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| photo by Thomas Merton |
The Alternative Reading for our Night Office.
From the Book of the Poor in Spirit
by A Friend of God
(Chapter 7, pages 85-86)
In the gospel
Christ declared that Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled in him. and
his hearers were scandalized. That only the spiritually
poor can have a true understanding of holy Scripture is the teaching of this
anonymous fourteenth century spiritual classic of the Rhineland school of mystics.
The holy Scriptures
are from the Holy Spirit and he who desires to comprehend them correctly must
be enlightened with the grace of the Holy Spirit. It
might be objected that many understand the holy Scriptures who have not much
grace nor live a holy life. That is true, but they understand them only
according to the senses and not properly according to their true groundwork He
who desires to understand them on their true ground must form his life to
divine grace. Thus it is that holy Scripture is understood in the light of
grace and not in the light of nature.
True spiritual
poverty is full of grace and so holy Scripture is understood by a truly poor
spirit. Of this Christ says: The poor have the gospel preached to
them, for only they comprehend it correctly. This may also be observed in
the apostles who preached the gospel and converted the people; they did not do
this by cleverness of natural knowledge. Rather they did it in the power of
spiritual poverty, for by it they surmounted all things and in it they
comprehended all things. Surely grace is a flowing-out from God into the soul,
but only into the soul that is empty and poor of all things that are not of
God. And since holy Scripture is to be understood by grace alone, and since
only a man who is poor in spirit is receptive to the grace of G od, then only a
spiritually poor man correctly comprehends holy Scripture.
This is not to say
that a spiritually poor man comprehends holy Scripture in all the ways in which
it can be understood, but he does comprehend it in its essence and he
comprehends the naked truth about which holy Scripture has been written. Since
he understands the essence of truth it is not necessary for him to consider
truth according to accidents nor that he should understand all figures of
speech which are in holy Scripture. As Christ says to his disciples: To you
it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is
not given ... Therefore do I speak to them in parables. He who
comprehends the naked truth does not need a parable. Hence, because a poor
spirit is empty of all things that are not like the truth, he then comprehends
the naked truth and he has enough with that alone.
THE BOOK OF THE POOR IN SPIRIT, by a Friend of God (14th Century). A
Guide to Rhineland Mysticism, edited, translated and with an introduction by C.
F. Kelly. Ph.D. (Prag.) (Longmans, 21s.; pocket edition ).
At Thomas Merton's Hermitage
http://fatherlouie.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/at-thomas-mertons-hermitage.html
photo by Thomas Merton
This is too good not to share.
Brian has sent a link to an article in Image Magazine, "At
Thomas Merton's Hermitage". Franciscan priest, Fr. Murray Bodo,
spends 6 days in the spring of 1995 at Merton's hermitage at Gethsemani.
The recounting of his contemplative explorations in Merton's space is
profoundly insightful for those who seek a more silent and solitary balance to
contemporary living and who like Merton lore.
For example, I found it intriguing to see what Merton had on his bookshelf as he left for Asia:
For example, I found it intriguing to see what Merton had on his bookshelf as he left for Asia:
On the table rest a few books I’ve pulled off the shelf from
the original collection Merton had here when he left for the Far East in 1968: The
Portable Thoreau, The Mirror of Simple Souls by an unknown French mystic
of the thirteenth century, Early Fathers from the Philokalia, Western
Mysticism, The Mediaeval Mystics of England, The Flight from God by Max Picard, The
Ancrene Riwle, The Book of the Poor in Spirit by a Friend of God (fourteenth
century), A Guide to Rhineland Mysticism, A Treasury of Russian
Spirituality, The Teaching of SS. Augustine, Gregory, and Bernard.
Or, the way the way that time alone awakens one to the
simple clarity of just being alive:
...
It's just an excellent article and I'm honored to add it to this eclectic collection
of contemplative writing. This is a really good find. Thanks,
Brian!
Posted by beth cioffoletti at 7/07/2010 11:15:00 AM
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