Waiting for God
Letters and essays present Weil’s thinking on attention, love, suffering and her complex relationship to Christianity. Spiritual inquiry accompanies resistance to imposed belonging.
Understanding the text
Father Joseph-Marie Perrin assembled this posthumous collection from writings of 1941–1942; the actual exchange must be distinguished from editorial arrangement.
Key points
- 01
Attention
Study can train receptivity rather than merely accumulate results.
- 02
Affliction
Extreme suffering affects body, relationships and the ability to be heard.
- 03
Belonging
Weil brings religious traditions together without concealing reservations about institutions.
How to read it
Situate each letter and essay before constructing a unified doctrine.
Editions & sources
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method ↗