Carmelite Quote

St. John of the Cross:

The necessity to pass through this dark night (the mortification of the appetites and denial of pleasure in all things) to attain divine union with God arises from the fact that all of a person's attachments to creatures are pure darkness in God's sight. Clothed in these affections, people are incapable of the enlightenment and dominating fullness of God's pure and simple light; first they must reject them. There can be no concordance between light and darkness; as St. John says:The darkness could not receive the light.
John 1:5

The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Book 1, Chap. 4, No. 1

St. John of the Cross uses the term "clothed" to describe souls who are attached to creatures and worldly pleasures. This brings to mind the scripture verse of St. Paul who exhorts us to clothe ourselves with kindness, gentleness, and heartfelt mercy. These are the gifts of the Spirit that we should desire, be attached to and cling to with all our might. Life is so short...let us ask God to give us a great desire for the things of the Spirit.

In this "Year for Priests" we can look to the life of St. John Vianney if we want to learn about someone who mortified his senses for the sake of the Kingdom. St. John Vianney mortified his body through prolonged fasts and denied his body sleep and other pleasures. Of course he could not do this without God's grace. God saw his great desire for union with Him.

How often have we denied ourselves a few hours of sleep to pray?

How often have we denied ourselves some culinary pleasure?

How often have we denied ourselves the pleasure of seeking the approval of others?

How often have we denied some of our free time to perform an act of charity?

The lives of the saints give us hope and courage, that what God has done for them, He will do for us. If only we would desire true holiness, we would not have such a hard time of detaching ourselves from pleasures of the appetite.

Our Lord told us that we must enter through the narrow gate, and how few there are who find it. Carmel is a narrow gate. Let us call upon our Carmelite saints to help us in our desire for union with God.

St. John of the Cross, pray for us!

Peace be with you!

Rosemarie, OCDS

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