Facebook 95

 Aridities in prayer:

Another source of difficulty in prayer are aridities. Ariditiy or dryness may test a person devoted to prayer at any stage. But usually with beginners it only lasts for a brief period, and it is especially at the stage that we have reached in our explanations of prayer that aridity of long duration comes to test the fidelity of a soul wishing to love God.Aridity is the incapacity of having any feeling about God or heavenly things. The soul in an arid state has no pleasure or satisfaction in the things of God and will not, or rather, finds she cannot have satisfaction in the things of earth. In a severe state of aridity the soul feels as if she were abandoned by Go or not wanted by God. According to the designs of God on the soul this state is usually accompanied by other trials more or less severe, such as sickness of body , troubles of mind, and misunderstandings with friends or persecutions.

In reality, the soul is not bereft of thought or feeling; there is beneath all a thought and loving longing for God. The thought may be obscure, indeterminate and anxious, the longing frequently painful.The important point is that God is nearer to the soul than ever, and the soul is very dear to God. The explanation of the state is simply that God is detaching the soul from all earthly things to attach it completely to Himself, and is purifying it from its many stains and imperfections to make it purer and more worthy of being completely filled by Himself and of being admitted to the deepest knowledge and sublimest union with Him. The soul is being detached from conceptions and feelings of God which can stand in the way of a truer knowledge and more intimate union.

It is of the utmost importance that the soul will understand the explanation of those severe trials permitted by God and not make the mistake of being discouraged and tempted to give up prayer altogether.