 His bittersweet prayer resonates with so many who may have embraced God later in life. The saint cries out, Late have I loved you, beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you. And behold, you were within me, and I was without. And I sought you there, and I, though uncomely, rushed upon the comely things you have made. You were with me, but I was not with you. They held me far away from you, though if they had not been in you, they would not have been at all. You called to me, you cried, you broke through my deafness. You gleaned, you shone in splendor, and you put my blindness to flight. You sent forth a fragrance, and I breathed it in, and I pant for you. I tasted, and now I hunger and thirst. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.