Most Catholics go to St. John of the Cross or St. Teresa of Avila for the description of the Illuminative and Unitive States. However, I find St. Bernard's writings more clear. St. Teresa was, despite her descriptions of the Mansions, not as systematic as St. John, who studied St. Thomas Aquinas, or St. Bernard, who had a fantastic genius.
The Illuminative State, as I have discussed through some of the Doctors of the Church and Garrigou-Lagrange, follows the Dark Night and the purgation of both the senses and the spirit.
St. Bernard, one of the most mystical of the Doctors, has much to say about this state. Let me put his words into bullet points to make this discussion easier to understand.
- The Illuminative State follows trials and purgation. It follows the time of Faith, when one walks in darkness without consolations.
- Great temptations precede this state, as part of the purification process.
- As God purifies the emotions, imagination and memory, one is ready to meet God without preconceived images. However, the Incarnation becomes more real and one falls in love with Christ in an affective way.
- This sensible love is imperfect and comes before the Illuminative Stage.
- God comes to the soul in "life and efficacy". These moments of God entering the person as in a movement of the heart and soul marks the beginning of the Illuminative Stage.
- It is Divine Love Who visits the soul, but not for long, for moments now and then.
- Bernard uses the term "ecstasy" to mean the Illumination from God.
- The soul, the imagination and knowledge are exalted.
- In Bernard's own words, "Each time that you hear or read that the Word and the soul speak together and gaze upon one another, do not think that there is question of voices in the ear or visions seen in the imagination. The speech of the Word is his goodness which grants this grace, and the speech of the soul is its ardent love." Sermon 45:7
- Note that the soul must be so purified that it is free of sensory images. This is harder today with television and movies of Christ, imo.
- Intellectual rapture comes in this Illuminative State. This involves "the infusion of joys, a revealing of mysteries, a marvelous and indistinguishable blending of the divine light with the enlightened mind...When all the stain and rust of vice has been consumed by this flame and the conscience is cleansed and filled with peace there follow a certain swift and unaccustomed dilation of the soul and an inpouring flood of light for the understanding of Scriptures and the penetration of the divine mysteries." Sermon 57:8
I shall go on to the State of Union in the next post.
But, let me share this, which I also shared in posts past. None of the Illumination can happen until the purgative states are finished. And, no one should be in a leadership position, states Bernard, with authority over others spiritually, unless one is in the Unitive State. How far our clerics and nuns have fallen from this goal.
To be continued....
