> [[at-sl-30|← B3 Ch. II Art. I]] | [[at-spiritual-life-toc|TOC]] | [[at-sl-32|B3 Ch. III →]] # Art. II. The Different Phases of Contemplation 1418\. Infused contemplation is not the same in all persons. God, Who is pleased to vary His gifts and to adapt them to the different temperaments and characters, does not confine His action within set forms; and so, when reading the mystics one finds very different forms of contemplation.[1] However, there seems to be a certain unity running through all this multiplicity which has enabled spiritual writers to classify the principal stages traversed by the mystics. We shall not present here the different classifications adopted by the different authors.[2] They distinguish a greater or lesser number of degrees, according to their point of view, and at times they reckon as different degrees what in reality are but varying forms of the same state. 1419\. Since all admit that St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross are the two great exponents of the mystic union, we shall keep to the divisions they give, and strive to combine them harmoniously. The various degrees are marked by a greater and greater hold of God on the soul. 1° When He takes possession of the subtile point of the soul, letting the lower faculties and the senses free to exercise their natural activity, we have the prayer of quiet. 2° When He seizes all the interior faculties, leaving merely the exterior senses to their own activity, we have the full union. 3° If He takes possession at the same time of the interior faculties and of the exterior senses, we have ecstatic union (spiritual espousals). 4° Lastly, once He extends His hold over all the internal and external faculties and this, no longer in a transitory manner, but in a stable and permanent fashion, we have the spiritual marriage. Such are the four degrees of contemplation according to St. Teresa. St. John of the Cross adds to these the nights or passive trials; but the first night is but a species of quietude, arid and crucifying; the second night comprises the sum-total of trials, which precede the spiritual marriage, and which are found in the full union and in the ecstatic union. Therefore, we shall treat of : ![[at-sl-img-16.jpeg]] ## § I. The Prayer of Quiet This prayer generally begins in its arid form and terminates in its sweet form. I. Arid Quietude or the Night of the Senses. 1420\. We have said that a great purity of heart is required for contemplation. Now, even advanced souls are subject to many imperfections, and experience, though in a milder form, a reawakening of the seven capital sins (n. 1264). In order to purify them still more and to prepare them for a higher degree of contemplation, God sends them various trials which are called passive trials because it is God Himself who causes them and the soul has but to accept them patiently. No one has described these trials better than St. John of the Cross does in the “Dark Night.” He calls them night because the divine action binds to some extent the sense-faculties in order to subject them to the mind, and prevents the mind in turn from reasoning, so that the latter finds itself in a kind of night: on the one hand, the mind can no longer exercise itself in discursive reasoning as it did before, and on the other, the light of contemplation it receives is so faint and so crucifying that the soul believes itself plunged into a night of darkness. The Saint distinguishes two nights: the first calculated above all to detach us from the things of sense, and therefore called the night of the senses; the second, to detach us from spiritual consolations and from all self-love. 1421\. Here we speak only of the night of the senses. “God establishes the soul in the dark night of sense,” says St. John of the Cross,[1] “that He may purify, prepare and subdue its lower nature, and unite it to the Spirit, by depriving it of light and causing it to cease from meditation.” This is a complex state of soul and a baffling mixture of darkness and light, of aridity and intense though hidden love of God, of real weakness and latent energy, difficult to analyze without falling into apparent contradictions. St. John of the Cross himself should be read with the help we shall try to furnish. With this end in view, we shall explain: 1° the constituent elements of this spiritual night; 2° the trials which attend it; 3° its advantages. 1° CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OF THIS ORDEAL 1422\. A) The first and foremost of these elements is infused contemplation, which God begins to communicate to the soul in a secret, obscure manner as yet unknown to the soul, but which produces there a painful and agonizing impression. This, the Saint[1] says, is a “commencement of contemplation, dim and dry to the senses, which is, in general, secret und unknown to him who is admitted into it;… it makes the soul long for solitude and quiet, without the power of reflecting distinctly, on anything or even desiring to do so.” To help us understand this state of soul, the Saint further on[2] employs the following comparison which it will be well to keep in mind from now on: “The first action of material fire on fuel is to dry it, to expel from it all the water and all the moisture. It blackens it at once and soils it, and drying it by little and little, makes it light and consumes all its foulness and blackness which are contrary to itself. Finally, having heated and set on fire its outward surface, it transforms the whole into itself, and makes it beautiful as itself. The fuel under these conditions retains neither active nor passive qualities of its own, except bulk and weight, and assumes all the properties and acts of fire. It becomes dry, being dry it glows, and glowing, burns; luminous, it gives light, and burns more quickly than before. All this is the property and effect of fire. It is in this way we have to reason about the divine fire of contemplative love which, before it unites with, and transforms the soul into itself, purges away all its contrary qualities. It expels its impurities, blackens it and obscures it, and thus its condition is apparently worse than it was before. For a while the divine purgation is removing all the evil and vicious humours, which, because so deeply rooted and settled in the soul, were neither seen nor felt, but now in order to their expulsion and annihilation, are rendered clearly visible in the dim light of the divine contemplation, the soul — though no worse in itself, nor in the sight of God — seeing at last what it never saw before, looks upon itself not only as unworthy of His regard, but even as a loathsome object, and that God does loath it.”[3] 1423\. B) This kind of contemplation produces in the soul a great aridity, not only in the sense-faculties which are deprived of consolations, but also in the higher faculties which can no longer meditate in a discursive way as they did before. This is a painful situation: accustomed to the light, these faculties find themselves plunged into darkness; formerly they knew how to reflect and to cause numerous affections to pour forth from the heart; but now they have lost that facility, and prayer becomes most painful. So it is, too, with the practice of the virtues: the efforts to grow in virtue once gladly made now appear arduous and forbidding. 1424\. It is important to distinguish this purifying dryness from that caused by negligence and lukewarmness. St. John of the Cross[1] gives us three signs by which to make this distinction: 1\) “The first is this: when we find no confort in the things of God, and none also in created things,” whereas the lukewarm while they have no inclination towards the things of God, do feel drawn to earthly pleasures. “But still, inasmuch as this absence of pleasure in the things of heaven and of earth may proceed from bodily indisposition or a melancholy temperament, which frequently cause dissatisfaction with all things, the second test and condition become necessary.” 2\) “The memory dwells ordinarily upon God with a painful anxiety and carefulness; the soul thinks it is not serving God, but going backwards, because it is no longer conscious of any sweetness in the things of God; the peculiarity of lukewarmness is the want of earnestness in, and of interior solicitude for, the things of God.” Likewise, when dryness comes from physical weakness, it produces nothing but disgust without the least sign of a desire of serving God such as accompanies purifying aridity, and which obscure contemplation infuses into the soul. 3\) “The third sign we have for ascertaining whether this dryness be the purgation of sense, is inability to meditate and to make reflections, and to excite the imagination, as before, notwithstanding all the efforts we may make; for God begins now to communicate Himself, no longer through the channel of sense as formerly, in consecutive reflections by which we arranged and divided our knowledge, but in pure spirit which admits not of successive reflections, and in the act of pure contemplation to which neither the interior nor exterior senses of our lower nature can ascend.” The Saint remarks however that this inability is not always continuous, and that at intervals one can return to ordinary meditation. Let us also note that this inability generally refers only to things spiritual; one is able to busy oneself with studies or business matters. 1425\. C) To this aridity is added a painful and persistent longing for a more intimate union with God. At first this desire is not felt, but “the more it grows, the more the soul feels itself touched and inflamed with the love of God, without knowing or understanding how or whence that love comes, except that at times this burning so inflames it that it longs earnestly after God… Secret contemplation keeps the soul in this state of anxiety, until, in the course of time, having purged the sensual nature of man, in some degree, of its natural forces and affections by means of the aridities it occasions, it shall have kindled within it this divine love. But in the meantime, like a sick man in the hands of his physician, all it has to do, in the dark night and dry purgation of the desire, is to suffer, healing its many imperfections and practising many virtues that it may become meet for the divine love.”[1] The soul is now turned towards God and no longer desires creatures; but this turning to God is as yet vague and confused; it is like homesickness for God; the soul longs to be united to Him and to possess Him. If it has not so far experienced quietude in its sweet form, the attraction is indistinct, the longing undefined, the uneasiness indefinable; but if it has already experienced the mystic union, the desire to return to it is clear and well-defined.[2] 2° TRIALS WHICH ATTEND THE NIGHT OF THE SENSES 1426\. Spiritual writers generally give a terrifying account of these trials, because they describe what transpires in the souls of the Saints, who, being called to a high degree of contemplation, have to bear very heavy crosses. There are however other souls called to a less exalted degree who are not so severely tried. It is well to know this, in order to reassure timid souls whom the fear of the cross might hinder from entering into this path. It must be remembered that God proportions His graces to the severity of the trials. A) Besides that persistent dryness of which we have spoken, the soul also undergoes terrible temptations: 1) against faith: feeling nothing, it imagines that it believes nothing; 2) against hope : deprived of consolations, it believes itself abandoned, and is tempted to weariness and discouragement; 3) against chastity: “to some is sent the tool of Satan, the spirit of impurity to buffet them with horrible and violent temptations of the flesh, to trouble their minds with filthy thoughts, and their imaginations with representations of sin most vividly depicted; at times, becomes an affliction more grievous than death;”[1] 4) against patience: amidst all this weariness, the soul is tempted to complain of others or of self; blasphemous thoughts present themselves to the imagination in such a vivid manner that the tongue seems to utter them; 5) against peace of soul: obsessed by a thousand scruples and perplexities, the soul becomes so enmeshed in its own ideas that it can follow no advice nor yield to any reasoning; this is a source of the most intense pain. 1427\. B) One likewise suffers from the actions of others: 1) at times from the repeated and varied persecutions of unbelievers: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution;”[2] 2) sometimes also from superiors or friends who, not being able to understand such a condition, are unfavorably impressed by one’s failures and persistent aridities; 3) at other times from the spiritual director, who either mistakes this state of soul for lukewarmness, or is unable to relieve such distress. C) Evils from without come sometimes to add to this suffering from within: 1) one becomes a prey to strange ailments which baffle physicians; 2) one cannot succeed as one did before, on account of the helplessness in which one finds oneself, or because one is absorbed in these interior sufferings: one feels stupid, and others become aware of the fact; 3) one undergoes at times temporal losses which bring about a precarious situation, in a word, it seems as if heaven and earth had joined against this poor soul. In many cases these trials are natural and do not go beyond what God sends fervent souls in order to procure their perfection. But in other instances, these trials are really mystic: they are recognized by their suddenness, by their keenness, and by the good effects they produce in the soul. 3° ADVANTAGES OF THIS PURIFICATION To be introduced into passive contemplation, even though it is dark and painful, is already a great benefit; in addition, there are others which St. John of the Cross calls accessory advantages. 1428\. 1° The experimental knowledge of self and one’s miseries: “The soul counts itself for nothing, having no satisfaction in itself, because it sees of itself it does and can do nothing. God then esteems more highly this diminished satisfaction with self and the affliction it feels because it thinks it is not serving God, than He did all its former delights and all its good works, however great they may have been… The soul learns to commune with God with more respect and reverence, always necessary in converse with the Most High. Now, in its prosperous days of sweetness and consolation, the soul was less observant of reverence, for the favours it then received rendered the desire somewhat bold with God, and less reverent than it should have been.”[1] Thus, the virtue of religion gains by this purification. 1429\. 2° The knowledge of God becomes purer and truer, and the love for Him more independent of feeling. The soul no longer seeks for consolations: it wants but to please God: “It is not presumptuous and self-satisfied, as perhaps it may have been in the day of its prosperity, but timid and diffident, without any self-satisfaction. Herein consists that holy fear by which virtues are preserved and grow.”[2] 1430\. 3° The soul is thereby cured of the capital sins in their more refined form (cf. n. 1263). a) The soul now practices humility, not only towards God, but also towards the neighbor: “Now, seeing itself so parched and miserable, it does not enter into its thoughts, even for a moment, to consider itself better than others… on the contrary, it acknowledges that others are better. Out of this grows the love of our neighbor, for it now esteems them, and no longer judges them as it used to do… Now, it sees nothing but its own misery, which it keeps so constantly before its eyes that it can look upon nothing else.”[3] b) It practices spiritual sobriety : since it can no longer feed upon sensible consolations, it gradually detaches itself from them, as well as from all created things, in order to concern itself solely with eternal goods; this is the beginning of spiritual peace which before was disturbed by consolations and attachments to creatures. In the midst of this peace, the soul exercises itself in fortitude, patience and longanimity, by persevering in practices which offer neither consolation nor attraction. c) With regard to spiritual vices, such as envy, anger, sloth, the soul rids itself of them and acquires the contrary virtues: having become docile and humble under the influence of aridities and temptations, it becomes more tolerant with itself and with others; charity displaces envy, because humility causes the soul to admire the qualities of others; and the better it sees its own faults, the more it feels constrained to labor and exert itself in order to correct them. 1431\. 4° Lastly, God seasons these aridities with a certain amount of spiritual consolation. When the soul least expects it, He gives it vivid intellectual lights and a pure love. These favors are far superior to anything previously experienced, and more sanctifying, although at the beginning they do not appear so, because this divine influence remains hidden. To sum up, these aridities make the soul advance in the pure love of God: it no longer acts under the influence of consolations, and its only wish is to please God. No more the presumption and vain complacency of former days of sensible fervor; no longer those impetuous actions, those over-ardent and natural aspirations! Spiritual peace has already begun to reign in the heart.[1] Conclusion: The Course to Follow in this Trial 1432\. The spiritual director of souls who pass through this trial must show them the greatest kindness and devotedness; he must enlighten and comfort them by telling them frankly that this is a purifying ordeal, and that they will come out of it better, purer, humbler, better grounded in virtue and more pleasing to God. a) The chief disposition which must be instilled into them is that of holy abandonment to God: they must kiss the Hand that strikes them, by acknowledging that they have indeed merited these trials; they must join Jesus in His agony and humbly repeat His words: “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”[2] b) In spite of dryness, they must persevere in prayer, in union with Our Lord, Who “being in agony, prayed the longer.”[3] The words of St. Teresa[4] should be kept in mind: “Whoever has begun mental prayer, I wish him not to give it up, whatever sins he may commit in the meantime, since this is the means by which he may recover himself again; but without it, he will find the work much more difficult. And let not the devil tempt him, as he did me, to leave it off through a motive of humility,” and, we might add, under pretext that it is useless. 1433\. c) But there must be no return to discursive meditation once they have ascertained their inability to pray in that manner; they must keep their souls at rest, even though it may appear they are doing nothing, and they must be content with a loving and peaceful gaze on God. “For if a man while sitting for his portrait cannot be still, but moves about, the painter will never depict his face, and even the work already done will be spoiled. In the same way when the soul interiorly rests, every action and passion, or anxious consideration at that time will distract and disturb it;”[1] and so when God wants to imprint His likeness upon their souls, and suspends the activity of their faculties, they have but to abide in peace, and through this peace the spirit of love will flare up and burn more brightly within them. This state of repose is by no means one of inaction; it is rather a different kind of occupation, which excludes sloth and languor. They must therefore expel distractions, and if in order to do so they must return to considerations, let them not hesitate, provided they can accomplish this without violent efforts. 1434\. d) As to the virtues, it is evident that they must continue to cultivate them, particularly those that are proper to their state of life: humility, self-denial, patience, charity towards the neighbor, love of God through conformity to His holy will, and trustful prayer. They must practice all these virtues in a spirit of holy abandonment into the hands of God; and if they go about this courageously, this state of soul will prove a gold mine which will yield great profits. e) The duration of this trial varies according to the designs of God, the degree of union to which He destines the soul, and the number of imperfections from which it must still be purified. Spiritual writers tells us that this period may extend from two to fifteen years.[2] But there are intervals of respite, during which the soul is at peace, enjoys God, and builds up strength for future combats; hence, the need of patience, confidence and holy abandonment. This is, in summary, what the spiritual director must urge on these sorely tried souls. II\. Sweet Quietude 1435\. In treating this and the following states of soul, we shall make use, chiefly, of the Works of St. Teresa, who has described this prayer with a clarity of vision and a precision that have never been excelled. She calls it by various names: the Fourth Mansion of the Interior Castle,[3] or the prayer of Divine Delights, because it is here that for the first time the presence of God is felt by a kind of spiritual delight; in her Life (C. XIV) she calls it the prayer of quiet and she explains it by the second way of watering the garden. Other writers call it the prayer of silence, precisely because the soul then ceases to reason. This prayer has, as it were, three distinct phases: 1° passive recollection, a preparation for it; 2° quietude properly so called; 3° the sleep of the faculties, which completes it and prepares for the full union of the faculties. 1° PASSIVE RECOLLECTION 1436\. A) Nature. This kind of recollection is called passive in order to distinguish it from active recollection, which is acquired through our own efforts aided by grace (n. 1317). Passive recollection is not obtained “by means of the understanding labouring to consider God within itself, nor by the imagination representing Him within us,”[1] but by a direct action of divine grace upon our faculties. On this account St. Teresa calls it the first supernatural prayer of which she had experience: “It is an inward recollection felt in the soul, seeming to it as though it possessed other senses analogous to the exterior ones. The soul seems as if it would want to withdraw from the din of the latter; and thus sometimes it does draw them after itself; and one longs to close the eyes and neither hear nor see anything, nor be aware of anything but that which it does then, that is, to converse all alone with God. In this state, the senses and faculties are not suspended; they remain in the soul’s possession, but they so remain in order to be applied to God.”[2] In another place she explains this by a graceful comparison: “Our faculties and senses had gone out (of the castle) to associate with strangers.” Afterwards realizing their fault, they drew nigh again to the castle, though not yet resolved to enter. The Great King within the castle is willing in His mercy to call them back to Him: “Like a good shepherd (acts towards his sheep) He makes them know His voice by so sweet a call, that they themselves can scarcely hear it. This He does that they may not wander and be lost, but return to their mansion. This call of the Shepherd has such power, that they immediately abandon all those external things which deceived them, and hasten into the castle. Methinks I have never explained myself in the way I have now.”[1] St. Francis de Sales furnishes us with a no less telling comparison: “As when a loadstone is placed in the midst of several needles, they immediately turn towards the magnet and fix themselves firmly thereto, so something similar occurs when the Almighty favours us with His sensible presence: the faculties of the soul then direct all their strength and activity to the spot where it is most sensibly felt, in order that they may enjoy the company of their God, Who communicates such ineffable delights.”[2] Passive recollection may therefore be defined as a gentle and affectionate absorption of the mind and the heart in God produced by a special grace of the Holy Ghost. 1437\. B) Course To Follow During This Prayer. This favor is ordinarily a prelude to the prayer of quiet; but it may be but transitory, as on certain occasions when one abounds in fervor, for instance at the time of receiving the religious habit, or of taking vows, or of receiving orders. From this fact two practical conclusions follow: a) If God plunges us into this prayer of recollection, let us gently keep the understanding from reasoning, but without endeavoring to suspend it altogether: “We should, without any violence or noise, keep the understanding from discoursing, but not suspend it, nor the imagination either; it is good for the soul to remember that it is in the presence of God, and who this God is. If what the understanding feels in itself absorbs it, well and good; but let it not try to understand what this is; for such a gift is bestowed on the will. Let the soul enjoy it without the interference of its own efforts, limiting itself to the utterance of some few words of love.”[3] b) But if God does not speak to our heart, “if we perceive that this King has not heard us, nor pays any heed to us, we must stand there like dolts,” says St. Teresa. “For when the soul strives to bind its thoughts, it experiences a still greater aridity than before, and the very effort it makes to think of nothing makes the imagination more active. Besides, we must have but God’s glory in view, not Gur consolations and personal tastes. When His Divine Majesty wishes the understanding to leave off discoursing, He employs it in another way, and gives it a light and knowledge so far above what we can arrive at, that He makes it to remain absorbed.”[1] Outside of this however our faculties are made for action. 2° QUIETUDE PROPERLY SO CALLED We shall explain its nature, its origin, its development, its various forms, and the course to follow during this prayer. 1438\. A) Nature. In this prayer the higher faculties of the soul, the intellect and the will, are seized by God and made to enjoy a very gentle repose and a very keen joy. at His Presence; but the understanding, the memory and the imagination remain free and are at times a source of distractions. a) St. Teresa explains in the following manner the supernatural character of this prayer, and the way in which the will is seized by God.[2] “This is something supernatural, which we cannot acquire by all our diligence, because it is a settling of the soul in peace; or rather, to speak more correctly, Our Lord leads her into peace, just as He did holy Simeon, for all the faculties are calmed. The soul understands, in a manner different from understanding by the exterior senses, that she is now placed near her God, and that in a very short time, she will become one with Him by union. This does not happen because she sees Him with the eyes of the body or of the soul,… but that she sees herself in the kingdom (at least, near the King Who is to give it to her), and the soul seems so impressed with such reverence that then she dare not ask anything… Here the will is a captive, and if she feel any pain in this state, it is to see that she is to return to her former liberty… Nothing troubles them (those who are in this state) and it seems nothing can do so. In a word, while this continues, they are so inebriated and absorbed with the delight and satisfaction contained therein, that they remember not that there is anything more to desire; and they exclaim with St. Peter: Lord let us make here three tabernacles.”[3] The Saint adds that, since the will alone is made captive, the other two faculties may wander. “The will must not heed them, but abide in the enjoyment of her pleasure and quiet; for if it seeks to recollect them, both she and they will roam.”[4] It is especially the imagination which strays at times and fatigues us by its deafening noise: “Let the mill-clapper go round and let us but heed the grinding of our own meal, not halting the action of our will and understanding.”[5] 1439\. b) The spiritual joy produced in the state of quietude is quite different from that experienced in active prayer. St. Teresa explains this difference by contrasting the divine delights produced by contemplation with the joys or consolations of active prayer. There is a twofold difference proceeding from the source and the effects of these prayers. 1\) The divine delights come directly from the action of God, whilst the joys come from our activity aided by grace. In order to make this clear, St. Teresa employs the comparison of the two cisterns supplied with water in different ways. In the one the water is brought from a distance through pipes, and rushes in with a noise; this resembles the consolations experienced in active prayer. The other cistern is fed by a spring rising from its depths and is filled noiselessly; this represents contemplation, or the water of consolation “which God causes to flow from our inmost soul, with great peace and calm and gentleness.”[1] 2\) Thus, the joys of contemplation are far superior to those of active prayer: “When this heavenly water begins to rise from the source… our whole interior seems to be enlarging and dilating, and producing certain delights which cannot be expressed. Neither can the soul understand what this is which is here given to her. A certain fragrance is diffused, as if (I may say so) some odoriferous perfumes were cast into a brasier, without any light being seen, or the place whence the odour comes…”[2] But the Saint adds that this is a very imperfect comparison. In her Life,[3] she states that such joys resemble those of heaven and that the soul loses all craving for the things of earth: “She sees clearly that even one moment of these pleasures cannot be purchased here below; and that no riches, nor dominions, nor honors, nor delights are capable of giving such happiness even for one instant, because this joy is real and we feel it satisfies us…” The principal cause of this joy is the presence of God felt: “God, for His greatness’ sake, is pleased that this soul should now understand that His Divine Majesty is so close to her, that there is no need of sending any messenger to her; that she but needs to speak, herself, to Him, though not by word of mouth, since, being so near to her, He understands her even by the sole motion of her lips.”[4] Of course, the Saint goes on to say that God is ever with us; but it is question here of a special presence: “This Divine Sovereign, our Master, wishes we should here understand that He knows us, and that we should feel the effects of His presence; that He particularly wishes to begin to work in our soul by giving her a great interior and exterior satisfaction.”[5] 1440\. c) This dilatation of the heart produces excellent virtuous dispositions, particularly a fear of offending God (which replaces the fear of hell), love of penance and of crosses, humility, contempt for worldly joys: — 1\) “Neither is she distressed through the fear of hell; for though she feels greater fear now for having offended God, yet she is free from servile fear, and has a great confidence that she shall enjoy Him.” 2) The fear she used to have of losing her health by doing penance has now ceased, and she thinks she can do all in God, as she has greater desires than ever of using austerities. The fear of afflictions, likewise, which she used to have, is now more moderate, because she has a more lively faith, for she knows that if she bears them for God’s sake, His Majesty will give her grace to bear them with patience; nay sometimes she desires them, since she has a great desire to do something for God. 3) And as she now understands His greatness better, she accordingly esteems herself more vile. 4) Having, likewise, tried the delights of God, she finds those of the world but dung (in comparison); she separates herself from them by little and little, and for doing this she has more command over herself. In a word, she has improved in all virtues, and will not fail to go on increasing, unless she should relapse and offend God again, for then all is lost, however highly raised a soul may have been in virtue and contemplation.”[1] 1441\. Definition. From this description one may conclude that quietude is a supernatural state of prayer, not wholly passive, which is produced in the superior part of the soul and causes the latter to feel and relish God present within it. It is a supernatural state of prayer, that is to say, infused. In this we differ from some writers of the Carmelite School, who considering it as a prayer of transition, are of the opinion that it can be acquired in the same way as the prayer of simplicity. With them we say that it is not wholly passive, since only the will (with the intellect) is seized, while the power of reasoning and of the imagination remain free to roam. As to the divine delights and the virtues which are the fruits of this prayer, we have sufficiently explained them in n. 1439. 1442\. B) Origin and Growth of Quietude. a) Generally speaking, this form of prayer is granted to souls that are already accustomed to meditation for a notable period of time, and have passed through the night of the senses. Still, it is sometimes preceded by the latter, especially in the case of children or innocent souls who have no need of a special purification. b) At first it is granted but at intervals, and in a rather faint and unconscious manner; it is of short duration, lasting, for instance, for the space of a Hail Mary,[2] as St. Teresa says. Later on it becomes more frequent and more prolonged, extending over a half-hour. But, since it does not always come suddenly nor stop abruptly, it may, from its first inception to its final cessation, endure for a full hour or even longer. Moreover, when it is active (n. 1445) and accompanied by spiritual inebriation, it may continue through an entire day or even two, without in any way interfering with the ordinary occupations. c) As long as the purification of the soul is.not completed, quietude may occur alternately in its sweet or in its arid form. d) A time comes when quietude becomes habitual: then one enters into it from the moment one begins to pray. At times one is even seized by it unawares, even in the midst of the most common-place occupations. It also tends to become stronger and more conscious, and if the soul corresponds with grace, it develops into the full union and ecstasy. But if the soul is not faithful, it may fail and fall back into discursive meditation, or even suffer the loss of grace. 1443\. C) Forms or Varieties of Quietude. There are three principal forms: silent, praying, and active quietude.[1] a) In silent quietude, the soul contemplates God in the midst of a loving stillness, admiration so to speak stifling every utterance. The will immersed in God and burning with love for Him rests joyfully in Him through a union that is calm, tranquil and sweet. Like a mother who feasts her eyes upon her child, the soul lovingly contemplates its God. “The soul,” says St. Teresa,[2] “is like the child that sucks, lying at his mother’s breast; and she, to please him, without moving his lips, forces the milk into his mouth.” So it is here; for the will continues to love without any labor on the part of the understanding. 1444\. b) At times the soul, unable to contain its love, pours itself forth in ardent prayer. This is praying quietude: now it gives vent to sweet colloquies, now it abandons itself to the effusions of its tenderness and calls upon all creatures to praise God: “She utters a thousand holy extravagances, always endeavoring to please Thee, who holdest her in this state.”[3] In that state St. Teresa composed stanzas to describe her love and her suffering. Sometimes God responds to such outbursts of love with affectionate caresses, which produce a species of spiritual inebriation. According to St. Francis de Sales this heavenly intoxication “renders us more alive to spiritual things by alienating the corporal senses; it does not reduce us to a level with brute creation, but renders us participators of the angelic, and even of the divine, nature; it transports us out of ourselves to elevate us above ourselves.”[4] 1445\. c) There are cases in which quietude becomes active. When the quietude is profound and prolonged, says St. Teresa,[1] (since the will alone is held captive), the other faculties are free to attend to things relating to God’s service; and this they do with far greater energy. Then, while the soul is engaged in exterior works it continues to love God ardently: this is the union of action and contemplation, of the service of Martha and the love of Mary. 3° THE SLEEP OF THE FACULTIES 1446\. This third phase of quietude is a still higher form of prayer which prepares for the full union of the interior faculties with God. St. Teresa described it in the seventeenth chapter of her autobiography: “Now, I often have this kind of union whereof I am speaking; ana Almighty God is very often pleased to bestow this favor upon me in such a manner, that He makes my will and also my understanding recollected; and then it no longer discourses, but is occupied in the enjoyment of God, as one who is looking on, and who sees so much, that he knows not which way to look… The memory remains free and so also seems to be the imagination: and when it sees itself alone one cannot conceive what a war it makes upon the will and the under standing, and how it endeavors to put everything in confusion. It makes me quite tired, so that I abhor it; and often I have besough-Our Lord to deprive me entirely of it on these occasions, if it should continue to distract me… just like those importunate and restless little gnats which buzz about by night here and there. This comparison seems to me to be extremely proper; for though these faculties have no strength to do harm, yet they trouble those who feel them.” As to the means of overcoming such wanderings, she notes but one: “To consider the memory no better than a madman, and to leave it alone with its madness, for God only can check its extravagances.” As one can see, this is a prayer of quiet, in which the understanding itself is seized by God, but in which the imagination continues to wander. It is a preparation for the full union. THE COURSE TO FOLLOW DURING THE PRAYER OF QUIET 1447\. The general disposition to be fostered in this state is that of humble abandonment into the hands of God from the very beginning to the end and throughout all the phases of this prayer. a) One must not, then, make efforts to put oneself in this state by striving to suspend the functions of the faculties and even to hold one’s breath: this would be wasted effort, since God alone can grant contemplation. b) As soon as one is aware of the divine action, one must adapt oneself to it as perfectly as possible, giving up reflection and following the motions of grace with great docility. 1\) If we are called to the state of loving silence, let us contemplate and love uttering not a word, or at the most a few tender words, in order to rekindle the flame of love, but without making any violent efforts that might extinguish it. 2\) If we are inclined to make acts, if our affections burst forth as from a spring, let us pray gently, without any noise of words, but with an ardent desire to be heard. “A few little straws… presented with humility, will be much more for the purpose, and will be of greater help in enkindling the fire of divine love, than great logs of wood — I mean by these those discourses that seem to us so learned, and which might extinguish that fire in the space of time required to recite the Creed.”[1] Above all, adds St. Francis de Sales,[2] we must avoid violent, immoderate outbursts which weary the heart and the nerves, as well as those disturbing reflections by which we try to discover whether the tranquility we enjoy is indeed tranquil. 3\) If the understanding and the imagination wander, let us not be disturbed; let us not go in pursuit of them; let the will “remain in the enjoyment of the favor which has been granted it, as the busy bee remains in the depths of its cell. If, instead, of entering into the hive, the bees were to go in pursuit of one another, how could any honey be made?” ## § II. The Prayer of Full Union 1448\. This prayer, which corresponds to the Fifth Mansion, is called simple union or full union of the interior faculties, because in it the soul is united to God, not only through the will, but also through all the interior faculties. It is therefore more perfect than the prayer of quiet. We shall describe the nature and the effects of this prayer. I. Nature of the Prayer of Union 1449\. 1° Its essential characteristics are two: the suspension of all the faculties, and the absolute certitude that God is present in the soul. “To return now to the proof which I said was certain. You see that God makes this soul quite stupid, in order the better to imprint upon her true wisdom; hence, she neither sees nor heeds, nor understands, nor perceives all the time she is in this state, which is always short; and, indeed, it seems to her shorter than it is.”[3] In other words, not only the will, but the understanding, the imagination, and the memory are suspended in their functions. St. Teresa goes on: “God so fixes Himself in the interior of this soul, that when she comes to herself, she cannot but believe she was in God and that God was in her.[4] This truth in so deeply rooted in her, that though many years may pass away before God bestows the like favor upon her, she never forgets it or doubts it.”[5] 1450\. 2° From these two characteristics three others flow: a) The absence of distractions, since the whole soul is entirely absorbed in God. b) The absence of fatigue: personal effort is reduced to very little; to abandon oneself to the good pleasure of God suffices. The Manna of Heaven falls upon the soul, which has but to enjoy it; and so this prayer, no matter how long it may endure, causes no injury to health.[1] c) An extraordinary abundance of joy. “In this degree one feels nothing, one but enjoys, though yet without understanding what is enjoyed. One knows, however, that a certain good is possessed in which all blessings are comprised. All the senses are occupied with this joy in such a manner that they cannot apply themselves to anything else, either interiorly or exteriorly…”[2] The Saint adds that a simple moment of such pure delights suffices to compensate for all earthly sufferings. This prayer therefore differs from quietude, in which only the will is seized, and in which one wonders at times whether the soul has been really united to God. We may define it as a most intimate union of the soul with God, accompanied by the suspension of all the interior faculties, and of the certitude of God’s presence within the soul. II\. Effects of the Prayer of Union 1451\. 1° The principal effect is a marvellous transformation of the soul which, according to St. Teresa, can be compared to the metamorphosis of the silk-worm. “These little worms feed on mulberry leaves, till afterwards they become bigger and then on the boughs they go spinning silk with their little mouths, and making little cells very close, in which they are enclosed. From this cell or bag, which contains a large but ugly worm that dies, there afterwards rises a white and very beautiful butterfly.”[3] This is an image of the wondrous change that takes place in the soul through the prayer of union. This soul, which before feared the Cross, now feels full of generosity, and is ready to make the most painful sacrifices for God’s sake. Here St. Teresa enters into some detail. She describes the ardent zeal which spurs the soul on to glorify God, to make Him known and loved by all; the detachment from creatures, whereby the soul goes so far as to desire to quit this world where God is offended so often; the perfect submission to the will of God, whereby the soul offers no more resistance to grace than does soft wax to the seal impressed upon it; the great charity towards the neighbor, which is manifested by deeds, and which causes the soul to rejoice at the praises conferred upon others.[1] 1452\. 2° This union is the prelude to another one more perfect still. It is like the first meeting with the betrothed, soon to be followed, if we correspond with grace, by the spiritual espousal and finally by the mystical marriage. St. Teresa urges those in this state to make progress in the way of detachment and love. Any halt would be followed by laxity and backsliding.[2] ## § III. Ecstatic Union (Spiritual Espousal) This union presents itself in two forms: the sweet and the bitter. I. Sweet Ecstatic Union 1453\. The word ecstasy does not necessarily include the phenomenon. of levitation, of which we shall speak in the following chapter; it refers simply to the suspension of the activity of the exterior senses. Ecstatic union is therefore more perfect than the two preceding ones, since it comprises, over and above the elements peculiar to the former, this suspension of the activity of the external senses. We shall describe: 1° its nature; 2° its phases or degrees; 3° its effects. 1° NATURE OF THE ECSTATIC UNION 1454\. There are two elements which constitute this union: the absorption of the soul in God and the suspension of the activity of the senses. It is because the soul is wholly absorbed in God that the outward senses appear to be riveted on Him or on the object which He presents to them. A) Two principal causes give rise to the absorption in God, as St. Francis de Sales so well explains:[3] a) “Our admiration is excited when we discover a truth with which we were not previously acquainted, and did not expect to know. When beauty and goodness are joined to this truth, the admiration produced by the discovery is extremely pleasing… Thus, when it pleases God to enlighten the understanding of the devout soul, and to raise her to an extraordinary degree of contemplation, she sees the divine mysteries more clearly and perfectly than before, and discovers in them new beauties and attractions which fill her with admiration… When the subject of admiration is pleasing, the mind is closely attached thereto, not only on account of its great beauty, but also because of the fact that this great beauty has been newly discovered; it cannot be satiated with contemplating what it had never seen before, and finds so lovely.” b) To admiration is joined love: “God touches the will by the attractions of His sweetness, and the will, inflamed with love, quickly forgets its terrestrial inclinations, to bound towards God and to be totally absorbed in Him, as a needle which has been touched with a loadstone seems to forget its natural insensibility to turn to the pole. The predominant features of this kind of rapture are not knowledge, sublime visions, admiration and speculative science, but affection, sensible consolation and enjoyment.” 1455\. c) Moreover, admiration grows through love, and love through admiration: “The understanding is sometimes replenished with admiration at the view of the happiness enjoyed by the will in its ecstasy; and the will often receives a new degree of pleasure from witnessing the admiration of the understanding, so that these two powers mutually communicate their rapture.”[1] It is not surprising that a soul thus given to the contemplation and the love of God, is at it were out of itself, ravished and borne towards Him. If one who lets himself be carried away by the passion of human love goes so far as to abandon all in order to yield himself to the object of his love, is there any cause for wonder if divine love, impressed upon a soul by God Himself, so absorbs it that it comes to forget all else in order to behold and to love Him alone? 1456\. B) The suspension of the senses is the outcome of this absorption in God. It takes place gradually and does not reach the same degree in all. a) In what regards the exterior senses: 1\) At first, a more or less pronounced state of insensibility sets in together with a slowing down of the physical life, of breathing, and as a consequence of the natural body-heat: “One feels that natural warmth wanes, and that the body gradually cools, but with a gentleness and delight that are unspeakable.” 2\) A sort of immobility ensues which causes the body to preserve the attitude in which it was when seized by the ecstasy; the eyes remain fixed upon some invisible object. 3\) This condition, which should naturally weaken the body, rather imparts to it new energies.[2] True, at the moment of returning consciousness one feels a certain sense of fatigue, but this is followed by a recrudescence of vigor. 4\) At times, the suspension of the senses is complete; at others, it remains incomplete and permits a narration of the revelations received, as can be seen in the life of St. Catherine of Siena. b) The interior senses are still more completely suspended than in the mystic union, of which we have already spoken. 1457\. c) The question suggests itself as to whether free-will itself is not suspended. The common opinion based on such authorities as St. Thomas, Suarez, St. Teresa, Alvarez de Paz is that free-will remains, and that therefore the soul in ecstasy can merit. In fact, the soul freely accepts the spiritual favors that are then granted to it. d) The duration of the ecstasy varies greatly. Complete ecstasy generally lasts but a few moments, at times a half-hour; but, since it is preceded and followed by moments of incomplete ecstasy, it may extend over several days if all its fluctuations are taken into account. e) One comes out of the ecstasy by a reawakening, spontaneous or provoked: 1) in the first instance one experiences a kind of anguish, as if one were returning from another world, and then it is but gradually that the soul regains its control over the body. 2\) In the second case, the reawakening is provoked by the command of a superior: if this command is vocal, it is always obeyed; if it is but mental, it is not always answered. 2° THE THREE PHASES OF ECSTATIC UNION 1458\. There are three principal phases in ecstasy: simple ecstasy, rapture, and the flight of the spirit. a) Simple ecstasy is a sort of fainting-spell which comes on gently and produces a sense of hurt at once painful and delightful. The Spouse of the soul makes it feel His presence, but only for a time. Now, the soul wants to have the joy of this divine presence continually and therefore suffers when deprived of it. Nevertheless, this enjoyment is always more delightful now than it was in the prayer of quiet. Let us see what St. Teresa[1] has to say on this matter: “The soul feels herself to be most delightfully wounded, but she neither knows how, nor by whom. She knows well it is a favor which is to be prized, and she wishes never to be healed: she complains in words of love, to her Spouse, and the words are external; she cannot do otherwise, knowing Him to be present but not willing to manifest Himself. This is a great but pleasant affliction… for it gives her more delight than the suspension of the Prayer of Quiet, which has no such affliction attached to it.” It is already in this phase that the supernatural utterances and revelations occur of which we shall speak further on. 1459\. b) Rapture takes hold of the soul with an impetuosity and a violence that are irresistible. It is as if one were carried on the wings of a powerful eagle, but whither one knows not. In spite of the pleasure experienced, natural weakness at first causes a sense of fear. “But this fear is mixed with an ardent and fresh love for Him Who shows such tender love to a worm that is nothing but corruption.”[1] It is in the state of rapture that the spiritual espousal is concluded; and this is a precaution on the part of God; for were one to preserve the use of one’s senses, one would perhaps die at seeing oneself so near to that Supreme Majesty.[2] Once the rapture is over, the will remains as it were inebriated, and can no longer occupy itself save with God; disgusted with the things of earth, it has an insatiable desire to do penance, so much so that it complains in the absence of suffering.[3] 1460\. c) Rapture is followed by the flight of the spirit, which is so impetuous that it seems to sever the soul from the body, and resistance appears impossible. “It seems to the soul,” says St. Teresa, “that she has been altogether in another region quite different from this world in which we live, and there another light is shown to her very different from this here below; and though she should employ all her life long in trying to form an idea of this and other wonders, yet it would be impossible to understand them. She is in an instant taught so many things together, that should she spend many years in arranging them in her thoughts and imagination, she could not remember the one-thousandth of them.”[4] 3° PRINCIPAL EFFECTS OF ECSTATIC UNION 1461\. A) The one effect which includes all others is a great holiness of life, even to the point of heroism. So true is this that where such holiness does not exist the ecstasy itself is open to suspicion. St. Francis de Sales[5] makes this statement: “A soul may be transported beyond herself in prayer; but if she be not habitually united to God, and elevated to the divinity by a life superior to nature and the senses: if her conduct does not visibly display that ecstasy of action and operation which is accomplished by a renunciation of worldly desires, of self-will, of the inclinations of corrupt nature, and the practice of interior virtues, as humility of heart, meekness, simplicity, a constant tender charity for our neighbor, raptures serve only to attract the admiration of men without rendering her more pleasing to God.” 1462 B) The principal virtues produced by the ecstatic union, are: 1) a perfect detachment from creatures: God, so to speak, makes the soul come to the highest ramparts of a fortress, from which it clearly sees the nothingness of things here below. So, from now on it does not want to have any will of its own; it would even wish to forego the possession of its free-will, were that possible. 2) An immense sorrow for sins committed: what pains it most is not the fear of hell, but that of offending God. 3) A frequent and tender vision of Our Lord’s Sacred Humanity and of the Most Blessed Virgin. A wonderful companionship indeed, that of Jesus and Mary! Imaginative and intellectual visions become more numerous and complete the work of detaching the soul from creatures and of burying it in humility. 4) Lastly, a marvelous patience to withstand courageously the new passive trials which Almighty God sends, and which are called the purification of love. Burning with the desire to see God, the soul feels as if it were pierced through and through by a fiery dart, and cries out in anguish at seeing itself separated from the sole Object of its love. This is the beginning of a veritable martyrdom, a martyrdom of soul and body, accompanied by an ardent desire to die so as never to be separated from the Well-Beloved, a martyrdom relieved at times by inebriating delights. We shall understand this better after studying the Second Night of St. John of the Cross, the Night of the Spirit. II\. The Night of the Spirit 1463\. The First Night purified the soul to make it ready for the joys of quietude, of union and of ecstasy. But before entering into the still purer and more lasting joys of the spiritual marriage, there is need of a more profound and radical purification which generally takes place in the course of the ecstatic union. We shall explain: 1° the reason for such a purification; 2° the severe trials which attend it; 3° the blessed results which follow from it. 1° REASON FOR THE NIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 1464\. To be united to God in a manner so intimate and lasting as one is in the transforming union or spiritual marriage, one must necessarily be free from the last remaining imperfections. These imperfections, St. John of the Cross[1] tells us, are of two kinds, habitual and actual. A) The former comprise two things: a) imperfect affections and habits; they are as it were roots, imbedded in the depths of the soul, to which the purification of the senses could not reach; for instance, friendships a bit too ardent; these must be uprooted; b) a certain dullness of mind which makes one subject to distractions from within and to attractions from without. These frailties are incompatible with a perfect union of the soul with God. B) Actual imperfections are also of two kinds: a) a certain pride, a vain self-complacency resulting from the abundance of spiritual consolations received. This attitude at times leads to illusions and makes one mistake false visions and prophecies for true ones; b) over-boldness towards God, causing one to lose that reverential fear of Him which is the safeguard of all virtue. 2° TRIALS OF THE NIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 1465\. In order to purify and reform the soul, God leaves the mind in darkness, the will in aridity, the memory in forgetfulness, and the affections immersed in pain and anguish. This purification is wrought, says St. John of the Cross,[1] through the light of infused contemplation, a light bright in itself, but dim and painful to the soul on account of the latter’s ignorance and impurity. A) Sufferings of the Mind. a) The brilliant and pure light of contemplation dazes the mind’s eye, too weak and too impure to behold it. Just as weak eyes are dazed by a clear, bright light, so the soul, still ailing, is tortured and paralyzed by the divine light, with the result that it seems that death itself would be a welcome deliverance. b) This pain is intensified by the meeting of the divine and the human in the same soul: the divine, that is to say, purifying contemplation, invades the soul to renew it, to perfect it, to deify it; the human, that is to say, the soul itself with its faults, experiences the sense of annihilation, of spiritual death, through which it must pass in order to come to life again. c) To this pain is added a keen realization of the soul’s destitution and wretchedness. Its sensitive part immersed in aridity and its intellectual part in darkness, the soul has the agonizing impression of a man suspended in mid-air deprived of any support. At times it even sees hell yawning to swallow it forever. These are, of course, figurative expressions, but they give an idea of the effect of that light which shows on the one hand the greatness and the holiness of God, and on the other the nothingness and the misery of man. 1466\. B) Sufferings of the Will are likewise beyond description: a) the soul sees itself deprived of all joy, and becomes convinced that this state is to last forever. Even the confessor is unable to give consolation. b) In order to sustain the soul in this trial, God sends intervals of relief, during which it experiences a sweet peace in the enjoyment of divine love and familiarity. But such moments are followed by counter-attacks when the soul imagines itself to be no longer loved by God and to be justly forsaken by Him. This is the anguish of spiritual dereliction. c) In this state, prayer is quite impossible; or if one does pray, it is amidst such aridity that it seems that God does not give ear. There are cases in which one cannot even attend to one’s temporal interests, memory for such matters having gone completely. This is a ligature of the faculties as regards all natural actions. To sum up in a word: this state is a sort of hell by reason of the torture experienced; it is a sort of purgatory by reason of the purification effected. 3° HAPPY RESULTS OF THE PURIFICATION OF THE SPIRIT. 1467\. A) These results are thus summarized by St. John of the Cross :[1] “This blessed night, though it darkens the mind, does so only to give it light in everything; and though it humbles it and makes it miserable, it does so only to raise it up and set it free; and though it impoverishes it and empties it of all its natural self and liking, it does so only to enable it to reach forward divinely to the possession and fruition of all things.” To explain these effects, the Saint makes use of the comparison of a piece of green wood thrown into a fireplace, as mentioned in n. 1422. 1468\. B) He then reduces them to four principal effects: a) An ardent love for God. From the very outset of this night, this love existed in the superior part of the soul, though unknown to itself; a time comes however when God makes the soul aware of its love and then it is ready to dare all things in order to please Him. b) A piercing light: at first this light revealed to the soul only its miseries and thus inflicted pain; but once imperfections have been eliminated through sorrow, it reveals the riches to be gained and thus becomes a source of consolation. c) A great sense of security; for this light preserves the soul from pride, the great obstacle to salvation. It shows it that it is God Himself Who leads it, and that the suffering He sends is more profitable than joy would be. Lastly, this light places in the will the firm determination to do nothing that might offend God, to neglect nothing that redounds to His glory. d) A marvellous strength to climb the ten stepping-stones of divine love, which St. John of the Cross[1] is pleased to describe, and upon which the soul must meditate in order to conceive an idea of the wondrous ascents which lead up to the transforming union. ## § IV. The Transforming Union or Spiritual Marriage 1469\. After so many purifications, the soul at last reaches that calm and abiding union, called the transforming union, which seems to be the final goal of the mystic union, the immediate preparation for the Beatific Vision. We shall explain: 1° its nature and 2° its effects. I. Nature of the Transforming Union We shall call attention to: 1° its chief characteristics, and, 2° the description of it given by St. Teresa. 1470\. 1° Its chief characteristics are intimacy, serenity, indissolubility. A) Intimacy. Because this union is still more intimate than the others it is called spiritual marriage. Between persons united in marriage there are no longer any secrets; there is a blending of two lives. It is precisely such a union that exists between the soul and God. In order to explain it, St. Teresa[2] makes use of this comparison: “Here it is like water descending from heaven into a river or spring, where one is so mixed with the other that it cannot be discovered which is the river-water and which the rain-water.” B) Serenity. In this state there are no more ecstasies or raptures, or at least very few; these have now disappeared almost completely in order to make room for such peace and quiet rest as are enjoyed by married persons who are sure of each other’s love. C) Indissolubility. The other unions were but transitory; the present one by its very nature is permanent, just as is the bond of Christian marriage. 1471\. Does this indissolubility imply impeccability? On this point St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa differ. The former is of the opinion that in this state the soul is confirmed in grace: “I believe that no soul ever attains to this state without being confirmed in grace… The Bride has entered; that is, passed out of all temporal and natural things, out of all spiritual affections, ways and methods, having left on one side and forgotten all temptations, trials, sorrows, anxieties and cares.”[1] St. Teresa is far from being so positive:[2] “Whenever I speak on this subject, and seem to mean that the soul is secure, my words must be understood thus, viz., as long as the Divine Majesty holds her in His Hand, and she does not offend Him. I know for certain that though she see herself in this state, and though it may continue some years, she does not, therefore, think herself secure.” It seems to us that St. Teresa’s language is more in harmony with that of theology, which teaches that the grace of final perseverance cannot be merited; in order to be assured of salvation therefore, one would need a special revelation bearing not only on the actual state of grace, but also on perseverance in this state until death.[3] 1472\. 2° The description given by St. Teresa includes two apparitions, one of Our Lord and the other of the Blessed Trinity. A) It is Jesus who introduces the soul into this last mansion by a twofold vision: one imaginative, the other intellectual. a) In an imaginative vision which took place after Holy Communion, He appeared to the Saint[4] “in a figure of great splendour, beauty and majesty, just as He was after His resurrection.” “He said to her that now was the time she should consider His affairs as hers, and that He would take care of hers… From henceforth you shall guard my honour, not only because I am your Creator, your King and your God, but yet because you are my true spouse. My honour is your honour and your honour mine!”[5] b) Then follows the intellectual vision: “That which God here communicates to the soul in an instant is so great a secret, and so sublime a grace, and what she feels such an excessive delight, that I know nothing to compare it to, except that Our Lord is pleased at that moment to manifest to her the glory which is in heaven; and this He does in a more sublime way than by any vision or spiritual delight. More cannot be said (as far as can be understood) than that this soul becomes one with God.”[6] 1473\. B) The Vision of the Blessed Trinity. Once the soul has been introduced into this mansion, the Three Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity manifest themselves to it in an intellectual vision, and they come directly upon it as in a cloud of extraordinary brightness. The Three Divine Persons manifest themselves as distinct, and by a wonderful communication of knowledge, the soul sees with absolute certitude that all Three Persons are but one substance, one power, one knowledge, one God. “Hence, what we behold with faith, the soul here (as one may say) understands by sight, though this sight is not with the eyes of the body, because it is not an imaginative vision. All the Three Persons here communicate themselves to her, and speak to her, and make her understand those words mentioned in the Gospel, where Our Lord said that He, and the Father, and the Holy Ghost would come and dwell with the soul that loves Him and keeps His commandments! O my Lord! What a different thing is the hearing and believing of these words from understanding in this way how true they are![1] Such a soul is every day more astonished, because these words never seem to depart from her; but she clearly sees (in the manner above mentioned) that they are in the deepest recesses of the soul (how it is, she cannot express, since she is not learned) and she perceives this divine company in herself.”[2] II\. Effects of the Transforming Union 1474\. A union so profound and so intimate cannot but produce wondrous, sanctifying effects. These may be summed up in one word: the soul is so transformed that it forgets self and thinks only of God and His glory. Whence follow: 1° A holy abandonment into the hands of God in virtue of which the soul is supremely indifferent to all that is not God. In the ecstatic union it desired death as a means of uniting itself to its Beloved; now it is indifferent to life or death, so long as God be glorified: “All her thoughts and study will be how to please this Lord, and by what means she may be able to express the love she has for Him. For this object does she pray, hereunto does the spiritual marriage tend, from which good works always come.”[3] 1475\. 2° An insatiable thirst for suffering, but devoid of anxiety and in perfect conformity with the will of God : “If He wish them to suffer they are content; if not, they do not torment themselves about it, as they used to do at other times. These souls feel likewise a great interior joy when they are persecuted, for then they enjoy more peace than I have ever before spoken of; and they do not feel the least hatred against their persecutors; nay, they conceive for them a particular affection.”[1] 1476\. 3° The absence of desire and of interior sufferings: “The desires of these souls do not now run after consolations… They feel in themselves a desire of being always alone, or employed in things relating to the good of some soul. They have no aridities, nor internal troubles, but always have a memory and a tenderness for Our Lord, so that they would gladly do nothing but praise Him.”[2] 1477\. 4° The absence of raptures. “The raptures cease in the manner I have mentioned, and there are no more ecstasies nor flights of the spirit: if they come at all, it is very seldom, and almost never in public.”[3] Hence, peace and perfect serenity : “In this Temple of God, for this mansion is His, He and the soul sweetly enjoy each other in the most profound silence.”[4] 1478\. 5° An ardent, yet discreet zeal for the sanctification of souls. It is not enough to abide in the enjoyment of this sweet repose; the soul must act, labor, suffer, become the slave of God and of the neighbor, strive to advance in virtue, especially in humility; for, not to advance is to go back. Perfection consists in taking the place of Mary and doing the work of Martha at one and the same time. One can work for the welfare of souls without leaving the cloister, and one can do good to those with whom one lives without aiming at reforming the entire world : “A work so much nobler, as you are so much the more indebted to them. Do you think the gain small, that you have such great humility and mortification, and that you are the servant of all; and that you also have such great charity for them, and such love for Our Lord, that this fire inflames every one, and you are continually exciting them by the practice of your other virtues? Your gain will be exceedingly great, and your service highly pleasing to Our Lord.”[5] But above all, such works must be inspired by love: “Our Lord does not pay so much regard to the greatness of the works, as to the love whereby they are performed.”[6] 1479\. In concluding, St.Teresa invites her Sisters to enter these Mansions, if it please the Lord of the Castle to introduce them; but she warns them not to wish to force their way. “I wish, then, to advise you not to use any violence, if you meet with some resistance, for you may thus displease Him so far as to cause you some trouble. He is a great lover of humility, and by considering yourselves unworthy even to enter the “Third Mansion”, you will the sooner obtain His good-will and favor to allow you afterwards to enter the fifth; and you may serve Him there in such manner by often repairing thither, that He may at length admit you into that “Mansion” reserved for Himself.”[1] SUMMARY OF THE SECOND CHAPTER 1480\. After the study of the four great phases of contemplation, with their alternating bitter trials and inebriating delights, it seems that the notion we gave of infused contemplation has been confirmed, that it is a progressive taking hold of the soul by God, freely permitted by the soul itself. 1° God gradually takes possession of the whole soul in contemplation. First, He seizes the will in the prayer of quiet; next, He lays hold of all the interior faculties in the prayer of full union; later He takes possession of both the interior faculties and the exterior senses in ecstasy; and finally in the spiritual marriage, He binds the whole soul to Himself in an abiding union. Now, if God takes possession of the soul, it is to flood it with light and love, it is to make it share in His perfections. a) This light is at first weak and painful so long as the soul is not sufficiently purified; but it becomes stronger and more comforting, although always mixed with darkness, by reason of the feebleness of our own mind. It produces a profound impression, because it comes from God, and it gives the soul an experimental knowledge of God’s infinite grandeur, goodness and beauty, and of the littleness, the nothingness and the miseries of creatures. b) The love infused into the soul in contemplation is ardent, generous, and burning with the desire of sacrificing all: one forgets self and one longs to be immolated for the Beloved. 1481\. 2° The soul freely consents to this divine possession and joyously yields itself to God through the most profound humility, through the love of the Cross for the sake of God and of Jesus, and through holy abandonment. It is thus still more purified from its imperfections; it is united to God and so completely transformed into Him, that Our Lord’s ardent desire, “that they also may be one in us”[2] is as fully realized as it possibly can be. Such is true mysticism, and it is important to distinguish it from false mysticism or quietism. APPENDIX: FALSE MYSTICISM OR QUIETISM 1482\. Side by side with the true mystics, whose teachings we have just expounded, there have been false mystics who, under various names, have perverted the notion of the passive state and have fallen into doctrinal errors dangerous to good morals. Such were the doctrines of the Montanists and the Beghards.[1] But the most notorious of these errors was that of Quietism. It made its appearance under three different forms: 1° the gross quietism of Molinos, 2° the mitigated and spiritualized quietism of Fénelon; 3° semi-quietist tendencies. 1° THE QUIETISM OF MOLINOS[2] 1483\. Born in Spain in 1640, Michael Molinos spent the greater part of his life in Rome, and it was there that he disseminated his errors in two works which met with great success: The Spiritual Guide and The Prayer of Quiet. His fundamental error lay in the assertion that perfection consists in complete passivity of soul, in a continuous act of contemplation and of love which, once made, dispenses with all other acts, even that of resistance to temptations. “Let God Act,” was his motto. 1484\. The better to understand these errors in detail, we give the following parallel tables of the Catholic teaching and the aberrations of Molinos. Catholic Teaching 1) There exists a passive state of soul wherein God acts through His operating grace; but one does not ordinarily arrive thereat, except after a long time spent in the practice of virtue and meditation. 2) The act of contemplation lasts but a short time, even though the state of soul resulting therefrom may last for several days. 3) Contemplation eminently embodies the acts of all the Christian virtues, but outside the period of contemplation, it does not dispense one from making explicit acts of the virtues. 4) The principal object of contemplation is God Himself, but Jesus is its secondary object, and outside of the act of contemplation, one is not dispensed from thinking of Jesus Christ, the necessary mediator, nor from going to God through Him. 5) Holy abandonment is a virtue of high perfection; it must not, however, go as far as indifference concerning eternal salvation: on the contrary, one must desire it, hope for it and beg for it. 6) During interior trials the imagination and the sensitive appetite may be profoundly troubled, while the superior part of the soul enjoys a profound peace; the will, however, is ever bound to resist temptations. This statement of the Catholic position obviates the need of refuting this error. The history of Quietism leads to the conclusion that when one wants to arrive at contemplation too quickly, and through one’s own efforts, without having previously mortified one’s passions and practiced the Christian virtues, one falls all the lower, the higher one pretends to go. He who would play the angel becomes a beast. 2° THE MITIGATED QUIETISM OF FÉNELON[2] 1485\. In a less extreme form, and without the immoral consequences its author had deduced from it, the Quietism of Molinos was taken up by Madame Guyon, who, widowed at an early age, threw herself with ardor into the practice of an emotional and imaginative piety, which she styled the way of pure love. First, she won over to her ideas a Barnabite, Father Lacombe; later, to some extent, even Fénelon, who, in the Explanation of the Maxims of the Saints regarding the Interior Life (1697), formulated an attenuated Quietism in which he strove to demonstrate the doctrine of pure love, “pure charity without any admixture of selfish motives or self-interest.” All the errors contained in this book can, according to Bossuet, be reduced to the four following propositions: 1) “There is in this life an habitual state of pure love, in which the desire for eternal salvation no longer has place. 2) In the final trials of the interior life, a soul can be convinced, with an invincible and reasoned conviction, that it has been justly rejected by God, and, under the influence of this conviction, offer to God an absolute sacrifice of its own eternal happiness. 3) In the state of pure love, the soul is indifferent to its own perfection and the practices of virtue. 4) Contemplative souls in certain states lose sight of Jesus Christ as the distinct, sensible and reasoned object of contemplation.”[1] 1486\. No doubt this form of Quietism is far less dangerous than was that of Molinos. But the four propositions are false and could lead to baneful results. 1\) It is false to say that there exists on this earth an habitual state of pure love excluding hope; for, as the Fifth Article of Issy[2] rightly states, “every Christian in every state, though not at every moment, is bound to express a desire and a prayer for his eternal salvation as something willed by God, Who wills that we desire it for His glory’s sake.” It is true indeed that with perfect souls the desire for eternal happiness in often prompted by charity, and that there are moments when they do not think explicitly of their salvation. 2\) The second proposition is no less false. No doubt, there are Saints who in the lower part of their soul experienced a keen sense of just reprobation; this was not, however, a reasoned conviction of the superior part of the soul. If some of them have made a conditional surrender of their salvation, this was not an absolute sacrifice. 3\) Nor is it exact to say that the soul in the state of pure love is indifferent to its own perfection and to virtuous practices; on the contrary, St. Teresa does not cease to urge the thought of progress and the exercise of the fundamental virtues, even in the highest states of perfection. 4\) Finally, it is false that in the perfect states one loses sight of Jesus Christ as the distinct object of contemplation. We have seen, in number 1472, that in the transforming union, St. Teresa had visions of the Sacred Humanity of Jesus Christ. What is true however, is that during certain passing moments one cannot explicitly think of Him. 3° SEMI-QUIETIST TENDENCIES[3] 1487\. One meets at times in certain devout and otherwise excellent books, tendencies which are more or less quietistic, and which, were they to be applied as rules for the spiritual direction of ordinary souls, would lead to abuses. The main error of these writers is that of trying to instill into all persons alike, even into those who have made but little progress in the spiritual life, dispositions of passivity which belong only to the unitive way. They would have us take up more quickly the work of simplifying the spiritual life, forgetting that most souls cannot safely arrive at such simplification until they have passed through discursive meditation, detailed examinations of conscience: and the practice of the moral virtues. Their error is one of excess; they would like to bring souls to perfection as quickly as possible by suppressing the intermediate stages and by suggesting from the outset the means which succeed with the most advanced souls. 1488\. a) Thus, under the pretext of fostering disinterested love, they deprive Christian hope of the place it should occupy; they imagine that the desire of eternal happiness is but incidental and that God’s glory is everything. In reality however the glory of God and our eternal happiness are intimately united; for by knowing and loving God we procure His glory, and this knowledge and love of God in turn constitute our happiness. Far from dissociating these two elements, we must keep them united and show how they complete one another, noting however, that if they are to be considered separately, the glory of God must come first. b) The passive side of piety is likewise over-emphasized. It is said that we must let God act in us, bear us in His arms, without adding that God does not generally do so until we have practiced for a long time an active piety. c) With regard to the means of sanctification, only such are proposed as belong ts the unitive way. Methodical and, as they call it, rule-bound meditation is severely criticized. Specific resolutions, they claim, destroy the unity of the spiritual life, and detailed examinations of conscience should be replaced by a rapid survey. They forget that beginners do not generally arrive at the prayer of simplicity except through discursive meditation; that general resolves to love God with all the heart must be particularized; that, in order to know their defects and correct them, beginners must enter into some details; that, as a matter of fact, they are but too prone to be satisfied with a superficial knowledge of self which will allow passions and defects to remain unchallenged. In a word, these authors forget that there are many stages to be traversed before we can attain to the passive state and to union with God. [[at-sl-fn-31|Fn: B3 Ch. II Art. II]] --- ![[maps/bibliography#^biblio-tan]] > [[at-sl-30|← B3 Ch. II Art. I]] | [[at-spiritual-life-toc|TOC]] | [[at-sl-32|B3 Ch. III →]]