Meditation 17
The Western Quarter of the Tetramorph
The first three foundation stones or jewels belong to the
western quarter of the Tetramorph and refers to Christ's wisdom. It is
under the protection of the archangel Raphael, but his name means “God
heals.” The Ox or bull is the standard of arms in the western quarter
and the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet is aleph, which means
“bull.”
The Bull marks thus the beginning of the Christification of the soul in Christ's wisdom in the Mystery of the Tetramorph and emphasizes the role of our Lord as Alpha and Omega in the live in grace which He merited on the Sacrifice Hill of the Cross. The Bull is the symbol of St. Luke, the apostle and doctor. It is the symbol of the restoration of the baptismal grace which is the cure of the nations. This is indeed the message which the divine predestination proclaims when we begin our walk on the Sacred Way in the western quarter of this divine ordinance. This is the mystery of faith, hope and charity as revealed by the three first jewels in the virtues of obedience, poverty and purity. Thus our Lord's words are fully realized in our own lives,
The Bull marks thus the beginning of the Christification of the soul in Christ's wisdom in the Mystery of the Tetramorph and emphasizes the role of our Lord as Alpha and Omega in the live in grace which He merited on the Sacrifice Hill of the Cross. The Bull is the symbol of St. Luke, the apostle and doctor. It is the symbol of the restoration of the baptismal grace which is the cure of the nations. This is indeed the message which the divine predestination proclaims when we begin our walk on the Sacred Way in the western quarter of this divine ordinance. This is the mystery of faith, hope and charity as revealed by the three first jewels in the virtues of obedience, poverty and purity. Thus our Lord's words are fully realized in our own lives,
But many will be last
who are first; and first who are last (Mt 19. 30)
The restoration of the fullness of the baptismal grace was prefigured by Benjamin who was the youngest in the Divine Order of March of the Old Covenant, but became first as a prefiguration of St. Paul, as Gregory bishop of Nyssa pointed to in his 10th Homily in his Commentary on the Song of Songs.The purity is one and the same thing as holiness in the New Testament which is exposed by the Greek word catharsis. It is the holiness which is the most distinct mark of God which is only revealed twice in whole of the Bible by the prophet Isaiah of the four creatures giving God unceasing praise for His glory (Is 6. 3) and again in the Book of Revelation. This emblem of the Evangelist Luke is thus an instrumental signs to this mystery,
Holy,
Holy, Holy,
is the Lord God the Almighty;
who was, and is and is to come.
is the Lord God the Almighty;
who was, and is and is to come.
(Rv 4. 8).
The Tetramorph
proclaims that this holiness demands that as a true high priesthood of
the New Covenant the soul must be sanctified, that is, separated from
everything profane and be obedient to the laws of the Holy Spirit, that
is, to be purified from all sins – the last remains of the fleshly
attitude of the ego in the prayer of union by sharing in God's holiness
in her Christification. This the soul is obliged to do because the
glorious beauty of the baptismal grace has been obscured by the storms
and whirlwind of the enemies of her salvation. We can only discern this
sparkling jewel in the light of faith at first or by the words of St.
John Chrysostom,
This brilliance of a purified soul is Jan van Ruysbroeck’s sparkling jewel mentioned above (Meditation 3) which is revealed when the soul cultivates her spiritual communion with her Royal Archetype in the prayer life – our Lord Jesus Christ,
This mystery he named the “innocence of the name” [3] of our Lord which we receive in holy baptism in accordance with His promise, “Anyone who proves victorious I will make into a pillar in the Sanctuary of my God, and it will stay there for ever; I will inscribe on it the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which is coming down from my God in heaven, and my own new name as well” (Rv 3. 12). But because of her presumptuous lack of spiritual awareness the soul loses again this fullness of the baptismal grace,
This mournful fact the fathers of the Western and Eastern Church agree upon as following quotation from the works of Simeon the New Theologian bears clear evidence of,
God gives us thus “grace upon grace” by the repentance. It is thus vital for us to understand the Greek word metanoia (repentance) as used in the New Testament where the word means literally speaking meta “beyond” noia “mind,” that is, refers to the super mundane grace of God when we begin gradually to discern the image of our Lord Jesus Christ within, or by the words of the same author, “He who has not assumed the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, divine Man and God, in his inner or spiritual man, with perception and consciousness, is nothing but blood and flesh and cannot directly apprehend spiritual glory from words alone, just as those blind from birth cannot conceive what the light of the sun is, merely from hearing about it.” [6]
And this mystery is nothing but the eternal birth of the Word in the human soul, exactly like in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. When the human spirit is enraptured into the silence of Zion it hears the only Word that God has spoken from eternity: THE SON. This is the eternal birth of the Word as Meister Eckhart stated,
This is the mystery of the Blessed Virgin conception. From the first moment of her existence she turned her gaze wholly to God in perfect self reflection to His lovable real presence within. Every soul following her example in this impulse of love will experience this mystery as it is an ontological fact in the purity of a heart of a baptized Christian. This truth the holy fathers repeated continuously both in the Western and Eastern Church,
Still, it is not
hard, even know, for a man who has the eyes of faith to understand it.
When we are being baptized, our soul, purified by the Spirit, becomes
brighter than the sun; not only are we then able to look at the glory
of God, but we ourselves take on something of its radiance. As polished
silver, illumined by the rays of the sun, radiates light not only from
its own nature but also from the radiance of the sun, so a soul
purified by the divine Spirit, becomes
more brilliant than silver; it both receives the ray of
divine glory, and from itself reflects
the ray of this same glory. Therefore the Apostle says: “But we all,
with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory (2 Cor 3. 18), that is,
from the glory of the Spirit to our own glory, which fills us and which
should be “even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” [1]
This brilliance of a purified soul is Jan van Ruysbroeck’s sparkling jewel mentioned above (Meditation 3) which is revealed when the soul cultivates her spiritual communion with her Royal Archetype in the prayer life – our Lord Jesus Christ,
Sometimes a man may
also be drawn above himself and above the spirit (but not altogether
outside himself) into an Incomprehensible Good, which he shall never be
able either to utter or to explain in the way in which he heard and
saw; for in this simple act and this simple vision, to hear and to see
are one. And none can work this in man, without intermediary and
without the co-operation of any creature, save God alone. It is called
Raptus; which means, rapt away, or uplifted, or carried away. At times
God grants to such men a sudden spiritual glimpse, like the lightning
in the sky. It comes like a sudden glimpse of strange brightness,
shining forth from the Simple Nudity. And thereby for an instant the
spirit is raised above itself; but the light passes at once and the man
returns to himself again. This is the work of God Himself; it is
something very sublime; for those to whom it happens often become
illuminated men. [2]
This mystery he named the “innocence of the name” [3] of our Lord which we receive in holy baptism in accordance with His promise, “Anyone who proves victorious I will make into a pillar in the Sanctuary of my God, and it will stay there for ever; I will inscribe on it the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which is coming down from my God in heaven, and my own new name as well” (Rv 3. 12). But because of her presumptuous lack of spiritual awareness the soul loses again this fullness of the baptismal grace,
And when we have lost
this name of innocence through sin, if we are willing still to follow
God – especially in three works which He wishes to work in us – we are
baptized once more in the Holy Ghost. And thereby we receive a new name
which shall remain with us throughout eternity. [4]
This mournful fact the fathers of the Western and Eastern Church agree upon as following quotation from the works of Simeon the New Theologian bears clear evidence of,
But if after baptism
we go astray and commit bad and evil deeds [and that we do certainly
all because no one is without sin], we completely lose this
sanctification, and it is only after repentance, confession and tears
that we again receive, according to our works, first, remission of our
sins and, later, the sanctification of higher grace. [5]
God gives us thus “grace upon grace” by the repentance. It is thus vital for us to understand the Greek word metanoia (repentance) as used in the New Testament where the word means literally speaking meta “beyond” noia “mind,” that is, refers to the super mundane grace of God when we begin gradually to discern the image of our Lord Jesus Christ within, or by the words of the same author, “He who has not assumed the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, divine Man and God, in his inner or spiritual man, with perception and consciousness, is nothing but blood and flesh and cannot directly apprehend spiritual glory from words alone, just as those blind from birth cannot conceive what the light of the sun is, merely from hearing about it.” [6]
And this mystery is nothing but the eternal birth of the Word in the human soul, exactly like in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. When the human spirit is enraptured into the silence of Zion it hears the only Word that God has spoken from eternity: THE SON. This is the eternal birth of the Word as Meister Eckhart stated,
If this birth really
happens no creature can hinder thee, all point thee to God and this
birth. We find in lightning an analogy for this. Whatever it strikes,
whether tree, beast or man, it turns toward itself with the sock. A man
with his back to it instantly flings round to face it; all the thousand
leaves of the tree turn over to front the stroke. So with all whom this
birth befalls, they are promptly turned towards this birth with
everything present, be it never so earthly. Nay, even what was formerly
a hindrance is now nothing but a help. Thy face is turned so fully
towards this birth, no matter what thou dost see and hear, thou
receivest nothing save this birth in anything. All things are simply
God to thee who seest only God in all things. Like one who looks long
at the sun, he encounters the sun in whatever he afterwards looks at.
If this is lacking, this looking for and seeing God in all and sundry,
then thou lackest this birth. [7]
This is the mystery of the Blessed Virgin conception. From the first moment of her existence she turned her gaze wholly to God in perfect self reflection to His lovable real presence within. Every soul following her example in this impulse of love will experience this mystery as it is an ontological fact in the purity of a heart of a baptized Christian. This truth the holy fathers repeated continuously both in the Western and Eastern Church,
And to sum up, the
entire goal of this world and of every element and every species in the
whole of creation, and of every race and tribe of men in all ages and
at all times, has as its flower our Lady Theotokos and as its most
beautiful fruit . . . her only begotten Son. [8]
[1]. "Epistle to the Corinthians,”
7. Philokalia – On the Prayer of the
Heart, p. 166.
[2]. The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, XXIV.
[3]. Ibid, IV.
[4]. Ibid.
[5]. Philokalia – On the Prayer of the Heart, p. 116.
[6]. Ibid, p. 104.
[7]. Meister Eckhart (Pfeiffer), p. 24.
[8]. Joseph Vryennios, a Byzantine theologian (early 15th century). Quoted by St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain in his adoption of a 16th century spiritual classic, Lorenzo Scupoli’s Combattimiento spirituale. (see Panayiotis Nellas, Deification in Christ, pp. 227-228). I myself borrowed Nellas’ word “Christification” in stead of using the more platonic phrase deification or theosis.
[2]. The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, XXIV.
[3]. Ibid, IV.
[4]. Ibid.
[5]. Philokalia – On the Prayer of the Heart, p. 116.
[6]. Ibid, p. 104.
[7]. Meister Eckhart (Pfeiffer), p. 24.
[8]. Joseph Vryennios, a Byzantine theologian (early 15th century). Quoted by St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain in his adoption of a 16th century spiritual classic, Lorenzo Scupoli’s Combattimiento spirituale. (see Panayiotis Nellas, Deification in Christ, pp. 227-228). I myself borrowed Nellas’ word “Christification” in stead of using the more platonic phrase deification or theosis.