The possibilities offered by the Lord on our path of following Christ in order to heal our souls more and more are a lot. The path of sanctification to which we are called wants to lead us into complete communion with God, which will be finished in eternity. When our wounded soul is totally healed and transformed, there is nothing left to separate us from God. We are fully united with Him in love and we see God as he is. This is what we will experience in the community with the Angels and all those people who are in the glory of heaven. Man fulfills his eternal destiny.
But we are still on the road and have to o our go way under the conditions of the earthly life. But God begins to prepare us for the eternity with the salvation and healing of our souls. As this glorious time of eternity lies ahead of us and we reach out to it, it is important that our soul comes into more and more contact with her eternal homeland, so that her longing for God grows, as well as her ability to fulfill the mission on earth.
Let us not forget that the greatest drama of the soul is the loss of the “sanctify grace”, that includes a most trustful relationship with God our Father. The soul longs for this relationship, bringing true peace.
It is therefore important for man to continue on the path of sanctification and to accept the given help. Everything that God truly glorifies is raising our souls and gives healing.
Today we look at two important elements to help us to meet God more and more and will be a help for the healing of our souls. It is the encounter of the soul with sacred music and with silence.
Musica sacra:
The Holy Spirit has given the Church sacred chants, which are part of Holy liturgy. They glorify God and raise the soul to Him. For the Catholic Church, it is the Gregorian Chants who fully praises the beauty and goodness of God. The sacred song touches the soul in its depth and a glorious word of St. Hildegard von Bingen is: “In music, God has left people the memory of the lost paradise”.
With the Gregorian Chants, which unfortunately now leads a shadowy existence in our church, the soul comes into contact with the beauty of God. The Gregorian chants have their excellent place in Holy Liturgy.
There this Holy Music unfolds its full meaning and lets man “taste” something from heaven. This Holy Music touches the soul in its finer perception, which is not primarily determined by its sensual sphere, but, if you like to say so, by its sublime spiritual dimension. This causes a deeper awakening in the soul.
It is one of the most tragic developments in the life of our Church that people are largely deprived of this inner experience. The Gregorian chants used in the Holy Liturgy cannot be adequately replaced by another music, apart from even trivializing and destructive elements in contemporary music for the Holy Mass. Just as a dignified celebration of Holy Mass cannot be replaced without loss by a word service, so one cannot replace the dignity of the Gregorian Chant by another music.
If faithful people want to come into contact with this Holy Music they have to find monasteries and churches that glorify God through this music or to listen to them on audio-ways. One possibility would still be to find churches in the oriental rite, if they are committed to the valuable Byzantine chants. The same applies to this music, what is said about the Latin chorale.
Silence
If we want to do good to our souls and make them more receptive to God, then it is very essential to seek silence. We all know that constant influences affects our souls. One can agree with Cardinal Sarah and speak almost of a “dictatorship of noise”. We are becoming more and more incapable of seeking silence and to receive this gift. Unfortunately, we have to say the opposite: it seems that people even get scared of silence and flee.
In our spiritual life, as it deepens, we are attracted to silence. This is a clear sign that God works in the soul. This alone shows that the human soul needs silence in order to find deeper God and to itself. In silence, the soul not only reacts to external circumstances, but becomes “essential”. This means that she knows more precisely what is essential and less essential. It is essential to listen to God and be in a tenderly and attentive relation with him. It is essential to serve one’s neighbour in the love of God, etc.
In silence we learn more easily to find the right hierarchy of things and circumstances and not to be constantly distracted. With these essential two aspects the healing- process of the soul will be continued. Her relation towards external influences is reduced. It is easier for her to come closer to God and experiences a greater inner order.
In the next meditations, we will take a look at asceticism and another aspect of how the Lord is going to heal people. Then we will return to the daily interpretations of Scripture.