“In an instant I understood what life was. Until then I hadn't seen it as so sad, but it appeared to me in all its reality, and I saw that it was only suffering and continual separation. I shed the most bitter tears, because I didn't understand yet the joy of sacrifice. I was weak, so weak that I see it as a great grace to have been able to endure a trial that seemed well beyond my strength!... If I had learned in a gentle way about my beloved Pauline's departure, perhaps I wouldn't have suffered so much but since I learned it by surprise, I felt as if a sword had been thrust into my heart [Lk. 2:35].”