“Eckhart does not counsel anyone to seek suffering for its own sake, nor even as a special mode of God’s presence. In this he differs considerably from most of his contemporaries, and even some of his own disciples. Eckhart’s way is to seek God in all things, and all things in God, even suffering, not with fatalistic resignation as inescapable, but as a gift of God’s presence and companionship.”

Woods, Richard. Meister Eckhart: Master of Mystics. New York: Continuum, 2011, p. 177