The second way of watering the garden of our lives is compared by St. Teresa of Avila to the system of water wheel and aqueducts. In her mystical experience, this kind of prayer is called „prayer of quietness” and comes to express the level in spiritual life of union of wills between God and a person. In what consists this way? In the Book of Life St. Teresa described it as a state, a moment, a practice when all the inner strength and skills of a persons gather together inside of this person to enjoy this pleasure of encounter with God more fully, although they don’t get totally lost nor asleep. The will gives its permission to a person to abandon herself totally in God, loving him above all other things. The memory and imagination are left to their own, allowed to wander wherever they want because even with all the work they are doing, they cannot disturb the will is united with God.

A person feels content and consolation. There is no place for tiredness even when the prayer lasts for a longer period of time. As a fruit, a person learns to appreciate more this inner joy and pleasure than anything else that she was used to enjoy in the world. It is because at this point, a person feels that God is really near, that he understands her and he wants to re-create a person according to his will. She feels that God is preparing her for greater things to come.

Sometimes a person can be passing through difficult moment in life, can be experiencing this feeling of having lost everything and that it is no longer possible that the garden of her life will flower again. Yes, depression is real even in spiritual life. St. Teresa advices to remain humble and hope, even against all hope, that God will take away all the weeds that still grow in our hearts. It can be compared to the experience of the passive night of the soul described by St. John of the Cross, when God takes it all so that a person can learn to cherish him as her only treasure and meaning of her life.

But what is more common in this state is to feel satisfaction, peace and contempt that cannot be produced by our own efforts nor sustained longer than we would wish for. It is a pure gift from God, there is nothing we can do to make it happen. It is a sign that God is calling us to become his „strong friends” to sustain those who are weaker. The prayer is never for pure delight of a person, it is also related closely to the mission; it is a charism that God gives to some people for the benefit of others. It is a gift received for good of all.

Therefore, what can we do to be able to enjoy this quietness and peace? Nothing. Completely nothing. Our memory and imagination, since they are not totally quiet, may be presenting to us the need of giving thanks to God or to feel unworthy of such a great gifts. But all of this only distracts a person from remaining in union of wills with God. The only thing we can do is to say some quiet and delightful words of love recognizing that we are near to God and we can tell him anything or ask anything. Nevertheless, we say it all better with desire to be heard than with the physical or mental words. The desire means a lot because this is what the union of wills is all about.

All of it should be done in simplicity and with much love more than trying to show God how much we know of him or how well we know the Bible. We need to learn to allow our souls to rest in this place. In front of God, a simple act of humility has more value than any amount of wordily knowledge.

The most important thing, if we want to be admitted in this state of life, it is to BE DECIDED FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL only because of the love of God and never, ever, try to find happiness or pleasure in the things we do for him. And if we are able to do so, we will soon see beautiful fruits of this union: humility and a kind of confusion in seeing how little we are but God still chooses us to be near to him; strong desire to continue in this journey; the will to say „yes” to anything God may demand of us; security (although with fear and humility) that we are meant to be saved; grown fear and committing sins so to not offend God; unreserved and disinterested love for God; desire of solitude to enjoy more the presence of God; and even if a person falls again in sin (because it is impossible not to fall) she raises up much quicker and easier than before.

At the end, St. Teresa will say that there are many people who arrive to this state, who receive this invitation from God, but only few of them pass to the next level, next kind of prayer… Why? We will see tomorrow…

 

Prepared by: Aleksandra Nawrocka CMT