DEAR ABBY: In your column, you have indicated your interest in thoughts on friendship. I am a member of the Jesuit community in Wauwatosa, Wis. During a clergy renewal semester at Notre Dame University, I developed the following statement:
"A true and genuine friend, one of those very few special persons who enter my life, is one with whom I can share my brokenness without feeling cheapened." -- RENEWED CLERGYMAN
DEAR RENEWED: Your words are beautiful, and I know they'll resonate with my readers as they did with me.
P.S. Please don't feel "cheapened in your brokenness." None of us emerge from the kiln of life without a few cracks, which lend character to the finish.