Thomas Merton

The cloud of their contemplation becomes identified in a secret way with the divinity of Christ and also with his heart's love for us so that their contemplation itself becomes the presence of Christ.

and they are absorbed in a suave and pure communion with Christ.

He becomes to them a sensible presence who follows them and envelops them wherever they go

and in all that they do.

A pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire in the night.

And when they have to be absorbed in some distracting work, they nevertheless easily find God again by a quick glance into their own souls.

And sometimes when they do not think to return to the depths and rest in that, they are nevertheless drawn to that unexpectedly, into obscurity and peace.

Or it invades them from within themselves,

with a tide of quiet, unutterable joy.

Sometimes these tides of joy are concentrated into strong touches, contacts of God that wake the soul with a bound of wonder and delight.

a flash of flame that blazes like an exclamation of inexpressible happiness and sometimes burns with a wound that is delectable, although it gives pain.

God cannot touch many with this flame or touch even these heavily,

But nevertheless, it seems that these deep movements of the spirits of God's love keep striving, at least lightly, to impress themselves on everyone that God draws into this happy and tranquil light.

In all these three beginnings, you remain aware of yourself as being on the threshold of something more or less indefinite.

In the second, you are scarcely conscious of it at all.

You only have a vague, unutterable sense that peace underlies the darkness and aridity in which you find yourself.

You scarcely dare admit it to yourself

But in spite of all your misgivings, you realize that you are going somewhere and that your journey is guided and directed and that you can feel safe.

In the third, you're in the presence of a more definite and more personal love who invades your mind and will.

in a way you cannot grasp, eluding every attempt on your part to contain and hold it by any movement of your own soul.