A MISSION FROM ON HIGH
Yes, I think as you do; I wish still to hope, I wish to make this fatal
union a source of noble aspirations.
Formerly, when our thoughts drifted towards such unfortunate creatures
as Laurence, we felt only mercy and pity for them. We discerned the holy
task of redemption. We asked God to send us a dead soul, that we might,
by kindly and gentle ways, restore it to youth and purity.
The faith of our sixteenth year, we thought, ought to make sinners
believe and bow the head.
Then, we were Didier, pardoning Marion and acknowledging her as a wife
at the foot of the scaffold. We lifted the sinner to the height of our
tenderness.
Well, now I can be Didier. Marion, as sinful as the day he pardoned her,
is here. She needs the white robe of purity, a hand to guide her
wavering steps aright, to steady her in the narrow and difficult path
which leads to the happiness of innocence. Her pale face requires a pure
atmosphere to restore to it the glow of youthful health. What we wished
for in our sainted hallucinations I have found without searching for it.
Since Laurence has come to me, I wish to erase all the evil instincts of
her heart, to give it the healthful tone and freshness of mine. I will
be a priest for this poor wretch: I will lift her up, console and pardon
her.
Who knows, brothers, but that this is a supreme trial, an appointed
task, that God has sent me! Perhaps, it is His wish, in charging me with
a soul, to develop all the latent strength of mine. Perhaps, He has
reserved for me the office of the strong, and does not fear to entrust
me with the reformation of a human being. I will be worthy of His
choice.