THE THREE AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE Prelude of Sternal £ife The Rev. R. GARRIGOU-LAGRANGE, O.P. Translated by SISTER Μ. T1MOTHEA DOYLE, O.P. Rosary College Rioer Forest, Illinois VOLUME TWO TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC. Rockford, Illinois 61105 Nihil Obstat: Imprimatur: Peter O’Brien, O.P., S.T.Lr., Ph.D. Censor Deputatus * Samuel Cardinal Stritch Archbishop of Chicago September 29, 1948 Copyright © 1948 by B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis and London. Printed several times by B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, Missouri. Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 82-74245 ISBN: Volume 1 Volume 2 The Set 0-89555-248-5 0-89555-249-3 0-89555-247-7 The typography in these two volumes is the property of TAN Books and Publish­ ers, Inc., and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permis­ sion from the publisher. Printed and bound in the United States of America. IAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC. P.O. Box 424 Rockford, Illinois 61105 1989 SANCTAE DEI GENITRICI IN SIGNUM GRATITUDINIS ET FILIALIS OBEDIENTIAE Contents PART III THE ILLUMINATIVE WAY OF PROFICIENTS PAG1 CBAPTKB I. The Object of the Third Part and the Language of Spiritual Writers Compared with That of Theologians.............................................................................. 3 A. The Language of Spiritual Writers Compared with That of Theologians..................................... 6 B. The Question Raised by the Language of the Mystics......................................................................... 6 C. The Theological Bases of the Terminology of Spiritual Writers....................................................... ç D. The Principal Terms of the Language of Spir­ itual Writers................................................ io E. Mystical Hyperbole................................................13 F. Comparison of the Language of Spiritual Writ­ ers and That of Theologians............................. 16 G. Which of These Two Terminologies Is the Loftier?........................................................................ 18 II. The Entrance into the Illuminative Way . 21 A. The Fact of the Second Conversion in the Lives of the Servants of God......................................... 23 B. The Necessity of the Second Conversion . 25 III. The Second Conversion According to Several Spiritual Writers........................ .... 30 A. The Second Conversion in The Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena......................................................30 B. The Second Conversion According to Blessed Henry Suso and Tauler......................................... 33 IV. The Passive Purification of the Senses and the Entrance into the Ii.luminative Way .... 40 A. The Necessity of this Purification .... 40 Hi iv CONTENTS PAG1 CHAPTUk B. How the Passive Purification of the Senses Is Produced................................................................ 43 C. The Cause of This State.........................................47 D. Note............................................................................ 52 V. VI. VII. VIII. Conduct to Be Observed in the Night of the Senses...................................................... ... 54 A. Four Rules of Direction Relative to This State 54 B. Trials Which Ordinarily Accompany the Night of the Senses...........................................................59 C. The Effects of the Passive Purification of the Senses...................................................................... 61 The Spiritual Age of Proficients: Principal Char­ acteristics ................................................................... 65 A. The Knowledge of God in Proficients ... B. The Love of God and of Souls in Proficients . 65 70 .... 72 The Spiritual Edifice in Proficients Prudence and the Interior Life.................................. 77 A. Defects to Be Avoided......................................... 79 B. Acquired Prudence and Self-control . . .81 C. Infused Prudence .... .... 84 D. Holy Discretion and the Gift of Counsel . . 86 IX. The Different Forms of Justice and the Educa­ tion of the Will...................................... 90 A. Commutative and Distributive Justice in Rela­ tion to the Interior Life .92 B. Legal Justice, Equity, and the Formation of Character................................................................ 93 C. Justice and Charity.............................................. 96 D. The Virtues Connected with Justice in Chris­ tian Life.................................................... 96 X. XI. Patience and Meekness........................................ 99 A. Patience and Longanimity, Twin Columns of the Interior Life.............................................. 99 B. Supernatural Meekness and Its Fruits . . 102 Chastity and Its Spiritual Fruit­ 108 A. The Motive That Should Inspire Chastity . . 108 B. The Spiritual Fruitfulness of Chastity .111 The Value of fulness CONTENTS v FAGE * CHAFTK XII. The Humility of Proficients........................................ 117 A. Humility toward God........................................ 118 B. Humility toward Our Neighbor . . . .122 XIII. The Humility of the Word Made Flesh and What Ours Should Be.................................................... 127 A. The Humility and Magnanimity of Christ . .127 B. The Union of Humility and Christian Dignity 131 Appendix. The Glory of the Cross........................... 136 XIV. The Spirit of Poverty....................................................140 A. The Value of Voluntary Poverty . . . .141 B. The Fruitfulness of Voluntary Poverty . .145 C. The Merit of the Vows ... ... 147 XV. The Grandeur of Obedience . . ... 149 A. The Type of Servitude from Which Obedience Delivers Us................................................................151 B. The Fruits of Obedience........................................154 XVI. Simplicity and Uprightness........................................158 A. Defects Opposed to Simplicity............................ 159 B. Veracity and the Interior Life.............................160 C. Superior Simplicity, the Image of That of God 162 XVII. Spirit of Faith and Its Progress . . . .168 The Nature of the Spirit of Faith . . . .168 The Growth of Infused Faith in Us . . . .171 The Excellence and the Power of the Spirit of Faith................................................ *7* D. A Practical Manner of Living by the Spirit of Faith...................................................................... 175 The A. B. C. XVIII. Confidence in God; Its Certitude............................. 178 A. Defects to Be Avoided........................................178 B. The True Nature of ChristianHope . . .179 C. The Certitude of Hope....................................... 180 D. The Qualities of ChristianHope............................. 181 E. Admirable Effects of Living Hope Confirmed by Trials................................................................ 184 XIX. The Love of Conformity to the Divine Will . 187 A. The Signs of Imperfect Love . 187 B. The Nature of Charity and the Marks of Its Progress .............................. t88 CONTENTS CKAFTM . ,A01 C. The Love of God and Our Natural Disposi­ tions .....................................................................192 D. Progressive Conformity to the Signified Di­ vine Will......................................................... 193 XX. Fraternal Charity, Radiation of the Love of God 199 A. Why Our Love of God Should Extend to Our Neighbor.............................................................. 200 B. Efficacy of the Love of Charity........................... 202 C. The Compass and Order of Charity . . . .203 D. How to Make Progress in Fraternal Charity . 206 XXL Zeal for the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls.................................................................... 213 A. The Motives of Zeal............................................. 214 B. The Qualities of Zeal............................................. 218 C. The Sources of Spiritual Progress and Divine Intimacy...............................................................222 XXII. Docility to the Holy Ghost....................................... 223 A. The Inspirations of the Holy Ghost . . . .224 B. The Ascending Gradation of the Gifts . . .225 C. Conditions Required for Docility to the Holy Ghost........................ . . .233 D. Acts Which Prepare the Soul for Docility to the Holy Ghost...................................................234 E. The Harmonizing of Docility to the Holy Ghost with Obedience and Prudence . . 236 F. The Fruits of Docility to the Holy Ghost . .237 XXIII. The A. B. C. Discerning of Spirits .................................. 241 The Signs of the Spirit of Nature.... 243 The Signs of the Spirit of the Devil.... 245 The Signs of the Spirit of God..................... 246 XXIV. The A. B. C. D. Sacrifice of the Mass and Proficients . . . 249 Adoration......................................................... 251 Reparation......................................................... 252 Petition ............................................................... 254 Thanksgiving...................................................255 XXV. The Communion of Proficients.......................... 258 A. The Holy Table and the Unity of the Mys­ tical Body.................................................. 2 j9 CONTENTS CKAFTEB vii »*0» B. Communion and the Growth of the Mystical Body of Christ ... 260 C. Communion and the Gift of Oneself . . . 263 XXVI. Devotion to Mary in Proficients ............................... 265 A. True Devotion to Mary....................................... 265 B. The Degrees of This Devotion........................... 266 C. The Fruits of This Devotion ........................... 268 XXVII. The Universal Accessibility of the Mysticism of The Imitation................................................ ..272 A. The Mystical Character of The Imitation . .273 B. The Dispositions Required or the Asceticism of The Imitation................................................... 277 XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. Contemplative Prayer.................................................. 279 A. The Passage from Acquired Prayer to Initial Infused Prayer . . 279 B. The Passage from Meditation to Contemplation According to the Traditional Teaching Ex­ pressed by St. Francis de Sales ... . 279 C. The Principles of This Traditional Teaching According to St. Thomas . . . . . 281 D. The Acquired Prayer of Recollection and Pas­ sive Recollection According to St. Teresa . 284 The Errors of the Quietists on Contemplation and Pure Love................................................289 A. The Quietism ofMolinos.......................................289 B. Semi-Quietism......................................................... 292 C. The Problem of PureLove................................... 294 D. In What the Practice of Pure Love Consists 297 The Degrees of ficients A. B. C. D. XXXI. Contemplative Prayer in Pro­ 299 The Progress of Prayer and the Virtues . . 299 The Prayer of Quiet............................................. 300 The Prayer of Simple Union................................. 302 Contemplative Prayer and Fervent Communion 304 Questions Relative to Infused Contemplation . 307 A. The Principal Problem....................................... 307 B. Accepted Definitions............................................. 309 C. Intimate Nature of Infused Contemplation . . 312 D. The Progress of Infused Contemplation . .315 vin CONTENTS * CHAFTK * TAG . E. What Infused Contemplation Does Not Neces­ sarily Require.................................................. 317 F. The Call to Contemplation................................. 319 G. The Direction of Souls in Relation to Contem­ plation ..................................................... 324 XXXII. The New Elements in Infused Prayer . . . 327 A. Whether the Character of Newness Always Appears Clearly................................................... 328 B. The Explanation of This Transition . . . .330 C. Reply to a Difficulty............................................. 333 D. The Special Illumination of the Holy Ghost . 335 E. The Special Illumination of the Gift of Wis­ dom Sufficient for Infused Contemplation . 337 XXXIII. The Agreement and Differences between St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross........................ 342 A. The Cause of These Differences........................... 342 B. Whether These Differences Have a Common Basis.......................................................................... 343 C. A Recent Objection............................................. 346 PART IV THE UNITIVE WAY OF THE PERFECT SECTION I The Entrance into the Unitive Way through Night of the Spirit.......................................... the 353 XXXIV. The Necessity of the Passive Purification of the Spirit, and the Prelude of the Unitive Way . . 356 A. The Defects of the Advanced........................... 358 B. The Depths of the Will to Be Purified . . . 360 XXXV. Description of the Passive Purification of the Spirit.................................................................................367 A. The Darkness in Which the Soul Has the Im­ pression of Being.................................... 367 B. The Revelation of the Majesty of God in This Darkness................................................ 369 XXXVI. The Cause of the Passive Purification of the Spirit............................................................ . . 375 A. Purifying Infused Light and Spiritual Fire . . 375 CONTENTS ix ,A0* CHATTE* B. The Influence of the Gift of Understanding in This Purification............................................. 378 XXXVII. The A. B. C. Transluminous Obscurity................................. 384 The Effect of Too Greata Light . . . .384 The Effect of Light on Weak Eyes .... 386 The Fear of Consenting or of Having Con­ sented to Temptations....................................... 387 D. Confirmations......................................................... 388 XXXVIII. Conduct to Be Observed during the Purification of the Spirit................................................ 392 A. Generous Acceptance............................................. 392 B. Faith in the Mystery of the Cross .... 394 C. The Love of Conformity and of Submission to God’s Good Pleasure . . 397 XXXIX. The Effects of the Passive Purification of the Spirit in Relation Especially to the Three Theo­ logical Virtues.............................................400 A. Negative Effects................................................... 400 B. The Positive Effects of This Purification . . 403 C. The Purification of Faith...................................... 406 D. The Purification of Hope...................................... 410 E. The Purification of Charity............................. .414 F. Sufferings That Sometimes Accompany the Pas­ sive Purification of the Spirit . . .418 XL. The Spiritual Age of the Perfect, Their Union with God................................................................ 422 A. Quasi-Experimental and Almost Continual Knowledge of God............................................. 422 B. Loving God with One’s Whole Mind . . 425 C. The Indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in the Purified Soul......................................................... 426 D. The Signs of the Indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in the Purified Soul................................. 429 XLI. A Form of Perfect Life: the Way of Spiritual Childhood............................................................... 433 A. The Innate Qualities of the Child . . .433 B. The Principal Virtues of the Child of God . 435 C. What Distinguishes Spiritual Childhood from Natural Chilahood................................................... 437 CONTENTS X FAG> * CHAFTE SECTION II The Heroic Degree of the Virtues...........................440 XLII. The Heroic Degree of the Virtues in General . 441 A. The Distinctive Marks of Heroic Virtue . 442 B. The Connection of the Virtues and Their Heroic Degree........................................................ 445 XLIII. Heroic and Contemplative Faith................................ 450 A. The Firmness of Its Adherence...........................451 B. Promptness in Rejecting Error...........................453 C. The Penetration Which Causes Everything to Be Seen in the Light of Revelation 453 D. The Victory of Heroic Faith over the Spirit of the World........................................................ 455 XLIV. Heroic Hope and Abandonment................................ 457 A. The Invincible Firmness of Perfect Hope . .457 B. Trusting Abandonment and Unwavering Fidel­ ity ..................................................... . 460 C. The Heroic Confidence of the Saints Restores Hope in Their Companions................................ 462 XLV. Heroic Charity.............................................................. 465 A. Heroic Charity toward God, Perfect Conform­ ity to His Will and Love of the Cross 465 B. Heroic Charity toward One’s Neighbor: the Ardent Desire for His Salvation and Radiating Goodness toward All............................................ 468 XLVI. The Heroic Degree of the Christian Moral Vir­ tues .................... 472 A. Heroic Humility and Meekness.......................... 472 B. Heroic Fortitude and Magnanimity. . . .473 C. Heroic Prudence.................................................... 475 D. Heroic Justice......................................................... 477 E. The Heroic Degree of the Religious Virtues 479 XLVII. The Love of Jesus Crucified and of Mary in the Unitive Way........................ 4®° A. Christ’s Victory and Its Radiation . . · .481 B. Devotion to Mary in the Unitive Way . . · 484 CONTENTS CHAPTUl xi PAGX SECTION III The Forms and Degrees of the Unitive Life . . 488 XLVIII. Perfect Apostolic Life and Contemplation . . 489 A. The Eminent Source of the Apostolate . . . 490 B. The Condition of the Apostolate and Its Fruit­ fulness ............................................................... 494 XLIX. The Life of Reparation...................................... 497 A. The Life of Reparation in the Priest . . . 498 B. The Life of Reparation in All Those Who Have a Heavy Cross to Carry........................... 500 C. A Great Example: the Reparatory Night of the Spirit in St. Paul of the Cross........................... 502 L. The Influence of the Holy Ghost in the Perfect Soul............................................................................... 511 A. The Holy Ghost, Uncreated Gift . . .511 B. The Activity of the Uncreated Gift in Our Souls............................................................................ 513 C. Conclusion................................................................517 LI. Arid Mystical Union and Ecstatic Union Accord­ ing to St. Teresa ...................................................... 519 A. Arid and Painful Mystical Union . . . .519 B. Ecstatic Union; Its Manifestation and Nature . 521 C. What Distinguishes Rapture from Ecstasy . . 524 D. The Effects of Ecstatic Union........................... 525 E. The Purification of Love....................................... 526 The Transforming Union, Prelude of the Union of Heaven................................................................. 527 A. The Graces Which Sometimes Accompany the Transforming Union....................................... 528 B. The Essential Nature of the Transforming Union................................................................529 C. The Theological Explanation of This State . 531 D. The Effects of the Transforming Union . 533 E. A Note on the Highest Degreeof the Mys­ tical Life 539 i. The Nameless Depth of the Soul and the Deity..................................................... 539 LIL CONTENTS PAGE iAPTEK i. The Holy Ghost Lifts up the Soul and Prays in It.............................................. 540 3. Detachment from Self and Attachment to God............................................................... 541 4. Different Meanings of the Title “Spouse” 542 5. The Desire of the Transforming Union . 544 6. The Intimacy of the Transforming Union 546 7. The Equality of Love................................. 546 8. Conclusion................................................... 547 APPENDIX The Perfection of Love and the Mystical Union 547 I. The Perfection of Love and Infused Contempla­ tion .......................................................................... 547 II. The Union Described in A Spiritual Canticle Is Mystical........................................................................... 550 III. The Perfection of Love in the Spiritual Espousals 552 IV. The Perfection of Love in the Spiritual Marriage 557 PART V EXTRAORDINARY GRACES LIII. Charisms or Graces Gratis Datae................................. 575 A. Nature and Division of the Charisms . . . 575 B. Application of This Doctrine by St. John of the Cross........................................................... 577 LIV. Divine Revelations and Visions............................ 580 A. What Should Be Thought of Private Revelations 580 B. Supernatural Visions......................................... 586 LV. Supernatural Words and Divine Touches . . . 589 A. The Different Kinds of Supernatural Words . 589 B. Divine Touches............................................... 592 Stigmatization and Suggestion............................596 A. The Traditional Teaching................................. 597 B. Ecstasy and Stigmatization................................ 601 C. Levitation............................................................... 604 D. Luminous Effluvia................................................... 605 E. Fragrant Effluvia............................. 605 F. Prolonged Abstinence............................................. 606 LVL CONTENTS CHAPTEK LVII. Differences between Extraordinary Divine Facts and Morbid Phenomena................................................... 608 A. B. C. D. E. LVIII. xüi PAGE Differences on thePart of the Subject . . . 609 Differences on the Part of thePhenomena . .610 Differences in the Effects . ... 611 An Examination of SomeParticular Facts . .613 Note ..................................................................... 615 Diabolical Phenomena................................................... 617 A. Obsession............................................................... 618 B. Possession............................................................... 620 1. A Striking Example....................................... 623 2. Note............................................................... 626 EPILOGUE I The Axis of the Spiritual Life and Its Unity . . 628 A. The Distinction between Ascetical and Mystical Theology as It Has Often Been Proposed Since the Seventeenth Century....................................... 630 B. Disadvantages from a Wrong Understanding of the Division between Ascetical and Mys­ tical Theology......................................................... 633 C. Various Forms of Simplified Prayer . . . .634 D. The Axis of the Spiritual Life and Ascetical Theology Rightly Understood 637 E. The Axis of the Spiritual Life and True Mys­ tical Theology................................................... 638 π The Beatific Vision and Its Normal Prelude . . 644 A. The Absolutely Immediate Vision of the Di­ vine Essence . . .....................................644 B. The Normal and Immediate Prelude of the Beatific Union......................................................... 648 ADDENDA On the Nature of Spiritual Theology .... 652 Synthesis of the Treatise on The Three Ages of the Interior Life............................................................... 655 CONTENTS xiv TAGS Summary of the Work in Three Retreats A. First Retreat: On Spiritual Progress . . . 656 B. Second Retreat: On the Spiritual Organism 656 C. Third Retreat: On Christian Perfection . . 657 Index........................................................................................................ 659 Some Terms Used in This Book.................................................................. 669 PART III The Illuminative Way of Proficients CHAPTER I The Object of the Third Part and the Language of Spiritual Writers Compared with That of Theologians N Part One of this work, we discussed the principles or the sources of the interior life, the organism of the virtues and the gifts, the nature of Christian perfection, its elevation, and the general obliga­ tion of every Christian and the special obligation of priests and re­ ligious to tend to perfection. In Part Two we treated of the purification of the soul in begin­ ners, of sins to be avoided, of the predominant fault, of the active purification of the senses and the spirit, especially of the active purifi­ cation of the memory, the understanding, the will, and finally of the mental prayer of beginners. We shall now, logically, proceed to the consideration of the il­ luminative way of proficients, which is the continuation of the purgative way under another name. It is given a new name, just as one and the same road is called, progressively, different names ac­ cording to the cities through which it passes: the railway from Turin to Rome is called, first of all, the Turin-Genoa Railroad, then the Genoa-Pisa, and lastly the Pisa-Rome Railroad. Great variety may be found on the same road; one part crosses the plain, another climbs more or less steep slopes; part of the road can be covered in daylight, part at night, and that in fair or stormy weather. The same is true from the spiritual point of view. Further­ more, on a railroad connecting two cities, speed must not be excessive, or stops eliminated, or the wait at stations too much pro­ longed. Likewise on God’s highway, progress would be com­ promised by a desire to travel too fast, whereas too great a delay in I J 4 THREE AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE one place would put one behind schedule; in this sense, “Not to advance is to retrogress.” The illuminative way is, therefore, the continuation of the purgative way, but in the former, progress should be more marked. To discuss the illuminative way in a methodical manner, we shall treat of it in the following order: ( i ) the entrance to this way; sev­ eral writers have called it a second conversion and, more precisely speaking, the passive purification of the senses; (2) the principal characteristics of the spiritual age of proficients; (3) the progress of the Christian moral virtues, especially of humility, a fundamental virtue, and of meekness in its relations with charity; (4) the progress of the theological virtues, of the spirit of faith and confidence in God, of conformity to the signified divine will, of fraternal charity, the great sign of progress in the love of God; (5) the gifts of the Holy Ghost in proficients, their docility to the Holy Ghost, their more continual recollection in the course of the day; (6) the pro­ gressive illumination of the soul by the Sacrifice of the Mass and Communion; why each Communion should be substantially more fervent than the preceding one; devotion to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus and to Mary Mediatrix, in this period of the interior life; (7) the contemplative prayer of proficients and its degrees; the error of the quietists on this subject; the passage from acquired prayer to infused prayer. Is infused prayer in the normal way of sanctity, or is it, on the contrary, an extraordinary grace, like visions, revelations, the stigmata? Is infused prayer ordinarily granted to generous, interior souls, who persevere in prayer and docility to the Holy Ghost, and who daily bear the cross with patience and love? (8) the defects of proficients; the pride which mingles in their acts; the discernment of spirits; retarded proficients; the necessity of a passive purification of the spirit which, according to St. John of the Cross, marks the entrance into the unitive way. Why do we propose to follow this order? Because it is fitting to consider the growth of the virtues and of the gifts before the progress of their acts, in order to show more clearly to what already elevated acts this growth of the virtues and of the gifts, which is a trust­ worthy sign of progress, is ordained. We are, in fact, already cer­ tain through faith and theology that the acquired virtues and the infused virtues, as well as the seven gifts, should always grow in us here on earth, particularly in the illuminative way or that of LANGUAGE OF SPIRITUAL WRITERS 5 proficients. In this stage there should even be an acceleration in this progress, for the soul ought to advance more rapidly toward God as it approaches Him more closely and is more drawn by Him, just as the stone falls more rapidly as it draws near the earth which attracts it.1 The traveler toward eternity should advance more rapidly as he approaches the end which captivates him more. We have already shown these principles to be certain; there should, consequently, be a very notable increase in the virtues and the gifts in the illuminative way of proficients. Profound consideration of this fact will make us understand better what the elevation of the acts of these virtues and gifts should normally be in this period of the spiritual life. Moreover, that we may proceed with order, it is fitting that we follow an ascending course, considering first of all the increase of the Christian moral virtues, next that of the theological virtues, then that of the gifts which perfect the virtues, and finally the graces of light, love, and strength which are given us daily by Mass and Com­ munion. If we follow this plan, we shall see more clearly that the prayer of proficients is normally a contemplative prayer. If, on the contrary, we discuss this prayer at the very beginning, we might describe it as it actually is in those who appear to be proficients without perhaps really being so, and not such as it should normally be in this already advanced age of the spiritual life. These are the reasons for the order we shall follow. Before beginning our study, however, we shall here examine an important preliminary question, that of the essential character of the language of the great spiritual writers who have discussed these matters, language having terms that are somewhat different from those used by theologians. A comparison of these two terminologies or ways of speaking is necessary here. 1 Cf. St. Thomas, In Epist. ad Hebr., 10:25: “A natural movement (e.g., of a falling stone) increases in proportion as it draws near its goal. The oppo­ site is true of a violent movement (e.g., of a stone hurled into the air). Grace, moreover, inclines by a sort of analogy with what nature does; therefore those who are in the state of grace ought to grow so much the more as they more nearly approach the end.” The word “more” is used and not “equally.” 6 THREE AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE The Language Spiritual Writers Compared with That of Theologians of It has often been remarked that great spiritual writers, especially when they discuss mysticism properly so called, use terms that differ notably from those used by theologians. For a clear grasp of the meaning and import of each set of terms, a comparison of the two is necessary. The language of the great Catholic mystics has its basis in Scrip­ ture, in the Psalms, the Canticle of Canticles, the Gospel of St. John, and the Epistles of St. Paul. It takes shape increasingly with St. Au­ gustine in his commentaries on the Psalms and on St. John; with Dionysius; St. Gregory the Great in his commentary on Job; St. Bernard; Hugh and Richard of St. Victor; St. Bonaventure; the author of The Imitation; Tauler; Blessed Henry Suso; St. Teresa; St. John of the Cross; and St. Francis de Sales. Their terminology, the expression of their mystical experience, gradually passed into doctrinal, spiritual theology, which should compare it with the scholastic terminology of theologians in order to avoid certain errors or confusions into which Master Eckart occasionally fell. The Question Raised by the Language of the Mystics At first glance, the vocabulary of great spiritual writers seems to a number of exclusively scholastic theologians too metaphorical and also exaggerated, either in what relates to the abnegation necessary for perfection or in regard to the separation from the sensible and from reasoning or discourse in contemplation. For this reason, cer­ tain great mystics, such as Tauler and Ruysbroeck, seemed suspect; and, for the same reason, after the death of St. John of the Cross, some theologians felt they should correct his works and cover them over, as it were, with scholastic whitewash in order the better to explain their meaning and remove all exaggeration. Thus talent sometimes wishes to correct genius, as if the eaglet wished to teach the eagle to fly. It was then necessary to defend the mystics against their enemies and their injudicious friends. With this purpose Louis Blosius wrote a defense of Tauler, and Father Nicholas of Jesus LANGUAGE OF SPIRITUAL WRITERS 7 Mary composed his book, Elucidatio phrasium mysticorum operum Joannis a Cruce.2 An example of the difference between the language of spiritual writers and that of theologians may be illustrated by the meaning they give to the word “nature.” The speculative meaning of this word is abstract and has nothing unfavorable about it; its ascetical meaning is concrete and recalls original sin. We read in The Imita­ tion in regard to the different movements of nature and grace: “Na­ ture is crafty and draweth away many, . . . and always proposes self as her end. But grace walketh in simplicity, turneth aside from all appearance of evil, offereth no deceits, and doth all things purely for God, in whom also it resteth as its last end. . . . Nature will­ ingly receiveth honor and respect. But grace faithfully attributeth honor and glory to God.” * These words at first seem contrary to the principles often formulated by St. Thomas: “Grace does not destroy nature, but perfects it”; “Nature inclines us to love God, its Author, more than ourselves; otherwise the natural inclination would be perverse, and it would not be perfected, but destroyed, by charity.” 4 Considering the matter with greater attention, we see that no ‘Recently Jacques Maritain, in Les Degrés du savoir (1932, pp. 647 ff.), dealt exceedingly well with the “practicality” of the vocabulary of St. John of the Cross. According to Maritain, the speculative sciences analyze the real into its ontological (or empiriological) elements; in the practical sciences it is a question of composing the means, the dynamic moments by which action should come into existence. Thus concepts bearing the same name will relate to the real in different fashion. Moreover, he rightly says: “As far as mystical language is concerned, it is necessarily different from that of philosophy: in the former, hyperbole is not an ornament of rhetoric, but a means of expres­ sion rigorously required to signify things with exactitude, for, in fact, it is an attempt to render intelligible experience itself—and what experience, the most ineffable of all! Philosophical language seeks especially to tell of reality without touching it; mystical language to make it known as if by touching it though not seeing it. . . . The intellect passes from one conceptual vocabu­ lary to another, just as it passes from Latin to Chinese or Arabic. But it can­ not apply the syntax of one to the other.” Thus St. John of the Cross describes contemplation as a non-activity, whereas St. Thomas defines it as the highest possible activity. . . . The latter looks at the matter from the ontological point of view; the former from the point of view of mystical experience, in which the suspension of all activity of a human mode must seem to the soul like a non-activity. • The Imitation of Christ, Bk. Ill, chap. 54. * Cf. la, q.6o, a. 5; Ila llae, q. 26. a. J. 8 THREE AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE contradiction exists between the author of The Imitation and St. Thomas, but they employ the word nature with two different meanings. St. Thomas takes it in the philosophical and abstract sense, which corresponds to the definition of man (a rational animal), to his nature, the radical principle of his operations, such as it comes from God, abstraction being made of every grace superior to it and also of original sin and its results. Human nature thus conceived corresponds to a divine idea. When spiritual writers, like the author of The Imitation, contrast nature and grace, they take the word nature in its ascetical and concrete meaning. They speak of nature such as it is concretely since the sin of the first man; in other words, turned away from God by original sin, or still wounded although regenerated by baptism. They wish to recall the fact that, even in baptized persons, the wounds, the results of original sin, are not completely healed, but are in the process of healing. These wounds are four in number: weakness, ignorance, malice, and concupiscence. They affect the different faculties,® and often manifest themselves in a gross egoism, at times only slightly conscious, which personal sins can greatly augment. St. Thomas also insists on this point when he speaks of inordinate self-love, from which spring pride, the con­ cupiscence of the flesh, that of the eyes;8 and then when he speaks of the seven capital sins,7 from which come other sins that are still more serious. Careful thought on the matter shows that here there is not a con­ tradiction in doctrine between speculative theologians and spiritual writers, but a difference of terminology which the context explains. One is more abstract, the other more concrete, for it aims at the ap­ plication of principles for the conduct of life in conditions in which man actually finds himself since original sin. For a clearer understanding of this difference, we shall speak of the theological bases of the terminology of spiritual writers, of the principal terms of their language, and we shall compare the ex­ pressive value of their language with the value of that of theologians. • Cf. St. Thomas, la Ilae, q.85, a. 3; q. 109, a.a f.; Illa, q.ôç, a.3. •Cf. Ia Ilae, q.77, a. 4E T Ibid., q. 84. LANGUAGE OF SPIRITUAL WRITERS The Theological Bases of the Terminology Spiritual Writers 9 of Each science or discipline has its special terms, the meaning of which cannot be clearly understood by those who do not know the subject. If mathematics, physics, and physiology have their par­ ticular set of terms, why should mysticism not have its terminology? Terms express ideas, as ideas express the nature of things, and the idea which at first was confused subsequently becomes distinct. Scien­ tific concepts are thus more distinct than the notions of common sense, and sometimes new names are needed to express them; other­ wise it would be necessary to have recourse to circumlocutions or excessively lengthy paraphrases. Theology furnishes the basis of the terminology of spiritual writ­ ers when it teaches that, to speak of God and our supernatural life, we have two classes of terms, one set of which has a literal meaning, and the other a metaphorical meaning. Thus we say, using the literal meaning: “God is good and wise; He is goodness itself, wis­ dom itself.” These are, in fact, perfections which imply no imper­ fection, and they are found analogically in God and in creatures according to their literal meaning. On the contrary, it is only meta­ phorically that we speak of the wrath of God; wrath is, in fact, a passion, a movement of the sensible appetite, which cannot, prop­ erly speaking, be found in God, who is pure spirit; but the expression “wrath of God” is a metaphor to denominate His justice. On this subject we must make the following observations: among the analogical terms which denominate God literally, negative terms, like “immaterial” and “immobile,” express Him more exactly than positive terms, inasmuch as we know rather what God is not than what He is.8 We know very well that in Him there is neither mat­ ter, movement, progress, nor limit; whereas we cannot know posi­ tively the essential mode according to which the divine perfections are in God and are identified in the eminence of the Deity, in which they exist formally and eminently. We know this essential mode of the divine perfections in a negative and relative manner, saying: it is an uncreated, incomprehensible, supreme mode. But in itself it remains hidden, like the Deity, which is manifest only to the blessed who see it immediately. • St. Thomas, la, q.a, prologue; la, q. i, a. io ad jum. 10 THREE AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE Consequently, when the mystics speak of God, they use many negative terms, such as “incomprehensible,” “ineffable,” “incom­ municable.” They say that negative contemplation, which expresses itself in this manner, is superior to affirmative contemplation. In fact, negative contemplation attains in its way what is most lofty: the eminence of the Deity, or the inner life of God, which cannot be shared by nature, but only by sanctifying grace, which is a par­ ticipation in the divine nature. Moreover, among the positive names that are properly applied to God, the least definite and the more absolute and common denom­ inate Him better than the others, says St. Thomas.® Thus the name, “He who is,” is more properly applied to God than the others, for by its indetermination it better expresses the infinite ocean of the spiritual substance of God. On the contrary, more definite names, such as “intelligent,” “free,” fall short of this infinite mode. There­ fore the mystics say that superior contemplation, which proceeds from faith illumined by the gifts, is confused, indistinct, ineffable; they place it above distinct contemplation which would come from a special revelation. Metaphorical terms are necessary, says St. Thomas,10 where there are no suitable terms, especially to express the particular relations of God with interior souls. Thus the mystics speak metaphorically of spiritual espousals and of spiritual marriage in order to designate as it were a transforming union of the soul with God. Likewise by metaphor they speak of the depth of the soul to designate the depth of the intellect and the will, where these faculties spring from the very substance of the soul. These metaphors are explained by the fact that we know spiritual things only in the mirror of sensible things, and that it is often difficult to find fitting terms to express them. The Principal Terms of the Language of Spiritual Writers The ordinary terms of Scripture and those of theology would suffice for mysticism; but to avoid excessively long circumlocutions, spiritual writers have had recourse to special terms, or they have • Cf. Ia, q. i j, a. 11. *· Cf. Ia, q. I, a.9 ad jum. LANGUAGE OF SPIRITUAL WRITERS 11 given a more particular meaning to expressions already in use. Thus several terms have become essentially mystical, to such an extent that if one took them in their scholastic meaning, they would no longer be true. All spiritual writers speak, for example, of the noth­ ingness of the creature and say: the creature is nothing. A theologian, to render this proposition acceptable to his point of view, would add this precision: the creature by itself is nothing. Master Eckart’s error consisted in affirming in the scholastic meaning of the word what is true only in a mystical sense. Consequently several of his propositions were condemned, among them the following: “All crea­ tures are pure nothingness; I do not say that they are little, or some­ thing, but that they are pure nothingness.” 11 If this were true, God would have created nothing outside of Himself, or rather the being of creatures would not be distinct from that of God. Likewise the mystics have often called infused contemplation simply “contemplation,” when, as a matter of fact, they mean in­ fused contemplation. Thus a special terminology has gradually grown up. Its special character comes from the fact that the secrets of the inner life of God and of the union of the soul with Him are ineffable, or from the fact that the terms of human language have no proportion with the sublimity of divine things. To remedy this lack of proportion, spiritual writers have found three categories of terms which are essentially mystical. They may be classed as hyper­ bolical, antithetical or contrary, and symbolical terms. Hyperbolical terms seek to express the infinite elevation of God, as for example, “the superessence or the supergoodness of God,” 12 or again the inferiority of the creature in relation to God, as “the nothingness of the creature.” Antithetical terms express something lofty by a sort of contrary effect which they produce on us. Thus the terms “dark night” and “great darkness” express “the inaccessible light in which God dwells,” a light that dazzles us and affects us like a superior and transluminous obscurity, which is the direct opposite of the inferior obscurity which comes from matter, error, or evil. Likewise, by irony, the word of God is called foolishness, since it produces this 11 “Omnes creaturae sunt unum purum nihil, non dico quod sint quid modicum, vel aliquid, sed quod sint unum purum nihil” (Denzinger, no. 526). 12 Sometimes even in order to say that the Deity is above being, above unity, the true, and the good, mystics have said: God is non-being, or super­ being. The reader will recognize here Dionysius’ manner of speaking. 12 THREE AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE effect on senseless people. With this meaning St. Paul writes: “For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world, by wisdom, knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of our preaching, to save them that believe. ... For the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 18 Symbolical terms are metaphors such as: the Spouse of souls (to designate God), the spiritual marriage, the depth of the soul, the spiritual senses, the sleep of the faculties, the wound of love, liquefac­ tion and spiritual fusion. It should be pointed out that certain mystics, such as Dionysius, have a preference for hyperbolical terms (for example, superessence, supergoodness); others, like St. John of the Cross, for antithetical terms (the dark night); others, as St. Teresa, for symbolical terms (spiritual espousals and marriage). In these terms we have the principle that enables us to reconcile the degrees of prayer described by St. Teresa and those described by St. John of the Cross; the difference is to be found more in the terms than in the spiritual states indicated. Thus under the title of the dark night of the senses, St. John of the Cross speaks of the prayer of arid quiet, which precedes consoled quiet of which St. Teresa speaks in the fourth mansion. With regard to the dark night of the spirit St. John discusses graces of which St. Teresa treats in the sixth mansion in connection with the spiritual espousals, which, like the night of the spirit, proximately prepare the soul for the per­ fect transforming union, also called the spiritual marriage. The terminology preferred by St. John of the Cross contributes to giving him a more austere tone than that of St. Teresa; but when he speaks of the summit of the interior life in The Living Flame of Love, he does so in terms that show a plenitude of most striking spiritual joy. The meaning of mystical terms is well comprehended, with re­ spect to what is at one and the same time disproportionate and suit­ able, only by those who have experience in these matters, and they observe a fitting sobriety in this regard. Others have, at times, ridiculously abused these terms, even to speaking of superseraphic superelevation, of “confricatio deifica,” of the abyss of cordial ex­ inanition, and so on, and using other terms which remind one of vain sentimentality and sometimes of mystical sensualism. *· Cf. I Cor. tui, 15. LANGUAGE OF SPIRITUAL WRITERS U Mystical Hyperbole In a study of the hyperbolical terms used by the great mystics, it should be pointed out that they did not use these terms with the meaning given them by agnostics. For example, when the mystics say, as Dionysius does, that God in His Deity or His inner life is above being, unity, the true, the good, intelligence, and love, they do not mean that God is unknowable, but that His Deity or His in­ timate life contains in an eminent manner the divine perfections ac­ cording to an ineffable, superior mode, which permits these per­ fections to be mutually identified without destroying each other. The mystics mean that the Deity, which can be participated in only supernaturally by sanctifying grace, is superior to the abso­ lute perfections that it contains formally and eminently. These per­ fections, such as being, life, intelligence, can be shared in naturally and are, in fact, participated in by stones, plants, and the human soul. The Deity thus appears as the inaccessible light superior to every name. Likewise when the mystics speak hyperbolically of the nothing­ ness of the creature, they mean only that the creature of itself is nothing, and that, although it actually exists through the creative act, it is, in comparison with God, lower and poorer than words can express. All these excessively lengthy circumlocutions are summed up in the more expressive term: the nothingness of the creature. This legitimate hyperbole is already found in Scripture, as St. Thomas points out in reference to the expression of Isaias: “There­ fore is the wrath of God kindled against His people, and He hath stretched out His hand upon them and struck them: and the moun­ tains were troubled.” 14 In Scripture, says St. Thomas, hyperbole exceeds not the truth, but the judgment of men, in this sense that God is greater than one can believe, and the punishments that He announces to the wicked transcend what one can imagine. In pro­ fane writings, hyperbole is a rhetorical figure which augments ex­ cessively the measure of things in order to produce a more vivid impression on the mind of the reader: for example, to indicate a very tall man, the word giant is used. Thus human poetry uses hyperbole because of the smallness of human things which it wishes “ In Isaiam, in fine. 14 THREE AGES OF THE INTERIOR LIFE to magnify, whereas the divine poetry of the prophets, of the Psalm­ ist, and that of the great mystics makes use of metaphor and hyper­ bole because of the infinite elevation of divine things, which it could not otherwise express.1617 Hence there is neither error nor formal ex­ aggeration in scriptural hyperbole, nor in that of the great mys­ tics. The exaggeration is only material, for example, when one speaks of the nothingness of the creature, for thereby the author wishes to convey something that is very true, namely, that in com­ parison with God, the creature is more poor and deficient than can be expressed; and by contrast God is far more perfect than words can tell. Hyperbole of the same type is found in these words of Christ: “If thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. ... If thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off.” 18 It is not a ques­ tion here of mutilation; Christ uses a vivid expression to point out the gravity of the danger He is speaking of and the urgent necessity of defending oneself against it. Likewise St. Paul, in speaking of the advantages of Judaism, says: “I count all things to be but loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but as dung, that I may gain Christ.”1T Blessed Angela of Foligno is fond of mystical hyperbole and antithesis when she speaks of the great darkness and of the inner life of God, which is above the perfections of intelligence and love, which are identified in it without disappearing. She writes: “I see nothing and I see all; certitude is obtained in the darkness;” 18 that is, I see nothing determinate, but I see all the divine perfections united, fused in an ineffable manner in the eminence of the Deity. What she says in this mystical outburst, Cajetan says in abstract form in the loftiest parts of his commentary on St. Thomas’ Treatise on the Trinity.19 St. John of the Cross likes to use mystical hyperbole also in ex16 See la Ilae, q. 102, a. i ad 2um. 18 Matt. 5:29!. 17 Phil. 3:8. 18 Cf. Livre des visions et des instructions de la B“ Angele de Foligno, chap. 26. 18 Cf. Cajetan on la, q.39, a.i, no. 7: “The Deity is superior to all in its being and in all its attributes; it is, therefore, above being and above unity, etc.” All this part of the commentary should be read and meditated upon. LANGUAGE OF SPIRITUAL WRITERS 15 plaining his doctrine, for example, in The Ascent of Mount Carmel: “All things in heaven and earth are nothing in comparison with God. ‘I beheld the earth,’ saith He, ‘and lo, it was void and a thing of nothing, and the heavens, and there was no light in them’ (Jer. 4:23). The earth, ‘void and nothing,’ signifies that the earth and all it contains are nothing, and the heavens without light, that all the lights of heaven, in comparison with God, are perfect darkness. Thus all created things, with the affections bestowed upon them, are nothing, because they are a hindrance, and the privation of our transformation in God.” 20 To judge by the engraving which serves as a frontispiece to The Ascent of Mount Carmel, the author seems to demand excessive abnegation. On the narrow path of perfection, he wrote: “Noth­ ing, nothing, nothing, nothing”; but if he demands so much, it is because he wishes to lead souls to great heights by the most direct route. Above, he wrote: “Since I wish nothing through self-love, all is given to me, without my going in search of it.” He explains this statement in the following manner in The Ascent: “He has greater joy and comfort in creatures if he detaches himself from them; and he can have no joy in them if he considers them as his own. He acquires also in this detachment from creatures a clear comprehension of them, so as to understand perfectly the truths that relate to them, both naturally and supernaturally. For this reason his joy in them is widely different from his who is attached to them, and far nobler. The former rejoices in their truth, the latter in their deceptiveness; the former in their best, and the latter in their worst, conditions; the former in their substantial worth, and the latter in their seeming and accidental nature, through his senses only. For sense cannot grasp or comprehend more than the accidents, but the mind, purified from the clouds and species of the accidents, pene­ trates to the interior truth of things, for that is its proper object. . . . The negation and purgation of this joy leaves the judgment clear as the sky when the mists are scattered. The former, therefore, has joy in all things, but his joy is not dependent upon them, neither does it arise from their being his own; and the latter, in so far as he regards them as his own, loses in general all joy whatever.” 21 This is indeed what St. Paul says: “Having nothing, and possessing 10 The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Bk. I, chap. 4. ** Ibid., Bk. Ill, chap. 19. i