The Ascent of Mount CarmelChapter XVIII. How souls are injured because their spiritual directors do nut guide them aright amid these visions. How these visions, though from God, become occasions of error

I CANNOT be so concise with respect to visions as I desire, because of the abundance of the matter. And therefore, though I have said enough, in substance, for the instruction of the spiritual man; how he is to order himself when visions occur, and also for the spiritual director who guides him, how he is to demean himself with his penitent: I think it not superfluous to enter further into the details of this doctrine, and to bring into clearer light the evils that may happen to the penitent on the one hand, and his director on the other, should they be too credulous in the matter of visions, even if those visions come from God. What leads me to enlarge upon this subject, is the little discretion which, I think, I have observed among certain spiritual directors, who, having too great a reliance on these supernatural impressions, because they have ascertained them to be good and from God, have fallen, together with their penitents, into great errors, and involved themselves in many difficulties; thereby verifying the words of our Lord, ‘If the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit.’ *

2. Our Lord does not say they shall fall, but they fall: for it is not necessary for such a fall that it should be one of manifest delusion; the fall is complete in the venturing upon such a mode of direction, and thus, at least, both the director and the penitent fall together. There are some spiritual directors who fall at once into error, because their instructions to those, who are liable to visions, are such as to lead them astray or perplex them with regard to their visions; or they do not direct them in the way of humility. They suffer their penitents to make much of their visions, which is the reason why they walk not according to the pure and perfect spirit of faith; neither do they build them up nor strengthen them in faith, while they attach so much importance to these visions.

3. This kind of direction ‘shows that they themselves consider visions matters of importance; and their penitents, observing this, follow their example, dwelling upon these visions, not building themselves up in faith; neither do they withdraw, nor detach themselves from them, so that they may take their flight upwards in the obscurity of faith. All this results from the language and conduct of spiritual directors; for somehow, a certain sense of satisfaction which is not in our control arises from these things, and withdraws our eyes from the abyss of faith. The reason why this so easily takes place, must be that the soul is so occupied with them, for inasmuch as they are objects of sense, to which we are naturally inclined, and as we have had experience of them, and are disposed for the apprehension of things distinct and sensible; it is enough to see our confessor or any other person appreciate them, to induce us not only to do the same, but also to indulge our desire for them, to feed upon them unconsciously, to be more and more inclined to them, and to hold them in greater estimation.

4, This kind of direction is, at least, a source of many imperfections, for the soul is no longer humble, but thinks itself to be something good, and that God makes much of it; and so it goes on contented and satisfied with itself, which is contrary to humility. The devil also at once applies himself in secret to foster this feeling, while the soul is not aware of it, and suggests to it thoughts about other people, whether they have had visions or not, or whether they are or are not such as they seem to be: all this is contrary to holy simplicity and spiritual solitude. These evils they cannot avoid, because they do not grow in faith. Besides, if souls do not fall into evils as palpable as these, they fall into others of a more subtle nature, and more hateful in the eyes of God, simply because they are not living in detachment.

5. For the present, I shall pursue this subject no further, as I shall have to resume it when I have to treat of spiritual gluttony, and the other six capital vices.² Then, indeed, I shall have much to say of these minute and subtle stains, which defile the mind because of the failure of true direction in detachment. I shall now speak of the method of direction observed by some whose guidance of souls is not good. I wish I could do this well; for in truth, it is a difficult thing to explain how the mind of the penitent becomes secretly conformed to that of his director. It appears to me that we cannot understand the one without understanding ‘the other. Moreover, as they are spiritual things, the one corresponds with the other.

6 It seems to me—and I believe it to be true—that, if the spiritual director be a man who has a weakness for revelations, who is impressed by them, and feels in them a sort of pleasurable satisfaction, he must communicate, without intending it, the same feelings to the mind of his penitent, unless the latter be more advanced in spirituality than he is himself. But even if that be the case, he must do his penitent grievous harm if he continues to direct him. Out of this weakness of the director for revelations, and his satisfaction in them, arises a certain kind of appreciation of them, which, without the utmost care on his part, he cannot but make manifest to his penitent; and if the penitent have the same inclination, in my opinion this weakness will be increased in both by their mutual intercourse.

7. I will not enter into minute details on this subject, and will therefore speak of a director, who, whether having a weakness for visions or not, is not so cautious in his relations with his penitent as he ought to be, so as to relieve him of his embarrassments, and detach him in desire from these visions; but who on the contrary converses with him on the subject, and makes it the chief matter of his spiritual instructions, teaching him how to distinguish between good visions and evil ones. Though this knowledge be good, yet is it not right to inflict on the penitent the labour, anxiety, and danger which it involves, unless in a case of pressing necessity; seeing that by giving no heed to them all this is avoided, and everything done that ought to be done. This is not all; for some directors, when they see that their penitents have visions from God, bid them pray to Him, to reveal to them such and such things concerning themselves or others, and the simple souls obey them, thinking it lawful to seek information in that way. They suppose it lawful to desire, and even to pray for, a revelation, because it is the good pleasure of God to reveal something to them in a supernatural way, in a particular manner or for a particular end. And if God grants to them their petition, they become more and more confident on other occasions, and imagine God to be pleased with this mode of conversing with Him; when in truth it is not pleasing to Him, and contrary to His will. And if they are much given to this mode of conversing with God, they attach themselves to it, and the will acquiesces naturally in it; for as this naturally pleases them, they also naturally fall down to the level of their own perceptions, and frequently err in what they say: and when they see that events have not answered their expectations they are astonished; and doubts assail them as to whether their visions were from God or not, because the issues correspond not with their impressions.

8. They seem to have pre-supposed two things—the first, that the visions came from God, because they had made so deep an impression upon them; and this might be simply the effect of their natural tendency to trust in visions. The second, that as the vision came from God, so the event ought to have answered their expectations or impressions. This is a grand delusion, for the revelations and words of God are not always fulfilled as man understands them, or even in their obvious sense. We must, therefore, not rely upon visions, nor accept them at once, even when we know that they are revelations, answers, or words of God. For though they are certain and true in themselves, it is not of necessity that they should be so in our sense, as I shall show in the next chapter. And I shall further show also that God, though at times supernaturally answering petitions presented to Him, is not pleased with this, and that He is sometimes angry, though He answers.