The Alchemy of Pain: Twenty-Five Remedies for the Weary Soul

O suffering patient! Do not be distressed; be patient. Your illness is not an affliction, but in truth a cure and a divine remedy. For life is capital; it is continually departing. If it produces no lasting spiritual fruit, it is squandered. Moreover, if life passes in mindless ease and heedlessness, it speeds away with astonishing swiftness. Illness, however, makes that capital immensely fruitful with enduring rewards. It does not allow life to vanish into thin air; it holds it, deepens it, and lengthens its spiritual weight so that it may yield its eternal fruits before it departs. Furthermore, illness acts like pure soap, washing away the taints of heedlessness and moral errors. As established in the prophetic tradition, illnesses are expiations for transgressions. If there were no illness, continuous physical health would induce heedlessness, make this transient world appear intoxicatingly self-sufficient, and cause one to forget the eternal horizon. It would banish all thought of mortality, squandering the precious capital of life on vain pursuits. But illness suddenly opens a person's inner eye and proclaims to the body: 'You are not immortal; you are not unattended! You have a noble purpose. Cast away arrogance, remember your Creator, recognize that you are journeying toward eternity, and prepare yourself accordingly!'