Raissa writes a hard paragraph and some may be able to identify with these words.
If anyone is able to educe from a human love a genuinely unselfish and spiritual love, even though the roots of this love are in the whole man, his love is pure of sin. A very rare love. And which presupposes that God's place is reserved in the centre of the soul, or at the summit of the spirit; and which is like a fulcrum God uses in human nature in order to transfigure it.
A pure love is one without concupiscence, a love completely chaste. Now, this type of love is possible in marriage as well as in the single state. It is easier for those who are celibate to find this type of love, which is why the call to the convent or monastery is a more perfect way.
To find this unselfish and spiritual love, one must suffer the loss, even the absence of consolation from the beloved. Raissa sacrificed her intense love for Jacques so that he could do the work God called him to do in both Europe and other parts of the world. Why this love is so rare is that humans desire both consolation and response in love.
Psychologists do not like unrequited love or sacrificial love unless they understand this sublime call. Few do and those who do not criticize intense love without fulfillment, as it this type of love were abnormal.
This type of love is supernatural, above nature. Psychologists for the most part deny the soul. Therefore, they cannot understand the value of sacrificial love. They cannot see that God is the center of the soul and that the person aspires to love God in purity of heart and purity of mind.
God uses human love as a "fulcrum", an essential element, like the pivot on which the lever rests.
For some, this human love may have been consummated in a marriage. For others, this love remains unanswered, but still the central point allowing a person to come totally to God.
Raissa calls this love rare. I call it necessary today in this time of growing persecution and trials.
Without Catholics who are willing to "go the distance" in denying self and turning to contemplative prayer, the Church will not have the power she needs to face the coming tribulation. Saints are necessary now more than ever, and this type of pure, selfish love is more necessary now than ever.
The martyrs understood this type of love. They underwent suffering without receiving human love. They were more than rejected, they were tortured and killed for the sake of Love. They "went the distance".
I pray that those called to suffer in this way find support in their families, from their spouses. It is extremely hard to face this intense way alone, as I know from experience. Yes, one is alone in the purification, but to have needs met and to have protection are necessities. Solitude demands protection.
It is interesting that Raissa's spiritual director told Jacques that she was not to change her schedule or activities when in this deep suffering. This is my cross, to have to change, to move, to not be still while called to this sacrificial love. Please join me in prayer for that stability, which forms the basis for purgation in convents and monasteries. Schedules and routine free a person up to enter into the depths of the interior life.
to be continued...
