No matter how much “Salesian optimism” may be true, it has in no way altered the traditional conception of the Christian journey for Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane Frances de Chantal. However optimistic one may be and however much one places emphasis on gentleness (even with oneself), this does not change the Cross. Both founders of Salesian-Visitandine spirituality are thoroughly traditional, corresponding with Thomas Aquinas and pseudo-Dionysius on states of prayer, referencing Saint Teresa, and concurring with the internal spiritual logic of Saint John of the Cross’ “dark night of the senses and the spirit”. There’s an internal logic to these things, springing up clearly from the notion that we are given the seed of eternal life in this life, and that, like all seeds, it must grow steadily towards maturity.
In a conference on prayer given to her congregation (the Visitation of Holy Mary), Saint Jane discusses this internal logic.
When love enters into a soul it makes it happy to die to self to live again to God, for it despoils it of all natural desires and of that self-love which clings as closely to the spirit as the skin does to the flesh.
This is the beginning of Love’s taking control of the soul (and thus giving it freedom). The most base desires are stripped off. But then, oh, then –
Then God strips it of the most laudable affections, such as those it had to spiritual consolations, to exercises of piety, to the perfection of the virtues, which seemed to be the very life of the devout soul.
Yes, the same Lord who in the beginning gave us the desire for the attainment of virtues and made us practise them on every occasion now takes from us all such affections, that with the greater tranquillity, purity, and simplicity we may have no loving desire for anything save his Divine Majesty’s sweet will.
How dark is this night! The soul had found her infinite Light… and then, after some time following the Light, the Light no longer seems bright. The Light says: “I will that you love Me, rather than the consolation you find in loving Me. All affections for feeling good in doing good are secondary. Will you lose them? Of course you must, because I ask it, and you love Me. This is normal. Will you lose these affections for my gifts, rather than for Me? In prayer, in virtue, in all things: it will be only Me, not even consolations in doing well.”
This is a dark night. But it leads to something true, good, real, simple, beautiful:
She no longer practises virtues because they are to her liking, but because God desires it.
She no longer eats, studies, goes about daily business, but for the same reason. It is all bound up together, all taken up into prayer, and it is all surrendered. The one thing necessary is God’s will, nothing else. All becomes God’s will, for God’s will is all she seeks and sees.
In a word, we must die on the Cross, all naked, with our Divine Saviour and arise afterwards as a new creation with him.
The dark night is the Cross, for us weakened as we are. The goal is the new creation and the resurrection planted as seed and already real in Baptism, but desiring to grow to its full form. This is the meaning of the dark night: we are the Paschal People.
Some related posts:
Contemplative in the Mud 