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Brookline Carmel Bulletin                         J M J T

December 13, 1959

 

 

Cogitatio Sancta

(Holy Meditation)

 

Rejoice in the Lord

 

In the midst of Lent, the Church, perhaps in order to keep us from settling into a state of gloom, encourages us with Laetare Sunday; likewise in Advent, although the spirit of the season is less penitential, the Church relaxes her liturgical severity a bit with Gaudete Sunday.  “Rejoice in the Lord always,” the Introit of the Mass urges us, for “the Lord is near.”  Although there is always a degree of sorrow that accompanies contrition for our sins, it should always be tempered by the joy that flows from the presence of the Lord Who has forgiven us.  Saint Paul’s words “the Lord is near” are a cheerful reminder of that fundamental truth upon which our whole Carmelite spirituality is built.  The essence of Carmel (whether it be the First, Second, or Third Order) is not the daily routine of prayers and Mortifications, or the various externals, which characterize Carmelite life.  It is the full realization of the nearness of God and a corresponding union of our souls with Him.  We might note in passing that it is possible, at least for a time, to observe the externals of Carmel and yet have no true interior union with God.  In other words, one may live on the surface and appear to be a true Carmelite without having the depth of spirituality that gives to Carmel its full meaning and beauty.  Unless we are making a constant effort to “interiorize” or deepen our awareness of God’s presence, we may be “missing the whole paint” of Carmel.

 

The great teachers of Carmel, Saints Teresa and John of the Cross, place significant emphasis on the practice of the presence of God in its various forms.  Saint Teresa assures us that, except during periods of severe aridity, one who sincerely seeks to commend himself to God will find Him.  The result of thus finding Him will ordinarily be that peace and joy of which Saint Paul speaks.  In a state of aridity this may not be true, at least as far as any “sensible” consolation is concerned.  At such times, one may be called upon to practice the presence of God by acts of pure faith.  These acts are the rungs of the “secret ladder” Saint John of the Cross describes at the beginning of the Second Book of the Ascent.  By this secret ladder of pure faith, the soul rises through the dark night of sense and spirit to union with God.  The fact that, during certain states of this climb, it finds not the slightest consolation in the thought that God is present should neither disturb nor discourage it.  An act of the presence of God made in pure faith, though it gives not the slightest pleasure to the soul, may please God beyond all our imaginings.  It is a proof of the soul’s love for God which is all the purer because it is stripped of all self-satisfaction.  Saint Teresa tells of a time when Our Lord left her in a state of aridity for a considerable time, giving her no consolation whatever.  At last He did appear to her in an intellectual vision and explained, “Here I am; but I will have thee see how little thou canst do without me.”  Surely she had been practicing the presence of God during these trials, and surely her acts of pure faith had been acceptable to Him.  But, though present, He chose not to reveal Himself to her for a time, in order to increase the depths of her humility.  This is the practice of the presence of God at its hardest, but if the effort required is great, the reward is far greater.

 

The fact that it requires some effort to find God within ourselves should not surprise us.  Saint John of the Cross tells us that He is there (within the soul) but hidden.  And Saint Teresa says that “though we know quite well that God is present in all we do, our nature is such that it makes us lose sight of the fact.”  In this life, our impressions normally come from the outside world, and this world tends to crowd in upon us, demanding most, if not all, of our attention.  It is not easy to counteract this tendency so as to raise our minds and hearts to God whenever circumstances allow us to do so.  We rarely can completely ignore the world around us.  Often our duty is to give it a considerable amount of attention.  But we must strive (and God will provide us with the grace, if we sincerely try) to balance our external activities with an ever-deepening interior awareness of God’s presence.  Only thus can we hope to experience true “joy in the Lord” – the Christian joy that is firmly rooted in faith and confidence in God’s ever-abiding love.

 

 

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