Spirituality: From "The Cloud of Unknowing" (14th Century England)

Let's step back a minute and look at contemplation. Why does it have to be so hard? After all, that profound love stirring again and again in your will requires no straining on your part. These gentle impulses don't come from you but from the hand of God, the all powerful, always ready to start this work in anyone who done everything possible to get prepared. Then what makes this work so difficult? I'll tell you. You must tread down thoughts of of every creature that God has ever made and then hold them there, keeping them covered under the cloud of forgetting we have discussed earlier. This is hard work. God's grace will help you roll your sleeves up for it, but you still have to do it yourself. On the other hand, God alone sets those loving feelings in motion. So do your part, and I can promise you God will do his. God never fails.