Article I. The Different Meanings of the Word "Call”

We will consider the general and remote call, the individual and proximate call, the sufficient call, and the efficacious call.

When the call to mystical contemplation, properly so named, is discussed, and the question is raised as to whether this call is general or particular, we need a clear definition of the word “call” or “vocation,” which may have very different acceptations.

First of all, “called to the mystical life” does not mean raised, conducted, chosen, or predestined to the mystical life. “For many are called, but few chosen,” are the words used in the parable of the wedding guests. 1

Theologians observe 2 that the vocation may be either ex- iThis is the meaning of the words "called” and "chosen,” that is, chosen for glory, in Matt. 20: 16; 22: 14; 24: 24; Mark 13: 20, 22, 27; Luke 18: 7. This is also the current meaning in theology. However, in the writings of St. Paul (I Cor. 1: 26 f.) "called” has the same meaning as "chosen,” because he speaks of the efficacious vocation to faith and to the Christian life, and of election to grace, not to glory. Cf. Vost£, O.P., Comment . in Ep. I ad Thessal., 1:4. St. Thomas observes on this subject that the efficacious vocation to the Christian life and election to the same life are identical; but the word "vocation” is used in relation to the new life, and "election” in relation to the world whence one has been drawn and chosen.

2 Cf. St. Thomas, la, d.41, q.i, a.2 ad 3um, and In Epist. ad Rom., chap. 8, Iect. 6; and the Salamanca theologians, De praedestinatione, Disp. IV, dub. 3: "Quaenam vocationes electorum sunt effectus praedestinationis eorum?” According to these theologians and many other Thomists, even inefficacious vocations, which the elect resist, are an effect of predestination. Cf. Billuart, De Deo, Diss. TX, a. 6, 1.

terior, that is, it may come through the Gospel, preaching, direction, reading; or interior, by reason of a grace of light and attraction. The exterior call is general when it is addressed to all without distinction; it becomes individual when it reaches such or such a one in particular. Thus all pagans are in a general way called to the Christian life by the Gospel, before such or such a one is called in an individual manner.

The vocation may, on the contrary, be special when it is addressed only to a group of men, such as the vocation to the priesthood. It may even be very special and unique, as the vocation of Mary, Mother of God, or that of St. Joseph. It may be very particular, as that of a founder of a religious order, or indeed as that to enter a determined order, for example, the Carthusians.

The interior vocation may be, like sufficient grace, remote or proximate. Since “the habitual grace of the virtues and the gifts,” which all the just possess, reaches the plenitude of its normal development only in the mystical life, properly so called, all the just are called to this life in a remote man ner. This is our opinion, as well as that of the authors who admit the general call to the mystical life. St. Teresa found this teaching expressed in several passages in Scripture, two of which she quotes¹ in The Way of Perfection , B

Even in the opinion of these authors, all souls do not individually receive the proximate vocation to the mystical life. This vocation exists only when the three signs mentioned by St. John of the Cross, and before him by Tauler, can be proved to exist in the soul: (1) meditation becomes

3 Generally the exterior vocation and the interior vocation are united, as the objective motion (quoad specificationem ) and the subjective motion (quoad exercitium); as preaching and the grace which inclines the soul to adhere to it. These two constitute a single vocation.

6 Chaps. 19, 20.

MEANING OF THE WORD “CALL”

impracticable; (2) the soul has no desire to fix its imagination on any particular interior or exterior object; (3) the soul takes delight in being alone with God and fixing its loving attention upon Him. 6 We will explain these signs farther on (pp. 372 f.).

This proximate vocation to the mystical life may itself be either sufficient or efficacious, as we find in the parable of the wedding feast. Each of the guests was called individually. “The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who made a marriage for his son. And he sent his servants to call them that were invited to the marriage; and they would not come. . . . But they neglected, and went their ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. . . . Then he saith to his servants: The marriage indeed is ready; but they that were invited were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways; and as many as you shall find, call to the marriage.” 7

“Efficacious” may, in this case, be understood either in the Thomistic sense, which is ours, or in the Molinistic sense. The Thomists find a greater gratuity in the gift of God because, according to St. Thomas, grace is efficacious of itself, and leads us sweetly and firmly to the salutary consent which it produces in us and with us. In Molina’s opinion, grace is rendered efficacious by our good consent, the free determination of which, as determination, would come exclusively from us and not from God. 8

«Cf. St. John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Bk. II chaps, n- 13, and The Dark Night of the Soul, Bk. I, chap. 9. Cf. also the work which may be considered a summary of Tauler's teaching. The Institutions, chap. 35.

7 Matt. 22: 2-10.

8 Cf. St. Thomas, De malo, q.6, a.i ad 3um: “Deus movet quidem voluntatem immutabiliter propter efficaciam virtutis moventis, quae deficere non potest; sed propter naturam voluntatis motae, quae indifferenter se habet ad diversa, non inducitur necessitas, sed manet libertas.” It is thus St. Thomas understands St. Paul’s expression: “For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to His good will” (Phil. 2: 13). Cf. also la Ilae, q.112, a.3: “If God intends, while moving, that the one whose heart He moves should attain to grace, he will infallibly attain to it, according to John 6: 45: ‘Everyone that hath heard of the Father and hath learned cometh

Although the Thomists commonly say that the remote call to the mystical life is general, they in no way diminish the gratuity of the individual, proximate call. They always presuppose the mystery of predestination, as St. Augustine and St. Thomas understand it. 9

Moreover, the proximate vocation to the mystical life may be delayed, like that of the laborers of the eleventh hour, who received as much as those who had been called earlier. At the end of this parable 10 and that of the wedding feast, our Lord says: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” 11

A proximate, efficacious vocation to the mystical life is not necessarily an efficacious vocation to the highest degrees of the mystical life or to a high perfection; that depends on predestination in the order of the divine intentions, and on the fidelity of the soul in the order of execution. “It is true,” says St. John of the Cross, “that souls, whatever their capacity, may have attained union, but all do not possess it in the same degree. God disposes freely of this degree of union, as He disposes freely of the degree of the beatific vision.” 12 St. Thomas expresses the same opinion when he discusses predestination. 18 to Me.**’ Likewise la, q.105, a.4; la Ilae, q.io, a.4, c and ad 311m; q.111, a.2 ad 2um; q. 113; De veritate, q.22, a. 8, 9. Contrary to what Molina said later, St. Thomas wrote (In Matth., 25:15): “Qui plus conatur, plus habet de gratia; sed quod plus conetur, indiget altiori causa.” Likewise In Ep. ad Ephes., 4: 7, and la Ilae, q.112, a.4.

9 See la, q.23, a.5. Modern authors who deny this general call, as if they fear to impair the gratuity of the proximate, individual call, are mostly Molinists. They are inspired by principles other than those of St. Thomas. They assume that ordinarily it is we who render divine grace efficacious. Then they regard as essentially extraordinary the passive states, in which grace seems efficacious of itself, in which our free determination comes from God who produces it in us and with us, and in which the soul needs only to commit itself into the hands of God and to use its own activity merely to make itself more dependent on Him. Cf. Molina, Concordia (1876 ed.), pp. 230, 459, 565.

19 Matt. 20: 1-16.

11 Cf. infra, p. 379, and also St. Teresa, The Interior Castle, fifth mansion, chap. 1.

12 The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Bk. II, chap. 5.

18 St. Thomas, la, q.23, a.5 ad 3um.

MEANING OF THE WORD "CALL” 341

Such are the different meanings of the word “call.” They can be seen at a glance in the following synopsis, which should be read from the bottom up so as to follow the ascending progress. In it we do not mention the special vocation, such as that to the priesthood, since we are speaking here only of the call to the mystical life, which, in our opinion, is first of all general, then individual; iirst remote, then proximate.

'proximate (3 signs)

^efl&ca- J to superior degrees cious 1 to inferior degrees interior]

sufficient, to which many do not respond

Call to the J mystical life 1 remote (from the fact of being in the state of grace)

f individual exterior J

(for example, by the spiritual director)

general (for example, by Scripture)

This division should solve several other questions. 14

If, therefore, a writer who is accepted as an authority denies the call of all souls to contemplation, meaning by this the proximate call, as one can see from the principles of his teaching and from the context, we need not for this reason conclude that he denies the remote call.

With the different meanings of the word “vocation” thus i* it is thus the sacerdotal vocation is not only exterior (by the bishop), but also interior (by grace). Canon 1353 of the Code of Canon Law states that pastors should train in piety and in studies children in whom they find “signs of an ecclesiastical vocation” in order “to cultivate this germ of vocation in them.”

precisely determined, the teaching on the general and remote call of souls to the mystical life is more easily understood. To have a clear grasp of this doctrine, we must distinguish, as is always done in ethics, what belongs to the nature of things (per se) from what is an accidental exception (per accidens). Theologians, seeking to establish a law, speak formally of the nature of things, and not of the accidental circumstances that cause variations in the application of the law. For example, a certain act is morally good by its very nature, because of itself it produces a certain effect willed by God; and it remains morally good even if accidentally it no longer produces that effect. 15 Or again, what is entirely legitimate and salutary in itself, such as daily communion, may accidentally cease to be so, if the subject does not fulfil the required conditions. Nothing is more sanctifying in itself than Eucharistic co m munion, but accidentally it may become a sacrilege. Corruptio optimi pessima. Nothing is better than true mysticism, nothing worse than false mysticism.

Even in the order of vegetable and animal life, for lack of certain conditions, many laws are applied only in the majority of cases, ut in pluribus as the Scholastics say; these are approximative laws, to use the terminology of present-day scholars. Because many acorns do not produce oaks, we cannot deny the law that the acorn is naturally made to produce an oak. Even if it is planted with this end in view, favorable external conditions, required for the development of the seed that it contains, may be lacking.

Likewise, because the majority of men follow their pas-

18 Cf. Cajetan, on IXa, Ilae, q. 153, a. 3: "Praecepta moralia attendunt ad id quod secundum naturam est, et non ad id quod per accidens in hac vel complexione, vel aetate invenitur." Cajetan makes this remark frequently against those who forget that St. Thomas speaks formally of the nature of things, prescinding from accidental circumstances. “Auctoris sermo et doctrina est formalis et nihil detrimenti patitur ex his quae sunt per accidens." Thus St. Thomas himself answers his own question as to whether an oath is licit: It is in itself, but it may become illicit if bad use is made of it; that is, if one takes an oath without necessity and the desired precautions; just as Eucharistic communion may become a sacrilege (Ha Ilae, q.89, a. a).

MEANING OF THE WORD “CALL*

sions instead of controlling them, as St. Thomas observes, 16 must we reject the law that man, by his nature as a rational being, is called to live in a reasonable manner? Because many men are lost, must we deny that the entire human race was ordained by God for a supernatural end, the beatific vision? Because many Christians sin mortally, is it necessary to deny that the grace received in baptism is by its very nature made to endure forever and to grow unceasingly until death? Is it not eternal life begun?

Normally a little child, who from the age of seven receives communion several times a week, should not cease receiving the bread of life, and each day he ought to approach the holy table with better dispositions. If he perseveres in this way and is generally faithful to the graces he receives, will he not normally, at least at the end of his life, reach the mystical life, properly so called? Is this something different from the plenitude of the life of faith and of the love of God, different from perfect docility to the Holy Ghost?

After having determined the various meanings of the word “call,” general or individual, remote or proximate, sufficient or efficacious, we will examine whether it is true that all souls in the state of grace are called in a general, remote, and sufficient manner to the mystical life, and how the individual, proximate call, whether sufficient or efficacious, is manifested.

These distinctions are necessary if we are to solve this problem of spirituality, which is so much studied in our day. It is practical, however, to recall that more attention must be paid to the perfect practice of the virtues—humility, selfdenial, obedience, patience in trial, the spirit of faith and confidence in God in prayer despite interior aridities and obscurities, and fraternal charity—than to the more or less is See la, q.49, a. 3 ad gum: “In man alone does evil appear as in the greater number; because the good of man as regards the senses is not the good of man as man—that is, in regard to reason; and more men seek good in regard to the senses than good according to reason.” On this point see the general index to the works of St. Thomas, Tabula aurea, under the word “Malum.” no. 37.

mystical form of prayers which may lead thereto. This is so much the more true because the degree of prayer is not easily known, especially in those periods called the dark night where the soul is contemplative without knowing it. This is the explanation of the fact that in the process of beatification the heroic degree of the virtues is examined much more closely than the form of prayer. The latter is learned only with difficulty from documents; it suffices, however, to become acquainted with the heroic practice of the theological virtues in order to know that a soul was very intimately united to God. 17 Moreover, certain souls reach mystical prayer with greater rapidity than others, which are much more advanced. Souls are also found which draw greater profit from these prayers, others less. Some souls are more virtuous than mystical, and vice versa.

All of this is very important in fact, and should not be forgotten when insistence is laid, as is done in this article, on the general law, and on the extremely varied applications of which we seek the formula and the doctrinal basis according to traditional teaching. But conformably to this law, it is also very useful and practical to know whether or not souls have passed through the night of the senses and that of the soul; for without this double passive purification, souls cannot attain the full perfection of the Christian life. The way leading to it in the midst of trials is that indicated by St. Teresa in her well-known Bookmark:

“Let nothing disturb thee;

Nothing affright thee;

All things are passing;

God never changes;

Patient endurance

Attaineth to all things;

17 We could easily point out in the lives of almost all the saints the interior trials which correspond to the mystical state, called by St. John of the Cross the passive night of the senses and of the spirit.

Who God possesseth In nothing is wanting;

Alone God sufficeth.” 18

Anyone who is imbued with these dispositions, who has taken this step and willingly allows himself to be conducted in his prayer and in all phases of his life by Mary Mediatrix, who leads us to the intimacy of Christ, and by Christ, who brings us to the Father, will attain to true humility, which will draw upon him the grace of contemplation and of divine union. This happy result will be attained in spite of unfavorable conditions, by reason of the profound, strong, and gentle influence of these two mediators, who have been given us in our weakness. 19

Footnotes

1. Matt. 11:28: “Come to Me all you . . .” John 7: 37 f.: “Jesus stood and cried, saying: If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and drink. . . . Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” ↩