As we can see, God offers many ways to heal our souls in following Christ. The path of sanctification, to which we are all called, wants to lead us to total communion with God, which will reach its fullness in eternity. Once our wounded souls are completely healed and transformed, there will be nothing separating us from God. We will be totally unified with Him in love and experience the beatific vision—we will see Him as He is. We will experience this in communion with the holy angels and all those welcomed into heavenly glory. Then, man will have reached his eternal destination.
For now, however, we are still on the way and must prove our fidelity within the conditions of our earthly life. However, God is already beginning to heal and save our souls in this life, thus preparing them for their fulfillment in eternity. Since this glorious eternity awaits us and we are already on our way to it, it is important that our souls come into contact with their true home so that their longing for God may grow and they may better fulfill their missions in this life.
Let us not forget that the greatest tragedy of original sin was the loss of sanctifying grace—that is, our direct and trusting relationship with God, our Father. The soul longs to recover this relationship, which will grant it true peace. This is why it is important for people to advance on the path of sanctification and embrace the help offered along the way. Everything that glorifies God builds up and heals our soul. Next, we will discuss two important aspects that can help us encounter God more deeply and heal our souls: sacred music and silence.
Sacred Music
The Holy Spirit has inspired the Church by giving it sacred songs that are part of the holy liturgy. These songs glorify God and elevate the soul to Him. In our Roman Catholic Church, this music is Gregorian chant, which praises God’s beauty and goodness in the most sublime and perfect way. Sacred chant touches the deepest fibers of the soul. We know that beautiful phrase from St. Hildegard of Bingen that sacred music is the last memory of Paradise.
If we consciously engage with Gregorian chant—which, unfortunately, has been relegated to the shadows in our church—our souls can come into contact with the beauty of God. Gregorian chant occupies a privileged place in sacred liturgy. There, it unfolds its full meaning, allowing us to anticipate heaven.
This sacred music touches the soul’s deepest perception, which is not primarily determined by the senses, but by the spiritual and transcendental dimension. This encounter awakens the spiritual dimension more and more. The fact that people today are increasingly deprived of this interior experience is undoubtedly one of the most tragic developments in the life of the Church. In the context of the liturgy, Gregorian chant cannot be adequately replaced by any other music, not to mention the trivialization and destruction that are often being introduced into the music within the liturgy! Just as a dignified celebration of Holy Mass cannot be replaced by a celebration of the Word, no other music can achieve the same dignity as sacred chant.
Therefore, if the faithful want to come into contact with sacred music, they have no choice but to seek out certain monasteries and churches where God is glorified through it, or listen to recordings of it. Another option is to find places where the rites of Eastern Christianity are celebrated, provided the proper chants for their liturgies are used, such as Byzantine chant. The same applies to this music as to what we have said about Gregorian chant.
Silence
If we want to benefit our souls and make them more receptive to God, it is essential to seek silence. Our soul is constantly exposed to influences of all kinds. Cardinal Robert Sarah speaks of a “dictatorship of noise” in which we live. We are becoming increasingly incapable of seeking and appreciating silence. On the contrary, sadly, it seems that sometimes people are afraid of silence and flee from it.
As our spiritual life deepens, our need for silence and quiet increases. This is even a clear sign that God is working in the soul. In reality, the human soul needs silence to find God and to know itself. By cultivating silence, the soul will no longer react only to external circumstances but will focus on what is essential. Thus, it will be able to distinguish more precisely what is primary and what is secondary. The essential things are listening to God and dialoguing with Him, serving one’s neighbor in the love of God, and so on.
In silence, we more easily discover the hierarchy of things and activities, and we are not constantly distracted. As the soul becomes more centered, it progresses in its healing. Its tendency to scatter and succumb to external influences diminishes. It can more easily enter itself, take refuge in God, and experience greater inner order.
In the next meditation, we will explore asceticism in the context of healing and another aspect of the Lord’s teachings on this path.
Meditation on the day’s Gospel: https://en.elijamission.net/the-wedding-garment/
