… it is of an Other … not a consolation that we invent.
“The true challenge for anyone is the presence of reality, the wonder it evokes in us, the attraction with which it draws us. It is precisely because we are often disloyal, as I said this morning, that we cannot acknowledge this, and when a fact of bereavement happens we think we can invent a consolation for ourselves. You have to deal with reality just as it appears to you, because only this will be able to respond to the death of your brother. The Lord permits these facts to happen so that we may understand that the design is not ours; it is of an Other, and very often for us it is mysterious. But it is precisely here that we are most challenged and we can verify how we truly live reality; if, when these events happen, we remain without a foothold, in fact, it means that we are thrown into a crisis by a modality of living the relationship with reality that is not true. This is the positive opportunity to finally ask ourselves, “But when I think that reality is positive, is it only to obtain a meager consolation, or is it the consequence of wonder in the face of reality, that refers me to an Other?” This is the question you, too, have to ask yourself. We look forward to your answer!”
Julian Carron CLU Spiritual Exercises p. 34-35