5 Interior Prayer: Contemplative Prayer (John 17: 1b-11a) God’s Part INTRODUCTION We are now going to take a look at God’s action in prayer and in spiritual life. God’s part in contemplative life is often overlooked. But, in this work of union that we form with God, He is the main agent. He initiates, because He is love and His love is infinite. If we look for Him, He looks for us much more. In this journey towards a mutual encounter, He does the greatest part of the path. Therese of the Child Jesus shows that she understood this when she said: I want to be a saint, but I understand my powerlessness and ask you, O my God! to be my sainthood. (Act of Oblation to Merciful Love) She is worried about promoting the action of God. It is the path of spiritual childhood, which is an assured path to sainthood, holiness. ACTION OF GOD - They are the children of God, those who let themselves be guided by the Holy Spirit (Rm. 8:14) - We don’t know what we ought to pray for, but the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. (Rm. 8:26) - Without me you can do nothing. (John 15:5) - For it is God working in you to give you the desire to do what pleases Him. (Phil. 2:13) - I planted it, Apollos watered it; but, it is God who made it grow. (1 Cor. 3:6) - It is by the grace of God that I am what I am. (1 Cor.15:10) At a certain time, God’s action on the faculties becomes dominant, and progressively God takes over managing the operations. Spiritual growth is especially marked by divine activity, loving activity, with, at least sometimes, an awareness of this on the part of the person. 1/ Change Our action will become collaborative, trying to enter into the will of God: it isn’t less strong, but stronger, because the soul must accept from the start to not take any further initiative. It is important to discern this change; becoming progressively more in line with the plan of God, our prayer, like our daily behavior, take on another value.

2/Moment of Change The transition happens when God wants it to, often when the gift of self happens in a significant way. It can happen in an instant after a long period of activity and waiting on our part: In an instant Jesus did what I hadn’t been able to do for 10 years, but nevertheless my will never weakened. (St. Therese of the Child Jesus) In other circumstances, He will do it in an almost brutal way, by a grace that God gives: a word, a vision, a strong impression, a grace of recollection. Most often this change happens in a life of prayer after a long personal effort of prayer, first by a one-time experience of God’s action, then a habitual Godly influence. 3/Discerning the Change It is difficult to discern ourselves this change, often misled by our surface impressions and not seeing the deep work. A spiritual director helps to make the transition. Signs help however to discern this period. St. John of the Cross laid them out for us quite clearly. The first signs are negative. The First Sign: The first sign is to see in ourselves that we can no longer meditate or talk (…) and there is no interest as before: to the contrary we now find aridity. (Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Bk. II, Ch. XIII)

This powerlessness comes from God communicating Himself directly. In prayer, we can no longer recollect ourselves and meditate as before. Through a personal effort of the will we could bring about meditation, recollect ourselves and calm ourselves down. Now, we can’t do it any longer. This difficulty occurs in our behavior as well: for example, a student who usually can work well finds that s/he is having trouble concentrating; in service, we no longer are able to do with pleasure and competence what we love. Does this mean that our intelligence is damaged? that our memory and will are deficient? God doesn’t damage our faculties, He purifies them. So, if our memory seems weaker, our intuition is however increasing. The Second Sign: The second is when he sees that he has no inclination to focus the imagination or the senses on anything else in particular, either exteriorly or interiorly. We remember God with solicitude and

5 Interior Prayer: Contemplative Prayer (John 17: 1b-11a) God’s Part distressing concern, thinking that we aren’t serving Him, but that we are only regressing, seeing ourselves without interest in the things of God. (Ascent of Mt. Carmel., Book 2, Ch. XIII; Dark Night, Book 1, Ch. IX)

The person sees himself as bad as he has ever seen himself. Before, he realized he did foolish things that he lacked virtue, but it didn’t bother him much. Now, it’s enough that he places himself before God to see himself completely black. He considers himself much more of a sinner than before. This is the most authentic sign of the action of God, that of showing us what we are. This is similar to Paul’s despair: Unfortunate man that I am! The good that I want to do, I don’t do it, and the evil that I hate I do it. Unfortunate man that I am; I feel a law in me, it is that of sin. (Rm. 7:14-25) This results in worry. It is here that we discover that we all have a few pathological tendencies. We have to have the courage to recognize it. It is when the tree grows that the imbalance becomes apparent. The third sign: The first two signs are negative ones, insufficient by themselves. The powerlessness of the faculties could come from negligence; the disgust could come from sadness (a bout of depression or a nervous breakdown), or from a letting go. It is thus necessary to find in conjunction with the first two negative signs, the third which is positive, and the most important: The third sign, and the most certain, is if the soul finds pleasure in being alone with a loving attention towards God, without a particular reason, in interior peace, quiet and rested, without action or exercise of the powers, but only that it remain with attention and a general, loving knowledge. (Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Book II, Ch. XIII)

4/ How to behave during this period? Both St. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross are convinced that this passage to the second phase happens for many people. Perhaps even for the majority who pray. And however, many, not aware of their state, return to the first period, to something that we seem to master better. We return and settle into a reasonable spirituality, safer, without risk.

a/ Impoverishment accepted In this period where the action of God will develop, are we going to act less? No, to the contrary, He is the Master, but it is not to let us go to sleep. This action of God which becomes predominant in our interior prayer, which brings about union, does it through suffering, through in the beginning through impoverishment. This passive purification forces us to detach. God becomes more and more demanding; He wants an asceticism (spiritual discipline of abstinence often to obtain a spiritual goal) of purity, of poverty, of detachment, an asceticism of the gift of self. This is to be lived in and outside of prayer. God works towards union with Him both in and outside of prayer. b/ Flexible response to the action of God It is about becoming a part of God’s plan which is our sanctification and the building up of the Church, of the Kingdom of God. It is important to enter into His thoughts which go beyond our thinking. We are weaving on the wrong side; we can’t see the right side. We accept that God has become the soul’s director, through this gradual invasion of His grace, of His power, of His love, and of His light. And, this action of God will continue to increase.

CONCLUSION Therefore, spiritual life and prayer life in particular, is the progressive action of God on a person, a progression of his poverty, of his obedience, of his flexibility under God’s action. God becomes the principle agent, as St. John of the Cross says, the only agent. However much our cooperation, and whatever the sacrifices God asks us to make, it is small in comparison to what He gives and to what He does, to all the graces He develops in us, to the insights He gives us, to the hold on us that He brings about. He does it progressively, or suddenly as with mystical graces; or else, He has a more dilute action, in our whole life, but which is not less efficient although it is spread out over multiple hours of prayer. All this work is done to lead us to the summit of the mountain of Love, who is the Christ Jesus Himself.