Grade 7: Prayer of Union

According to Prof. Jordan Aumann: "The prayer of union is that grade of mystical prayer in which all the internal faculties are gradually captivated and occupied with God. In the prayer of quiet only the will was captivated; in the sleep of faculties the intellect was also captivated, although the memory and the imagination remained free. In the prayer of union all the interior faculties, including the memory and the imagination, are captivated. Only the external bodily senses are now free." (Spiritual Theology, p.340)

Indeed, "the intensity of the mystical experience caused by the prayer of union is indescribable. It is superior beyond compare to that of the preceding grade, to the point that the body itself is affected by the working of God in the soul. Without being entirely captivated, the external senses become almost helpless and inoperative. The soul experiences divine reality with such intensity that it could easily fall into ecstasy. At the beginning, this sublime absorption of the faculties in God lasts but a short time (a half hour at most), but as the intensity increases, it may be prolonged for several hours." (Cf. Ibid., pp.340-341).

Ultimately, we are all created to be in complete loving union with God. Only in this intimate union with God, made possible through our unceasing cooperation with God's grace, can we find our ultimate of all ultimate realities and meanings of life. In a way, all the rest should be regarded as the varying countless means to this very end. We cannot emphasize or repeat enough that such is the most important goal not only of a Christian, but also of every human being. Yet how rare is this divine truth being mentioned, for example, in the public media? Very often we are so eager to help others in every possible way to gain great knowledge and to build a better world, but we tend to miss out this goal of God in creation. Various saints, as we know, have made it clear that our hearts remain forever restless unless they rest in our intimate union with God and God alone.

Heaven is when we are in intimate union with God. While there is undeniably a certain degree of union with God in each of the previous grades of prayer (i.e., grade 1 to 6), such a crescendo is leading us gradually only to these three prayers of union, i.e., grade 7, 8 and 9. According to St. Teresa, they are generically the same prayer; the difference lies in the intensity of God's grace through which God initiates, continues and unites the soul ever more completely to Himself. (cf. Ibid., p.344)

The kingdom of God is within us (cf. Lk 17:21) By virtue of God's omnipresent grace or energy which permeates everything in creation, every one of us, just as we are, is a natural carrier of God's grace or energy. On the one hand, we can continue to overlook without end such an awesome omnipresence of God ever immanent within, and live according to the desires of the flesh (or ungodly energies) at the superficial levels. On the other hand, in spite of being overwhelmed or veiled by countless layers of sinful and unholy energies, we can begin, however slowly, to unbury, uncover or activate God's living presence hidden deep within. This is the interior journey needed to make towards our intimate union with God who is within us all.

Accordingly, the essential characteristics of the prayer of union and the signs by which it can be recognized and distinguished from previous grades of prayer are a) absence of distractions which are psychologically impossible; b) certitude of being intimately united with God in which the soul cannot doubt that it experiences God during this prayer; c) absence of weariness and tedium in which the soul absorbed in God never wearies of its union with the Beloved, however long it may last. (Cf. Ibid, pp.341-342)

Moreover, the people enjoying such an intimate union with God seem to look at the world very differently. In the words of Fr. Aumann, "St. Teresa lists the principal effects of the prayer of union in the Fifth Mansions of her Interior Castle. The soul is so anxious to praise God that it would gladly die a thousand deaths for his sake. It has an intense longing to suffer great trials, and experience vehement desires for penance and solitude. It wishes that all souls would know God, and it is greatly saddened when it sees God is offended. The soul is dissatisfied with everything that it sees on earth, since God has given it wings so that it can fly to him. And whatever it does for God seems very little by comparison with what it desires to do. Its weakness has been turned into strength, and it is no longer bound by any ties of relationship or friendship or worldly possessions. It is grieved at having to be concerned with the things of earth, lest these things should cause it to sin against God. Everything wearies it because it can find no true rest in any created thing." (Ibid., p.342)

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