God, from whom to stray is to fall,
And to whom to return is to rise up,
In whom to remain is to rest on a firm foundation.
To leave you is to die,
To return to you is to come back to life,
To dwell in you is to live.
No one loses you if he does not fall into error,
No one seeks you without being called,
No one finds you without being purified.
To go away from you is to be lost,
To seek you is to love,
To see you is to make you our own.
St. Augustine, Soliloquies, 1.3a, Murray Watts, Praying with St. Augustine (London, SPCK, 1987), 87-8.