MOSAIC Spring 2017 | Page 8

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

HOW TO Personally ENCOUNTER GOD What is the difference between an emotional encounter and a spiritual encounter? The saints explain. Dr. Elizabeth Salas E NCOUNTERING 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 encoun- ter 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 natu- rally 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 acquir- ing. Because we delight in our senses, we want to taste, touch, and experience God 6 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 emo- tional encounter with a personal encoun- ter. Because of concupiscence, our senses are greedy, turned inward. We want to Sacred Heart M ��"6V֖�'����6�2�7&��r#p�&VƗ6�F�R( �fV�N( �V�6�V�FW"�vR&VƗ6�v�@�vR&vWB�WB�b"7�&�GVƗG�( GF�R�V7W&R� �6����W72F�B7�&�GVƗG�&�GV6W>( G&F�W �F��F�Rv�fW"���6V�b�vWGF��r&W���BV��F���0�v�V�V��F���2'V���v��vRFV�BF�F���vR&RV�FR6��6RF�v�B�WfVআ�ǒ�7�&�GVƗG�6VV�2V7���B6������FV��V7GV�v�&����W"'B6VV�27WW"Цf�V�W2�vR6��RF�F�R���Bv�W&RvP�6�( �B&VB���r'F�6�R��"�V"���Ц�ǒF�B�2F������6���6��"vV�v�G����F�V���v�6�6FVv�&�W2�'WBF�V�F�P�FV6���w2�bF�R6�W&6��B�bF�Rw&V@�66���"�6��G26���B&R6���V�6FV@�67W&FVǒF��W"6�V�2��BvR&R7GRЦ�ǒF�7F�6VBg&��v�B���&V�fW"�V��6����rV��F���FV�G0�F�FR�V��6��R7&�F�6�6��BF�66W&�Ц�V�N( F�F���rF�Bv�V�BF�V�fW"Чf�.( GV�FW"F�R&WFW�B�b&V6WF�f�G�� ��V֖ƗG��F�W2W�G&�&F��'��V���V���7V6�2F��wVW2�&RvV�W&�ǒ66WFV@�v�F��WB7&�F�6�6������rW27�&�GV�ǐ�gV��W&&�R�7B������bF�R7&�72w&�FW2F�B���7V6���V���V��( �F�RFWf���&�GV�ǒ�VFF�W0�6�g&VVǒ�F�B�&VƖWfR�B���76�&�Rf�"