De profundis
Coming Out of the Depths
It sometimes happens that youthful souls allured by the poisonous glamour of sin, or even souls long tormented by deeply rooted patterns of sin, seek out a spiritual father and ask for his counsel. Our Lord knows their confusion, their fears, and their searchings. He will not leave such souls in darkness. So often they do not know why they are beset by certain temptations. They stay away from the Church for fear of condemnation and because, instinctively, they recoil from anything that may push them over the edge into despair. To knock at the door of a priest or show up in a confessional may be an act of heroic courage.
Refuge of Sinners and Mother of Mercy
The Church must be for all the refuge of sinners, the mother of mercy, and the comforter of the afflicted. She must offer hope and consolation to souls in the throes of persistent temptations. It is a great pity that, so often, her message is perceived as one of condemnation and rejection. Monks, in particular, are bound to intercede for those who struggle with these things, asking Our Lady (whom the Church calls Spes nostra, Our Hope) to send them consolers and emissaries of hope to show them the way to lasting happiness.
First Prayer
The first thing that a spiritual father must teach such souls is how to pray. Without the light that comes in prayer, nothing else makes sense. It is, I think, a waste of breath to begin by speaking of natural law, of commandments, and of precepts while a soul is still in a kind of outer darkness.
The Rosary
The rosary, for example, that simple repetitive prayer that sophisticated types disdain, obtains light for souls immersed in darkness. The effects of the rosary are deep and far–reaching. I remember the assurance that a wise old Irish–American Dominican, Father Cajetan Sheehan, used to give his penitents in confession. (I was one of his penitents!) Invariably, after hearing the sad rehearsal of one’s sins, he would ask, “Do you pray the rosary, son?” “Yes, Father, I do” would whisper the penitent from the other side of the confessional grille. “Ahhh, then,” said Father Sheehan, “you’ll be alright!”
Conversion
A soul who begins to pray the rosary humbly and perseveringly will very quickly begin to change. Evil will lose its grip on such a soul. Light will overtake the darkness. Anxiety will give way to peace. Conversion of life is a fruit of prayer, not a condition for it. I tell souls to begin by praying; the grace to change one’s way of life will follow. When a spiritual father begins by telling a soul to pray, he must emphasize that one begins by praying as one can, and not as one thinks one ought. Too many souls avoid praying because they think they cannot pray well. Prayer is a cry from the heart. Even the Holy Ghost prays in us with unutterable groanings (cf. Romans 8:26).
The soul who says, “Jesus, mercy!” has already begun to change, for such a cry from the heart is the first sign of grace at work to restore a soul’s freedom and to draw her to Our Lord’s Heart. The more a soul prays, as Our Lord gives her grace to pray, the more will she receive from Him the grace to see what sin is, to turn away from it, to detest it, and to walk in the light.
Right and Good
Long explanations of what is wrong and why it is wrong are not necessary when a soul has begun to pray. There will be time for that later. Let the soul first begin, in prayer, to see and to know for herself that what is right is good for her, and that what is good is right for her.
