Giving yourself to God
and to others-Part VI
In Part VI of our study of
St. John of the Cross, with guidance from the book "John of the Cross for Today:
The Ascent" by Dr. Susan Muto. Ave Maria Press
(1991), we need to examine some do's and don'ts in the
process of preparing for, or being open to, contemplation.
Many people these days hunger
for the supernatural. They are dying to see a real miracle.
A good example of this somewhat strange preoccupation with
miracles is the alleged Marian image on the large window of
a building in Clearwater, Florida, which drew millions of
sightseers. The reason I bring this particular event up is
not to judge one way or the other, but to use it as a vivid
example of a possible vision. It is those particular sensory
experiences that are not helpful for someone preparing or
trying to be open to contemplation.
St. John of the Cross,
writes the Word of God, "If there be any prophet of the Lord among you, I
will appear to him in some vision or form, or I will speak
with him in his dreams; but there is none like My servant
Moses, who is the most faithful in all My house, and I speak
with him mouth to mouth, and he sees not God by comparisons,
similitudes and figures. Herein He says clearly that, in
this lofty state of union whereof we are speaking, God is
not communicated to the soul by means of any disguise of
imaginary vision or similitude or form, neither can He be so
communicated; but mouth to mouth -- that is, in the naked
and pure essence of God, which is the mouth of God in love,
with the naked and pure essence of the soul, which is the
mouth of the soul in love of God.
In a more modern translation
(RSV) you will find the text in italics in Numbers 12: 6-8
"And he said, "Hear my words: If there is a prophet among
you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision, I
speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses; he
is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak mouth to
mouth, clearly, and not in dark speech; and he beholds the
form of the LORD."
I think the point this
Scripture is trying to make is that imaginary visions, e.g.
would-be visions that rely heavily on the senses, are not
the communication the Lord desires. God speaks to us in
terms of love, with the naked and pure essence of the soul,
which is the mouth of the soul in love of God. I met a
person some years ago, who loved the Virgin Mary. She did a
lot of traveling around from one apparition site to another.
That's fine, but her imagination was so filled with all
these visionaries and sightings that she could think of
nothing else. I am not saying that this is necessarily
wrong, but when a person wishes to received the gift of
contemplation, the imagination must be quieter, almost
dormant. It's a difficult thing to explain except to say
that there must be a certain interior calmness. We've got to
stop the train (our thoughts) from going at 200 miles per
hour. In order for Our Lord to take residence in our soul,
our attention must be totally trained on Him, and on nothing
or no one else.
Then why would I want to
contemplate? Well, it is not important PER SE., but it just
happens to those who love God very much and show this by
trying to live prudently and quietly, serving Him in every
way. If He comes to visit, I will open the door for Him. And
I will be very pleased with His company in an understated
way. For those of you who are happily married for 30-40-50
years... you know that there comes a time that there's
nothing new you can tell your spouse that hasn't been
discussed before. So what do you do, in the evening. While
one watches TV perhaps, the other is quietly enjoying a
book, perhaps. They both love each other very much, but
conversation isn't necessary. There is an unspoken unity. So
it is with contemplation, there is an unspoken unity between
God and the person who meets with Him in this manner, and
there is only quiet bliss, and when it's over, we have
little or no recollection of what happened. And so it should
be. But in the long run, you begin to realize what has been
happening and you will find great peace. Then, when the Lord
beckons you to pray, or to visit with Him in one of the
Adoration chapels, you drop everything and you go with joy,
for the Master is waiting.
Of course, one always needs
to be on guard. Satan is the great imitator, he plays around
with our illusions, our weaknesses. When you discern action
or an attack on his part, immediately repel him by way of
prayer, even binding him and his powers and
principalities... get rid of him - you don't want him in
your life. And, for those of you who coast along blissfully
not recognizing that there is any danger, watch out. Any
road you take to get closer to our Lord becomes a target for
Satan. So be on guard and very firmly tell Satan to go back
into his hole and to just stay away. If you tell him that
often enough, he gets the message because he knows you won't
give in. Not ever!
Contemplation cannot be
learned. It is a state of relationship that is given. A true
Gift of God. When it occurs, do not be alarmed. Just know
that such a relationship places a responsibility on you, to
really work at curtailing sin in your life. Daily Conversion
becomes very important. Attend Holy Mass frequently, receive
the Sacrament of Reconciliation whenever possible (once a
month is fine, once every two weeks even better). If you
feel you have nothing to confess, start working on a little
slipups. Jesus died on the Cross for the little venial sins
too, particularly those committed continuously. Begin with
showing some respect for your Master in Church or Chapel, by
genuflecting or bowing (if the former isn't possible). Don't
turn your back to the Tabernacle when you talk to people in
Church, and in fact, try to limit unnecessary conversation.
Our Lord is a loving God, it is a great privilege to be able
to share with Him each and every day. Make the most of it...
it is the beginning of Heaven on earth.
May God
continue to bless you and give you His peace!
Fred Schaeffer, SFO
3-22-2006
Giving yourself to God and to
others-Part V
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