SJC10 - Barricades on the Road to Contemplation, Part 1 - St. John of the Cross with Fr. Donald Haggerty

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Barricades on the Road to Contemplation, Part 1 – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty

Fr. Donald Haggerty discusses the spiritual obstacles, or “barricades,” that hinder the path to deeper contemplation, as outlined in Chapter 7 of his book. Drawing from St. John of the Cross’ The Dark Night, he explains how the seven capital sins manifest as spiritual vices, impeding progress in the interior life. The dangers of spiritual pride—where one becomes self-absorbed in their own growth—and spiritual avarice, where the pursuit of consolations in prayer can become an obstacle to true surrender to God. We must be aware of the temptation to measure one’s spiritual progress through experiences rather than love and self-forgetfulness, and that true growth requires detachment and humility.

Spiritual lust can subtly emerge as a distraction, either through natural human tendencies or even demonic influence, especially when deepening one’s prayer life. We need perseverance in prayer, focusing not on emotional experiences but on the will’s desire for God. Genuine love for God is not based on feelings but on fidelity, trust, and self-abandonment, as exemplified by saints like St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Teresa of Calcutta.

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions

Recognizing Spiritual Pride: How do you guard against the temptation to measure your spiritual progress based on feelings or personal achievements rather than love and self-forgetfulness?
Detaching from Spiritual Avarice: In what ways do you seek spiritual consolations in prayer, and how can you surrender more fully to God’s will regardless of emotional experiences?
Understanding the Role of Humility: How does self-forgetfulness help you grow in humility, and what practical steps can you take to focus more on God rather than yourself in your spiritual life?
Persevering Through Dryness in Prayer: When you experience dryness or lack of consolation in prayer, how can you respond with faith and perseverance rather than frustration or discouragement?
Discerning Spiritual Distractions: How do you recognize and resist subtle distractions or temptations, such as spiritual lust, that may arise as you deepen your life of prayer?
Embracing Hidden Acts of Love: What hidden acts of love and service can you offer without seeking recognition, trusting that God sees and values them?
Anchoring in Scripture: How can you incorporate the Gospels more intentionally in your prayer life to remain focused on God rather than seeking personal experiences?
Trusting in God’s Formation: How can you embrace the slow and often challenging process of spiritual purification, trusting that God is leading you to deeper union with Him?

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

“We can view this next chapter as an argument in defense of the rigors of purification proposed in the many previous instructions. It is a preparatory chapter for taking up a more concentrated examination of the prayer of contemplation in the subsequent chapters. The treatise of The Dark Night begins in book 1 with a vivid treatment of certain imperfections commonly seen in those still in the earlier stages of spiritual pursuit. Saint John of the Cross is referring here to people who have already committed themselves to a habit of spiritual exercises and daily prayer, usually in the structured context of religious life, yet among laity as well, but who typically do not understand yet the serious nature of giving themselves fully to God. They are untried in the rigors of dedicated virtue and have not faced yet the arduous interior struggles that must be withstood over some time before a depth of spiritual quality embraces the soul. There can be no tested endurance in a soul that has not had sufficient time to persevere through hard trials.

This demand is not just a need for seasoning and maturing in the experience of the spiritual life. The essential testing is much more fundamental. As an astute spiritual psychologist, Saint John of the Cross plunges underneath the surface of lives and identifies the motivation of souls in the early period of spiritual pursuit as often sullied and impure. Almost everyone in this early period of the spiritual life professes to be seeking only God, while at the same time the person shows signs of being excessively preoccupied with self in the spiritual pursuit. Saint John of the Cross comments explicitly: “Since their motivation in their spiritual works and exercises is the consolation and satisfaction they experience in them, and since they have not been conditioned by the arduous struggle of practicing virtue, they possess many faults and imperfections in the discharge of their spiritual activities” (DN 1.1.3). In this incisive section at the beginning of The Dark Night, he uses the schema of the seven capital vices to expose seven spiritual vices that generally afflict souls in the early period of a spiritual life. It proves to be an interesting commentary on the factor of underlying self-interest in the pursuit of spiritual life. This tendency to self-preoccupation demands a clear effort of interior mortification if we are to seek God with the selfless spirit that can lead eventually to contemplative graces in prayer.”

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 141-142). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.