Where are you on the path: Purgative Way → Initial Conversion → Spiritual Age 2
What happens in the soul?
The regret begins to deepen.
The soul no longer feels only fear of the consequences of sin. It begins to hurt the soul for having hurt God or for not having reciprocated His love.
From this experience a holy fear or filial fear is born: not the fear of one who flees from God, but the fear of one who has begun to love Him and does not want to lose His friendship.
The action of the Good Lord
Grace transforms initial repentance. God stops being perceived only as someone to whom we must respond and begins to be discovered as Father.
Little by little the reason why one wants to abandon sin also changes: not only because of its consequences, but because the soul begins to value its relationship with God.
How does the soul respond?
Try to avoid that which can separate you from the Good Lord. The desire grows to remain close to Him and to learn to live in a way that pleases Him.
They also begin to seek more docility for help to follow the path and the desire may appear to bring their own family and loved ones closer to the life of the Church.
The prayer
It continues to be fundamentally vocal and simple, but begins to acquire a more personal character: the soul no longer only recites prayers; begins to consciously address the Good Lord.
Signs that may accompany this age
• Pain for having offended God.
• Desire to avoid sin.
• Fear of losing friendship with God.
• Greater spiritual docility.
• Search for direction and support.
• Desire to bring others closer to God.
A phrase to remember
“I don’t want to lose His friendship.”
Where does it lead
The soul has already responded to the call and wishes to remain with the Good Lord. Now a new task begins: concretely ordering the soul’s life. This opens the next progressive state: Active purification of the senses.