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On Suffering and SolidaritySt Aleydis, or Alice, was a nun of la Cambre in Belgium in the first half of the thirteenth century. Having lived in the monastery since childhood with fervor and generosity, she was suddenly struck with leprosy. This meant that she had to undergo separation from the community and live as a hermit. While she suffered greatly from loneliness and anguish in addition to her physical sufferings, she came to understand that God had struck her with this disease in order to draw her closer to himself. She was conformed to the suffering servant of the Lord, and by her sufferings, she grew into a great solidarity with all humanity.
“We have seen that when Aleydis was isolated in her leper-house, her union with the Lord Jesus became increasingly profound; as her exterior life became more circumscribed, the dimensions of her heart, her inner being, grew larger and larger. Something similar happened with regard to her relations with other people. As her exterior contacts became fewer, she grew in solidarity at a deeper level, not only with her community but with all humanity. This ‘universal love’ is a characteristic theme in the lives of hermits and recluses. In fact, it is the natural outcome of a genuine prayer life. ‘Real prayer brings us closer to our fellow human beings … a growing intimacy with God deepens our sense of responsibility with others. It evokes in us an ever increasing desire to bring the whole world with all its sufferings and pains around the divine fire in our heart and to share the revitalizing heat with all who want to come.’ Aleydis’ love reached even beyond the bounds of death, to the souls in purgatory. She realized that not only her prayer, but also her whole life of fidelity, of love, of sufferings patiently borne, would have far reaching effects and touch the lives of many. It was as if in her own person the whole of humanity was crying out to God for mercy, compassion, healing for all their ills, but especially for deliverance from the sin which was the real evil and the root of all human suffering.”
(Sr Edith Scholl, OCSO, “Aleydis of Schaerbeek” in Hidden Springs: Cistercian Medieval Women Vol. 3 Bk. 1, ed. John A. Nichols & Lillian Thomas Shank, OCSO, Cistercian Publications, 1995, pp.387-88)
