Welcome to Part 6 of a new weekly series on the formation journey of Josh, a first-year novice at the Marian House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Watch for a new entry every Friday.
It was 6:30 a.m. I sat on my pew with the Marians in chapel as Michael, our prayer leader this week, led the community in the Liturgy of the Hours. Our community’s rhythmic recitation of the psalms commenced.
The first psalm of the morning was a battle song, and I prayed it deliberately against my spiritual foes, demons who mean me harm. This song of petition, hope, and thanksgiving was followed by a canticle drawn from Isaiah 61:10-62:5.
As I read the canticle, I felt my heart fill with joy.
In class, Fr. Jim advised us that when the Lord speaks to us and we feel His consolation, it is wise to do what St. Francis de Sales recommended and return to this flower like a bee to draw out all the nectar. We want to “soak in” all that God wishes to share in a consolation.
After the communal prayers were over and we’d begun meditation, I got out my breviary again and returned to that canticle.
Even the very first words kept playing on my heartstrings. “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul.” I began praying these words, and then alternating them with the Virgin Mary’s first words in her Magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk 1:46).
Father Jim advised us that when the Lord speaks to us and we feel His consolation, it is wise to do what St. Francis de Sales recommended and return to this flower like a bee to draw out all the nectar. We want to “soak in” all that God wishes to share in a consolation.
Mary's character
These words of Mary speak to me very deeply about her character, her mindset, and her relationship with God.
Mary is characterized by joy, by the most profound happiness, because of her breathtaking maternal intimacy with Jesus. These words of Mary are some of my favorites among her gems from the Bible. They express so much about how Christianity rewards those who live this faith deeply. Jesus said He came to Earth that we might have life, “and have it abundantly.”
Mary’s tremendous joy reveals the “abundance” of supernatural life she was enjoying, and she radiated God’s Spirit to her cousin Elizabeth through just the sound of her voice when greeting her (see Lk 1:41, 44).
I first prayed Isaiah’s words of joy, then Mary’s, and then returned again to Isaiah’s — myself filled with joy, as well! I kept repeating their inspired words.
This was a spiritual consolation, a gift from God given to unite a person more closely to Him.
The words from the reading continued speaking love to me. The Lord spoke of declaring God’s Word to the “nations,” and of no longer being called “Desolate” or “Forsaken,” words that aptly characterize how I felt at various times in my journey.
The Lord promised, “You shall be called ‘My Delight,’ and your land ‘Espoused.’ For the Lord delights in you, and makes your land his spouse.” He went on to say, “As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you.”
Marriage with God
Consecration through the vow of chastity can be understood as a kind of marriage with God. My grandmother Betty devoted more and more of her life to prayer after her husband, Arthur, died. One night, she felt a man’s arm around her. She said, “Art?” She heard a voice respond, “I am not he, but I am here. I will be your husband now.”
She knew it was Jesus. Jesus became Betty’s Spouse as she adopted a lifestyle focused intensely on Him. Consecrated life aims at reaching the depths of intimacy with God.
Father Jim taught us novices in class to pay attention to what the Lord shares during consolations — times of spiritual love, joy, and peace. God’s timing isn’t ours, and His ways aren’t ours, but this is the time when we are much more likely to be hearing God rightly.
The one passage from Isaiah kept my spirit overjoyed throughout the half-hour meditation. Eventually, I returned to Mary’s words and the first words of Isaiah. “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul ... My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”
Next entry: "Full of Grace."
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