What is the difference between an emotional encounter and a spiritual encounter ? The saints explain .
HOW TO Personally
ENCOUNTER GOD
What is the difference between an emotional encounter and a spiritual encounter ? The saints explain .
Dr . Elizabeth Salas
ENCOUNTERING A PERSON FOR THE FIRST TIME —
ESPECIALLY A DYNAMIC , ATTRACTIVE , OR COMPEL- LING PERSON — IS EXCITING . INDEED , “ ENCOUNTER ” SUGGESTS A SPONTANEOUS OR UNEXPECTED MEETING BETWEEN TWO PERSONS THAT LEAVES A DEEP EMO- TIONAL IMPRESSION , EVEN A MESSAGE OR REALIZATION UNIQUE TO THAT MOMENT .
Beyond just knowing about a person , encountering a person seems to be deeply intimate , even inexplicable . An encounter of the soul with Jesus may be yet more intense , since he knows us “ in our inmost being .”
But to capture Christ , personally and deeply within us , requires a soul willing to mature in its encounter .
The “ Felt ” Encounter
Since we are embodied souls , we naturally seek an encounter with God that we can feel — an emotional encounter . God created us like this ; indeed , our faith is sacramental because our senses lead us to all the knowledge we are capable of acquiring . Because we delight in our senses , we want to taste , touch , and experience God bubbling within us . We want to cry holy tears , to feel inner joy .
Often , such an encounter is had when we receive unexpected mercy , unexpected welcome , or see God ’ s providence at work starkly , suddenly . We “ feel ” God when , lonely in some hidden way , we realize we are in fact not alone .
Or , faced with a failing relationship , we realize God ’ s arms are always open . God , who seems far off , “ comes down ” to our hearts . There is nothing more pleasurable to us than this “ feeling ” of God , and such an experience can be the “ door ” to a life that is lastingly spiritual .
However , we must not confuse an emotional encounter with a personal encounter . Because of concupiscence , our senses are greedy , turned inward . We want to relish the “ felt ” encounter . We relish what we " get out of " spirituality — the pleasure or coziness that spirituality produces — rather than the Giver himself .
Getting Beyond Emotions
When emotions run high , we tend to think we are quite close to God , even holy . Spirituality seems easy , and so all intellectual work on our part seems superfluous . We come to the point where we can ’ t read a long article , or hear a homily that is too philosophical or weighty in theological categories . But then the teachings of the Church and of the great scholar-saints cannot be communicated accurately to our souls , and we are actually distanced from God .
Moreover , emphasizing emotion tends to de-emphasize criticism and discernment — anything that would dampen fervor — under the pretext of receptivity or humility . Thus extraordinary phenomena , such as tongues , are generally accepted without criticism , making us spiritually vulnerable .
St . John of the Cross writes that , in such phenomena , “ the devil habitually meddles so freely , that I believe it impossible for a
6 Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2017