t
John of the Cross (1542-1591) was small in body, St Teresa calling him
but 'half of a monk', though large in soul. Irrepressible, he made use
of his monastery's recreation to discourse enthusiastically upon Pseudo-Dionysius
' negative theology. Imprisoned in 1577 by his fellow monks, who were
resisting
the reform of the Carmelites, he broke loose, coming to the nuns and
reciting
to them his epithalamium poem, in the style of the Song of Solomon,
which
became embedded in his Spiritual
Canticles, Ascent of Mount
Carmel
, Dark Night of the Soul, and Living Flame of Love. St
Teresa 's soul mate and
companion, who wrote The
Interior Castle, the Foundations and
the
Treatise
on
the Lord's Prayer,
he
wrote
once,
He also wrote out advice for religious men and women, whose task is to seek perfection, on how to achieve it, really writing these words for himself. The observations are not original with him. They can be found, too, in St Ephrem, and also in the Golden Epistle which immediately precedes Julian of Norwich's Showing of Love in the Amherst Manuscript.ith God's Word
the pregnant Virgin
comes your way
if you give her lodging.
el Verbo divino
La Virgen preñada
Viene de camino
Si le dais posada.
f
any religious desires to attain in a
short time to holy recollection,
spiritual silence, detachment and poverty of spirit - where the
peaceful
rest of the spirit is enjoyed, and union with God attained; if he
desires
to be delivered from all the hindrances which created things put in his
way, to be defended against all the wiles and illusions of Satan, and
to
be protected against himself, he must strictly practise the following
instructions.
If he will do this, with ordinary attention, without other efforts or other practices, at the same time carefully observing the obligations of his state, he will advance rapidly to great perfection, acquire all virtue and attain unto holy peace.
All the evils to which the soul is subject proceed from the three enemies already mentioned: the world, the devil and the flesh. If we can hide ourselves from these we shall have no combats to fight. The world is less difficult, and the devil more difficult, to understand; but the flesh is the most obstinate of all, and the last to be overcome together with the 'old man'. If we do not conquer the three, we shall never perfectly conquer one; and if we conquer one, we shall also conquer the others in the same proportion.
In
order
to escape perfectly
from
the evils which the world inflicts, there are three things to be
observed.
he
first is, preserve an equal love
and an equal forgetfulness of all
persons
whether relatives or not; withdraw your affections from the former as
well
as from the latter, yea rather more more from the former, on account of
the ties of blood, for the natural affections which people feel for
their
kindred always subsists. You must mortify this affection if you are to
attain to spiritual perfection. Look upon your kindred as strangers,
and
you will thereby the more completely discharge your duty to them; for
by
not withdrawing your heart from God on their account, you will fulfil
your
duties towards them better by not giving to them those affections which
are due unto God.
Do not love one person more than another, for if you do you will fall into error. He whom God loves most is the most worthy of love, and you do not know who he is. But if you strive to forget all people alike - as holy recollection requires you to do - you will escape all error, whether great or small. Do not think about them; have nothing to say to them either good or bad. Avoid them as much as you possibly can. If you do not observe this, as things go, you will never become a good religious, you will never attain to holy recollection, nor will you get rid of your imperfections. If you will indulge yourself here, Satan will in some way or other delude you, or you will delude yourself under the pretence of good or evil.
If
you
will observe this
direction
you will be safe; and in no other way can you get rid of imperfections
and escape the evils which result to your soul from intercourse with
others.
he
second precaution against the world
relates to temporal goods. If
you
desire in earnest to escape the evils which worldly goods occasion and
restrain your excessive desires, you must hold all personal possession
in abhorrence, and cast from you every thought about it. You must not
be
solicitous about what you eat or drink or wear, or about any created
thing
whatever: you must not be 'solicitous for tomorrow', but occupy
yourself
with higher things-with the Kingdom of God, that is fidelity to Him -
for
all these things, as our Lord says in the Gospel, 'shall be added unto
you' (Matthew 6.33). He who takes care of the beasts of the field will
not forget you. If you do this you will attain to silence, and have
peace
in your senses.
he
third precaution is most necessary,
that you may avoid all evil in
your
relation with the other religious of the community. Many person from
not
heeding this have not only lost their peace of mind, but have fallen
and
fall daily, into great disorders and sin. Be especially careful never
to
let your mind dwell upon, still less your tongue to speak of, what is
passing
in the community, its past or present state. Do not speak to any
religious
in particular, do not discuss their condition or their conversation, or
their actions, however grave, either under the cloak of zeal, or of
remedying
what seems amiss, except only to the one who of right should be spoken
to, and then at the fitting time. If you lived among the angels and
gave
heed to what was going on many things would seem to you not to be good,
because you do not understand them.
Take warning from the example of Lot's wife who, because she was disturbed at the destruction of Sodom, turned back to look at it. God punished her for this, and she was 'turned into a pillar of salt' (Genesis 19.26). This teaches you that it is the will of God, even if you were living among devils, you should so live as not to turn back in thought to consider what they are doing, but forget them utterly. You are to keep your soul wholly to God, and not to suffer the thought of this or that to disturb you.
Be sure of this, there is no lack of stumbling blocks in religious houses, because there is no lack of devils who are labouring to throw down the saints. God permits this in order to try them and to prove them, and if you are not on your guard, you will never become a religious, do what you may, neither will you attain to holy detachment and recollection, or avoid loss. If you live otherwise, in spite of your zeal and good intentions, Satan will lay hold of you in one way or another, and indeed you are already sufficiently in his power, when your soul is allowed such distractions as these. Remember those words of the apostle St James, 'If any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, this man's religion is vain'. This is applicable to the interior, quite as much as to the exterior, tongue-to thoughts as well as words.
Three precautions necessary to be observed in order to be delivered from the devil in religion.
If
you
wish to escape from
Satan
in religion, you must give heed to three things, without which you
cannot
be in safety from his cunning. In the first place I would have you take
this general advice, which you should never forget, namely, that it is
the ordinary practice of Satan to deceive those who are going on to
perfection
by an appearance of good: he does not tempt them by what seems to be
evil.
He knows that they will scarcely regard that which they know to be
wrong.
You must therefore continually distrust what seems to be good, and
especially
when obedience does not intervene. The remedy here is the direction of
one whom you ought to consult. Let this then be the FIRST PRECAUTION.
ever
set about anything, however good
or charitable it may seem, either
to yourself or to any other, whether in the community or out of it,
except
under obedience, unless you are bound to do it by the rule of your
order.
If you do this you will acquire merit, and be in security. You will be
safe against yourself and against evil; you will also avoid evils of
which
you are ignorant, and of which God will require an account one day. If
you do not observe this in little things as well as in great,
notwithstanding
your apparent progress, Satan will most certainly deceive you little or
much. Even if your whole error consist in your not being guided in
everything
by obedience, you are plainly wrong, because God wills obedience rather
than sacrifice (1 Kings 15.22), and the actions of a religious are not
his own, but those of obedience, and if he withdraws them from the
control
of obedience, he will have to give account of them as lost.
he
second precaution is a very
necessary one, because the devil
interferes
exceedingly in the matter to which it refers. The observance of it will
bring great gain and profit, and the neglect great loss and ruin. Never
look upon your superiors, be they who they may, otherwise than if you
were
looking upon God, because they stand in His place. Keep a careful watch
upon yourself in this matter, and do not reflect upon the character,
ways
or conversations or habits of your superior. If you do, you will injure
yourself, and you will change your obedience from divine into human,
and
you will be influenced by what you see in your superior, and not by the
invisible God Whom you should obey in that person. Your obedience will
be in vain, or the more barren the more you are troubled by the
untowardness,
or the more you are pleased by the favour, of your superior. I tell you
that a great many religious in the way of perfection are ruined by not
looking upon their superiors as they ought; their obedience is almost
worthless
in the eyes of God, because influenced by human considerations. Unless
you force yourself therefore to be indifferent as to who your superior
may be, so far as your private feelings go, you will never be
spiritual,
neither will you faithfully observe your vows.
he third
precaution against Satan is
this: strive with all your heart
after
humility in thought, word and deed, taking more pleasure in others than
in yourself, giving way in every thing to others, and doing so as far
as
you can from a sincere heart. In this way you will overcome evil with
good,
drive the devil away, and have joy in your heart. Deal thus with those
who are less agreeable to you; for be assured, if you do not, you will
never have true charity nor make progress in it. Be always more ready
to
receive instruction from any one than to give it, even to the least of
your fellow brethren and sisters.
f you
wish to be delivered from the
uneasiness and imperfections of
which
the habits and conversation of the religious may be the occasion, and
profit
by everything that may happen, you must keep in mind that you entered
the
community to be mortified and tried, and that all those in authority in
it are there, as in truth they are, for that purpose. Some have to
mortify
you by words, others by deeds, and others by what they think of you; in
all this you are to submit yourself, unresisting as a statue to the
polisher,
the painter and the gilder of it. If you do not, you will never be able
to live as you ought with the religious in the monastery; you will not
attain to holy peace, nor will you escape from much evil.
ever
omit any practices, if they are
such as befit you, because they
are
disagreeable; neither observe them because they are pleasant, unless
they
be as necessary as those which are not agreeable. Otherwise you will
find
it impossible to acquire firmness, and conquer your weakness.
n all
your spiritual exercises never
set your eyes upon the sweetness
of
them and cling to it, but rather on that in them which is unpleasant
and
troublesome, and accept it. If you do, you will never destroy
self-love,
nor acquire the love of God.
lvido
de
lo criado,
Memoria
del
Criador,
Atención
a
lo interior,
Y
estarse
amando al Amado.
orget creation,
Remember the Creator,
Seek within,
There forever be loved by
the Lover.
JULIAN
OF NORWICH, HER SHOWING OF LOVE AND ITS CONTEXTS ©1997-2011
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