When we struggle in the spiritual life, there are many consolations God has gifted us. Turn to these three constant consolations when you are suffering.
Consolation of Fellow Man
But it must be acknowledged that there are many who struggle greatly with solitude and rely upon a human spiritual director to guide and accompany them. For such people, they should attentively listen to the words of their spiritual director as if they were not merely human words but the words of God communicated to them by means of a human agency.
God speaks to each of us in a way that is adapted to our needs and our state of development. Indeed, whenever necessary, He is willing even to speak to us as if we are little children, sometimes through other human beings and sometimes through the words of Sacred Scripture. We may be confident that whatever consolation, encouragement, correction, and guidance we most truly need, the Lord will never fail to provide it for us. But it behooves us to trust God’s judgment in this matter and not give more weight to our own opinions and preferences.
Consolation of the Sacred Scriptures
For those who find no encouragement or consolation in the things of the external world, Sacred Scripture shall always provide a rich source of delight. For when you read the Gospels or the prophets, do you not feel as if you are enjoying a conversation with Jesus Christ Himself? Is it not a wonderful happiness to encounter the noble apostles and prophets in their inspired writings, just as if you were meeting them face to face?
And when you read the books of other great saints and doctors of the Church, is it not like enjoying the companionship of these awe-inspiring men and women? Surely this is enough to dispel any shadow of tedium or lethargy from one’s mind!
Whenever you read the golden words of Saint Augustine or Saint Gregory the Great, do you not feel like you are looking upon these men as if they were truly present to you? Their wonderful words should not mean less to you or touch you less deeply just because the writers are not there speaking these words to you in the flesh, for whenever you read their books, they are most certainly accompanying you in mind and spirit.
Consolation of the Communion of Saints
Indeed, it is possible to enjoy the companionship and friendship of all the saints, even though they are not physically present or visible to the eyes of the body. For the spiritual person realizes that all are living and present to God, who dwells in eternity. And if these saints are all living and present to God, to whom you yourself are also living and present, does it not follow that the entire communion of saints, and each saint individually, is present to you also?
Though Jesus Himself departed from the world in a physical sense so that we can no longer perceive His presence with our eyes, yet it is not to be doubted that He remains truly and everywhere present to us. For by removing Himself from our physical senses, we are able to perceive Him more truly through the interior vision of faith rather than through the limited exterior vision of physical sight. And for this reason, through faith we are able to cling to Him more closely, to love Him more dearly, and to receive His Spirit more fully than if He were physically with us, like an ordinary human friend. Thus Christ declared, “Unless I go away, the Holy Spirit will not come. It is therefore more beneficial for you that now I depart from your presence.”
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This article is taken from a chapter in Solitude and Silence by Thomas a Kempis which is available from TAN Books.
