God in the Darkness

Anonymous Monk, 16th Century

You will seem to know nothing and to feel nothing except a naked intent toward God in the depths of your being. Try as you might, this darkness and this cloud will remain between you and your God. You will feel frustrated, for your mind will be unable to grasp him, and your heart will not relish the delight of his love.

But learn to be at home in this darkness. Return to it as often as you can, letting your spirit cry out to him whom you love. For if in this life you hope to feel and see God as he is in himself, it must be within this darkness and this cloud. But if you strive to fix your love on him, forgetting all else, which is the work of contemplation I have urged you to begin, I am confident that God in his goodness will bring you to a deep experience of himself.

The Cloud of Unknowing (Chapter 3)