The following passage, taken from the Lenten readings in Divine Intimacy, really touches me deeply, as it describes certain virtues which I quite keenly lack...
1. In
order to enter the fullness of the hidden life, it is not enough to hide
oneself from the attention of others; we must also hide from ourselves, that
is, forget ourselves, avoiding all excessive concern about ourselves. We can be
preoccupied with self not only from a material point of view, but also from a
spiritual point of view. To be overly concerned about one's spiritual progress,
about the consolations which God gives or does not give, about the state of
aridity in which one may be -- all this is often the sign of a subtle spiritual
egoism, a sign that the soul is more occupied with itself than with God. We
must learn to forget ourselves, to hide from ourselves, by refusing to examine
too minutely what is happening within our soul, and by not attaching too much
importance to it, renouncing even the satisfaction of wanting to know the exact
condition of our own spiritual life. It is well to understand that God often
permits painful, obscure states just because He wants the soul to live hidden
from itself. This was the aim of St Teresa Margaret's programme of
self-effacement; she intended not only "to live, as it were, hidden and
unnoticed" among her sisters, but "to be, in a certain manner, hidden
and unknown to herself, to die to herself without knowing it and without
feeling any pleasure in this mystical spiritual death, burying in Christ, in a
very subtle way, every thought and personal reflection, even in the spiritual
and eternal order." This is what complete forgetfulness of self explicitly
proposes to one who renounces even the spiritual satisfaction of recognizing
his own immolation. But in order to avoid turning one's thoughts inward, the
soul must focus its aspirations elsewhere; hence the negative exercise of not
thinking of itself must accompany the positive exercise of fixing its centre in
Christ, of "burying in Christ" every thought, every preoccupation
with self, even in the spiritual order. No one can succeed in turning away from
himself unless he concentrates all his attention on the object of his love. St
Teresa Margaret completely forgot herself; her thoughts were absorbed "in
Christ", her one Well-Beloved.
2. A
soul entirely oblivious of self is also completely disinterested. It no longer
serves God in a mercenary spirit, with more regard for the reward which it may
receive than for His glory, but it is "at His service", according to
St Teresa's beautiful expression, "gratuitously, as great lords serve
their king" (L). This should be the attitude of an interior soul called by
God to a life of intimacy with Him. Such a one should act not as a hireling,
but as a daughter or a spouse. Here we have one of the most beautiful fruits of
the hidden life. St John of the Cross teaches that "more pleasing to God
is one good work, however small it be, that is done in secret with no desire
that it be known, than a thousand that are done with the desire that they be
known to men. For he that with purest love does such works for God's sake, not
only cares nothing to have men see him, but does them not even that God Himself
may see him. Such a man, even though God were never to know it, would not cease
to render Him the same services, with the same joy and purity of love"
(SMI, 20).
This
total purity of intention makes the soul act for God alone and never for
personal interest, even of a spiritual nature. God will certainly reward our
good works, but concern about this is wholly abandoned to Him as long as the
soul is intent only on giving Him pleasure. The hidden life thus finds its culminating
point in a complete disinterestedness, not only concerning human rewards and
praises, but also in regard to spiritual consolations; our soul seeks God alone
and God alone is sufficient for us. Even if, apparently unaware of our love and
our services, He leaves us in aridity and abandonment, we do not worry nor stop
on this account, since the one motive which actuates us is to please God alone.
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