Tonight we are withdrawing from the front; there will be a change and we will head to one of the camps in the sands. (…) Undoubtedly, I will take the opportunity to reunite with three young Jesuits from the area; they are not among those friends or confidants in whose presence I would feel relaxed or pour out my heart, but rather (…) they expect guidance and support from the elder. It is neither so pleasant nor refreshing, but more useful and pleasing to God. We must allow others to lean on us, even when we feel quite shaky ourselves and are preoccupied with seeking our own support!
(Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ /1881–1955/, letter from the front, to his cousin, January 12, 1916;
quoted from the book Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Birth of Thought. Letters 1914–1919, Malvern 2021)
