 Stein’s deep interest in spirituality was initiated by her reading of Theresa of Avila’s Book of Her Life, but deepened through her reading of Thomas Aquinas, St. John of the Cross, John Henry Newman, and Dionysius the Areopagite. Studying Aquinas convinced her that it was possible to serve God and also do intellectual work, and she combined her spirituality with intellectual endeavors. She wrote several mystical studies, most notably Science of the Cross (Stein 2003). Science of the Cross studies John of the Cross’s mysticism, his search for spiritual oneness, and his devotion to love. Stein engages in a personal meditation on the symbolism of the cross and of night (the dominant symbol in John of the Cross, Stein 2003: 31[38]). Night is something natural, invisible and formless, yet not nothing (2003: 32[39]); it is like a foretaste of death (2003: 32[40]). For Stein, “the night denotes the profound darkness of faith” (1950/2006: 35[27]). The mystical night comes not from without but from within (2003: 34[41]). Only by feeling the weight of the cross can one learn the “science of the cross” (scientia crucis) which is “buried in the soul like a seed” (2003: 5[9–10]). The soul must be educated to know God and the spiritual side of human being must detach itself from the senses (2003: 95[115]). Surrendering to God in faith makes us pure spirits, freed from all images and thus in darkness (2003: 97[118]). “Dark contemplation” is the secret ladder to God.