; poor child, you don't know that the conformation of our body can not annihilate but paralyze the functions of the soul; to appear in the eyes of men, the soul needs windows in the house, and if they are walled up, the poor wretch is in darkness. Does the sun therefore cease to light up the world because the blind cannot see? Probably not, but there is an impediment to light in them. * [2 ro] Why were there such extraordinary geniuses? It's quite simply that matter was less developed with them and that the window of the house was larger than with the others, so their soul had more light; Well also, we have sometimes seen these extraordinary beings suddenly lose their reason, do you think their souls have flown away, oh no! But this intellectual sun could no longer cast its rays by some sudden impediment. When I see these poor creatures deprived of their reason and placed below the brute or else afflicted with some abject and cruel disease, I cannot help thinking of the words of Jeremiah: "Jerusalem has committed a great crime". (Jr 2,13), yes and this crime is the original sin of which we all bear the stain. This is the enigma of all the evils that cover the earth it is a punishment because God is just and good and he did not create any of his creatures to suffer, not even animals, and if they suffer it is a chastisement which the man the king of creation has drawn upon them.
Zélie came to see me with her little Pauline (May 17), she had to leave [2v°] at 2 o'clock because of her little elf who didn't give us a moment's rest, but she she's very nice and you'll like her when you meet her.
My health is very good, you tell me that you are doing well, however Zélie told me that you gave yourself so much pleasure that you were all thinner; I would like you to work, if you take up habits of idleness it will be very unfortunate, and you will thereby take up bad habits which you will no longer be able to get rid of, you must also save and not indulge in spending with your friends.
Farewell my dear friend, don't make me fast on your letters, the one you sent me, the last one, was very interesting, I like to know your impressions. I recommend that you do not let a day pass without making some prayer to the Blessed Virgin; I must nevertheless finish, I am always afraid of boring you, you see, I am not like you, I only know the language of the heart.
I `m kissing you with all my heart.
Sr. M. Dosithee Guérin
of the Von Ste Marie
[v° tv] Tell me if the hospital is served by nuns.
