In this book I have sought, as the bride in the Song of Songs, to "bring out both what is old and what is new, laid up for you, O my Beloved" (Sg 7:13), and as a gift, also, to the reader, so that you may hopefully find a greater space of confidence, understanding, and desire opening for you to draw near to the One who ceaselessly draws near to you. I seek to lay out the path of the prayer for which God created us, a prayer of love and vulnerability flowering in the joy of intimacy, a prayer that is born from the great gift of God given in Christ, Incarnate, Crucified, and Risen, and perpetuated in the bosom of our Mother, the Church. I hope that my words, however imperfect they may be, will help dispose you to encounter him who wants to espouse himself to you in the inner sanctuary of your heart, made the tabernacle of his presence, and indeed to sanctify and transfigure your entire being, body and spirit, and every moment of your existence, to be radiant and transparent with his own love and with the intimacy that he shares eternally with the Father in the kiss of the Holy Spirit.
