Garrigou-Lagrange - Three Ways of Spiritual Life

7/25/2019 Garrigou-Lagrange - Three Ways of Spiritual Life

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/garrigou-lagrange-three-ways-of-spiritual-life 1/44

THE THREE WAYS OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

CHAPTER 1 : THE LIFE OF GRACE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIRST CONVERSION

The necessity of the interior life.The principle of the interior life.The beginning of eternal life.The importance of true conversion.

The three periods of the spiritual life.

CHAPTER 2 : THE SECOND CONVERSION: ENTRANCE INTO THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY

The second conversion of the Apostles.What our second conversion ought to be. The defects which render it necessary.The motives which must inspire the second conversion, and the fruits that derive therefrom.

CHAPTER 3 : THE THIRD CONVERSION OR TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL: ENTRANCE

INTO THE UNITIVE WAY

The Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles.The effects of the descent of the Holy Ghost.

The purification of the spirit necessary for Christian perfection.Create A Clean Heart n !e, " #ord. $%

The necessity of the purification of the spirit.How does God purify the soul in this third conversion &'(A)*( T" TH* H"#) GH"+T'(A)*( " C"-+*C(AT"- T" TH* H"#) GH"+T

CHAPTER 4 : THE PROBLEM OF THE THREE STAGES OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE IN

ASCETICAL AND MYSTICAL THEOLOGY

+tatement of the 'roblem.'roposed Division of the Three +tages of The +piritual #ife.The transition from one stage to another in the +piritual #ife.

CHAPTER 5 : CHARACTERISTICS OF THE THREE STAGES OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

eginners.

'roficients or progressivesThe 'erfect.

CHAPTER 6 : THE PEACE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD: A PRELUDE TO THE LIFE OF

HEAVEN

The divine awa/ening.The #iving lame.

'a0 in veritate.

NOTE ON THE CALL TO THE INFUSED CONTEMPLATION OF THE MYSTERIES OF FAITH

THE THREE WAYS OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

) (eginald Garrigou1#agrange

CHAPTER 1 : THE LIFE OF GRACE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE

FIRST CONVERSION



TH* interior life is for all the one thing necessary. t ought to be constantly developing in our souls2 more sothan what we call our intellectual life, more so than our scientific, artistic or literary life. The interior life is livedin the depths of the soul2 it is the life of the whole man, not merely of one or other of his faculties. And our

intellectual life would gain immeasurably by appreciating this2 it would receive an inestimable advantage if,instead of attempting to supplant the spiritual life, it recogni3ed its necessity and importance, and welcomed its beneficial influence 11 the influence of the theological virtues and the gifts of the Holy Ghost. How deeply

important our sub4ect is may be seen in the very words we have used5 ntellectuality and +pirituality. And it isimportant to us not only as individuals, but also in our social relations, for it is evident that we can e0ert no realor profound influence upon our fellow1men unless we live a truly interior life ourselves.

Th !"##$%& '( %h $!%)$') *$(+

The pressing need of devoting ourselves to the consideration of the one thing necessary is especially manifest inthese days of general chaos and unrest, when so many men and nations, neglecting their true destiny, givethemselves up entirely to ac6uiring earthly possessions, failing to reali3e how inferior these are to theeverlasting riches of the spirit.

And yet +t. Augustine7s saying is so clearly true, that 7 material goods, unli/e those of the spirit, cannot belongwholly and simultaneously to more than one person. 7 $8% The same house, the same land, cannot belongcompletely to several people at once, nor the same territory to several nations. And herein lies the reason of thatunhappy conflict of interests which arises from the feverish 6uest of these earthly possessions.

"n the other hand, as +t. Augustine often reminds us, the same spiritual treasure can belong in its entirety to all

men, and at the same time to each, without any disturbance of peace between them. ndeed, the more there are toen4oy them in common the more completely do we possess them. The same truth, the same virtue, the sameGod, can belong to us all in li/e manner, and yet none of us embarrasses his fellow1possessors. +uch are theine0haustible riches of the spirit that they can be the property of all and yet satisfy the desires of each. ndeed,only then do we possess a truth completely when we teach it to others, when we ma/e others share our contemplation2 only then do we truly love a virtue when we wish others to love it also2 only then do we wholly

love God when we desire to ma/e Him loved by all. Give money away, or spend it, and it is no longer yours.

ut give God to others, and you possess Him more fully for yourself. We may go even further and say that, if we desired only one soul to be deprived of Him, if we e0cluded only one soul 11 even the soul of one who persecutes and calumniates us 11 from our own love, then God Himself would be lost to us.

This truth, so simple and yet so sublime, gives rise to an illuminating principle5 it is that whereas material goods,

the more they are sought for their own sa/e, tend to cause disunion among men, spiritual goods unite men moreclosely in proportion as they are more greatly loved. This principle helps us to appreciate how necessary is theinterior life2 and, incidentally, it virtually contains the solution of the social 6uestion and of the economic crisiswhich afflicts the world to1day. The Gospel puts it very simply5 7 +ee/ ye first the /ingdom of God and his 4ustice, and all these things shall be added unto you. 7 f the world to1day is on its death1bed, it is because it haslost sight of a fundamental truth which for every Christian is elementary.

The profoundest truths of all, and the most vital, are in fact those elementary verities which, through long

meditation and deep thought, have become the norm of our lives2 those truths, in other words, which are theob4ect of our habitual contemplation.

God is now showing men what a great mista/e they ma/e when they try to do without Him, when they regard

earthly en4oyment as their highest good, and thus reverse the whole scale of values, or, as the ancient philosophers put it, the subordination of ends. As though in the hope of compensating for the poor 6uality of earthly goods, men are striving to increase their 6uantity2 they are trying to produce as much as possible in theorder of material en4oyment. They are constructing machinery with the ob4ect of increasing production at agreater profit. This is the ultimate ob4ective. ut what is the conse6uence & The surplus cannot be disposed of2 itis wasted, and unemployment is the result. The wor/er starves in enforced idleness while others die of surfeit.

The present state of the world is called a crisis. ut in fact it is more than a crisis2 it is a condition of affairswhich, if men only had eyes to see, ought to be revealing, it ought to show men that they have sought their lastend where it is not to be found, in earthly en4oyment 11 instead of God. They are see/ing happiness in an

1+t. Thomas often 6uotes this Augustinian thought5 cf. 1ae, 9. 00viii, art. :, ad ;2 , 9. 00iii, art. 8, ad <



abundance of material possessions which are incapable of giving it2 possessions which sow discord among thosethat see/ them, and a greater discord according as they are sought with greater avidity.

Do what you will with these material goods5 share them out e6ually, ma/e them the common property of all. twill be no remedy for the evil2 for, so long as earthly possessions retain their nature and man retains the naturewhich is his, he will never find his happiness in them. The remedy is this, and this only5 to consider the one

thing necessary, and to as/ God to give us saints who live only on this thought, saints who will give the worldthe spirit that it needs. God has always sent us saints in troubled times. We need them especially to1day.

Th ,)$!"$,* '( %h $!%)$') *$(+

t is all the more important to recall the necessity and the true nature of the interior life, because the true

conception of it, as given to us in the Gospel, in the *pistles of +t. 'aul and in the whole of Tradition, has been partially obscured by many false ideas. n particular it is evident that the notion of the interior life is radicallycorrupted in the #utheran theory of 4ustification or conversion. According to this theory the mortal sins of theconvert are not positively blotted out by the infusion of the new life of grace and charity2 they are simplycovered over, veiled by faith in the (edeemer, and they cease to be imputed to the person who has committed

them. There is no intrinsic 4ustification, no interior renewal of the soul2 a man is reputed 4ust merely by thee0trinsic imputation of the 4ustice of Christ. According to this view, in order to be 4ust in the eyes of God it is notnecessary to possess that infused charity by which we love God supernaturally and our fellowmen for God7ssa/e. Actually, according to this conception, however firmly the 4ust man may believe in Christ the (edeemer,he remains in his sin, in his corruption or spiritual death. $;%

This grave misconception concerning our supernatural life, reducing it essentially to faith in Christ ande0cluding sanctifying grace, charity and meritorious wor/s, was destined to lead gradually to -aturalism2 it wasto result finally in considering as 7 4ust 7 the man who, whatever his beliefs, valued and practised those naturalvirtues which were /nown even to the pagan philosophers who lived before Christ. $<%

n such an outloo/, the 6uestion which is actually of the first importance does not even arise5 s man capable in

his present state, without divine grace, of observing all the precepts of the natural law, including those that relate

2#uther went so far as to say5 = 'ecca fortiter et crede firmius5 sin mightily and believe more mightily still2 you

will be saved. 7 -ot that #uther intended thereby to e0hort men to sin2 it was merely an emphatic way of sayingthat good wor/s are useless for salvation 11 that faith in Christ alone suffices. He says, truly enough >Wor/s,Weimar edition, ?, @@ >8@;<B B, that if you believe, good wor/s will follow necessarily from your faith. 7 utas !aritain 4ustly observes >-otes sur #uther2 appendi0 to the second edition of Trois (eformateursB, 7 in histhought these good wor/s follow from salutary faith as a sort of epiphenomenon. 7 !oreover, the charity whichwill follow this faith is the love of our neighbour rather than the love of God. And thus the notion of charity is

degraded, emptied gradually of its supernatural and God1ward content and made e6uivalent to wor/s of mercy.n any case, it remains true that for #uther a man is 4ustified simply by faith in Christ, even though the sin is not blotted out by the infusion of charity, or the supernatural love of God.<. !aritain e0plains very clearly how -aturalism arises necessarily from the principles of 'rotestantism5 =According to the #utheran theology, it is we ourselves, and only we ourselves, who lay hold of the mantle of

Christ so that with it we may cover all our shame. 7 t is we who e0ercise this 7 ability to 4ump from our ownsin on to the 4ustice of Christ, thus becoming as sure of possessing the holiness of Christ as we are of possessingour own bodies. 7 The #utheran theory of 4ustification by faith may be called a 'elagianism born of despair. nultimate analysis it is man who is left to wor/ out his own redemption by stimulating himself to a despairingconfidence in Christ. Human nature has then only to cast aside, as a useless theological accessory, the mantle ofa grace which means nothing to him, and to transfer its faith1confidence from Christ to itself 11 and there youhave that admirable emancipated brute, whose unfailing and continuous progress is an ob4ect of wonder to the

universe. n #uther and his doctrine we witness 11 on the spiritual and religious plane 11 the advent of the *go.

7 We say that it is so in fact2 it is the inevitable outcome of #uther7s theology. ut this does not prevent the sametheology in theory from committing the contrary e0cess.... And so #uther tells us that salvation and faith are tosuch an e0tent the wor/ of God and of Christ that these alone are active in the business of our redemption,without any co1operation on our part.... #uther7s theology was to oscillate between these two solutions5 in theory

it is the first, apparently, that must prevail5 Christ alone, without our co1operation, is the author of our salvation.ut since it is psychologically impossible to suppress human activity, the second has inevitably prevailed in fact.7 t is a matter of history that liberal 'rotestantism has issued in -aturalism.



to God & s he able without grace to love God the sovereign Good, the author of our nature, and to love Him, notwith a merely inoperative affection, but with a truly efficacious love, more than he loves himself and more thanhe loves anything else & The early 'rotestants would have answered in the negative, as Catholic theologians

have always done. $:% #iberal 'rotestantism, the offspring of #uther7s theology, does not even as/ the 6uestion2 because it does not admit the necessity of grace, the necessity of an infused supernatural life.

-evertheless, the 6uestion still recurs under a more general form5 s man able, without some help from on high,to get beyond himself, and truly and efficaciously to love Truth and Goodness more than he loves himself &

Clearly, these problems are essentially connected with that of the nature of our interior life2 for our interior lifeis nothing else than a /nowledge of the True and a love of the Good2 or better, a /nowledge and love of God.

n order fully to appreciate the lofty conception which the +criptures, and especially the Gospels, give us of theinterior life, it would be necessary to study a theological treatise on 4ustification and sanctifying grace. -evertheless, we may here emphasi3e a fundamental truth of the Christian spiritual life, or of Christian

mysticism, which has always been taught by the Catholic Church.

n the first place it is clear that according to the +criptures the 4ustification or conversion of the sinner does notmerely cover his sins as with a mantle2 it blots them out by the infusion of a new life. 7 Have mercy on me, "

God, according to thy great mercy, 7 so the 'salmist implores2 7 and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my ini6uity. Wash me yet more from my ini6uity and cleanse me from my sin.... Thou shalt

sprin/le me with hyssop and shall be cleansed2 thou shalt wash me and shall be made whiter than snow....lot out all my ini6uities. Create a clean heart in me, " God2 and renew a right spirit within my bowels. Cast menot away from thy face, and ta/e not thy holy spirit from me. (estore unto me the 4oy of thy salvation, andstrengthen me with a perfect spirit. 7 $@%

The 'rophets use similar language. Thus God says, through the prophet saias5 7 am he that blot out thy

ini6uities for my own sa/e. 7 $E% And the same e0pression recurs throughout the ible5 God is not content merelyto cover our sins2 He blots them out, He ta/es them away. And therefore, when ohn the aptist sees esuscoming towards him, he says5 7 ehold the #amb of God. ehold him who ta/eth away the sin of the world F 7We find the same idea in +t. ohn7s first *pistle5 $ % 7The blood of esus Christ... cleanseth us from all sin. 7 +t.'aul writes, similarly, in his first *pistle to the Corinthians 5$ % 7 -ot the effeminate nor the impure nor thieves

nor covetous nor drun/ards nor railers nor e0tortioners shall possess the /ingdom of God. And such some of youwere. ut you are washed2 but you are sanctified2 but you are 4ustified2 in the name of our #ord esus Christ andthe +pirit of our God. 7

f it were true that by conversion sins were only veiled, and not blotted out, it would follow that a man is at once both 4ust and ungodly, both 4ustified, and yet still in the state of sin. God would love the sinner as His friend,despite the corruption of his soul, which He is apparently incapable of healing. The +aviour would not have

ta/en away the sins of the world if He had not delivered the 4ust man from the servitude of sin. Again, for theChristian these truths are elementary2 the profound understanding of them, the continual and 6uasi1e0perimentalliving of them, is what we call the contemplation of the saints.

The blotting out and remission of sins thus described by the +criptures can be effected only by the infusion of sanctifying grace and charity 11 which is the supernatural love of God and of men for God7s sa/e. *3echiel,

spea/ing in the name of God, tells us that this is so5 7 will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansedfrom all your filthiness2 and will cleanse you from all your idols. And will give you a new heart, and put anew spirit within you2 and will ta/e away the stony heart out of your flesh and will give you a heart of flesh.And will put my spirit in the midst of you2 and will cause you to wal/ in my commandments. 7 $%

4Cf. +t. Thomas, 1ae, 9. ci0, art. <5 7 Homo in statu naturae integrae dilectionem suiipsius referebat ad

amorem Dei sicut ad finem, et similiter dilectionem aliarum rerum, et ita Deum diligebat plus 6uam seipsum etsuper omnia. +ed in statu naturae corruptae homo ab hoc deficit secundum appetitum voluntatis rationalis, 6uae propter corruptionem naturae se6uitur bonum privatum, nisi sanetur per gratiam Dei. 7 bid., art. :5 7 n statunaturae corruptae, non potest homo implere omnia mandata divina sine gratia sanante. 7

5's. 8, <18:.

6sa. 0liii, ;@

7i,

8vi, 8I.



This pure water which regenerates is the water of grace, of which it is said in the Gospel of +t. ohn5 $ 8I% 7 "f hisfulness we have all received2 and grace for grace. 7 7 y >our #ord esus ChristB we have received grace, 7 weread in the *pistle to the (omans 2$88%... Jthe charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost who

is given to us 7 2$8;% and in the *pistle to the *phesians5 7 To every one of us is given grace, according to themeasure of the giving of Christ. 7 $8<%

f it were otherwise, God7s uncreated love for the man whom He converts would be merely an idle affection, andnot an effective and operative love. ut God7s uncreated love for us, as +t. Thomas shows, is a love which, far from presupposing in us any lovableness, actually produces that lovableness within us. His creative love gives

and preserves in us our nature and our e0istence2 but his life1giving love gives and preserves in us the life of grace which ma/es us lovable in His eyes, and lovable not merely as His servants but as His sons. >, 9. 00, art.;B.

+anctifying grace, the principle of our interior life, ma/es us truly the children of God because it ma/es us parta/ers of His nature. We cannot be sons of God by nature, as the Word is2 but we are truly sons of God by

grace and by adoption. And whereas a man who adopts a child brings about no interior change in him, butsimply declares him his heir, God, when He loves us as adoptive sons, transforms us inwardly, giving us a sharein His own intimate divine life.

Hence we read in the Gospel of +t. ohn5 $ 8:% 7 >The WordB came unto his own, and his own received him not.ut as many as received him, to them he gave the power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his

name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 7 And our #ordHimself said to -icodemus $8@% 7 Amen, amen, say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the HolyGhost, he cannot enter into the /ingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh2 and that which is bornof the +pirit is spirit. Wonder not that said to thee5 )ou must be born again. 7

+t. ohn himself, moreover, writes in his first *pistle $ 8E% 7 Whosoever is born of God committeth not sin2 for

God7s seed abideth in him. And he cannot sin because he is born of God. 7 n other words, the seed of God,which is grace 11 accompanied by charity, or the love of God 11 cannot e0ist together with mortal sin which turnsa man away from God2 and, though it can e0ist together with venial sin, of which +t. ohn had spo/en earlier,$8% yet grace is not the source of venial sins2 on the contrary, it ma/es them gradually disappear.

+till clearer, if possible, is the language of +t. 'eter, who writes 5$ 8% 7 y >ChristB he hath given us most greatand precious promises, that by these you may be made parta/ers of the divine nature 72 and +t. ames $ 8% thuse0presses the same idea5 7 *very best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the ather of lights, with whom there is no change nor shadow of alteration. or of his own will hath he begotten us by theword of truth, that we might be some beginning of his creature. 7

Truly sanctifying grace is a real and formal participation of the divine nature, for it is the principle of operations

which are specifically divine. When in heaven it has reached its full development, and can no longer be lost, itwill be the source of operations which will have absolutely the same formal ob4ect as the eternal and uncreatedoperations of God7s own inner life2 it will ma/e us able to see Him immediately as He sees Himself, and to loveHim as He loves Himself5 7 Dearly beloved, 7 says +t. ohn, $;I% 7 we are now the sons of God2 and it hath not yetappeared what we shall be. We /now that when it shall appear we shall be li/e to him, for we shall see him as heis. 7

9000vi, ;@

10i, 8E

11i, @

12v, @

13iv,

14i, 8818<

15ohn iii, @

16iii, .

17i,

18; 'et. i, :

19i, 8

20 ohn iii, ;



This is what shows us, better than anything else, in what the true nature of sanctifying grace, the true nature of our interior life, consists. We cannot emphasi3e it too much. t is one of the most consoling truths of our faith2 it

is one of those vital truths which serve best to encourage us in the midst of the trials of our life on earth.

Th -.$!!$!. '( %)!/* *$(+

To understand what our interior life is in itself and in its various phases, we must consider it not merely in itsseed, but in its full and complete development. -ow, if we as/ the Gospel what our interior life is, it tells us thatthe life of grace, given to us in aptism and nourished by the *ucharist, is the seed or germ of eternal life.

According to +t. !atthew7s account of the +ermon on the !ount, preached by Christ at the beginning of His

ministry, our #ord says to His hearers >and it is the burden of the whole of His discourseB5 7 e ye perfect as your heavenly ather is perfect. 7 He does not say5 7 e ye as perfect as the angels, 7 but 7 as your heavenly ather is perfect. 7 $;8% t follows, therefore, that Christ brings to men a principle of life which is a participation of the verylife of God. mmeasurably above the various /ingdoms of nature5 the mineral /ingdom, the vegetable, theanimal /ingdom, and even above the /ingdom of man and above the natural activity of the angels, is the life of

the /ingdom of God. And this life in its full development is called, not the future life 11 of which even the better among the pre1Christian philosophers spo/e1but eternal life2 a life measured, li/e that of God, not by futuretime, but by the one instant of motionless eternity.

The future life of which the philosophers spea/ is a natural life, similar almost to the life of the angels2 whereaseternal life, of which the Gospel spea/s, is essentially supernatural, as much for the angels as for us. t is not

merely superhuman, it is superangelic, truly divine. t consists in seeing God immediately as He sees Himself,and in loving Him as He loves Himself. This is the reason why our #ord can say to you5 7 e ye perfect as your heavenly ather is perfect 72 because you have received a participation in His inner life.

While the "ld Testament spea/s of eternal life only in figure, under the symbol of the 'romised #and, the -ewTestament, and especially the Gospel of +t. ohn, spea/s of it continually2 and from that time forth it has become

almost impossible to conclude a sermon without mentioning eternal life, as that supreme beatitude to which we

are called and destined.

ut the Gospels, and especially the Gospel of +t. ohn, tell us more about grace2 we are told that grace is eternallife already begun.

n the fourth Gospel our #ord is recorded as saying no fewer than si0 times5 7 He that believeth in me hatheternal life. 7 $;;% And it is not only in the future that he will have it, if he perseveres2 in a sense he possesses italready5 7 He that eateth my flesh and drin/eth my blood hath eternal life, and will raise him up in the last day.7$;<% What is the meaning of these words & "ur #ord e0plains them later5 7 Amen, amen, say to you5 f any man/eep my word he shall not see death for ever. The ews therefore said5 -ow we /now that thou hast a devil.Abraham is dead, and the prophets2 and thou sayest5 f any man /eep my word he shall not taste death for ever....

Whom dost thou ma/e thyself & 7 t was then that esus said5 7 efore Abraham was, am. 7$;:%

What, then, does our #ord mean when He says5 7 He that believeth in me hath eternal life 7 & He means5 He that believes in !e with a living faith, that is, with a faith which is united with charity, with the love of God and thelove of his neighbour, possesses eternal life already begun. n other words5 He who believes in !e has withinhimself in germ a supernatural life which is fundamentally the same as eternal life. "ur spiritual progress cannot

tend in the direction of the life of eternity unless it presupposes the seed of it already e0isting in us, a seed of thesame nature as the life towards which we are tending. n the natural order, the germ which is contained in theacorn could never grow into an oa/ tree unless it were of the same nature as the oa/, if it did not contain the lifeof the oa/ in a latent state. The little child, li/ewise, could never become a man if it had not a rational soul, if reason were not already latent within it. n the same way, a Christian on earth could never become one of the blessed in heaven unless he had already received the divine life in aptism.

21!att. v, :

22ohn iii, <E2 v, ;:, <2 vi, :I, :, @@

23vi, @@.

24viii, @81@



And 4ust as it is impossible to /now the nature of the germ enclosed within the acorn unless we study it in its perfect state in the oa/ tree, so we cannot /now the life of grace unless we consider it in its ultimate

development, in that glory which is the consummation of grace. 7 Grace, 7 says the whole of Tradition, 7 is theseed of glory. 7

undamentally, it is always the same supernatural life, the same sanctifying grace and the same charity, but withtwo differences. Here on earth we /now God supernaturally, but not in the clearness of vision2 we /now Him inthe obscurity of faith. !oreover, while we hope one day to possess Him finally and definitively, here on earth it

is always possible for us to lose Him by a mortal sin. ut, in spite of these two differences, relating to faith andhope, it is the same life, the same sanctifying grace, and the same charity. And so our #ord said to the +amaritanwoman5 7 f thou didst /now the gift of God and who he is that saith to thee5 Give me to drin/2 thou perhapswouldst have as/ed of him, and he would have given thee living water.... He that shall drin/ of the water that will give him shall not thirst for ever. ut the water that will give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting. 7 $;@% And in the Temple, on the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, esus stood

and said in a loud voice, not merely for the benefit of privileged souls, but for all5 7 f any man thirst let himcome to me and drin/ He that believeth in me... out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 7 $ ;E% 7 -ow thishe said, 7 adds +t. ohn, 7 of the +pirit which they should receive who believed in him. 7 And in fact the HolyGhost is called fons vivus fons vitae5 the living fountain, the fountain of life.

Again esus says5 7 f any one love me he will /eep my word >faith alone, then, is not enoughB, and my ather

will love him, and we will come to him and will ma/e our abode with him. 7 $ ;% Who will come & -ot onlygrace, God7s created gift, but the divine 'ersons will come5 the ather and the +on, and also the promised Holy+pirit. Thus the Holy Trinity dwells in us, in the obscurity of faith, in very much the same way as t dwells in thesouls of the saints in heaven who see t face to face. 7 He that abideth in charity abideth in God, and God in him.7$;%

t is much more wonderful than any miracle, this supernatural life. A miracle is an e0ercise of the divineomnipotence by which God signifies that one of His servants spea/s in His name, or that he is of eminentsanctity. ut even the raising of the dead to life, the miracle by which a corpse is reanimated with its natural life,is almost nothing in comparison with the resurrection of a soul, which has been lying spiritually dead in sin andhas now been raised to the essentially supernatural life of grace.

Grace, then, is eternal life already begun within us, and this is why Christ says5 7 The /ingdom of God comethnot with observation. -either shall they say5 ehold here or behold there. or lo, the /ingdom of God is withinyou. 7$;% t is there, hidden within you, li/e the grain of mustard seed, li/e the leaven which will cause the wholeof the meal to rise, li/e the treasure hidden in a field, li/e the source from which gushes a river of water that willnever fail. 7 We /now, 7 says +t. ohn, 7 that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren 72 $ <I%and 7 these things write to you that you may /now that you have eternal life, you that believe in the name of the

+on of God. K$<8% And Christ, His beloved master, had said5 7 This is eternal life5 that they may /now thee, theonly true God, and esus Christ whom thou hast sent. 7$<;%

+t. Thomas e0presses this doctrine in the brief statement5 7 Gratia nihil aliud est 6uam 6uaedam inchoatio gloriaein nobis 75 Grace is nothing else but a certain beginning of glory within us. 7 $ <<% And ossuet says the samething5 7 *ternal life in its beginnings consists in /nowing God by faith >united with charityB2 in its consummation

eternal life consists in seeing God face to face, unveiled. esus Christ gives us both the one and the other, because He has merited it for us and because He is the source of it in all the members to which He gives life. 7$<:%

25ohn iv, 8I18:

26ohn vii, <

270iv, ;<

28 ohn iv, 8E.

29#u/e 0vii, ;I

308 ohn iii, 8:

31L, 8<

32ohn 0vii, <.

331ae, 9. 00iv, art. <2 1ae, 9. l0i0, art. ;2 De Ler., 9. 0iv, art. ;.

34!editations sur l7*vangile, , <th day2 in oan., 0vii, <.



And therefore the #iturgy tells us, in the 'reface used for the !ass of the Dead. 7 Tuis enim fidelibus, Domine,vita mutatur, non tollitur 75 7 rom them that believe in thee, " #ord, life is not ta/en away2 it is changed and

transformed. 7

Th $0,')%/!" '( %) "'!)#$'!+

We are thus able to appreciate something of the importance of true conversion, by which a man passes from thestate of mortal sin to the state of grace. n the former state his energies were dissipated and he was indifferent inregard to God2 now he loves God more than he loves himself, more than he loves anything else2 at any rate heesteems God beyond all earthly things, even though his love of God may not be free from all selfish motives.The state of sin was a state of spiritual death2 a state in which, more or less consciously, he made himself the

centre of all his activities and the end of all his desires2 in which he was actually the slave of everything, theslave of his passions, of the spirit of the world, of the spirit of evil. The state of grace, on the other hand, is astate of life in which man begins seriously to tend beyond himself and to ma/e God the centre of his activities,loving God more than himself. The state of grace is entrance into the /ingdom of God, where the docile soul begins to reign with God over its own passions, over the spirit of the world and the spirit of evil.

We may well understand, therefore, how +t. Thomas could write5 7 onum gratiae unius ma4us est 6uam bonumnaturae totius universi7 The lowest degree of grace in a soul, for e0ample in that of a small child after its baptism, is of greater value than the natural goodness of the whole universe. This grace alone is worth more thanall created natures together, including even the angelic natures. or the angels, too, stood in need, not of redemption, but of the gratuitous gift of grace in order to tend to the supernatural beatitude to which God called

them. +t. Augustine says that when God created the nature of the angels He also gave them the gift of grace5 7+imul in eis condens naturam et largiens gratiam 72$ <@% and he maintains that 7 the 4ustification of the ungodly issomething greater than the creation of heaven and earth, greater even than the creation of the angels. 7 $ <E%

+t. Thomas adds. 7 The 4ustification of the sinner is proportionately more precious than the glorification of the 4ust2 because the gift of grace more greatly transcends the state of the sinner, who is deserving of punishment,

than the gift of glory transcends the state of the 4ust man, who, by reason of his 4ustification, is worthy of the gift

of glory. 7 $<

% There is a much greater distance between the nature of man, or even between the nature of thehighest of the angels, and grace, than there is between grace itself and glory. -o created nature, however perfect,is the germ of grace, whereas grace is indeed the germ or the seed of eternal life, semen gloriae. Hence when asinner is absolved in the confessional, an event occurs which is proportionately of greater importance than theentrance of a 4ust soul into heaven.

This doctrine is e0pressed by 'ascal in one of the finest pages of his 'ensees, a page which summarises theteaching of +t. Augustine and +t. Thomas on this point5 7 The infinite distance which separates bodies fromspirits is a symbol of the infinitely more infinite distance which separates spirits from charity, for charity issupernatural. $<% The whole of the material creation together, the firmament, the stars, the earth and its/ingdoms, is inferior to the least of the spirits2 for he /nows all this and he /nows himself, whereas bodies /now

nothing. All bodies together, and all spirits together, and all that they can produce, are of less value than thesmallest act of charity, because this is of an infinitely higher order. rom all bodies together it would be

impossible to e0tract a single thought, because a thought is of a higher order than they. rom all bodies and allspirits together it would be impossible to e0tract one single act of true charity, because an act of charity is of thesupernatural order. 7 $<%

#uther erred fundamentally, therefore, when he tried to e0plain 4ustification, not by the infusion of a grace andcharity which remit sin, but merely by faith in Christ, without wor/s and without love2 ma/ing it consist simplyin the e0trinsic imputation of the merits of Christ, an imputation which covers sins without destroying them, and

35De civ. Dei, lib. L, c.

36n oan., tract. ;, c. 0iv, 8;

379. c0iii, art. .

38n reality there is a greater distance between any created nature, even the angelic nature, and the inner life of

God, of which charity is a participation, than there is between bodies and created spirits. All creatures, even thehighest, are at an infinite distance from God, and in this sense are e6ually below Him

39'ensees >ed. HavetB, p. ;E



thus leaves the sinner in his filth and corruption. According to his view there was no regeneration of the will bythe supernatural love of God and men. We have seen, on the contrary, what is the teaching of the +criptures andof Tradition. aith and the e0trinsic imputation of the 4ustice of Christ are not sufficient for the 4ustification or

conversion of the sinner. He must be willing, in addition, to observe the commandments, above all the two greatcommandments of the love of God and the love of one7s neighbour5 7 f any one love me he will /eep my word,and my ather will love him, and we will come to him and ma/e our abode with him. 7 $ :I% 7 He that abideth in

charity abideth in God, and God in him. 7 $:8

%

According to the true teaching of Christ we are in an order far transcending natural morality. "ur unaided reason

tells us that it is our duty to love God, the author of our nature, and to love Him effectively, that is, by observingHis commandments. ut even this natural duty we are unable to fulfil without the help of God7s grace, sowea/ened are our wills in conse6uence of original sin. +till less are we able by our natural powers alone to loveGod, the author of grace2 for this love is of an essentially supernatural order, as supernatural for the angels as itis for us.

+uch is the supernatural life which we received in aptism2 and this is what constitutes our interior life.

This beginning of eternal life, as we have called it, is a complete spiritual organism, which has to grow anddevelop until we enter heaven. The root principle of this undying organism is sanctifying grace, received in the

very essence of the soul2 and this grace would last for ever, were it not that sin, a radical disorder in the soul,sometimes destroys it. $:;% rom sanctifying grace, which is the germ of glory, proceed the infused virtues. irst,

the theological virtues, the greatest of which, charity, is destined to last for ever1 7 Charity never falleth away, 7says +t. 'aul, ... 7 -ow there remain faith, hope and charity, these three2 but the greatest of these is charity. 7$ :<%Charity will remain for ever, after faith has disappeared to ma/e room for vision2 after hope has been displaced by the everlasting possession of God, seen face to face.

n addition to the theological virtues there are also the infused moral virtues, which perfect man in his use of the

means of salvation, 4ust as the former dispose him rightly in regard to his end. The infused moral virtues are li/eso many functions admirably adapted one to another, infinitely surpassing in perfection those of our physicalorganism2 they are called1 prudence, 4ustice, fortitude and temperance... together with the other virtues whichare associated with them.

inally, in order to supply the deficiencies of these virtues which, in the twilight of faith and under the directionof prudence, still act in too human a fashion, we are given the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, who dwells in us.These are li/e the sails on a ship2 they dispose us to receive obediently and promptly the breathing that comesfrom on high, the special inspirations of God2 inspirations which enable us to act, no longer in merely humanfashion, but divinely, with that alacrity which we need in order to run in the way of God, undismayed by anyobstacles.

All these infused virtues and gifts grow with sanctifying grace and charity, says +t. Thomas 2$ ::% they increasetogether 4ust as the five fingers of the hand, or the organs of our body, develop simultaneously. Thus it isinconceivable that a soul should possess a high degree of charity without possessing at the same time a proportionate degree of the gift of wisdom2 whether this e0ist under a definitely contemplative form, or in a practical guise, more directly adapted to action. The wisdom of a +t. Lincent de 'aul is unli/e that of a +t.Augustine2 but the one and the other are e6ually infused.

n this way the whole of the spiritual organism develops simultaneously, though it may manifest its activityunder various forms. And, from this point of view, since the infused contemplation of the mysteries of faith is anact of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, an act which disposes the soul to the beatific vision, must we not admit thatsuch contemplation is in the normal way of sanctity &. 11 We merely mention the 6uestion here, without insistingfurther upon it. $:@%

40ohn 0iv, ;<

41ohn iv, 8E

42cf 1ae, 9. l000vii, art. <

43 Cor. 0iii, , 8<

441ae, 9. 0vi, art. ;.

45We have treated it fully elsewhere5 'erfection chretienne et contemplation, t. 88, pp. :<I1:E;2 see also note

below, p. 8I@.



#et us now e0amine more closely the full development of our eternal life in heaven, in order that we may better appreciate the value of that sanctifying grace which is its beginning. n particular let us compare it with what

would have been our beatitude and our reward if we had been created in a purely natural state.

f we had been created in a state of pure nature, with a spiritual and immortal soul, but without the life of grace,

even then our intellect would have been made for the /nowledge of the True and our will for the love of theGood. "ur end would have been to /now God, the +overeign Good, the author of our nature, and to love Himabove all things. ut we should have /nown Him only in the reflection of His goodness in creatures, in the same

way as the greatest among the pagan philosophers /new Him, though our /nowledge would have been morecertain than theirs, and free from any admi0ture of error. God would have been for us the irst Cause and the+upreme ntelligence that orders all the things of creation.

We should have loved Him as the author of our nature, with that love which a sub4ect has for his superior. twould not have been a love of friendship, but rather a sentiment compounded of admiration, respect and

gratitude, yet lac/ing that happy and simple familiarity which re4oices the hearts of the children of God. Weshould have been God7s servants, but not His children.

This natural end is already a sublime destiny. t could never bring satiety, 4ust as the eye never tires of

contemplating the blue vault of heaven. !oreover, it is a spiritual end, and therefore, unli/e material goods, can be possessed at once by all and by each, without possession on the part of one being pre4udicial to possession on

the part of another, and thus without causing 4ealousy or discord.

ut this abstract and mediate /nowledge of God would have left many obscurities in the human mind, especiallyas regards the mutual compatibility of the divine perfections. We should forever have remained at the stage of counting singly and enumerating these absolute perfections2 we should forever have wondered how it was possible to reconcile the almighty goodness of God with His permission that evil should e0ist2 an evil, too,

which is sometimes so great as to disconcert the human mind. We should have as/ed ourselves, moreover, howHis infinite mercy could be truly consistent with His infinite 4ustice. *ven though we en4oyed this natural beatitude, we should still be urged to say5 7 f only could see this God, who is the source of all truth andgoodness2 if could see Him as He sees Himself F 7

What the most brilliant of human minds, what even the intelligence of the angels could never have discovered,divine (evelation has disclosed to us. (evelation tells us that our last end is essentially supernatural and that itconsists in seeing God immediately, face to face, as He is5 sicuti est 7 >GodB has predestinated >usB to be madeconformable to the image of his +on2 that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 7 $ :E% 7 *ye hath notseen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them thatlove him. $:%

We are destined to see God, not merely in the mirror of creatures, however perfect these may be, but to see Himimmediately, without the intermediary of any creature, and even without the medium of any created idea2 for nocreated idea, however perfect, could ever represent as He really is "ne who is Thought itself, infinite Truth, theeternally subsistent brightness of intelligence and the living flame of measureless #ove.

We are destined to see all the divine perfections concentrated and intimately united in their common source5

Deity. We are destined to see how the tenderest !ercy and the most ine0orable ustice proceed from the one#ove which is infinitely generous and infinitely holy2 how this #ove, even in its freest choice, is identically onewith pure Wisdom, how there is nothing in the divine #ove which is not wise, nothing in the divine Wisdomwhich is not synonymous with #ove. We are destined to contemplate the eminent simplicity of God, Hisabsolute purity and sanctity2 to see the infinite fecundity of the divine nature in the procession of the Three'ersons5 to contemplate the eternal generation of the Word, the 7 brightness of >the ather7sB glory and the figure

of his substance, 7 $:% to see the ineffable breathing of the Holy +pirit, the issue of the common #ove of theather and the +on, which unites them in the most complete outpouring of themselves. The Good tends naturallyto diffuse itself, and the greater the Good the more abundant and intimate is its self1giving.

46(om. viii, ;

47 Cor. ii, .

48Heb. i, <.



-one can tell the 4oy and the love which this vision will produce in us, a love of God so pure and so strong thatnothing will ever be able to destroy or in the slightest degree to diminish it.

n no way, therefore, can we e0press more clearly the preciousness of sanctifying grace, or of the true interior life, than by saying that it is a beginning of eternal life. Here on earth we /now God only by faith, and, while wehope one day to possess Him, we are able, unfortunately, to lose Him by sin. ut, apart from these two

differences, it is fundamentally the same life, the same sanctifying grace and the same charity, which is to lastthrough all eternity.

This is the fundamental truth of Christian spirituality. Conse6uently our interior life must be a life of humility,for we must remember always that the principle of that life, sanctifying grace, is a gratuitous gift, and that weneed an actual grace for the slightest salutary act, for the shortest step forward in the way of salvation. t must bealso a life of mortification2 as +t. 'aul says, we must be 7 always bearing about in our body the mortification of esus, that the life also of esus may be made manifest in our bodies 72 $:% that is to say5 we must daily more andmore die to sin and to the relics that sin leaves in us, so that God may reign more completely in us, even to the

depth of the soul. ut, above all, our interior life must be a life of faith, hope, charity, and union with God byunceasing prayer2 it is above all the life of the three theological virtues and of the gifts of the Holy Ghost whichaccompany them5 the gifts of wisdom, understanding, /nowledge, piety, counsel, fortitude and fear of the #ord.n this way we shall enter into the mysteries of faith and relish them more and more. n other words, our whole

interior life tends towards the supernatural contemplation of the mysteries of the inner life of God and of thencarnation and (edemption2 it tends, above all, towards a more intimate union with God, a preliminary to that

union with Him, ever actual and perpetual, which will be the consummation of eternal life.

Th %h) ,)$'# '( %h #,$)$%/* *$(+

f such is the life of grace, if such is the spiritual organism of the infused virtues and the gifts, it is not surprisingto find that the development of the interior life has often been compared to the three periods or stages of physical life5 childhood, youth, and manhood. +t. Thomas himself has indicated this analogy5 and it is ananalogy which is worth pursuing, particular attention being paid to the transition from one period to the other.

t is generally admitted that childhood lasts until the age of puberty, about fourteen2 though early childhood, or infancy, ceases at the dawn of reason, about the age of seven. )outh, or adolescence, lasts from the age of fourteen to twenty. Then follows manhood, in which we may distinguish the period which precedes fullmaturity, about the age of thirty1five, and that which follows it, before the decline of old age sets in.

A man7s mentality changes with the development of the organism5 the activity of the child, it has been said, isnot that of a man in miniature, or of a fatigued adult2 the dominant element in childhood is different. The childhas as yet no discernment, it is unable to organi3e in a rational manner2 it follows the lead of the imaginationand the impulses of sense. And even when its reason begins to awa/en it still remains to a great e0tentdependent upon the senses. +o, for e0ample, a child as/ed me one day5 7 What are you lecturing on this year & 7 7"n man, 7 replied.

7"n what man&7 was the ne0t in6uiry. The child7s intelligence was as yet unable to grasp the abstract and

universal idea of man as such.

!ost important to be noticed, for the purposes of our present sub4ect, is the transition from childhood toadolescence and from youth to manhood.

The period of puberty, which is the end of childhood, about the age of fourteen, is characteri3ed by atransformation which is not only organic but also psychological, intellectual and moral. The youth is no longer content to follow his imagination, as the child was2 he begins 8I reflect on the things of human life, on the needto prepare himself for some career or occupation in the future. He has no longer the child7s attitude towardsfamily, social and religious matters2 his moral personality begins to ta/e shape, and he ac6uires the sense of

honour and of good repute. "r else, on the contrary, if he passes unsuccessfully through this difficult period, hedeteriorates and follows evil courses. The law of nature so ordains that the transition from childhood to youthmust follow a normal development2 otherwise the sub4ect will assume a positive bias to evil, or else he will

49; Cor. iv, 8I



remain a half1wit, perhaps even a complete idiot, for the rest of his life. 7 He who ma/es no progress losesground. 7

t is at this point that the analogy becomes illuminating for the spiritual life. We shall see that the beginner whofails to become a proficient, either turns to sin or else presents an e0ample of arrested spiritual development.Here, too, it is true that 7 he who ma/es no progress loses ground, 7 as the athers of the Church have so often

pointed out.

#et us pursue the analogy further. f the physical and moral crisis of puberty is a difficult transition, the same isto be said of another crisis, which we may call the crisis of the first freedom, and which occurs at the stagewhere the youth enters manhood, about the age of twenty. The young man, having now reached his complete physical development, has to begin to ta/e his place in social life. t will soon be time for him to marry and to become an educator in his turn, unless he has received from God a higher vocation still. !any fail to surmountthis crisis of the first freedom, and, li/e the prodigal son, depart from their father7s house and confuse liberty

with licence. Here again the law ordains that the transition must be made normally2 otherwise the young maneither ta/es the wrong road, or else his development is arrested and he becomes one of those of whom it is said5 7He will be a child for the whole of his life. 7

The true adult is not merely a young man grown a little older. He has a new mentality2 he is preoccupied withwider 6uestions, 6uestions to which the youth does not yet advert. He understands the younger generation, but

the younger generation does not understand him2 conversation between them on certain sub4ects, e0cept of avery superficial /ind, is impossible.

There is a somewhat similar relation, in the spiritual life, between the proficient and the perfect. He who is perfect understands the earlier stages through which he has himself already passed2 but he cannot e0pect to beunderstood by those who are still passing through them.

The important thing to be noticed is that, 4ust as there is the crisis of puberty, more or less manifest and more or less successfully surpassed, between childhood and adolescence, so in the spiritual life there is an analogouscrisis for the transition from the purgative life of beginners to the illuminative life of proficients. This crisis has been described by several great spiritual writers, in particular by Tauler $ @I% and especially by +t. ohn of the

Cross, under the name of the passive purgation of the senses, $ @8% and by 'ere #allemant, +. ., $@;% and severalothers under the name of the second conversion.

!oreover, 4ust as the youth has to pass through a second crisis, that of the first freedom, in order to reachmanhood, so in the transition from the illuminative way of the proficients to the true life of union, there is asecond spiritual crisis, mentioned by Tauler, $@<% and described by +t. ohn of the Cross under the name of the passive purgation of the spirit. $@:% This, li/ewise, may be called a third conversion, or better, a transformation of

the soul.

-one has better described these crises which mar/ the transition from one spiritual period to another than +t.ohn of the Cross. t will be noticed that they correspond to the two parts of the human soul, the sensitive andthe spiritual. they correspond also to the nature of the divine seed, sanctifying grace, that germ of eternal lifewhich must ever more and more animate all our faculties and inspire all our actions, until the depth of the soul is

purged of all egoism and surrendered entirely to God.

+t. ohn of the Cross, it is true, describes spiritual progress as it appears especially in contemplatives, and in themost generous among contemplatives, who are striving to reach union with God by the most direct way possible. He therefore shows us what are the higher laws of the spiritual life at their ma0imum of sublimity. utthese laws apply in a lesser degree also to many other souls who do not reach so high a state of perfection, but

are nevertheless ma/ing devoted progress, and not loo/ing bac/.

50+econd +ermon for #ent

51Dar/ -ight, oo/ 8, ch. and ch. 8I

52Doctrine +pirituelle, 'r. , sect. ii, ch. E, art. ;

53+ermon for !onday in 'assion Wee/

54Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. 818<



n the chapters which follow it will be our ob4ect to show that, according to the traditional teaching, beginners inthe spiritual life must, after a certain period, undergo a second conversion, similar to the second conversion of the Apostles at the end of our #ord7s 'assion, and that, still later, before entering upon the life of perfect union,

there must be a third conversion or transformation of the soul, similar to that which too/ place in the souls of theApostles on the day of 'entecost.

This distinction between the three periods or stages of the spiritual life is clearly of great importance, as thosewho are charged with the direction of souls well /now. An old and e0perienced director who has himself reached the age of the perfect may have read but little of the writings of the mystics, and yet he will be able to

answer well and readily the most delicate 6uestions on the most sublime sub4ects, and he will answer in thewords of the +criptures, perhaps by 6uoting a passage from the Gospel of the day, without even suspecting for amoment how truly profound his answers are. "n the other hand a young and ine0perienced priest, himself onlyat the age of a beginner, will have little more than a boo/1/nowledge and a verbal ac6uaintance with thespiritual life.

The 6uestion with which we are concerned is thus in the highest sense a vital 6uestion2 and it is important thatwe should consider it from the traditional point of view. f we do so consider it, we shall see how true is thesaying of the ancients, that 7 in the way of God he who ma/es no progress loses ground 72 and it will appear alsothat our interior life must, already here on earth, become the normal prelude to the beatific vision. n this deep

sense our interior life is, as we have said, eternal life already begun5 7 inchoatio vitae aeternae. 7 $ @@% 7Amen, amen say to you, he that believeth in me hath eternal life, and will raise him up in the last day. 7 $@E%

CHAPTER 2 : THE SECOND CONVERSION: ENTRANCE INTO THE

ILLUMINATIVE WAY

W* have seen that, comparable with the two crises which mar/ the transition from childhood to youth and fromyouth to manhood, there are also in the spiritual life two crises, one by which proficients pass into theilluminative way, and another by which the perfect reach the state of union.

The first of these crises has been called a second conversion, and it is of this that we have now to spea/.

The liturgy, especially at periods such as Advent and #ent, spea/s often of the need of conversion, even for those who are leading a Christian life. +piritual writers also refer often to this second conversion, necessary for the Christian who, though he has thought seriously of his salvation and made an effort to wal/ in the way of God, has nevertheless begun once more to follow the bent of his nature and to fall into a state of tepidity 11 li/e

an engrafted plant reverting to its wild state. +ome of these writers, such as the lessed Henry +uso or Tauler,have insisted especially upon the necessity of this second conversion, a necessity which they have learned fromtheir own e0perience. +t. ohn of the Cross has profoundly pointed out that the entrance into the illuminativeway is mar/ed by a passive purgation of the senses, which is a second conversion, and that the entrance into theunitive way is preceded by a passive purgation of the spirit, a further and a deeper conversion affecting the soulin its most intimate depths. Among the writers of the +ociety of esus we may 6uote 'ere #allemant, who

writes5 7 +aints and religious who reach perfection pass ordinarily through two conversions5 one by which they

devote themselves to the service of God, and another by which they surrender themselves entirely to perfection.We find this in the case of the Apostles, first when our #ord called them, and then when He sent the Holy Ghostupon them2 we find it in the case of +t. Teresa, of her confessor, '. Alvare3, and of many others. This secondconversion is not granted to all religious, and it is due to their negligence. 7 $@%

This 6uestion is of the greatest interest for every spiritual soul. Among those who dealt with it before +t. ohn of the Cross we must count +t. Catherine of +iena, who touches upon the sub4ect repeatedly in her Dialogue and inher #etters. Her treatment, which is very realistic and practical, throws a great light upon the teaching which iscommonly received in the Church. $@%

551ae 9. 00iv, art. <, ad ;2 1ae, 9. l0i0, art. ;

56; ohn vi, :1@@.

57#a Doctrine +pirituelle, 'r. , sect. ii, ch. E, art. ;.

58This is not an instance of a private revelation relating to some future event or some new truth, it is a more

profound contemplation of a truth already revealed in the Gospel 11 a fulfiment of the promise of Christ that the



ollowing +t. Catherine, we shall spea/ first of this second conversion as it too/ place in the Apostles, and thenas it should ta/e place in us2 we shall say what defects render this conversion necessary, what great motives

ought to inspire it, and finally what fruits it should produce in us.

Th #"'! "'!)#$'! '( %h A,'#%*#+

+t. Catherine of +iena spea/s e0plicitly of the second conversion of the Apostles in the E<rd chapter of her Dialogue.

Their first conversion had ta/en place when esus called them, with the words5 7 will ma/e you fishers of men.7 They followed our #ord, listened with admiration to His teaching, saw His miracles and too/ part in His

ministry. Three of them saw Him transfigured on Thabor. All were present at the institution of the *ucharist,were ordained priests and received Holy Communion. ut when the hour of the 'assion arrived, an hour whichesus had so often foretold, the Apostles abandoned their !aster *ven 'eter, though he loved his !aster devotedly2 went so far as to deny Him thrice. "ur #ord had told 'eter after the +upper, in words that recall the prologue of the oo/ of ob = 7 +imon, +imon, behold +atan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as

wheat. ut have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not2 and thou being once converted confirm thy brethren. 7 Towhich 'eter replied5 7 #ord, am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. 7 ut esus warned him5 7 say to thee, 'eter, the coc/ shall not crow this day till thou thrice deniest that thou /nowest me. 7 $@%

And, in fact, 'eter fell2 he denied his !aster, swearing that he did not /now Him.

When did his second conversion begin & mmediately after his triple denial, as we are told in the Gospel of +t.#u/e $EI% 7 mmediately, as he was yet spea/ing, the coc/ crew. And the #ord turning, loo/ed on 'eter. And 'eter remembered the word of the #ord, as he had said5 efore the coc/ crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And 'eter going out, wept bitterly. 7 Mnder the glance of esus and the grace which accompanied it, 'eter7s repentance musthave been deep indeed and must have been the beginning of a new life for him

n connection with this second conversion of +t. 'eter it is well to recall the words of +t. Thomas2 $ E8% 7 *ven

after a grave sin, if the soul has a sorrow which is truly fervent and proportionate to the degree of grace which ithas lost, it will recover this same degree of grace2 grace may even revive in the soul in a higher degree, if thecontrition is still more fervent. Thus the soul has not to begin again completely from the beginning, but itcontinues from the point which it had reached at the moment of the fall. 7 n the same way, the climber who fallswhen he has reached half1way up the mountain1side, rises immediately and continues his ascent from the point

at which he has fallen. $E;%

*verything leads us to suppose that 'eter7s repentance was so fervent that he not only recovered the degree of grace which he possessed before, but was raised to a higher degree of supernatural life. "ur #ord had allowedhim to fall in this way in order to cure him of his presumption, so that he might be more humble and place hisconfidence in God and not in himself.

+t. Catherine writes in her Dialogue 5$E<% 7 'eter... after the sin of denying !y +on, began to weep. )et his

lamentations were imperfect, and remained so until after the forty days, that is until after the Ascension. >They

Holy +pirit would call to mind whatsoevcr He had told to His Apostles >ohn 0iv, ;EB.

59#u/e 00ii, <81<:

6000ii, EI1E;

61, 9. l000i0, art. ;.

62The teaching of +t. Thomas is 6uite clear5 7 Contingit intensionem motus poenitentis 6uando6ue

proportionatum esse ma4ori gratiae, 6uam fuerit illa a 6ua ceciderat per peccatum, 6uando6ue ae6uali,6uando6ue vero minori. *t ideo poenitens 6uando6ue resurgit in ma4ori gratia, 6uam prius habuerat, 6uando6ue

autem in ae6uali, 6uando6ue etiam in minori 7 >, 9. l000i0, art. ;B. Certain modern theologians thin/ that it is possible to recover a high degree of grace with an attrition which is barely sufficient. +t. Thomas and the ancienttheologians do not admit this. And in fact we find in human relationships that, after considerable offence has

been given, friendship will revive in the same degree as it e0isted before only if there is, not merely regret, butregret proportionate to the offence committed and to the greatness of the previous friendship

63Ch. E<



remained imperfect in spite of the appearances of our #ord. B ut when my Truth returned to me, in Hishumanity, 'eter and the others concealed themselves in the house, awaiting the coming of the Holy +pirit whichmy Truth had promised them. They remained barred in through fear, because the soul always fears until it

arrives at true love. 7 t was only at 'entecost that they were truly transformed.

)et even before the end of the 'assion of Christ there was clearly a second conversion in 'eter and the other

Apostles, a conversion which was consolidated during the days that followed. After His resurrection our #ordappeared to them several times, enlightening them, as He did when He taught the disciples of *mmaus theunderstanding of the +criptures2 and in particular, after the miraculous draught of fishes, He made 'eter

compensate for his threefold denial by a threefold act of love. 7 +imon, son of ohn, 7 He says to him, 7 lovestthou me more than these& He saith to him5 )ea, #ord, thou /nowest that love thee. He saith to him5 eed mylambs. He saith to him again5 +imon, son of ohn, lovest thou me. He saith to him5 )ea, #ord, thou /nowest that love thee. He saith to him5 eed my lambs. He said to him the third time5 +imon, son of ohn, lovest thou me&'eter was grieved because he said to him the third time5 #ovest thou me & And he said to him5 #ord, thou/nowest all things, thou /nowest that love thee. He said to him5 eed my sheep. 7 And then He foretold in

veiled terms the martyrdom that 'eter would undergo5 7 When thou wast younger thou didst gird thyself anddidst wal/ where thou wouldst. ut when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shallgird thee and lead thee whither thou wouldst not. 7 $E:%

The threefold act of love made reparation for the threefold denial. t was a consolidation of the secondconversion, a measure of confirmation in grace before the transformation of 'entecost.

or +t. ohn, too, there had been something special 4ust before the death of Christ. ohn, li/e the other Apostles,had abandoned his !aster when udas arrived with his band of armed men2 but by an invisible and powerfulgrace esus drew the beloved disciple to the foot of the cross, and the second conversion of +t. ohn too/ placewhen he heard the seven last words of the dying +aviour.

Wh/% ') #"'! "'!)#$'! '.h% %' -+ Th ("%# h$"h )!) $%

!"##/)&+

n the EIth and E<rd chapters of her Dialogue, +t. Catherine shows that what happened in the case of theApostles, our models formed immediately by the +aviour Himself, must happen, after a certain manner, in thecase of each one of us. ndeed we may say that if even the Apostles stood in need of a second conversion, thenstill more do we. The +aint emphasi3es especially the faults which ma/e this second conversion necessary, in particular self1love. n varying degrees this egoism survives in all imperfect souls in spite of the state of grace,and it is the source of a multitude of venial sins, of habitual faults which become characteristic features of the

soul, rendering necessary a veritable purging even in those who have, as it were, been present on !ount Thabor,or who have often parta/en of the *ucharistic ban6uet, as the Apostles did at the #ast +upper.

n her Dialogue $E@% +t. Catherine of +iena spea/s of this self1love, describing it as 7 the mercenary love of theimperfect, 7 of those who, without being conscious of it, serve God from self1interest, because they are attachedto temporal or spiritual consolations, and who shed tears of self1pity when they are deprived of them.

t is a strange but not uncommon mi0ture of sincere love of God with an inordinate love of self. $ EE% The soulloves God more than itself, otherwise it would not be in the state of grace, it would not possess charity2 but itstill loves itself with an inordinate love. t has not yet reached the stage of loving itself in God and for His sa/e.+uch a state of soul is neither white nor blac/2 it is a light grey, in which there is more white than blac/. Thesoul is on the upward path, but it still has a tendency to slip downwards.

We read in this EIth chapter of the Dialogue >it is God who spea/sB. 7 Among those who have become !ytrusted servants there are some who serve !e with faith, without servile fear, it is not the mere fear of

64ohn 00i, 8@ se6

65Ch. EI

66According to +t. Thomas this mi0ture is impossible in the angels, because they cannot sin venially. They are

either very holy or very perverse. *ither they love God perfectly, or else they turn away from Him completely by mortal sin. This is due to the vigour of their intelligence, which enters completely and definitively into theway it has ta/en >1ae, 9. l000i0, art. :B.



punishment, but love which attaches them to !y service >thus 'eter before the 'assionB. ut this love is stillimperfect, because what they see/ in !y service >at any rate to a great e0tentB is their own profit, their ownsatisfaction, or the pleasure that they find in !e. The same imperfection is found in the love which they bear

towards their neighbour. And do you /now what shows the imperfection of their love & t is that, as soon as theyare deprived of the consolations which they find in !e, their love fails and can no longer survive. t becomeswea/ and gradually cools towards !e when, in order to e0ercise them in virtue and to detach them from their

imperfection, withdraw spiritual consolations from them and send them difficulties and afflictions. act in thisway in order to bring them to perfection, to teach them to /now themselves, to reali3e that they are nothing andthat of themselves they have no grace. $E% Adversity should have the effect of ma/ing them see/ refuge in !e,

recogni3e !e as their benefactor, and become attached to !e by a true humility....

7 f they do not recogni3e their imperfection and desire to become perfect, it is impossible that they should notturn bac/. 7 This is what the athers have so often asserted5 7 n the way of God he who ma/es no progress losesground. 7 ust as the child who does not grow does not merely remain a child but becomes an idiot, so the beginner who does not enter upon the way of proficients when he ought to, does not merely remain a beginner,

but becomes a stunted soul. t would seem, unhappily, that the great ma4ority of souls do not belong to any of these three categories, of beginners, proficients or perfect, but rather to that of stunted souls F At what stage arewe ourselves& This is often a very difficult 6uestion to answer, and it would perhaps be vain curiosity to in6uireat what point we have arrived in our upward path2 but at least we must ta/e care not to mista/e the road, not to

ta/e a path that leads downwards.

t is important, therefore, to reach beyond the merely mercenary love, which often we unconsciously retain. Weread in this same EIth chapter5 7 t was with this imperfect love that 'eter loved the good and gentle esus, myonly1begotten +on, when he e0perienced the delights of sweet intimacy with Him >on !ount ThaborB. ut assoon as the time of tribulation came all his courage forsoo/ him. -ot only did he not have the strength to suffer for Him, but at the first threat of danger his loyalty was overcome by the most servile fear, and he denied Himthree times, swearing that he did not /now Him. 7

+t. Catherine of +iena, in the E<rd chapter of the same Dialogue, shows that the imperfect soul, which loves Godwith a love which is still mercenary, must do what 'eter did after his denial. -ot infre6uently 'rovidence allowsus, too, at this stage to commit some very palpable fault, in order to humiliate us and cause us to ta/e truemeasure of ourselves.

7 Then, 7 says the #ord, $E% 7 having recogni3ed the grievousness of its sin and repented of it, the soul begins toweep, for fear of punishment2 then it rises to the consideration of my mercy, in which it finds satisfaction andcomfort. ut it is, say, still imperfect, and in order to draw it on to perfection... withdraw from it, not in grace but in feeling. $E%... This do in order to humiliate that soul, and cause it to see/ !e in truth... without thoughtof self and with lively faith and with hatred of its own sensuality. 7 And 4ust as 'eter compensated for histhreefold denial by three acts of pure and devoted love, so the enlightened soul must do in li/e manner.

+t. ohn of the Cross, following Tauler, gives us three signs which mar/ this second conversion5 7 The soul findsno pleasure or consolation in the things of God, but it also fails to find it in any thing created.... The secondsign... is that ordinarily the memory is centred upon God, with painful care and solicitude, thin/ing that it is notserving God, but bac/sliding, because it finds itself without sweetness in the things of God.... The third sign... isthat the soul can no longer meditate or reflect in its sense of the imagination.... or God now begins to

communicate Himself to it, no longer through sense, as He did aforetime, by means of reflections which 4oinedand sundered its /nowledge, but by an act of simple contemplation, to which neither the e0terior nor the interior senses of the lower part of the soul can attain. 7 $I%

67This is the 6uasi1e0perimental /nowledge of the distinction between nature and grace, 6uite different from

that which we have through speculative theology. t is not difficult to understand in abstract the difference between the two orders2 but to see it in concrete, and to perceive it almost continuously, supposes a spirit of faith

which, in this degree, is found hardly in any but the +aints

68Dialogue, ch. E<.

69Thus our #ord deprived His disciples of His visible presence, saying to them5 7 t is e0pedient to you that go.

7 t was in fact e0pedient that they should be for some time deprived of the sight of His humanity, so that they

might be elevated to a higher spiritual life, a life more independent of the senses, a life which would later, whenmade more vigorous, find e0pression in the sacrifice of an heroic martyrdom.

70Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch.



'rogressives or proficients thus enter, according to +t. ohn of the Cross, 7 upon the road and way of the spirit,which... is called the way of illumination or of infused contemplation, wherewith God Himself feeds andrefreshes the soul. 7 $8%

While +t. Catherine of +iena does not give so e0act an analysis, she insists particularly upon one of the signs of this state5 an e0perimental /nowledge of our poverty and profound imperfection2 a /nowledge which is not

precisely ac6uired, but granted by God, as it was granted to 'eter when esus loo/ed upon him immediatelyafter his denial. At that moment 'eter received a grace of enlightenment2 he remembered, and going out he wept bitterly. $;%

At the end of this same E<rd chapter of her Dialogue we find a passage of which +t. ohn of the Cross later givesa full development1 7 withdraw from the soul, 7 says the #ord, 7 so that it may see and /now its defects, so that,feeling itself deprived of consolation and afflicted by pain, it may recogni3e its own wea/ness, and learn howincapable it is of stability or perseverance, thus cutting down to the very root of spiritual self1love2 for thisshould be the end and purpose of all its self1/nowledge, to rise above itself, mounting the throne of conscience,

and not permitting the sentiment of imperfect love to turn again in its death1struggle, but, with correction andreproof, digging up the root of self1love, with the /nife of self1hatred and the love of virtue. 7 $<%

n this same connection the +aint spea/s of the many dangers that lie in wait for a soul that is moved only by a

mercenary love, saying that souls which are imperfect desire to follow the ather alone, without passing by theway of Christ crucified, because they have no desire to suffer. $:%

Th 0'%$# h$"h 0#% $!#,$) %h #"'! "'!)#$'! /! %h ()$%# %h/%

)$ %h)()'0+

The first motive is e0pressed in the greatest commandment, which /nows no limits5 7 Thou shalt love the #ordthy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind. 7 $ @% Thiscommandment re6uires the love of God for His own sa/e, and not from self1interest or attachment to our own personal satisfaction2 it demands, moreover, that we love God with all our strength in the hour of trial, so thatwe may finally arrive at the stage of loving Him with our whole mind, when our love will be unaffected by the

ebb and flow of sensibility and we shall be of those who 7 adore in spirit and in truth. 7 urthermore, thiscommandment is absolute and without limits5 the end for which all Christians are re6uired to strive is the perfection of charity, each in his own condition and state of life, whether it be in the state of marriage or in the priestly or the religious life.

+t. Catherine of +iena emphasi3es this in the 88th and :th chapters of her Dialogue, reminding us that we can

only perfectly fulfil the commandment of love towards God and our neighbour if we have the spirit of thecounsels, that is to say, the spirit of detachment from earthly goods, which, in the words of +t. 'aul, we must useas though we used them not.

71bid., ch. 8:

72#u/e 00ii, E8

<t is obvious that when the +aint spea/s of 7 self1hatred 7 she has in mind the aversion which we must have forthat self1love, or inordinate love of self, which is the source of all sin. +elf1love, she tells us in chapter 8;; ofthe Dialogue, is the cause of in4ustice towards God, towards one7s neighbour, and towards oneself, it destroys inthe soul both the desire for the salvation of souls and the hunger for virtue2 it prevents the soul from reacting asit should against the most crying in4ustices, because of the inordinate fear of offending creatures that self1loveentails. 7 +elf1love, 7 she says 7 has poisoned the whole world and the mystical body of the holy Church, and

through self1love the garden of the +pouse has run to seed and given birth to putrid flowers. 7

7 Thou /nowest, 7 God says to the +aint >ch. @8B, 7 that every evil is founded in self1love, and that self1love is acloud that ta/es away the light of reason, which reason holds in itself the light of faith, and one is not lostwithout the other. 7 We find the same doctrine in +t. Thomas5 7 nordinate love of self is the source of all sin anddar/ens the 4udgement 1 for when will and sensibility are ill1disposed >that is, when they tend to pride and

sensualityB everything that is in conformity with these inclinations appears to be good2 >1ae, 9. l00vii, art. :B.

74Ch. @

75#u/e 0, ;.



The great motive of the second conversion is thus described in the EIth chapter5 7 +uch souls should leave their mercenary love and become sons, and serve !e irrespective of their own personal advantage. am the rewarder of every labour, and render to every man according to his condition and according to his wor/s. Wherefore, if

these souls do not abandon the e0ercise of holy prayer and their other good wor/s, but continue with perseverance to increase their virtues, they will arrive at the state of filial love, because respond to them withthe same love with which they love !e2 so that if they love !e as a servant loves his master, pay them their

wages according to their deserts, but do not reveal myself to them, because secrets are revealed to a friend whohas become one thing with his friend, and not to a servant....

7 ut if !y servants, through displeasure at their imperfection and through love of virtue, dig up with hatred theroot of spiritual self1love, and mount to the throne of conscience, reasoning with themselves so as to 6uell themotions of servile fear in their heart, and to correct mercenary love by the light of holy faith, they will be so pleasing to !e that they will attain to the love of the friend. And will manifest !yself to them, as !y Truthsaid in these words1 He who loves me shall be one thing with me and with him, and will manifest myself tohim and we will dwell together. $E%These last words refer to the /nowledge of Himself which God grants by a

special inspiration. This is contemplation, which proceeds from faith enlightened by the gifts, from faith unitedwith love2 it is a /nowledge which savours mysteries and penetrates into their depths.

A second motive which should inspire the second conversion is the price of the blood of the +aviour, which +t.

'eter failed to reali3e before the 'assion, in spite of the words5 7 This is my blood which is shed for you, 7 whichChrist pronounced at the #ast +upper. t was only after the (esurrection that he began to comprehend this. We

read in the Dialogue 8 on this sub4ect = 7 !y creatures should see and /now that wish nothing but their good,through the lood of !y only1begotten +on, in which they are washed from their ini6uities. y this lood theyare enabled to /now !y truth, how in order to give them life created them in !y image and li/eness and re1created them to grace with the lood of !y. +on, ma/ing them sons of adoption. 7 This is what +t. 'eter understood after his sin and after the 'assion of Christ2 it was only then that he appreciated the value of the'recious lood which had been shed for our salvation, the lood of (edemption.

Here we have a glimpse of the greatness of 'eter in his humiliation2 he is much greater here than he was onThabor, for here he has some understanding of his own poverty and of the infinite goodness of the most High.When esus for the first time foretold that he must go to erusalem to be crucified, 'eter too/ his !aster asideand said to Him5 7 #ord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee F 7 n spea/ing thus he had, all

unconsciously, spo/en against the whole economy of (edemption, against the whole plan of 'rovidence, againstthe very motive of the ncarnation. And that is why esus answered him. 7 Get behind me, +atan2 thou savourestnot the things that are of God but the things that are of men. 7 ut now, after his sin and after his conversion,'eter in his humiliation has an understanding of the Cross, and he sees something of the price of the 'reciouslood.

And so we can understand why +t. Catherine constantly spea/s in her Dialogue and in her #etters of the lood

which gives efficacy to aptism and to the other sacraments. At every !ass, when the priest raises the 'reciouslood high above the altar, our faith in its redemptive power and virtue ought to become greater and moreintense.

A third motive which ought to inspire the second conversion is the love of souls which need to be saved, a lovewhich is inseparable from the love of God, because it is at once the sign and the effect of that love. This love of

souls ought in every Christian worthy of the name to become a 3eal that inspires all the virtues. n +t. Catherineit led her to offer herself as a victim for the salvation of sinners. n the last chapter but one of the Dialogue weread7 Thou didst as/ !e to do mercy to the world... Thou didst pray for the mystical body of Holy Church, that would remove dar/ness and persecution from it, at thine own desire punishing in thy person the ini6uities of certain of its ministers.... have also told thee that wish to do mercy to the world, proving to thee that mercy is!y special attribute, for through the mercy and the inestimable love which had for man sent into the world

the Word, !y only1begotten +on....

7 also promised thee, and now again promise thee, that through the long endurance of !y servants willreform !y +pouse. Wherefore invite thee to endure, !yself lamenting with thee over the ini6uities of some of !y ministers.... And have spo/en to thee also of the virtue of them that live li/e angels.... And now urge theeand !y other servants to grief, for by your grief and humble and continual prayer will do mercy to the world. 7

76Ch. EI



The fruit of this second conversion, as in the case of 'eter, is a beginning of contemplation by a progressiveunderstanding of the great mystery of the Cross and the (edemption, a living appreciation of the infinite valueof the lood which Christ shed for us. This incipient contemplation is accompanied by a union with God less

dependent upon the fluctuations of sensibility, a purer, a stronger, a more continuous union. +ubse6uently, if not 4oy, at all events peace, ta/es up its dwelling in the soul even in the midst of adversity. The soul becomes filled,no longer with a merely abstract, theoretical and vague persuasion, but with a concrete and living conviction,

that in God7s government all things are ordained towards the manifestation of His goodness. $

% At the end of the Dialogue God Himself declares this truth 5$% 7 -othing has ever happened and nothing happens save by the plan of !y divine 'rovidence. n all things that permit, in all things that give you, in tribulations and in

consolations, temporal or spiritual, do nothing save for your good, so that you may be sanctified in !e and that!y Truth be fulfilled in you. 7 t is the same truth which +t. 'aul e0presses in his epistle to the (omans5 7 Tothem that love God all things wor/ together unto good. 7

This is the conviction that was born in the soul of 'eter and the Apostles after their second conversion, and alsoin the souls of the disciples of *mmaus when the risen Christ gave them a fuller understanding of the mystery of

the Cross5 7 " foolish, 7 He said to them, 7 and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets havespo/en. "ught not Christ to have suffered these things and so to enter into his glory & And beginning at !osesand all the prophets he e0pounded to them in all the +criptures the things that were concerning him. 7 $ % They/new Him in the brea/ing of bread.

What happened to these disciples on the way to *mmaus should happen to us too, if we are faithful, on the way

to eternity. f for them and for the Apostles there had to be a second conversion, still more is such a conversionnecessary for us. And under the influence of this new grace of God we too shall say5 7 Was not our heart burningwithin us whilst he spo/e in the way and opened to us the +criptures& 7 Theology, too, helps us to discover the profound meaning of the Gospel. ut the more theology progresses, the more, in a sense, it has to conceal itself2it has to disappear very much as +t. ohn the aptist disappears after announcing the coming of our #ord. thelps us to discover the deep significance of divine revelation contained in +cripture and Tradition, and when it

has rendered this service it should stand aside. n order to restore our cathedrals, to set well1hewn stones intotheir proper place it is necessary to erect a scaffolding2 but when once the stones have been replaced thescaffolding is removed and the cathedral once more appears in all its beauty. n a similar way theology helps usto demonstrate the solidity of the foundations of the doctrinal edifice, the firmness of its construction, the proportion of its parts2 but when it has shown us this, it effaces itself to ma/e place for that supernatural

contemplation which proceeds from a faith enlightened by the gifts of the Holy +pirit, from a faith that penetrates and savours the truths of God, a faith that is united with love. $I%

And so it is with the 6uestion with which we are dealing, the truly vital 6uestion of our interior life in God.

CHAPTER 3 : THE THIRD CONVERSION OR TRANSFORMATION OF

THE SOUL: ENTRANCE INTO THE UNITIVE WAY

77There is nothing easier than to be convinced in theory that 'rovidence ordains all things without e0ception

unto good. ut it is rare to find that truth reali3ed in practice when some unforeseen disaster enters li/e a

cataclysm into our lives. There are few who are able to see in such an event one of God7s greatest graces, thegrace of their second or third conversion. The venerable oudon, a priest held in high repute by his own bishop

and by several bishops in rance, one day received, in conse6uence of a calumny, a letter from his bishopsuspending him and forbidding him to say !ass or to hear confessions. He straightway threw himself on his/nees before his crucifi0, than/ing our #ord for a grace of which he felt himself to be unworthy. He hadachieved that concrete and living conviction, of which +t. Catherine spea/s here, that in the divine governmenteverything, absolutely everything, is ordained to the manifestation of His goodness

78Ch. 8EE

79#u/e 00iv, ;@1;

80Thus +t. Thomas at the end of his life was raised up to a supernatural contemplation of the mysteries of the

faith, such that he could not dictate the end of the +umma Theologica, the last part of the treatise on 'enance.He could no longer compose articles with a status 6uaestionis, beginning with three difficulties, followed by the

body of the article and by the answers to the ob4ections. The higher unity which he had now attained made himview all theological principles more simply and more radiantly, and he could no longer descend to thecomple0ity of a purely didactic e0position.



W* have spo/en of the second conversion, which is necessary for the soul if it is to leave the way of beginnersand enter upon the way of proficients, or the illuminative way. As we have seen, many authors hold that thissecond conversion too/ place for the Apostles at the end of the 'assion of Christ, and for 'eter in particular after

his triple denial.

+t. Thomas remar/s in his commentary on +t. !atthew $ 8% that this repentance of +t. 'eter came about

immediately, as soon as his !aster had loo/ed upon him, and that it was efficacious and definitive.

-evertheless, 'eter and the Apostles were slow to believe in the resurrection of Christ, in spite of the account

which the holy women gave them of this miracle so often foretold by esus Himself. The story they told seemedto them to be madness. $;%!oreover, slow to believe the resurrection of the +aviour, they were correspondingly an0ious, says +t.Augustine, $<% to see the complete restoration of the /ingdom of srael such as they imagined would come to pass. This may be seen from the 6uestion which they put to our #ord on the very day of the Ascension5 7 #ordwilt thou at this time again restore the /ingdom of srael& 7 ut there was still much suffering to be undergone

before the restoration of the /ingdom2 and that restoration would be far superior to anything that they suspected.

And so spiritual writers have often spo/en of a third conversion or transformation of the Apostles, which too/ place on the day of 'entecost. #et us see first what this transformation was in them, and then what it ought to be,

proportionately, in us.

The Apostles were prepared for their third transformation by the fact that from the time of the Ascension theywere deprived of the perceptible presence of esus Himself. When our #ord deprived His Apostles forever of thesight of His sacred Humanity, they must have suffered a distress to which we do not perhaps sufficiently advert.When we consider that our #ord had become their very life 11 as +t. 'aul says5 7 !ihi vivere Christus est 71andthat they had become daily more and more intimate with Him, they must have had a feeling of the greatestloneliness, li/e a feeling of desolation, even of death. And their desolation must have been the more intense

since our #ord Himself had foretold all the sufferings that were in store. We e0perience something of the samedismay when, after having lived on a higher plane during the time of retreat, under the guidance of a priestlysoul full of the spirit of God, we are plunged once again into our everyday life which seems to deprive ussuddenly of this fulness. The Apostles stood there with their eyes raised up to heaven. This was no longer merely the crushing of their sensibility, as it was during the time of the 'assion2 it was a complete blan/, which

must have seemed to ta/e from them all power of thin/ing. During the 'assion our #ord was still there2 now Hehad been ta/en away from them, and they seemed to be completely deprived of Him.

t was in the night of the spirit that they were prepared for the outpouring of the graces of 'entecost.

Th D#"!% '( %h H'*& Gh'#% ,'! %h A,'#%*#+

"All These Were Persevering In One Mind In Prayer, With The Women And Mary The Mother Of Jesus.

The Acts of the Apostles give us an account of the event = 7 When the days of 'entecost were accomplished theywere all together in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming2 and

it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire,and it sat upon every one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost2 and they began to spea/ withdivers tongues according as the Holy Ghost gave them to spea/. K$:%

The sound from heaven, li/e that of a mighty wind, was an e0ternal sign of the mysterious and powerful actionof the Holy +pirit2 and at the same time the tongues of fire which rested upon each of the Apostles symboli3edwhat was to be accomplished in their souls.

t happens not infre6uently that a great grace is preceded by some stri/ing perceptible sign which arouses usfrom our inertia2 it is li/e a divine awa/ening. Here the symbolism is as clear as it can be. As fire purifies,

81Ch 00vi, :

82#u/e 00iv, 88

83n oan., tract. ;@, n. <2 +erm. ;E@, ;1:.

84Acts ii, 81:.



enlightens and gives warmth, so the Holy Ghost in this moment most deeply purified, enlightened and inflamedthe souls of the Apostles. This was truly the profound purging of the spirit. $ @% And +t. 'eter e0plained that thiswas the fulfilment of what the prophet oel had foretold5 7 t shall come to pass in the last days >saith the #ordB

will pour out my +pirit on all flesh2 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.... And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the #ord shall be saved. 7 $E%

the Holy Ghost already dwell in the souls of the Apostles, but by this visible mission $

% He came into them toincrease the treasures of His grace, of the virtues and the gifts, giving them light and strength in order that theymight be capable of witnessing to Christ even to the ends of the earth, and at the peril of their lives. The tongues

of fire are a sign that the Holy +pirit en/indled in their souls that living flame of #ove of which +t. ohn of theCross spea/s.

Then were the words of Christ fulfilled5 7 The Holy Ghost whom the ather will send in my name, he will teachyou all things, and will bring to your mind whatsoever shall have said to you. 7 $ % Then the Apostles began tospea/ 7 in divers tongues the wonderful wor/s of God, 7 so that the foreigners who were witnesses of this marvel,

7 'arthians and !edes, *lamites and inhabitants of !esopotamia, udaea and Cappadocia, 'ontus and Asia...ews, Cretes and Arabians... were all ama3ed and wondered, saying... We have heard them spea/ in our owntongues. 7 $% t was a sign that they were now to begin to preach the Gospel to the different nations, as our #ordhad commanded them1 7 Go ye, and teach all nations. 7 $I%

Th (("%# '( %h #"!% '( %h H'*& Gh'#%+

The Acts show us what were these effects5 the Apostles were enlightened and fortified, and their sanctifying

influence transformed the first Christians2 there was a transport of intense fervour in the infant Church.

irst of all, the Apostles received a much greater enlightenment from the Holy +pirit regarding the price of thelood of the +aviour, regarding the mystery of (edemption, foretold in the "ld Testament and fulfilled in the -ew. They received the fulness of the contemplation of this mystery which they were now to preach tohumanity for the salvation of men. +t. Thomas says that 7 the preaching of the word of God must proceed from

the fulness of contemplation. 7 $8% This was most fully verified at that time, as we may see from the first

sermons of +t. 'eter related in the Acts and from that of +t. +tephen before his martyrdom. These words of +t.'eter and +t. +tephen recall the saying of the 'salmist5 7 Thy word is e0ceedingly refined and thy servant hathloved it. 7 $;%

The Apostles and the disciples, men without education, were still as/ing on the day of the Ascension5 7 #ord,

wilt thou at this time restore the /ingdom of srael& 7 esus had answered5 7 t is not for you to /now the times or moments which the ather hath put in his own power. ut you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghostcoming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in erusalem and in all udaea and +amaria, and even tothe uttermost parts of the earth. 7 $<%

And now behold 'eter. He who before the 'assion had trembled at the word of a woman, who had been so slow

to believe the resurrection of the !aster, now stands before the ews, saying to them with an authority that cancome only from God5 7 esus of -a3areth, a man approved of God by miracles and wonders and signs which

God did by him in the midst of you... this same being delivered up by the determinate counsel and

85t is in the light of what is said here of the grace that purifies and transforms that we should read the articles

of +t. Thomas on the gifts of understanding and wisdom, and on the purification which they bring about withinus2 li/ewise the Dar/ -ight of +t. ohn of the Cross

86Acts ii, 8, ;8.

87Cf. +t. Thomas, , 9. 0liii, art. E, ad .

88ohn 0iv, ;E

89Acts ii, 18;

90!att. 00viii, 8

911ae, 9. cl000viii, art. E5 7 *0 plenitudine contemplationis derivatur doctrina et praedicatio.

92's. c0viii, 8:I.

93Acts i, E



fore/nowledge $:% of God, you by the hands of wic/ed men have crucified and slain. Him God hath raised up$as David foretold%.... This esus God hath raised again, whereof all we are witnesses... he hath poured forth thiswhich you see and hear.... Therefore let all the house of srael /now most certainly that God hath made both

#ord and Christ this same esus whom you have crucified. 7 $@% Herein lies the whole mystery of the(edemption. 'eter now sees that esus was a willing victim, and he contemplates the infinite value of His meritsand of the lood which He shed.

The Acts add that those who heard this discourse 7 had compunction in their heart and said to 'eter5 What shallwe do & 'eter answered. Do penance and be bapti3ed every one of you in the name of esus Christ, for the

remission of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 7 And so it came to pass, and on that dayabout three thousand persons were converted and received the sacrament of baptism. $E%

+ome days later, 'eter said to the ews in the temple, after the cure of a man who had been lame from birth5 7The author of life you /illed, whom God hath raised from the dead2 of which we are witnesses.... "ur #ord esusChrist of -a3areth, whom you crucified... this is the stone which was re4ected by you the builders, which is

become the head of the corner. -either is there salvation in any other. or there is no other name under heavengiven to men, whereby we must be saved. 7 $ % n this enumeration of the graces of 'entecost we must noticechiefly, not the gift of tongues or other powers of this /ind, but rather that special illumination which enabledthe Apostles to enter into the depths of the mystery of the ncarnation, and more particularly of the 'assion of

Christ. This is the mystery of which 'eter could not bear the prediction, when esus said that He was to becrucified5 7 #ord, be it far from thee2 this shall not be unto thee. 7 And esus answered5 7 Thou savourest not the

things that are of God, but the things that are of men. 7 $% -ow 'eter has an understanding of the things of God,and he contemplates the whole economy of the mystery of the redemptive ncarnation. And it is not only he whois thus enlightened. All the Apostles bear witness in li/e manner, and the disciples also, and the deacon, +t.+tephen, who, before being stoned to death, reminded the ews of all that God had done for the chosen people inthe time of the 'atriarchs, in the time of !oses and, since then, until the coming of the +aviour. $%

ut the Apostles were not only enlightened on the day of 'entecost, they were also strengthened and confirmed.esus had promised them5 7 )ou shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you. 7 $ 8II% earful before 'entecost, they are now full of courage, even to the point of martyrdom. 'eter and ohn, arrested andhaled before the +anhedrin, declare that 7 there is no salvation in any other7 than in esus Christ. Arrested again,and beaten with rods, 7 they went forth from the presence of the council re4oicing that they were accounted

worthy to suffer reproach for the name of esus. And every day they ceased not, in the temple and from house tohouse, to teach and preach Christ esus. 7 $8I8% They all bore testimony to Christ in their blood. Who had giventhem the strength to do this & The Holy +pirit, by en/indling the living fire of charity in their hearts.

+uch was their third conversion2 it was a complete transformation of their souls. Their first conversion had madethem disciples of the !aster, attracted by the sublime beauty of His teaching2 the second, at the end of the'assion, had enabled them to divine the fecundity of the mystery of the Cross, enlightened as it was by the

(esurrection which followed it2 the third conversion fills them with the profound conviction of this mystery, amystery which they will constantly live until their martyrdom.

The transformation which the Apostles had undergone is shown also in their sanctifying influence, in thetransport of intense fervour which they communicated to the first Christians. As the Acts show, $ 8I;% the life of the infant Church was a life of marvellous sanctity2 7 the multitude of the believers had but one heart and one

soul72 they had all things in common, they sold their goods and brought the price of them to the Apostles thatthey might distribute to each according to his needs. They met together every day to pray, to hear the preaching

94t is to be noted in this and similar te0ts that the immutable or plan of God is mentioned before His

fore/nowledge of which it is the basis. God foresaw from all eternity the mystery of the (edemption, becausefrom all eternity He had decreed to bring it about.

95Acts ii, ;;1<E

96ii, :8

97Acts iii, 8@2 iv, 8818;

98!att. 0vi, ;;11;<

99Acts vii, 1@<

100Acts i,

101Acts v, :8

102ii, :;11:2 iv, <;11<2 v, 188



of the Apostles, and to celebrate the *ucharist. They were often seen assembled together in prayer, and menwondered to see the charity that reigned among them. 7 y this, 7 our #ord had said, 7 shall all men /now that youare my disciples. 7

ossuet has given an admirable description of the fervour of the first Christians, in his third sermon for the feastof 'entecost = 7 They are strong in the face of peril, but they are tender in the love of their brethren2 the almighty

+pirit who guides them well /nows the secret of reconciling the most opposite tensions.... He gives them a heartof flesh... made tender by charity... and He ma/es them hard as iron or steel in the face of peril.... He strengthensand He softens, but in a manner all His own. or these are the same hearts of the disciples, which seem as

diamonds in their invincible firmness, and which yet become human hearts and hearts of flesh by brotherly love.This is the effect of the heavenly fire that rests upon them this day. t has softened the hearts of the faithful, ithas, so to spea/, melted them into one....

7 The Apostles of the +on of God had once disputed concerning the primacy2 but now that the Holy +pirit hasmade them of one heart and one soul they are no longer 4ealous or 6uarrelsome. t seems to them that through

'eter they all spea/, that with him they all preside, and if his shadow heals the sic/ the whole Church has its partin this gift and praises our #ord for it. 7 n the same way we ought to regard one another as members of the samemystical body, of which Christ is the head, and, far from allowing ourselves to give way to 4ealousy or envy, weought to re4oice with a holy 4oy in the good 6ualities of our neighbour2 for we profit by them as the hand derives

advantage from what the eye sees, or the ear hears.

+uch were the fruits of the transformation of the Apostles and the disciples by the Holy +pirit.

ut was the Holy +pirit sent to produce these marvellous fruits only in the infant Church& *vidently not. Hecontinues the same wor/ throughout the course of ages. His action in the Church is apparent in the invinciblestrength that He gives her2 a strength which may be seen in the three centuries of persecution which sheunderwent, and in the victory that she won over so many heresies.

*very Christian community, then, must conform to the e0ample of the infant Church. What must we learn fromher &

To be of but one heart and one soul, and to banish all divisions amongst us. To wor/ for the e0tension of the

/ingdom of God in the world, despite the difficulties with which we are confronted. To believe firmly and practically in the indefectibility of the Church, which is always holy, and never ceases to give birth to saints.#i/e the early Christians we must bear with patience and love the sufferings which God sends us. #et us with allour hearts believe in the Holy +pirit who never ceases to give life to the Church, and in the Communion of +aints.

f we saw the Church as she is in the most generous souls who live most truly the life of the Church, she would

appear most beautiful in our sight, despite the human imperfections which are mingled with the activity of her children. We rightly lament certain blots, but let us not forget that if there is sometimes mud in the valley at thefoot of the mountains, on the summits there is always snow of da33ling whiteness, air of great purity, and awonderful view that ever leads the eye to God.

Th ,)$($"/%$'! '( %h #,$)$% !"##/)& (') Ch)$#%$/! ,)("%$'!+

Create A Clean Heart In Me, O Lord. [ 103

We have seen that the transformation of the Apostles on the day of 'entecost was li/e a third conversion for them. There must be something similar in the life of every Christian, if he is to pass from the way of proficients

to that of the perfect. Here, says +t. ohn of the Cross, there must be a radical purgation of the spirit, 4ust as therehad to be a purgation of the senses in order to pass from the way of beginners to that of proficients, commonlycalled the illuminative way. And 4ust as the first conversion, by which we turn away from the world to begin towal/ in the way of God, presupposes acts of faith, hope, charity and contrition, so it is also with the other two

103's. 8, 8;.



conversions. ut here the acts of the theological virtues are much more profound5 God, who ma/es us performthese acts, drives the furrow in our souls in the same direction, but much more deeply.

#et us see now >B why this conversion is necessary for proficients, >;B how God purifies the soul at this stageand ><B what are the fruits of this third conversion.

Th !"##$%& '( %h ,)$($"/%$'! '( %h #,$)$%+

!any imperfections remain even in those who have advanced in the way of God. f their sensibility has been toa great e0tent purged of the faults of spiritual sensuality, inertia, 4ealousy, impatience, yet there still remain inthe spirit certain 7 stains of the old man 7 which are li/e rust on the soul, a rust which will only disappear under the action of an intense fire, similar to that which came down upon the Apostles on the day of 'entecost. This

comparison is made by +t. ohn of the Cross. $8I:%

This rust remains deep down in the spiritual faculties of the soul, in the intelligence and the will2 and it consistsin an attachment to self which prevents the soul from being completely united to God. Hence it is that we areoften distracted in prayer, that we are sub4ect to sluggishness, to a failure to understand the things of God, to the

dissipation of the spirit, and to natural affections which are hardly, if at all, inspired by the motive of charity.!ovements of roughness and impatience are not rare at this stage. !oreover, many souls, even among those thatare advanced in the way of God, remain too much attached to their own point of view in the spiritual life2 theyimagine that they have received special inspirations from God, whereas they are in reality the victims of their own imagination or of the enemy of all good. They thus become puffed up with presumption, spiritual pride andvanity2 they depart from the true path and lead other souls astray.

As +t. ohn of the Cross says, this catalogue of faults is ine0haustible2 and he confines his attention almoste0clusively to those defects which relate to the purely interior life. How much longer would the catalogue be if we considered also the faults which offend against fraternal charity, against 4ustice in our relations with our superiors, our e6uals or our inferiors, and those which relate to the duties of our state and to the influence whichwe may e0ert upon others.

Together with spiritual pride there remains often in the soul intellectual pride, 4ealousy, or some hiddenambition. The seven capital sins are thus transposed into the life of the spirit, to its great detriment.

All this, says +t. ohn of the Cross, shows the need of the 7 strong lye, 7 that passive purgation of the spirit, thatfurther conversion which mar/s the entrance into the perfect way. *ven after passing through the night of the

senses, +t. ohn says, 7 these proficients are still at a very low stage of progress, and follow their own natureclosely in the intercourse and dealings which they have with God2 because the gold of their spirit is not yet purified and refined2 they still thin/ of God as little children, and feel and e0perience God as little children, evenas +t. 'aul says, because they have not reached perfection, which is the union of the soul with God. n the stateof union, however, they will wor/ great things in the spirit, even as grown men, and their wor/s and facultieswill then be divine rather than human. 7 $8I@% efore this third conversion has ta/en place we may still say of

these souls, in the words of saias, that their 4ustices are as a soiled rag2 a further, and final, purification isnecessary.

H' '# G' ,)$(& %h #'* $! %h$# %h$) "'!)#$'!

t seems that at first He strips the soul instead of enriching it. n order to cure the soul of all spiritual andintellectual pride, and to show it what dregs of poverty it still has within, He leaves the understanding indar/ness, the will in aridity, sometimes even in bitterness and anguish. The soul then, says +t. ohn of the Cross,after Tauler, must 7 remain in the dar/, in pure faith, which is dar/ night for the natural faculties. 7 $ 8IE% +t.

Thomas often points out that the ob4ect of faith is that which is not seen >fides est de non visisB2 it is dar/. Andthe Angelic Doctor adds that it is impossible for anyone to believe and to see the same thing under the same

104Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. vi.

105Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. iii.

106ibid., ch. iv



aspect2 because what is believed, as such, is not seen. $8I% The soul has now to enter into the depths of faith andto rise to its heights, li/e the Apostles when they were deprived of the sensible presence of Christ after Hisascension. As He Himself had told them5 7 t is e0pedient to you that go. or if go not the 'araclete will not

come to you2 but if go will send him to you. 7 $8I% +t. Thomas gives an admirable e0planation of these wordsin his commentary on +t. ohn2 he says that the Apostles, attached as they were to the humanity of Christ by anatural love, were not yet sufficiently filled with a spiritual love of His divinity, and therefore were not yet

capable of receiving the Holy Ghost spiritually, as they must if they were to withstand the tribulations whichthey would meet when esus had deprived them of His perceptible presence.

At first, then, God seems to strip the soul in this purification, as in the preceding2 He seems to leave it indar/ness and aridity. The motto of the soul must now be5 7 idelity and abandonment. 7 t is now that the wordsof Christ will be fulfilled = 7 He that followeth me wal/eth not in dar/ness, but shall have the light of life. 7 $ 8I%*specially illuminated now by the purging light of the gift of understanding, the soul begins, as +t. 'aul says, 7to search the deep things of God. 7 $88I%

-ow humility and the theological virtues are purged of all human alloy. The soul e0periences more and more,without seeing it, the infinite purity and greatness of God, who transcends all the ideas that we can form of Him2it e0periences li/ewise all the supernatural riches of the holy soul of Christ, which here on earth contained thefulness of grace, 7 all the treasures of wisdom and /nowledge. 7 $ 888% #i/e the Apostles on the day of 'entecost it

has a glimpse of the depths of the mystery of the ncarnation and the (edemption2 it perceives something of theinfinite value of the merits of Christ who died for us on the Cross. The soul now has a sort of living /nowledge,

an e0perimental perception, of the supernatural world, a new outloo/ upon it. And by contrast the soul becomesmore conscious of its own poverty. The chief suffering of a +t. 'aul of the Cross, of a Cure d7Ars, at this stage,was to feel themselves so distant from the ideal of the priesthood, which loomed now so great before them in thedar/ night of faith2 while at the same time they understood better the great needs of those many souls that hadrecourse to them, imploring their prayers and their help.

This third conversion or purification is, evidently, the wor/ of the Holy +pirit, who illuminates the soul by thegift of understanding. As with a lightning1flash during the night He illumines the soul that He wishes to purify.The soul had said to Him so often = 7 *nlighten my eyes that may never sleep in death7 2 $ 88;% 7 " my God,enlighten my dar/ness 7 2$88<% 7 Create a clean heart in me, " God, and renew a right spirit within my bowels.Cast me not away from thy face, and ta/e not thy holy spirit from me. (estore unto me the 4oy of thy salvation

and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. will teach the un4ust thy ways... and my tongue shall e0tol thy 4ustice. 7$88:%

The purified soul addresses to Christ those words which He Himself once uttered, and begs that they may befulfilled in itself. 7 am come to cast fire on the earth2 and what will , but that it be /indled & J$ 88@% This third purification comes about, as +t. ohn of the Cross says, by 7 an inflowing of God into the soul, which purges itfrom its ignorances and imperfections, habitual, natural and spiritual, and which is called by contemplatives

infused contemplation or mystical theology. Herein God secretly teaches the soul and instructs it in perfection of love, without its doing anything or understanding of what manner is this infused contemplation. 7 $88E%

This great purification or transformation appears under different forms, according as it is in pure contemplativesli/e a +t. runo, or in souls dedicated to the apostolate or to wor/s of mercy, li/e a +t. Lincent de 'aul2 but insubstance it is the same. n every case there is the purification of humility and the three theological virtues from

every human alloy, so that the formal motive of these virtues ta/es increasing ascendancy over all secondarymotives. Humility grows according to the process described by +t. Anselm, and repeated by +t. Thomas5 7 >B To

1071ae, 9. i, art. @.

108ohn 0vi,

109ohn viii, 8;

110 Cor. ii, 8I5 7 +piritus enim omnia scrutatur, etiam profunda Dei.... -os autem accepimus.... +piritum 6ui e0

Deo est, ut sciamus 6uae a Deo donata sunt nobis.

111Col. ii, <

112's. ?ii, :.

1130vii, ;.

1148, 8;

115#u/e 0ii, :.

116Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. v.



/now that one is contemptible2 >;B to feel affliction at this /nowledge2 ><B to confess that one is despicable2 >:Bto wish one7s neighbours to /now this2 >@B patiently to endure their saying so2 >EB to submit to being treated asworthy of contempt2 >B to li/e being so treated. 7 +o we have the e0ample of +t. Dominic, who by preference

went to those parts of #anguedoc where he was ill1treated and ridiculed, e0periencing a holy 4oy at feelinghimself made li/e our #ord, who was humbled for our sa/e.

Then the formal motives of the three theological virtues appear in all their sublime grandeur1 the supreme Truththat reveals, !ercy ever ready to help, sovereign Goodness, ever lovable for its own sa/e. These three motivesshine forth li/e three stars of the first magnitude in the night of the spirit, to guide us surely to the end of our

4ourney.

The fruits of this third conversion are the same as those of 'entecost, when the Apostles were enlightened andfortified, and being themselves transformed, transformed the first Christians by their preaching1as we learn fromthe Acts of the Apostles, where we are told of the first sermons of +t. 'eter and of +t. +tephen7s discourse beforehis martyrdom.

The fruits of this third conversion are a true and deep humility, and a living faith that begins to relish and savour the mysteries of the supernatural order1as it were, a foretaste of eternal life. !oreover, it produces a firm andconfident hope in the divine mercy, which is ever at hand to help us. To attain to this perfection of hope, one

must, as +t. 'aul says, have hoped against hope.

ut the most perfect fruit of this third conversion is a very great love of God, a very pure and very strong love, alove that hesitates before no contradiction or persecution, li/e the love of the Apostles who re4oiced to suffer for the sa/e of our #ord. This love is born of an ardent desire for perfection, it is 7 hunger and thirst after the 4usticeof God, 7 accompanied by the gift of fortitude, which enables it to triumph over every obstacle. t is the perfectfulfilment of the commandment1 7 Thou shalt love the #ord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole souland with all thy strength and with all thy mind. 7

Henceforth the depth of the soul belongs completely to God. The soul has now reached the stage of livingalmost continually the life of the spirit in its higher part2 it is now an adorer in spirit and in truth. The dar/nessof the night of faith is thus a prelude to the life of eternity5 6uaedam inchoatio vitae aeternae t is the fulfilmentof the words of Christ5 7 f any man thirst let him come to me and drin/.... "ut of his belly shall flow rivers of

living water. 7 $88% This is the living water that springs up into eternal life, the water which esus promised to the+amaritan woman5 7 f thou didst /now the gift of God... thou perhaps wouldst have as/ed of him and he wouldhave given thee living water.... The water that will give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springingup into life everlasting. 7 $88%

PRAYER TO THE HOLY GHOST

Holy +pirit, come into my heart2 draw it to Thee by Thy power, " my God, and grant me charity with filial fear.'reserve me, " ineffable #ove, from every evil thought2 warm me, inflame me with Thy dear love, and every

pain will seem light to me. !y ather, my sweet #ord, help me in all my actions. esus, love, esus, love >+t.Catherine of +ienaB.

>Anyone who has consecrated himself to !ary according to the formula of the lessed Grignion de !ontfort,and then also to the +acred Heart, will find great treasures in a repeated consecration to the Holy +pirit. Thewhole influence of !ary leads us to intimacy with Christ, and the humanity of esus leads us to the Holy +pirit,

who introduces us into the mystery of the adorable Trinity. B

PRAYER OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY GHOST

" Holy Ghost, divine +pirit of light and love, consecrate to Thee my intellect, my heart, my will and my whole being for time and for eternity.

117ohn vii, <

118iv, 8I, 8:.



!ay my intellect be ever docile to Thy heavenly inspirations and to the teaching of the Holy Catholic Church of which Thou art the infallible Guide. !ay my heart be ever inflamed with the love of God and my neighbour2may my will be ever in conformity with the divine will, and may my whole life be a faithful imitation of the life

and virtues of our #ord and +aviour esus Christ, to whom, with the ather and thee, Holy +pirit, be honour andglory for ever. Amen.

>ndulgence of <II days once a day, applicable to the souls in 'urgatory 11 'ius ?. This consecration may berenewed by repeating only the first paragraph of the form. B

CHAPTER 4 : THE PROBLEM OF THE THREE STAGES OF THE

SPIRITUAL LIFE IN ASCETICAL AND MYSTICAL THEOLOGY

TH+ chapter, written especially for theologians, will prove less useful for the ma4ority of readers, who will findthe substance of it e0plained more simply and easily in the following chapter.

"ne of the great problems of the spiritual life is the 6uestion how we are to interpret the traditional distinction of the three ways, purgative, illuminative, and unitive, according to the terminology of Dionysius, or the way of

beginners, of proficients, and of the perfect, according to an earlier terminology.

"f this traditional division two notably different interpretations have been given, according as the infusedcontemplation of the mysteries of faith and the union with God which results from it were considered as belonging to the normal way of sanctity, or as e0traordinary favours, not only de facto but also de 4ure.

S%/%0!% '( %h P)'-*0+

The difference between the two interpretations may be seen if we compare the division of ascetico1mysticaltheology used until the second half of the eighteenth century with that given by several authors who have

written since that time. t is evident, for e0ample, if we compare the treatise of Lallgornera, ". '., !ystica

theologia divi Thomae >8EE;B, with the two wor/s of +caramelli, +. ., Direttorio ascetico >8@8B and Direttoriomistico.

Lallgornera follows1 more or less closely the Carmelite, 'hilip of the Trinity. He li/ens the division given byhim to that used by previous authors, and confirms it by appeal to certain characteristic te0ts of +t. ohn of the

Cross on the moment at which the passive nights of the senses and of the spirit generally ma/e their appearance.$88% He divides his treatise for contemplative souls into three parts5

8. "f the purgative way, proper to beginners, in which he treats of the active purification of the e0ternal andinternal senses, the passions, the intellect and the will by mortification, meditation and prayer, and finally of the passive purification of the senses, where infused contemplation begins and leads the soul on to the illuminative

way, as +t. ohn of the Cross e0plains at the beginning of the Dar/ -ight. $8;I%

;. "f the illuminative way, proper to proficients, where, after a preliminary chapter on the divisions of contemplation, the writer treats of the gifts of the Holy Ghost and of infused contemplation, which proceedsespecially from the gifts of understanding and wisdom, and which is declared to be a legitimate ob4ect of desirefor all spiritual souls, as being morally necessary for the complete perfection of the Christian life. This second

part of the wor/, after several articles dealing with e0traordinary graces >visions, revelations, interior speechBconcludes with a chapter of nine articles on the passive purification of the spirit, which mar/s the transition tothe unitive way. This, li/ewise, is the teaching of +t. ohn of the Cross. $8;8%

<. "f the unitive way, proper to the perfect, where the author deals with the intimate union of the contemplativesoul with God and with its degrees, up to the transforming union.

119Cf. 'hilip of the Trinity5 +umma theologiae mysticae >ed. 8:, p. 8B

120oo/ , ch. viii and ch 0iv

121Dar/ -ight oo/ , ch. ii and ch. 0i



Lallgornera considers this division to be the traditional one, and to be truly in harmony with the doctrine of theathers, with the principles of +t. Thomas and the teaching of +t. ohn of the Cross, and with that of the greatmystics who have written on the three periods of the spiritual life, and on the manner in which the transition is

generally made from one to another.

9uite different is the division given by +caramelli and the authors who follow him.

n the first place +caramelli treats of Ascetics and !ystics, not in the same wor/, but in two distinct wor/s. TheDirettorio ascetico, twice as long as the second wor/, comprises four treatises5 >B The means of perfection2 >;B

the obstacles >purgative wayB2 ><B the pro0imate dispositions to Christian perfection, consisting of the moralvirtues in the perfect degree >the way of proficientsB2 >:B the essential perfection of the Christian, consisting of the theological virtues and especially of charity >the love of conformity in the case of the perfectB.

This treatise of Ascetics hardly mentions the gifts of the Holy Ghost. And yet according to the common teachingof spiritual writers the high degree of perfection in the moral and theological virtues which is here described is

unattainable without these gifts.

The Direttorio mistico consists of five treatises5 >B An ntroduction, on the gifts of the Holy Ghost and thegratiae gratis datae2 >;B on ac6uired and infused contemplation, for which, as +caramelli admits, the gifts are

sufficient 2 8 ><B on the degrees of obscure infused contemplation, from passive recollection to the transformingunion. >Here, in Chapter ???, +caramelli admits that several authors teach 8 Ch 0iv. that infused

contemplation may be desired humbly by all spiritual souls2 but he comes to the conclusion that in practice it is better not to desire it unless one has received a special call to it5 7 Altiora te ne 6uaesieris7B 2 $ 8;;% >:B on thedegrees of distinct infused contemplation >visions and e0traordinary interior wordsB2 >@B of the passive purifications of the senses and of the spirit.

t is surprising not to find until the end of this treatise on !ystics a description of the passive purgation of the

senses, a purgation which, for +t. ohn of the Cross and the authors above 6uoted, mar/s the entrance into theilluminative way.

The difference between this new way of dividing ascetico1mystical theology and the old way obviously arisesfrom the fact that the old authors, unli/e the modern ones, maintained that all truly spiritual souls can humbly

desire and as/ of God the grace of the infused contemplation of the mysteries of the faith5 the ncarnation and'assion of Christ, Holy !ass and *ternal #ife, mysteries which are so many manifestations of the infinitegoodness of God. They considered this supernatural and confused contemplation to be morally necessary for that union with God in which the full perfection of the Christian life consists.

Hence it may be wondered whether the new division, as propounded for e0ample by +caramelli, does notdiminish both the unity and the sublimity of the perfect spiritual life. When Ascetics are separated from !ystics

in this way, do we sufficiently preserve the unity of the whole which is divided & A good division, if it is not to be superficial and accidental, if it is to be based upon a necessary foundation, must repose upon the definition of the whole which is to be divided, upon the nature of that whole. And the whole in 6uestion is the life of grace,called by tradition 7 the grace of the virtues and gifts 7 2 $ 8;<% for the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, since they areconnected with charity, are part of the supernatural organism, $8;:% and, as +t. Thomas teaches, are necessary for salvation, a fortiori for perfection. $8;@%

+imilarly, the new conception surely diminishes the sublimity of evangelical perfection, since this is dealt withunder the head of Ascetics, without mention of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and without mention of the infused

122+imilarly Tr. , ch. 8, n. 8I.

123Cf. +t. Thomas, , 9. l0ii, art. ;5 7 Mtrum gratia sacramentalis addat ali6uid super gratiam vir$utum et

donorum 72 where we are reminded that habitual or sanctifying grace perfects the essence of the soul, and thatfrom grace there proceed into the faculties the infused virtues >moral and theologicalB and the seven gifts of theHoly Ghost, which are to the soul li/e the sails of a ship intended to receive inspirations from heaven

1241ae, 9. l0viii, art. @5 7 +icut virtutes morales connectuntur sibi invicem in prudentia, ita dona +piritus

+ancti connectuntur sibi invicem in caritate2 ita scilicet 6uod 6ui caritatem habet, omnia dona +piritus +anctihabet, 6uorum nullum sine caritate haberi potest

1251ae, 9. l0viii, art. ;, where these passages of +cripture are cited5 7 God loveth none but him that dwellethwith wisdom 7 >Wisd. vii, ;B, and 7 Whosoever are led by the +pirit of God, they are the sons of God 7 >(om.viii, 8:B.



contemplation of the mysteries of faith and the union with God which results from that contemplation. While thenew method of treatment emphasi3es the necessity of ascetics, does it not at the same time degrade it,wea/ening the motives for the practice of mortification and for the e0ercise of the virtues, because it loses sight

of the divine intimacy to which the whole of this wor/ should eventually lead & Does it throw sufficient lightupon the meaning of the trials, those prolonged periods of aridity, which generally mar/ the transition from onestage of the spiritual life to the other & Does not the new conception diminish also the importance and value of

mysticism, which, if it is separated thus from asceticism, seems to become a lu0ury in the spiritual life of a fewfavoured ones, and a lu0ury which is not without its dangers& inally, and above all, does not this conceptiondebase the illuminative and unitive ways, by regarding them simply from the ascetical point of view & s it

possible for these two ways normally to e0ist without the e0ercise of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, proportionateto the e0ercise of charity and the other infused virtues & Are there si0 ways >three ascetical ways which areordinary, and three mystical ways which are e0traordinaryB, and not only three ways, three periods in thespiritual life, as the ancients maintained & Does it not seem that, if ascetics is divorced from the illuminative andunitive ways, it becomes simply an abstract study of the moral and theological virtues & "r, if the progress and perfection of these virtues is treated in concrete1as is done by +caramelli 11 is it not manifest, according to the

teaching of +t. ohn of the Cross, that this perfection is unattainable without the passive purifications and theoperation of the gifts of the Holy Ghost & "n this matter we shall do well to remember the words of +t. Teresa5 7According to certain boo/s we ought to be indifferent to the evil which is spo/en of us, and even re4oice morethereat than if we were well spo/en of2 we ought to ma/e little of honour, and be detached from our neighbour...

and many other things of the same sort. n my opinion these are pure gifts of God, these are supernatural graces.7 $8;E%

n order better to preserve the unity and sublimity of the interior life, such as the Gospels and the epistles revealit to us, we propose the division which follows. t accords with that of the great ma4ority of authors who wrote before the second half of the eighteenth century, and, by including an imperfect form of the illuminative andunitive ways, mentioned by +t. ohn. of the Cross, $8;% it also safeguards that portion of truth which, in our opinion, the more recent conception contains.

P)','# D$$#$'! '( %h Th) S%/.# '( Th S,$)$%/* L$(+

Above the condition of hardened sinners, above the state of those sensual souls who live in dissipation,conversion or 4ustification sets us in the state of grace2 grace which sin ought never to destroy in us, gracewhich, li/e a supernatural seed, ought continually to grow until it has reached its full development in theimmediate vision of the divine essence and in a perfect love which will last for ever.

After conversion there ought to be a serious beginning of the purgative life, in which beginners love God byavoiding mortal sin and deliberate venial sin, through e0terior and interior mortification and through prayer. utin actual fact this purgative life is found under two very different forms5 in some, admittedly very few, this life isintense, generous2 it is the narrow way of perfect self1denial described by the saints. n many others the purgative life appears in an attenuated form, varying from good souls who are a little wea/ down to those tepidand retarded souls who from time to time fall into mortal sin. The same remar/ will have to be made for the

other two ways, each of which li/ewise is found in an attenuated and in an intense form.

The transition to the illuminative life follows upon certain sensible consolations which generally reward thecourageous effort of mortification. As the soul lingers in the en4oyment of these consolations, God withdrawsthem, and then the soul finds itself in that more or less prolonged aridity of the senses which is /nown as the passive purgation of the senses. This purgation persists unceasingly in generous souls and leads them, by way of

initial infused contemplation, to the full illuminative life. n other souls that are less generous, souls that shunthe cross, the purgation is often interrupted2 and these souls will en4oy only an attenuated form of theilluminative life, and will receive the gift of infused contemplation only at long intervals. $ 8;% Thus the passivenight of the senses is seen to be a second conversion, more or less perfect.

The illuminative life brings with it the obscure infused contemplation of the mysteries of faith, a contemplation

which had already been initiated in the passive night of the senses. t appears under two normal forms. the one

126#ife, c. 000i

127Dar/ -ight, oo/ , c. 0iv.

128+ee Dar/ -ight, oo/ , c. i0 and c. 0iv2 #iving lame, ;nd stan3a, v. @



definitely contemplative, as in the many saints of the Carmel2 the other active, as in a +t. Lincent de 'aul, acontemplation which, by the light of the gifts of wisdom and counsel, constantly sees in the poor and abandonedthe suffering members of Christ. +ometimes this full illuminative life involves, not only the infused

contemplation of mysteries, but also certain e0traordinary graces >visions, revelations, interior speechB, such asthose described by +t. Teresa in her own life.

The transition to the unitive life follows upon more abundant spiritual lights, or an easier and more fruitfulapostolate, these being, as it were, the reward of the proficient7s generosity. ut in them the proficient is apt tota/e some complacency, through some remnant of spiritual pride which he still retains. Accordingly, if God wills

to lead the proficient into the perfect unitive life, He causes him to pass through the night of the spirit, a painful purgation of the higher part of the soul. f this is endured supernaturally it continues almost without interruptionuntil it leads the soul to the perfect unitive life. f, on the other hand, the proficient fails in generosity, the unitivelife will be correspondingly attenuated. This painful purgation is the third conversion in the life of the servantsof God.

The perfect unitive life brings with it the infused contemplation of the mysteries of faith and a passive unionwhich is almost continuous. #i/e the preceding, this life appears under two forms5 the one e0clusivelycontemplative, as in a +t. runo or a +t. ohn of the Cross2 the other apostolic, as in a +t. Dominic, a +t. rancis,a +t. Thomas, or a +t. onaventure. +ometimes the perfect unitive life involves, not only infused contemplation

and almost continuous union with God, but also e0traordinary graces, such as the vision of the lessed Trinityreceived by +t. Teresa and described by her in the Lth !ansion. n this perfect unitive life, whether

accompanied by e0traordinary favours or not, there are evidently many degrees, ranging from the lowest to thehighest among the saints, to the Apostles, to +t. oseph and our #ady.

This division of the three stages of the spiritual life is set out in the following table, which should be read beginning from below2 the three purgations or conversions figure in the table as transitions from one stage toanother.

The scheme may be compared with the doctrine of Tradition, and above all with the doctrine of +t. Thomas,concerning the grace of the virtues and the gifts, and with that of +t. ohn of the Cross on the passive purgations,on infused contemplation and on the perfect union, the normal prelude to the life of heaven.

We have seen also how it may be compared with the three ages of our bodily life = infancy, adolescence, andmanhood, especially as regards the crises which mar/ the transition from one to another.

• M-TL* #*

• plenary

• e0traordinary, eg. with vision of the lessed Trinity.

• "rdinary

• purely contemplative form

• apostolic form

• attenuated5 ntermittent union

• Transition: Passive purgation of the spirit, more or less suessfully endured • ##M!-ATL* #* of proficients

• 'lenary

• *0traordinary, with visions, revelations, etc.

• "rdinary

• purely contemplative form

• active form

• Attenuated5 Transitory acts of infused contemplation.

• Transition: Passive purgation of the senses, more or less suessfully endured.

• 'M(GATL* #* of beginners

• Generous5 fervent souls



• Attenuated5 tepid or retarded souls.

• Transition: !irst onversion, or ustifiation

Th %)/!#$%$'! ()'0 '! #%/. %' /!'%h) $! %h S,$)$%/* L$(+

The transitions from one stage to another in the spiritual life, analogous to similar transitions in our bodily life,are mar/ed by a crisis in the soul2 and none has described these crises so well as +t. ohn of the Cross. He shows

that they correspond to the nature of the human soul, and to the nature of the divine seed, which is sanctifyinggrace. n the Dar/ -ight, $8;% after having spo/en of the spiritual imperfections of beginners, he writes5 7 Theone night or purgation will be sensual, wherein the soul is purged according to sense, which is subdued to thespirit.... The night of sense is common, and comes to many2 these are the beginners. 7 Then he adds5 $ 8<I% 7 Whenthis house of sensuality was now at rest 11 that is, was mortified its passions being 6uenched and its desires putto rest and lulled to sleep by means of this blessed night of the purgation of sense, the soul went forth to set out

upon the road and way of the spirit, which is that of progressives and proficients, and which by another name iscalled the way of illumination or of infused contemplation, wherewith God Himself feeds and refreshes the soul,without meditation, or the soul7s actual help. +uch, as we have said, is the night and purgation of sense in thesoul. 7

The words that we have italici3ed in this passage are very significant, and they reproduce the original +panish

e0actly.

+t. ohn of the Cross then proceeds $8<8% to treat of the imperfections which are proper to progressives or proficients5 natural roughness, outward clinging of the spirit, presumption, a remnant of spiritual pride 11 and hethus shows the need of the passive purgation of the spirit, another painful crisis, a third conversion which isnecessary before the soul can enter fully upon the life of union which belongs to the perfect, to those who, as +t.

Thomas says, wish above all things to cleave to God and to en4oy Him, and yearn ardently for eternal life, to bewith Christ. 7 $8<;%

This doctrine of the Dar/ -ight is found also in the +piritual Canticle, especially in the division of the poem andin the argument which precedes the first strophe. $8<<%

t is sometimes ob4ected that this sublime conception of +t. ohn of the Cross far transcends the ordinaryconception given by spiritual writers, who spea/ less mystically of the illuminative life of proficients and of theunitive life of the perfect. t would seem therefore that the beginners of whom +t. ohn spea/s in the Dar/ -ightare not the beginners in the spiritual life, whom writers generally have in mind, but rather those who are already beginning the mystical states.

To this we may easily reply that the conception of +t. ohn of the Cross corresponds admirably with the natureof the soul >sensitive and spiritualB and also with the nature of grace, and that therefore the beginners of whomhe spea/s are actually those who are usually so called. To prove this it is enough to note the faults which hefinds in them5 spiritual gluttony, a tendency to sensuality, to anger, to envy, to spiritual sloth, to that pride whichcauses them to 7 see/ another confessor to tell the wrongs that they have done, so that their own confessor shallthin/ that they have done nothing wrong at all, but only good... desiring that he may thin/ them to be good. 7 $ 8<:%

The souls thus described are certainly beginners, not at all advanced in asceticism. ut it must be rememberedthat when +t. ohn of the Cross spea/s of the three ways, purgative, illuminative and unitive, he ta/es them, notin their attenuated sense, but in their normal and plenary sense. And in this he follows the tradition of theathers, of Clement of Ale0andria, Cassian, +t. Augustine, Dionysius, and the great teachers of the !iddle Ages5+t. Anselm, Hugh of +t. Lictor, +t. Albert the Great, +t. onaventure and +t. Thomas.

129oo/ , ch. viii

130bid. ch. 0iv

131Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. ii

1321ae, 9. 00iv, art.

133+ee also str. :, str. E, str. ;;, v. .

134Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. ii.



This is particularly apparent in the traditional distinction of the degrees of humility, $8<@% which, by reason of theconnection of the virtues among themselves, correspond to the degrees of charity. This traditional gradation inhumility leads to a perfection

which is assuredly not inferior to that of which +t. ohn of the Cross spea/s. +t. Catherine of +iena, the author of the mitation, +t. rancis of +ales and all the spiritual writers reproduce the same doctrine on the degrees of

humility, corresponding to the degrees in the love of God. All boo/s on ascetics li/ewise say that we mustre4oice in tribulations and in being calumniated2 but, as +t. Teresa remar/s, this presupposes great purgations,the purgations of which +t. ohn of the Cross spea/s, and can result only from faithful correspondence with the

grace of the Holy +pirit.

The same is apparent in the classic distinction, preserved for us by +t. Thomas, between political virtues>necessary for social lifeB, purging virtues >purgatoriaeB, and the virtues of the purified soul. Describing the 7 purging virtues, 7 $8<E% +t. Thomas says5 7 'rudence despises all the things of the world in favour of thecontemplation of divine things2 it directs all thoughts to God. Temperance gives up all that the body demands, so

far as nature can allow. ortitude prevents us from fearing death and the un/nown element in higher things.ustice, finally, ma/es us enter fully into the way of God. 7 The virtues of the purified soul are more perfect still.All this, together with what the Angelic Doctor says elsewhere of the immediate union of charity with Goddwelling in the soul, is certainly not less sublime than what +t. ohn of the Cross was to write later on.

inally, the division of the three stages of the spiritual life corresponds perfectly to the three movements of

contemplation described by +t. Thomas after Dionysius. >B The soul contemplates the goodness of God in themirror of material creatures, and rises to Him by recalling the parables which esus preached to beginners2 >;BThe soul contemplates the divine goodness in the mirror of intelligible truths, or the mysteries of salvation, andrises to Him by a spiral movement, from the -ativity of Christ to His Ascension2 ><B The soul contemplatessovereign Goodness in itself, in the dar/ness of faith, circling round again and again, to return always to thesame infinite truth, to understand it better and more fully to live by it.

t is certain that +t. ohn of the Cross follows this traditional path which so many great teachers had trodden before him2 but he describes the progress of the soul as it is found in contemplatives, and in the most perfectamong them, in order to arrive, 7 as directly as possible at God. $8<% He thus shows what are the higher laws of the life of grace and of the progress of charity. ut these same laws apply in an attenuated form to many other

souls as well, souls which do not reach so high a state of perfection, but which nevertheless ma/e generous progress without turning bac/. n all things, similarly, we can distinguish two 7 tempos. 7 or e0ample, themedical boo/s describe diseases as they are in their acute stage, but they also point out that they may be foundin a modified or attenuated form.

n the light of what has been said it will be easier for us now to describe the characteristics of the three ways,with special reference to the purgations or conversions which precede each of them 11 purgations which are

necessary even though the soul may not have fallen again into mortal sin, but remained always in the state of grace.

rom this point of view we shall now study what e0actly constitutes the spiritual state of the beginner, the proficient, and the perfect2 and it will become apparent that this is not merely a conventional scheme, but a trulyvital process founded on the very nature of the spiritual life, that is, on the nature of the soul and on the nature of

grace, that divine seed which is the germ of eternal life5 semen gloriae. $8<%

135+ee above, p. E<

1361ae, 9. l0i, art. @

137Cf. '. #ouis de la Trinite, ". C. D., #e Docteur mysti6ue 2 Desclee de rouwer, 8;, p. @@.

138An interesting point in this connection is that which 'ope 'ius ? had in mind when, in prescribing an

earlier age for irst Communion, he said5 7 There will be saints among the children. 7 These words seem to havefound their fulfilment in the very special graces which have been granted to several children, ta/en very earlyinto heaven, who are to1day proving to be the source of so many vocations to the priestly and the religious life5such as little -elly, Anne de Guigne Guy de ontgalland, !arie1Gabrielle, T. Guglielmina and several others inrance and elgium 11 souls that remind us of the lessed melda, who died of love while ma/ing her

than/sgiving after her irst Communion. "ur #ord, who said5 7 +uffer the little children to come unto me, 7 isable evidently to endow these souls with great sanctity at a very early age2 He sows the divine seed in greater orless abundance in souls, according to His good pleasure. >+ee Collection 'arvuli, #ethielleu0, 'aris. B



CHAPTER 5 : CHARACTERISTICS OF THE THREE STAGES OF THE

SPIRITUAL LIFE

W* have seen the different conceptions which various writers have proposed of the three stages or periods of the spiritual life2 and we have seen which of these is to be regarded as the traditional one. There is, we have said,

an analogy between these three stages of the life of the soul and those of the life of the body1 infancy,adolescence and manhood2 and we have paid particular attention to the transition between one period andanother, mar/ed by a crisis analogous to that which, in the natural or physical order, occurs in life about the ageof fourteen or fifteen and again at twenty or twenty1one. We have seen also how these different periods of theinterior life have their counterpart in the life of the Apostles. We now intend, following the principles of +t.Thomas and of +t. ohn of the Cross, to describe briefly the characteristics of these three periods, that of beginners, proficients and perfect, in order to show that these are successive stages in a normal development, a

development which corresponds both to the distinction between the two parts of the soul >sensitive andspiritualB, and to the nature of 7 the grace of the virtues and the gifts. 7 This grace progressively permeates thesoul with the supernatural life, elevates its faculties, both higher and lower, until the depth of the soul $ 8<% is purged of all egoism and self1love, and belongs truly, without any reservation, to God. We shall see that thewhole development is logical, it is logical with the logic of life, the logic which is imposed necessarily by life7send and purpose5 ustum dedu0it Dominus per vias rectas5 7 The #ord guides the 4ust by straight ways. 7

B.$!!)#+

The first conversion is the transition from the state of sin to the state of grace, whether by baptism or, in the caseof those who have lost their baptismal innocence, by contrition and sacramental absolution. Theologians e0plainat length in the treatise on grace what precisely 4ustification is in an adult, and how and why it re6uires, under the influence of grace, acts of faith, hope, charity and contrition, or detestation of sin committed. $ 8:I% This purgation by the infusion of habitual grace and the remission of sins is in a sense the type or pattern of all thesubse6uent purgations of the soul, all of which involve acts of faith, hope, charity and contrition. "ften this first

conversion comes about after a more or less painful crisis in which the soul progressively detaches itself fromthe spirit of the world, li/e the prodigal son, to come bac/ to God. t is God always who ma/es the first step

towards us, as the Church has taught against the +emi1pelagians2 it is He who inspires the good movement in us,that initial goodwill which is the beginning of salvation. or this purpose, by His grace and by the trials to whichHe sub4ects the soul, He as it were 7 tills 7 the ground of the soul before sowing the divine seed within it2 Hedrives a first furrow therein, a furrow upon which He will later return, to dig more deeply still and to eradicate

the weeds which remain2 much as the vine1tender does with the vine when it has already grown, to free it fromall that may retard its development.

After this first conversion, if the soul does not fall again into mortal sin, or at all events if it rises from sinwithout delay and see/s to ma/e progress, $8:8% it is then in the purgative way of beginners.

The mentality or spiritual state of the beginner may be best described in function of that which is primary in theorder of goodness, namely his /nowledge of God and of himself, and his love of God. Admittedly there aresome beginners who are specially favoured, li/e many great saints who have had greater grace in their early

beginnings than many who are proficients2 4ust as in the natural order there are infant prodigies. ut after all,they are children, and it is possible to say in general in what the mentality of beginners consists. They begin to

/now themselves, to see their poverty and their neediness, and they have every day to e0amine their conscienceto correct their faults. At the same time they begin to /now God, in the mirror of the things of sense, in thethings of nature or in the parables, for e0ample, in those of the 'rodigal +on, the #ost +heep or the Good+hepherd. Theirs is a direct movement up to God, not unli/e that of the swallow when it rises up to the heavens

139This e0pression, a favourite with Tauler, has the same meaning as 7 the summit of the soul 7 = the metaphor

changes according as the things of sense are considered as e0terior or as inferior

140Cf. Council of Trent >Den3inger, B and +t. Thomas, 1ae, 9. c0iii art. 81 inclusive

141+t. Thomas >, 9. l000i0, art. @, ad <B e0plains that recovery is proportionate to the fervour of contrition.

That is to say, if a person had two talents before committing a mortal sin, and if his contrition has been only

barely sufficient and imperfect in relation to his former goodness, he will perhaps recover only one talent>resurgit in minori caritateB. To recover the same degree of grace and charity which he had lost he will need amore fervent contrition, proportionate to the sin and to his former sanctity.



uttering a cry. $8:;% n this state there is a love of God proportionate to the soul7s /nowledge2 beginners who aretruly generous love God with a holy fear of sin, which causes them to avoid mortal sin and even deliberatevenial sin, by dint of mortifying the senses and concupiscence in its various forms.

When they have been engaged for a certain time in this generous effort they are usually rewarded by somesensible consolations in prayer or in the study of divine things. n this way God wins over their sensibility, for it

is by their sensibility that they chiefly live2 He directs it away from dangerous things towards Himself. At thisstage the generous beginner already loves God 7 with all his heart, 7 but not yet with all his soul, with all hisstrength, or with all his mind. +piritual writers often mention the mil/ of consolation which is given at this

period. +t. 'aul himself says 5 $8:<% 7 could not spea/ to you as unto spiritual but as unto carnal, as unto littleones in Christ. gave you mil/ to drin/, not meat2 for you were not able as yet. 7

ut what happens, usually, at this stage & 'ractically all beginners, when they receive these sensibleconsolations, ta/e too much complacency in them2 they regard them as though they were an end in themselves,and not merely a means to higher things. They then become an obstacle to their progress2 they are an occasion of

spiritual greed, of curiosity in the things of God, of an unconscious pride which leads the recipient to tal/ abouthis favours and, under a prete0t of doing good to others, to pose as master in the spiritual life. Then, as +t. ohnof the Cross says, $8::% the seven capital sins ma/e their appearance, no longer in their gross form, but in theorder of spiritual things, as so many obstacles to a true and solid piety.

Accordingly, by a logical and vital transition, a second conversion becomes necessary, described by +t. ohn of

the Cross under the name of the passive purgation of the senses. "f this he says that it is 7 common and comes tomany2 these are beginners, 7 and that its purpose is to lead them into 7 the road and way of the spirit, which is thatof progressives and proficients... the way of infused contemplation, wherewith God Himself feeds and refreshesthe soul. 7 $8:@% This purgation is characteri3ed by a prolonged aridity of the senses, in which the beginner isdeprived of all those sensible consolations in which he had ta/en too great complacency. f in the midst of thisaridity there is an intense desire for God, a desire that He should reign in us, together with a fear of offending

Him, then this is a second sign that it is a divine purgation. +till more so, if to this intense desire for God there isadded a difficulty in praying according to the discursive method, and an inclination towards the prayer of simpleregard, with love. This is the third sign that the second conversion is in progress, and that the soul is being raisedup to a higher form of life, that of the illuminative way.

f the soul endures this purgation satisfactorily its sensibility becomes more and more sub4ect to the spirit2 thesoul is cured of its spiritual greed and of the pride that had led it to pose as a master2 it learns better to recogni3eits own neediness. -ot infre6uently there arise other difficulties pertaining to this process of purgation, for e0ample, in study, in our relations with persons to whom we are too greatly attached, and from whom God nowswiftly and painfully detaches our affections. At this time, too, there arise often enough grave temptationsagainst chastity and patience, temptations which God allows so that by reaction against theta these virtues,which reside in the sensible part of our nature, may become. more firmly and truly rooted in us. llness, too, may

be sent to try us during this period.

n this crisis God again tills the ground of the soul, digging deeper in the furrow which He has already driven atthe moment of our first conversion5 He is uprooting the evil weeds, or the relics of sin, 7 reli6uias peccati. 7

This crisis is not without its dangers, li/e the crisis of the fourteenth or fifteenth year in the development of our

natural life. +ome prove faithless to their vocation +ome souls do not pass through this crisis in such a way as toenter upon the illuminative way of proficients, and they remain in a state of tepidity2 they are not in the proper sense beginners, rather they are retarded or tepid souls. n their case, the words of the +criptures are fulfilled5 7They have not /nown the time of their visitation 72 they have failed to recogni3e the time of their secondconversion. These souls, especially if they are in the religious or the priestly state, are not tending to perfectionas they should, and unconsciously they are stopping others from doing so, placing serious obstacles in the way

of those who really desire to ma/e progress. Communal prayer, instead of becoming contemplative, becomesmechanical2 instead of prayer supporting the soul, the soul has to support and endure prayer. +uch prayer mayeven, unhappily, become anti1contemplative F

142The beginner sometimes considers the goodness of God also in the mysteries of salvation2 but he is not yet

familiar with these and it is not an e0ercise which is proper to his condition

143 Cor. iii, ;

144Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. i1vii

145Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. viii2 oo/ , ch. 0iv



n those, on the contrary, who pass through this crisis successfully it is, according to +t. ohn of the Cross, the beginning of infused contemplation of the mysteries of faith, accompanied by an intense desire for perfection.

Then the beginner, under the illumination especially of the gift of understanding, $ 8:E% becomes a proficient andenters upon the illuminative way2 he recogni3es his own poverty, sees the emptiness of honours and dignitiesand the things of this world2 he detaches himself from these entanglements. This he must do, as '. #allemant

says, 7 in order to ta/e the step 7 which will lead him into the illuminative way. He now begins what is li/e a newlife2 he is li/e the child that becomes a youth.

t is true that this passive purgation of the senses, even in the case of those who actually enter upon it, may bemore or less manifest and more or less successfully endured. +t. ohn of the Cross remar/s this, spea/ing of those who are less generous at this stage5 7 This night of aridities is not usually continuous in their senses. Attimes they have these aridities2 at others they have them not. At times they cannot meditate2 at times they can...for not all those who consciously wal/ in the way of the spirit are brought by God to contemplation.... And thisis why He never weans the senses of such persons from the breasts of meditations and reflections, but only for

short periods and at certain seasons. 7 $8:% n other words, they have only an attenuated form of the illuminativelife. +t. ohn of the Cross e0plains this later by their lac/ of generosity5 7 Here it behoves us to note why it is thatthere are so few that attain to this lofty state. t must be /nown that this is not because God is pleased that thereshould be few raised to this high spiritual state 11 on the contrary, it would please Him if all were so raised....

When He proves them in small things and finds them wea/ and sees that they at once flee from labour anddesire not to submit to the least discomfort or mortification.... He goes no farther with their purification... they

would fain go farther on the road, yet cannot suffer the smallest things nor submit themselves to them.... 7 $8:%

+uch is the transition, more or less generously made, which leads to a higher form of life. +o far it is easy to seethe logical and vital se6uence of the phases through which the soul must pass. This is no mechanical 4u0taposition of successive states, but an organic development of life.

P)'($"$!%# ') ,)'.)##$#

The mentality of proficients, li/e that of the preceding, must be described in function of their /nowledge and

love of God. With their self1/nowledge there is developed in them a 6uasi1e0perimental /nowledge of God.They /now Him, no longer merely in the mirror of the things of sense or of parables, but in the mirror of themysteries of salvation, with which they become more and more familiar and which the (osary, the school of contemplation, sets daily before their eyes. The greatness of God is contemplated now, no longer merely in themirror of the starry heavens, in the sea or the mountains, no longer merely in the parables of the Good +hepherd

or the 'rodigal +on, but in the incomparably more perfect mirror of the mysteries of the ncarnation and the(edemption. $8:% To use the terminology of Dionysius, employed also by +t. Thomas, $ 8@I% the soul rises in aspiral movement, from the mystery of the ncarnation or the nfancy of esus, to those of His 'assion, His(esurrection, His Ascension and His Glory2 and in these mysteries it contemplates the radiance of the sovereignGoodness of God, thus admirably communicating itself to us. n this contemplation, which is more or lessfre6uent, the proficients receive an abundance of light 11 in proportion to their fidelity and generosity 11 through

the gift of understanding, which enables them to penetrate more and more deeply into these mysteries, and toappreciate their beauty, at once so simple and so sublime.

n the preceding period or stage God had won over their sensibility2 now He thoroughly sub4ugates their intelligence to Himself, raising it above the e0cessive preoccupations and complications of merely human/nowledge. He simplifies their /nowledge by spirituali3ing it.

146Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. 0iv.

147Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. i0

148#iving lame, stan3a , ;<.

149The proficient also contemplates the goodness of God in the things of nature and in the parables of the

Gospel2 but this is not the e0ercise proper to his condition, now that he has become familiar with the mysteries

of salvation. ut he has not yet attained, unless it be rarely and transitorily. to that circular movement wherebythe perfect contemplate the divine goodness in itself.

1501ae, 9. cl000, art. E.



Accordingly, and as a normal conse6uence, these proficients being thus enlightened concerning the mysteries of the life of Christ, love God, not only by avoiding mortal sin and deliberate venial sin, but by imitating thevirtues of our #ord. His humility, gentleness, patience2 and by observing not only those commandments that are

laid upon all, but also the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, or at any rate by /eeping thespirit of these counsels, and by avoiding imperfections.

As happened in the preceding period, this generosity is rewarded, but no longer by merely sensible consolations, but by a greater abundance of light in contemplation and in the wor/ of the apostolate2 by intense desires for theglory of God and the salvation of souls, and by a greater facility in prayer. -ot infre6uently we find in the

proficients the prayer of 9uiet, in which the will is momentarily held captive by the love of God. This period ismar/ed also by a great facility in doing wor/s for God, such as teaching, directing, organi3ing, and the rest. Thisis to love God, not only with the whole heart, but with the whole soul, with the whole of one7s activities2 but notyet with the whole strength, nor with the whole mind, because God has not yet achieved complete dominion inthat higher region of the soul which we call the spirit.

And what happens generally at this stage & +omething similar to what happened in the case of the beginnerswho had been rewarded with sensible consolations. The proficient begins to ta/e complacency 11 by reason of anunconscious pride 11 in this great facility in prayer, wor/ing, teaching, or preaching. He tends to forget that theseare God7s gifts, and he re4oices in them with a proprietary air which ill beseems one who adores in spirit and in

truth. t is true that he is wor/ing for God, he is wor/ing for souls2 but he has not yet sufficiently forgottenhimself. An unconscious self1see/ing and self1importance cause him to dissipate himself and to lose the sense of

the presence of God. He thin/s that his labours are being very fruitful2 but it is not 6uite certain. He is becomingtoo sure of himself, he gives himself too much importance and is perhaps inclined to e0aggerate his own talents,to forget his own imperfection and to be too greatly aware of the imperfections of others. 'urity of intention,true recollection, perfect straightforwardness, are often lac/ing2 there is something of a lie in his life. 7 The depthof the soul, 7 as Tauler puts it, 7 does not belong entirely to God. 7 God is offered an intention which really is onlyhalf given to Him. +t. ohn of the Cross mentions these defects of proficients as they are found in pure

contemplatives, who, he says, 7 believe in vain visions... and presume that God and the saints are spea/ing withthem, 7 $8@8% being deceived by the ruses of the evil one. -ot less notable are the defects, mentioned, for e0ample, by +t. Alphonsus, which are found in apostolic men entrusted with the care of souls. These defects in proficients become manifest especially in the obstacles which they are called upon to meet, or in differences of opinionwhich, even at this advanced period of the spiritual life, may cause vocations to be lost. t then becomes evident

that the presence of God is not sufficiently borne in mind, and that in the search for God it is the self which isreally being sought. Hence the need of a third purgation2 hence the need of that 7 strong lye 7 of the purgation of the spirit, in order to cleanse the very depth of the spiritual faculties.

Without this third conversion there is no entrance into the life of union, which is the adult age, the manhood of the spiritual life.

This new crisis is described by +t. ohn of the Cross $ 8@;% in all its depth and acuteness, as it occurs in the greatcontemplatives who, in point of fact, usually suffer not only for the sa/e of their own purification, but for thesouls for whom they have offered themselves. The same trial occurs also in proficients of the apostolic type,generous souls who have reached a high perfection, but it is generally less obvious in them since it is mingledwith the sufferings incident to their apostolic labours.

n what does this crisis essentially consist& 11 n the soul being deprived, not only of sensible consolations, butof its supernatural lights on the mysteries of salvation, of its ardent desires, of that facility in action, in preachingand in teaching, in which it had felt a secret pride and complacency, and by reason of which it had been inclinedto set itself above others. This is a period of e0treme aridity not only as regards the senses, but as regards thespirit, in prayer and the recitation of the office. Temptations fre6uently occur during this stage, not preciselyagainst chastity or patience now, but against the virtues that reside in the higher part of the soul, against faith,

hope and charity towards one7s neighbour, and even against charity towards God, whom the soul is tempted toregard as cruel for trying souls in such a crucible of torment. Generally during this period great difficulties occur in connection with the apostolate. detraction, failures, chec/s. t will often happen that the apostle is made tosuffer calumnies and ingratitude, even from those souls to whom he has done much good, so that he may thus be brought to love them more e0clusively in God and for God7s sa/e. Hence this crisis, or passive purgation of thespirit, is li/e a mystical death2 it is the death of the old man, according to the words of +t. 'aul5 7 "ur old mall is

151Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. ii.

152Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. < se6.



crucified with esus Christ, that the body of sin may be destroyed. 7 $8@<% t is necessary to 7 put off... the old manwho is corrupted according to the desire of error, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, putting on the newman who according to God is created in 4ustice and holiness of truth. 7 $8@:%

All this is profoundly logical2 it is the logical development of the supernatural life. 7 +ometimes, 7 says +t. ohnof the Cross, 7 in the stress of this purgation the soul feels itself wounded and hurt by strong love. t is a heat that

is engendered in the spirit, when the soul, overcome with sufferings, is grievously wounded by the divine love. 7The love of God is as a fire that progressively dries up the wood, penetrates it, sets it alight and transforms itinto itself. $8@@% The trials of this period are permitted by God in order to lead proficients to a more lofty faith, to

a firmer hope, and to a purer love2 for it is absolutely necessary that the depth of their soul should belongcompletely to God. This is the meaning of the words of +cripture5 7 As gold in the furnace he hath proved them,and as a victim of a holocaust he hath received them. 7 $ 8@E% 7The 4ust cried and the #ord heard them2 anddelivered them out of all their troubles. The #ord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart.... !any are theafflictions of the 4ust2 but out of them all will the #ord deliver them. 7 $8@%

This crisis, li/e the preceding, is not without its dangers2 it calls for great courage and vigilance, for a faithsometimes reaching to heroism, a hope against all hope, transforming itself into perfect abandonment. or thethird time God tills the ground of the soul, but this time much more deeply, so deeply indeed that the soul seemsoverwhelmed by these afflictions of the spirit, afflictions similar to those often described by the prophets, in

particular by eremias in the third chapter of the #amentations.

He who passes through this crisis, loves God, not only with all his heart and all his soul, but according to thescale of the +criptural phrase, with all his strength2 and he now prepares to love Him 7 with all his mind, 7 to become an 7 adorer in spirit and in truth, 7 that higher part of the soul which should control the whole of our activity being now in some sort established in God.

Th P)("%+

What is the spiritual state of the perfect after this purgation, which has been li/e a third conversion for them&

They /now God with a /nowledge which is 6uasi1e0perimental and almost continuous2 not merely during times

of prayer or the divine office, but in the midst of e0ternal occupations, they have a constant sense of the presence of God. Whereas at the beginning man had been selfish, thin/ing constantly of himself and,unconsciously, directing all things to himself, the perfect soul thin/s constantly of God, of His glory, of thesalvation of souls and, as though instinctively, causes all things to converge upon that end. The reason of this isthat he no longer contemplates God merely in the mirror of the things of sense, no longer merely in parables or

even in the mirror of the mysteries of the life of Christ, for this cannot continue throughout the whole day, but hecontemplates the divine goodness in itself, very much in the way in which we constantly see light diffused aboutus and illuminating all things from on high. n the terminology of Dionysius, employed also by +t. Thomas, it isa movement of contemplation, no longer straight nor spiral, but circular, li/e the flight of the eagle which, after rising to a great height, circles round and round, and hovers to view the hori3on.

This simple contemplation removes those imperfections that arise from natural eagerness, from unconsciousself1see/ing and from the lac/ of habitual recollection.

The perfect /now themselves no longer merely in themselves, but in God, their source and their end, theye0amine themselves, pondering what is written of their e0istence in the boo/ of life, and they never cease to seethe infinite distance that separates them from their Creator. Hence their humility. This 6uasi1e0perimental

153(om. vi, E

154*ph. iv, ;;.

155The progress in the /nowledge and love of God which characteri3es this purgation is precisely what

differentiates it from certain sufferings which bear some resemblance to it, such as those of neurasthenia. Theseneurasthenic sufferings may have of themselves no purging character, but they too may be endured withresignation and for the love of God. +imilarly the sufferings which may be the effect of our own lac/ of virtue,the effect of an undisciplined and e0aggerated sensibility, have no purging 6uality of themselves, although they

similarly may be accepted as a salutary humiliation in conse6uence of our faults, and in reparation for them.

156Wisd. iii, E

157's. 000iii, 81;I



contemplation of God proceeds from the gift of wisdom, and, by reason of its simplicity, it can be almostcontinuous2 it can persist in the midst of intellectual wor/, conversation, e0ternal occupations, such continuity being impossible in the case of a /nowledge of God which uses the mirror of parables or that of the mysteries of

Christ.

inally, whereas the egoist, thin/ing always of himself, wrongly loves himself in all things, the perfect, thin/ing

nearly always of God, loves Him constantly, and loves Him, not merely by avoiding sin and by imitating thevirtues of our #ord, but 7 by adhering to Him, en4oying Him, desiring, as +t. 'aul said, to be dissolved and to bewith Christ. 7 $8@% t is the pure love of God and the love of souls in God2 it is apostolic 3eal, 3ealous beyond

measure2 but humble, patient and gentle. This is to love God, no longer merely 7 with the whole heart, with thewhole soul, with the whole strength, 7 but continuing up the scale, 7 with the whole mind. 7 or he that is perfectis no longer merely rising gradually to this highest region in himself2 he is established there2 he is spirituali3edand supernaturali3ed2 he has now become truly 7 an adorer in spirit and in truth. 7 These souls preserve peacealmost constantly amidst even the most distressful and unforeseen circumstances, and they communicate it toothers who are troubled. This is why +t. Augustine says that the beatitude of the peacema/ers corresponds to the

gift of wisdom, which, together with charity, holds dominion over these souls. The great model of such souls,after the holy soul of Christ, is the lessed Lirgin !ary.

All this, so it seems to us, shows the legitimacy of the traditional division of the three periods of the spiritual

life, as understood by a +t. Thomas, a +t. Catherine of +iena, a Tauler, and a +t. ohn of the Cross. The transitionfrom one stage to another is e0plained by the need of a purgation which in actual fact is more or less manifest.

These are not schemes artificially constructed and placed mechanically side by side2 it is the description of avital development in which each stage has its own raison d7etre. f there is sometimes a misunderstanding of thedivision, it is because sufficient account is not ta/en of the defects even of generous beginners or of proficients2it is because the necessity of a second and even a third conversion is forgotten2 it is because it is sometimesoverloo/ed that each of the purgations necessary may be more or less satisfactorily undergone, and may thusintroduce more or less perfectly into the illuminative or the unitive way. $8@%

Mnless due attention is paid to the necessity of these purifications it is impossible to form a 4ust idea of what thespiritual condition of proficients and perfect must be. t is of the necessity of a new conversion that +t. 'aul wasspea/ing when he wrote to the Colossians5 $8EI% 7 #ie not one to another2 stripping yourselves of the old man withhis deeds, and putting on the new, who is renewed unto /nowledge according to the image of him who created

him.... ut above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection. 7

CHAPTER 6 : THE PEACE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD: A PRELUDE

TO THE LIFE OF HEAVEN

TH"+* who follow the way of generosity, self1denial, and self1sacrifice which the saints have taught, will comeat length to /now and taste the 4oys of God7s complete dominion within us.

Truly spiritual delights have their source in the cross, in the spirit of sacrifice which causes disorderedinclinations to die in us and gives the first place to the love of God and the love of souls in God, which installs

in the throne of our souls that charity which is the source of peace, the tran6uility of order. These deep 4oys

cannot enter into the soul until the senses and the spirit have been purged and refined by tribulations andsufferings which detach us from things created. As we read in the Acts of the Apostles5 7 Through manytribulations we must enter into the /ingdom of God. 7 $8E8%

1581ae, 9. 00iv, art. . Hence would reply to !. H. remond that this adherence to God, a direct act,

which is at the source of the discursive and refle0 acts of the perfect, contains the solution of the problem of the pure love of God and its reconciliation with a legitimate love of self2 for this is truly to love oneself in God, andto love Him more than oneself.

159The Carmelite, 'hilip of the Holy Trinity, in the prologue of his +umma theologiae mysticae >ed. 8:, p.

8B, also regards the passive purgation of the senses as a transition between the purgative and the illuminativeway, and the passive purgation of the spirit as a disposition to the way of union. n this, as in many other things,Th. Lallgornera, ". '., has followed him, and even copied literally from his wor/. Anthony of the Holy +pirit, ".

C. D., has done li/ewise, summari3ing him in his Directorium mysticum.

160iii, 18:.

1610iv ;8



Th $$! //7!$!.+

After the dar/ and painful night of the spirit there is, +t. ohn of the Cross tells us, a divine awa/ening5 7 The

soul uses a similitude of the breathing of one that awa/ens from his sleep, 7 and says, 7 How gentle and lovingis... thine awa/ening, " Word and +pouse, in the centre and depth of my soul... wherein alone, secretly and in

silence, Thou dwellest as its #ord. 7 This divine awa/ening is an inspiration of the Word manifesting Hisdominion, His glory and His intimate sweetness. $8E;%

This inspiration shows the face of God radiant with graces and the wor/s which He accomplishes. 7 This is thegreat delight of this awa/ening5 to /now the creatures through God and not God through the creatures2 to /nowthe effects through the cause and not the cause through the effects$8E<% Then is the prayer of the 'salmist

fulfilled5 7 Arise, #ord, why sleepest thou & 7 7 Arise, #ord, 7 that is to say, remar/s +t. ohn of the Cross, 7 do thouawa/en us, and enlighten us, my #ord, that we may /now and love the blessings that Thou hast ever set beforeus. 7 $8E:%

The same grace is described in the <th 'salm5 7 With e0pectation have waited for the #ord, and he was

attentive to me. And he heard my prayers and brought me out of the pit of misery and the mire of dregs2 and heset my feet upon a roc/ and directed my steps, and he put a new canticle into my mouth. 7

n this 7 powerful and glorious awa/ening7 the soul receives, as it were, an aspiration of the Holy +pirit, who fillsit to overflowing with His goodness and His glory, 7 wherein He has inspired it with love for Himself, whichtranscends all description and all sense, in the deep things of God. 7 $8E@%

These graces are a preparation for that other awa/ening of the supreme moment of death, when the soul issuingforth from the body will see itself immediately as a spiritual substance, as the angels see themselves. And thelast awa/ening of all will be in the moment of entrance into glory, when the soul, separated from the body, seesGod face to face, and sees itself in God. Happy the saints who go straight to heaven. While those about them arelamenting their departure, they have reached the end of their 4ourney in the clearness of the vision that gives

them 4oy. As the Gospel says, they have entered into the 4oy of their #ord.

Th L$$!. F*/0+

Already here on earth the divine awa/ening produces in the soul of the perfect a flame of love which is a participation of that living flame which is the Holy +pirit Himself. 7 This flame the soul feels within it, not onlyas a fire that has consumed and transformed it in sweet love, but also as a fire which burns within it and sendsout flame.... And this is the operation of the Holy +pirit in the soul that is transformed in love, that His interior actions cause it to send out flames.... And thus these acts of the soul are most precious, and even one of them is

of greater merit and worth than all that the soul may have done in this life apart from this transformation,however much this may be2... it is the same difference as that between the log of wood that is en/indled and theflame which it sends forth.... n this state, therefore, the soul can perform no acts, but it is the Holy +pirit thatmoves it to perform them.... Hence it seems to the soul that whensoever this flame brea/s forth... it is granting iteternal life... it teaches the soul what is the savour of eternal life... it causes the soul to e0perience the life of God, even as David says5 !y heart and my flesh have re4oiced in the living God. 7 $8EE%

This flame wounds the soul as it is given, but the wound is tender, salutary and, instead of causing death, itincreases life2 for the soul is holiest that is most wounded by love. Thus +t. ohn of the Cross says that 7 thiswound is delectable, 7 and he adds that this 7 came to pass when the seraph wounded the soul of +t. rancis >of AssisiB with love. 7 $8E%

162#iving lame. st. L. <. :

163#iving lame, st. L, @

164bid.,

165bid., 8

166#iving lame, st. , ;I1;;2 cf. 's. l000iii, <

167bid., , 8;



When the heart is thus burning with love for its God, the soul is contemplating lamps of fire which enlighten allthings from on high. These are the divine perfections5 Wisdom, Goodness, !ercy, ustice, 'rovidence,

"mnipotence. They are, so to spea/, the colours of the divine rainbow which, without destroying one another,are identified in the intimate life of God, in the Deity, as the seven colours of the rainbow are united in the onewhite light from which they proceed. 7 All these are one lamp, which is the Word.... This lamp is all these lamps,

since it gives light and burns in all these ways. 7 $8E

%

The powers of the soul are then as though melted in the splendour of the divine lamps 2$ 8E% it is truly a prelude

to eternal life.

7 The soul is completely absorbed in these delicate flames, and wounded subtly in each of them, and in all of them more deeply and subtly wounded in love of life, so that it can see 6uite clearly that that love belongs to lifeeternal, which is the union of all blessings. +o that the soul in that state /nows well the truth of those words of the +pouse in the +ongs, where He says that the lamps of love were lamps of fire and flame. 7 $8I%

The flame which the wise virgins must tend in their lamps is a participation of this flame. $88%

The following lines from a recent commentary on the Canticle of Canticles are worth pondering5 7 The divine

love is a consuming fire. t penetrates the soul to its depth. t burns and consumes, but it does not destroy2 ittransforms into itself. !aterial fire which burns wood to its innermost fibres and iron to its last molecules, is an

image of that fire, but how feeble an image F At times, under the influence of a specially powerful grace, thesoul that is on fire with divine love sends forth flames. They ascend straight to God. He is their principle as Heis their end2 and it is for His sa/e that the soul is consumed with love. The charity that elevates the soul to Godis only a created, finite, analogical participation of uncreated charity2 but it is nevertheless a real, positive andformal participation of the substantial flame of ehovah. 7 $8;%

We can understand, therefore, why +t. ohn of the Cross often compares the soul that is penetrated by God withthe union of air and fire in a flame, which is nothing else but air on fire. Doubtless there is always an infinitedistance between the Creator and the creature, but God by His action enters so intimately into the purified soulthat He deifies it, giving it an increase of sanctifying grace. And sanctifying grace is a real and formal participation of His inner life, His own nature, which is Deity.

Mnitive love then becomes in the soul li/e a sea of fire that 7 reaches to the farthest heights and depths, filling itwholly with love. 7 $8<% This love, hardly perceptible at first, grows more and more until the soul e0periences anever1increasing hunger for God and a burning thirst, of which the 'salmist says5 7 or thee my soul hath thirsted2for thee my flesh, ", how many ways F J $ 8:% This is truly the beatitude of those that hunger and thirst after 4ustice2 this is truly the prelude to the life of heaven, truly a beginning of eternal life, 7 6uaedam inchoatio vitaeaeternae. 7 as +t. Thomas has said. This is the supreme, but normal, development of the life of grace on earth, the

seed of glory, semen gloriae.

What are we to conclude from this doctrine, which may appear too sublime for us poor mortals &

t would certainly be too sublime for us if we had not received in baptism that life of grace which, in us too,must develop into eternal life2 if we had not often received Holy Communion, the precise effect of which is to

increase that grace within us. #et us remind ourselves that each of our Communions ought to be substantiallymore fervent than the preceding, since each of them ought to increase the love of God in us, and thus dispose usto receive our #ord with a greater fervour of will on the following day.

168#iving lame, st., , <

169bid.

170bid., @

171!att. 00v, :1.

172Lirgo idelis, by (obert de #angeac >#ethielleu0, 8<8B, p. ;

173#iving lame, st. ,

174's. l0ii, ;2 Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. 0i



As +t. ohn of the Cross says, $8@% spiritual souls that desire this union would attain it if they did not flee fromthose trials which God sends them for their purification.

*0actly the same doctrine is found in the Dialogue of +t. Catherine of +iena, where we are given the e0planationof those words of Christ5 7 f any man thirst let him come to me and drin/.... "ut of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 7

7 )ou were all invited, generally and in particular, by !y Truth when He cried in the Temple, saying5 f anyman thirst, let him come to me and drin/.... +o that you are invited to the fountain of living water of Grace,

and it is right for you, with perseverance to /eep by Him who is become for you a bridge, not being turned bac/ by any contrary winds that may arise, either of prosperity or adversity, and to persevere until you find !e, Whogive the water of #ife, by means of this sweet Word of love, my only1begotten +on.... 7 $8E%

7 ut you must have thirst, because only those that thirst are invited. f any man thirst, He says, let himcome to me and drin/. He who has no thirst will not persevere, for either fatigue causes him to stop, or

pleasure distracts him... he turns bac/ at the smallest persecution, for he li/es it not... The intellect must ga3einto the ineffable love which have shown thee by means of !y only1begotten +on.... A man who is full of !ylove and the love of his neighbour finds himself the companion of many real virtues2 and then the soul isdisposed to thirst5 it thirsts for virtue, and the honour of !y name and the salvation of souls, every other thirst in

him is spent and dead. The soul then wal/s securely... being stripped of self1love2 it is raised above itself andabove transitory things.... t contemplates the deep love that have manifested to you in Christ crucified.... The

heart, emptied of the things that pass away, becomes filled with heavenly love which gives access to the watersof grace. Having arrived there, the soul passes through the door of Christ crucified and tastes the water of life,sla/ing his thirst in !e, who am the "cean of 'eace. 7

What practical conclusion are we to draw from all this & We ought to say and repeat this prayer to our lessed#ord.

7 #ord, teach me to /now the obstacles that, consciously or unconsciously, am placing in the way of Thy gracein me. Give me the strength to put them aside, and if am negligent therein, vouchsafe Thyself to remove them,howsoever may suffer thereby. What wouldst Thou have me to do for Thee this day, my God & +how me whatit is in me that displeaseth Thee. Teach me rightly to value the 'recious lood which Thou didst shed for me, of

the sacramental or spiritual communion by which we are enabled to drin/ that lood from the wound of Thymost loving Heart.

7 !a/e me, " #ord, to grow in love of Thee. Grant that our inner conversation may never cease2 that maynever separate myself from Thee2 that may receive all that Thou dost deign to give me2 and that may notstand in the way of the grace which through me should be poured out upon other souls to give them light andlife. 7

P/8 $! )$%/%+

And thus, in the words of +t. Thomas, man lives no longer for himself, but for God. $ 8% He may say, with +t.

'aul5 7 To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 7 $8

% #ife for me is not study, not wor/, or natural activity of any /ind, but Christ.

+uch is the way that leads to this 6uasi1e0perimental and almost continuous /nowledge of the lessed Trinity

dwelling within us. And this is what ma/es +t. Catherine say at the end of her Dialogue 5 $8%

7 " eternal Trinity, " Godhead, " divine -ature that gavest to the lood of Thy +on so great a price, Thou, "eternal Trinity, art a bottomless sea into which the more plunge the more find, and the more find the more see/ Thee still. "f Thee it is never possible to say1 *nough. The soul that is sated in Thy depths desires Thee yet

175#iving lame, st. , ;<

176Ch. @<.

1771ae, 9. 0vii, art E, ad <

178'hil. i, ;8

179Ch. 8E



unceasingly, for it hungers ever after Thee.... Thou art the fire that burns ever and is never 6uenched, the fire thatconsumes in itself all the self1love of souls, that melts all ice and gives all light. This light is an ocean into whichthe soul plunges ever more deeply and there finds peace. 7

What better commentary could we find on those sublime words of +t. 'aul to the 'hilippians 5 $8I%7 the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, /eep your hearts and minds in Christ esus. 7 l his is the fruit of the

third conversion, in very truth a prelude to the life of heaven.

NOTE ON THE CALL TO THE INFUSED CONTEMPLATION OF THE

MYSTERIES OF FAITH

W* have pointed out above 11 and we have developed the theme at length elsewhere $ 88% 11 that the seven gifts

of the Holy Ghost are connected with charity, $8;% and that they conse6uently develop together with it. t istherefore impossible to have a high degree of charity without having at the same time and in a proportionatedegree the gifts of understanding and wisdom, gifts which, together with faith, are the principle of the infusedcontemplation of revealed mysteries. n some of the saints, as in +t. Augustine, this contemplation bearsimmediately upon the mysteries themselves2 in others, as in a +t. Lincent de 'aul, it bears upon the practical

conse6uences of these mysteries2 for e0ample, upon the life of the members of the mystical body of Christ. utin either case it is infused contemplation. The superhuman mode of the gifts, a mode of activity which is derivedfrom the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost and which transcends the human mode of the virtues, $ 8<% is atfirst latent, as in the ascetic life2 but then it becomes manifest and fre6uent in the mystical life. n fact, the HolyGhost usually inspires souls proportionately to their habitual docility or to their supernatural dispositions >i. e.according to the degree in which they possess the virtues and the giftsB. This is definitely the traditionalteaching.

We have also shown elsewhere, $8:% that according to +t. Thomas the gifts have not a human mode specificallydistinct from their superhuman mode2 for if this were so, the former might always be perfected without ever attaining to the latter, and would thus not be essentially subordinate to it.

-ow, if the gifts have no human mode specifically distinct from their superhuman mode, it follows that 11 as we

have often said 11 there is for all truly spiritual. souls a general remote call or vocation to the infusedcontemplation of the mysteries of faith 11 a contemplation which alone can give a profound and livingunderstanding of the redemptive ncarnation, of the indwelling of God within us, of the sacrifice of Calvarysubstantially perpetuated on the altar during the !ass, and of the mystery of the Cross which should bereproduced in any true and profound Christian life. However, this 7 general and remote call 7 does not mean thesame as an 7 individual and pro0imate call, 7 4ust as a 7 sufficient call 7 does not mean the same as an 7 efficacious

call. 7

We have recently been conceded, on this matter, a point which we had not as/ed 11 and which, incidentally, wedo not accept 11 namely, that 7 the negative clement of perfection, that is to say, detachment from creatures, must be the same for all souls5 complete, absolute, universal 72 7 there can be no degrees in the absence of voluntaryfaults. The very smallest, li/e the very greatest, destroys perfection... a thread is enough to hold a man captive. 7

We do not thin/ that detachment from creatures is the same for all, whether for the greatest saints or for thosesouls that have reached a minimal perfection. And the principal reason is, that perfection e0cludes not onlyfaults that are directly voluntary, but also those that are indirectly voluntary2 those which proceed fromnegligence and a relative tepidity, from a secret and semi1conscious egoism that does not allow the depth of thesoul to belong completely to God. #i/ewise there is a certain co1relational between the intensive growth of

charity and its e0tension, in conse6uence of which charity gradually e0cludes even those obstacles which wemore or less unconsciously oppose to the wor/ of grace in our souls.

180iv,

181'erfection chretienne et contemplation, t. , pp. <<1:82 t. , pp.1 :<I1:

182Cf. +t. Thomas, 1ae, 9. l0viii, art. @

1831ae, 9. l0viii, art. 82 see also 'erfection chretienne... t. , pp. <@@1<@2 t. , pp. >@;B1>E:B.

184Lie +pirituelle, -ovember, 8<; >+upplement, pp. >E@B1><B5 #es dons ont1ils un mode humain &



f then, as we are granted, every soul is called by its progress in the love of God to e0clude all voluntary faults,even the smallest, even those that are indirectly voluntary, it will succeed only by means of a high degree of charity. This charity will, evidently, be proportionate to the vocation of the individual soul2 it will not be the

same for ernadette of #ourdes as it was for +t. 'aul2 but it will have to be a high degree of charity. Without thisthe depth of the soul will not belong completely to God2 without this there will still be some egoism, which willmanifest itself often enough by faults that are at least indirectly voluntary.

f a soul is to be perfect, it must possess a degree of charity higher than that which it possessed when it was stillin the ran/s of beginners or of proficients2 4ust as in the physical order the full age of manhood presupposes a

physical strength superior to that of childhood or adolescence 11 though it may be that accidentally a youth isfound to be more vigorous than a fully grown man. $8@%

What conclusion follows regarding the purgation of the depth of the soul, which is necessary to e0clude allegoism and secret pride & A recent study on this 6uestion contains the following5

7 admit that the passive purgations >which are of the mystical orderB are necessary in order to arrive at the purity re6uired for mystical union2 and it is in this sense that +t. ohn of the Cross spea/s.... ut deny that the passive purgations are necessary for the purity re6uired in the union of love by conformity of wills. 11 Thereason of this difference is a profound one. or the mystical union, which involves infused contemplation and

love, active purgation is not sufficient, precisely because the purity of the will is not sufficient. t is necessarythat there should be added to it a sort of psychological purity of the substance and the powers of the soul, which

consists in rendering them adapted to the mode of being of the divine infusion. 7

The important 6uestion, then, is5 Are the passive purgations, according to +t. ohn of the Cross, not necessaryfor the profound purity of the will & Are they not necessary in order to e0clude that more or less consciousegoism, and those indirectly voluntary faults which are incompatible with the full perfection of charity,incompatible also with the full perfection of the infused virtues and gifts, which develop together with charity

li/e so many functions of the same spiritual organism &

The answer to this e0tremely important 6uestion, for our part, is not for a moment in doubt.

t suffices to read in the Dar/ -ight $8E% the description of those faults of beginners which render the purgation

of the senses necessary. Here are, not faults opposed to the sort of psychological purity of which our author spea/s, but faults which are contrary to the moral purity of the sensibility and of the will. They are, in fact, as +t.ohn of the Cross tells us, the seven capital sins translated into the order of the spiritual life, such as spiritualgreed, spiritual sloth, spiritual pride.

The same remar/ may be made of the faults $8% of proficients which render necessary the passive purgation of the spirit2 they are 7 stains of the old man which still remain in the spirit, li/e a rust which will disappear only

under the action of an intense fire. 7 These proficients, says +t. ohn of the Cross, are really sub4ect to naturalaffections2 they have moments of roughness, of impatience2 there is still in them a secret spiritual pride, and anegoism which causes some of them to ma/e use of spiritual goods in a manner not sufficiently detached, and sothey are led into the path of illusions. n a word, the depth of the soul is lac/ing, not only in psychological purity, but in the moral purity that is re6uired. Tauler has spo/en in the same sense, solicitous especially to purify the depth of the soul of all self1love, of all more or less conscious egoism. Hence it is our opinion that the

passive purgations are necessary for this profound moral purity. ut these purgations are of the mystical order.They do not always appear under so definitely contemplative a form as that described by +t. ohn of the Cross2 but in the lives of the saints, even of the most active among them, li/e a Lincent de 'aul, the chapters whichtreat of their interior sufferings prove that they all have a common basis, which none has described better than+t. ohn of the Cross.

A final and very important concession has been made to us in connection with the famous passage of the #ivinglame, +T. , ;<5

7 t behoves us to note why it is that there are so few that attain to this lofty stale. t must be /nown that this isnot because God is pleased that there should be few raised to this high spiritual state1on the contrary it would

185 -on sunt 4udicanda ea 6ua sunt per se, per ea 6uae sunt per accidens.

186oo/ , ch. ii1i0

187Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. i and ch. ii.



please Him if all were so raised 11 but rather because He finds few vessels in whom He can perform so high andlofty a wor/. or, when He proves them in small things and finds them wea/ and sees that they at once flee fromlabour, and desire not to submit to the least discomfort or mollification... He finds that they are not strong

enough to bear the favour which He was granting them when He began to purge them, and goes no farther withtheir purification.... 7

With regard to this it has recently been conceded. 7 We admit that +t. ohn of the Cross is treating here of thespiritual marriage, and that he states that the will of God is that all souls should attain to this state. ut we denythat this implies a universal call to the mystical life.... The confusion arises, in our opinion, from a failure to

distinguish two elements included by +t. ohn of the Cross in the two degrees of union called spiritual betrothaland marriage. "ne of these two elements is essential and permanent2 the other accidental and transitory. Theessential element is the union of wills between God and the soul, a union which results from the absence of voluntary faults and from the perfection of charity2 the accidental element consists in the actual union of the powers, a mystical union in the proper sense of the word, a union which cannot be continuous. 7

n this supposition, it is possible that the transforming union, or spiritual marriage, should e0ist in a personwithout that person ever having had a mystical union, the mystical union being merely an accidental element,li/e the interior words or the intellectual vision of the lessed Trinity mentioned by +t. Teresa. $8% To us, on thecontrary, it appears certain that, according to +t. ohn of the Cross, the transforming union cannot e0ist without

there having been at least from time to time a very lofty contemplation of the divine perfections, an infusedcontemplation $8% proceeding from the gifts, which have now reached a degree proportionate to that of perfect

charity. t is, he says, 7 even as the fire that penetrates the log of wood... and having attac/ed and wounded itwith its flame, prepares it to such a degree that it can enter it and transform it into itself. 7 $8I%

!oreover, to our mind it is absolutely certain1that the profound union of wills between God and the soul, whichis recogni3ed as being the essential element of the transforming union, presupposes the moral purgation of thedepth of the soul, a purgation from that more or less conscious self1love or egoism which is the source at least of

many indirectly voluntary faults2 and this moral purification of the depth of the soul, according to +t. ohn of theCross, re6uires the passive purgations which eliminate the faults of beginners and proficients.

We therefore maintain what we have said, in common with numerous theologians, Dominican and Carmelite,about the doctrine of +t. Thomas and +t. ohn of the Cross concerning the gifts of the Holy Ghost. To conclude,

we recall especially these two important te0ts

7 The night of sense is common and comes to many2 these are the beginners. 7 $ 88% eing passive, this purification, or night, is of the mystical order. 7 The way of progressives or proficients... is called the way of illumination or of infused contemplation, wherewith God Himself feeds and refreshes the soul. 7 $8;% Henceinfused contemplation is in the normal way of sanctity, even before the unitive way is reached2 and therefore itis inconceivable that a soul should be in the state of spiritual marriage or the transforming union without ever

having had that infused contemplation of the mysteries of faith which is the eminent e0ercise of the gifts of theHoly Ghost, developing in us side by side with charity.

We cannot admit that a mind of the calibre of +t. ohn of the Cross can have meant only something accidentalwhen he wrote the passage which we have 4ust 6uoted, and which we 6uote once more in conclusion5

7 The way of progressives or of proficients... is called the way of illumination or of infused contemplation,wherewith God Himself feeds and refreshes the soul. 7

NNN*-D " T*?TNNN

188Lth !ansion, ch. i and ch. ii

189According to +t. ohn of the Cross >Dar/ -ight, oo/ , ch. 0ivB 7 the way of illumination 7 is a 7 way of

infused contemplation, wherewith God Himself feeds and refreshes the soul. 7 A fortiori, !an in the way ofunion

Documents

Garrigou-Lagrange - Three Ways of Spiritual Life