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Spiritual Desolation
to consider that the enemy will seek to convince us,
through our feelings, of the exact opposite of what is
true in this case.
The time of aridity is the best time to practice resignation
to God’s holy will. I do not say you will feel no pain
in seeing yourself deprived of the sensible presence of
God; it is impossible for the soul not to feel it and lament
over it, when even our Lord cried out on the Cross: My
God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Here again this great Doctor of souls provides a bit
of relief to the reader who thinks, “How is this all
possible? It’s as if he is asking me to be a robot and
feel nothing in all of life’s trials.” Nothing could be
further from the truth. St. Alphonsus refers to Jesus’
deep suffering on the Cross. It isn’t that we don’t feel
these trials — we can and will always feel them. The
question is: How will we respond to how we feel? Will
our feelings dictate our response? Or will we exercise
our will to face the difficulty with God’s help, maintain
our resignation to His holy will, and remain in
His holy embrace?
At the time of this publication, American culture
has fallen apart. It gives us advice that is exactly opposed
to St. Alphonsus’s. The culture tells us: If you
don’t like someone, replace that person. That includes
yourself! If you get tired of your spouse, get a divorce.
If you don’t want a baby, get an abortion. If you’re
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