I have been reading "The Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux." Chapter 8 begins with a passage about the day she professed her final vows to become a Carmelite nun, an event for which she longed for years.
She wrote: "Now I must tell you about my retreat for Profession. Far from eperiencing any consolation, complete aridity - desolation, almost - was my lot. Jesus was asleep in my little boat as usual. How rarely souls let Him sleep peacefully within them. Their agitation and all their requests have so tired out the Good Master that He is only too glad to enjoy the rest I offer Him."
This passage turns the "dark night of the soul" on its head for me! Sometimes I feel like God is absent. Now I can just think, "Jesus is just asleep in my little boat. Get some rest, Jesus, and I'll wake You when I really need You!"
(Nonetheless, I am glad that the Ignatian Retreat I took just before professing my vows as a priest was FULL of consolation!!)
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