A doctor who worked in a hospital was asked if working with sick people all

the time got him down, he said

“No”. He pointed out the window and said, “See all those people out

there? They’re not sick”.

Dom Helder Camara, once Archbishop of

Recife in North East Brazil

The first is a warning –

“Not even You,

with your irresistible look

of infinite goodness,

succeeded in moving

the heart

of the rich young man.

And yet he, from his childhood,

had kept

all the commandments.

Lord, my Lord, may we never,

out of mistaken charity,

water down

the terrible truths

You have spoken to the rich.”

The second is a message of faith –

“As long as the light lasts

the going will be easy …

Once the light fails

remember

that you can turn yourself

into a blazing torch

able to light up

pitch-black paths

and the most tortuous mazes.”

The third is about childlikeness –

“The child had left

his toy-telephone

behind in our house.

I took the liberty of using it

before taking it back.

Here’s a fine mystery!

Calls I had never managed to make,

so easily done,

so clear,

no interference,

on this instrument

wired with innocence

and love ….”.