Dryness

There are certain times in our relationship with Christ when we are called to live out a period of dryness. This lack of sensation is something that the saints have commonly talked about. They say that it is a chance for the soul to grow closer to Christ, a chance for the individual to choose Jesus out of love and not because Jesus makes him feel good. Indeed, many people choose Jesus for just that reason, because He provides them with an emotional rush. The true test for a Christian, though, comes when that rush fades away.

Everybody struggles with this to one degree or another. It is so easy for us to become attached to how Christianity makes us feel. We become attached to the results of the relationship and begin to lose sight of Who we must have a relationship with. So, at certain times, God withdraws His presence from us so as to give us the opportunity to choose Him more freely. He makes it possible for us to choose Him for His own sake, and not simply for how He makes us feel.

These times of dryness are not a sign of holiness, nor are they something that should be sought after. How God makes us feel should not be the object of our religion. How we feel is totally determined by His Divine Providence, and it is done so as to lead us closer to Himself. Sometimes, He wishes us to feel His presence, and at other times He withdraws so that we might feel our littleness and draw closer to Him. That's why these times of dryness are not a sign of any type of holiness; they are an emphasis on how dependent we are on God. We begin to recognize how attached to His consolations we are. When the security blanket of good feeling is withdrawn, we begin to see that we have used Christianity as a way to live happily in this present life. We have lost sight of Who it is we seek to love, now and forever.

This recognition of our littleness, of our dependence, is only complete, though, if we respond in Faith, Hope, and Charity. What good is it to simply know how small and weak we are? If this were the only part of periods of dryness, they would end in despair. However, our littleness and weakness cries out for a Savior, for one who will come and augment our injured being. He does this by working miracles of Faith, Hope, and Charity in our lives. He gives the strength to believe in Him, even if we cannot see. He becomes the object of our hope, so that we make Him the goal of all our actions. He fills our soul with His love, so that we do not become lost in self-pity over our weakness.

We cannot be afraid of these times of dryness, for they are times that are gifts to us from God. We must believe that. We must trust the God knows where He is taking us down this road. He knows how to woo our souls, for He was the one who made them. If we can trust Him to give us these periods of dryness, then we will begin to move beyond how we feel. It will begin to make less of difference if we are receiving consolations or not, and instead we will be focused on Love Himself.

It is my prayer that all of us, as we continue to live this relationship with Christ, might abandon our paths to His control. May we always trust that He knows how to woo us, and may we always respond with the docility of Mary. May we say with her, "Let it be done unto me according to thy word."