The Wrong Flame
In the spiritual life, especially for those just beginning their journey, it’s easy to confuse emotional fervor with holiness. It is common for someone to feel swept up in a current of religious emotion and think that this intense experience is a sign of deep spirituality. “If he is completely inexperienced he will get the idea that he is very holy because of the holy feelings that are teeming in his heart.” [1] Yet, these emotional surges are often nothing more than the result of external stimuli, a brief flash of feeling that does not necessarily point to true spiritual progress. Just like any other human emotion, these feelings come and go, and they are no more reliable indicators of divine closeness than the fleeting joy a child experiences at the movies. In fact, the spiritual journey is not about chasing after these emotional highs. True spiritual growth begins when we realize that such emotions, while initially helpful, cannot sustain us on the path of true transformation.
Indeed, religious emotion can be just as temporary and superficial as any other emotional experience we might have. “They are a kind of sensible intoxication produced by some pleasure or other, and there is only an accidental difference between them and the tears that children sometimes shed when they go to the movies.” [1] These experiences can feel real in the moment, but when examined closely, we see they are not lasting. When we rely on emotional stimulation for our sense of spiritual well-being, we end up equating our feelings with our level of holiness. And when those emotions inevitably fade, we can feel disconnected or spiritually dry. But we must learn, we walk by faith, not by sight, and not by the fluctuations of our emotions (2 Corinthians 5:7). This realization is pivotal: the spiritual life does not begin until we are able to live without the constant need for emotional validation.
As we move forward in contemplation, the emotional and sensual nature still clings to us. “His spiritual life will not really begin until he has learned in some measure to get along without the stimulus of emotion.” [1] We may still carry these feelings, these passions, which can erupt unpredictably, causing spiritual highs and lows. At times, sparks from our unrefined nature ignite into a flame of emotional excitement—something that can feel joyful, but also momentarily overwhelming. Even within contemplation, we bring with us our own desires and attachments, like a store of gasoline waiting for a spark. These emotional outbursts are not inherently bad, but we must learn to discern them, to recognize that such emotions, even when linked to spiritual matters, can be distractions. We are reminded to cultivate awareness so that our hearts are not led astray by mere feelings (Proverbs 4:23).
At the heart of the matter lies the danger of chasing religious experiences, mistaking them for true spiritual growth. “This joy occasionally betrays itself by a certain heaviness that belongs to the sensual level and marks it for what it is: crude emotion.” Emotional highs in prayer, though they may feel transcendent, often reveal themselves to be rooted in the earthly realm of sensation. They may carry an aura of spiritual joy, but their weightiness often marks them as nothing more than emotionally driven, rather than spiritually significant. Jesus Himself warned in Matthew 6:16, "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting." He pointed to the fact that outward displays of devotion are often superficial. Similarly, emotional fervor can deceive us into thinking we are growing closer to God when, in truth, we may only be gratifying our own emotional needs.
True contemplation, the deepest form of spiritual life, does not rely on emotional highs, but rather on a steady commitment to deepening our union with God. “Really they are not important at all, and although sometimes they are unavoidable, it does not seem prudent to desire them.” [1] When we chase after these emotions—these "consolations"—we risk hindering our spiritual growth. We are called to seek after eternal truths, not temporary emotional experiences (Romans 8:24). The pursuit of mystical experiences or emotional manifestations can lead us astray from the quiet, transformative work of true contemplation. It's in this steady, unshaken commitment to God’s presence, even in the absence of emotional validation, that we find our spiritual foundation.
For those called to deeper contemplation, seeking religious emotions can be an obstacle—one that many have failed to overcome. “For anyone who is really called to infused contemplation this taste for ‘experiences’ can be one of the most dangerous obstacles in his interior life.” [1] The desire for mystical visions, emotional states, or even dramatic spiritual experiences often diverts us from the quiet discipline of contemplation. The mystics and saints who truly experienced God were not constantly chasing after these things but were focused on growing in humility, love, and surrender (Hebrews 12:1-2). The journey of contemplation is not about seeking supernatural experiences, but about becoming more deeply aligned with God’s will.
As we move beyond these emotional experiences, we must learn to recognize that they offer no lasting satisfaction. “You recognize that these things offer no real fruit and no lasting satisfaction.” [1] They may offer a brief thrill, but they cannot sustain us in the long term. In fact, they can even lead us astray, distracting us from the quiet, lasting joy that comes from union with God. "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12). This is the path of seeking emotional highs—temporary and fleeting joys that, in the end, do not provide spiritual nourishment.
Rather than resisting or rejecting these emotions, we are invited to surrender them to God. “You withdraw your consent from anything that may be inordinate about them, and leave the rest to God, waiting for the hour of your deliverance into the real joys, the purely spiritual joys of a contemplation in which your nature and your emotions and your own selfhood no longer run riot.” [1] This detachment allows us to experience peace even when emotional excitement arises. In the stillness of prayer, we let go of the need for validation from emotional experiences and instead rest in God's presence. True rest is found not in emotional excitement, but in the peaceful surrender to God’s loving embrace (Matthew 11:28).
It’s important to understand that emotions, while they can be part of the prayer life, must be purified and brought under the lordship of love. “Passion and emotion certainly have their place in the life of prayer—but they must be purified, ordered, brought into submission to the highest love.” [1] Only when we allow our emotions to be purified by the Holy Spirit can they contribute to our spiritual growth. They must be in submission to reason, grace, and humility. Human anger does not produce righteousness, which speaks to the need for our passions to be aligned with God's will, purified of selfish desires, and brought under control (James 1:20). In this way, our emotions, though human, can participate in the higher work of the Spirit, contributing to our joy in the Lord.
Thus, the wrong flame—emotional fervor and the search for manifestations of religious emotion—must be extinguished. Instead, we embrace the quiet, steady flame of true contemplation, where our nature, emotions, and desires are transformed by God's love, leading us toward the deep, lasting joy of union with the Divine.
[1] Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation