JO Y F UL MI S S IONA RY DI S C I PL E S
man not to be deceived in many of them
unless he strive to reject them, such an ap-
pearance of truth and security does the
devil give them” (St. John of the Cross,
Ascent of Mt. Carmel, II.27.6). The saint
also cautions, “In order to deceive the soul
and to instill falsehoods into it, the devil
first feeds it with truths and things that are
probable in order to give it assurance and
afterwards to deceive it” (II.27.4).
That we “get something” out of such an
encounter or that it “works” for us, there-
fore, is not an argument for its safety.
Settle for More than “Crumbs”
When emotions run low, we think God
is absent. We then attempt to recycle previ-
ous emotional encounters. The song, the
chapel, the book that stirred us, the prayer
meeting, listening to so-and-so’s talks:
these we return to, hoping to squeeze from
them another benefit. But since emotions
are passive—they just “happen” to us—it is
impossible to “stir them up.”
St. John of the Cross refers to this dis-
content as “spiritual gluttony,” and it is
a roller coaster. We voraciously eat the
“crumbs” under the table (created things)
instead of the bread—the Creator himself.
Desire for these “crumbs” binds the
soul “to the mill of concupiscence,” since
crumbs never truly satisfy (Ascent, Book I,
Ch. 7.2). We are mired in animalism, not
exalted in mysticism. Searching for this
kind of encounter, or promising it, can
lead to despair, self-deception, and spiri-
tual showmanship.
When a “felt” encounter is experienced,
it is likely God’s only way of reaching us be-
cause of our “tender and weak” souls. He
often meets us in the midst of situations
that are undesirable, sinful, or imperfect
in themselves, not to affirm where we are
at but in order not to lose us completely
“TRUE ENCOUNTER IS A DESERT,
NOT A TROPICAL RESORT, THIS SIDE
OF HEAVEN.”
(Ascent II.21.2-3). He wants to lure us out,
to a true personal encounter.
God is indeed our “friend,” but we need
to learn that He is also God—to appreciate
his transcendence.
The “Spiritual” Encounter
Truly to encounter God, we must break
out of the exhausting and dangerous cycle
of spiritual thrill-seeking; when we feel
desolation, we must not recoil but em-
brace it. Like the Blessed Mother, we may
“know not” how God can communicate
himself to our souls in any other way, but
we give our fiat anyway. We determine to
focus on the Sacraments, especially the
Eucharist, because we believe God is truly
present in them.
By our choice to commit ourselves to
God regardless of feelings, we show him
how much we love and honor him, that we
are truly his friend! We cannot be fooled
by his apparent absence or disfavor.
Relying on faith, the assurance of things
“not seen,” we are content to let God work
secretly within us, “holding still” with our
thoughts and desires so that God the art-
ist can “paint” us (Dark Night of the Soul,
10.5.2). We choose to remain in a simple
state of loving attention to God. Our
prayer and sacramental life is characterized
“MYSTERIOUSLY, AS WE ENDURE ARIDITY,
OUR LONGING FOR GOD INCREASES.”
by regularity, acceptance of aridity, soli-
tude, patience, gradual growth and humil-
ity. Instead of becoming upset if there is
no “result,” we pray and receive the sacra-
ments with patience, knowing that we do
not “waste time.”
When Darkness is Light
In 1959, after ten years of torturous spir-
itual desolation, St. Mother Teresa of Cal-
cutta prays: “Do with me as you wish—as
long as You wish, without a single glance
at my feelings and pain . . . Your happiness
is all that I want . . . please do not take the
trouble to return soon.—I am ready to wait
for you for all eternity.”
When we approach God more closely as
he is, the darker that encounter will be for
us. True encounter is a desert, not a tropi-
cal resort, this side of heaven.
But in the midst of it, St. John of the
Cross describes an awareness of God’s
presence that is truly about God, not us.
Mysteriously, as we endure aridity, our
longing for God increases, and our emo-
tions gradually take on a new character.
As St. John Paul II suggests, “A love
which has matured . . . frees itself from . .
. anxiety by its choice of [the] person. The
emotion becomes serene and confident,
because it ceases to be absorbed entirely in
itself and attaches itself instead . . . to the
beloved person . . . [it] becomes simpler
and soberer” (Love and Responsibility).
A true, loving encounter with the tran-
scendent God requires commitment, not
fervor. However, in his time, that commit-
ment will also brighten our hearts.
Dr. Elizabeth Salas is assistant professor of
philosophy at Sacred Heart.
shms.edu
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