contemplation part 9

 Contemplation and passive prayer part 9:

Misunderstandings, detractions, calumny, insult and abuse of every kind, and in a very intense form, are among the trials the contemplative soul may experience. These are not, of course, due to the direct action of God, but God in His providence permits them in order that she may endure suffering that in a special manner will increase her faith in the wondrous Providence of God and at the same time intensify her love for her neighbour . That the trials may produce these effects, the soul must look beyond the human agency in these occurrences and be persuaded that the permission of God has the very definite purpose of advancing the soul. Had God not permitted wicked men to crucify His Son, the world would not have been redeemed , so God permits us to suffer severely at the hands of others. Besides, unlike the Son of God, we have to satisfy for our own sins and be purified by these very sufferings. These trials are very suitable for the purpose as we have insulted God by our sins and we are asked to make reparation by enduring insults in union with the contumely Christ suffered for our sakes. For carrying out the Gospel precepts on the forgiveness of injury and on charity in general we have the truly noble example of St. Teresa of Jesus. When told of a serious calumny uttered against her, she would laugh and remark that were it not for the grace of God she would have done worse. She regretted if God were offended, but as for herself she only saw in insult an occasion of merit, and begged God to forgive the offender. We must bear similar trials in th same spirit if we desire to have fulfilled in us the designs of God on our souls. Thus we are firmly and perfectly established in the great virtue of fraternal charity which is the best guarantee of our possessing the love of God, as Our Lord and His Apostles assures us. 

It is not merely against the theological virtues that the soul can be tempted but against any of the moral virtues. Thus St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi , a most innocent and pure soul, suffered for five years from the most diabolical attacks on her purity. But she came forth from the attack unspotted with a greatly enhanced spirit of purity, and by her sufferings made reparation for the many sins committed against this holy virtue, This is God's intention in all the trials to which He permits contemplative souls to be subjected.

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To be continued....

contemplation part 8

 Contemplation and passive prayer part 8 :

St Teresa of the Child Jesus had very fierce attacks made on her belief in heaven, and she speaks of the thick wall of darkness that seemed to separate her from God. God permits the evil spirit thus to attack souls so that while purifiying them He at the same time gains great victories in weak mortals over the proud spirits of darkness. St Teresa of the child Jesus , moreover , stated that her interior sufferings were so intense that no one in this life could imagine their intensity. Thus was she made a victim of love.

A very usual form of suffering is a keen sense of unworthiness in God's sight.The soul feels, as it were, all sin and rejected. The reason she feels so sinful is that she is obtaining a deep appreciation of the all- Holiness and Majesty of God and is , as it were, unable to appear in His sight.Yet that very appreciation draws her to an intense love of God, and thus drawn between these two feelings the soul suffers a veritable martyrdom . Moreover, in spite of all her spiritual director may say or do to assure her that all is well with her, she can never be fully persuaded of this, or if she is satisfied for a time, a deeper darkness often succeeds, till at length, in God's good time, the soul is prepared to bask in the sunshine of a more perfect realization of the intensity of God's love for her and her union with Him. St Francis de Sales at one time experienced this trial of dereliction to such an extent that he earnestly begged that he would be allowed to love God even in hell, for which he felt himself destined . But from these trials which, as it were, lead to the brink of despair, the contemplative soul emerges purified and fixed in an unshakeable confidence in the mercy and goodness of God.

Similar to this trial is that of extreme aridity or dryness in which the soul appears utterly incapable of prayer or of doing anything for God. Sometimes persons can pray and keep recollected during the course of the day, but when they attempt formal prayer, every effort they make appears absolutely vain. The explanation is that God desires to keep these souls in continuous union with Himself and so they can be attentive to the Presence of God while at their work, but when they come to formal prayer God takes the work completely into His own hands and unites them intimately to Himself, while their own faculties appear completely inert. The soul may suffer much at this apparent idleness, but must be patient and perfectly submissive to God's ways. This apparent absence of God increases very much their longing for Him. This trial of aridity has already been explained , but the sufferng it causes in the passive Dark night of the Spirit is of far greater intensity because the soul has already felt the touch of God. The soul must be carefully instructed, and no matter how long the trial may last, she must be encouraged to perserverance with the assurance that God will surely bring her to close union with Himself ......

To be continued...

Contemplation part 7

 Contemplation and passive prayer ( part 7):

Though all the value of our sufferings is derived from the merits of Christ,yet in his condescension He awaits our cooperation in such a way that we also merit our own salvation and that of others. Christ suffers again in us, His members. Thus we " fill up those things   that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ". It is important too to realize that we deal with all suffering without any reservation ,even such as may come to us by human agency or may be the result of our own follies. To their own detriment , through want of knowledge or lack of faith, many make such reservations, forgetting that " to them that love God, all things work together unto good" even sin, as Augustine assures us.

At any stage of the spiritual life suffering borne in this spirit will have a very beneficial effect, and God does send or permit it in order that the soul may be freed from imperfections and attachments. But in a special way God permits a soul to be afflicted, and very grievously to accomplish the active purification .Since the soul finds herself powerless to perform this purification in a perfect degree, God intervenes and by a process of suffering, often of the severest kind, only be realized by those who experience them. These sufferings are known as Passive purgation or purification . Those who desire a deep knowlege of the subject must read and re-read very carefully the Dark Night of the Soul by St . John of the Cross.

Certain observations and references to examples may be made here. The precise nature, the intensity and the duration of these sufferings depend on the state of the soul and the designs of God on it. They are usually of long duration but are intermittent, and God thus keeps the soul from being crushed. They are called by St. John a Purgatory of Love, and he makes no secret that the sufferings are comparable to those of the Purgatory of Fire and gives the consoling assurance that those who suffer this Purgatory of Love ecape the other.

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To be continued....

Contemplation part 6

 Contemplation and passive prayer ( part 6):

Passive purgation or purification, or the Passive dark night of the spirit:

It is important for every religious soul, indeed for every Christian , to understand well what attitude should be held with regard to suffering. It is but a natural feeling to shrink from it, and how very many Catholic there are who are puzzled at the attitude of the saints in regard to suffering. But this is the correct attitude and it is well to undertand it. We read in the Acts of the Apostles that " They went from the presence of the council rejoicing , that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus." And St. Paul exclaimed :" I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation." We have similar expressions used by the saints." To die or to suffer" was the desire of St. Teresa of Jesus. " To suffer and to be despised for Christ", that of St. John of the Cross. " To suffer, not to die," that of St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi. St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, in a sublime outburst of love, desired the sufferings of all martyrs. The saints were flesh and blood like ourselves and naturally recoiled from suffering just as we do. But supernaturally enlightened, they wished to follow in the footsteps of Christ. St Paul assures us that we must suffer with Christ if we would be glorified with Him and at the same time consoles us that these sufferings are as nothing compared to the glory we are to receive.He likewise tells us that we are to be made conformable to the image of the Son of God. Moreover, to help ourselves further in this very difficult matter we must recall once again the assurance of the same Apostle that we will never be tempted beyond what we are able to bear.

Suffering has quite opposite effects according to the spirit with which it is taken. It merely sours the disposition of those who will not recognize the purpose of God in permitting it. It disturbs their peace, makes them irritable and gloomy and ever ready to put the worst construction on things and make their outlook very pessimistic. Just otherwise with the soul which humbles itself under the Hand of God. Its disposition is chastened and sweetened , it preserves undisturbed peace, its outlook is always cheerful and its endurance of suffering enables it to advance rapidly in virtue.Now this is precisely God's intention in permitting us to suffer. Religious souls will, therefore, bear sufferings not merely with resignation but with perfect conformity to God's Holy Will, recognizing that it is a privilege and an honour to be thus associated with the sufferings of Christ, co-operating with Him in working out our own purification and the salvation of souls....

To be continued. 

Contemplation part 5

 Contemplation and passive prayer ( part 5):

From mystic prayer proper must be carefully distinguished certain experiences which though taking place in mystic souls, are not required for mystic union, such as revelations, certain locutions, visions and ecstasies ( i.e, levitations) .Though when properly used these experiences can profit the person who receives them, they are given rather for the benefit of others. St. Teresa of Jesus had many experiences of this kind, but she besought Our Lord to take them from her. At one time of her life they ceased and in her familaritiy with Our Lord she asked Him the reason. He replied that at the time He manifested Himself thus no one was inclined to give her credence, but now that she was in general favour there was no longer any reason for these signs. There is a singular absence of such phenomenon in the life of St . Teresa of the Child Jesus, though she reached the deepest Mystic union. It is quite clear consequently that experiences of this kind are not necessary for the greatest holiness. Moreover , there are many spiritual dangers attached to them and so they should not be desired. Those who have such experiences should study very closely what St . John of the Cross remarks about them in the Ascent of Mount Carmel and put it in practice under the guidance of an experienced director, if such can be had. The soul must be very detached from them.

The desire for mystic union:

It is quite otherwise with the desire for mystic prayer and union, since the direct effect is to unite the soul to God. It is true that absolutely speaking, the soul can by ordinary grace and great generosity reach perfection by the active purification, of which we have already written. But the weakness of human nature is such that very few seem to reach perfection merely by this means. All the canonized saints appear to have been favoured with mystic prayer. For those who have any right notion of the meaning of this desire there is no longer of self- complacency. They will soon understand that to advance far in this union a very severe process of passive purification or purgation must take place. There will be no danger of self- complacency for anyone who read the opening chapters of the Dark Night of the Soul by St .John of the Cross. The saint there explains the defects which passive purification helps to eliminate , and even persons of advanced holiness will be compelled to recognize in themselves very many of these defects. Moreover, the soul admitted to passive union becomes so conscious that the work being done is accomplished by God alone that she acknowledges with Mary that " He that is mighty hath done great things to me ". The soul thus favoured advances above all in true humility, and if she does not, her prayer cannot be mystic prayer at all. From these considerations there does not appear much sense in a director trying to hide the truth from a person who is clearly favoured with mystic union. The sufferings there endured develop in the soul the greatest humility as well as all other virtues.....

to be continued......

Contemplation part 4

 Contemplation and passive prayer ( part 4):

Besides the trial of aridity which , as we have said , is sometimes very severe in this stage of prayer, other trials , crosses or sufferings have to be endured. Indeed it is possible that the soul may experience even now some of the trials of the Passive Dark Night of the Spirit , though usually they are not so severe. It is important to realize that all these trial are sent or permitted for our purification . A long combat with distractions is sometimes one of the severest of these trials. Moreover for our consolation and as a help to our perseverance we must ever bear in mind the assurance of St. Paul that we are never tested beyond what we are able to bear. We are so weak that it is necessary to keep these truths ever fresh in our minds. Yet in the Passive Dark Night of the Senses so many souls get uneasy and require confirmation from a competent judge that they are on the right track and also need to be encouraged to bear their trials with patience and fortitude that in most cases the help of a sympathetic and experienced director is almost indispensable.Where such a director cannot be obtained ( St. John of the Cross laments there are so few) we can trust that God will give special light and help to a soul sincerely desirous of being faithful. But as God respects the social nature of man, the service of a spiritual director should be utilized where available. The spiritual director has, moreover, to judge the value of the prayer. While encourging he has to be firm and see if the soul is developing delicacy of conscience in practising all the virtues. This will always be the acid test in deciding if the soul is really being led by the Spirit of God. 

To answer this quesion it is necessary to distinguish between mystic prayer and certain extraordinary experiences of persons favoured with passive prayer. Those who are thus favoured and who have any difficulties concerning their prayer must consult an experienced director. St John of the Cross uses the very striking expression that in mystic prayer " the substance of God is joined to the substance of the soul." How this is to be understood is known only by those who have experience. Mystic souls understand the analogies used by the saints, and the analogy of touch appears most satisfactory to express the deep union that takes place. There are four principal stages with various subdivisions. The first stage is the Prayer of Quiet when the soul is first introduced to this mystic union and the activity of the intellect and will is suspended, but though the touch of God is felt, it is transient. When the union becomes more habitual and the activity of all the interior faculties is suspended , it is known as the prayer of Union. A further stage is Ecstatic Union when the union becomes so intense as to suspend the activity of the exterior senses. The final stage is Spiritual Marriage when the union is made as complete as it can be made in this mortal life...

To be continued...

Contemplation part 3

 Contemplation and passive prayer ( part 3):

It would appear that sometimes this obscure contemplation is accompanied by a certain sweetness, but frequently, perhaps ordinarily, in spite of a sense of peace and interior joy there is dryness. Naturally if this obscure contemplation is the state of prayer for a considerable time, and it often extends over many years, this dryness, which is sometimes very extreme, is difficult to bear. The soul is thus severely tested in regard to her fidelity and generosity towards God. Unfortunately only too many have not the courage to persevere, and instead of allowing the action of God in this obscure contemplation to wean their hearts from all created things in order to attain the deepest union with God, they refuse to submit and fall back into very mediocre ways, if nothing worse happens.St . John of the Cross deeply deplores the loss sustained by such souls who, through lack of patience, fail to reach the great union God had intended for them.

The duration of this obscure contemplation depends on two elements, the special design of God on the soul and the degree of generosity of the soul itself. If the soul is very generous , she may pass quickly from obscure contemplation and be led to mystic prayer. On the other hand when God intends to raise a soul very high, He may deepen her humility and the other virtues necessary for mystic union by retaining her longer in this dark night of aridity. God, however, being the absolute Master of His own gifts, appears , in some cases, to hasten in an extraordinary way of special purification the admission of the soul to deep mystic prayer.But again St . John of the Cross expresses great regret that so many, through want of sufficient generosity, are held so long in this stage of obscure contemplation, and only attain to mystic union very late, and even then with the work not at all so well accomplished.....

To continued...

Contemplation part 2

 Contemplation and passive prayer 

( Part 2):

St . John of the Cross lays down three signs by which an interior person may know when to leave aside active prayer ( which he calls meditation) and follow the call of God to passive prayer.

1. When a state of complete aridity of mind and heart during mental prayer is experienced.

2. This total aridity must not occur except at the time of prayer 

3. The soul is conscious of being filled with a sense of God's presence, a strong desire to think of Him and a wish to be united to Him and rest in Him.

Especially when the third sign is present, the soul is to be careful not to disturb itself and consider that it is wasting time even though its loving attention to God appears very vague. On the other hand whenever the soul has not this obscure contemplation and finds she can return to any of the stages of active prayer, she must not hesitate to do so . She must, however, turn to whatever suits her disposition best and freely leave aside any practice that she finds no longer of advantage. 

When the soul has reached this stage of obscure contemplation, it is important that she should have the guidance of an experienced spiritual director. For the soul might easily be led to believe that in practising this obscure contemplation she is really idle. St . John of the Cross has much to say in The Ascent of Mount Carmel and The Living Flame of Love against inexperienced and ignorant spiritual directors who refuse to allow souls under their guidance to advance beyond meditation.

It is true that in this obscure contemplation the sense and the imagination are deprived of the forms and the images which are so necessary for their activity ( e.g prayer ). Even such activity of the intellect and the will as is dependent on the use of these forms and images is suspended. There is then, as it were, an uneasiness on the part of the powers of the soul in being deprived of their activity. This privation is called the Passive Dark Night of the Senses. It is true that even in this prayer distractions are possible and may be frequent .

At this stage we can realize the great necessity there is for detachment and faith, the two virtues on which St. John of the Cross is so insistent for souls called to passive prayer. In active purification( the Active Dark Night ), we stated we must be detached from all that is not God. 

Many feel it hard to part with the sublime spiritual supernatural thoughts of God which in the past have stirred up such intense emotions of love and given strength for great zeal in the service of God. Grand and sublime as these thoughts and emotions may be, they must be willingly left aside when God so desires, for the obscure contemplation which He substitues gives a much truer knowlege of Him and leads to a deeper union with Him, though all sensible sweetness and fervour disappear. The soul will thus cling to God in naked faith, unassisted by any reflections of the reason. The soul must do so with unbounded confidence , as this faith must be the medium of her union with God....

To be continued...

Contemplation part 1

 Contemplation and passive prayer

( Part 1):

The work to be done may appear to be formidable, but it will not be so for the generous soul. Grace is given in abundance to all who answer the call to perfection. St Paul assures us that we are not tempted beyond what we are able to bear. ( 1 Cor . 10:13) . We have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacraments from which , as well as in many other ways, we can obtain abundant help and strength. We shall see that God Himself usually takes part in a special way in the work and hastens and completes it by passive purgations.

In active prayer we are conscious of our own efforts, in passive prayer we feel we are but yielding to an influence acting on us. This yielding is indeed an act of our will, but it is the only act of ours of which we are conscious in passive prayer. St John of the Cross shows that without passive purifications perfection is not attained , it would follow that passive union is necessary for perfection. There is a good deal of speculation as to the number of souls enjoying mystic graces. The number may be relatively small, yet they are to be found in every walk of life and often in the most unexpected circumstances. One point seems certain from the doctrine of St. John of the Cross, that there would be far more souls endowed with these graces if the ignorance of many could be dispelled who do not undertand the leading of God, and if a number of those who do understand could have the courage to submit to the action of God on their souls. There are two great mistakes commonly made in regard to passive contemplation. The first is that this contemplation is such an extraordinary state that it can only be practised by a very few placed in particularly favourable circumstances . 

But contemplation, and in the highest degree, is attained by many who have to engage in the ordinary routine of daily life and who pass quite undistinguished from other people except that their virtues have greater influence on them. The second mistake is that contemplation is a state where those favoured with it are rapt in almost continuous ecstasies or experienc other marvels.  In the meantime  we give a quotation :" There is nothing more sublime beautiful or grander than passive prayer in theory. But in practice there is nothing more humiliating , more crucifying ."

To be continued .....