The reason trials are necessary in order to reach this state is that highest union cannot be wrought in a soul that is not fortified by trials and temptations and purified by tribulations, darknesses, and distress, just as a superior quality liqueur is poured only into a sturdy flask which is prepared and purified. By these trials the sensory part of the soul is purified and strengthened and the spiritual part is refined, purged, and disposed...
God allows them to be tempted in order to elevate them as high as possible, that is, to union with the divine wisdom...
The combat of trials, distress, and temptations deadens the evil and imperfect habits of the soul and purifies and strengthens it. A man should hold in esteem the interior and exterior trials God sends him, realizing that there are few who merit to be brought to perfection through suffering and to undergo trials for the sake of so high a state...
For God repays the interior and exterior trials very well with divine goods for the soul and body, so that there is not a trial which does not have a corresponding and considerable reward.
----St John of the Cross
Hopeful words, aren't they? Of course, for me there is always the question of how well we must embrace our trials in order for them to be redemptive. No matter how much suffering I'm given, I'm not sure it gets me any closer to perfection if I'm kicking and whining the whole way.
I wonder, how do I make myself able to comprehend fully that with each difficulty I encounter I have the opportunity---and gift---to unite all of my suffering to His? How do I live out the nitty-gritty of my day-to-day with such constant awareness and total submission? Because if I did, I think the burdens I face would be so much lighter and even, dare I say, sweeter.
3 comments:
I remember reading somewhere Mother Teresa said trials and sufferings are kisses from God. Sometimes I try to envision this, like when my kids are complaining that they don't want to do something that is for their benefit, and I kiss them and tell them I'm sorry but they have to endure this or do that. I know that they will be the better for it. I don't always do well when I'm the one suffering (see my post on my well pump dying), but I know they are a grace. Deep down, I know it is goodness touching me.
Mother Teresa also said, ""I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."
:)
So, I guess I'm in good company. (And quite bold to think that I could ever really be in company with MT.)
What a beautiful idea to kiss your kids when they are complaining! I have to admit, that is not my first thought. :)
I'm in the middle of Johnnette Benkovic's Women of Grace study group; she emphasizes that we should not only embrace our struggles, but give thanks to God for them. I'm not in the habit of praising God and thanking Him in the middle of a struggle, though at least I'm learning I should be! :)
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