Union with God (St. Teresa of Avila)
In the gospel of John chapter 17 our Lord
Jesus Christ prayed for the unity of his followers: “Holy Father, keep them in
your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one."
How is Jesus united with his Father? What is the essence of this Divine Union?
In her famous Interior Castle our Holy
Mother, St. Teresa of Avila describes this divine union as "Spiritual
Betrothal (Marriage). Using the image of a candle she tries to describe the
nature of this divine union. "... Let us say that the union is like the
joining of two wax of candles to such an extent that the flame coming from them
is but one, or that the wick, the flame and the wax are all one." -
Interior Castle VII:2,p4. The flame that comes out of two or three candles are
usually one and it very difficult, if not impossible to separate the flame from
each other. One cannot even separate the smoke that comes out of the two
candles. That is what happens when one is united with God, especially in
contemplative prayer.
Anther image St. Teresa used to describe
the nature of this divine union is the image of rain water and river water.
According to her "In spiritual marriage the union is like what we have
when rain falls from the sky into a river or fount; all is water, for the rain
that fell from heaven cannot be divided or separated from the water of the
river." To make it more interesting, we can as well add a borehole water
to the rain and river water. Now, after mixing the three different sources of
water, can one easily separate them? When they are all joined together, you
will hardly know which one is rain water and which is borehole or even water
from the river. This is what divine union is all about. When we are united with
God in contemplative prayer, we become one with God; when this happens nothing
and nobody can separate us from God. That is exactly what our Lord Jesus Christ
meant when He prayer: "...that they may be one, even as we are one."
May God keep us united with him and for him through Christ our Lord - Amen!
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