Part 4, Chapter 13
Getting to the basics is good. Sometime we just need some good old nuts and bolts to make something stay together. Today is one of those days. We need to take a little time to describe some of the nuts and bolts of the spiritual life. We don’t want to assume some of these things.
Consolation is the uplift of heart; a movement upwards. Consolation can be spiritual or non-spiritual. What St. Francis De Sales wants us to pay attention to is the spiritual consolation. “Devotion does not consist in such exterior displays of a tenderness that may be purely the result of a naturally impressionable, plastic character” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 178). I may see a beautiful sunset and experience joy and peace on a non-spiritual (psychological, emotional) level, this is not spiritual consolation. Now it could become spiritual consolation if this is brought to God in the moment that it is happening. Spiritual Consolation moves us to the things of God, not of the earth. It fills our souls with peace, joy and comfort. “Even so those to whom God gives his heavenly manna of interior sweetness and consolation, cannot either desire or even accept worldly consolation with any real zest or satisfaction” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 179). We have to remember that non-spiritual consolation can fill us with peace, joy and comfort. Still, if this non-spiritual isn’t raised up to God, it is not spiritual consolation.
Spiritual consolation, this uplift of heart towards God is beautiful and it is His gift to us. When He gives it, it is His free gift to us. We should not seek spiritual consolation; rather, we should be seeking God. “So while it is a great thing to have spiritual sweetnesses, the sweetest of all is to know that it is the loving parental hand of God that feeds us, heart, mind and soul, with them” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 180). God as a loving Father takes care of His children. He loves us and He gives us what we need, when we are ready for it. God knows how best to take care of us. As time goes on, we learn this truth more and more. God is complete wisdom and He knows what we need. We learn to trust God and what He is doing in our soul. “The soul, which has firmly grasped the unchanging love of God, will abide unshaken amid the changes and vicissitudes of consolations and afflictions, whether spiritual or temporal, external or internal” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 177). There is an ebb and flow of spiritual consolation and spiritual desolation (tomorrow’s blog). This is natural. Still, for one living in the devout life, when this ebb and flow come they stay calm and keep seeking God.