Introduction (ch. 1)
• The authority of St. Thomas in this study stems from the repeated insistence of the Church throughout the centuries for the
careful study of his synthesis of theology.
o Aquinas possesses the heights of acquired wisdom which enabled him to wonderfully synthesize the knowledge of the
philosopher and the theologian, and the gift of wisdom raised him to the highest degree of infused contemplation
o Overall, Aquinas’ synthesis points to the fact that the precept op the love of God is limitless and that the perfection of charityfalls
under this precept toward which every Christian must work according to state (Sts. Francis de Sales, Augustine, and other Church
Fathers hold the same position).
• The authority of St. John of the Cross is recognized as well.
o He is certainly one of the greatest Catholic mystics and, as a canonized saint, his doctrine underwent a harsh scrutiny by
the Church and was declared perfectly sound.
o He unites the data on descriptive mysticism and the speculative theology of the virtues and gifts (as laid out by Aquinas)
from his knowledge of Tradition and intimacy with the works of St. Teresa of Avila.
o He is fully in agreement with Aquinas on the great questions of predestination and grace.
• The goal of the treatise is to explain the unitive way which is often greatly misunderstood or abused.
o Various errors are due to adherence to unsound theology, while others are due to ignorance and/or the desire to remain
ignorant, considering perfection to be an ideal too lofty for the common priest, religious, or layman.
o Study of the writings of the great saints is neglected under the false pretense that these are beyond reach and can lead to
divergent opinions (mystical agnosticism) as to whether contemplation is part of the normal way of sanctity.
■ Benedict XV refutes this: In our day many neglect the supernatural life and cultivate in itsplace an inconsistent and vague
sentimentalism. Hence it is absolutely necessary to recall more often what thefathers of the Church, together with Holy Scripture,
have taught us on this subject, and to do so by taking St. Thomas Aquinas especially as ourguide, because he has so clearly set
forth their doctrine on the elevation of the supernatural life. We must earnestly draw the attention of souls to the conditions required
for the progress of the grace of the virtues and of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, the perfect development of which isfound in the mystical
life. (Letter to editor of Ta vie spirituelle, 15 September 1921).
• Hence it shall be demonstrated that the conception of the purgative, illuminative, and unitive ways, as ultimately synthesized by
St. John of the Cross, preserves all the grandeur of the Gospels, Pauline, and Johannine epistles.
o The puigative way entails the orienting of life towards heaven and an ever-increasing dying to sin (cf. Col 3:5,10; Rom 6:46; 12:2; Gal 5:24; Jn 12:24).
o The illuminative way entails an increasing perfection of knowledge of God with increasing charity (cf. Col 3:10-14; Eph
4:1-6; Gal 2:9; Phil 2:5; 3:8; 1 Cor 11:1; Rom 6:4-11).
o The unitive way marks the state of a continued union with Christ by supernatural grace and perfection of virtues (cf. Col
3:1-4,15-17).

The Actual Mystical Problem (ch. 2)
• A. 1. Object and method of ascetical and mystical theology.
o The meaning of ascetical and mystical theology.
■ Modem times have seen an exaggerated distinction between moral and dogmatic theology, as moral theology
has denigrated into a science of sins to be avoided rather than of virtues to be developed and practiced.
• This development is a departure from the habitus of Aquinas who maintained that sacred doctrine is
absolutely one and is of such high perfection that it contains the perfection of both dogmatic and
moral theology (la q.l a.2, 8); hence sacra doctrina is eminently speculative and practical.
• With this in mind, moral theology contains the principles necessary for leading souls to the highest
sanctity; hence ascetical and mystical theology is the application of moral theology to the direction of the souls
towards ever-closer union with God.
o This presupposes what sacra doctrina teaches about the nature and properties of the
theological and moral virtues, the gifts of the Holy Ghost, while also studying the laws and
■

■

conditions of their progress from the ratio of perfection.
Consideration of the terms ascetical and mysticalsa. themselves.
• Asceticism comes from the Greek indicating the exercise of virtues; hence it belongs to the part of
theology which directs souls in the struggle against sin and the progress of virtue.
• Mysticism pertains to the treatment of more hidden and mysterious things, viz. intimate union of the
soul with God, transitory phenomena accompanying certain degrees of union, and essentially
extraordinary graces (e.g. visions).
From this, the object of ascetical and mystical theology is clear: that being, Christian perfection, union with God, the
contemplation which thispresupposes, the ordinary means leading to it, and the extraordinary hepsfavoring it.

Principles of ascetical and mystical theology.
■ The principles are easy to discern in light of the object.
• The light of revelation contained in Holy Writ and Tradition is explained by the teaching authority of
the Church and connected upon by dogmatic and moral theology.
•
From the principles of faith, theology deduces the conclusions that they implicitly contain.
• By the light of these principles, the facts of the ascetical and mystical life must be examined, and, by
this light, the rules of direction must be formulated (as something more, however, than unmotivated
practical prescriptions).
o Critique of methodology.
■
Descriptive or inductive method (analytical): This method, while making use of sound theology on the life of grace,
seeks to describe the different spiritual and mystical states by their signs rather than to determine their nature
theologically (doctrinally and morally founded), examining whether they proceed from the Christian virtues and
gifts of the Holy Ghost.
• The drawback is obvious here as this method only treats of one part of the science; hence the rules of
direction formulated from this method are often too empirical and lack sufficient justification and/or
clarification.
• Action follows upon being and nature, so knowledge of the nature of the interior life and not just its signs and
appearances is necessaty to determine practical direction.
• Those who hold to this method, in order to supply for its lack of doctrinal foundation, provide a
nominal definition of the mystical state which declares it as extraordinary as the particular charisms
sometimes associated with it.
o Hence, these proponents determine the nature of the mystical state without the consultation of theology
and fail to consider whether or not it is a perfection of sanctity.
o Exclusive use of this method leads to a greater emphasis on experimental psychology· rather
than theology, which results in the failure to consider faith in the explanations of mystical
phenomena; such use disregards the distinction between Christian doctrine and life and the
concomitant signs of miracles and prophecies which serve to confirm its divine origin.
o Treatment of mystical theology as a science with principles of its own is an impoverishment;
it must be set forth by the great principles of theology.
■ Deductive method (synthetical): This method falls to the other extreme and considers only the harmony of Christian
life and doctrine, thus giving no credence to the concomitant phenomena indicative of certain degrees of
mystical union.
• This method tends to simplify everything, deducing the solutions of the most difficult problems of
spirituality by proceeding solely from the Thomistic doctrine about the infused virtues and gifts with
no consideration for the various degrees of the spiritual life.
■ A combination of the two: This method falls in the mean between the descriptive and deductive methods:
• The nature of Christian perfection is to first be determined by the use of theologicalprinciples, including an
analysis of the concepts of the Christian life, perfection, and holiness as furnished by the Gospels.
• The nature of contemplation is determined next, as this follows from the state of the perfect,
including the ordinary means leading to it and the extraordinary helps that fa\ < >r it.
• Third, a description of the facts of the ascetical and mystical life by a study of the testimonies of saints
who have best revealed and experienced them.
• Fourth, a determination of the nature of the facts or interior states and a distinguishing from the
concomitant and auxiliary phenomena.
• Finally, a synthesis of the concepts and facts in the light of evangelical perfection which shows: 1)
what is essential to Christian perfection and what is contrary to it, and; 2) what is necessary or very
desirable to reach it and what is essentially extraordinary and not required.
A. 2 Distinction between ascetical theology and mystical theology and the unity of spiritual doctrine.
o Traditional thesis: unity of spiritual doctrine (this is the correct thesis).
■
Until the 18th century, it was generally held that mystical theology included not only mystical union, infused
contemplation, its degrees and extraordinary· graces accompanying it, but also Christian perfection in general, hence
the normal progress of the spiritual life seemed directed toward mystical union as the culminating point.
• Overall, it was a spiritual doctrine dominated by a very high idea of perfection that was realized by its
proportion to charity proceeding from the gift of wisdom.

o

■

o

St. Thomas demonstrates the relation between ascetical theology and mystical theology by treating of the
mutual relation of action and contemplation (Ilallae q.182 aa.3,4).
• The active life (exercise of the cardinal virtues and outward acts of charity) prepares for the
contemplative life by regulating the passions and increasing love for God an neighbor.
• The contemplation of God (proper to the perfect) then leads to action, directs it, and renders such
acts much more fruitful and supernatural.
• Hence, asceticism does not cease with the beginning of the contemplative life, but like the formation
of a habit which makes one act more promptly and easily, the exercise of different virtues becomes
truly superior with the reception of mvstical graces of union with God.
■
St. Thomas further lays out principles regarding the unite between doctrine and the spiritual life.
• Christian perfection consists in union with God, which supposes the full development of charity and
the virtues, along with the gifts of the Holy Ghost.
• The three theological virtues are supernatural in their essence because of their formal motive and
proper object, which is unattainable by reason alone (or the highest natural knowledge of angels).
• The gifts of the Holy Ghost are doubly supernatural in their essence and mode of action; the state of
perfect fidelity to the Holy Ghost (habitual influence of His gifts) places the soul in a passive state.
• The gifts grow with charity, as does the infused virtues, and this happens by meritorious works and
fruitfill Holy Communion; if die soul does not advance, it retards, since the first principle of charity
has no limit.
• Consideration of what the very essence of the grace of Baptism and charity ought to be (not what
actually may happen) points to the case that grace should not be lost.
o The life of grace should normally develop to the extent that the fire of charity would purify
us of all actual sins prior to death.
o Immediate vision of God after death is of the radical order and thus the painful purification
of sin should precede death and be wholly meritorious; hence, mystical union should be the
normal development of the life of grace: the perfect tend principally to unite themselves with
God in order to enjoy Him, and they desire to die in order to be with Christ, (cf. Ilallae q.24
a.9)
■
St. John of the Cross further expresses the unity between doctrine and spiritual life, even despite the diversity
of interior states, by focusing on the quality of the supernatural virtue of faith.
• Supernatural contemplation is the full development of the life of faith and of the spirit of wisdom:
faith alone is the proximate and proportionate means which can unite the soul to God. (cf. Ascent of
Mount Cannel, ch. 2,3,8)
■ The unity of spiritual doctrine follows a definite course of study: 1) the end attainable in this life is defined;
2) what constitutes spiritual perfection, especially with reference to the Gospel and the testimony of saints, and;
3) clear depiction of what the means are to the end: struggle against sin, practice of virtues, docility to the Holy
Ghost.
• Thus the aspects of asceticism prepare the soul for mystical union (fruition of the gifts) and the two
are closely linked; any separation of the two (as proposed below by the modem thesis) results in an
asceticism that lacks vitality' and depth and a mysticism that that seems wholly out of reach except for
a few.
Modem thesis: separation of ascetical from mystical theology (this is not so good).
•
In the 18th century·, a number of authors sought to separate ascetical from mystical theology due to abuses
springing from erroneous teaching of the mystical ways (which became suspect after the condemnations of the
errors of Molinos) and due to an excessive zeal to systematize things and establish a doctrine to remedy' abuses
and classify things materially.
• Ascetical theology was relegated to treat of the “ordinary'” Christian life according to the stages of
purgation, illumination, and union, while mystical theology' was relegated to treating only of
extraordinary graces and auxiliary· phenomena associated with tme union.
• Hence, mystical union, due to this diy'ision, was no longer viewed as the culmination or end of the normal
development of the life sanctifying grace, virtues, and the gifts.
o Ultimately, this is the result of a misconception of the virtue of humility in that it was
thought presumptuous to aim so high, as mystical union was thought only to be a grace gratis
datae.

•

•

Overall, this separation leads to the false conception that mystical theology and mysticism is only for a
few privileged souls and should be ignored in order to avoid presumption and delusion; thus the way
to high perfection and intimate union with God is barred and, for most, declared inaccessible.
o Sadly enough, due to this misunderstanding, priests no longer would take the time to learn
about mystical theology, and thus were unable to assist and direct souls disposed to the
higher realms of the spiritual life.
A.3. Meaning of the terms of the problem.
o As always, especially when discussing principles, clear definition of the terms in question are necessary to prevent
confusion or equivocation; the definitions used here are in accord with the doctrine expounded by Sts. Thomas, John of
the Cross, Teresa of Avila, and Francis de Sales.
■
Contemplation is defined by Aquinas as a simple intellectual view of truth, superior to reason, and accompanied
by admiration (Ilallae q.180 aa.1,6); Christian contemplation falls upon the domain of revealed truth and
presupposes faith.
• Acquired contemplation is defined as the loving knowledge of God which is the first of our personal
activity aided by grace; it must not to be confused with infused contemplation, which is not the fruit of
human activity aided by grace, but the result of a special inspiration of the Holy Ghost (which is not
producible at will).
■ The term ordinary pertains to every grace, act, and state which is in the normal way of sanctity, that is, all that is
usually morally necessary for the attaining of sanctity.
■ The term extraordinary denotes any favor out of the normal way of sanctity which is not at all necessary for its
attainment (i.e., graces gratis datae).
■ Sanctity pertains, at the very least, to that which is generally required for immediate entrance into Heaven upon
death.

Mystical Theology and the Fundamental Doctrines of St. Thomas (ch. 3)
• A. 1. Natural intellectual life and supernatural life.
o Intellectual knowledge in the natural order is based on the firstprinciple of reason (no being cannot both be and not be at
the same time); the principle of causality (all that has potential non-existence has a cause); the principle offinality (all agents act
for an end); and the firstprinciple of morality! natural law (one must do good and avoid evil).
■
Intellectual knowledge of these truths springs in a certain way from the senses because our intelligence
abstracts certain ideas from the sensible.
■
Intellectual certitude resolves itself formally into purely intellectual evidence of the absolute truth of its
principles which appear as the fundamental laws of being and all intelligible reality.
■ As any human doctrine exteriorly proposed instructs us because of the intellectual light we receive from God, it
follows that God alone teaches us interiorly and as principle cause. fDe Vert, q.ll a.l)
o Regarding the principle of supernatural life, Aquinas is clear about the relation of grace and nature: grace builds upon
nature and perfects it (cf. la q.l a.8 ad 2; q.2; q.60 a.5).
■ The order of grace is thus far above any created natural order per se since the supernatural order is radically
exalted above any natural order.
•
Failure to adequately and appropriately understand Aquinas’ principles leads to a materialistic
approach that inadequately distinguishes in nature what is essential andgoodfrom what ought to be mortified.
• Nominalism reduces the order of grace from an essentially supernatural reality7 to a “moral value” which
gives us a right to eternal life (Luther was a proponent of this, claiming sanctifying grace to be only an
exteriorly granted pardon of our faults by God).
•
'Phenomenology inadequately expresses this relation of nature and grace as it judges most things by the
facts of experience and not by the formal reasons of things which alone, however, can render facts
intelligible; this obscures the line between whatpertains to nature and whatpertains to grace in the individual.
■
Grace is really and formally a participation in the divine nature, that is, what makes God as He is, and surpasses
all natural knowledge; sanctifying grace in the soul is the radical principle of essentially divine operations and is
the seed of glory.
• Sanctifying grace is supernatural by reason of its formal cause, because it pertains directly and essentially to
God; miracles, ecstasies, and the charisms are supernatural in mode by reason of efficient causality because
no created force can produce them.
• Hence the question: Does the mystical life belong to the category of sanctifying grace, the virtues, and
the gifts or to the relatively inferior category of miracles and prophecy?

Aquinas answers this question by maintaining the infinite elevation of grace above our
nature and also the harmony between the two; the harmony, however, only really appears
after a profound purification of nature by mortification and love of the Cross.
A.2. Mystical theology and the essentially supernatural character of infusedfaith.
o The cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) are infused and essentially distinct from the highest
acquired virtues because of their formal object (e.g., there is an infinite distance l ie tween acquired temperance as
regulated by reason and Christian temperance ruled by faith, as the measure of faith provides for what unaided reason is
ignorant of, such as love of God, sin and its effects, etc.).
■
Furthermore, progressive purification is necessary in order that the Christian moral virtues, aided by the
acquired virtues, may reach their perfection.
o Faith is substantially supernatural, specified by a formal motive of the same entirely supernatural order, a motive that
faith attains in an absolutely infallible manner.
■ Rational knowledge of the signs of revelation play only the part of a preamble to prepare our intellect to receive
the influence of grace, which alone can make us adhere to the formal motive of faith and the authority of God
revealing.
• The first revealing Truth is at once that which is believed and that by which one believes, as light is
that which one sees and principle by which one sees.
■
Faith not only grants certainty to what unaided reason can know about God, but also concerns belief in God
considered in His intimate life (cf. Ilallae q.l a.l; q.4 a.l; q.5 a.l; De Vert, q.14 a.8).
• Thus, our faith is based on the very truth of God; true faith places man in the presence of the Gospel
in the same way a listener with musical sense can perceive the beauty of a sublime symphony (lienee,
no incorrupt sense of Holy Writ can be found outside the Church).
• Three things lead us to believe in Christ, those being 1) natural reason; 2) testimony of the law and
prophets, and; 3) preaching of the Apostles; thus led, we reach belief because of the very truth of God
to which we adhere firmly under the influence of an infused divine light, because faith has its certitude
from this (cf. Aquinas’ Comm, in joannem IV, 5, 2).
• The opinion contrary to this rests on a mechanical conception of infused faith and appropriates the
exterior act of revelation as only a partial motive of faith; faith appears as a deductive process helping
us to discover the truth of its contents, which evidently lessens its transcendental character.
o The absolute supernatural character of the formal motive of he theological virtues demonstrates that mystical
contemplation is truly the plentitude of the life of faith.
■ As St. John of the Cross writes, pure faith and detachment in darkness from sensible goods and memories
stimulates and raises the soul much more to love of God without the soul’s knowing how or whence it comes.
(Ascent II, 24)
• Supernatural transformation of the soul to intimate union with God requires a period of severe
purification by which the soul remains in darkness, forcing it to rely on obscure faith as its light and
guide, which dominates all its ideas, tastes, sentiments, and images; the soul actually hinders its
progress in this stage if it seeks to rely on its own reasoning or is attached to its own judgment and
will. (Ascent II, 4)
• At this stage, distraction of the mind with things that are clear and of little value stunts the access to
the abyss of faith where God secretly and supematurally instructs the soul and enriches it with virtues
and gifts; the most perfect recollection takes place in faith and it is here that the Holy Ghost
communicates His light within this domain entirely.
• St. Thomas supports this, together with St. Albert the Great: Then we know God through ignorance,
by a union which surpasses the nature of our soul and in which we are enlightened by the depths of
divine wisdom, which we cannot scrutinize. (I Sent, d.8 q.l a.l ad5)
o Thus it is evident that, based on the essentially supernatural character of faith, mystical
contemplation is the normal blossoming of the theological virtues united to charity and the
gifts of the Holy Ghost.
o The acts and gifts of the Holy Ghost are doubly supernatural, both as to their substance and mode.
■ Although the gifts are subordinate to the theological virtues, they greatly assist in their development since the
Holy Ghost communicates His lights to us in the recollection of faith; thus there is a great difference between
supernatural faith subsisting without charity and livingfaith aided by the gifts.
A.3. Mystical theology and the doctrine ofSt. Thomas on the efficacy ofgrace.
o Grace is efficacious in itself.
o

Free determination is the most important part of the work of sati ation, for this distinguishes the just from the
sinner in every salutary act; however, this distinction is not exclusive to us and must include the work of God in
all its facets, for if God were in no way the cause of our choice, He would not be able to foresee it infallibly
from all eternity: For if is God who worketh inyou, both to will and accomplish according to His good will. (Phil 2:13).
■ Both the faculty of the will and its operation come from God; grace then must be efficacious in itself and not
by reason of the consent following it.
• Divine grace, which efficaciously inclines us to salutary good, is not indifferent or changeable, nor is it
made efficacious by our foreseen consent, but moves us to follow the way of good without violating
our liberty.
• Sin alone can be referred to man exclusively, since by the fact that it is a privation it only requires a
defectible or deficient cause.
■ No one who possesses use of reason is deprived of efficacious grace needed for salvation, except for having
freely resisted a sufficient grace, that is, as good inspiration recalling the duty to be accomplished; God is not
obliged to remedy our voluntary faults, although He does often even when they are repeated.
•
Trent (Sess. VI, ch. 13): If men do not resist His grace, as God has begun in them the work of
salvation, He w ill pursue it accomplishment by working in them both to will and accomplish.
o This transcendental efficacy of grace produces in us and with us the free mode of our acts.
■
Ultimately, it is a mystery of how the very efficacy of grace moves the free will without doing violence to it.
■
Since the divine will is perfectly efficacious, it follows that things happen that God wills to happen, but also
happen in the way (either necessarily or contingently and freely) He so wills. (la q.83 a.l ad3)
•
It does not of necessity belong to liberti’ that what is free should be the first cause of itself; God thus
is the first cause who moves both natural and voluntary causes.
o As by moving natural causes, God does not prevent their acts from being natural, so by
moving voluntary causes He does not prevent them from being voluntary; thus He is the
cause of this very being in them, as He operates in everything according to its nature.
o The perfect efficacy of God’s power immutably moves our will, but liberty remains because
the will’s nature iwlncli is ordered to the universal good and not particular which it is
indifferent towards (DeMaio q.6 a.l ad3)); as nature is specified by the object, so God cannot
change tire object of the will without changing the nature.
■ Divine motion of grace does no violence to the will since it exercises itself interiorly according to the natural
inclination of our will toward the universal good, which comes from God.
• Nor does tliis diminish holy effort and good will, for grace causes us to make this choice and to
struggle with temptation and overcome it; God moves us, not that we should do nothing, but that we
should act (we are not quietists).
o A good act comes entirely from God as first cause and entirely from man as second cause.
■
God from all etemitv wills even' future exercise of human liberty insofar as it is good and real; since it happens
that we are free in virtue of the decree which wills that we should be free, the result is that we act freely in such
and such an act in virtue of that decree.
A.4. The practical consequences op the St. Thomas’ doctrine on grace.
o A profound humility·.
■ The doctrine on grace makes us realize that man has nothing exclusively of his own except sin; he requires the
natural aid of God to perform a naturally good act and a soliciting grace to perform a supematurally good act,
even souls far advanced in charity: Our sufficiency isfrom God. (2 Cor 3:5)
■ There is no sin committed by one man which cannot be committed by another given the same circumstances,
infirmity of the will, and personal weakness.
o Continual intimate prayer, profound thanksgiving, and contemplation.
■
Intimate prayer is a grace that must be asked, together with the grace to will it which makes us persevere in
struggles.
• Prayer should be continual, in a sense, since our soul needs a new, actual, and efficacious grace for
every- salutary act and each new merit; this is a profound effect of the mystical life, as the soul
possesses a constant genuine thirst for grace.
■
Prayer of contemplation considers chiefly' the profound action of God in us to mortify and vivify, and such is
expressed by the perfect fiat of abandonment.
■
Efficacious grace is necessary for prayer; mystical union, which is obscure and painful, verifies this, for by it the
soul learns by experience what great need we have of grace in order to pray' and do good.
o Perfect practice of the theological virtues.
■

■

o

This is because of the link between the efficacy of grace and the sublime mystery of predestination; although
God does not will that anyone perish, He fixes a certain particular gaze of preference on a number known to
Him alone.
• It is not for us to be disturbed or question whether or not we are of the elect, but rather to pray for
the means by which we unite ourselves with Christ’s prayer to the Father for us (cf. Jn 17:6ff); this
prayer assumes its full plentitude in the life of faith, that is, the mystical life: faith in the wisdom of
God, the holiness of divine good pleasure, die divine omnipotence, God’s sovereign dominion, and in
the infinite value of the merits and prayers of our Lord.
■ The doctrine of grace leads to an entirely supernatural hope composed of confidence in die divine mercy and
abandonment to it; in order that this virtue be theological and supernatural, we must hope in God and not the
power of our free will.
• This does not mean that we need not work or act (quietism!), but rather act to the best of our ability
and, above all, abandon ourselves to God.
• During passive purification, souls are often tempted against hope and are troubled by the mystery of
predestination; it is here that hope is strengthened by an heroic clinging to the assistance of God, that
is, efficacious grace that urges us to the practice of goodness and leads to its accomplishment.
■
Charity towards God and souls is confirmed.
• This charity is a friendship based on God’s communication to us of the divine life through grace;
thus, tlie more intimate and efficacious the grace, the more we should love God and correspond to
His love.
St. Thomas’ doctrine is supported by the writings of St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, The Imitation, St. Teresa of Avila, St.
John of the Cross, and St. Francis de Sales: The chains of.grace are so powerful and yet so sweet, that though they attract our heart,
they do not shackle ourfreedom. Ouryielding to the impulse ofgrace us much more the effect ofgrace than of our own mil, and resistance to
its inspirations is to be attributed to our will alone. (Francis de Sales, Treatise on the Lore of God II, 12)

The Full Perfection of the Christian Life (ch.4)
• A.l. Christian perfection, or the beginning of eternal life.
o The life of grace is conceived only by considering, first of all, the life of glory of which it is the seed; similarly, Christian
perfection cannot be determined without speaking first of eternal life, of which it is the prelude.
o Eternal life in its complete development.
■ The Church teaches that die souls of the blessed in heaven have an intuitive and direct vision of God without
the intermediary of any previously known creature (ideas), (cf. Denp 530)
• Such contemplation of God, superior to even finite idea, will absorb us in God and remain ineffable;
by reason of its object, the Beatific Vision excels the most sublime philosophy and the highest natural
knowledge of angels, as we see how all the divine perfections are identified in God.
• The beholding of God, perfect in every· way, will immovably fix the will since it is in the presence of
its object, and the love of God will be rendered perfect.
■ Thus eternal life consists in knowing God as He knows Himself and loving God as He loves Himself.
• Careful consideration of this reveals that divine knowledge and love are only possible if God grants
the soul participation in His very nature; our sonship by adoption (through grace) is thus a really
participated likeness of the eternal sonship of the Word. (cf. Illa q.3 a.8)
o Beginning of eternal life.
■
Spiritual progress can only tend to its end because it presupposes in us the seed of glory, that is, a supernatural
life identical in its essence to eternal life (as an acorn becomes an oak because its nature is identical).
• There are two accidental differences: God is only known in obscurity here on earth and he can be lost
by our own fault, unlike Heaven where we behold Him in clarity and which can never be lost.
• Bodily death is a mere passage from the imperfect state of the supernatural life to its plentitude.
■
Sanctifying grace, received in the essence of the soul, is by its nature imperishable and should last forever and
blossom into eternal life; similarly, the gifts of the Holy Ghost which accompany the grace continue to subsist
into eternal life.
• Although in itself this grace is incorruptible, it can be lost through weakness of our free will, by which
the soul can render itself incompatible with the presence of grace.
■ Thus, the Holy· Trinity dwells in every- soul in the state of grace since this state is identical in nature to that of
Heaven: If anyone loves Me, He will keep My word, and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our
abode with him. (Jn 14:23)

•

This is attributed to the action of the Holy Ghost because charity likens us more particularly to the
Spirit of love.
o The soul with charity· possesses a presence of God in a special mode, as the object known is
in the knower and the beloved in the lover; since the soul by its own operations of
knowledge and love attains to God Himself, according to this special mode, God is said to
not only exist by immensity· but dwell therein as His own temple, (cf. la q.43 a.3)
o Consequences of the life of grace and charity.
■
Mystical union, that is, the actual, intimate, and almost continual union with God, appears as the culminating
point on earth of the development of the grace of the virtues and the gifts, and as the normal (albeit infrequent)
prelude to the life of Heaven.
• As this union belongs to the order of grace, it proceeds essentially from the grace of the virtues and the
gifts and not from graces gratis datae.
■ As the life of grace is essentially ordered to that of gloiw, the normal (though rare) summit of its development
should be the very· perfect disposition to receive the Beatific Vision immediately after death, the consequence
of intense charity·.
A.2. Christian perfection consists especially in charity.
o Erroneous or incomplete doctrines on the essence of perfection.
■
Greek philosophers considered that perfection lay especially in wisdom, that is, in a view of all things in virtue of
their first cause and last end.
■
Theosophy considers perfection to consist in a “consciousness of our own divine identity,” an error that
supposes and leads to pantheism, which radically negates the supernatural order and all Christian dogmas,
leaving an imposter of imitation and a corruption of Christian asceticism.
■
Some Christians think perfection consists principally- in contemplation, which has its origin in the gift of
wisdom; this is incorrect in that perfection consists in charity, although the loving contemplation of God is a
most efficacious means to attain the virtue of charity- (i.e., wisdom is not the principle).
■
Lltra-intellectualists regard the study of theology- and its related sciences as the summit of perfection; this, in
reality, places union with God as secondary- and robs the interior life of its soul.
• Hence, perfection would consist in the full development of their personality, seeking it chiefly in a
broad, nicely balanced human culture that is “well-informed” on actual problems and is careful to grasp
those phases of Christianity which are most attractive to a lofty nature.
• Such knowledge is only superficial at best and they become trapped in a vicious circle of practical
naturalism devoid of any vivifying and lastinginfluence on souls, (cf. Mt 7:26, a house built on sand.)
■ Activists, by their natural tendency, consider perfection to consist chiefly in outward activity, or in the fortitude,
courage, or patience required of such activity; on the other hand, perfection can be thought to consist especially
in austerity, fasting, or other penitential practices.
• This error confounds the means with the end or inverts the order of means to the end; charity is
sacrificed to acts and virtue is made to consist in what is hard simply- rather than what is good and
ordered by providence.
• The ratio of greater virtue lies in the good rather than in the arduous, although difficulty springing
from the magnitude of the work increases merit, (cf. lallae q.114 a.4 ad2; Ilallae q.123 a.12 ad 2;
q.155 a.4 ad2)
■ Mildpietism considers perfection as especially consisting in the interior and exterior worship of God, in acts of
the virtue of religion, in the faithful accomplishment of exercises of pietv and the devotion that animates them.
• This opinion approaches the truth but insufficiently discerns the superiority of the theological virtues
(which are immediately specified by God) over the infused virtues of religion, piety, and devotion
which are not directly concerned with God but the worship of Him.
• St. Francis de Sales issues a warning about this: Everyone paints devotion according to his own passion andfancy
and then to seek ajustification of his views. (Intro to the Devout Life, 1)
o True solution: Perfection consists chiefly in charity.
■
Scriptural basis.
• St. Paul’s teaching correlates perfectly to our Lord’s Great Commandment: Put ye on, therefore, as the elect
op God, holy and beloved..., but above all these things have charity, which is the bond ofperfection, (cf. Col 3:12-15)
o Charity in a way implies all the virtues subordinated to it, and which appear as many­
modalities or aspects of the love of God: Charity ispatient, is kind, envies not, etc. (1 Cor 13:4-7)
• St. John: God is charity, and he that abides in charity, abides in God and God in Him. (1 Jn 4:16)

•

o

St. Peter: Before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves:for chanty covers a multitude of sins.
(1 Pet 4:8)
■ Theological proof of St. Thomas (cf. Ilallae q.184)
• A thing is said to be perfect insofar as it attains its proper end, and is the ultimate perfection thereof.
• Charity unites us to God, who is the last end of the human mind, since he that abides in charity abides
in God and God in him; thus the perfection of the Christian life consists chiefly in charity, (a.l)
o This perfection in charity consists primarily in the love of God and secondarily to the love of
neighbor, both which are chief commandments of the divine law; this is not commanded
according to measure, so what is in excess of the measure is a matter of counsel, (a.5)
o Thus the evangelical counsels are subordinate to charity; the love of neighbor is the secondary
object of charity· and must be loved for the sake of God.
■
Further observations.
• Charity cannot coexist with grave sin since it is united to our last end which grave sin is opposed to,
hence, charity is inseparable from the state of grace while faith and hope are not.
• Since charity attains God directly and possesses none of the imperfections of faith and hope (which
do not exist in Heaven), it will subsist eternally.
An objection of intellectualists: Why is charity superior to our knowledge ofGod?
■ The basis of this argument stems from the regard that the intellect is man’s first faculty·, that is, it directs the
others, for the mode of apprehension is prior to the mode of execution (which concerns the will); this leads to
the conclusion that the perfection of man lies especially in the intellectual knowledge of God and all things
considered in virtue of their cause and end.
• St. Thomas admits that the intellect is superior to the will (which it directs), because the object of the
intellect is more universal and absolute (being) than that of the will (the good which, as a modality of
being, is a specified and restricted object); since good supposes being, the will presupposes the
intellect and is directed by it.
• Aquinas further states that the Beatific Vision is essentially the intellectual and immediate vision of
God; beatific love is a consequence of the intellectual recognition of the divine essence as completely·
good which necessarily draws the will.
■
St. Thomas offers a profound reply to the objection, even in regard to the concessions he makes above, and this
is ofprime importance to the study of ascetical and mystical theology. (la q.82 a.3)
• Although one faculty may be by its nature superior to another, it is possible that an act of the second may
be superior to an act op thefust (e.g. hearing a sublime symphony is of a higher order than seeing an
ordinary color).
• Thus in certain circumstances {secundum quid) and with relation to God, the create intellect in this life
remains inferior to the will, hence the love of God is more perfect than knowledge of Him.
o The action of the intellect consists chiefly in the idea of the thing understood as being in the
one who understands (e.g. truth and error); whereas, the act of the will consists in the will as
being inclined to the itself as existing in itself (e.g. goodness).
o Hence, it follows that in this life our knowledge of God is inferior to our love of Him since
in order to represent Him to ourselves, we impose on Him the bonds of our limited ideas;
love of God raises us towards Him, although love must presuppose a certain knowledge and
is directed by it.
■ This is further supported by the converse, in that it is better to know inferior things
than to love them, for knowing them raises them, in a way, to our intelligence while
loving them forces us to stoop towards them (e.g. money).
■ The argument is further supported in consideration of the theological virtues.
• Charity adheres to God immediately in Heaven, because the act of the cogitative power (intellect) is
completed by the thing known being in the knower, whereas the act of the appetitive power (will)
consists in the appetite being inclined to the thing itself and resting in it; hence charity is greater than
faith or hope because it attains God Himself and rests in Him since it is in the will.
• Charity establishes in us a sympathy with divine things which are thereby rendered desirable; it unites
all the virtues by ordering all their acts to a final end which is its own object, that is, God loved above
all. (cf. Ilallae q.23)

Perfection is a plentitude.
■ Actual perfection consists essentially not in charity alone, but also in the acts of the other virtues which are of
precept and ordered by ch an tv.
• Hence, love of God and love of neighbor, which requires charity, are perfected by the direction of the
commandments (which remove things contrary to charity) and the counsels (which remove things
that hinder but are not contrary to charity).
■ Any soul possessing sanctifying grace is substantially perfect since it is free from mortal sin, but not perfect
properly {perfectio simplicitefy, ascetical and mystical theology deals with this latter aspect of perfection.
A. 3. Thepullperfection of charity presupposes the passive pHliftcation of the senses and the soul.
o This question is concerned about the summit of charity in its normal development, the fundamental law being the law of
grace which regenerates us progressively.
o Doctrine of St. John of the Cross on perfection of charity.
■ To reach the perfection of charity, more than active mortification of the spirit and senses is necessary; despite a
soul’s generosity, it cannot completely purify itself so that it will be even slightly fit for the divmc union in the
perfection of love, so thus it requires the direct action of God to do this. {Dark Night of the Soul 1, 3)
■
First, the soul is weaned from sensible consolation, which now becomes an obstacle rather than a help; this is
done by passive purification of the senses which leads the soul to a state more detaches from the senses,
imagination, and reasoning.
• At this time, the Holy Ghost provides the soul with intuitive knowledge despite the painful darkness,
which initiates it profoundly into the things of God.
•
Furthermore, heroic acts of charity· and patience are required to resist the frequent temptations the
soul undergoes.
■ The result of the passive purification of the senses leaves the imagination and the powers of the soul detached
from discursive prayer and to spiritual effort, because the soul now tastes, without any intellectual effort (on
account of the action of the gifts of the Holy Ghost) a calm and affectionate contemplation.
• This stage is still incomplete as far as purification goes; venial sins are not deliberate but imperfections
incompatible with the full perfection of chanty still exist.
• Proficients are unable to perceive the faults deeply and subtly imbedded in the soul which requires a
passive purification of the soul to remove; they suffer from dullness and dissipation of mind,
distraction, and can be duped into presumption by imaginary visions or false prophecies (which can
be taken as signs of spiritual perfection). (DNS 2, 2)
■ Passage to the next stage (purification of the spirit) is a painful process of severe aridity and dryness; the state
of perfection consists in the perfect love of God and contempt of self and this requires both knowledge of
God and knowledge of self, that is, the soul needs a preliminary formation in both.
• To achieve this, God will at times raise the soul by making it taste its own greatness and humble it by
showing its baseness.
• This movement of ascent and descent can only stop after the perfect habit of the virtues has been
acquired and the soul has reached union with God. (DNS 2, 18)
o During this time, the soul is tempted greatly against the theological virtues which require, in
turn, heroic acts of the same theological virtues to resist which consequently augments them.
o Accompanying this are illuminations of the gift of understanding that reveal to the soul the
unknown depths of the mysteries of faith.
■ The full perfection attainable in this life is found onlv in the transforming union, which is the full development of
charity by which the soul accepts with a holy joy any work or suffering whatsoever from God, attributing
nothing to self but referring all to God.
• All Christian virtues at this stage reach their perfect development and are so intertwined and united
that their mutual support increases the resistance to any contrary movement, (cf. Spiritual Canticle 24)
• The gifts of the Holy Ghost are possessed in the highest perfection possible here on earth and the
operations of a soul in union come from the Holy Ghost; thus all the first movements of a soul’s
power are divine.
■
Hence, overall according to St. John of the Cross, the illuminative and umtive ways belong to the mystical life
which is, no doubt, a lofty conception of what the full development of the graces of the virtues and gifts
entails; this is called into question by modem writers who hold that passive purification of the spirit is not
necessary on the grounds that it is extraordinary (see next article below).

o

A.4. According to Tradition, thefullperfection of the Christian life belongs to the mystical order.
o The language of St. John of the Cross differs noticeably from that of modem ascetical writers; the latter fail to hold
mysticism to be the consequence of asceticism, and thus they consider six stages of the spiritual life, those being the
ascetical-purgative, ascetical-illuminative, etc. with corresponding mystical components, which is wholly foreign to any
spiritual writer of Tradition.
■
St. John of the Cross writes for those determined to reach perfection, especially contemplative souls, and thus
proposes the loftiest perfection attainable in this life and the best means to reach it, hence explaining his
seeming exaggeration on the insistence of mortification.
• This points out that many souls are often satisfied by a very relative perfection which seems altogether
insufficient to others; modem writers seem to have fallen into this sphere of laxity, impoverishing
Tradition by confounding the full normal development of the life of grace on earth with what is only
in reality its prelude.
• Carmelite and Dominican theologians teach that all souls should aspire to supernatural (infused)
contemplation; according to John of St. Thomas, although the actual inspiration of the Holy Ghost is
not within our power, it is within our power to have our heart always ready to obey in order that we
may be easily moved by Him (i.e., the Holy Ghost moves us according to our degree of habitual
docility), (cf. Commentary on lallae q.68)
o With this in mind, however, care must be taken not to confound vocation with predestination: it
is through one’s own fault that an adult fails to attain salvation, while he may fail through no
fault of his own to attain contemplation, for many are called but few are chosen.
o Tradition affirms three major criteria in regard to the spiritual life.
■ The mystical life is characterized by a special passivity or predominance of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, having a
supernatural mode of the Christian virtues, while never being confounded with the graces gratis datae.
■
In the course of the spiritual life, the mystical life normally begins with the passive purification of the senses
and the prayer of passive recollection.
■
In principle, a special vocation is not necessary to reach the mystical life, since the grace of the virtues and gifts
suffices in itself by its normal development to dispose us to the mystical life (see chapter 6, way down below).
• However, lack of certain conditions, which are independent of the will, usually result in a longer time
of advancement; also, the gifts of action dominate in souls more fitted for the active life.
o St. Thomas’ teaching on perfection.
■ The perfection of the Christian life consists in charity; in this life, perfection consists in loving God to the
exclusion of whatever is opposed to Him, which includes mortal sin (directly opposed) and any defects or
attachments that hinder the soul from being directed completely towards God. (Ilallae q.184 a.2)
■ Hence, those in the perfect state commit venial sins only through frailty or surprise and completely avoid
deliberate venial sin and any slight, conscious, and voluntary imperfection.
• Such souls are very faithful to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and endeavor to perform acts
comparable to their degree of charity, including continuous prayer, fervent reception and hunger for
the Eucharist, humble confessions, and an ever-exacting practice of the moral virtues.
■ Aquinas notes that while beginners strive to flee sin and movements of concupiscence and while proficients
direct their principle efforts towards advancing in the practice of charity and the virtues, the perfect tend above
all to union with God and enjoyment of Him. (Ilallae q.24 a.9)
• This union encompasses perfect fraternal charity that ultimately seeks the spiritual good of friends,
strangers, and enemies: B//ZI most gladly will spend and be spent myselfforyour souls, although lovingyyou more, I
be loved less. (St. Paul)
o The distinction of the three ways owes its origin to the doctrine of Christian contemplation as formulated by Augustine
and Dionysius, who applied the to the ordinary Christian life and did not designate them as something extraordinary in
themselves; Sts. Thomas and John of the Cross build upon this, keeping the senses of the three stages as conceived by
the Fathers.
■
St. Augustine considers the degrees of the spiritual life after his consideration of the degrees of the life of the
soul: 1) struggle against sin which leads to true virtue; 2) entrance into light, the result of purification; 3)
contemplation and union, which permit the enjoyment of the sovereign good. (Oe Qualitate Animae 1, 33)
• It would be erroneous to separate Augustine’s asceticism from his mysticism, for the first is the
prelude of the second.
o The three degrees within the realm of the perfect: relative perfection, heroism, and sanctity.
■ Passive purification of the senses leads to a relative perfection where the soul avoids deliberate venial sin.
■ Heroic virtue is practiced during the passive purification of the soul, esp. in the theological virtues.

Sanctity is the result of the successful purgation of the soul, a stage of intimate union with God and the
perfection and harmonization of the virtues.
A. 5. Perfection and the precept of the love of God.
o Is the first precept without limit?
■ The question here amounts to if, in fact, there is a limit to precept of the love of God, then beyond such a limit
there is only a counseled, charity in which perfection would consist.
• Some, including Suarez (cf. De Statu Perfectionis 11, 15-16), thought this to be the case (despite the
contrary position of Augustine and Aquinas), as a high degree of charity is not necessary to observe
the precept perfectly; suppression of deliberate venial sin and voluntary imperfection is only of
counsel (lienee, perfection is superior to the first precept).
■ A common objection (which many modem theologians make their thesis) to the unlimited quality of the first
precept states that if perfection of the Christian life consisted in the precepts, it would follow that perfection
would be necessaty for salvation and all would be obliged thereto.
• Aquinas endeavors to solve this by drawing a distinction between what perfection necessarily and
essentially consists in (which applies to all) and w hat constitutes it secondarily and accidentally (which
applies to some).
o Necessarily and accidentally, perfection consists in charity, first in the love of God and second in
the love of neighbor.
■
It is obvious that the love of God can have no limit or measure, since we can never
love Him to the degree He is lovable.
■ As God is the ultimate end and object of charity (which has no mean), it follows
that the precept has no limit in that our charity ought always to grow until death;
the path to eternity is not meant to be used as a place of rest and idleness, but to
be traveled.
■ Thus all are bound to fulfill the Commandments which are ordered towards the
removal of what is wholly contrary or opposed to charity·
o Secondarily and instrumentally (accidentally), perfection consists in the observance of the counsels,
which function as instruments to attarn it, and are not ends in themselves.
■ Augustine. Precepts and counsels are well observed when one fulfills then in order
to love God and one’s neighbor for God (Enchiridion 21); hence, our Lord’s words
to the rich young man to sell what he had and give to the poor and to follow Him
in spirit through charity.
■ Thus, perfection is found in die fulfillment of the supreme and limitiess precept of
the love of God and neighbor.
■ The perfection of charity is prescribed to man in this life in order to direct man to the end, although the
manner of its fulfillment can be different; imperfect fulfillment is not necessarily a transgression of the precept,
provided the Commandments are observes (which is the way of beginners). (Augustine, De perfectione iustitiae 8)
• However, leveling off in the lowest degree does not fulfill the supreme commandment in all its
perfection, and the danger of pusillanimity· arises; hence, it iffalse to think that imperfect charity is that
which is only prescribed.
• Thus, the matters pertaining to counsel do fall under precept and as the very least to which the soul
must tend.
o The perfection of charity is prescribed as an end, and thus we must come to will the
attainment of the complete end; the failure to make an effort to mature in the spiritual life
reveals a disproportion, just like an adult who fails to cast off his childhood.
o Consequences of the precept of the love of God.
■
In the way of perfection, he who does not advance falls back, since any halt in the development of Christian
charity· is in opposition to the law of the love of God; if a soul fails to progress in the love of God, it reverts to
self-love.
■ Remiss acts of charity (those proceeding from an inferior intensity to the degree of charity a soul possesses),
present three dangers:
• Although these acts are meritorious (since they proceed from charity), they will only obtain an
increase in charity when a more fervent act is performed, (cf. Ilallae q.24 a.6 adl)
• Imperfect acts themselves indicate that the soul ought always to progress instead of remaining
stationary.

■

These acts, if frequent, can create a disposition towards retrogression, as they permit for the rebirth of
disordered inclination; hence, charity is not directly diminished in itself by remiss acts, but its
influence becomes weakened and is deserving of God’s actual graces.
Every Christian, each according to his condition, must strive for die perfection of charity.
• In virtue of his vows, a religious is placed in a special state of perfection without at once making him
perfect; observance of the vows and the imposed rule constitute the path of progress of which no
limit can be set.
• Secularpriests, although not bound under vows, must tend to perfection on account of the Holy Orders
he has received, regardless of whether he has care of souls or not; his familiarity with the Sacred
Mysteries demands greater inward holiness than that required of the non-ordained religious.
• The laity must strive for the perfection of charity according to the general obligation of the first
commandment, that is, by avoiding mortal and venial sin, acquiring a spirit of the counsels (while not
binding himself to anything non-conducive to state), and thus growing in charity· until death.
Thus, all are obliged to strive for the inwardperfection of charity; exteriorly, because man is not obliged to the
doubtful good, he is not obliged to the best.
• Hence, the precept is fulfilled if one does what he can as required by the conditions of his state of life,
provided there be no contempt of doing better things since this would set the mind against spiritual
progress.
• Actual graces are thus progressively offered to the soul proportionate to the end to be attained.

•

■

■

Contemplation and its degrees (ch. 5)
• A. 1. Prayer in general and common preyer.
o The prayer of petition.
■
Prayer is not a force with its first principles in ourselves, nor an effort of the human soul trying to make God
change His providential disposition.
■
However, it is by the fact that the will of God is immutable that prayer finds its efficacy; true prayer by which
we petition with humility· for the gifts needed for salvation are efficacious because God so decreed them to be
and our Lord promised it.
•
God ordains from all eternity the causes that produce effects in the physical, intellectual, and moral
orders; hence, God so wills that pray-er be offered to bring about the effects He ordains.
• God wills the final effect and ordains the means and causes that will produce it; thus God decrees that
some of His gifts be obtained (the effect) by the means of prayer (the cause).
■ Therefore, providence does not only have to do with the effect but also the means employed; as the effect of
wheat is not obtained unless we sow, so the effects of pray'er cannot be obtained without it, as God wills things
both necessary· and contingent.
• Prayer is simply a question of raising our will to the level of God’s will so as to will with Him what He
has decided to give; thus it is an elevation of the soul to God.
• God’s will remains immutable; rather, our will is changed and we begin to will in true what God has
ordained for eternity·, so overall, prayer is in cooperation with the divine government.
■ As Heaven is the goal of the life of the soul, prayer can only obtain for us those things that help to the
attainment of our last end, whether spiritual or corporeal.
• Spiritual good brings us towards heaven directly (grace, virtues, merits, etc.); corporeal goods do so
indirectly· to the degree that they are subordinated to the spiritual.
• Prayer must be humble, confident, and persevering, that is, formulated with true desires for what God
wishes for us with the recognition of who we are in comparison with God.
o Common (mental) prayer.
■
St. Teresa defines mental prayer as nothing other than being on terms of friendship with God, frequently
conversing in secret with Him who loves us. (Autobiography 8)
• Prayer should contain an element of simplicity because of its object, which can be lost due to a
clinging to complicated methods which are suitable for a time for beginners (e.g, over-use of a prayer
book, certain pious devotions, etc.).
• Methods are useful at the start to prevent distraction and to acquire habitual recollection, but methods
must only be a help/assistance to the goal and should be discarded when no longer useful.

Prayer must proceed from the love of God and end in Him; study and speculation may yield an intellectual
delight but do not necessarily dispose the state of grace (thus the soul can be moved by the love of knowledge
rather than the love of God).
• Prayer should begin with an act of humility, a fundamental virtue, which removes pride and self-love
(an obstacle to grace) and leads to adoration, one of the first acts of the virtue of religion.
• An act of faith should proceed the act of humility, usually by a consideration of some fundamental
truth; this does not require a great deal of reasoning since the simple act of theological faith is
superior to reason and moves the soul to adoration and love.
• This leads to an act of hope, since we realize our need for God’s help to acquire the beatitude He has
promised.
• Finally, this hope leads to charity, since confidence in God’s help makes us reflect that He is good in
Himself and not only because of the favors He gives.
o The initial movement of charity could be affective, but must ultimately lead to effective charity
by which the theological virtues tend under divine guidance to fuse into a gaze of super­
natural love; this is the early stages of contemplation presupposing an inspiration of the Holy
Ghost and His gifts by which charity· is increased in proportion to the growth of the soul.
■
Hence, mental prayer serves to create a disposition to contemplation; what rhe soul received from God under
the form of grace, it returns to Him under the form of adoration; die Pater Noster is the perfect example of this.
o Attainment to the life of prayer and perseverance in it.
■
I.Ultimately, prayer depends chiefly on the grace of God and the soul remotely prepares well for it by humility?,
mortification, and detachment from sensible things and from self; immediate preparation involves the stirring
up of charity within the soul.
■ These two combined require perseverance:
• Perseverance requires hope and trust m God; the soul in a state of grace cannot remain idle but must
constandy strive to advance under die inspirations of the Holy Ghost.
• We must allow ourselves to be led by? die road that our Lord has chosen for us, that is, humility and
conformity to the divine will.
A.2. Meanings ofcontemplation, ordinary, and extraordinary.
o Acquired contemplation and infused contemplation.
■
In a non-religious sense, contemplation in general pertains to a simple, intellectual view of truth and
accompanied by admiration (cf. Ilallae q.180 a.l, 6)
■
Christian contemplation is founded upon divine revelation and received through faith.
• Acquired contemplation is defined generally? as a simple and loving knowledge of God and of His works
which is the fruit of our personal activity aided by? grace.
• Infused contemplation is contemplation in its proper sense; although we can dispose ourselves to receive
it, it is not within our power to produce it at will and is present without our deliberation though not
indeed without our consent, that is, a special inspiration of grace.
o Infused contemplation is ultimately a science of love, and infused loving knowledge of God.
■ The great spiritual writers do not use the term acquired contemplation since they? only classify it as infused; hence,
many authors are reluct ant to use the term, since it is often mistaken as the summit of the ordinary? spiritual life,
whereas infused contemplation was regarded as extraordinary·.
• As a rule. Cannelite theologians who admit the existence of acquired contemplation do not see it as
the normal terminus of spiritual progress on earth, but rather as a proximate disposition to receive
infused contemplation.
• St. Teresa draws a distinction between acquired pray?er of recollection (which she calls affectiveprayef
and the moment of first infused prayer.
o Affective prayer is properly? so-called recollection because by its means the soul collects
together all the faculties and enters within itself to be with God.
■ This is not properly? a supernatural state, but something which, with the grace of
God, we can obtain for ourselves. Iff'ay ofPerfection, ch.28-29)
o Infusedprayer (supernatural recollection) is a direct work of grace on the soul by? which
recollection comes without any? work on the part of the soul (but usually? presupposes a
disposition towards its reception).
■

St. Teresa points out further that such prayer is not dependent upon our will and
takes place only when God sees fit to bestow it; furthermore, such bestowal only
seems to happen to those who have renounced the world.
■ This is manifestly a mystical prayer and the beginning of infused contemplation;
contrary dispositions can serve to introduce obstacles to this.
• Confusion of acquired contemplation with infused contemplation leads to a form of quietism.
q
The ordinary and extraordinary in the supernatural life.
■ Whatever is outside the normal way of sanctity and not at all necessary to its attainment is, strictly speaking,
extraordinary (graces gratis datae, e.g, prophecy, visions, etc.).
• Such gifts are granted primarily for the good of others, although they may secondarily help in the
sanctification of the soul who receives them, if such a soul uses them with charity.
■ Whatever belongs to the normal way of sanctity· and holds for the majority· (those things which are absolutely
or morally necessary for its attainment) are essentially ordinary.
• Hence, whatever is in the supernatural life is accomplished in accordance with even the superior laws
of its full development is ordinary in itself, even though these laws are infinitely more elevated than
those of our nature.
• Care must be taken not to confound what is eminently useful for reaching sanctity in the majority of
cases with what is observed in the majority· of pious souls (that is, what is common among them, for
many are still far from the goal).
o Thus, passive purification and infused contemplation are often confused as extraordinary
due to their relatively rare occurrence on account of the common mediocrity of souls.
o Purgatory· after death, though frequent, is not according to the order arranged by God for
the full development of the supernatural life; it is in keeping with the order to enter heaven
immediately· after death after having completed purification while on earth.
\ 3 Description of infused contemplation and its degrees according to St. Teresa.
o The mystical state in general.
•
Preparation.
• The soul must first ordinarily raise itself above sensible tilings by· its own efforts aided by- grace; these
efforts include frequent acts of humility, faith, hope, and charity-, along with meditation on revealed
truths.
• As tlie soul advances in these, meditation becomes more simple and leads to an active recollection
which serves as a disposition to receive the grace of contemplation.
■
General call and the individual call.
• The general call pertains to our Lord’s invitations, e.g., His call to the Samaritan woman to drink of the
“living water”; furthermore. He says: If any man thirst let him come to Me and drink, thus indicating by- the
quantifier any that such an invite applies to all.
• The individual orproximate call pertains to the actions of the Holy Ghost Himself on a generous
persevering soul by which He brings it into more intimate union with the life of God.
■
Nature of the mystical state.
• The mystical state is characterized by an infused and loving knowledge of God, that is, an infused
light and love coming to us from the Holy Ghost and from 1 fis gifts in order to make us grow in
charity·.
•
In this state, the soul is no longer inclined to meditate by- itself, to reason on the great truths of the
Faith in order to arouse love for God; the soul is recollected by- God Himself and this is properly the
beginning of infused contemplation.
o Hence, God suspends the understanding and makes it cease from its acts, enabling it then to
comprehend in a moment more that we could in many- years; this is described as the soul
being taught by God without the sound of words. (Way ofPerfection 25)
o The presence of God is felt, particularly by- those who have attained the prayer of union;
God is perceived to be present the effects, not in Himself or immediately.
• This infused knowledge and love, which are the superior exercise of the theological virtues under the
influence of the Holy Ghost, constitute the essentialfoundations of the mystical life. (Ilallae q.180 a.l)
o The degrees of the my-stical state from the fourth to the seventh mansions.
■ The growing intensity of the mystical state is demonstrated by its progressive extension to the different
faculties of the soul which are gradually suspended or captivated by God.

■

As this happens, passive purification of the senses gives way to passive purification of the spirit, both which
denote intensity of the knowledge and love of God.
■ Virtue increases with prayer, especially as the obstacles to grace are removed by the aforementioned
purifications; progress in virtue (as judged by God) corresponds to the growing intensity of infused
contemplation.
•
In the early stages of infused contemplation, only the w ill is captivated, not the understanding,
memory, or imagination; hence it can be interrupted^ aridity and trials and temptations against patience
or charity which require a salutary counteraction. [Fourth Mansion]
• Nonetheless, these trials serve to strengthen the moral virtues which regulate the sensitive appetite.
■ The prayer of simple union captivated all the interior faculties of the soul, all which are wholly directed by God’s
activity, and thus the soul is no longer troubled by distraction. [Fifth Mansion]
• St. Teresa observes that this prayer can be incomplete, in that the imagination and memory may still
remain free; they are thus to be ignored at this point.
•
In this state, the soul experiences great contrition for its faults, an ardent desire to praise God, and the
strength to face every trial in order to serve Him.
■
From this, the passive night of the soul increases and trials increase, but past experiences have taught the soul
of the benefit derived from these trials; the soul experiences a profound and intense aridity that leaves the
understanding obscured and the will restless which renders it incapable of receiving any comfort (since these
trials come directly from God). [Sixth Mansion]
• After ending this, God brings the soul to a profound knowledge of its weakness and of His majesty;
partial or complete ecstasy could follow since union with God is so perfect that the operations of the
exterior senses is suspended {altbougb this or any other auxiliary phenomenon is not to be desired).
■ The seventh mansion is entered into after a very painful purification of love, where the soul dies with a desire
to die; this state is best described as the transforming union by which the soul, under influence of grace, is
passively drawn into itself where the Blessed Trinity dwells.
• This is the full realization of Christ’s prayer: That they may be one as We are one; I in them and them in ,\ie.
(Notice closely how this in no way pertains to oecumenism.)
• In this state, the soul perfectly exercises the theological virtues and the gifts which have reached their
full development; the soul is practically freed from any disorder of the passions and does not commit
any deliberate venial sins, although venial faults can still occur but are quickly atoned for.
• Also present is a great forgetfulness of self, a keen desire to suffer in imitation of our Lord, along with
the loss of aridities which give way to intense zeal.
■
Overall, in St. Teresa’s writings, the normal way of sanctity consists in humility and abnegation which prepare
the soul for infused contemplation and an increasingly intimate divine union.
A.4. What infused contemplation does not essentially require.
o The different definitions of infused contemplation given by theologians agree on the point that it is above reasoning and
in the obscurity of faith, a simple and loving knowledge of God, which cannot be attained by our personal activity aided
by grace, but rather demands a manifest, special illumination and inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
o Pointing out considerations about what it does not essentially entail leads to a better understanding of the definition.
■
Infused contemplation is usually not given suddenly or unexpectedly; it is usually granted after a certain
preparation when the soul is already recollected.
■
Infused contemplation is not necessarily accompanied by an absolute impossibility to discourse or reason,
which would only come from suppression of the imagination.
■ Although infused contemplation cannot be willed as can an act of faith, it is meritorious because of the free
consent and docility given to be moved in this way, which proceeds from cliaritv, the source of all merit.
■
Neither consciousness of being in the state of grace nor a sense of delight is necessary for infused
contemplation since neither of these are found in the passive purification of the senses or soul.
■ The feeling of the presence of God is not essential to the mystical state since it is not present during the passive
purification of the spirit; the soul still possesses the loving and profound knowledge of God’s grandeur but is
crushed by it during this time.
■
Contemplation is directly ordained to personal sanctification and usually known only to the person receiving it
and to the confessor; hence it is not a grace gratis datae, since these are ordered to the sanctification of others.
■
Infused contemplation does not require infused ideas, although these could be concomitant phenomena to this
state.

■

■

Infused contemplation does not require an immediate perception of God, which is impossible during this life;
no vision inferior to the Beatific Vision can make us know God as He is in Himself (immediate perception),
and no created infused idea can manifest Him in this degree (cf. De I'«7. q.18 a.l), and thus contemplation always
takesplace within the domain offaith.
A. 5. The essential relation of infused contemplation and of the mystical life with the gifts of the Holy Ghost.
o The ascetical life is characterized by the predominance of the human mode of the Christian virtues, which we exercise at
will, whereas the mystical life has as its distinctive character the predominance of the divine mode of the gifts of the
Holy Ghost, that is, and infused love and knowledge that cannot be the fruit of our own effort.
o Relation of the gifts to the acquired and infused virtues.
■ The infused virtues are superior to the acquired virtues by reason of their formal object (frequent repetition vs.
sanctifying grace); moreover, the gifts are superior to the infused moral virtues and, although less than the
theological virtues, serve to bring them to perfection.
* Aquinas defines the gifts as habits (or essentially supernatural, permanent qualities) whereby man is perfected
to obey readily the promptings of the Holy Ghost (lallae q.68 a.3); acting upon these promptings leads to the
practice of the beatitudes.
• Holy Writ represents the gifts as existing in a stable manner in the just (Isa 11:2); St. Gregory further
insists on their permanence {Moral. 2, 6)
o Necessity of the gifts for salvation.
■ The necessity of the gifts of the Holy Ghost springs from die imperfect mode of even lofty Christian virtues in
our souls; thus the intervention of the gifts is crucial as the soul advances.
• Aquinas holds that die gifts are necessary for salvation because of the very nature of the gifts as perfections of
man; as die gifts dispose one to the promptings of the Holy Ghost in matters where the promptings of human
reason are insufficient, so this indicated a real need for the gifts.
• In matters directed to the supernatural end (which absolutely surpasses the forces and exigencies of
our reasonable nature) to which man’s reason moves him, the motion of reason alone does not suffice
unless it receives in addition the promptings of die Holy Ghost.
• Thus, the gifts are necessary to salvation as habitual dispositions to receive divine inspirations, just as
sails are ready on a boat so as to be responsive to the winds; the gifts are given as remedies to the
defects of folly, ignorance, dullness of mind, and hardness of heart (cf. lallae q.68 a.2)
o Necessity of an increasingly perfect docility to the interior Master.
■ Because our supernatural virtues must be adopted to the human mode of our faculties, they leave us in a state
of inferiority with respect to die supernatural end toward which we should advance with greater eagerness.
■ Hence, the Holy Ghost must intervene habitually in our prayer and works in order that they may be perfected:
• A soul can make progress and advance by the exercise of the virtues (active) or by the inspirations of
the Holy Ghost, who acts upon man (positive).
• Thus the soul truly approaches perfection only by a great docility to the Holy Ghost, whose gifts
remedy what is essentially imperfect in the human mode of die virtues.
o The special mode of the Holy Ghost and the progress of charity.
■
In the order of grace, God especially moves the free will of a spiritual man, who is disposed to the divine
inspiration by the gifts of the Holy Ghost.
• This motion produces the exercise of the act, its direction, and specification and leads to the highest
acts of the virtues and the gifts.
o Faith becomes much more penetrating and contemplative when illumined by understanding.
o Hope is transformed into perfect confidence and filial abandonment to Providence when
enlightened by knowledge as to the vanity of transitory things.
o Charity progresses towards divine union wider the illumination of wisdom.
■
Growing elevation of the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost in the various stages of the interior life.
• All the gifts are related to charity and grow with charity; thus the more intense the interior life, the
more influential is the gift.
• There are three degrees of the gifts: 1) that of strict obligation·, 2) the practice of the evangelical counsels, and;
3) heroic acts, the chart below summarizes the qualities of the gifts proper to the degree.

FIRST DEGREE (obligation)

SECOND DEGREE (counsels)

THIRD DEGREE (heroic)

WISDOM

Shows us the grandeur of God’s command­
ments and gives us attraction to the good.

Makes us see how valuable the counsels are
and the possession of them.

Contemplation and union.

UNDER­
STANDING

Strengthening faith and growing firmness.

Disclosure of the consistency and sublimity
of revealed mysteries.

Penetration of the hidden depths
of the divine mysteries.

KNOWLEDGE

Creatures are seen as nothing and are to be
used as means to an end.

Use of creatures with moderation and with
interior detachment.

Spirit of renunciation impresses
value of suffering and humiliations

COUNSEL

Directs in matters of strict obligation.

Inclines toward the generous practices of the
the evangelical counsels.

Undertaking of holy works with
heroic perfection.

FORTITUDE

Increasing courage to undertake great things
for God (magnanimity).

Increasing courage to undertake great things
for God (magnanimity).

Irresistible attraction to the things
of God.

PIETY

Increasing desire to serve God faithfully.

Even greater desire to serve God faithfully.

Strong inclination to give oneself
entirely in the service of God.

FEAR

Inspires horror of sin and arms us against
temptations and assaults.

Fosters deep filial respect for God and
preserves from presumption.

Leads to practice of perfect
renunciation and mortification.

A.6. The essential character ofinfused contemplation; how itproceedsfrom the virtue offaith and the gift of wisdom.
o Tradition is clear that the loving knowledge of God characteristic of the gift of wisdom is very different from speculative
knowledge.
■
By this special illumination of the Holy Ghost, this loving knowledge supposes a living co-naturality with divine
things based on infused charity, that is, a wholly supernatural attraction for God.
■
Such knowledge grows with chan ty and become more lively, sweet, and penetrating.
o The gift of wisdom and infused contemplation according to theology.
■ The gift of wisdom is an infused disposition of the intellect, as contemplation is an intellectual act requiring
illumination by the Holy Ghost.
■ Wisdom denotes a certain rectitude of judgment according to the eternal law.
• It belongs to the intellectual virtue of wisdom to pronounce right judgment about divine things after
reason has made its inquiry; whereas it belongs to the gift of wisdom to judge aright about them, and
such is the result of charity which unites us to God.
o Love resulting from charity unites us more closely to God than abstract knowledge; by the
experience it gives us, it makes us more and more keenly desire the intuitive knowledge of
eternal life.
■
Infused contemplation is obscure because it is superior to both every sensible image and to every distinct idea;
this is the very foundation of the mystical state.
• The human mode of the faculties are annihilated and the Holy Ghost infuses knowledge and love in
to the soul in a way unknown to it; because God now teaches the soul, dwelling substantially in it,
neither the devil, understanding, nor natural reason can penetrate the soul.
• Such obscurity is the opposite extreme from what liberal Protestants and agnostics call unstable
wandering of the soul; every formal heresy destroys infused faith and breaks down charity, and thus only
those with correct faith can enter into the realm of true contemplation.
o Three principle degrees of infused contemplation according to the brilliance of the illumination of the Holy Ghost, (cf.
Ilallae q.180 a.6)
■ The soul contemplates God in the mirror of sensible things of which He is the Author.
■
Contemplation of God in the mirror of the mysteries of salvation and what follows from them, harmonizing
them and passing between them in an oblique movement.
■
Contemplation of God in Himself in the fullness of faith; the soul by this point has risen above the multiplicity
of sensible images and ideas and sees (a little indistinctly) the supreme cognoscibility and goodness of God.
• The movement of the soul in this state is compared to the circular movement of an eagle, which is
essentially immobile, possessing neither beginning nor end, not starting from principle in order to
reach conclusions.

•

o

o

o

In this state, the soul possesses simple intuition of divine truths in the obscurity of faith; such
contemplation gives a foreknowledge of divine perfections and how they are identical with each other.
• As St. Albert the Great states, the soul is so acted upon by God that the soul wishes at any price to be
united to Him; however, since the object [God] is above the «rasp of the intellect, He does not make Himself clearly
known to the intellect and thus the understanding rests on something which is not determined.
• This is most fittingly accomplished (and only possible) by grace, because grace is a real and formal
participation in the divine nature.
Progressive predominance of the divine mode of the gift of wisdom in prayer.
■ Before the entrance into the mystical state, the gifts of the Holy Ghost intervene in a manner that may be latent
or frequent, or may be manifest but rare; the mystical life begins when it becomes both frequent and manifest.
• It is not necessary that the gifts must enter into play every time the soul receives an actual grace; it
would be erroneous to confound actual grace with the gifts, since the latter renders us docile without
having to deliberate according to the human mode (cf. Ilallae q.52 a.2 adl)
• The inspiration of the Holy Ghost is a gratia operans that we receive with docility and makes us
accomplish acts which we would not succeed by our personal efforts. (lallae q.lll a.2)
■ A specific difference exists between the human mode of the virtues (with the corresponding actual grace) and
the divine mode of the gifts of the Holy Ghost; this difference rests on the formal objective regulation of the
act, as whether it proceeds from reason enlightened by faith, or from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost which
is superior to all human deliberation.
• As the soul rises to perfection, the predominance of the superhuman mode of the gift of wisdom can
(but not necessarily) become more manifest; regardless, all the lower gifts are evidently under the
direction of die gift of wisdom.
Whether contemplation proceeds exclusively from the gift of wisdom or also from informed faith.
■ The mystical state does not exclude the operation of the theological virtues, but, on the contrary, supposes
their most perfect exercise.
■
Infused contemplation is an eminent act of living faith (that is, faith informed by charity and united to the gift
of wisdom), an act which proceeds substantially from infused faith with respect to the gift of wisdom.
• Hence, the theological virtues are superior to the gifts, even though the virtues receive a new
perfection from them; thus the operation which proceeds from die virtue perfected by the gift is
called a beatitude, (cf. St. Thomas, Super Isaiam 11)
The fruits of the Holy Ghost and the beatitudes.
■ The fruits differ from the gifts and virtues in that they are not habits, but acts which proceed in us from die
influence of the Holy Ghost and which man delights in.
■ The beatitudes are higher still, designating certain acts of the present life which, by reason of this very special
perfection, are the pledge, meritorious cause, and first-fruits of perfect beatitude, (cf. lallae q.70 a.2)
• Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are they that mourn; blessed are the meek pertain to theflight and
deliverancefrom sin.
• Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for justice; blessed are the merciful pertain to the active life of the
Christian.
• Blessed are die dean of heart; blessed are the peacemakers; blessed are they that suffer persecution for
justice’s sake correspond to the contemplative life.

The call to contemplation or to the mystical life (ch.6)
• A. 1 · Che different meanings of the word “call. ”
o Vocation may be either exterior (coming through the Gospel, preaching, direction, reading) or interior (by reason of a light
of grace and attraction, e.g., the priesthood, religious life).
o The interior vocation may be either proximate or remote.
■
Since the habitual grace of the virtues and gifts (which all die just possess) reaches its plentitude of its normal
development in the mystical life (as has been established), all the just are called to the mystical life in a remote
manner (cf. Matt 11:28; Jn 7:37ff; Way of Perfection 19, 20),
■ Not all souls receive the proximate call to mysticism; three signs are indicative of such a call (see A.3 below for
greater detail): 1) mediation becomes impracticable; 2) the soul has no desire to fix its imagination on any
particular interior or exterior object, and; 3) the soul takes delight in being alone with God and fixing its loving
attraction upon Him.

The proximate call can be either efficacious or suffident, and is sometimes delayed (like that of the
eleventh-hour laborers); the call is considered sufficient in the sense that not all respond to it (cf.
Matt 22:2-10 on the wedding feast).
o An efficacious call to the mystical life does not necessarily mean a vocation to the highest
degree of mysticism; this is dependent on the divine will and on the fidelity of the soul in the
order of execution, as God disposes freely of the degree of union, as He disposes freely of
the degrees of the Beatific Vision. (la q.23 a.5)
o Analogously, because many acorns do not produce oaks, we cannot deny that the acorn is
ordered to the production of the oak; even when planted, favorable external conditions are
necessary for its growth and maturity.
HIGHEST DEGREES
EFFICACIOUS

PROXIMATE

INFERIOR DEGREES

INTERIOR

SUFFICIENT
REMOTE

(from charity)

CALL TO THE
MYSTICAL LIFE

INDIVIDUAL

(interior movement of the soul)

EXTERIOR
GENERAL

(from Holy Writ, etc.)

A.2. The general and remote call to mystical contemplation.
o The basic principle of the mystical life is the same as that of the common interior life, that is, sanctifying grace (charity).
■
Sanctifying grace manifests itself in the interior ascetical life according to the human mode of the virtues and in
die mystical life in accordance with the supernatural mode of the gifts which predominate it.
■ The gifts grow with charity which has no limit, and so the soul must possess charity in corresponding degree as
the gifts (which are habitual dispositions to grace); as charity increases, so does the human mode of the soul’s
activity become subordinated to the divine mode of inspiration (I must decrease and Christ increase).
• Thus the gifts remedy the imperfection of the human mode of the virtues by joining themselves to the
virtues and transforming them; habitual facility is supernaturalized and the virtues are no longer
exercised without the cooperation of the gifts.
■ Mysticism is thus indicative of the full development of the virtues and gifts received in Baptism: perfect
abandonment, pure charity, equally lively faith, and complete docility to the Holy Ghost; this shows clearly that
the common interior life contains the seed of the mystical life.
• By the progress of charity, we merit condignly the superior degrees of the gifts of the Holy Ghost
(considered as dispositions) connected with charity, while congruously we can merit the actual
inspirations that correspond to the superior degrees of the gifts.
• Hence, there is no sanctity without the heroism of the infused virtues connected with charity, for the
Holy Ghost ordinarily moves a soul according to the degree of its habitual docility; heroic virtue is
proved in four ways, indicating a high degree of charity (lallae q.68 a.3 ad2):
o The matter must be difficult and above the common strength of man.
o The acts must be accomplished promptly and easily.
o The acts must be accomplished joyously.
o The acts must be accomplished often and when the occasion presents itself.
o In the progress of the interior life, the purification of the soul is not complete without the passive purifications, which
belong to the mystical order.
■ Progress of the interior life is effected by purification from sin and its consequences, along with imperfections,
either actively by our own mortifications or passively by the action of God on the senses and the soul.
• God almost immediately bestows the grace of passive purification of the senses on persons who are
habitually recollected (cf. Dark Night of the Soul 1, 8); entrance into this state is marked by inactivity of
the imagination, loss of discursive mode of prayer, under which God provides His grace void of
sensible manifestations in order to detach the soul from consolation and root out imperfections.

The purification of the senses sets the stage for the appearance of spiritual graces and the
emergence of the contemplative gifts; hence the object of this purification is the perfect
subjection of the passions to the intellect and the will.
• The object of the passive purification of the soul is the full subjection of the spirit to God and the
perfect refinement of the moral and theological virtues.
o Such purification is granted to souls w ho have made progress and is intended to remove
habitual imperfections of which we are generally unaware; the suffering is such that the soul
believes itself crushed under an immense weight, especially with the knowledge of its
miseries and imperfections, reckoning that it will never possess God.
o Such a purification is indispensable from union with God in glory, for it liberates humility and
purifies the theological virtues, obliging the soul to the performance of meritorious acts
which lead to greater charity.
o The end of the interior life is the same as that of the mystical life, but the mystical life prepares the soul more
immediately for it.
■ The normal summit for the development of the life of grace on earth (although rare) should be a very perfect
disposition to receive the light of glory immediately after death without passing through purgatory.
• The contemplation of God is not a means to the moral virtues and active works, but is rather the end
to which these are subordinated; the theological virtues not only have God as their end, but also as
their object, and these are exercised most perfectly in the contemplative life (although it must be
remembered that chanty is the essence of perfection, so an active life can admit of perfection.)
■ The contemplative life, superior to the active life, exists fully in the mystical life; however, even though many
are called to an active life which makes some of the highest forms of contemplation inaccessible, such a call
does not make the substance o the contemplative life inaccessible, for all are called to this.
• Those in the active life are bound to accomplish the duties of state out of love for God, to be more
closely united to Him, and to make Him known and loves; hence the mystical life should be the living
source of its action.
A.3. The individual andproximate call to contemplation.
o There are three principle signs of a proximate call to contemplation.
■ Meditation becomes difficult or even impracticable·. The imagination becomes inert, while a tastelessness for discursive
meditation appears that renders the sweetness formerly produced by the object of the imagination dry.
■
The soul loses any inclination to deliberatelyfix the imagination or senses on any particular interior or exterior object'. Since
difficulty in meditation can be the result of illness, distraction, or the like, this second sign is of the utmost
importance in discernment of such a call, but is not conclusive.
■
The soul delights to be alone with God, fixing its attention lovingly on Him: The soul does not make any particular
considerations and enjoys an interior peace and an impression of repose and quiet; this sign makes the call
conclusive, for melancholy or a similar disposition could be the cause of an appearance of the second sign
when, in reality, it is not present.
o Obstacles to the proximate call.
■ Hack of docility to the remote call. It is evident that not all souls are faithful in avoiding as they ought both mortal
and venial sin and are not generally docile, according to one’s state, to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost; such
a habitude usually prevents the introduction and perception of a proximate call to high perfection and mystical
life (this also clearly shows that God desires our cooperation in these matters and has little taste for quietism!).
■ Insuffident spiritual development that renders the soul unpreparedfor the mystical life'. This is the result of insufficient
humility, purity of heart, recollection, and generosity, which can be the result of an overly outward-minded
inclination or a disproportionate absorption in study or cares of administration that strangles the love of silent
and profound prayer.
■ Discouragement after thefirst steps in the dark night, even afterperception ofi aproximate call: Part of this results from bad
direction from spiritual directors who prescribe poor remedies that stifle the soul from advancing beyond
discursive acts and those of the imagination, even when God formally manifests His desire that the soul
advance beyond these.
■ Tailure to advance beyond the lower degrees ofithe mystical life: This is usually the result of a lack of generosity on the
part of the soul or a lack of decent spiritual direction.
o Varieties of the proximate call.
■ The parable of the sower demonstrates that there are good souls which yield thirty-, sixty-, and hundred-fold,
all which indicate the attainment of varying degrees of the mystical life.
o

•

St. Teresa counsels humble aspiration to be among the elite; only the saints, after generously using the
time of trial, reach the plentitude of the perfect age, although not all attain to the supreme heights of
sanctity (consider a forest with many mighty oaks, although some are taller than others). (Interior Castle,
Fifth Mansion 1)
■
It is true that although certain souls, whatever their capacity, have attained union, all do not possess this union
in the same degree, for it is reserved to the free disposition of God to determine the degree of union.
• God often searches in vain for souls with good dispositions for union, for many flee from the trials
and suffering He sends which were really ordered towards their advancement had they persevered.
• Overall, the doctrine that all souls which possess charity have remote and sufficient helps to reach die
mystical life offers no greater difficulties when compared with the doctrine that all men receive
sufficient help (at least remotely) to save their soul.
A.4. Fhe conditions ordinarily requiredfor infused contemplation.
o Do generous interior souls generally lack the principle conditions ordinarily required for the mystical life?
■
Some writes object to the mystical life being the summit of the life of grace and the virtues based on the
following concrete andpragmatic observations:
• Only a few souls are in an appropriate environment where silence, solitude, and long hours of prayer
are the rule, such as a Carthusian or Carmelite monastery.
•
If such an atmosphere is lacking, the soul would then require a special temperament inclined to
recollection and prolonged prayer; many evidently lack such a temperament.
• A soul must be afforded appropriate spiritual guidance that directs it more and more towards the
contemplative life.
•
Finally, it is obviously difficult even for consecrated souls or priests in active orders or for those
bound to administrative duties or intellectual work by state to be afforded the conditions for mystical
union.
■ The reply to these objections has three considerations:
•
If the conditions enumerated in the objections were required, the conclusion would be that the
realisation of the summit of the interior life is difficult, but such subjectivefactors do not detract from the
objective finality of the life of grace.
o Although calm temperaments (e.g, melancholy) are of better disposition to contemplation,
an agitated spirit (e.g., choleric) does not disqualify a soul from reaching the summit either.
o Although those with an agitated spirit are more apt for the active life, they can prepare
themselves for the contemplative life by practice of the active life; similarly those who are
adapted towards contemplation can utilize active works to increase their aptitude, and thus
all ought to tend toward contemplation as the prelude of eternal life. (Ilallae q.182 a.4 ad3)
• All the means are provided by the Church to foster preparation for the grace of contemplation, and
such means are at everyone’s disposal; these necessarily include careful reception of the Sacraments,
daily Mass, love of the Eucharist, devotion to the Holy Ghost, and recourse to the Sacred Heart and
Blessed Mother, of whom contemplation is a fruit of true devotion.
o ] aturgical prayer recited with recollection in union with the Church obtains inspirations
which inflame and enlighten our hearts.
o 1 Tequent reading of Holy Writ and study of sacred doctrine when undertaken in a
supernatural manner can further provide means for the preparation of contemplation:
lectio divina studiunrl· meditatio-^ oratio
contemplatio
• There are five primary dispositions indicative of the proximate individual call to contemplation:
o Purity of heart. This is the fruit of exterior and interior mortification, which detaches us from
sin, condemns our faults, and is indicative of a readiness to endure sufferings and purifying
trials.
o Simplicity of spirit. This is bom from purity of heart and is indicative of our ability to see God
in all things, persons, and events, either good or bad, realizing that they are willed or
permitted by God for His glory; this is a result of a development of wisdom and is displayed
by great rectitude of life.
o Humility of heart. This is bom from the previous two and pertains to absolutely convinced
realization of the distance separating the infinite perfection of God from the nothingness of
creatures; a love to be nothing in order for God to be all.

Love of recollection, fidelity to the grace of the present moment, andperseverance in prayer This is contral­
to the overwhelming spirit of naturalism and the activism which leads therefrom; the healthy
reaction against these should be the impetus for the raising of contemplative souls.
■
Tanler: l iven among the plague of materialism, the desire for God, who is man’s
end, still persists in men’s hearts, with the result that more than ever before there is
an indefinable weariness in the world; souls are suffering and dying for this
unconscious desire for the infinite.
o Fervent chanty towards God and neighbor: The love of God for man unites us to Him and the
gifts of the Holy Ghost (the principles of infused contemplation) develop charity.
Particular obstacles to contemplation.
■
Obstacles always arise from some inordinate attachment either in the intellect or the voluntary.
•
Obstacles pertaining to the intellect: These usually consist in the attempt at acquiring self-knowledge in such
a way that distracts the soul’s attention from God, and makes itself the object of attention; this often
involves an effort to see if their prayer conforms to the descriptions of the mystical author to see how
“high” a degree they have reached or by leaving themselves in abstract speculations that fail to
consider the love of Christ (which can lead to theosophical or Buddhist contemplation).
•
Obstaclespertaining to the volnntay: essentially, these consist in the soul’s desire to go to God by using
means of their own selection and counting much on their own activity rather than permitting God to
work; this often leads to an enjoyment in accidental things of God rather than God Himself
What should be thought of souls that have only received one or two talents?
■ Even though divine intimacy would be difficult, the means provided, coupled with the fact that the least degree
of grace us sufficient to resist any degree of concupiscence, makes contemplation possible for those with lesser
talents than others (cf. Illa q.62 a.6 ad3; Cajetan Comm, in lallae q.109 a.9 n.4)
Is this doctrine of a nature to lead some souls to presumption and others to discouragement?
■ Aquinas addresses this question to the objection against the expediency of taking a vow (Ilallae q.88 a.4 ad2).
• If danger arises from the vow itself, the vow is not expedient (e.g., imprudence, rashness, etc.); but if
the danger is attributed to man’s failure by infirmity, the vow remains expedient, or else one would be
forced to desist from all good things since they may become dangerous accidentally.
• Thus, in the same way, there should be no fear in leading fervent souls humbly to desire the true
mystical life just because of the presence of false conceptions.
■ Presumption and discouragement are remedied by humility, detachment, and magnanimity, respectively;
however, by reason of the connection of the virtues, profound humility is impossible without great
magnanimity and detachment.
• The false doctrine that leads to presumption holds that all interior souls are calledproximately and
individually to the mystical life (as opposed to all being called remotely); this leads to quietism as one can
be erroneously convinced that he has reached the contemplative stage even though the prerequisite
signs are not present.
• The false doctrine that leads to discouragement maintains that interior souls are not generally called,
even remotely, to the divine intimacy of the mystical life; thus many souls remain in the lower stages,
despite their generosity, which leads to despair of reaching divine intimacy.
• The truth is in the mean, whereby the soul endures the passive purifications of the senses and the soul
whereby it is humbled profoundly; as a result, this leads to a profound desire to grow in charity, divine
wisdom, and all the gifts.
Some theoretical difficulties.
■
Can the grace of contemplation be merited?
• The degree of glory and the corresponding degree of charity at the hour of death depend on God’s
good pleasure; similarly, neither the first grace nor that of final perseverance can be merited.
• However, if God gratuitously places a soul in the order of grace and maintains it therein, then the laws
of this order apply to that soul, especially belief in the truths necessary for salvation and for the
possession of supernatural love (charity); possession of all the other gifts and virtues is founded upon
these things.
o Therefore, a soul in this state can merit condignly (out of justice) the increase of charity, of the
virtues, and the habitual disposition (habitus) of the gifts.
• We cannot condignly merit the efficacious help that maintains us in a state of grace because the
principle of merit cannot fall under merit; since infused contemplation is an act that supposes an
efficacious actual grace, Thomists (as opposed to Molinists) conclude that infused contemplation can

o

o

o

o

o

ο

only be merited congruously, although this grace presupposes a high degree of the gifts of understanding
and wisdom, considered as a habitus and merited condignly.
o The infusion and increase of grace require an aptness, since no form or perfection is
produced in a subject unless the subject is disposed for it; this disposition is the result of
God’s action on the soul, since grace and charity infinitely exceed our natural capacities and
dispositions.
o Supernatural acts therefore both merit and physically prepare for the augmentation of
charity.
An the requind conditions normal?
• It is difficult to reach infused contemplation if many of the conditions enumerated above are missing;
humility and ardent charity can supply for this lack, especially if enjoined with great devotion to Mary
and the Sacred Heart.
o Nevertheless, knowledge of the normal way of sanctity and the full development of the life
of grace is reached by considering how grace grows in principle perse in suitable conditions;
no great distance separates the perseveringly fervent Christian life from the conditions
required for the mystical life.
o Therefore, conditions required for the mystical life can be found in both contemplative
orders and fervent active orders, and even in Christian marriage when it is truly as it ought to
be (since all depend on the generosity of soul).
o Unfavorable surroundings can prompt salutary reaction in good souls (e.g., overwhelming
pride demonstrates humility, avarice shows worth of the spirit of poverty); divine mercy
often compensates for the inequality of natural conditions by great graces while deep
humility supplies for other conditions in the life of union with God.
• The conditions of the mystical life which seem abnormal to nature (e.g., the habitual mode of acting
characteristic to the mystical state, passive purification) are not abnormal to nature that is regenerated
and fed by grace, nor to a Christian life taken seriously; hence Lk 9:29: If any man will come after Ale, let
him deny himself and take up his cross daily andfollow Me.
o Fallen nature only rises again to its normal state by way of gratia sanans.
• God is prompt in giving the grace of contemplation to those who are prepared for it, while man is
slow in preparation by want of humility and abnegation.
o In the order willed by God, purification should be undergone in this life with the resulting
merit instead of in purga ton-.
• It is not only charity which in perfect souls is the normal prelude to the Beatific Vision, but charity
accompanied by the virtues of a purified soul, the empowerment of the gifts, and the fulfilling of the
beatitudes.
Venial sin and imperfections: obstacles to divine union.
■ Venial sin that is deliberate, in a sense, holds the gifts of the Holy Ghost bound which prevents them from
displaying their effects; venial sin is opposed to the fervor of charity necessary for the advancement in the
interior life and consequently binds the operation of the gifts.
• Venial sin cannot be ordained to the end of charity for it is a disordered act in the order of means.
■
Imperfections pertain to morally good acts which can be ordained to the end of charity, but which lacks a
certain perfection suitable to spiritual progress; imperfect acts are opposes only to a counsel, which in itself
does not oblige, unlike sin which is a transgression of a precept with respect to the matter of the precept.
• Impetfectio ex genere suer. An imperfection that, even when deliberate, does not become a venial sin, such as a
supernatural and meritorious act performed with an inferior degree of c liante that a soul may possess
or natural acts that are not forbidden but are not in accord with spiritual progress (e.g., certain
amusements).
o It is unlawful to omit something which is truly betterfor us according to statefor the sole motive that we are
not obliged to it and that we wish to use our liberty.
• Imperfectiej ex levissima materia·. An imperfection whose matter and object involved is so slight that
deliberation on it is not even obliging.
• Imperfectiej ex imperfectione actus·. Ma imperfection that is committed through lack of attention or
deliberation (although not negligence!), such as acts good by reason of their object but accomplished
in an involuntary or mechanical fashion (e.g., reading the Office by rout), the very first disordered
movements of sensuality, or acts committed out of invincible ignorance.

■

Imperfections disappear with the growth of a more perfect charity, characterized by a greater delicacy toward
God and our neighbor, accompanied by the gifts of the Holy Ghost in a proportionate degree.
• Proficients are subject to distractions and dissipation of mind, sometimes using their spiritual goods in
a manner that is not very interior; no proficient is exemptfrom many natural affections and impeffect habits
which must be purified by the action of God before divine union can be attained. (Dark Night of the

A.5. Extraordinary graces that sometimes accompany infused contemplation.
o Extraordinary graces generally belong to the charisms, that is, gratia gratis datae, and are enumerated by St. Paul (1 Cor
12:4, 7-11); however, charity and sanctifying grace are much more excellent that the charisms, as the former are ordained
directly to the union of the soul with God whereas the charisms are chiefly for the benefit of our neighbor, (cf. lallae
q.lll a.4)
FAITH, or special certitude as to principles

GRACES THAT GIVE

FULL KNOWLEDGE
OF DIVINE THINGS

WORD OF WISDOM, on the principle conclusions known
through the first cause
WORD OF KNOWLEDGE, on the examples and effects
which manifest the causes.
GIFT OF HEALING

BY WORKS
CHARISMS

GRACES THAT CONFIRM

GIFT OF MIRACLES

DIVINE REVELATION

DISCERNING SPIRITS
BY KNOWLEDGE
PROPHECY

GIFT OF TONGUES
GRACES THAT AID IN
PREACHING GOD’S WORD

GIFT OF INTERPRETATION OF SPEECHES

o

Divine revelations.
■ Divine revelations are the supernatural manifestation of a hidden truth by means of a vision, a word, or a
prophetic instinct, all which presuppose the gift of prophecy.
• Such revelations are public if made by the prophets, Christ, and the Apostles, and are thus applied to
all since these are proposed by the Church and preserved in Holy Writ and Tradition.
• Revelations are private if they are ordained only for the benefit of those who are favored with them
and are never considered to be belonging to the depositumfidei, the Church, by approving them, simply
declares that they contain nothing contrary to Scripture or Church teaching and that they may be
proposed as probable to the pious belief of the faithful.
o Properly so-called. These disclose secrets about God or His works, such as some trial that will
befall a nation or person; such revelations can be counterfeited by the demonic also, who
begin first by nourishing the soul with truths and likely things that an angelic intellect can
ascertain, so thus the utmost and prudent caution is to be exercised in making an assent.
o Improperly so-called. These disclose a greater understanding of supernatural truths already
known by faith; these are associated with infused contemplation since the soul in such a state
possesses a union with God by which He reveals these truths by penetrating the substance
of the soul in a most profound way which cannot be simulated by the demonic.
■ The soul receiving divine revelations should with humility and simplicity communicate it in a few words to its
spiritual director, but should not become attached to it in order to avoid misinterpretation; such revelations
should /zww'be asked for, as this inclination can take away the purity of faith, lead to presumption, and lead to
many errors, leading the soul away from infused contemplation. (Ascent ofMount Carmel II, 11, 16,17)
• The Holy Ghost enlightens the intellect according to the measure of its recollection; the most perfect
recollection takes place in faith, which a desire for revelations would militate against.

o

o

o

Visions.
■ Visions pertain to revelations when they disclose hidden things; otherwise, they are distinguished from them.
• SensibleI corporeal visions'. These generally represent our Lord, the Blessed Mother, or the saints; these are
not necessarily signs of great virtue but are granted to beginners at times in order to detach them from
worldly tilings, although they can sometimes be confused with illusions of the imagination or demonic
influence.
o In any case, prudent consultation with the spiritual director is necessary to ascertain
authenticity· and, if the lisions are true, the soul should be faithful in reaping the benefits
God extends by such a favor.
• Imaginary. These are produced in the imagination by God or by angels and are granted when a person
is either awake or asleep.
o Dreams that are of a divine origin should not contain anything contrary to revealed doctrine
or good morals and can be ascertained as such based on the following criteria: 1) when they
cannot be produced or dismissed at will, but come suddenly and last but a short time; 2)
when thy leave the soul in great peace, and; 3) when they produce fruits of virtue.
o A vision granted to a cognizant person is almost always accompanied by at least a partial
ecstasy to enable the soul to distinguish the interior apparition from external impressions
and because of the loss of contact with external things.
• Intellectual. These are certain manifestations of an object to the intellect (God, spirits, material things)
without any actual dependence on sensible images that makes the soul see and penetrate the mystical
meaning of the object in question.
o Such visions are brought about by acquired ideas supematurally coordinated or modified, or
by infused ideas which are sometimes of the angelic order, (cf. Ilallae q.173 a.2 ad2; De Vert.
q.12 a. 12)
o Divine origin is determined fro the effects, such as deep peace, holy joy, profound humility,
and unshakeable attachment to virtue.
o Such visions cannot attain the divine essence as it is but only by a certain manner of
representation through the medium of infused ideas.
Supernatural words.
■
Supernatural words are manifestations of God’s thought which are heard either by the exterior senses, the
interior senses, or directly by the intellect.
• Imaginary supernatural words are heard by the imagination when either asleep or awake; these are not
easily forgotten and seem to remain graven on the memory, and are distinguished from our own
words by the fact that they are not heard at will and that they are actually words and works at one and
the same time.
• Intellectual words are heard directly by the intellect without the intermediary of the senses or imagination
(similar to inter-angelic communication), and suppose a divine light and the coordination of pre­
existent acquired ideas and, at times, infused ideas (la q.107 a.l; Ascent ofMount CarmelW, 28-31).
o Successive'. These are produced only in the state of recollection by the action of the Holy
Ghost, characterized by a facility of new understanding with an increase of charity and
humility.
o Donnai. These are so-called because the soul realizes formally that they are uttered by another
without any contribution on its part and can hear them when not recollected; characterized
by the explanation of some teaching or command, and are free from illusion since the
understanding cannot contribute anything to them and the devil is unable to act directly on
the intellect.
o Substantial'. These are formal locutions which effect immediately what they announce by the
direct action of God (e.g., God’s command to Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect,
as written in Gen 17:1).
■
In all cases (except formal substantial intellectual words by which the effect clearly makes the cause known),
prudent counsel and circumspection must be sought to determine the origin; demonic origin will always leave
the soul feeling restless and uneasy.
■
In every case, this phenomenon is not to be asked for or desired.
Divine touches.
■ Divine touches pertain to the divine action on the will which reacts on the intellect and gives a very lofty and
sweet intellectual penetration of God. (Ascent ofMount Carmel II, 32)

■

The veq· substance of the soul experiences things only through the faculties of the will and the intellect; but as
God holds the soul in existence. He can from within touch and move the very foundation of the faculty by a
spiritual contact which reveals itself as divine.
■ Passive acceptance in humility is incumbent on the soul, as these touches serve to unite the soul passively to
God.
A.6. Confusions to be avoided in expounding the traditional doctrine.
o Affective prayer, or the acquired prayer of recollection, should not be confounded with supernatural recollection.
o A charism should not be interposed between the initial mystical state and what essentially constitutes simple union,
complete union, and transforming union, since the latter is the summit of the life of grace and the virtues begun at
Baptism.
o The essence of these supernatural mystical states should not be confounded with the extraordinary facts which
sometimes accompany them.
o The three traditional ways (purgative, illuminative, unitive) should not be confused with what is only an imperfect form
of them (thus the purgative requires passive purification; infused contemplation for the illuminative; the transforming
union for the completion of the unitive).
o Divine touches must not be likened to revelations and visions which are, properly speaking, extraordinary and exterior
facts, nor are these to be confounded with the emotions of the sensible faculties.
o An attempt at a material and mechanical exactness cannot be applied to spiritual matters, for such matters should only
be approached in consideration of higher principles, especially on the authority of St. Thomas Aquinas and the other
great mystical writers.

If such a universal writer as St. Thomas Aquinas does not speak of mystics as a particular class,
is it not because, for him, asfor the Areopagite, all Christians are dejure mystics... ?
And if he never mentions a separate body of mystical doctrine,
is it not because, for him, there is no mystical doctrine distinctfrom the common deposit offaith?

+
Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam.
Sit nomen Domini benedictum in saecula. Arnen.

ASCETICAL AND MYSTICAL THEOLOGY

A complied outline based on the ascetical treatise
Christian Perfection and Contemplation by Rev. R. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.,
in accordance with the writings of Sts. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, John of the Cross,
Teresa of Avila, Francis de Sales and other reputable spiritual authors of
antiquity and Tradition, so recognized by the authority of the Church.

+
Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus retribuit mihi?
A.D. MMIII