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The Published Articles of Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm. The Three Spiritual Ways

The Three Spiritual Ways

The classical purgative, illuminative, proficients seek illumination, i.e., growth in and unitive ways in Christian spirituality. ; and the perfect ‘ exercise union with This article defines the meaning of this phrase . Spiritual writers have come to accept in its historical development and present-day this identification of ways and degrees, a usage. usage followed in the present article. According to St. Bonaventure and the The fact of growth is evident in Franciscan school the three ways are Scripture (Prv 9.6; Eph 4.12-16; Phil 3.14). “hierarchical actions,” i.e., different Christians are to grow to maturity in Christ. orientations given spiritual exercises in order But although the Scriptures assert the to achieve the elements that make up Christian necessity of growth, they do not mark out the perfection. Each way fulfills a particular role; traditional three stages. St. Paul speaks of two and the three ways, followed more or less stages, infancy and adulthood, leaving aside simultaneously, lead to interior order and the middle phase of adolescence (I Cor 3.1-3; loving union with God. Thus the three ways Heb 5.12-14). At the same time he indicates are not successive stages of spiritual the practical usefulness of such divisions development, but parallel methods of action at when be defines children as those who can every stage. In The Triple Way, for example, assimilate only the milk of basic teachings but St. Bonaventure shows how meditation can be not the strong meat suitable for adults. organized to achieve purification, Divisions of growth are thus a framework for illumination, and union; he then shows how according to the needs and the same ends can be achieved by the exercise possibilities of different people. of prayer and by . The Fathers. The divisions found in The earliest occurrence in Christian the works of the earliest Fathers are likewise writing of the terms purgation, illumination, twofold rather than threefold. St. Clement of and union is found in Pseudo-Dionysius (fl. c. Alexandria (d. 220) and after him (d. 550), who applied them to the mystical 255) took over the Platonic categories of experience, According to Dionysius the three active and contemplative life from (d. c. acts are thearchic (i.e., divine) and hierarchic 40) and applied them to Christian life. The (i.e., ordered) ways to mystical union. They active life (bios p raktikos) consisted in the describe, moreover, not only complementary exercise of the moral for the functions, but also successive activities; being purification and ordering of the soul. The successive they correspond to the three stages contemplative life (bios qwphtikos) was the of mystical growth set down by Evagrius highest human activity, the contemplation of Ponticus (d. 399), More will be said below of God, and hence the exercise of the theological Evagrius’s categories. Hugh of Balma, a virtues. The contemplative life presupposed Carthusian of the 13th century, correlated the and crowned the active life. This original Dionysian ways and the three ages— concept of the two lives in beginners, proficients, and the perfect— continued in the works of SS. Augustine (d. designating the degrees by the corresponding 430) and Gregory the Great (d. 604). Dionysian terms. Each degree was But a second meaning of the two lives denominated by its predominant emphasis. found its way into the thought of Augustine: Thus beginners are those who endeavor to the lives were identified with external modes purify themselves of sin and its effects; or styles of living. This new sense became

Page 434 The Published Articles of Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm. The Three Spiritual Ways

confused with the original signification by speaking, ascetical writers of this group Gregory; ever since, ambiguity has plagued consider the higher form of Evagrius’s this terminology (E. Mason, Active and contemplation, called, “mystical ” or Contemplative Life, Milwaukee 1961). But in the mystical experience as an extraordinary Augustine the active life corresponded to what gift and not necessary for high sanctity. A. later became the purgative and illuminative Tanquerey, SS, and J. de Guibert, SJ, are ways, and the contemplative life was the examples of writers of this school. Their unitive way. Augustine also used the triple works reflect descriptions of the three degrees division for spiritual progress of beginning, of charity such as that found in the Summa developing, and perfect charity. Other theologiae of St. (I a2ae. authors, such as (d. 394) 24.9), even though they utilize the and Cassian (d. 435), singled out the terminology of the ways. Present-day usage predominant virtues of fear, , and as follows either one of these two general the distinguishing characteristics of the interpretations and can be exemplified in degrees. Garrigou-Lagrange and De Guibert. The teaching of Evagrius, however, is Garrigou-Lagrange. For Garrigou- the key to understanding the history of the Lagrange the purgative way is ascetical; i.e., it three ways. While he used the twofold is characterized by the action of the virtues, division of active and contemplative life, which always manifest the “human mode” of attributing to the first stage the active way of reason and deliberation. The beginner strives the praktikç aimed at moral perfection, or to know God and know himself; his prayer life apatheia. He subdivided the contemplative is that of meditation. If he is generous to the way of qnosis into a lower form of inspirations of grace, he quickly brings order contemplation called praktikç theoria and a into his moral life and his prayer becomes higher form called theologia. These two more affective and more simple. Through degrees of contemplation came to specify and faithfulness to active purification he enters the distinguish the illuminative and unitive ways dark night of the senses and passive in tradition. Purification. This dark night is the door to the Later Spiritual Writers. Classic illuminative way and the beginning of authors such as Bl. Jan van Ruysbroeck (d. manifest mystical life. The gifts of the Holy 1381) and St. (d. 1591 ) and Spirit, which always act in a “superhuman many modern writers such as R. Garrigou - way” according to the divine manner and Lagrange, OP (d. 1964), and Louis Bouyer lay measure, now predominate in the prayer and down the same basic characteristics of the life of the proficient. Contemplation, three ways as Evagrius. For them as for especially the exercise of the gift of Evagrius, both the illuminative and unitive understanding, which penetrates divine ways represent states of mystical mysteries, specifies the prayer life. But the contemplation. Other modern writers, proficient is not yet perfect. A still more however, adapt this mystically oriented radical purification must occur, the dark night pattern to a more ascetical emphasis. They of the spirit. This is the transition into the way expand the Evagrian purgative way, which of the perfect, which in turn is characterized now becomes the purgative and illuminative by the highest infused contemplation, that of stages, and they telescope the Evagrian the gift of wisdom, which gives a quasi- illuminative and unitive degrees into a single experimental knowledge of God. The stage, the unitive way, which alone has classifications are those of John of the Cross, contemplation as its prayer form. Generally

Page 435 The Published Articles of Ernest E. Larkin, O.Carm. The Three Spiritual Ways

the theological explanations those of Thomas Christian from the incipient . Those who Aquinas as interpreted by John of St. Thomas. hear this call are in the category of pious souls De Guibert. The more ascetical but become “mediocre” Christians if they conception of the three ways, illustrated by De make no further progress. Such persons, Guibert, identifies the beginner as the however, are not to be equated with the tepid converted Christian who by meditation and or the retarded, both of which groups belong mortification is endeavoring to eradicate the to the purgative way. But neither are they the effects of sin and consolidate himself in God’s fervent souls, who have the will to surrender grace. He enters the illuminative way when completely to God. Only those in this last he has overcome habitual deliberate venial sin, group negotiate the crisis of total abnegation and ordinarily his prayer life in the second and thus enter the unitive way. This last stage stage will be affective prayer. Whereas the is the way of perfect charity, either heroic or beginner is concerned primarily with fulfilling ordinary; the fulfillment of charity rather than the demands of the law, the proficient any special contemplative prayer is the emphasizes interiority and inner renovation. specific mark of the perfect. Hence recollection, humility, purity of heart, Each of these formulations of the three and self-abnegation are the virtues to be ways has its own advantages for spiritual stressed. The crucial point in this second direction in different settings and vocations to degree is the call to total abnegation. It is the Christian life. fork in the road that separates the pedestrian

Bibliography: Bonaventure, “The Triple Way, or Love Enkindled,” in v.1 of his Works, tr. J. De Vinck (Paterson, N.J. 1960) 59-94. L. Bouyer, Introduction to Spirituality, tr. M.P. Ryan ( 1961) 243-285. R. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, tr. M. T. Doyle, 2 v. (St. Louis 1947-48). F. Jurgensmeier, The Mystical Body of Christ, tr. H. G. Strauss (New York 1954). J. De Guibert, The Theology of the Spiritual Life, tr. P. Barrett (New York 1953) 255-301.

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