Paths to Contemplation - 37

Dangers in this stage of spiritual growth

Just as with the first stage of growth, there is the danger of stagnating at this stage as well.  The consolations may be so powerful and the prayer techniques so pleasing that one may be tempted to mistake the consolations and prayers themselves as the goals of spirituality.  The goal, of course, always must remain God, but we all like emotional highs and the warm feelings that may often accompany prayer in this stage.

Because the sense of God’s goodness and presence is stronger as well, someone may be misled into thinking that they have achieved a high degree of holiness, or, because of what they perceive to be special favors from God, may lapse into complacency or pride.  They may become self-satisfied and less willing to engage in the discipline that opening oneself to God’s transforming grace demands.  At the worst, they may think that the gifts they are receiving come from their own efforts and that they can manipulate God by engaging in specific prayer techniques to generate the spiritual highs that they come to treasure.

But the consolations will end.  They must if the soul is to continue to make spiritual progress, because the soul must not be allowed to substitute a gift from God for God himself.  Even a prayer technique that has been immensely valuable in drawing a soul to greater devotion and service to God and neighbor can at some point become an obstacle to further progress toward unconditional love of God.

And when spiritual “dryness” enters a person’s life, discouragement, even despair, may follow.  The soul may think that the God whom it considers a dear friend and close companion has abandoned it.  God is no longer found in the once familiar places, that is, the prayer techniques that have been so satisfying in the past.  The prayer techniques no longer generate emotional satisfaction; in fact, they seem to generate nothing at all.  What was once so easy is now impossible, or possible only with an expenditure of effort that is debilitating.  

Of course, dryness and seeming spiritual desolation can be caused by factors other than God’s leading the soul into a new and deeper relationship with him.  Mental or physical illness, lack of adequate sleep, stress, the loss of a loved one, can all bring about a lack of spiritual energy and an inability to pray in a way in which the soul feels satisfaction.  But God may also be calling to the soul into a more mature stage of prayer.