‘My commandment is that you should love one another as I have loved you.’  Jesus himself teaches us the secret. Just as he is welcomed by the Father so are we to be welcomed by him; and as he welcomes us, so are we to welcome….Note that this is not some sort of rule, exterior to our (Carthusian) lives, that Jesus might have imposed on us as a discipline.  These directives, outlined so simply, are truly the substance of our lives as children of God.  When I give my brother all rights to be welcomed within me, I am not according him a luxury; I am simply trying to live in truth as the child of God I am; that is to be as welcoming as I possibly can, because that will make me ready to be welcomed in turn by God himself.

The other side f the exchange of divine life that we (Carthusians) are to practice among us is the permanent inclination to allow ourselves to be welcomed by our brothers.  It is so easy, in fact, to refuse myself to my brother, under the pretext of discretion or respect of others, whereas he is prepared to welcome me, or may even feel a profound need of doing so.  Let us remember, for example, the strong words addressed by Jesus to Simon Peter: ‘If I do not wash your feet, you can have no part with me.’  That means: if you are not able to accept my being at your disposition, at your service, welcoming you fully and completely into my heart, what have we in common?  Could we not often ask the same question among ourselves?  –‘The Wound of Love’ A. Carthusian