From Thomas Merton:

Lord, it is nearly midnight, and I am waiting for You in the darkness and the great silence. I am sorry for all my sins. Do not let me ask any more than to sit in the darkness and light no lights of my own and be crowded with no crowds of my own thoughts to fill the emptiness of the night in which I await You.

To remain in the sweet darkness of pure Faith, let me become nothing to the pale, weak light of sense.

As to the world, let me become totally obscure from it forever. Thus, through this darkness, may I come to your brightness at last.

Having become insignificant to the world, may I reach out towards the infinite meanings contained in Your peace and Your glory.

Your brightness is my darkness. I know nothing of You, and, by myself, I cannot even imagine how to go about knowing You. If I imagine you, I am mistaken. If I understand you, I am deluded. If I am conscious and certain I know you, I am crazy. Darkness is enough.

Merton
December 24, 1941. Journals V. 1: 310