Many of us desire that ultimate union with God, but do not know how to attain it. Luckily the saints before us have trod that path and have passed on their wisdom to us.
St. John of the Cross in particular believed that if we wanted to draw closer to God, we must do that through the cross of suffering. He explains this principle in a Spiritual Canticle featured in the Church's Office of Readings.
The Carmelite saint firmly believed that our life on earth includes much suffering. The key is to not dismiss this suffering, but to unite it to the cross and let it become a sacrifice to God. Only through suffering will we find the lasting peace and consolation we desire.
These words may not be consoling for us, but they are true. We can not seek the peace that God gives to us unless we first imitate him and find him in our suffering.
