Come Apart into a Desert Place and Rest a Little

       Something that I've been thinking about a lot here lately is spiritual dryness. Many of the saints have written about it, from St. John of the Cross to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. St. John considered it to be a purging of the vain things in life so that the soul could come into a relationship with God that was not contingent on feelings or emotions. While knowing this can give hope, it doesn't make us feel better. Feeling better would defeat the purpose of the dryness, and so it is something that needs to be endured with patience. 


      Oftentimes what seems like dryness is due to sin in our lives, and the solution is as close as the nearest confessional. That has certainly been the case with me on many occasions. Other times though it is God calling us into a deeper union with him. One that doesn't depend on the warm and fuzzies, or kid gloves. The author of Hebrew writes "For every one that is a partaker of milk, is unskillful in the word of justice: for he is a little child. But strong meat is for the perfect; for them who by custom have their senses exercised to the discerning of good and evil." As long as we are immature as Christians then we will want the sweet milk that we receive when we get the chills, and our time in prayer is refreshing, and all the things that go with young love.


       Sadly many Christians never leave this stage of spiritual infatuation and this leads to a Church that is filled with baby Christians who are unable to defend their faith, they are not "...ready always to satisfy everyone that asketh you a reason of that hope that is in you." This troubles me. I am a convert to the Catholic Church, and for those of you who do not know, becoming a Catholic is a very involved process. 


      The first step is usually speaking with a priest who will then direct you to the director of the RCIA*. The person will then go through a process of intense prayer, discernment, and learning before they decide whether or not they want to become Catholic. The whole process ideally takes a year at minimum, but can last much longer. While the process is not perfect, I feel it prepares the person to live a Christian life much better than the "Hallelujah, here's your Bible" approach that is taken by many Christians today in their evangelization. 


      My reason for going into the subject of RCIA is that even then there are periods of dryness. "Am I doing the right thing?" "What if I'm being lied to?" "What will my family and friends think?" The prayer that I grew in during that time sustained me, and still does. I learned how to pray the Scriptures in Lectio Divina, I learned how to meditate on the life of Christ in the Rosary, I learned how to unite myself with the entire Church through the Liturgy of the Hours, and these all helped me grow and get through those dry times. 

      God does not leave us alone. Our Lord tells us "I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." Even though we feel completely abandoned, he is there and is bringing us through our sufferings so that we can be more closely united to him. The desert may seem lonely and barren, but from the barrenness of our souls God will bring new life; life that is pure, and has him as its focus.

*RCIA: Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.