Meditation 16
The Cross of the Tetramorph
The last definitions
above reveals what we can properly call the Cross of the Tetramorph
referring to the Christification of the soul in the live of grace.
Actually we have already encountered the first three of these
impediments mentioned in Meditation 12 above, that is, the blindness,
lameness and disfigurement, which are healed by the illumination of the
three foundation jewels or stones of the Celestial City, the jasper,
sapphire and chalcedony.
Christian
spirituality spoke commonly of these three spiritual enemies of the
soul and in his work Precautions John of the Cross names three
precautions against each of these enemies: the world, the flesh and the
devil. It are these three enemies which the soul faces in Dante’s
Divina Commedia and prevent
her to approach the mountain,
Because
this beast, at which thou criest out,
Suffers not any one to pass her way,
But so doth harass him, that she destroys him; [1]
Suffers not any one to pass her way,
But so doth harass him, that she destroys him; [1]
The desert fathers named these “wild beasts” (Ps 91. 13) the
three great giants of the heart as Abba Marcus reminded his disciple
Nicodemus of in his spiritual guidance as an hindrance on the way of
sanctification
In this quotation all the main features of a true spiritual warfare are revealed, a warfare against “the master of darkness in the air” (Ep 6. 12) just as Jesus showed us by His temptations in the desert (see Mt 4. 1-11) as our Forerunner in the live of grace.
In the illumination of the jewels or sparkling stones of the Celestial City the soul is gradually healed of these twelve impediments which prevent her to serve as a true high priest in the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant. Here the Spirit addresses us “plainly and not using veiled language” (Jn 16. 29) when He refers to the 12 impediments or infirmities of the priests of Aaron who were the prefiguration of the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant intended to be “holy and faultless before him in love” (Ep 1. 4) – just as the angels in the “other fold” (Jn 10. 16). When the soul has been cured of these infirmities she becomes another christ, [3] “Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods?” (Jn 10. 35) and “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth” (Jn 17. 19). In conformity with God's predestination Christians are intended to become high priests of the common Royal Priesthood of the New Covenants by following in the steps of Christ as their pattern as “high priest of all the blessings” (Heb 9. 11) and thus He sanctified Himself as the “High Priest over all the Sanctuary of God” (Heb 10. 22). We can thus draw up following diagram,
If you wish, my son, to
acquire within you your own lamp shedding the mental light of spiritual
knowledge, so that you can walk without stumbling in the deep night of
this age, and to have thy “steps ordered by the Lord” (Ps 37. 23),
because you delight greatly in the way shown by the Gospels, in other
words, if you wish to practice Christ's commandments strictly and
with the warmest faith and prayer, I will show you a marvelous
spiritual method or means to achieve this, a method not requiring
physical labor and exertion, but demanding spiritual work – attention
of mind and thought, assisted by the fear and love of God. By the use
of this method you will always be able easily to defeat the enemy host.
So, then if you wish to gain victory over passions, abide within
yourself by prayer and with God's help, and descending into the very
depths of your heart discover there these three strong giants:
forgetfulness, laziness and ignorance. These act as supports to
intruders in the mind, who bring back other evil passions to act, live
and grow strong in the souls of lovers of lust. But you, having found
all these unknown evil giants, by strict attention and exertion of the
mind, together with help from above, will find it easy later to get rid
of them, again through prayer and attention. Then your zeal for true
knowledge, for remembering the word of God and for harmonizing
your will and your life therewith, together with your attention
constantly standing on guard in the heart, carefully protected by the
active power of grace, will destroy and wipe out the last traces of
forgetfulness, ignorance and laziness. [2]
In this quotation all the main features of a true spiritual warfare are revealed, a warfare against “the master of darkness in the air” (Ep 6. 12) just as Jesus showed us by His temptations in the desert (see Mt 4. 1-11) as our Forerunner in the live of grace.
In the illumination of the jewels or sparkling stones of the Celestial City the soul is gradually healed of these twelve impediments which prevent her to serve as a true high priest in the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant. Here the Spirit addresses us “plainly and not using veiled language” (Jn 16. 29) when He refers to the 12 impediments or infirmities of the priests of Aaron who were the prefiguration of the Royal Priesthood of the New Covenant intended to be “holy and faultless before him in love” (Ep 1. 4) – just as the angels in the “other fold” (Jn 10. 16). When the soul has been cured of these infirmities she becomes another christ, [3] “Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods?” (Jn 10. 35) and “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth” (Jn 17. 19). In conformity with God's predestination Christians are intended to become high priests of the common Royal Priesthood of the New Covenants by following in the steps of Christ as their pattern as “high priest of all the blessings” (Heb 9. 11) and thus He sanctified Himself as the “High Priest over all the Sanctuary of God” (Heb 10. 22). We can thus draw up following diagram,
Souls suffering by these infirmities are unable to go near
the curtain
or enter the Holy of Holies of the Sanctuary that keeps holy things
sanctified by God as they have not as yet become true high priests of
the New Covenant. The priests of Aaron prefigured thus souls that
serve God with conscientiousness and even pedantic discipline in
the Holy of the Sanctuary but not having as yet put their hearts on the
plate of the golden altar of incense as a sweet offering before God are
not true high priests in the live of grace.
The
roots of the ego have not as yet been uprooted in such
souls in the prayer of union. The priests refers thus to souls who have
not attained to this stature in their Christification. In order to
emphasize the spiritual growth in the Mystery of the Tetramorph God
divided the community of the Israelites into 5 separate groups in the
Old Covenant to emphasize this growth in the Cross of the Tetramorph,
A. The common Israelite. He
entered occasionally the Sanctuary to offer
sacrifice for his sins at the altar of burnt offerings in the courtyard.
B. The Nazirite. This was an Israelite that made a temporal wow to serve Yahweh consisting in three abstention: not to cut his hair, not to drink wines or fermented drinks and not to touch a corpse. This indicated, that he was prepared to meet and serve God in a special way by bodily purification.
C. The Levite. He was consecrated for the service in the courtyard, to assist the priests and to carry the tools of the Tabernacle in the desert. He was forbidden to enter the Holy and touch the tools of the Sanctuary under a penalty of death. He represents thus a soul that has not as yet gone through the sensuous purification.
D. The priest. He was consecrated to the sacred service in the Holy, brought forth the offerings and the food of Yahweh and attended the lamp stand and the golden table of loaves. He refers to a soul who has gone through the first phases of the spiritual purification, but not as yet offered herself as a living incense before Almighty God.
E. The High priest. His role was to take care of the sacred service in the Sanctuary and to offer the great sin offering once a year on the Day of Atonement. The high priest was a prefiguration of Christ in the manner of Melchizedek, king of Salem, “a priest of God Most High, a King of saving justice and King of Peace.” The Church as whole and each and everyone of the faithful have received a commandment to follow this pattern, “sanctify yourselves and be holy” (Lv 20. 7). This is the divine ordinance , “Thus he chose us in Christ before the world was made to be holy and faultless before Him in love, marking us out for Himself beforehand, to be adopted sons, trough Jesus Christ” (Ep. 1. 4). One of the most sublime role of such a soul is to intercede on behalf of her enemies and the enemies of the Church. The other to offer continuously an offering of praise.
B. The Nazirite. This was an Israelite that made a temporal wow to serve Yahweh consisting in three abstention: not to cut his hair, not to drink wines or fermented drinks and not to touch a corpse. This indicated, that he was prepared to meet and serve God in a special way by bodily purification.
C. The Levite. He was consecrated for the service in the courtyard, to assist the priests and to carry the tools of the Tabernacle in the desert. He was forbidden to enter the Holy and touch the tools of the Sanctuary under a penalty of death. He represents thus a soul that has not as yet gone through the sensuous purification.
D. The priest. He was consecrated to the sacred service in the Holy, brought forth the offerings and the food of Yahweh and attended the lamp stand and the golden table of loaves. He refers to a soul who has gone through the first phases of the spiritual purification, but not as yet offered herself as a living incense before Almighty God.
E. The High priest. His role was to take care of the sacred service in the Sanctuary and to offer the great sin offering once a year on the Day of Atonement. The high priest was a prefiguration of Christ in the manner of Melchizedek, king of Salem, “a priest of God Most High, a King of saving justice and King of Peace.” The Church as whole and each and everyone of the faithful have received a commandment to follow this pattern, “sanctify yourselves and be holy” (Lv 20. 7). This is the divine ordinance , “Thus he chose us in Christ before the world was made to be holy and faultless before Him in love, marking us out for Himself beforehand, to be adopted sons, trough Jesus Christ” (Ep. 1. 4). One of the most sublime role of such a soul is to intercede on behalf of her enemies and the enemies of the Church. The other to offer continuously an offering of praise.
It is only in perfect obedience, poverty and purity that the eternal
birth of the Word can take place in a virgin soul. No soul attains this
virtue otherwise than by going the Way of the Cross, “Anyone who does
not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.
Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for
my sake will find it” (Mt 10. 38, 39).
This is one and the same thing as the mortification of the ego of selfishness In order to become partaker in the Life of Christ, “I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I but Christ living in me” (Gl 2. 20). It is this truth which is revealed by the Tetramorph as a source of God's grace as beginning of glory, as St. Paul emphasized too, “I am not setting aside God's grace as of no value” (Gl 2. 21). The fivefold division of the Israelites above sheds light on this mortification which becomes gradually more authentic as well as the obstructions that prevents the soul to follow the impulses of love in the live of grace,
This is one and the same thing as the mortification of the ego of selfishness In order to become partaker in the Life of Christ, “I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I but Christ living in me” (Gl 2. 20). It is this truth which is revealed by the Tetramorph as a source of God's grace as beginning of glory, as St. Paul emphasized too, “I am not setting aside God's grace as of no value” (Gl 2. 21). The fivefold division of the Israelites above sheds light on this mortification which becomes gradually more authentic as well as the obstructions that prevents the soul to follow the impulses of love in the live of grace,
A. The common Israelite
prefigured a baptized member of the Church
who is not able to cut the ties with the outer world, is a nominal
Christian. He tries by all means both to stand in the world and in this
holy ordinance of God. He is thus mute in the life of grace like
Zechariah (Lk 1. 21).
B. The Nazirite prefigures a member of the Church who is ready to go further, but only on his own terms which are restricted to bodily purification. He suffers from religious rigidity of outer discipline.
C. The Levite prefigures a member of the Church that lives in his sensuous disposition of outer discipline and has not as yet gone through the purification of the senses in the night of the senses. Such a soul will never attain the infused prayer of rest and is consequently not allowed to enter the Holy which is the only and true place of the infused prayer.
D. The priest prefigures a member of the Church who has already experienced the prayer of rest and the prayer of union, but has as yet not gone through the purification of the night of the powers or spiritwith all its trials and tests. The deep roots of the selfish ego still remain hidden in such a soul. Thus she is not allowed to approach the golden altar of incense nor go behind the curtain into the Holy of Holies.
E. The High priest prefigures the sacrificial death of the egoistic self and the resurrection in the union of love in the purity of the Royal Image of the Christification. This takes place in the center of the cross where the vertical line – God's will – crosses the horizontal line – the human will. Thus Christ Jesus came in flesh to do His Father will, “but you gave me a body . . . to do your will, God” (Heb 10. 7). Thus He became the “High Priest over all the Sanctuary of God” (Heb 10. 22) and no created being has submitted as completely before this will as the Blessed Virgin, “let it happen to me as you have said” (Lk 1. 38).
B. The Nazirite prefigures a member of the Church who is ready to go further, but only on his own terms which are restricted to bodily purification. He suffers from religious rigidity of outer discipline.
C. The Levite prefigures a member of the Church that lives in his sensuous disposition of outer discipline and has not as yet gone through the purification of the senses in the night of the senses. Such a soul will never attain the infused prayer of rest and is consequently not allowed to enter the Holy which is the only and true place of the infused prayer.
D. The priest prefigures a member of the Church who has already experienced the prayer of rest and the prayer of union, but has as yet not gone through the purification of the night of the powers or spiritwith all its trials and tests. The deep roots of the selfish ego still remain hidden in such a soul. Thus she is not allowed to approach the golden altar of incense nor go behind the curtain into the Holy of Holies.
E. The High priest prefigures the sacrificial death of the egoistic self and the resurrection in the union of love in the purity of the Royal Image of the Christification. This takes place in the center of the cross where the vertical line – God's will – crosses the horizontal line – the human will. Thus Christ Jesus came in flesh to do His Father will, “but you gave me a body . . . to do your will, God” (Heb 10. 7). Thus He became the “High Priest over all the Sanctuary of God” (Heb 10. 22) and no created being has submitted as completely before this will as the Blessed Virgin, “let it happen to me as you have said” (Lk 1. 38).
Thus the four
Evangelists submitted also before His will as well as all
the apostles martyrs and saints of the Church. This they did because
they took heed of these sacred symbols of the divine predestination.
What does these sacred symbols tell us but this: By revealing the Mystery of the Tetramorph in the Old Covenant where the Hebrew tribes walked in the order of their age under the guidance of the ark of the covenant God wishes us in our own straining forward in the live of grace to advance further and further In order to “be holy and faultless before him in love” (Ep 1. 4), but ALWAYS GUIDED BY HIS WILL INSTEAD OF OUR OWN!
When the Holy Spirit removes the three veils of forgetfulness, laziness and ignorance of our hearts – these three great giants of the heart (see Appendix A) – we are able to proceed further in the live of grace because we can see our Royal Archetype and Pattern in the sparkling light of faith as revealed by the baptismal grace. Thus we walk in accordance with the “Law of the Spirit” (Rm 8. 2), “walk in the Spirit” (Gl 5. 16) and thus we are raised up in the live of grace to the summit of perfection which is the love – because “God is love” (1 Jn 4. 7) – as by a ladder. Thus the jewels of the Celestial City become a true Jacob's ladder to heaven (see Meditation 11 and 12 above).
What does these sacred symbols tell us but this: By revealing the Mystery of the Tetramorph in the Old Covenant where the Hebrew tribes walked in the order of their age under the guidance of the ark of the covenant God wishes us in our own straining forward in the live of grace to advance further and further In order to “be holy and faultless before him in love” (Ep 1. 4), but ALWAYS GUIDED BY HIS WILL INSTEAD OF OUR OWN!
When the Holy Spirit removes the three veils of forgetfulness, laziness and ignorance of our hearts – these three great giants of the heart (see Appendix A) – we are able to proceed further in the live of grace because we can see our Royal Archetype and Pattern in the sparkling light of faith as revealed by the baptismal grace. Thus we walk in accordance with the “Law of the Spirit” (Rm 8. 2), “walk in the Spirit” (Gl 5. 16) and thus we are raised up in the live of grace to the summit of perfection which is the love – because “God is love” (1 Jn 4. 7) – as by a ladder. Thus the jewels of the Celestial City become a true Jacob's ladder to heaven (see Meditation 11 and 12 above).
[1].
Divina Commedia 1, 94-96.
[2]. Philokalia, On the Prayer of the Heart, pp. 27-28.
[3]. Cyril of Jerusalem, On the Holy Chrism, I.
[2]. Philokalia, On the Prayer of the Heart, pp. 27-28.
[3]. Cyril of Jerusalem, On the Holy Chrism, I.