Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Foreword 11

Preface 15

1 The Sign of the Cross 19

2 A Clean Severance 25

3 The New Leaf 29

4 Spiritual Pruning 35

5 Life Out of Death 41

6 Springtime Is Guaranteed 47

7 Blessed Inconveniences 55

8 Even the Fair Petals Must Fall 61

9 Open Hands 67

10 Hour of Desolation 75

11 Nothing to Lose 81

12 The Songs of Suffering 87

13 Death in Us, Life in You 95

14 The Last Fragile Threads 101

15 Beaten Low by the Storms 107

16 The Point of Despair 113

17 The Deathblow 119

18 Perfectly Adapted 127

19 Yes to the New Life 133

20 Suffering Love 141

21 The Winds of the Lord 147

22 The One Thing Necessary 155

23 A Breaking-Up and a Breaking-Down 163

24 The Divine Schedule Is Flawless 169

25 A Home within the Wilderness 175

26 For the Joy Set Before 183

27 There Shall Be No More Night 191

Appendix: A Summary of Reasons for Suffering 193