When my way of understanding the world interfaced with St. Thérèse's - her way endured while mine collapsed.

We are in the Dark Forest. We entered through a disconnect between our worldly reasoning and that of St. Thérèse. Through the “Thérèsian affect” we understood without knowing. We turned our being toward her. We empathized. However, we did not know what constituted this “understanding,” “meaning,”and “being-toward.”

Now we are deeper in the Dark Forest, experiencing immense spiritual, emotional, and physical suffering as the result. The “unreflective certainty” at the moment of conversion endures, while in our old mindset - we collapse. The Dark Forest is scary, and we encounter this “enduring meaning” by directly facing our own temporal death.

There is a way out. It will require help from friends. We need to leave the Dark Forest reconstituted in order to join St. Joan of Arc on her mission to the Kingdom. Next episode!