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Question

Dear Father Angelo,

while reading St. John of the Cross’ “Ascent of Mount Carmel,” I started having some doubts about how to implement the mortification of the appetites and detachment from creatures.

1. The Saint writes that all voluntary appetites are to be mortified. Does he mean by this that we ought to mortify all appetites that lead to sins and imperfections, or that we should mortify all appetites, even the “good” ones?

2. If “good” appetites are to be mortified as well, and if by voluntary appetites we mean those desires of the body in which the will participates, does this mean that all such petty things, as keeping a more comfortable body posture, choosing one food tastier than another, etc., are also to be mortified? It seems to me evidently impossible to mortify all these small comforts at all times, assuming of course that there should be no disordered attachment, even to good appetites, and that mortification of some of these is nevertheless meritorious for its penitential value.

With all this I mean to attribute to “imperfection” the classical meaning of something that is orderly but not a perfect action. I cannot understand then if the Saint uses this term differently, to refer generically to the satisfaction of any appetite of the senses.

I thank you for everything and wish you a good evening

Matthew

Priest’s answer

Dear Matthew, 

1. St. John of the Cross, when speaking of purification, means to speak not only of disordered inclinations but also of those that can be considered good in themselves.

However, there is a danger of misrepresenting not only the thought of St. John of the Cross but also the evangelical, Christian thought.

2. St. John of the Cross is aware of this risk. That is why in number eight of the Prologue he writes: “let not the reader marvel if it seem to him somewhat dark also. This, I believe, will be so at the beginning when he begins to read; but, as he passes on, he will find himself understanding the first part better, since one part will explain another. And then, if he read it a second time, I believe it will seem clearer to him and the instruction will appear sounder.”

3. I personally find the key to understanding St. John of the Cross’ thought in what he writes in point three of the first chapter, “And this first night pertains to beginners, occurring at the time when God begins to bring them into the state of contemplation“

4. Even though we are talking about active purifications, that therefore start from a man’s initiative, we shouldn’t forget that God is the great director who is introducing a person into the state of contemplation.

What does “contemplation” mean?

St. Thomas describes contemplation starting from a verse in Psalm 36:9: “They feast on the rich food of your house; from your delightful stream you give them drink“.

During contemplation, the person feels satiated by the presence of the Lord and feels a sense of abundance, joy and peace that somehow overflows from the soul and redounds beneficially to the body.

Not only that, but one is as if overwhelmed by a stream of delight. The stream recalls fast-flowing water, rushing from one stone to another. Thus in contemplation the person feels the soul is being invaded by continuous streams of love coming from the Lord. They are authentic dips to the heart that are repeated without ceasing and sometimes make us hold our breath.

This is because in contemplation “the love of the Holy Spirit bursts into the soul like a rushing torrent, because His will is so effective that no one can resist him; a torrent is not held back. Spiritual men are intoxicated with delights because they keep their mouths clinging to the spring of life” (Commentary on Psalm 36:9).

5. St. Thomas adds that the pure joy that is experienced during contemplation “surpasses any human joy” (Ib.) and is “a certain beginning of the happiness of heaven, of beatitude” (“inchoatio quaedam beatitudinis”) (Summa Theologica, II-II, 180, 7).

This enjoyment makes the mind “long to see the face of its Creator.” (Ib., II-II, 180, 4).

6. When a person begins to taste all of this, he understands that the hardships, which initially and at first glance seem only deprivations, are actually nothing more than the condition for being able to maintain the state of union and inner bliss. The person will begin to feel moments of contemplation as a requirement of the soul.

This is why St. John of the Cross says to not stop at the first statements, but to read everything up to the point where the transforming union is mentioned. Only then will one understand everything.

When one has read all the text in its entirety, and especially when the person has lived it out, then rereading his statements all over again will no longer amaze. One will perfectly understand the context in which it is written.

7. Therefore, my advice to you is this: try to put yourself in constant union with God through living a life in the state of grace. Especially, try to experience yourself that contemplation state so well described by the Catechism of the Catholic Church: contemplation “It is a gaze of faith fixed on Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent love. It achieves real union with the prayer of Christ to the extent that it makes us share in his mystery.” (CCC 2724).

Live out each of these points and you will be filled with that sweetness of heaven of which St. Thomas speaks.

8. You can very well do this while praying the Holy Rosary, which is certainly a very beautiful “gaze of faith fixed on Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent love. It achieves real union with the prayer of Christ to the extent that it makes us share in his mystery.”

Everything else will come with it. Hardships will not be felt as deprivations, but as a need of the soul to preserve its immersion with that heavenly happiness which immensely surpasses all enjoyment, however good and lawful, connected with the activity of the senses.

I thank you for the question.

I am convinced that the Lord, because of the aspirations He has placed within you who are only 18 years old, wants to take you very high.

I wish you that with all my heart.

For this I will keep you in my prayers and I bless you,

Father Angelo