We've reached the third and final installment of this series about the Three Ways, in which a person moves through phases on a path to holiness, each phase bringing them closer to God and sainthood. The first phase, the purgative way, involves purifying your internal and external senses with mortifications and purging sin and attachments while cultivating the opposite virtues. Entering this phase requires a person to make intentional decisions that necessitate commitment, and the process of purgation can be frustrating and painful as individuals detach from worldly goods for the sake of higher spiritual goods.

In the second phase, the illuminative way, a person enjoys a certain clarity of God's mysteries and his will, which aids them in their progressive growth in virtue. They also experience a profound awareness of the Trinitarian God dwelling within them, which informs their activity. Worldly pleasures are still attractive to a person in this stage, but they can resist temptations to sin and disordered attachment much more quickly. From here, individuals enter the third way under the guidance of a spiritual director.

The Unitive Way

As the name indicates, a person who has arrived at the unitive way has achieved a perfect mystical union or oneness with the divine. In this state, the soul is no longer merely seeking God or contemplating his mysteries; instead, it is immersed in the very essence of God. A mystic, St. John of the Cross, described the unitive way as a "spiritual marriage," where the soul is so intimately united with God that it becomes "one spirit" with him. Another mystic, St. Teresa of Avila, wrote of the “seventh mansion” in her book, The Interior Castle, where the soul experiences a profound and lasting union with the Divine Bridegroom. While a person in the illuminative way can vacillate in varying degrees between worldly states, the unitive way transforms the soul into something more consistently and habitually united to a supernatural state. It is effectively the closest a soul can get to heaven before the death of one’s body.

With the unitive way comes a habitual conformity to God’s will. You are so intimately united to God that you desire only what he wants, whatever that is, purely out of intense love for him. As you move through daily life, interactions, and activities, it is almost as if you are not acting, but God is acting through you as his instrument. It is not a removal of your free will, but a sign that your will is so aligned with his that you want to make any choice that he would like you to make and do so with great ease and even delight. Every word and action is for the greater glory of God.

A hallmark of someone in the unitive way is a supernatural peace that can only come from God. One’s interior life is so detached from temporal and worldly concerns that nothing can agitate the person. With eyes constantly fixed on God, temptations and other chaos in the world are recognized as transitory temporal concerns that have no bearing on eternity in heaven and thus cannot stir up any emotion or anxiety for a person in the unitive phase. This is not to say that the chaos that sin brings about in the world isn’t cause for valid concern or unworthy of being brought to the Lord in prayer, only that the spiritual detachment from such things is so great that the internal disposition remains unflustered. I have personally had experiences where specific individuals exhibit a profound sense of peace in less-than-peaceful situations. I have often found it unnerving because it stood in stark contrast and highlighted my attachment to the problem. Each of us is called to pursue this peace — just imagine the world if we all did. It can only come from letting go of all our attachments to things of the world and fully, perfectly attaching ourselves to God.

The suffering a soul endures also changes in the unitive way. Remember, in the purgative way, our suffering lies in resisting temptations and letting go of things that bring us earthly pleasure and satisfaction. In the illuminative way, our suffering becomes easier as we learn to embrace our crosses and see more clearly the meaning behind our sufferings. However, the temptations to sin become more subtle in the illuminative way, and a person can be more susceptible to attacks on one’s virtue if he or she does not stay alert. The suffering that comes in the unitive way is a suffering that springs forth from intense love. The soul loves God deeply, and the longing to be more and more intimately united to him is painful. St. John of the Cross put it this way: “The fire of Divine love can so dry up the spirit and enkindle its desire for satisfying its thirst that it turns upon itself a thousand times and longs for God in a thousand ways, as the Psalmist did when he said: ‘For Thee my soul hath thirsted; for Thee my flesh O how many ways’” (The Dark Night of the Soul, Book II). Think of a husband and wife deeply in love, but who are physically separated for a significant amount of time. Their marriage and love still unite them; perhaps they even talk on the phone daily, but the longing to be physically close to each other causes suffering. Another way to think about it is a longing for heaven, as many great saints describe. The only thing of any consequence at this stage of holiness is a perfect union with God.

Prayer at this stage becomes highly simplified. You are no longer asking for things, trying to figure something out, or asking God questions. The world's confusion is no longer a concern, with many of God's mysterious ways becoming at least a little clearer in the illuminative way. Now, prayer becomes simply loving and adoring God for who he is, with a complete surrender to his holy will and a burning desire to help him carry it out in the world. There is nothing more to worry about and you are so aware that God is satisfying your every need that you no longer have any earthly needs. While not everyone in the unitive stage is guaranteed to have mystical experiences in prayer, it is possible if God wills it. Some saints, like St. Catherine of Siena, have experienced spiritual ecstasies, in which God enters the saint’s body and then animates and moves it beyond the person's control as an outward sign of the unity between the soul and the divine. As an aside, while this type of prayer is proper to the unitive way in its essence, there is nothing to stop a person from practicing simple prayers of love and adoration throughout the spiritual journey for God’s own sake. It will just be a little harder to conform your will perfectly to his the earlier you are in the journey.

I began this series with the premise that we are all called to pursue a life of holiness to the point of becoming saints, quoting Jesus: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). While the endeavor is by no means easy, it is possible with God’s helping grace. With a deeper understanding of the three ways and the fruits, graces, and blessings that will come to you along the journey, are you inspired to take the next step? The thought of it can be daunting, but the reward is great. Spend time in prayer this week considering the Three Ways, and ask God to help you through the challenges so you can be intimately united to him. He loves and desires you and will not deny your request.

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