Freedom Under Obedience
Few people achieve sanctity in isolation; community plays a vital role in spiritual purification. "Few men are sanctified in isolation. They are proved, and tested, and perfected in the community of their brethren, in the rub and friction of constant contact with them." [1] The spiritual journey is not meant to be walked alone, for it is within the tensions and challenges of communal life that the ego is exposed, and the soul is refined (Proverbs 27:17). Without others to confront our blind spots and mirror our shortcomings, we risk stagnating in self-deception. The presence of a spiritual community compels us to grow beyond our limited perspectives, offering opportunities for patience, humility, and love to take root in authentic ways. Engaging with others helps dismantle egoism, which is the primary barrier to divine illumination. "The grace of God is given not for the sake of individual men, but for the sake of the Church, which is His Body." [1] One cannot fully receive divine grace while hoarding it as a private possession. It flows through relationships, through acts of self-giving, through the sacrificial love that transforms both the giver and the receiver (1 Corinthians 12:7). To reject community in favor of personal spiritual comfort is to cut oneself off from the very means by which God refines the soul.
Contemplation is not about escaping into personal spiritual pleasures but about encountering God in others. "No one who seeks contemplation merely for his own enjoyment will ever find it." [1] The contemplative path is not a retreat into a self-made world of mystical delights but an immersion into the divine reality that pervades all of existence. The one who seeks contemplation for self-indulgence will only find emptiness, for true contemplation draws one beyond the self, awakening a vision that perceives the sacred in all beings (Philippians 2:3-4). This means that spiritual maturity requires both interior contemplation and outward engagement with the world. "There is no true spiritual life outside the love of Christ." [1] To love the divine is to love reality as it is, to embrace both the silence of prayer and the demands of daily life (1 John 4:7-8). The spiritual life is not an escape from responsibility but a deepening of one's capacity to meet reality with wisdom and compassion.
Contemplation and external action are not opposing forces but expressions of the same love of God. "Contemplation is out of the question for the man who lives only for his own comfort and convenience." [1] A spirituality that refuses engagement with the world is not true spirituality at all. The contemplative must also be a man of action, for to see the divine in all things necessitates a response of love and service (James 2:17). A contemplative’s outward actions should reflect the peace and detachment cultivated in prayer. "The contemplative can be a man of action, and the man of action must, to some extent, be a contemplative." [1] True contemplation does not produce passivity but a quiet, centered energy that allows one to work without attachment, to give without seeking recognition, to serve without seeking reward (Luke 10:38-42). Obedience to God’s will, both in interior stillness and external work, brings harmony and spiritual freedom. "A life of contemplation, in which a man isolates himself in false contentment, is no life of contemplation." [1] The contemplative does not withdraw from the world in fear but enters into it with a heart that has been made spacious through silence, able to hold both suffering and joy with equanimity (Matthew 6:6). A person deeply rooted in contemplation radiates peace and inspires others without speaking. "His silence will bear more fruit than the speech of other men." [1] When the divine presence is truly encountered, words become secondary. The very being of the contemplative becomes a silent witness to the love and wisdom that transcend human language (Ecclesiastes 3:7).
Seeking spiritual direction is necessary because self-will is often clouded by ego and self-deception. "If you are led by a man of God, obey him." [1] The heart is deceptive, capable of rationalizing its desires as divine guidance (Jeremiah 17:9). Therefore, those who seek truth must submit to the wisdom of those who have walked the path before them. True obedience is not about agreeing with the wisdom of a superior but about surrendering to God’s will through them. "If you can find no one whom you think wise enough to lead you, then be your own master and see where you get." [1] Those who reject guidance in favor of their own judgment often find themselves lost in confusion, mistaking their emotions for divine inspiration (Proverbs 12:15). Spiritual guidance helps free a person from the misery of their own self-centeredness. "A man who is guided by a wise director is like a tree planted by running waters." [1] Just as a tree flourishes when nourished by deep waters, the soul that submits to wise counsel is sustained by truth beyond its own limited perspective (Psalm 1:3). Genuine obedience is an act of trust, not blind submission; it aligns one’s will with divine order. "The obedient man is always safe." [1] Obedience does not mean mindless compliance but an openness to be shaped by something greater than oneself, allowing divine wisdom to order one's life (Romans 6:16).
A contemplative without guidance risks mistaking personal emotions for divine truth. "A false mystic is worse and more dangerous than a man of the world." [1] The danger of self-guided spirituality is that it can easily become a projection of one's own desires, leading not to enlightenment but to delusion (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Self-assured spiritual visionaries can become destructive or retreat into self-delusion. "He who follows his own way in the spiritual life is led by a fool." [1] The pursuit of spiritual experiences without accountability often leads to arrogance, a false certainty that blinds one to the deeper work of transformation (Proverbs 16:18). True contemplation requires inner purification, not the indulgence of pleasurable spiritual experiences. "A man who has not been purified is not fit for contemplation." [1] Spiritual maturity is not measured by mystical experiences but by the depth of one's humility and capacity to love (Matthew 5:8). Genuine encounters with God lead to humility, not self-importance or isolation. "If you have truly met God in silence, you will not need to tell the world about it." [1] The surest sign of an authentic spiritual encounter is not proclamations of divine revelation but a quiet, grounded presence that radiates peace (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).
Spiritual obedience is about intelligent submission, not robotic compliance. "Obedience is the road to freedom." [1] The paradox of spiritual life is that true freedom is found not in resisting divine order but in aligning oneself with it (John 8:32). True freedom is found in aligning with God’s will, not in acting on personal whims. "He who has never obeyed is not fit to command." [1] Before one can guide others, one must first learn to be guided, for leadership that is not grounded in obedience to truth will inevitably lead to destruction (Luke 16:10).
[1] Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation