Christ's presence in human trials and sufferings.

In T.S. Eliot wrote the following words in his poem, "The Waste Land":

Who is the third who walks always beside you?   
When I count, there are only you and I together
But when I look ahead up the white road   
There is always another one walking beside you   
Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded   
I do not know whether a man or a woman  
—But who is that on the other side of you?

(the complete poem can be found here http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html [1])

In this context the figure is rather ambiguous, implying - as Eliot often does in his poetry - an uneasy relationship with the "you" addressed, a dissatisfaction with life in general (The Waste Land) and a desire for some kind of salvation.  I this context the presence of the third person is mysterious, implying a possibility of completion perhaps, a hoped-for saviour perhaps (even the appearance of the Grail Knight perhaps given the use of the Grail theme in the poem), or something else.

In T.S. Eliot's copious "Notes" to this poem - which he deliberately made almost as long as the poem itself - he comments on the above lines as follows:

The following lines were stimulated by the account of one of the Antarctic expeditions (I forget which, but I think one of Shackleton's): it was related that the party of explorers, at the extremity of their strength, had the constant delusion that there was one more member than could actually be counted.

We certainly can't unambiguously identify the "third figure" as Christ but I believe it is a part of many people's experience that the Christ's presence is most strongly felt - perhaps only when looking back and remembering afterwards - during times of trial and stress.

(see for example the well-loved "Footprints" poem at http://www.footprints-inthe-sand.com/ [2])

As always, others' comments, thoughts and experiences are very welcome!