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Using the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Fr. Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss how the goal of prayer is union with God, not the pursuit of mystical experiences. St. John cautions against seeking extraordinary spiritual phenomena, such as visions or locutions, as these can lead to spiritual pride or self-deception. True spiritual growth often occurs in dryness and trials, where one learns to surrender completely to God in faith and trust, mirroring the Marian disposition of “Let it be done unto me according to Your word.” Holiness lies in seeking God Himself and embracing His will, not in clinging to consolations or perceived gifts.

Discernment in prayer is necessary, as our imagination, desires, and emotions can cloud what we perceive as divine communication. We shouldn’t become attached to spiritual gifts rather than the Giver, a temptation that can stall one’s progress toward deeper union with God. According to St. John of the Cross, authentic prayer leads to humility, self-surrender, and greater love for God and others, whether in joy or aridity. True holiness is not measured by extraordinary experiences but by a life fully offered to God in trust and love.

The urgent need of the soul in prayer must be, as such, to adopt a radical exercise of pure faith in its approach to God. At the point in the spiritual life when contemplative graces are beginning to stir, it is time to lift anchor, as it were, and plunge into deeper waters of faith: “Those who want to reach union with God should advance neither by understanding, nor by the support of their own experience, nor by feeling or imagination, but by belief in God’s being” (AMC 2.4.4). The last phrase “belief in God’s being” may seem ordinary enough. Is that not simply what faith is—to believe in God? But quickly we should recall the real demand in the deeper act of faith—a pure faith—that must take place in contemplative prayer. We must believe in God precisely as One who is beyond our measure or grasp or comprehension. We must adhere to him, search and seek for him, as infinite mystery and as a personal presence of love immediately engaged with us in the current hour of silent prayer. In short, we must enter into faith itself, into the mystery of believing, to approach the personal mystery of God. We believe in him in the prayer of contemplation as we surrender our being into him. We give way to him and allow him to abide in us: “For God’s being cannot be grasped by the intellect, appetite, imagination, or any other sense; nor can it be known in this life. The most that can be felt and tasted of God in this life is infinitely distant from God and the pure possession of him” (AMC 2.4.4).

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (p. 76). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

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