- Starts with a quote from St. John of the Cross (The Living Flame): “But they, O my God and my life, will see and experience your mild touch, who withdraw from the world and become mild, bringing the mild into harmony with the mild, thus enabling themselves to experience and enjoy you.” Rolheiser points out that mothers, especially mothers of infants, meet these two criteria: 1) They withdraw from the world and 2) they are in constant contact with the mildest of the mild.