The angels were created in a state of grace. The good angels who cooperated with grace never sinned or lost God’s grace and were immediately rewarded with the Beatific Vision upon choosing God’s will. The same, however, cannot be said about humanity. This chapter will explore the ways that God invites human beings to choose His divine will, not by a singular choice at the moment of our creation, but by choices made throughout life that cooperate with God’s will and more fully conform us to His image. The theological disciplines for this journey are referred to as spiritual and mystical theology.
Spiritual theology, generally speaking, refers to theological writings that pertain to growth in the spiritual life. This would include practical devotions, reflections, prayers, or meditations that increase the depth of one’s prayer life; teach us how to pray; describe the various stages of the spiritual journey; and encompass everything else having to do with a life of prayer and union with God. It’s a broad field encompassing subcategories.
Mystical theology is one of those subcategories in which the primary focus is the higher realm of spiritual conversion. Mystical theology is more descriptive of what a person experiences as he draws close to God and begins to undergo a profound transformation. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to offer specific methods, devotions, or prayers for the higher heights of the spiritual journey, since God Himself leads those who attain those heights through the prayer of infused contemplation on continually ascending levels.
The goal of this chapter is to offer a general overview of the entire spiritual journey a human soul goes through from initial conversion, when the soul turns from mortal sin, all the way to the highest union with God—Mystical Marriage or Divine Union, resulting in Seraphic Glory. Below is a historical overview of the development of the three traditional stages of spiritual growth—the Purgative, Illuminative, and Unitive Ways.
Historical Development of Mystical Theology
Philosophy is a natural discipline, not a supernatural one. Philosophy relies upon natural human reason alone to probe into truth. It’s limited to that which our natural minds can fathom without divine revelation. Though limited, a good philosophical system provides language and concepts as a foundation for theological speculation, exploration, and explanation. This is done by adding divinely revealed truths to the philosophical foundation and deducing logical theological conclusions. This is why, in higher education, a degree in philosophy is a prerequisite for theological studies.
Saint Thomas Aquinas primarily used the philosophical concepts and language found in the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle as a foundation for his theological writing. He was one of the first to do so, following the example of his teacher, Saint Albert the Great. Prior to the use of Aristotelian philosophy as a foundation for theological exploration, theologians commonly relied on the philosophical concepts found in Plato’s writings.
Regarding human knowledge, Plato distinguished between the world of the senses and the world of ideas, or “forms.” The world of the forms, or ideas, was the highest type of knowledge and offered a path to those who engaged in philosophical contemplation to live a qualitatively higher life because they had a qualitatively higher kind of knowledge.
A first-century Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher, Philo of Alexandria, was a pioneer in using Plato’s philosophy in conjunction with the Old Testament. By doing so, Philo began with a historical event in the Old Testament (world of the senses), and abstracted from it, in a contemplative way, allegorical interpretations (the world of the forms or ideas), arriving at deeper spiritual truths. His method became the standard way by which many of the early Church Fathers read and interpreted the New Testament, referred to as an allegorical or spiritual sense of Scripture.
Using this approach, third-century Christian writers, such as Saint Clement of Alexandria and Origen, made a distinction between the active life and the contemplative life. The active life (life of the senses) was one that sought to practice moral virtues and the perfection of the soul. The contemplative life (life of the forms) was a life centered on the contemplation of God. Hence, early on, a two-step division in the Christian life was understood. Christians begin with active moral perfection but then enter into contemplative spiritual perfection. Later great thinkers, such as Saint Augustine of Hippo, used this twofold distinction.
In the fourth century, a desert monk named Evagrius Ponticus expanded the twofold mystical theology of the active and contemplative life, dividing it into three: practical life, natural contemplative life, and theological life. The practical life is the process of focusing on moral behavior and purification of one’s actions. The natural contemplative life is characterized by pondering God in nature and the created world, such as the human soul. The theological life is characterized by a deep knowledge and union with God. This threefold division of the spiritual journey to perfection became foundational for later thinkers.
One of the earliest writers to use this threefold process was the earlier mentioned Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. Dionysius was Trinitarian in his writings, which is reflected in his use of three triads of angels with three choirs in each triad, making up the Celestial Hierarchy. It is also seen in his description of the process of conversion, which was one of being purified, illuminated, and perfected. His writings had a great impact on later writers, including Saints Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, and John of the Cross.
Though his language is a bit challenging to decipher without understanding his philosophical concepts, here is how he introduces these three successive and hierarchical movements of the soul. He is quoted at length because of the importance and foundational impact this work has had on later mystical theology. The following quotes are from Chapter III of The Celestial Hierarchy:
For the holy constitution of the Hierarchy ordains that some are purified, others purify; some are enlightened, others enlighten; some are perfected, others make perfect; for in this way the divine imitation will fit each one.
Inasmuch as the Divine Bliss (to speak in human terms) is exempt from all dissimilarity, and is full of Eternal Light, perfect, in need of no perfection, purifying, illuminating, perfecting being rather Himself the holy Purification, Illumination and Perfection, above purification, above light. supremely perfect, Himself the origin of perfection and the cause of every Hierarchy, He transcends in excellence all holiness.
I hold, therefore, that those who are being purified ought to be wholly perfected and free from all taint of unlikeness; those who are illuminated should be filled full with Divine Light, ascending, to the contemplative state and power with the most pure eyes of the mind; those who are being initiated, holding themselves apart from all imperfection, should become participators in the Divine Wisdom which they have contemplated.
Further…those who purify should bestow upon others from their abundance of purity their own holiness: those who illuminate, as possessing more luminous intelligence, duly receiving and again shedding forth the light, and joyously filled with holy brightness, should impart their own overflowing light to those worthy of it; finally, those who make perfect, being skilled in the mystical participations, should lead to that consummation those who are perfected by the most holy initiation of the knowledge of holy things which they have contemplated.
Thus each order in the hierarchical succession is guided to the divine co-operation, and brings into manifestation, through the Grace and Power of God, that which is naturally and supernaturally in the Godhead, and which is consummated by Him superessentially, but is hierarchically manifested for man’s imitation as far as is attainable, of the God-loving Celestial.
The Purgative, Illuminative, and Unitive Ways are derived from the ideas here of purifying, illuminating, and perfecting the soul. Some mystical theologians also use the words “beginner,” “proficient,” and “perfect.”
Overview of the Purgative, Illuminative, and Unitive Ways
The Purgative Way is a stage that encompasses one’s initial conversion and continues with the initial purification. Not only is the soul purified from mortal and venial sins, it also begins the process of being purified from the effects of sins—attachment to sin, or sinful habits. Throughout the Purgative Way, a person learns to meditate upon Scripture and other prayers, elevating the mind to a new conceptual understanding of divine truths. The Scriptures begin to come alive, and a clear understanding of Jesus’ teachings is internalized and lived. Spiritual sweetness is encountered in prayer, motivating the soul to a greater love of God and neighbor. Virtues increase and a new commitment to fulfill the divine will is embraced. Temptations are faced with increasing fortitude, which continues to strengthen the soul in its battle against sin.
Once a soul has made significant progress in the spiritual life by overcoming sins and being freed or purified of sinful habits, it enters the Illuminative Way. Prayer moves much deeper as the soul begins to experience infused contemplation bestowed by God Himself. The fight against sin remains but is elevated, as the motive is no longer avoidance of sin out of fear of its consequences but the love of God Himself. This deeper love draws the soul into a greater illumination of divine mysteries that goes beyond mere concepts and becomes a form of knowledge that cannot be articulated in words. Hope and charity also increase, and the soul begins to live on a supernatural level. Though interior trials and dryness occur, profound peace and joy fill the soul and strengthen it. The love of God slowly increases to such an extent that the soul yearns for more of God and willingly does all it can to cooperate with every grace so as to enter Divine Union.
The Unitive Way is the pinnacle of the spiritual life and a foretaste of Heaven. The perfected soul has completely died to this world and lives for God alone. Every habitual sin has been purified, and if the soul were to commit even the smallest venial sin, it would immediately repent. Faith, hope, and charity are perfected in the soul, and the perfected soul becomes a powerful instrument of grace in the world by its actions and prayers. Saint Teresa of Ávila and Saint John of the Cross speculate that the soul that enters the Unitive Way enters a state of permanent union with God, akin to marriage.
Saint Bonaventure
In the thirteenth century, Saint Bonaventure was greatly influenced by Pseudo-Dionysius. As was covered more extensively in the previous chapter, Bonaventure’s short work The Triple Way, offers many threefold ways in which one can approach spiritual growth. The quote below explains that the threefold steps to the glory of the Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim are the Purgative, Illuminative, and Unitive Ways:
Now, in glory, there is a threefold gift which constitutes the full reward: the eternal possession of supreme peace, the clear vision of supreme truth, and the full enjoyment of supreme goodness or love. Correspondingly, there is a threefold distinction between the highest hierarchies of heaven: that is, the Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. Whoever wishes to attain beatitude through his merits must therefore conform himself to these three, as closely as is possible in this state of wayfaring, in order to obtain the tranquility of peace, the splendor of truth, and the sweetness of love. For in these three the Lord Himself reposes, dwelling as in His own abode. Therefore, there are three stairs leading up to these three goals, according to the triple way: that is, the purgative way, which consists in the expulsion of sin: the illuminative way, which consists in the imitation of Christ; and the perfective way, which consists in union with the Spouse. Thus, each way has its steps, which we must climb from the bottom to the top.
Saint Bonaventure goes on to present seven steps to attain the “peace” of the Thrones, the “truth” of the Cherubim, and the “love” of the Seraphim. By offering various ways to consider the spiritual and mystical journey to perfection, Saint Bonaventure illustrates that there is more than one way to describe this sequential and deepening process of conversion that leads to spiritual perfection.
Saint Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa has several books on mystical theology, but her most well-known one is Interior Castle, in which she offers her personal understanding of the stages a soul goes through on the spiritual journey to Mystical Marriage or Divine Union (Seraphic Glory). She outlines seven stages of spiritual development by describing the inward journey one must take to arrive at the center of the soul by passing through seven interior dwelling places, or mansions. Each of the dwelling places is interconnected and leads to the Presence Chamber, the seventh and innermost chamber where God dwells in His fullness. A brief overview of these seven steps is outlined below. A more thorough description can be found in the book, The Interior Journey Toward God: Reflections from Saint Teresa of Ávila, which is available to read for free on www.mycatholic.life/books.
The First Mansions: Saint Teresa begins by stating, “I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions.” She understands that because God dwells in the very center of that castle and since God is infinite, then the soul must be of infinite capacity. Hence, there are millions of dwelling places through which one can travel toward the most central one, but she describes seven, based upon her own experience.
Those who have not even entered the castle are those souls living in a state of mortal sin among the reptiles and venomous creatures outside the castle. These souls are miserable and are fully immersed in worldly and fleshly attachments.
The gateway by which one enters the castle of one’s own soul is prayer and meditation. Though the soul might have a thousand preoccupations, it takes time to pray and communicate with God in a meditative way. When one enters the gate, many of the reptiles enter with it, but at least the soul has entered the castle.
Once the person has entered the castle of his soul, he begins to grow in self-knowledge and humility, which are one and the same. This is a painful process in which demons torment and try to seduce the soul. Little by little, the person comes to see the sin he struggles with, confronts it, and tries to overcome it.
The Second Mansions: As the soul journeys deeper into itself, gentle perseverance in prayer characterizes these mansions. This perseverance in prayer, especially meditation, begins to result in increased virtue. The soul will be tempted to turn away from prayer and back to mortal sin. However, if the soul perseveres, she will begin to hear God speak to her, calling her closer. Though the soul rejoices in this, she finds it difficult to respond, since she is still attached to sin. Great trials are encountered in these mansions, but God permits those trials as a way of purifying and freeing the soul from habitual sins. Resolutely determined, this soul seeks out guidance and good spiritual companions. Aware of God’s indwelling presence, the person continues to meditate and engages in a new form of prayer called active recollection. This is a meditative process by which the person voluntarily enters into her soul, silently searching for God.
The Third Mansions: Once the soul arrives in the third dwelling places, it is on much safer footing. Though a fall into mortal sin is always possible, this soul is far less likely to do so, enjoys a consistent prayer life, and clearly manifests the virtues. It must always remain vigilant, though, aware that the enemy is just outside the door.
Many people who love God and engage in prayer arrive in the third dwelling places. However, many of them also remain here, not moving forward. Though they desire perfection, desire is not enough. Natural prudence gets in the way, and they reason that they are doing good, living a good life, and should avoid extremes. Their service of God and others—and their prayer—console them. If dryness sets in, they are startled and reason they must be doing something wrong, so they slow their journey down.
To navigate through these dwelling places, a person needs more than humility (self-knowledge). He needs extreme humility, meaning, he must see himself as God sees him. This is done by putting on the mind of Christ, engaging in self-denial and penance, and persevering in faith even in times of spiritual dryness and trials. The soul forms a habit of prompt obedience to God and looks to the example of other holy people they encounter, especially the saints.
The Fourth Mansions: Those souls who enter into the fourth mansions begin to experience the amazing new interior world of infused prayer. In the previous three mansions, meditation and active recollection produced a spiritual sweetness at times. This is more of an emotional response to God’s action on the soul. In the fourth mansions, a new and purely spiritual form of prayer begins that often produces spiritual consolations, resulting in profound peace and joy.
The infused prayer begins with “passive” recollection. This is where God acts on the soul directly, drawing it into itself to rest with God. The “prayer of quiet” also begins for many souls. This is a deeper interior state of silently loving God, within oneself. This form of infused prayer produces a new form of love in the soul, a spiritual love, which results in a fervent determination to strive to please God in all things, the avoidance of all that would offend God, and fervent prayers for the increase of the glory and honor of God and the growth of His Church. Spiritual love is not selfish in the sense of taking something it wants, or “loves;” it is now self-giving, sacrificial, and seeks the glory of God and the good of others.
As one passes through these dwelling places, infused prayer will begin to tame the imagination. One begins to understand oneself more clearly, as God sees the person’s soul, which results in profound humility and perseverance.
The Fifth Mansions: Saint Teresa is hesitant to describe these mansions because she says they are impossible to depict. Those who enter begin to experience a “delicious death” called the “prayer of union.” Of this prayer, Saint Teresa says,
In the prayer of union the soul is asleep, fast asleep, as regards the world and itself: in fact, during the short time this state lasts it is deprived of all feeling whatever, being unable to think on any subject, even if it wished. No effort is needed here to suspend the thoughts: if the soul can love it knows not how, nor whom it loves, nor what it desires. In fact, it has died entirely to this world, to live more truly than ever in God (V.I #3).
She even doubts that a person’s body breathes during this prayer, suggesting that the spirit alone lives, since the body is incapable of such prayer. The soul is so close to God that the demons are incapable of influencing it; the good angels continuously communicate to it and bestow God’s graces.
The transformation that takes place in these mansions is similar to how a silkworm enters a cocoon and emerges as a beautiful butterfly. Once able to fly, the soul would never want to return to its lower earthly condition, mired in sin and worldly attachments. It wants to soar to the heights. Therefore, those who receive the prayer of quiet likely progress further, avoiding a return to previous sinful habits.
With the prayer of quiet comes a new type of spiritual suffering in the form of a purgation of the intellect. These souls begin to know God in a new way and are purged of the lower forms of knowing God. Though this is painful, it is also peaceful and consoling as God marks these souls and claims them as His own. These mansions end with a spiritual courtship with God.
The Sixth Mansions: As a soul enters the sixth mansions, it moves from courtship to betrothal. God proposes Spiritual Marriage, and the soul accepts. Just prior to entering these mansions, profound spiritual purifications take place. On entering, one’s desire for God increases and the person begins to experience “delicate and subtle impulses springing from the inmost depths of the soul.”
Once firmly in these mansions, profound mystical experiences often occur, such as interior ecstasies, raptures, trances, and intellectual visions. This is because the body is incapable of experiencing what the spirit can experience. The mind is caught up into God and receives a pure and infused knowledge that is beyond earthly description. This humbles the soul as it becomes profoundly aware of its sins and fallenness. The sixth mansions ends with what Saint Teresa calls a “fiery dart.”
While the soul is thus inflamed with love, it often happens that, from a passing thought or spoken word of how death delays its coming, the heart receives, it knows not how or whence, a blow as from a fiery dart…in the very depths and center of the soul, where this, thunderbolt, in its rapid course, reduces all the earthly part of our nature to powder. At the time we cannot even remember our own existence, for in an instant, the faculties of the soul are so fettered as to be incapable of any action except the power they retain of increasing our torture. Do not think I am exaggerating; indeed I fall short of explaining what happens which cannot be described (VI.XI #2).
The Seventh Mansion: There is one final mansion, the Presence Chamber, the central-most dwelling place where God is present in His fullness. While on earth, we will never be capable of the Beatific Vision, an experience of God’s pure essence. Until Heaven, the most we are capable of is Mystical Marriage or Divine Union, which results in Seraphic Glory.
As a soul enters this center-most chamber, it enters into the permanent state of Mystical Marriage. Saint Teresa suggests that God only permits those, whom He knows by His divine foreknowledge will remain faithful to Him until the end, to enter this dwelling place.
This is a “second Heaven” in which the soul enters into a profound peace, enjoys an abiding joy, and is free from every anxiety and fear. Nothing is capable of deterring this soul from the Beloved and His divine will. Neither martyrdom, persecution, earthly glory, riches, nor anything else is of concern or interest. God’s will is the greatest and singular delight, for the soul is completely transformed by God.
These perfected souls love their enemies with endless determination and desire severe trials and sufferings in imitation of Jesus, since they are acutely aware of the fruitfulness of uniting their suffering to Christ’s. There is no aridity, nor are there profound mystical experiences. Instead, these souls are continually driven by interior impulses of love to serve God’s will.
Though these souls are perfected, God will, at times, depart from them and permit them to encounter vile creatures and torments, but this is for the good of the soul, to increase its spiritual fortitude so that it will persevere to the end. The soul knows this and joyfully embraces those moments, bearing an abundance of good fruit for God’s glory and the salvation of souls. These holy souls make a greater difference in this world than countless others combined, which is why attaining this state must be the fervent goal of every Christian.
Saint Teresa of Ávila was a contemporary of Saint John of the Cross. She was twenty-seven years older than Saint John and attended his first Mass. After that Mass, John accepted her invitation to join her in her attempt to reform the Carmelite Order. Saint John became her close friend and spiritual companion, as well as her spiritual director. Together, they had a transforming impact upon the Carmelites and mystical theology. We now turn to her spiritual companion.
Saint John of the Cross
Saint John of the Cross, a Carmelite priest and reformer who lived in the sixteenth century, is a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the “Mystical Doctor of the Church.” His main works include Ascent to Mount Carmel, Dark Night of the Soul, Spiritual Canticle, and Living Flame of Love. His works align with the traditional threefold journey of the beginner (Purgative Way), proficient (Illuminative Way), and perfect (Unitive Way). However, his primary focus is on the transitions between each stage, which he calls purgations, or dark nights. The first dark night is of the senses, and the second is of the spirit.
The following summary comes from Chapter Six of The Mystical Journey to Divine Union: Spiritual Wisdom from Saint John of the Cross, which can be read in its entirety on www.mycatholic.life/books.
Initial conversion—Saint John does not cover this stage because he presumes the Christian already has purposely entered into it. This is the stage in which one turns from a life of sin, embraces Baptism and its effects, and begins to walk with God.
Active Night of the Senses—Saint John of the Cross begins his writings with the “beginner.” He writes about this stage of spiritual development in his work Ascent of Mount Carmel—Book I. The beginner is one who is already converted to God, remains free from mortal sin, and engages in a regular life of prayer and virtue.
The goal of this “night” (purgation) is first to free the person from every attachment to habitual sin in the appetites. The second is to free the person from every habitual imperfection. The third is to free the person from even the voluntary desire for sin and every disordered affection. The primary focus is on the sensual nature of the soul. Later purgations will focus on the spiritual nature of the soul. This painful purgation of the sensual human nature (the appetites, passions, desires, and emotions) will be helped by prayer, mortification, and intentional acts of virtue. The Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist will also be of great value.
The Seven Capital Sins are a primary focus of this purgation. The sins will be dealt with in a direct way, helping the soul to eliminate venial sins, imperfections, and desires for these sins, and even helping to be freed of the commission of future mortal sins.
Discursive Meditation is the prayer that this person will find most beneficial. This form of meditation includes actively reading and pondering the Gospels in a prayerful way, so as to allow God to speak to the soul and guide it through its senses, desires, inspirations, and spiritual consolations.
Passionate love for God will be this person’s experience. The soul will have a zeal for God, virtue, and other spiritual practices. In Saint John’s words, the soul will be “Kindled in love with yearnings.”
Passive Night of the Senses—Saint John explains this step of the spiritual journey in the Dark Night of the Soul—Book I. The person going through this stage of spiritual development is in a transitional phase between being a “beginner” and a “proficient.”
In this night (purgation), the soul is purified primarily by an act of God, not by anything it can do on its own. Like the active night of the senses, this purgation focuses on the sensory appetites and desires a person has, but in a deeper way. After the soul is freed from all inordinate attachments and desires in the first step, it will come to realize that it also has many deep spiritual sins.
The Seven Capital Sins are looked at in a deeper spiritual way during this purgation. In this stage of spiritual development, the soul will come to realize, through ongoing inspirations from God, that it has so delighted in the things of God that it is spiritually attached to the sensory pleasures it has received from its life as a beginner. For example, a soul may be so impressed with its own spiritual journey and virtue that it is filled with spiritual pride. Or it may enjoy the feelings of being close to God so much that it loves the feelings more than loving God (i.e., spiritual gluttony).
Purgative Contemplation is the prayer proper to this stage of spiritual development. When this happens, the soul will no longer find any satisfaction in the many spiritual consolations it has received, will find only dryness and bitterness in its senses, and will be invited by God to turn away from the many spiritual consolations it received when it was in the beginning stage of the spiritual journey. The dryness and loss of consolation are to draw the person to love of God in a purer and more spiritual way. Purgative contemplation will be infused directly by God, not through the person’s own efforts. The person will find it necessary to simply sit in silence before God, allowing God to do the work. The only responsibility of the person in this prayer is to consent to what God is doing.
Choosing God for God’s Sake must be the single goal at this stage—not because the soul finds consolation in loving God, but because God is worthy of love.
Active Night of the Spirit—Saint John explains this step of spiritual development in Parts Two and Three of the Ascent to Mount Carmel. The soul, now freed from all sensory attachments, including the many consoling sensory delights it received during its journey as a beginner, begins to turn its attention to the spiritual part of its inner self so as to surrender its intellect, memory, and will to God in the deepest way.
In this night, the beginner is now a “proficient” in the spiritual life and enjoys an often lengthy period of stability, contemplative prayer, and zeal for God. The soul grows in virtue and holiness but senses that God wants more for it. As a result, the soul begins to allow God to infuse within it the pure gifts of faith, hope, and charity. It begins to consciously let go of all former ideas of God, preferences for the future, and selfish convictions about God’s will as it begins to choose a new level of oneness with God. The intellect begins to have faith in a more general and obscure way, as if the person were staring at the sun. The memory begins to be purified and “forgotten.” And the will is left in a sort of limbo, waiting upon God’s moment-by-moment, gentle guidance.
Infused contemplation becomes the normal method of prayer for the proficient. During this prayer, God communicates in a mysterious, but transforming, way. The soul is regularly drawn to God in prayer, but this prayer is not conceptual or meditative. Instead, the soul becomes more and more certain of the glory of God, but its certitude is more general and less focused on specific ideas of God. The person spends much less time thinking about God and more time thinking of God in a simpler and more direct way. Instead of having many hopes for itself, the person slowly learns to turn to one object of hope—God alone.
Choosing to let go of all former knowledge of God and striving to embrace His will must be the focus in this stage. This is so the soul will be prepared for the total transformation it is about to undergo in the next and final purgation.
Passive Night of the Spirit—Saint John explains this stage of spiritual development in Part Two of The Dark Night of the Soul. The soul undergoes its final purgation by means of a total annihilation of its former way of knowing, hoping, and willing.
This final stage is a passive purgation in that it is an action of God, requiring only the consent of the soul. The person enters into a sort of “spiritual cocoon” in which the intellect, memory, and will are completely transformed. The intellect comes to know God in a new way. It is darkened and forgets its former and lower knowledge of God and comes to know Him more certainly, but in an obscure way, trading concepts and ideas of God for the pure and overwhelming light of infused faith. The will is slowly purged entirely and lets go of everything except the will of God. Though the soul experiences great humility, feels utterly impoverished and empty, it is closer to God than ever before. In this purgation, the soul finds security and safety from the three enemies—the world, the devil, and the flesh. These enemies no longer hinder it in any way. In this inner solitude and hiddenness, the soul becomes very strong and deeply resolved in its love for God. It is transformed by a “holy fear” of never wanting to offend God and only wanting to love Him and serve His holy will. In this fortitude of spirit, after relentlessly searching for and finding God, the soul now makes God and His perfect will the one and only object of its desire.
Habitual contemplative prayer becomes the norm, meaning that the soul has completely abandoned all lower forms of prayer and begins to walk always with God, praying always, and never tiring of loving God. Once the soul climbs the ladder to its Beloved, it is prepared for Divine Union.
Divine Union—Saint John explains this experience of the perfect soul in his works Spiritual Canticle Stanzas 22-40 and The Living Flame of Love. In this state of perfection, the soul is so intimately united with God that it shares fully in God’s divine attributes. Its intellect thinks with pure faith in God, its memory understands all things by pure hope in God, its will is motivated by the pure charity of God, and all of its appetites, affections, desires, and passions are completely ordered in God. The soul knows, understands, loves, feels, interacts and communicates in God and by God. The soul even loves God by the power of God Himself.
The primary image Saint John uses to describe this state of perfection is the log that is one with the flame and burns at its deepest center with the flame of the Holy Spirit.
Summary
Spiritual and mystical theology focus on the journey from initial conversion to deeper union with God. Spiritual theology is a broader discipline that involves practices and teachings that aid in growing closer to God, including prayer, devotions, and reflections. Mystical theology, a subcategory, addresses the profound spiritual experiences and transformations as one advances in holiness. We explored the historical development of these concepts, from early philosophical influences and distinctions between active and contemplative lives, to the threefold stages of spiritual growth: the Purgative Way, Illuminative Way, and Unitive Way. These stages outline the soul’s progression from purification and enlightenment to Divine Union. Saints Bonaventure, John of the Cross, and Teresa of Ávila are among the greatest mystical theologians and Doctors of the Church. Though their terminology differs, their articulations describe the same human spiritual journey.
Next: Chapter Seven—From Grace to Glory in the Human Race
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