"The dark night of the soul is not an evil to be endured; it's a good for which we should be grateful.  Of course, it doesn't always seem that way.  The thought of plunging into a spiritual abyss and losing all the sweetness in our relationship with God strikes few as appealing.  But neither does surgery.  Having cancer removed from our bodies isn't a fun process.  Nevertheless, we submit to the surgeon's knife readily and quickly, knowing that the sooner we have the surgery, the sooner we can live a healthy, full life.

What's true on the natural level is true on the supernatural level.  If we want to become the people God made us to be and live the lives he made us to live, we must let him excise sin and unhealthy attachments from our souls.  There's no getting around it.  Before we can enter heaven, it has to happen.  It can happen in this life or it can happen in the next — in purgatory.  But here is better.  For the sooner we let God root out unhealthy attachments, the sooner we can get on with the business of being saints". Emily Stimpson. "Understanding the 'dark night of the soul'."

“God conquers our hearts not by force, but by love, and thus teaches us the way to authentic freedom, peace and fulfillment" Pope Benedict XVI

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

:Created for Love, Blessed but Broken, Wounded by Love, Healed by Love" St. John of the Cross

Prayer is the rudder that guides Jesus’ course. Jesus lets God guide His path, and not the desires and adulation of others. Pope Francis

"We must overcome our fear of the future. But we will not be able to overcome it completely unless we do so together" St. John Paul II

"My friends, Jesus is the Lord of risk, he is the Lord of the eternal life.Jesus is not the Lord of comfort, security and ease.  Following Jesus demands a good dose of courage, a readiness to trade in the sofa for a pair of walking shoes and to set out on new and uncharted paths. ” Pope Francis.

"The faith given to me in baptism suggests to me surely: by yourself you will do nothing, but if you have God as the center of all your action, then you will reach the goal.”  Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati