← [[session-10-f2a|Growth in Prayer — The Point of Departure for the Means, Which Is Faith, Hope, and Love]] | [[formation-II-a-handbook|Table of Contents]] | [[session-12-f2a|Meditation to Contemplation — Recognizing the Signs of Contemplation]] → # The Impediments and Harm Caused by Different Apprehensions Required Reading: Ascent, Book Two, ch. 11 and 17 **Additional Reading:** The Collected Works of John of the Cross, ICS Publications,1991. Dark Night, Book One, chapters 1-8 (imperfections of beginners) Side note: John’s focus in these chapters is the supernatural knowledge that reaches the intellect by way of the exterior bodily senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). It is important to keep in mind John’s cautionary observations as one navigates this journey in the uncharted waters of the world within. **Essential Points to Discuss:** • Spiritual persons can — and often do — perceive supernatural representations and phenomena: visions of saints or angels; hearing extraordinary words; smelling extraordinary fragrances, etc. John’s advice is to ignore such visions and apprehensions. “The more exterior and corporeal these things are, the less certain is their divine origin. God’s self-communication is more commonly and appropriately given to the spirit, in which there is greater security and profit for the soul…” (A.2.11:1-2). • “…they [these apprehensions] are ready occasion for breeding of error, presumption and vanity in the soul… A person, then, forsaking faith, will follow after these communications, believing that their light is the guide and means to the goal, which is union with God” (A.2.11:4). • “…they [the persons experiencing this] often develop secretly a special opinion of themselves — that they are important in God’s eyes. Such a view is contrary to humility.” It’s easy to fall into a self-satisfaction that becomes truly obvious at times. Such representations and feelings must always be rejected (A.2.11:5). • “… if the corporeal vision or feeling in the senses has a divine origin it produces its effect in the spirit at the very moment of its perception… God produces the effect passively in the spirit. The good effect, accordingly, does not depend on one’s wanting or not wanting the communication” (A.2.11:6). • Consequently, John identifies six kinds of harm from one’s attachment to extraordinary phenomena (see A.2.11:7): 1. Faith will gradually diminish. 2. Sensory things are an impediment to the spirit because they detain the soul and prevent the spirit from soaring to the invisible. This is one of the reasons our Lord told the disciples that it was fitting for him to go so that the Holy Spirit might come (Jn.16:7). 3. The soul begins to develop a possessive attitude toward these communications and fails to persevere on its journey to genuine renunciation and nakedness of spirit. 32 4. Individuals gradually lose the effect of these communications and the interior spirituality they produce because they set their eyes on the sensible aspect, which is the least important part of the communication. 5. Individuals gradually lose God’s favors because they receive these favors as something belonging to themselves and do not profit well by them. 6. Lastly, in desiring to accept them one opens the door to the devil (A.2.11:7). • “If individuals remain both faithful and retiring in the midst of these favors, the Lord will not cease raising them degree by degree until they reach divine union and transformation” (A.2.11:9). • John poses the question: Why does God allow such visions if they are potentially harmful? (see A.2.17:1). The reason is that God perfects people gradually, according to their human nature, and proceeds from the lowest and most exterior to the highest and most interior (see A.2.17:4). Note: Reading chapter 17 is helpful for understanding God’s action in “lifting the soul from the extreme of its low state to the other extreme of the high state of divine union” (A.2.17:3). • John ultimately leads souls to the safest and most reliable vision of all — that of Jesus Christ. “God could answer as follows: If I have already told you all things in my Word, my Son, and if I have no other word, what answer, or revelation can I now make that would surpass this? Fasten your eyes on him alone because in him I have spoken and revealed all and in him you will discover ever more than you ask for and desire. You are making an appeal for locutions and revelations that are incomplete, but if you turn your eyes to him you will find them complete. For he is my entire locution and response, vision and revelation, which I have already spoken, answered, manifested, and revealed to you by giving him to you as a brother, companion, master, ransom and reward.” (A.2.22:5) 33 01.24 1-24-2024 OCDS Formation II, Year A --- **Source:** Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, *Formation II Year A: The Ascent of Mount Carmel* (US National Formation Program, 2024).