Mariam was ashamed. She had hurt someone with a sharp rejoinder.
Mariam said shamefacedly to the Rabbi, "I am so ashamed, Lord. I hurt her."
The Rabbi gently answered, "I will give her grace."
Sometimes we hurt another. Let us pray for them.
And if something we have done has resulted in negative consequences for another, let us show our repentance by doing whatever we prudently can in order to alleviate those consequences.
Mariam was praying for a troubled community.
She asked the Rabbi, "Lord, what about them?"
The Rabbi kindly answered, "I will pour oil on troubled waters."
Mariam was thinking about the strong reaction one person had shown that day.
She said sturdily to the Rabbi, "He's stubborn, Lord."
The Rabbi quietly answered, "He's scared."
Sometimes what we mistake for difficult behaviour may be due to fear or past hurt.
Mariam had just been through a time of suffering.
She wept to the Rabbi, "So much suffering, Lord; like a rush of rainwater, drowning me."
The Rabbi gently comforted her, "Remember, the rain washes off the dead branches of sin from your soul; but also waters the new seeds, freshens the pond, and leaves the rainbow in the sky - a sign of hope, that things will not always be like this."
Mariam told the Rabbi as she cleaned the house, "Lord, someone questioned the simplicity of my life."
The Rabbi answered, "Utter simplicity is always intriguing to the worldly mind. For the simple reason that the worldly mind is complicated."
Mariam awoke to the realisation of what the Rabbi had been trying to teach her at evening worship the previous day.
"I was born to be free."
Mariam was worried. She had been trying to spend more time in prayer, but so many commitments for others kept on getting in the way.
The Rabbi told her, "Don't worry - you are giving out the strength you have received in prayer."
Mariam was thinking of the richness and variety of life.
The Rabbi asked, "What makes your life so full of variety and excitement?"
Mariam answered, "The people in my life, Lord."
The Rabbi smiled. "Ah. The great mystery of the universe. You've finally learned it. The real treasure is each other."
Mariam was coming to realise how helpful it is to have a trusted confidant to share your worries with.
She said to the Rabbi, "When frustrations become bottled up, they turn into depression."
The Rabbi calmly answered, "Apply the cure. Don't bottle up."
Mariam and the Rabbi were repairing a textile together.
Mariam was talking about her past experience of a rejected friendship.
The Rabbi asked her, "How would you feel if for a space of a few years I dropped you completely, and then came back at a moment's notice, wanting all your attention again?"
Mariam answered, "Not very charmed."
The Rabbi cheerfully told her, "Friendship needs working at."
Mariam was very thoughtful. Friendship was, she thought, much like stitching fabric.
Once damaged, it could be repaired again, but only after work and diligent repair by stitching.
Perhaps friendship, once damaged by hurt and unmeant neglect, could be repaired by continued reaching out and work at the friendship by the one who had initially damaged the relationship.
It's always worth a try.
Photograph of textile taken by Catherine Nicolette
Mariam was annoyed. She was thinking in the evening of a whole furore which had begun earlier in the day because one person had repeated a remark made by another.
Mariam said to the Rabbi over a piece of bread and cheese, "Surely charity and common sense should have stopped the repetition of that remark, and we might have been spared the quarrel and had some peace."
The Rabbi answered, "In most cases, charity IS common sense."
*Photograph of Wall Art in Dublin taken by Catherine Nicolette. With thanks to the Wall Artist
Mariam felt exhausted and depressed.
The Rabbi's Mother Maria gently advised her, "Return to the calm center of your soul."
Photograph taken of poster at Rally by Catherine Nicolette
Over the years Mariam had become a workaholic. She was continually busy, doing little things and fretting - she felt the need to be continually busy.
The Rabbi told her, "These are the external manifestations of a tormented spirit."
And indeed, years later, when an older and wiser Mariam reflected on the Master's Words, she came to realisation.
At that time she had been facing the necessity of making a difficult decision which would change her life path forever.
Becoming unnecessarily busy had unconsciously given her the outlet she needed at the time in order for her to pour forth the inner anxious energy she was experiencing.
The anxiety had been due to her putting off the decision.
Delaying necessary decisions today may lead to anxiety and insomnia tomorrow.
Mariam smiled.. How glad she was that she had eventually found the strength within herself to face the difficult decision.
The decision, once made, had brought her peace.
Mariam was feeling worried.
The Rabbi told her, "You are anxious about being accountable, but really, you are only accountable to Me."
Mariam asked the Rabbi: "Master, who is really alive?"
The Rabbi answered; "Alive? The only truly alive are those who are not spiritually dead."
