Q&A: Why doesn't God heal amputees? / Why doesn't God "show" Himself, once and for all?

The question stated, in condensed form:

I am generally a good Catholic, meaning that I pray the Rosary daily, go to mass on Sundays, and try to go to confession at least once a month. However, I have nagging doubts about my faith and have since I was six years old.... My faith has not been a source of comfort to me, but simply a practice.... My mindset is that it is generally better to believe and not be sorry....

My family is mostly lukewarm and I believe that one of my siblings does not even go to church anymore. There is nothing actively hostile in them, no rebellion, just the sense that it is there and it may be true, it may be not.... [My mother] says that we’re adults now and we can do what we want, but for her, religion helps keep her on track....

I always have more anxiety about if God does or does not exist. Deep down I do not know. In fact, I recently looked at a website called why doesn’t God heal amputees and I was not satisfied with any of the answers that religious people gave to this question. To me, they seemed evasive. One person said something like “Amputees feel no pain.” Another said, “God is so far above me I do not question him.” Another said something like “The spirit is more important than a missing foot.” These answers bothered me because they’re not answers at all, but statements that hover in ambiguity and doubt, and seem to hide pain and confusion. Yet, I see the atheistic attack as insensitive and missing the point because they will “go in for the kill”....

I don’t understand why God doesn’t heal amputees, and, as always, I am on the fence on the issue of religion.

Here, we offer a startling response from Dr. Richmond, one that Dr. Peter Kreeft, a noted Christian philosopher and speaker, speaks of in his commentary on Paschal's Pensées, looking at the same issue from a different "light," so to speak. Although the blog is not strictly for apologetics, the point relating to the spiritual life is made clear by both answers. Linked to, first, is Dr. Richmond's answer; secondly, embedded, a video of Dr. Kreeft on the issue of God "showing" Himself.

Why doesn't God heal amputees?

Peter Kreeft on the Existence of God, Pt. 2.

(Permission is granted from Dr. Richmond to link to his website.)

"Jesus, Our Father, Mary, Our Mother"

"My child... I will always be with thee and act as thy Father, and she shall be thy Mother," He said, pointing to Our Lady of Dolors. "Paternal help shall never be wanting to those who place themselves in My hands. Nothing therefore, shalt thou lack, even though I Myself have deprived thee of every consolation and help in this world." - Jesus to St. Gemma Galgani.

(Ven. Fr. Germanus, C.P., The Life of St. Gemma Galgani, p. 43; available from TAN Books; published with permission.)

[Please note, we are not here, and obviously neither is the Saint, declaring God the Father to be the same person as God the Son and vice versa.]

"External Circumstances to Dispose Oneself for Contemplation"

We considered these supernatural dispositions for infused contemplation at considerable length.... That teaching on the subject is classical, and it would be an unpardonable fault to neglect it. These dispositions, as we have seen, are chiefly: 1) great purity of heart, "Blessed are the clean of heart"; 2) great simplicity of mind which seeks only the truth; 3) profound humility; 4) habitual recollection; 5) perseverance in prayer; 6) fervent charity. This last disposition is the most important together with a profound humility. In the order of material preparation, humility is fundamental ... inasmuch as it removes the principal obstacle which is pride, intellectual pride so frequent in a certain type of learning, or spiritual pride (1).... Too much insistence cannot ... be placed on the supernatural dispositions to contemplation. And who can answer that he is unable to have this purity of heart, simplicity of mind, profound humility, spirit of prayer, and charity? We ought to beg God to give us these dispositions.

We have, moreover, considered the external conditions that favor contemplation and union with God. they are: a certain solitude, silence, sufficient time given to prayer, no overburdening, no useless reading, no preoccupations foreign to our vocation. To these external conditions must be added natural aptitude and also enlightened direction. If many of these exterior conditions are lacking, it is difficult to reach contemplation, which no longer has its normal environment. Profound humility and ardent charity, however, may supply this lack, especially if joined with great devotion to the Blessed Virgin and to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus (2). He who habitually begins his prayer with these two mediators, will be led by them to intimate union with God, since the object of the Blessed Virgin's influence is to lead us to her Son, and that of Christ to lead us to the Father.

When suitable external conditions are lacking, it may happen that generous souls will reach contemplation only after a period of time longer than the usual span of life; but they tend to it as to the normal prelude of the beatific vision....

Sanctifying grace is, in fact, a beginning of eternal life (inchoatio vitae aeternae, semen gloriae), it is of itself inamissable and should continually increase, especially through daily communion. But we hold this treasure in a fragile vessel and, because of the subject or of the defectibility of our free will, grace can be lost or may increase very little.... Whoever does not advance in the spiritual life, retrogresses.

Footnotes:

1. See IIa IIae, q. 161, a. 5: "Humility makes a man a good subject to ordinance of all kinds and in all matters." Ibid., ad 2um: "First, by way of removing obstacles: and thus humility holds the first place, inasmuch as it expels pride, which God resisteth, and makes man open to receive the influx of divine grace. Hence it is written (Jas. 4:6): God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. In this sense humility is said to be the foundation of the spiritual edifice."

2. Cf. [St.] Grignion de Montfort, [Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin], chap. 4, art. 5, and the summary of this treatise, [The Secret of Mary], made by [St.] Grignion. With a view to mental prayer, it is also well to meditate often on the office and mass of the Sacred Heart, and also on the office and mass of the Eucharistic Heart....

(Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., Christian Perfection and Contemplation, p. 416-418; available from TAN Books; published with permission.)

"Recognizing Grace in the Soul"

In Ia IIae, q. 112, a.5: "Without special revelation the presence of God in us and His absence cannot be known with certainty.... But things are known conjecturally by signs; and thus anyone may know that he has grace, when he is conscious of delight in God, and of despising worldly things, and inasmuch as a man is not conscious of any mortal sin. And thus it is written (Rev. 2:17): 'To him that overcometh I will give the hidden manna...which no man knoweth, but he that receiveth it,' because whoever receives it knows, by experiencing a certain sweetness, which he who does not receive it, does not experience." It is with this meaning, moreover, that this text of [Revelation] is generally quoted by mystics.

(Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., Christian Perfection and Contemplation, p. 306, footnote 115; available from TAN Books; published with permission.)

In IIIa, q. 68, a. 2: "God, Whose power is not tied to visible sacraments, sanctifies man inwardly. Hence Ambrose says of Valentinian, who died while yet a catechumen: "I lost him whom I was to regenerate: but he did not lose the grace he prayed for."

[See also Ia IIae, q. 112, a.5 for more about recognizing the presence of grace in the soul.]

"The Desire of Contemplation"

But with regard to the graces of the mystical union, whose nature and degrees we have described, may we desire and pray for them?

If a soul has already received a beginning of mystical union, it has always been admitted that she may desire further progress in these ways. God has given a true vocation and deposited a germ; to desire that this should be developed is to will what God wills. This is applicable even to those who are as yet in the passive purgation of the senses; they have only one foot in the ordinary kinds of prayer, the other is already planted in the mystical way; God is calling them, and wishes to lead them on to further heights....

We do not see why a soul, already arrived at the state of quiet, or at that of full union, might not desire an increase of light and of infused love, even though the alienation of the senses should be the result. Her intentions are pure, this hope animates her to practice virtue, and, after the favors already received, is in no way presumptuous, nor does she desire this to take place in public; in what, then, is she to be blamed?

If a person has not yet entered upon mystical contemplation, may he desire and ask it? ...

The common and almost universal opinion is, that they may desire and ask the gift of supernatural contemplation, provided that this desire does not arise from pride or sensuality, and that it is accompanied with an humble submission to the Divine Will.

These graces of prayer spring in fact from love; they have for principle the Holy Ghost and His better gifts; for object, God; for end, divine union, God tasted and possessed; they enrich the soul with many merits, urge it on to heroic virtues, dispose it to do great things for God and for one's neighbor, are a powerful lever to raise her from earth and to unite her to the sovereign good; they are even a foretaste of the occupations and the happiness of our heavenly home. How, then, is it possible not to desire them? ...

Aught not humility then prompt us to avoid them? No more than it should prompt us to avoid Holy Communion and all commerce with God by prayer. For, who would venture to believe himself worthy to converse with Infinite Majesty, or to be united intimately with the God of the Eucharist? The voice of our needs cries out more loudly than that of our respect. Let us adore, and let us also desire....

In contemplation, God shows us so much love! Should we dare to receive His caresses? We dare to receive Holy Communion. During prayer, too, as well as at the Holy Table, we adore, we humble ourselves, we make ourselves quite little; but, nevertheless, we love and eat because we need to do so.

One may misuse contemplation! One may also misuse the consolations of ordinary meditation.... All the gifts of God, without exception, may be abused and turned aside from their end. It is supremely unjust to condemn what is good on account of possible abuses. Let us guard against dangers and illusions, by humility, by abnegation and obedience to a wise director. Let us keep our intention right, our heart detached, our will submissive to Divine Providence, and then we may desire ardently, and ask with confidence these graces of prayer.

But there is a danger for humility. "On the contrary, no kind of prayer is better calculated to crucify self-love and to penetrate a man with the sense of his own nothingness, none other is more apt to exclude every movement of pride" (1).

"At present ... if any one aspires to some gift of prayer a little above the common way, he is clearly told ... that we must neither desire nor ask them; thus the door is closed for ever upon these gifts. This is a great abuse" (2).

This, too, is the opinion of St. Thomas. St. Teresa maintains the same in more than twenty passages of her writings (3). St. John of the Cross composed his work for the sole purpose of leading souls to the summit of mystical union. We must also mention St. Peter Damian, Richard of St. Victor, Louis of Blois, [St.] Albert the Great, Ruysbroeck, Lanspergius, St. Ignatius, Alvarez de Paz, the Ven. Louis da Ponte, etc., etc. (4).

Let us be satisfied with citing our own great St. Bernard. Everywhere he admits the lawfulness of this desire....

The more a soul advances the better she knows the greatness and sanctity of God and her own nothingness and misery. The graces of prayer appear to her in the highest degree precious and she has an ardent desire of them, while at the same time she feels that she does not deserve them. Sometimes this desire predominates, and she exclaims: "Oh that He would give me one kiss of His mouth"; at other times, humility prevails, and she says: "O Lord, I am not worthy." It is this alternating rhythm of desire and humility, which ravishes the heart of God (5).

The view of the responsibilities which so elevated a state entails, the humble fear of failing to correspond sufficiently with its graces, the danger of illusions, may all serve to lead the soul to moderate this desire by a complete abandonment of herself into the hands of God who knows what is best for us. This filial and loving abandonment does not exclude desire; but, fearing to be deceived in a matter so far above her own feeble lights, she leaves herself to the wisdom and goodness of Him, who possesses all her love and confidence. No other disposition seems to us so calculated to charm God and induce Him to bestow His gifts.

Footnotes:

1. Lejune, Theol. Myst., chap. 2, no. 11.

2. Fr. Louis Lallemant, Doc. spirit., 7th principle, chap. 1, art. 3, sec. 2.

3. Fr. Poulain, Graces of Prayer, chap. 35, no. 17, 18, 19.

4. Fr. Poulain, Graces of Prayer, chap. 25, 20 and ff.

5. Fr. Poulain, Graces of Prayer, chap. 25, no. 11.

(Rt. Rev. Dom Vitalis Lehodey, O.C.R., The Ways of Mental Prayer, p. 399-404; available from TAN Books; published with permission.)

"The Transforming Union"

The supreme goal of mystical union is the spiritual marriage of the soul with God, or transforming union, consummated union, deification. St. Teresa calls this the seventh mansion.

God has made captive the will, in the prayer of quiet, all the powers, in the state of full union, and the very body, in ecstasy; but now He is about to take hold of the substance of the soul and of its life; her whole being will now be taken hold of in a more perfect, permanent and definite way. God will no longer have any need to bind the faculties, for they now move at His good pleasure. The other unions were only transitory states, this one is stable (1). The union of all the powers was "the preparation for, and, as it were, the road to" spiritual marriage, and, so to speak, the preliminary interviews, before the espousals (2). These latter have been celebrated in a sublime rapture; numerous ecstasies have made known to the soul the riches of the infinite perfections, the boundless love of Him who wishes to become her Spouse; these divine favors elevate her mind, inflame her heart, adorn her as with so many jewels; the torments of love have completed her purification, and all is now ready for the celebration of the spiritual wedding.

This ceremony takes place in the very center of the soul (3), where the Holy Trinity dwells in a special manner, having there erected Its throne. Into this God introduces His betrothed, showing Himself to her, not indeed in the full light of the intuitive vision, but in a very clear and distinct intellectual vision. The sacred Humanity of Our Lord also manifests Itself to the soul, at first in a vision of the imagination, afterwards in an intellectual vision. Then it is that this most happy contract is signed by mutual consent. The form of the ceremony and of the secondary details may vary; the essential point is, that this contract establishes henceforth a permanent and indissoluble union of the soul with God.

The two spouses will dwell together in the inmost center of the soul. Already God dwelt there by His sanctifying grace without the soul's being conscious of it. Here, however, the soul constantly enjoys and intellectual view of the Holy Trinity who is her companion. This view was very clear at first, and will become so again whenever God so pleases; but, generally, it is more obscure, otherwise "the soul could not attend to anything else, nor even live amongst human beings." This view is almost uninterrupted, even in the midst of exterior occupations; even when engaged in the works of Martha, the soul enjoys the repose of Mary. Every time she thinks upon Him, she enjoys the company of her Divine Spouse; if she should cease to be attentive to Him, He Himself arouses her (4).

There is in this state something infinitely more precious than even this continual perception of the Divine presence. "This is the total transformation of the soul into her Well-Beloved, a transformation in which ... God raises the soul above herself, makes her divine, and renders her, so to speak, a participator in the Divine nature, as far at least as such a thing is possible in this world" (5). Sanctifying grace had already made her sharer in the Divine nature and the life of God in a way as real, but not accompanied by a consciousness of it. Here it is impossible for the soul to doubt that the Holy Trinity is within her, communicating to her divine life, and aiding her to perform divine acts. "She sees clearly, by certain secret but very vivid affections of love, that it is her God who is giving her life, that He is within her like a living fountain, watering her with graces, that it is He who shoots the arrows by which she is wounded, that He is the life of her life, and the sun that sheds its light from her inmost center upon all her powers" (6).

This perception of transformation in God is something very strange; its effects are not less so. The soul forgets, so to speak, her own interests, and thinks only of those of God.... She wishes only the pleasure of God. The impatient longing she previously had to die in order to be with her Well-Beloved, has given place to such a desire to serve Our Lord and procure His glory, that she would willingly consent to live for long years to come; yet she regards death rather as a "sweet rapture"....

St. Teresa affirms that "the soul arrived at this state hardly ever again experiences those impetuous raptures of which she had spoken; ecstasies and even flights of the spirit become very rare, and hardly ever happen to her in public.... The distinguishing feature of this mansion is that there hardly ever occur in it any aridities" ... a profound peace reigns therein.... [Sometimes] concupiscence awakens, and attacks them fiercely, but this trial occurs only at rare intervals ... to show these souls how much they stand in need of Him, to incline them to live in an humble watchfulness, in a continual fear of losing His favors. These souls, therefore, have their own trials, but they have also greater strength, and God protects them with jealous care (7)....

According to St. Teresa, she can commit only imperfections and "indeliberate" venial sins; "from mortal sins committed with advertence, she is exempt.... [However,] the soul is not assured of her salvation, nor of ever again falling away" (8).

Footnotes:

1. Castle, 7th mans., chap. 2.; St. Liguori, Praxis, 138.

2. Ibid., 5th mans., chap. 4.

3. Castle, 5th mans., chap. 1, 2.

4. Castle, 7th mans., chap. 2, 3.

5. St. John of the Cross, Spir. Cant., stanza 22.

6. Castle, 7th mans., chap. 2.

7. Castle, 7th mans., chap. 3, 4.

8. Castle, 7th mans., chap. 2, 4.

(Rt. Rev. Dom Vitalis Lehodey, O.C.R., The Ways of Mental Prayer, p. 361-365; available from TAN Books; published with permission.)

"Mystical Contemplation"

Mystical contemplation is a passive contemplation; or, if you prefer it, a manifestly supernatural, infused and passive contemplation, wherein God, who generally makes the soul feel His presence, becomes known in an ineffable manner, and is possessed by a loving union, which communicates to the soul repose and peace, and exerts an influence upon the senses.

It is a contemplation, a prayer of simple look which proceeds from love and rests in love. So long as the soul has not reached this simple, amorous, and peaceful attention, she is still engaged in the noisy and complicated labor of meditation, or in the more simplified work of affective prayer....

In every kind of prayer there must be both God and man, grace and co-operation with grace. In acquired contemplation, the action of God remains hidden, we know it by faith and prove it by reason; in mystical prayer it is manifest, we feel it, it is a fact of our experience. St. Teresa never loses an opportunity (1) of reminding us that mystical contemplation is supernatural, entirely supernatural, manifestly supernatural; she asserts that this is so even from the prayer of quiet.

Now, "she calls supernatural, whatever we cannot acquire of ourselves, no matter what care and diligence we employ. In this respect, all we can do is to dispose ourselves for it, and a great point, too, is this disposing of ourselves for it" (2). Speaking elsewhere of the prayer of quiet, the Saint says: "Just as we cannot make the day dawn nor prevent the night from succeeding to it, so we cannot either procure for ourselves so great a good, nor retain it a single instant beyond the time fixed by the will of Our Lord. It is a favor entirely supernatural, we ourselves have no part in it, our own efforts cannot attain to it" (3). Alas! We can only too easily banish God by our infidelities, or oppose His action by doing things incompatible with prayer. "The impurity and the imperfections of the soul are the only obstacles to this grace, just as the spots of dirt upon a window-pane are obstacles to the light" (4). We can, on the other hand, remove the obstacles and positively dispose ourselves for this grace, as we have shown. Notwithstanding all this, God remains master of His gifts: "He distributes all His favors, when He pleases, in what manner He pleases, and to whom He pleases" (5). Here is the reason why all authors, with St. Teresa (6), so strongly recommend us not to seek to thrust ourselves into supernatural contemplation. This would be to deprive ourselves of meditation without reaching contemplation; a culpable presumption, a foolish attempt, a labor absolutely thrown away. By disposing herself, indeed, the soul reaches the door, but God alone can open it.

Since mystical prayer is supernatural, it is consequently infused on God's part, passive on the part of the soul (7). These expressions recur unceasingly in the writings of St. John of the Cross. Now, God shows Himself to the soul whenever it seems good to Him: at prayer, at spiritual reading, at manual work, during conversation, or sometimes in the midst of the most ordinary thoughts and occupations. Sometimes the soul expects a visit, but God does not come; at other times He shows Himself "at the moment when He is least expected and when the soul is very far from aspiring to any such favor" (8).... God gives Himself to the soul in whatever manner He Himself wills: the contemplation will be consoling or dry, according as He judges it well to inflame the soul or to purify it. However well prepared a soul may be, the divine favors remain favors, and never become a right or the salary of our efforts. God gives such form and such intensity to her prayer as He wills; sometimes He inebriates her with light and love; at others, He only half satisfies her hunger, or hardly throws her some few crumbs; and it is not in our power to render this infusion more copious.... Finally, He withdraws Himself when He wills, and none can keep Him when He wills it not....

However, if the soul is faithful, and if such is the good pleasure of God, the level of the prayers, taken all together, should ascend to a higher point, and the virtues should ever be on the increase....

During the whole time that God is pouring into her His lights and His love, the soul should be attentive to gather in what God deigns to give her. If she tries to meditate as formerly, to multiply distinct acts, "other than those which God inclines her to," to seek spiritual relish and fervor by the old methods, in a word, to act by herself instead of lovingly yielding herself up to receive, she thereby hinders God's action.... "This is," in the words of St. Teresa, "to throw water on the fire" (9)....

For the very reason that contemplation is infused on God's part, and passive on the part of the soul, it demands less labor, in proportion as it is more elevated; in complete union, the labor is reduced to almost anything....

In short, "it is very seldom" (10) that contemplation is completely passive. The co-operation of the will is necessary....

Footnotes:

1. Way, chap. 26, 32, etc.; Life, chap. 12, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 29, etc.; Castle, 4th mans., chap. 1, 2, 3; 5th mans., chap. 1, etc.

2. Il. Rd to Fr. Rodr. Alvarez. [?; the footnote, faded here, is difficult to read]; Ascent, bk. 3, chap. 1.

3. Way, chap. 32.

4. Ascent, bk. 2, chap. 16.

5. Castle, 4th mans., chap. 1.

6. Life, chap. 12.

7. The expressions "supernatural" and "infused" are here synonymous, we use them both only because they serve to mutually explain each other.

8. Ascent, bk. 2, chap. 26, 32.

9. Life, chap. 15.; Way, chap. 32.

10. Life, chap. 27.

(Rt. Rev. Dom Vitalis Lehodey, O.C.R., The Ways of Mental Prayer, p. 287-293; available from TAN Books; published with permission.)

"Particular Obstacles to Contemplation"

Souls that have not received the contemplation may question whether they themselves are setting up some obstacle to contemplation.

The obstacle always comes from an inordinate attachment, from selfishness. In many souls it is in the will; they choose their own way; in other words, they wish to go to God by using means of their own selection, and they demand, as it were, that God should come to them according to their way. They count not a little on their own activity instead of allowing God to act in them, and they desire to build up their perfection without His help. No slight obstacle is interposed when a soul wishes to direct itself in matters that should not be under its direction; it runs the risk of more or less consciously opposing the superior direction of the Holy Ghost. To want to be a center, to wish that good be done by us, or at least by our religious family or convent, and in our way, is an ineffectual preparation for contemplation, which is characterized precisely by being God's way. "I confess to Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones." Occasionally, it is in the poorest little convents, which seem to have no influence, that the most contemplative and holiest souls are to be found.

In other souls, the obstacle to contemplation is found in the mind. They try to analyze everything psychologically, and to record it in order to evaluate their slight progress. Consequently they turn their gaze upon themselves instead of on God. True, self-knowledge is always necessary even in the highest states (1), but this self-scrutiny should not be separated from the soul's attention to God. Is not the best examination of conscience that which questions sincerely what record of the day has left in the Book of Life? If this is done, the light of the Holy Ghost will effect what St. Augustine asked in his prayer: "That I may know Thee, O Lord, and that I may know myself." "In my opinion," says St. Teresa, "we will never succeed in knowing ourselves well unless we try to know God; by contemplating His greatness, we will discover our baseness.... If, on the contrary, we never rise above our own miseries, we will reap distinct harm.... Self-knowledge becomes warped if we never take our thoughts off ourselves, and I am not a bit astonished at that. That is why I maintain, my daughters, that we should fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, our treasure, and on the saints; there we shall learn true humility. By this way, I repeat, our intellect will be ennobled, and self-knowledge will cease to make us fearful and cowardly" (2).

Among those who analyze themselves too much, some leave off their prayer to find out whether it conforms to the descriptions given by mystical authors, and also to ascertain what degrees they have reached. Others imagine that, in order to live by these things, it is sufficient to know them exteriorly, and they try of themselves "to eliminate images and to empty their minds." By so doing they expose themselves to every kind of illusion; they confound a simple intellectual speculation about the Deity, which is superior to the divine perfections that it contains in its eminence, a speculation within the reach of every philosopher, even though he is in the state of mortal sin, with the infused contemplation described by Dionysius when he speaks of the great darkness (3). They forget that the principle which leads to Christian contemplation is to love God for Himself. They lose themselves in abstract speculations and do not comprehend the love of Christ. With a great amount of unconscious pride, they might thus go completely astray and end in a theosophical or [Buddhist] contemplation.

Lastly, certain souls appear better prepared in some respects, since they would willingly allow God to operate in them, and do not pride themselves on knowing everything; but their heart seeks in God enjoyment rather than God Himself. In this they are deceived, for it is a crucified God whom we must love, and intimacy with Him is often found in suffering. Undoubtedly joy and unequaled happiness come later, but this is not what the soul should seek.

Some souls that have opposed all these obstacles to the grace of God have had the happiness of seeing Him overthrow them all in order to prove once more that He came to seek sinners and to save that which was lost. Perhaps the intimacy of prayer was necessary for their salvation; if they had not obtained it, they might have wished to enjoy their faculties for themselves and to find in a forbidden love or in the satisfactions of pride what exists in divine love alone. Priceless treasures are often wasted by shutting oneself up in self. We should invoke God's help in the following prayer: "O Lord, take me from myself, and give me strength to give myself completely to Thee."

Footnotes:

1. St. Teresa, The Interior Castle, first mansion, chap. 2: "This knowledge of self is so necessary, even to souls admitted by God to His own dwelling, that they should never depart from it no matter how high they may be raised. Moreover, even though they should wish to do so, they could not do it."

2. Ibid.

3. This error fails to take cognizance of the fact that infused knowledge is infused, that it presupposes a special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and that it proceeds, not from the love of the joys of knowledge, but from love of God.

(Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., Christian Perfection and Contemplation, p. 395-398; available from TAN Books; published with permission.)

"Preparation and Thanksgiving for Holy Communion"

283. B) Dispositions to profit well by the reception of the Eucharist. ... Whatever in our preparation and thanksgiving fosters union will increase the effects of Holy Communion. a) The preparation will have the form of an anticipated union with Our Lord. We take for granted the union of the soul with God by sanctifying grace as already existing; without it, Communion would constitute a sacrilege (1).

1) There is first the more perfect accomplishment of all our duties of state in union with Jesus and in order to please Him.... "For I do always the things that please Him" (2).

2) The second disposition should be a sincere humility, based, on the one hand, on the exalted sanctity of Jesus Christ and, on the other, upon our lowliness and our unworthiness: "Lord, I am not worthy..." This humility creates, so to speak, a void within the soul, emptying it of its egotism, its pride, its presumption. Now, the more we empty ourselves of self, the more ready we make the soul to let itself be inhabited and possessed by God.

3) To this humility we must add an ardent desire to be united to God in the Eucharist.... Such a desire will, by dilating the soul, throw it wide open to Him Who in turn desires to give Himself to us [and fill that void in us]: "With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you" (3).

284. b) The best thanksgiving will be to prolong our union with Jesus.

1) It should begin by an act of silent adoration (4), of self-abasement and complete surrender of ourselves to Him Who being God, gives Himself all to us: "O Hidden God, devoutly I adore Thee..." (5). In union with Mary, the most perfect adorer of Jesus Christ, we shall abase ourselves before the majesty of the Godhead to bless it, praise it, thank it, first, in the Word-made-Flesh, and then with Him and through Him, in the Most Blessed Trinity. "My soul doth magnify the Lord... He Who is mighty hath done great things unto me, and holy is His name" (6). Nothing so enables Jesus to take complete possession of the soul, to penetrate its very depths, as this act of self-abasement. This is the manner in which we poor creatures can give ourselves to Him Who is All. We shall give Him whatever good is in us since all this good proceeds from Him and has never ceased to be His. We shall further offer Him our miseries that He may consume them with the fire of His love and place in their stead His perfect dispositions. What a wondrous exchange!

285. 2) Then take place sweet colloquies between the soul and the Divine Guest: "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth... Give me understanding that I may know thy testimonies... Incline my heart unto the words of thy mouth...." Listen attentively to Our Master and Our Friend, to speak to Him with reverence, with candor, with love. This is the moment in which Jesus instills into us His dispositions and His virtues. We may lay our soul open to the divine communications and not only receive them, but also relish them and assimilate them.... It will be good to vary ... the subject of our colloquies [from time to time.]

286. 3) One must not fail to thank God for the lights and the loving sentiments He has vouchsafed to us, to thank Him, too, for the very darkness and weariness of soul in which He has at times allowed us to remain. Even these are profitable to us unto humility, unto the acknowledgment of our unworthiness to receive divine favors; profitable, because they enable us to adhere more frequently by will to Him Who even in the midst of our aridity, pours into us in a hidden and mysterious manner His life and His virtues.... We beg Him to accept and transform the little good within us: "Take, Lord, and accept my liberty" (7).

287. 4) We promise to make the sacrifices required to reform and transform our lives, especially in this or that particular point, and conscious of our weakness we beg earnestly for the courage of carrying this promise into effect. This point is of capital importance: each Communion should be received with this end in view, to advance in the practice of some particular virtue.

288. 5) This is likewise the moment to pray for all who are dear to us, for the vast interests of the Church, for the intentions of the Sovereign Pontiff, for bishops and priests. Let us have no fear of making our prayer too universal: this rather gives assurance that we shall be heard.

Finally, we conclude by asking Our Lord to vouchsafe us the grace of abiding in Him as He does in us, the grace of performing all our actions in union with Him, in a spirit of thanksgiving. We entrust to the Blessed Virgin that same Jesus she guarded so well, in order that she may aid us in making Him grow in our hearts. Thus strengthened by prayer we pass on to action.

Footnotes:

1. Hence, were one conscious of mortal sin, it would be imperative, first of all, to confess it with contrition and humility of heart, not being content with an act of contrition no matter how perfect. [A. Tanquerey, here, is speaking of confessing the mortal sin in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, hence he adds, "not being content with an act of contrition no matter how perfect."]

2. John 8:29.

3. Luke 22:15.

4. Many, forgetting this first act, begin at once to ask for favors without considering the fact that our requests will be all the better received, if first of all, we render our homage to Him who honors us with His presence.

5. Hymn of ST. THOMAS.

6. Luke 1:46 and following.

7. Prayer of S. Ignatius in the Contemplation on the love of God.

(Very Rev. Adolphe Tanquerey, S.S., D.D., The Spiritual Life, p. 147-150; available from TAN Books; published with permission.)