23 March 1987
Amiens, France

My dear Sisters,

The name of this great city of Amiens evokes childhood memories for me. It was not that I visited this city as a child, but rather that this city gave its name to a small street in Dublin, the capital of my country. In that small street was located a rather imposing railway station which was the terminus for trains coming from the North of Ireland. When I was a child, Amiens conjured up in my mind excitement and adventure, for it was one of the simple joys of my childhood to be brought to the capital for a day, and it was in the station of Amiens Street that I got my first impression of our capital city.

What child is not impressed by its capital city? There is much evidence in the Gospels that Jesus Christ was not an exception. His parents would have brought Him to Jerusalem every year, and undoubtedly Our Lord's love for the Holy City would have developed during those early years of His life on earth.

Amiens Street still remains in the city of Dublin, but they have changed the name of the Station to that of a patriot. For me, however, the railway station will always remain Amiens Street Station.

Now that I have seen bigger railway stations in many other cities of the world, the railway station that was such a colossal place to me as a boy seems relatively small and insignificant. I now see the railway station of my youth in perspective. That suggests a little point for reflection, namely, the importance of seeing all things in perspective. The Christian is invited to see everything in the perspective of eternity. The reward for serving the poor is, as Our Lord reminds us in chapter twenty-five of St. Matthew's Gospel, an eternity of happiness, while the penalty for neglecting the poor in this life is an eternity of misery and unhappiness. Certainly the builders of your great Cathedral here in Amiens were able, if we are to judge from the scenes of the Bible represented in stone, to see things in perspective.

When one reflects on it, we would have much more peace in our lives and much less tension, if we could place our daily difficulties in proper perspective. Think of some of the incidents and people that used to annoy you in Community fifteen or twenty years ago, and ask yourself how you feel about them today. Probably you feel a little ashamed about some of your reactions ten or fifteen years ago. The annoyances do not seem quite as great now as they did then. Why? Because you see them in a better and clearer perspective. So may God give us the grace to keep putting all things in perspective. We will do that with more assurance, if through meditation and prayer we try to see things through the eyes and mind of Jesus Christ.

When I return to the Amiens Street Station of my youth, I feel a little sad to see how certain things have changed. Perhaps more than any other generation of people, we have had to live with the idea and the reality of change. The current of change has also touched our two Communities. For some, the current has caused such a shock that they seem paralyzed by the experience. For others the current of change has given new force and energy to the Community. Perhaps all of us are wondering what will be the long-term effects of this current of change which has touched all our lives, particularly during the past two decades.

As we look forward to the future, there are some attitudes of mind which I believe it important to adopt. First, let us acknowledge it is God who has released this current of change into the Church. He, as St. Vincent frequently liked to say, does all things according to His wise Providence. In adopting that attitude we are not being asked to admit that every change that has been made is for the better. Some changes that have been made may have to be remade. Human error and imperfection exist even in a Divine institution.

Second, it is important that we realize that we live in two cities, the city of God and the city of man. We must be sensitive to the claims and needs of both. With our limited vision it is too easy for us to accept as absolute the standards of the city of man. "Be not conformed to the pattern of this world," (Rom 12:2) St. Paul exhorts us. In his letter to the Ephesians, he reminds his readers that "There must be a renewal in the inner life of your minds." (Eph 4:23) The city of Man must not be allowed to dictate all policy for the city of God.