Sublime

2. Therefore one should be so established in God that one has no need to seek many human consolations.

Thus the dark night of the soul exists for the sole purpose of furthering love, a love that is partially realized in each experience of the dawn. In the last verse of his final poem, John writes of this awakening: How gently and lovingly you wake in my heart, where in secret you dwell alone; and in your sweet breathing, filled with good and glory,

Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus, betrayed by Judas, is arrested. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin. Jesus is denied by Peter. Jesus is judged by Pilate. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns. Jesus bears the cross. Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. Jesus is crucified.

ST. LYDWINE OF SCHIEDAM (d. 1433), a victim soul who endured numerous afflictions that kept her perpetually bedridden, was once visited by the prior of the monastery of St. Elizabeth, which is situated near Brielle on the Island of Doorne. The Saint gave him a description so detailed of the cells, the chapel, the chapter house, the refectory and

John was at the cross with Jesus. He was the only disciple who remained faithful and stayed with Jesus as he suffered. Their bond pointed to a future reality—a love that every Christian would know with God and, one day, with every other Christian in eternity.