STATES
257
STATES
supernatural. At tho same time we may hope and
wish that those interior griefs may be diminished or
made to disappear, and we may pray God to dehver
us from tlicm, but if all our efforts are in vain, and
fiod jjermits the desolation to continue, it only re-
mains to resign ourselves generously to His Divine
Will.
Directions. — For the better understanding of the thiee states or ways in their relations to each
- )ther and their effects upon souls tending towards
[perfection the following directions and observations nay be useful.
(1) The thi-ee states or ways are not so entirely iistinct that there may not appear in any one of them something of the other two. In each and all of them 8 found the effort and care to preserve and guard
- he .soul from sin, though this is said to belong (appro-
iriately) to the purgative way; in each, virtvie has to X' practised, and from its practice light and progress ■esult. Again, in each of them the soul gives itself
- o God to live in Him and for Him the supernatural
ifc which He imparts to it, and this may be said to le the commencement of the unitive way. The •haracteristic and distinctive feature of these states s determined by the form which is dominant in the loul in its efforts towards perfection. When strife tnd fear predominate, the soul is said to be still in he purgative way; when the desire and fervour to idvance in virtue and the attraction of hope prevail ibove fear, then the soul is said to be in the illumina- ive way. If charity is dominant above all, the soul 8 in the unitive way; but so long as this mortal hfe asts, for the strong and the feeble there will always se the labour and activity of purgation, illumination, ind of imion in the work of supernatural perfection. 5uarez teaches this doctrine in very distinct terms. 'These three states", he says, "are never so dis- inct that any one of them may not participate of he other two. Each of them takes its name and
- haracter from that which predominates in it. And
t is certain that no one can attain to such a state of )erfectinn in this life that he may not or cannot make urther progress" (De Orat., 1. H, c. xi, n. 4).
(2) According to the usual manner of advancement, he majority of souls are gradually raised to the state )f perfect imion after passing through the states of )urification and illumination. But this rule is by 10 means ab.solute, and a miraculous intervention ir an extraordinary grace may bring a soul suddenly rom the lowest depths of moral abjection to the nost sublime heights of charity, as may be seen in he ca.se of St. Mary Magdalen and other celebrated >enitent saints. On the other hand we may find aints in whom the purgative state may predominate !ven to the end of their lives, and God sometimes vithholds the favours of the unitive way from many aithful and fervent .souls who have advanced gener- msly in the degrees of the purgative and illuminative vays, and who have all along preserved the fervour (f holy charity, which is the essence and crown of )erfection.
(.3) As a rule, supernatural phenomena of mystic- sm appear in the most perfect state, namely that of inion; one special favour of the mystical life, namely piritu.al espousals, supposes the unitive way, and
- annot be ascribed to either of the inferior grades of
>erfection. Many of the other my.stical favours, such us ecstasies, visions, locutions, etc., may be found, by Fay of exception, in the le.ss advanced stages of the ipiritual life. As regards the gift of contemplation, ilthoiigh it is proper to those who are perfect in vir- ue and holiness, still it is sometimes granted to the mperfect and even to beginners so that they may aste of its sweetness. Souls by the exercise of Chris- ian iisceticism can prepare themselves for this inti- nate communication with God, but they should await yith humilitv and patience the time and occasion in XIV.— 17
which they are to be introduced by their heavenly
Spouse into the mystical state of contemplation.
(4) In order to decide as to the dispositions re- quired for frequent and daily communion, it is no longer necessary for a spiritual director to find out or to judge whether a soul is in one or other of these states according to the rules laid down by some modern theologians. All that is now required, as stated in the first clau.se of the Decree of the Sacred Congrega- tion of the Council of 20 Dec, 1905, is that the recip- ient be in a state of grace and approach the Holj' Table with a right intention. As already stated, these three states are not easily distinguishable, and the lines of demarcation between them cannot easily be discerned, and therefore could not have been re- garded as at any time very useful as a rule of guidance for frequent Communion. Now the rule is inappli- cable, for those in the purgative way may receive Holy Communion just as often as those who are in the illuminative and unitive, as is evident from the Decree referred to. We are not, however, to sup- pose that the rules given by theologians and ascetical writers, founded as they are on the teaching of the ancient Fathers, with regard to Holy Communion according to the three states or ways no longer serve for edification. They indicate to us what is to be expected as the fruits of frequent Communion received worthily. Frequent Communion is the chief means of preserving and perfecting in our souls the spiritual life, and of supporting them in all its ways.
Benedict XIV, Heroic Virtue (London, 1851); de Ponte (Ven.Lcis de Lapdente), Meiiitations on the Mysteries of our Holy Faith (London, 1854); Devise, Manuals of Ascetical and of Mystical Theology (London, 1901 and 1903) ; Morotio, Cursua vitiF spiritualis (New York, 1891): Ribet. La mysticiuc ilirine (Paris. 1903); Smedt. Notreviesurnalurelle.il (BrusRcls. 1911); St. Thomas, II-II. Q. clxxxiii; Suahez. De rrl, - I- - ■• He
Oratione; St. John of the C'Roas. The Obscure A .';
.St. Teresa. Lift, xi, xxix. xxx; .St. Ignatius I it
Exercises; PovLAlx. The (Jrnrfs of Interior Praii, i i, , , u:: Pontlevoy, Vie tlu P. Xavier de Ravignan il'-.ui^. i.^tui. xxv; Saudrease, tr. Camm, Degrees of the Spiritual Life (Loudon, 1907).
Arthur DEviira:.
States of the Church (Ital. Lo Stato delta Chiese), the civil territory which for over 1000 years (754-1870) acknowledged the pope as temiioral ruler. The expression "Patrimonium Sancti Petri" originally designated the landed possessions and revenues of various kinds that belonged to the Church of St. Peter at Rome. Until the middle of the eighth century this consisted whoUj' of private property, but the term was later applied to the States of the Church, and more particularly to the Duchy of Rome. Our subject may thus be conveniently treated under the following heads: I. Patrimony of St. Peter (tracing the origin of the States of the Church to the time of Charlemagne); II. History of the States of the Church.
I. Patrimony of St. Peter. — (1) Patrimonial Posses-Hons of the Church of Rome. — The law of Con- stantine the Great (321), by which the Christian Church was declared qualified to hold and transmit property, first gave a legal basis to the possessions of the Church of Rome. Subsequently the posses- sions were rapiflly augmented by donations. Con- stantine himself set the example, the Lateran Palace being most probably presented by him. Constan- tine's gifts formed the historical nucleus, which the Sylvester Legend later surrounded with that net- work of myth, that gave ri,se to the forged document known as the "Donation of Constantine". The example of Constantine was followed by wealthy families of the Roman nobility, whose memory fre- quently survived, after the families themselves had become extinct, in the names of the properties which they had once presented to the Roman See. The donation of large estates ceased about 600. The
