About twenty years ago I was greatly discouraged. For a long time life had seemed to me a tempest, filled with grueling work, with physical and moral suffering. I had sought honestly for its meaning in everything the world could offer, but I found neither peace of mind nor repose of body.
I had had two serious surgical operations, and the friendly and devoted doctors assured me that I would have to undergo a third as soon as I could stand it. I was suffering from chronic jaundice and a vesicular fistula which needed dressing three times a day, and, because of my extreme weakness, I could speak only in an imperceptible whisper and then with difficulty. To complete the picture, I was put into the infirmary of one of the many concentration camps which had sprung up during the Second World War. I should point out that at the time I knew nothing at all of Christian Science.
Then God reached me, thanks to a dear friend who was with me in the camp and who was sent to me, as Ananias was sent to Paul, bearing a book about the New Testament. Reading and rereading the Beatitudes, I became aware of a great quietude in me such as I had not known before, a tranquillity of temperament, and less physical suffering. I learned the Beatitudes by heart and pondered them constantly. But I had to find out for myself what really had happened, and I prayed for God to guide me.
