A soul that loves God has no other goal but to be wholly united with him. But to reach this perfect union, let us listen to what Saint Catherine of Genoa said: “To achieve union with God, one must have adversities because God uses them to consume all our evil impulses within and without. And therefore insults, scorn, infirmities, abandonment by relatives and friends, confusions, temptations and other adversities are all supremely necessary, so that we can fight on, until, thanks to the victories, all our vile impulses will be extinguished within us so that we no longer feel them. And until all the adversities n o longer seem bitter but sweet for God’s sake, we shall never arrive at divine union.

- pg 50  The Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ by Saint Alphonsus Liguori