Special spiritual experiences are the resources and encouragements to stay committed to the Christian struggle. If life in general is difficult, Jesus’ way of moral transformation is even more difficult. Over the years we have heard so many recitals of spiritual experiences; times when people felt connected to God, times when they realised the love that ‘moves the sun and the stars’, times when they saw clearly the spiritual foundation of the universe. Since these experiences are always demarcated, having a beginning and an end, we could ask these people about the aftermath. Many would say they seek other experiences like it or have stored it in memory or written it down and carry it with them. Although these responses seem normal, they drift into tent building on the mountain.
The point is not to hold special experiences, but to listen to them. The extraordinary vision is not valuable in itself. It is a ‘good’ that recommits us to the challenges of what goodness is. We need to experience higher truths for engaging the ‘long haul’ difficulties of moral living. We need to visit the mountain but not stay there. Do not say I have been to the mountain – say I have returned to the earth and am walking towards Jerusalem.
God bless your Lent time,
with love and prayers Fr Michael