Early in Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov, a wealthy
woman asks Staretz Zosima how she can really know that God
exists. The elderly monk tells her that no explanation or
argument can achieve this, only the practice of "active love."
The woman then confesses that sometimes she dreams about a life
of loving service to others - she thinks perhaps she will become
a Sister of Mercy, live in holy poverty, and serve the poor in
the humblest way. But then it crosses her mind how ungrateful
some of the people she would serve are likely to be. They would
probably complain that the soup she served wasn't hot enough or
that the bread wasn't fresh enough or the bed was too hard. She
confesses that she couldn't bear such ingratitude - and so her
dreams about serving others vanish, and once again she finds
herself wondering if there really is a God. To this the Staretz
responds, "Love in practice is a harsh and dreadful thing
compared to love in dreams." I often heard Dorothy Day recite
those words. I doubt any cha