Jean Valjean: Who Am I?
AMDG I, a soul who has come so far and struggled for so long, who would conceal himself for evermore and pretend he is not the man he was before; to you, my friend on the stage of life, bearing wounds I will never see and fighting battles I cannot imagine. I intended to write in this blog much more about my spiritual formation, but am finding that I share rather more of my thoughts and experiences. Like Peter and John in Acts 3, this is what I have, and so this is what I will give. I love the musical Les Miserables. After seeing the film adaptation in 2012, I read an English translation of the book by Victor Hugo (over the course of 4 years. It was a big book.). The movie is one which I come back to again and again. It is spiritually transfixing and emotionally cathartic, and I relate to so many of the characters: Javert for his moral perfectionism, Jean Valjean for his ceaseless hard work, Enroljas and his band for their fervor, Cosette for her shelteredness, Marius for his earnestnes...