By a Benedictine Monk

The beginnings of Australia were associated with prisoners, whether justly or unjustly imprisoned, to colonize the continent. Perhaps the human soul may be compared to those prisoners. To be justly condemned to prison affords the criminal a time of reflection in order to possibly correct himself and sometimes even to sanctify himself. It is a different challenge to be unjustly condemned to prison. The soul must live supernaturally in order to survive, but to be sanctified in prison, the soul must practice heroic virtue. There are many holy men and women including canonized saints that give us the example of heroic virtue in prison. From the saints of the early Church, unjustly imprisoned and martyred by the Roman emperors, to the many holy men and women of modern times persecuted by the Communist regimes, we see the examples of how God can sanctify men’s souls in spite of the darkness of injustice and imprisonment.

Perhaps the most striking example of this would be the imprisonment of St. John of the Cross by his own religious brothers. Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy; for the same reason the religious brothers of St. John kept him under lock and key. It was perhaps in these conditions that St. John of the Cross experienced his closest contact with God. The soul journeying through this dark night of trial and tribulation can receive great light from God Himself and quickly progress in the ways of sanctity. These tribulations can be some of the most important moments of the spiritual life. There are two ways of dealing with the spiritual storms of life. One way is to be discouraged and overwhelmed by the evil of the storm which will eventually lead to despair and damnation. The other way is to refuse to surrender to the forces of evil, courageously facing the onslaught of the enemy, knowing that we can be overwhelmed, but that God is never overcome. Victory depends upon union with God, confiding in his love for the soul.

During the liturgical year, Our Lord teaches that darkness gives way to the light of God. During the time of Advent, the soul is compared to one seated in darkness, covered with the shadow of death. During Passiontide Our Lord often speaks of the hour of darkness. These passing moments of darkness never obstructed the will of God, nor did they overcome the power of Redemption found in the death of Christ. In the Gospel of St. John, we are told that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness received it not, but that to all those who receive this light, God gives them the power of becoming a child of God. When the night is the darkest is when the first rays of the dawn begin to appear. Night is totally transformed by the light of day.

Every human soul has to battle either with the darkness of sin or the purifying darkness of humiliation. This darkness of malice is produced by original and personal sins. Vices, a wounded nature, and the reluctance to resist temptation bring darkness into the soul. With this indifference towards God a prison wall is built within the soul. The soul chooses to live behind the self-made walls of anger, hatred, bitterness, impurity and jealousy. Who would deny that addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography and debauchery are not crueler than the most ferocious maximum-security prison wall? This darkness, whether it be the just consequence of a sinful life or the humiliation of an unjust persecution, can only be dissipated by Our Lord, but both can be moments of great progress for the soul. Divine light is received only by the way we choose to live our lives.

Guerric of Igny, a Cistercian of the 12th century, speaking of the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, invites the soul to receive this light:

“Arise, you who sit in darkness; look at the light which has risen up in the darkness but is not mastered by the darkness. Draw near to Him and be enlightened, in His light you shall see light; and it will be said to you: You were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. O look upon the eternal Light which has tempered itself to your gaze, so that He who dwells in inaccessible light affords access even to weak and bleary eyes. See the Light in a lamp of earthenware, the Sun in a cloud, God in man, the Splendor of glory and brightness of eternal Light in the clay vessel of your flesh.”

A little phrase in the Rule of St. Benedict cries out in the wasteland of those seated in darkness covered in the shadow of death, imprisoned within sadness of heart. In spite of great confusion and the temptation of discouragement he simply encourages: “Never despair of God’s mercy.” This light of hope frees the soul from the darkness of its prison.