St. John of the Cross had already composed the greater part of his renowned Spiritual Canticle when he met a Carmelite nun and asked her to describe her prayer. Francesca de la Madre de Dios replied that she prayed by looking at the beauty of God and rejoicing that he has it. This answer delighted the saint who began to speak ecstatically about the beauty of God and finally composed the last five stanzas of his great poem, beginning with the words, "Let us rejoice, Beloved, and go forth to behold ourselves in your beauty."
— William Johnston, Mystical Theology