Scripture often recalls, even to those who are in the state of
grace, the necessity of a more profound conversion toward God. Our
Lord Himself spoke to His apostles, who had been following Him from
the beginning of His ministry, about the necessity of becoming
converted. St. Mark relates, in fact, that when Christ made His last
journey into Galilee with His apostles, on reaching Capharnaum He
asked them: "What did you treat of in the way? But they held their
peace," says the Evangelist, "for in the way they had disputed among
themselves which of them should be the greatest." (1)
And in St. Matthew, where the same occurrence is recounted, we read:
"And Jesus, calling unto Him a little child, set him in the midst of
them, and said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted and become
as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
(2)
Christ was speaking here to the apostles, who had already taken part
in His ministry, who would receive Communion at the Last Supper, three
of whom had accompanied Him to Thabor; they were in the state of
grace, and yet He spoke to them of the necessity of being converted in
order to enter profoundly into the kingdom or the divine intimacy. To
this end He particularly recommended to them the humility of the child
of God, who is conscious of his indigence, his weakness, his
dependence on the heavenly Father.
Christ even spoke especially to
Peter about his second conversion, just before the Passion, when once
again, as St. Luke tells us: "There was also a strife amongst them
[the apostles], which of them should seem to be the greater. And He
said to them: . . . But he that is the greater among you, let him
become as the younger; and he that is the leader, as he that serveth." (3) And to Peter He added: "Simon,
Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as
wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou,
being once converted, confirm thy brethren." (4) On this occasion,
Christ is speaking of Peter's second conversion; the first had taken
place when he left his work as a fisherman to follow Jesus.
The liturgy often refers to the second conversion, particularly when
it recalls these words of St. Paul: "You have heard Him, and have been
taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus: to put off, according to
former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the
desire of error, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on
the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness
of truth."(5) This spiritual renewal presupposes a first
conversion. The Apostle of the Gentiles speaks of it again in the
Epistle to the Colossians: "Lie not one to another: stripping
yourselves of the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new, him
who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of Him that
created him. . . . But above all these things have charity, which is
the bond of perfection." (6)
When the liturgy recalls these words during Advent and at the
beginning of Lent, it addresses not only souls in the state of mortal
sin that are in need of conversion from evil to good, but also many
Christians already in the state of grace who are still very imperfect
and have to be converted from a relatively mediocre to a fervent
Christian life. On Ash Wednesday it recalls to them Joel's words:
"Now, therefore, saith the Lord: Be converted to Me with all your
heart, in fasting and in weeping and in mourning. And rend your
hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God; for He
is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to
repent of the evil." (7) These words are so much the better understood
in proportion as the soul that hears them is more advanced and,
although in the state of grace for many years, feels the need of a
more profound conversion, the necessity of turning the depths of its
will more completely toward God. The laborer who has
plowed a furrow goes over it a second time to force the plow deeper
and turn over the earth which must nourish the wheat.
From this point of view, which is admitted by all, the best spiritual
writers have spoken of the necessity of a second conversion to
enter truly on the illuminative way of proficients.
Among modern authors, Father Louis Lallemant,
S.J. (d. 1680),
insists on this point in his beautiful book, La Doctrine
Spirituelle.
Before him St. Benedict,(8) St. Catherine of Siena, Blessed Henry Suso,
and Tauler spoke of it at considerable length; but it is principally St. John of the Cross who has treated of this second conversion,
which he calls the passive purification of the senses, and which in
his opinion marks the entrance into the illuminative way.
We shall set forth the doctrine of these authors, recalling first of
all what Father Lallemant says on this subject, since his teaching is
easier to understand because it is nearer to our own times. We shall
then better grasp what St. Catherine of Siena and Tauler teach, and
finally what St. John of the Cross affirms with originality and
profundity.
We shall now see what the author of La Doctrine
Spirituelle says:
- of the fact of this second conversion in the lives of the saints,
- of its necessity and fruits.
THE FACT OF THIS SECOND CONVERSION IN THE LIVES OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD
Father Lallemant states on this subject: "Two conversions ordinarily
occur in the majority of the saints and in religious who
become perfect: one, by which they devote themselves to the service of God; the other, by which they give themselves entirely to
perfection. We see this fact in the lives of the apostles when Christ
called them and when he sent the Holy Ghost upon them; (9) in
St. Teresa, and in her confessor, Father Alvarez, and in several
others.(10) The second conversion does not occur in all religious,
because of their negligence. The time of this conversion in our lives
(11)
is commonly the third year of novitiate. Let us, therefore, take fresh
courage now and not spare ourselves in the service of God, because it
will never be harder for us than it is at present.(12) As time goes on,
this way will gradually be rendered less rough, and the difficulties
will be smoothed away, because the more pure our hearts become, the
more abundantly we shall receive graces." (13) At this juncture a
decisive step must be taken.(14)
What Father Lallemant says here may be completed by examining the
lives of many servants of God. There is a painful period, difficult to
traverse, which is often set forth, in the lives of the saints
and in the processes of beatification, under the title of "Interior
Sufferings"; this period marks the entrance into a higher spiritual
life. We believe also that notable light would be thrown on the lives
of the saints and also on the causes of beatification, if it were more
explicitly noted that this period corresponds to what St. John of the
Cross calls the passive night of the senses, and that another period,
similar to it in certain respects, occurs later. According to this
doctor of the Church, the latter corresponds to the passive night of
the spirit.
This observation is of a nature to throw light on the most obscure
moments in the lives of the servants of God. If, in reality, between
the two particularly difficult periods we have just spoken of, the
heroic degree of the virtues can already be established, and if it is
even more clearly proved after the second of these two periods, it is
a sign that the servant of God has indeed successfully passed through
both of these periods. It is likewise a sign that he must
have had a great spirit of faith, of trust in God in order to surmount
the difficulties found therein. Thus these two obscure periods, or to
use the expression of St. John of the Cross, these two nights, one of
which marks the entrance into the illuminative way of proficients, the
other into the unitive way of the perfect, far from being an objection
against the sanctity of a soul, serve rather to bring it out more
clearly. Great merit is, in fact, necessary to traverse them well, so
as not to fall back at this time and to come forth truly fortified by
these two trials. The lives of the saints are greatly illumined in the
light of these principles.
THE NECESSITY OF THE SECOND CONVERSION
Not only is this second conversion a fact which is verified in the
lives of the servants of God; its necessity is manifest because of the
inordinate self-love that still remains in beginners after months and
years of labor. Of the necessity of the second conversion, Father
Lallemant says: "The reason why some reach perfection only very late
or not at all is because they follow only nature and human sense in
practically everything. They pay little or no heed to the Holy Ghost,
whose appropriate work is to enlighten, to direct, to warm.
"The majority of religious, even of good and virtuous ones, follow in
their private conduct and in their direction of others only reason and
good sense, in which a number among them excel. This rule is good, but
it does not suffice for Christian perfection.(15)
"Such people ordinarily direct their lives by the common feeling of
those with whom they live, and as the latter are imperfect, although
their lives are not disorderly, they will never reach the sublime ways
of the spirit, because the number of the perfect is very
small. They live like the ordinary run of people, and their manner of
governing others is imperfect.
"The Holy Ghost waits some time for them to enter into their interior
and, seeing there the operations of grace and those of nature, to be
disposed to follow His direction; but if they misuse the time and
favor which He offers them, He finally abandons them to themselves and
leaves them in their interior darkness and ignorance, which they
preferred and in which they live thereafter amid great dangers for
their salvation." (16)
The same author, who writes for religious, says: "The salvation of a
religious is inseparably linked to his perfection, so that if he
abandons care for his spiritual advancement, he gradually approaches
ruin and loss. If he does not come to this pass, it is because God,
wishing to save him, mercifully comes to his assistance before his
fall. All the masters of the spiritual life agree on this maxim: He
who does not advance, falls back. But it sometimes happens, because
retrogression takes place imperceptibly, that a few who have already
made some progress allow a considerable period to elapse before they
realize that they are falling back." (17)
The necessity of a second conversion arises from all that remains in
us of often unconscious egoism which mingles in the greater number of
our acts. In a number of people this necessity comes from their
unwillingness to be considered naive and their failure to
recognize sufficiently the naivete of a superior simplicity which
should grow in them. As a result, they become less simple and true
with God, their superiors, and themselves. They lose sight practically of the grandeur of the theological virtues, of the importance
of humility; then they no longer understand Christ's words: "Unless
you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter
into the kingdom of heaven." Under the pretext of prudence, they
begin to consider the little aspects of great things and to see less
and
less the great aspect of the daily duties of Christian life and the
value of fidelity in little things. They forget that the day is
composed of hours and the hour of minutes. They neglect a number of
their obligations and gradually, in place of the radical simplicity of
a gaze that was already lofty, a simplicity which should become that
of contemplation, they find themselves in the quasi-learned complexity
of a waning knowledge.
On this subject Father Lallemant says: "In religion (itself) there is
a little world, the component parts of which are the esteem of human
talents, of important employments, offices, and positions, the love
and search for glory and applause, for rest and a calm life. These are
the things the demon uses as a puppet show to amuse and deceive us. He
sets it all in motion before our eyes in such a way that we dwell on
it and let ourselves be seduced, preferring vain appearances to true
and solid goods." (18)
Human talents are indeed often preferred to the great supernatural
virtues. The same author adds: "Only prayer can protect us from this
delusion. Prayer it is that teaches us to judge of things in a holy
manner, to look at them in the light of truth, which dissipates their
false splendor and their spurious charms."
Elsewhere he says: "We commit more than a hundred acts of
pride in a day without, so to speak, being aware of it." (19) The ruin
of souls results from the multiplication of venial sins, which causes
the diminution of divine lights or inspirations.(20) Nor is it
sufficient to direct our attention toward God as an afterthought, if
our act remains entirely natural and our heart is not truly offered to
God. A superficial oblation of self does not suffice; there must be a
genuine new conversion, a turning of the heart toward God.(21)
The fruits of this second conversion are pointed out by the same
author in the course of advice to preachers: "People kill themselves
dying to produce fine sermons, and yet they reap scarcely any fruit.
What is the reason? It is because preaching is just as much a
supernatural function as the salvation of souls to which it is
directed, and the instrument must be proportioned to the end. . . . The
majority of preachers have sufficient learning, but they have not
enough devotion or sanctity.
"The true means of acquiring the science of the saints. . . is to have
recourse not so much to books as to interior humility, purity of
heart, recollection, and prayer. . . . When a soul has attained to
entire purity of heart, God Himself instructs it, at times by the
unction of spiritual consolations and tastes, at other times by gentle
and affectionate lights, which teach it better how to speak to the
hearts of its auditors than study and other human means can. . . . But
we cannot get rid of our own sufficiency, nor abandon ourselves to
God.
"An interior man will make more impression on hearts by a single word
that is animated by the spirit of God than another by an entire
discourse costing him much work and in which he exhausted all the
power of his reasoning." (22) Such are the fruits of the second conversion. The author of The
Imitation often speaks of them, especially when he describes the
fervor with which we should amend our lives. He says: "A diligent and
zealous person will make greater progress, though he have more
passions, than another who is well regulated, but less fervent in the
pursuit of virtues. . . . Study, likewise, especially to guard against and to get the better of such things as oftenest displease
thee in others. . . . As thine eye observeth others, so again thou art
also observed by others. . . . But if thou give thyself to fervor,
thou shalt find great peace; and thou shalt feel thy labor light,
through the grace of God, and for the love of virtue." (23)
Thus, intimate conversation with God, which is the basis of the
interior life, will gradually take the place of conversation with
ourselves.(24) |
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1. Mark 9:31 f.
2. Matt. 18:2f.
3. Luke 22:24, 26.
4. Ibid., 31 f.
5. Eph. 4: 2 1-24.
6. Col. 3:9 f., 14.
7. Joel 2: 12-13.
8. In the prologue of his Rule, St. Benedict wrote: "Let us therefore
at length arise, since the Scriptures stir us up, saying: 'It is now
the hour for us to rise from sleep' (Rom. 13:11). And our eyes being
now open to the divine light, let us hear with wonderment the divine
voice admonishing us, in that it cries
out daily and says: 'Today if you shall hear His voice, harden not
your
hearts.' " That is to say: It is time to rise from the sleep of
negligence and to walk courageously in the way of God.
9.
We shall see farther on that, as St. Catherine of Siena says in her
Dialogue (chaps. 60, 63), the second conversion of the apostles took
place more properly at the end of the Passion when Peter wept over his
denial, and that Pentecost was like a third conversion or more
properly a transformation of
the soul, which marks the entrance into the unitive way.
10. For example, the second conversion of Blessed Henry Suso, of St.
Catherine of Genoa, of Blessed Anthony Neyrot, O.P., and of many
others, is well known.
11. Father Lallemant is speaking to religious of the Society of Jesus,
whose
formation he was completing.
12. Nevertheless there will be another difficult period to pass through
in
order to enter the unitive way of the perfect.
13. La Doctrine Spirituelle (ed. Paris, 1908), 2nd principle, chap. 6,
a.2.
p.113.
14. Ibid., p. 66.
15. This mode of acting conforms perfectly to what St. Thomas says of
the difference between acquired prudence (a true virtue, already
described by Aristotle) and infused prudence. and the gift of counsel
(IIa IIae, q.47, a.14 and q. 52). Should a man tend to perfection
under the almost exclusive direction of acquired prudence (which is,
nevertheless, not that of the flesh), he would never reach true
Christian perfection, which belongs to the supernatural order; such
perfection requires the frequent exercise of infused prudence and of
the gift of counsel. These three sources of actions (habitus) are among themselves a little like what agility of the fingers, the acquired
art which is in the practical intellect, and musical inspiration are
in the musician. Without art, properly so called, and this
inspiration, a man will certainly
never produce a masterpiece, and will never be able even to comprehend
one.
16. La Doctrine Spirituelle, 4th principle, chap. 2 a.2, p. 187. St.
John of the Cross expresses the same opinion in The Dark Night, Bk. I,
chap. 10, and The Living Flame, st. 2, v. 5.
17. La Doctrine Spirituelle, chap. 3, a. I, p. 91. In the preceding
chapter (pp. 88-91), Father Lallemant discusses the different
dispositions of religious with regard to perfection. He says: "Among
religious there are three kinds: the first refuse nothing to their
senses. Are they cold? They warm themselves. Are they hungry? They
eat. . . hardly knowing what it is to be mortified. As for their
duties, they discharge them as an obligation, without interior spirit,
interior relish, and fruit. . . . This state is dangerous.
"The second avoid the excesses of the first and refuse themselves
satisfactions which they judge unnecessary; but they let themselves be
deceived under the appearance of good. In their projects they follow
their inclination, then they seek virtuous motives to color their
choice and justify their conduct. As for their duties, they perform
carefully what pertains to the exterior, but with little interior
application and recollection, allowing their senses excessive liberty
and neglecting the custody of the heart. Souls in this second class
are full of imperfections and venial sins. (Father Lallemant does not
believe that they are in the illuminative way.)
"The third, as perfect, are stripped of every desire, indifferent to
everything, satisfied with everything, and wish only the good pleasure
of God. They join together exterior exactitude and interior
application; they keep watch over their hearts, preserve their peace
of soul, and practice recollection as much as obedience permits. These
receive three signal favors from the three Persons of the Most Blessed
Trinity: from the Father, they receive what is, as it were, an
invincible fortitude in action, suffering, and temptations; from the
Son, rays and splendors of truth which glow unceasingly in their
souls; from the Holy Ghost, charming fervor, sweetness, and
consolation."
See also, in this same book, what the author says regarding this
subject on
pages 113, 187, 191 ,205, 215, 473.
18. Ibid., 5th principle, chap. 2, a. 2, pp. 301 ff.
19. Ibid., p. 143.
20. The same author often says that the gifts of the Holy Ghost are, as
it
were, bound by attachment to venial sin; they are like sails that are
furled and not spread.
21. Ibid., p. 138.
22. Ibid., pp. 121, 304.
23. The Imitation, Bk. I, chap. 25.
24. Ibid., Bk. II, chap. I.
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