Consolation, Pt. 3
Spiritual Consolation is more than a good feeling, it is the souls drawing near to God. It is a perceivable experience of God’s Love. St Ignatius writes about Spiritual Consolation as an interior movement of the soul. He goes on to explain that this movement of the soul inflames it with a profound love of the creator. It distills the love of all created things into such a love of the creator Himself. When one experiences spiritual consolation, there is often an accompanied experience of increase of the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love. The point of the interior joy that God gives us in experiences of Consolation is that we draw even more near to Him and grow in communion with Him. When in the state of spiritual consolation, the soul grows still, becomes quiet, and is finally placed into a state of unshakable peace. This stillness, quietness, and peace does not mean that the storms and turbulence of life and the world around us stop and vanish, rather it means that we become unaffected by them because we have allowed ourselves to be carried by our Lord over them, much like Peter as he walks on the turbulent water towards the Lord.
It is important to note that Spiritual Consolation is a very different reality from Natural Consolation. The word, consolation, on its own, refers to an action of another person to provide one with feelings of joy, happiness, to life one out of a pain or suffering, to provide a moment of levity or peace. Natural consolations can come in forms of hugs, or phone calls; can be provided to oneself through a piece of chocolate or a glass of wine. These Natural Consolations must never be confused with the greatness of a Spiritual Consolation. Even in our day to day lives, God, Himself, may give us various natural consolations: beautiful sunset, a few over a lake, a moment in nature hearing the birds chirping. We ought to give thanks to God for these gifts, but these moments of Spiritual Consolation are much more profound and important. These small natural consolations can also be used as a launch pad into a spiritual consolation.
to be continued…
look for part 4 next week