Hidden But Truly Present

You do very well, O soul, to seek him ever as one hidden, for you exalt God and approach very near him when you consider him higher and deeper than anything you can reach. Hence pay no attention, neither partially nor entirely, to anything your faculties can grasp. I mean that you should never seek satisfaction in what you understand about God, but in what you do not understand about God. Never pause to love and delight in your understanding and experience of God, but love and delight in what you cannot understand or experience of God. Such is the way, as we said, of seeking God in faith. However surely it may seem that you find, experience, and understand God, because God is inaccessible and concealed you must always regard God as hidden, and serve God who is hidden in a secret way. Do not be like the many foolish ones who, in their lowly understanding of God, think that when they do not understand, taste, or experience him, he is far away and utterly concealed. The contrary belief would be truer. The less distinct is their understanding of God, the closer they approach God, since in the words of the prophet David, “he made darkness his hiding place”. Thus, in drawing near God you will experience darkness because of the weakness of your eye.

Lines from St. John of the Cross, The Spiritual Canticle, I, 12