How to Turn Aridity and Desolation into a Good and Profitable Prayer

NOT only should we stop this complaining within ourselves, but we should contrive to draw profit from these aridities and desolations and make out of them a good prayer (Treatise V, Chapter 19). When we feel thus distressed, we should say: “Lord, inasmuch as this is my own fault, Iam very sorry for it; but inasmuch as it is Thy will and the just chastisement of my sins, I accept it with hearty good will, not merely now or for a short time, but for all the days of my life, even though they be many. I offer myself to this cross and am ready to bear it with thankfulness.” This patience and humility, this resignation and conformity, is much more pleasing to God than complaints and unmeasured fretting. Tell me, who do you think would be more pleasing to his parents—the son who was content with whatever they gave him, or the other who was satisfied with nothing, but was always grumbling and complaining, thinking whatever he got was not good enough? Clearly, the former; and so it is with God. The son who suffers in silence, in content and conformity with the will of his heavenly Father, taking whatever He sends him, though it be a hard and fleshless bone, is more grateful and acceptable to God than the malcontent and the grumbler, who goes about complaining that he gets nothing or that what is given to others is not given to him. Tell me, further, who does better and moves people more to give him alms and show him compassion and pity—the beggar who complains because they do not answer him at once and because they give him nothing, or the beggar who stands perseveringly at the rich man’s gate with patience and silence, making no complaint, satisfied with having rung once and made sure that they heard him? The master of the house knows that he is there, waiting with humility and patience. It is clear that this poor man moves men much to pity, while the other, the proud one, rather disgusts them and stirs their indignation. So it is also with God. I ask you, what better meditation could you make and what greater spiritual fruit could you gather than much patience in tribulation, much conformity to the will of God, and much love of Him? Why do we go to meditation except to gain those ends? When God sends us aridities and temptations in meditation, and we conform ourselves to His will, we make one of the greatest acts of patience and love of God that it is possible to make. Love is shown in suffering afflictions; and these aridities are the greatest of afflictions to the servants of God. Spiritual men feel them more than what touches property, health, or temporal advantage. To conform ourselves to the will of God in afflictions like these, is to imitate Christ our Redeemer in the spiritual dereliction which He suffered on the Cross; and to accept this spiritual cross for a whole lifetime, if the Lord be pleased to give it, solely to give satisfaction to God, is a great act of patience and of love of God and a very high and profitable prayer and a thing of great perfection, so much so that some call these afflicted persons excellent martyrs.

Once more I ask: Why do you go to meditation but to gain humility and self-knowledge? How often have you asked God to give you to understand who you are? Nowin this manner He has heard your prayer and wishes to give you to understand that He has heard it. Some people will have it that self-knowledge consists in a deep sense of sin and in shedding many tears thereupon. But they are wrong; that is God, not you. To be like a stone, that is being yourself. And if God does not strike the rock, neither water will come forth therefrom nor honey. In this consists self-knowledge, the beginning of all good; and of this you have your hands full when you are in this condition. If you gain this self-knowledge from your meditation, you will have gained great fruit therefrom.