But when the soul becomes more seized by love for God, the isolated and separate acts of love that may occur inconsistently at various times in meditative prayer are likely, with the onset of contemplative graces, to fuse together into a more continual longing of love. What has just been said has a parallel truth in the life of charity toward others, and this, too, is a symptom of crossing the threshold into contemplation. Over time, the soul itself, and not just the particular acts it performs, can become full of a steady quality of love. It is as though the flame of loving desire for God now burns almost without ceasing. This more continual state of a longing for God and for his will is an essential condition for contemplation. Saint John of the Cross teaches that sometimes God favors a soul and draws it into the loving knowledge of contemplation without a great need for prior acts of knowledge and insight gained through meditation. –St John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation written by Father Donald Haggerty

St John of the Cross Adoring