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Since we have discussed the difficult period called the night of
the senses, which, according to St. John of the Cross, marks the
entrance into the illuminative way of proficients, we should now
point out the principal traits of the spiritual character of
proficients, the characteristics of this age of the interior life.(1)
The mentality of proficients should be described by insisting on
their knowledge and love of God, and by noting the differences
between this spiritual age and the preceding one, just as one
remarks those of adolescence and childhood. The adolescent is not
only a grown-up child, but he has also a new mentality; he sees
things in a less imaginative, more rational manner; he has different
preoccupations, just as the child is not an adolescent in
miniature. From the spiritual point of view there is something
similar in respect to the different ages of the interior life.
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IN PROFICIENTS
In the preceding period, the beginner scarcely knew God except
in the mirror of sensible things, whether in those of nature, or in
those mentioned in the parables of the Gospel, or in the exterior
acts of worship; and he knew himself only in a very superficial
manner.
The proficient obtained a deeper self-knowledge while passing
through the period of prolonged aridity which marks the second
conversion. With this knowledge of his poverty, of his spiritual
indigence, there grows within him by contrast a quasi-experimental
knowledge of God, not only in the mirror of the sensible things of
nature, of the parables, of exterior worship, but in the spiritual
mirror of the mysteries of salvation with which he familiarizes
himself. These mysteries, which are those of the incarnation of the
Word, of the redemption, of eternal life, the rosary daily places
before our eyes by recalling to us the Savior's childhood, His
sorrowful passion, His resurrection and ascension. If the
proficient is faithful, he goes beyond the sensible aspect of these
mysteries, he attains all that is spiritual in them, the infinite
value of the merits of Christ; then the rosary is no longer the
mechanical recitation of the Hail Mary, but a living thing, a school
of contemplation. The joyful mysteries bring us the good news of the
annunciation and the nativity of our Savior, which constitute true,
enduring, and deep joys far above the pleasures of the world and the
satisfactions of pride. Likewise, in the midst of our sufferings,
which are often without reason, at times overwhelming, almost always
badly borne, the sorrowful mysteries repeat to us that our sins
should be the object of our grief. They make us desire to know them
better, to experience a sincere sorrow for them, and thus we begin
to comprehend the profound meaning and the infinite value of
Christ's passion and its effects in our lives. Finally, in the midst
of the instability and uncertainties of this life, the glorious
mysteries recall to us the immutability and the perfect happiness of
eternal life, which is the goal of our journey.
The proficient who would thus live a little better each day by the
spirit of the rosary, would reach the contemplation of the mystery
of Christ, a certain penetrating understanding of the life of the
mystical body, or of the Church militant, suffering, and triumphant.
Under the continual direction of Jesus and of Mary Mediatrix, he
would enter increasingly into the mystery of the communion of
saints. If he should listen daily to this secret teaching in the
depth of his heart, this prayer would kindle in him the desire of
heaven, of the glory of God, and the salvation of souls; it would
give him a love of the cross and strength to carry it, and from time to time
a foretaste of heaven, a certain savor of eternal life. As a
traveler toward eternity (viator), he would occasionally enjoy it in
hope and would rest on the heart of Him who is the way, the truth,
and the life.
The proficient who has such knowledge of God no longer knows Him
only in the sensible mirror of the starry sky or of the parables,
but in the spiritual mirror of the great mysteries of the
Incarnation, the redemption, and eternal life which is promised to
us. He thus grows increasingly familiar with these mysteries of
faith, he penetrates them a little, tastes them, sees their
application to his daily life. According to the terminology of
Dionysius, which is preserved by St. Thomas,(2) the soul rises thus by
a spiral movement from the mysteries of Christ's childhood to those
of His passion, resurrection, ascension, and glory, and in them it
contemplates the radiation of the sovereign goodness of God, who
thus communicates Himself admirably to us. Goodness is essentially
diffusive, and that of God diffuses itself on us by the redeeming
Incarnation and by the revelation of eternal life already begun, in
a sense, in the life of grace.(3)
In this more or less frequent contemplation, the proficients or
advanced receive, in the measure of their fidelity and generosity,
the light of the gift of understanding, which renders their faith
more penetrating and which makes them glimpse the lofty and simple
beauty of these mysteries, a beauty accessible to all those who are
truly humble and pure of heart.
Consequently this period of the interior life merits the name of
illuminative way. In the preceding period, the Lord conquered our
sensibility by certain graces, to which the name sensible is given
because of the sensible consolation they bring. Then the soul, which
had become too attached to these sensible consolations, had to be
weaned from them that it might receive a more spiritual and
substantial food.
Now God conquers our intellect; He enlightens it as He alone can; He
renders this superior faculty increasingly docile to His
inspirations that it may grasp divine truth. He subjects our
intellect to Himself in this way while vivifying it. He gives it
lights that are often scarcely perceived, but that make us
understand ever better the spirit of the Gospel. He lifts us up
above the excessive preoccupations and the complications of a
learning that is too human. He makes us aspire to the superior
simplicity of the loving gaze which rests in the truth that makes
man free. He makes us understand the meaning of these words: "If you
continue in My word, you shall be My disciples indeed. And you shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."( 4) This word will
deliver you from the prejudices of the world, from its vain
complications, its lies, the shortsightedness of unconscious pride,
and from that of covetousness. Divine truth will give itself
profoundly to you and will also dispel the false luster of all that
can seduce you. It will free you from what Scripture calls "the
bewitching of vanity," (5) from the vertigo of passion which blinds
you to the true imperishable goods.
In all this there is a knowledge of God and of self notably
different from that drawn from books simply by reading. We begin to
know in a truly living manner the Gospel, the Eucharist, Jesus
Christ, who does not cease to intercede for us and who gives us
always new graces to incorporate us in Him, in His mystical body for
eternity. The life of the Church appears in its grandeur; we think
of the spiritual summits of the Church in our day, which must number
very holy souls as it did in the past and as it will in the future.
Such is the work of the Holy Ghost in men's hearts.
Books alone cannot give this experimental knowledge. A treatise on
the Eucharist will show at some length, by the analysis of
scriptural texts, that this sacrament was instituted by Christ; it
will defend speculatively the Real Presence and transubstantiation
against ancient and modern errors; it will compare the different explanations which theologians give of the Sacrifice of the Mass, and will
enumerate the fruits of Communion. These books, which are
indispensable for the training of the priest, end in precise
formulas. These formulas, however, should not be an end for us; for
the interior soul they should be a point of departure. To live with
a holy realism by the mystery itself, the soul should go beyond
them.
By faith in the Eucharist, the interior soul already holds the
truths that it needs to know; it is useless for such a soul to
embarrass itself with discussions on the history of this dogma, on
transubstantiation or the Eucharistic accidents; it needs to live by
the truths of faith and of the liturgy, as Book IV of The Imitation
points out. To live in this way, the soul must receive the
inspirations of the Holy Ghost with docility. Not in vain are the
seven gifts given to all the just; they are given to perfect the
virtues. Thus the gift of understanding should make all the just
who are faithful to its inspirations penetrate the meaning and
import of the formulas of faith; simple souls who are clean of heart
really see this import much better than theologians who are too
satisfied with their acquired knowledge. Mirabilis Deus in sanctis
suis.
The contemplation of divine things may be greatly hindered by
self-sufficiency which leads a man to think he already knows the
interior life, when, as a matter of fact, he still has much to
learn. The study of books will never replace prayer; for this reason
the great doctors of the Church have declared that they learned more
in prayer at the foot of the crucifix or near the tabernacle than in
the most learned works. Books give the letter and explain it;
intimate prayer obtains the spirit which vivifies, the interior
light which sometimes illuminates in an instant principles often
repeated, but whose universal radiation had not been grasped. Many
things in Christian life are illuminated, for example, in the light
of St. Paul's words: "What hast thou that thou hast not received?"
(6)
This principle is the basis of humility, gratitude, and true love
of God, that we may respond to God's love for us. In the same way
we then increasingly understand the profound meaning of these
words: God is the Author of being, of life, the Author of salvation, of grace, of
final perseverance.
Such is, though very imperfectly expressed, the knowledge of
God which proficients need and which is found in the illuminative
way. This period, in which the soul begins to contemplate God in the
spiritual mirror of the mysteries of salvation, already surpasses
the ascetical life; it is a beginning of the mystical life. A denial
of this fact would be a failure to recognize the grace of God. It
would likewise be a failure to recognize it if one should deny the
mystical character of The Imitation in which all interior souls may
find their nourishment. This mystical character is a sign that the
infused contemplation of the mysteries, which is discussed in this
book, is in the normal way of sanctity.
THE LOVE OF GOD AND OF SOULS IN PROFICIENTS
What is the normal effect of the interior lights received on the
mysteries of the life and death of our Savior, on that of eternal
life which is promised us? These lights lead the soul to love God,
no longer as in the preceding period, only by fleeing mortal sin and
deliberate venial sin, but by imitating the virtues of Christ, His
humility, meekness, patience, by observing not only the precepts
necessary for all, but the evangelical counsels of poverty,
chastity, obedience, or at least the spirit of these counsels, and
by avoiding imperfections.
Then with a greater abundance of interior light, the faithful soul
will receive, at least occasionally, keen desires for the glory of
God and the salvation of souls. Then that hunger and thirst after
the justice of God which Christ speaks of in the beatitudes will
grow. The soul will see the truth of His words: "If any man thirst,
let him come to Me, and drink. . . . Out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water." The soul will then receive, at least for a
time, a greater facility for prayer. Not infrequently there is at
this stage the infused prayer of quiet in which the will is
captivated for a very short time by the attraction of God.(7) Persons
dedicated to the apostolate have also in this period a greater
facility to act in the service of God, to teach, direct, and
organize works.
In such a life the soul loves God, no longer only "with its whole
heart" in the midst of sensible consolations, but "with all its
soul," with all its activities, not yet however "with all its
strength," as will happen in the night of the spirit, nor as yet
"with all its mind," for the soul is not yet established in this
superior region. That it may be established there, the passive purification of the higher part of
the soul will be needed, a purification that brings about the
disappearance of all the spiritual or intellectual pride which
still mingles in the facility for prayer and action, which we have
just mentioned. The soul has still a long road to travel, like Elias
who had to walk forty days and forty nights even to Mt. Horeb; but
the soul grows, its virtues develop and become solid virtues, the
expression of a love of God and souls, which is not only affective,
but effective or efficacious.
We shall now discuss these Christian virtues, their relation
especially to the love of God, as do the apostle St. John, St.
Paul, and all spiritual writers after them. For this reason we shall
insist on the moral virtues that have a closer relation to the
theological virtues: those of humility, meekness, and patience;
those that correspond to the counsels of poverty, chastity,
obedience; also those pointed out by Christ when He speaks of the
necessity of uniting the prudence of the serpent to the simplicity
of the dove, or to perfect sincerity. We shall thus be led to speak
of what the progress of the theological virtues and of the gifts of the Holy Ghost should
be in the illuminative way under the direction of the interior
Master. Thus we follow an ascending way toward union with God.(8)
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1. In Volume I, chapter 14, we stated that, just as there is in the
natural order, about the age of fourteen, a crisis of puberty and of
the awkward age in the passage from childhood to adolescence, and
another at twenty-two
years of age, the crisis of first liberty, when the young man leaves
his parents In order to live independently - so from the spiritual
point of view there is the crisis of the passive purification of the
senses, or the night of the senses, at the entrance to the
illuminative way, and later on the crisis of the passive purification
of the spirit, or night of the spirit, at the entrance to the unitive
way of the perfect, who truly merit this name.
2. Cf. IIa IIae, q. 180, a.6.
3. In the passage from St. Thomas which we have just cited, are
mentioned
three movements which symbolize the elevation of the contemplative
soul
toward God: the straight movement, the oblique or spiral movement, and
the circular movement.
In the period preceding that which we are speaking of, the soul,
starting
from sensible things, rose toward God like the bird which often rises
with a
straight movement toward the sky: for example, it rose from the
parable of
the prodigal son to the consideration of the mercy of God. In the
period
following the age of proficients, that is, in the unitive life, the
soul often attains to a contemplation called circular. In this contemplation the
soul returns
a number of times to the consideration of the divine goodness which
radiates
on all things, somewhat like an eagle, which rises into the air with a
spiral movement and then describes the same circle several times while
contemplating the sun and its radiation over the entire horizon.
4. John 8:31 f.
5. Wisd.4:12.
6. See I Cor. 4:7.
7. St. Teresa, The Interior Castle, fourth mansion.
8. In IIa IIae of the Summa, St. Thomas follows a descending way,
speaking first of the theological virtues and of the gifts which
accompany them, then of the moral virtues, descending from prudence to
justice, fortitude, and temperance. St. Thomas proceeds thus in a
speculative manner and according to the order of intention, in which
the end is willed before the means.
We shall follow the inverse way, according to the order of execution
or of realization, which rises toward the obtaining of the end
desired. We consider things here in a more practical and concrete
manner according to the progress of the proficient toward divine
union.
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