There came upon me an overshadowing bright cloud, and in the midst of it a Figure of a Woman, most richly adorned with transparent gold, her hairhanging down, and her face as terrible as crystal for brightness, but her countenance was sweet and mild.At this sight I was somewhat amazed, but immediately a Voice came saying, "Behold, I am God's eternal Virgin, Wisdom, whom thou hast been enquiring after.I am to unseal the Treasures of God's deep wisdom unto thee."
When someone has compassion on us, we find ourselves really seen, heard, attended to. If someone's attention is genuinely compassionate, it does not stop at attentiveness: he or she is willing to speak, act, or even suffer with us and for us. It is in such passivity, as we receive their compassion, that the most powerful dynamics of our own feeling and activity are shaped. Amazed gratitude for such compassion can last a lifetime.