Therefore, dearly beloved, may you too always rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 4:4). And may neither bitterness nor a cloud overwhelm you, O dearly beloved Lady in Christ, joy of the angels and crown of your sisters! 

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! 

Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! 

Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance! 

And transform your whole being into the image of the Godhead itself through contemplation! 

So that you too may feel what His friends feel 

as they taste the hidden sweetness 

which God has reserved from the beginning 

for those who love Him.


Since you have cast aside all things which, in this deceitful and turbulent world, ensnare their blind lovers, love Him totally Who gave Himself totally for your love. His beauty the sun and moon admire, and of His gifts there is no limit in abundance, preciousness, and magnitude. ~St. Clare of Assisi, from her third letter to Agnes of Prague