The foundation of hope

"In workshop after workshop I meet people (many of them no longer practicing Christians) 

who despite all theological indoctrination about the complete otherness of God 

have stood their ground, firm in their innate knowledge that at the foundation of the soul, 

at that point vierge, something of our being presses deep into the heart of God 

and begins to swim in the infinite ocean of God's mercy.  

That ocean is our source and substance, 

the ground of our own arising, 

the foundation of hope.  

Those who experience it may leave the church, 

but they do not leave this ground.  

Once experienced, it is undeniable."

--Cynthia Bourgeault, Mystical Hope