Contemplative Haven: The Humanity of Jesus (A Snippet from the 6th) 
The Humanity of Jesus (A Snippet from the 6th)
The growing love and deepening union which occurs in the Sixth Mansions does not preclude the soul from fearing and weeping over its sins. This, says St. Teresa, is because the more a soul receives from the Lord, the more it realizes its sin, and sorrows over it.
The soul experiences perfect contrition, no longer thinking, “of the pain which it is bound to suffer on account of its sins, but only of how ungrateful it has been to Him Whom it owes so much, and Who so greatly merits our service.” There is no fear of hell, only the fear that if God does not hold it up, it may fall into sin again.
The soul has received, “a much deeper knowledge of the greatness of God” and grieves now, over its past sins in particular: its boldness in doing its own will, its lack of reverence, its foolish mistakes which seem to grow in the remembrance of them, and its forsaking of the Lord. “A heavy cross”, St. Teresa tells us.
The depth of infused contemplation, the manifestations of His greatness and the ‘sublime’ favours received by the soul do not preclude meditation on “the most sacred Humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ” either, St. Teresa informs us. She remains adamant about this, despite having been contradicted by those who insist that at this stage, “we shall do better to occupy ourselves with matters concerning the Godhead and to flee from corporeal things”. St. Teresa’s stance is based on her belief that while we are in the body, we cannot, “remain permanently enkindled in love”, as are angelic spirits, and so must, in order to bring ourselves profit and encouragement, continue to meditate and reflect on the Humanity of Christ, His Passion, the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the angels and saints.
St. Teresa admits, however, that there are souls on whom the Lord has bestowed ‘perfect contemplation’, and although they cannot remain in this state of perfect contemplation perpetually while in the body, they find that they, “can no longer meditate upon the mysteries of the Passion and the life of Christ, as they could before.” If, when they begin to meditate on these things, they are almost immediately swept up into perfect contemplation, this is understandable, she says, for by meditation she means, “prolonged reasoning with the understanding”, and many people who have been raised to perfect contemplation are not able to practise this type of meditation any longer. However, St. Teresa tells us, they can certainly still, “dwell upon these mysteries…especially when they are being celebrated by the Catholic Church”.
For all others, St. Teresa insists that meditation on the Humanity of Christ, His Passion, the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the angels and saints is no hindrance to the soul but brings it great benefit. She fears that if a soul abandons this type of meditation, “the devil might end by causing us to lose our devotion to the Most Holy Sacrament.” St. Teresa advises us to avoid the mistake she herself once made, of “going about in [a] state of absorption, expecting to receive spiritual consolation”, for as she learned:
“…life is long and there are many trials in it and we have need to look at Christ our Pattern, and also at His Apostles and Saints, and to reflect how they bore these trials, so that we, too, may bear them perfectly. The good Jesus is too good company for us to forsake Him and His most sacred Mother. He is very glad when we grieve for His afflictions although sometimes we may be forsaking our own pleasures and consolations in order to do so – though for that matter, daughters, consolations in prayer are not so frequent that there is not time for everything.”
The soul experiences perfect contrition, no longer thinking, “of the pain which it is bound to suffer on account of its sins, but only of how ungrateful it has been to Him Whom it owes so much, and Who so greatly merits our service.” There is no fear of hell, only the fear that if God does not hold it up, it may fall into sin again.
The soul has received, “a much deeper knowledge of the greatness of God” and grieves now, over its past sins in particular: its boldness in doing its own will, its lack of reverence, its foolish mistakes which seem to grow in the remembrance of them, and its forsaking of the Lord. “A heavy cross”, St. Teresa tells us.
The depth of infused contemplation, the manifestations of His greatness and the ‘sublime’ favours received by the soul do not preclude meditation on “the most sacred Humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ” either, St. Teresa informs us. She remains adamant about this, despite having been contradicted by those who insist that at this stage, “we shall do better to occupy ourselves with matters concerning the Godhead and to flee from corporeal things”. St. Teresa’s stance is based on her belief that while we are in the body, we cannot, “remain permanently enkindled in love”, as are angelic spirits, and so must, in order to bring ourselves profit and encouragement, continue to meditate and reflect on the Humanity of Christ, His Passion, the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the angels and saints.
St. Teresa admits, however, that there are souls on whom the Lord has bestowed ‘perfect contemplation’, and although they cannot remain in this state of perfect contemplation perpetually while in the body, they find that they, “can no longer meditate upon the mysteries of the Passion and the life of Christ, as they could before.” If, when they begin to meditate on these things, they are almost immediately swept up into perfect contemplation, this is understandable, she says, for by meditation she means, “prolonged reasoning with the understanding”, and many people who have been raised to perfect contemplation are not able to practise this type of meditation any longer. However, St. Teresa tells us, they can certainly still, “dwell upon these mysteries…especially when they are being celebrated by the Catholic Church”.
For all others, St. Teresa insists that meditation on the Humanity of Christ, His Passion, the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the angels and saints is no hindrance to the soul but brings it great benefit. She fears that if a soul abandons this type of meditation, “the devil might end by causing us to lose our devotion to the Most Holy Sacrament.” St. Teresa advises us to avoid the mistake she herself once made, of “going about in [a] state of absorption, expecting to receive spiritual consolation”, for as she learned:
“…life is long and there are many trials in it and we have need to look at Christ our Pattern, and also at His Apostles and Saints, and to reflect how they bore these trials, so that we, too, may bear them perfectly. The good Jesus is too good company for us to forsake Him and His most sacred Mother. He is very glad when we grieve for His afflictions although sometimes we may be forsaking our own pleasures and consolations in order to do so – though for that matter, daughters, consolations in prayer are not so frequent that there is not time for everything.”
posted by Gabrielle at 11:21 AM
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