Sometimes I remember the complaint of that holy woman Martha, who not only complained about her sister, but I am convinced that she endured even worse the thought that You, Lord, were not troubled by her sufferings. Perhaps it even crossed her mind that You did not show her as much love as You did to her sister. She surely endured that worse than the service to the one she loved so much, for love makes us consider suffering as rest.
This is evident from the fact that she said nothing to her sister, but with all her lamentation ran to You, Lord. It was indeed love that prompted her to dare to say why You did not care. And even from Your answer, it is clear that the motive of the complaint was precisely the one I mention: for it is only love that gives value to all things!
(Teresa of Jesus, The Cry of the Soul to God, 5,1-2,
translation by Vojtěch Kohut OCD)
