From a spiritual Canticle by Saint John of the Cross, priest
The knowledge of the mystery hidden in Jesus Christ
Though holy doctors have uncovered many mysteries and wonders, and devout souls have understood them in this earthly condition of ours, yet the greater part still remains to be unfolded by them, and even to be understood by them.
We must then dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures: however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit. Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides.
For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ: In him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God. The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them, unless it first crosses into and enters the thicket of suffering, enduring interior and exterior labors, and unless it first receives from God very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses, and has undergone long spiritual training.
All these are lesser things, disposing the soul for the lofty sanctuary of the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ: this is the highest wisdom attainable in this life.
Would that men might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first, and in truth, to enter the thicket of the cross.
Saint Paul therefore urges the Ephesians not to grow weary in the midst of tribulations, but to be rooted and grounded in love, so that they may know with all the saints the breadth, the length, the height and the depth—to know what is beyond knowledge, the love of Christ, so as to be filled with all the fullness of God. The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it.
Tag Archives: soul
Eyes of My Soul
O eyes of my soul,
Eyes of my spirit,
Eyes of my heart,
See!
See the glory revealed
In all creation.
See the Son
Hidden in the least
To the greatest.
Recognize the Christ,
Lord of all.
Lord over the earth
Lord over the sea
Lord raised above the heavens.
Enthrone Him, King,
King of your soul,
King of your spirit,
King of your heart.
As light illuminates,
See that you are a new creation.
See, in this moment,
As in the breaking of the Bread.
Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
Seared into Her Soul
Seared into her soul,
She lived in the reality
Of the Christ.
She loved in the reality
Of the Anointed One,
The appointed One.
Seared into her soul,
She lived in the reality
Of the Crucifixion.
She suffered in the reality
Of the Crucified.
Seared into her soul,
Abandonment,
Alive for her Son,
She lived life now,
In His Dying,
In His Death.
Seared into her soul,
The life born purified
For this moment,
The moment of His glory.
Seared into her soul,
The birthing of His Body,
And from the Cross
Received His Church as Son.
Seared into her soul,
Moments for Eternity,
By His birth, the Father said,
“Into your hands I commit my Son.”
The Virgin said, “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum”
The Son said, “Mother”.
Seared into her soul,
The Mother said,”My Son”
With the Son in the Spirit,
“Into Your Hands I commit my spirit.”
We rest in her “Amen.”
©2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
Gardening and the Soul – 101
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Lent means that spring is just around the corner. Looking at my garden, it was obvious that it was in need of some serious tender loving care. All I had the energy for was to uproot a few of the hundreds of weeds, but I did begin. Immediately, a thought interrupted my picking. “Many souls are dead and don’t even know it.” Surprised by the seriousness of the pronouncement, I turned to the Lord, “Why is that, Lord?”
“Look at the weeds you’re uprooting; they look healthy and well, don’t they? Yet, you know they’re counterfeits; you root them up. Many people no longer know what’s good for them. They opened their soil to the world and allowed the world to decide what grew in them; no questions asked!
Empty places invite weeds. Weeds take the place of authentic, productive life. Soon they choke out the good by sheer numbers and their greedy appetites. Weeds look pretty good for a while. It isn’t until you miss the flowers and the fruit, that you notice something has gone awry. In life, people are like gardens. Some are dying but still look good. Sin like weeds is deceptive. People are kept busy and entertained by counterfeit life. Yet they are loosing ground to the world. They are losing the reward of their time and effort. Their work and play have no eternal end, just transitory vigor and flash. It’s really death wrapped in greenery.
This morning I weeded my entire garden. I also went to confession.
A Glorious Dawn and God
H/T the Anchoress:
This is beautiful and celebrates a finite universe, giving us some idea of infinity by the awe it inspires and the Universe’s sheer vastness and complexity.
A Glorious Dawn includes these words:
“But the brain does much more than just recollect
It inter-compares, it synthesizes, it analyzes
it generates abstractionsThe simplest thought like the concept of the number one
Has an elaborate logical underpinning
The brain has it’s own language
For testing the structure and consistency of the world.”
It is interesting to note that Carl Sagan, while positing, a purely material universe, was in awe of Possibility. Yet, he won’t admit the possibility of God, and immaterial realities, such as soul. Sagan trafficked in ideas, and ideas, themselves, simply sing and shout God.
While Carl’s science functions on ideas, his materialistic science must measure, weigh, observe and record. This purely materialistic observing and recording is insufficient for describing all of Reality, all that is. Materialistic science can come to know just part of Reality, the material part.
F.J. Sheed says, “Ask yourself: ‘How much does this idea weigh? How long is it? What color is it? What shape is it? How much space does it take up?’ The answer of course is that your idea has no weight, no length, no color, no shape, and takes up no space. It simply has no material attributes at all. something with no material attributes is immaterial, another word for spiritual.
Carl Sagan glorified ideas, dreaming of future manifestations and possibilities. A solely materialistic view must find a way to account for the immaterial Intellect and for that matter, the Will and Conscience, as well. “Immaterial ideas imply an immaterial faculty capable of forming them. It is impossible for something material to create something immaterial. Therefore the faculty capable of forming spiritual ideas must itself be spiritual.” observes F.J. Sheed in “Theology for Beginners.”
Be Holy! 