Emotion & Eternity Rev. T. Spidlik, SJ Translated by Fr. Vit Fiala, OFM

Grace is mysteriously hidden in the depths of the human soul from the moment of Baptism. However, it communicates its presence through human emotions.

Man is created in such a way that he can cooperate with divine grace. Evdokimov says, therefore, that “charism is part of human nature”. The term “charisma” has become quite modern. Some groups boast that during their meetings “one can feel the spirit”. This has been a problematic issue from the very beginning of Christianity. Messalians, a group condemned in the fourth century, claimed that individuals must feel the spirit within themselves. On the other hand, a lack of feeling was also considered to be a sickness of a hardened heart in relation to Divine mercy. Diadochos, one of the Fathers, dominated in debates on this issue. He summarized the divine pedagogy in a few short points:

1. Grace is present from the very beginning. It cannot be separated from man. Together they create one nature.

2. In the beginning of the spiritual life, one usually perceives grace in the form of consolation and spiritual joy.

3. Following progress, grace is hidden, and God tests His follower’s patience and faith with desolation.

4. When the period of purification is over, a lasting period of consolation and joy settles within a soul.

Those who desire to obtain interior experience too quickly put themselves at risk of falling victim to deceptive and false feelings. God gives his grace to whom He wants, how He wants, and when He wants. The Fathers were especially skeptical of those who desired to have visions. Philoxenos of Mabburgh shares an anecdote of a monk to whom a devil appeared in human form and claimed to be Christ Himself. To that the monk responded that he had no desire to see Christ in this world. St. Simeon the New Theologian also presents a prudent view. He finds that normal spiritual feelings are like a woman who has conceived a child. She knows that the child is within her but she does not yet know how the child will look after being born. Similarly, we live in hope, thanking Him when he strengthens us with interior consolations. Experience itself will teach us which encounter is genuine, when we discern that an encounter leads us to doing good, keeping our obligations, loving our neighbor and not to illusory fantasies which lead us away from reality.

II

"We are called to celebrate eternal life from which all life originates. From Him every creature has its being and each in its own way, according to its capacity, shares His life. The divine life, which is higher than any other life, vivifies and conserves all life."

- Dionysius Areopagita, On The Divine Names 6

God is ever-living; Jesus bestows life; He came “so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (Jh10:10), He is the life (Jh 13:6). Therefore, those who believe in Christ are destined to undergo the transition from death to life (Jh 5:24). Modern exegetes recognize that the Fathers of the Church pondered on some of the eschatological truths listed above more than contemporary Christians, and with a joyous perspective daily anticipated “the universal restoration” (Act 3:21). However, the ultimate destiny of the world, the four last things, is rooted in the vibrant reality of the present moment. For this reason our attention can focus on either the present moment or the eschatological aspects of eternal life.

During the millennial era of the Middle Ages experienced times when the Christian population expected the imminent end of the world. Preachers threatened their listeners, instilling fear, in an attempt to evoke a sense of repentance. Today this type of “doomsday” preaching is seen as outdated. Instead, preachers tend to emphasize the positive aspects of faith; namely, the performance of good deeds for which the faithful will reap a heavenly reward. When and how the reward is given should not be our concern.

In contrast, the contemplative monks aspired to “see God” eternally living in the present moment, to intuit the reality of heavenly life, and even in their mortal bodies, to imitate the beatific life of angelic spirits. It appears that this way of spiritual life could distance the Christian from practical affairs of life, but one can also cause the opposite. Let me illustrate with an example. A foundress of a religious order was taking care of a very sick woman, who was suffering greatly. The religious sister offered to pray with and for the sick woman, who answered, “if God really existed, I would not be here in such a condition”. The sister continued to take good care of her. After a time the sick woman spoke again; “Sister, there must be a God. The good you have done for me is such a great thing that it cannot be lost, it cannot be forgotten”. This woman received a beautiful understanding of eternal life. We are not destined to receive from God an “unknown reward” for good deeds done during our earthly life. Rather, it is the good itself, done here on earth, which receives an eternal value in Christ. The heavenly definition of blessedness is “eternal liturgy”, in which all good deeds are immortalized. The Byzantine Rite movingly evokes this facet of Christ’s teaching in the funeral liturgy which ends with the hymn titled Vecnaja Pamjat, or “Eternal Memory”.