In these gentle, simple, yet profound conferences, Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C., explores both the necessity and the difficulty of Christian friendship. Friendship is the basis of all fruitful love, she wrote. Whether we are single or married, priest or religious, the Lord himself called us his friends and commanded us to be the friends of one another. Mother explained the reason this command is so difficult: knowing, understanding, and respecting another person are necessary for loving him, and these things take time. We must be friends if we are to love. With this small volume, Mother Mary Francis inspires us and helps us to be patient by revealing both the demands and the rewards of our vocation to love and be loved. Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C., was abbess of the Poor Clare Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Roswell, New Mexico. Her thoughtful letters, essays, poems and books have spread her spiritual wisdom far beyond the walls of her cloister. Other Ignatius Press books by Mother Mary Francis include A Right to Be Merry, Forth and Abroad, and Anima Christi: Soul of Christ.