Meditation 21
The High Priest's Vestments and the Jewels
The nine items of the
high priests vestments and the nine jewels of sanctification as
discussed in Meditation 11 above reveals the growth in the stature of
Christ as a pattern for the soul to follow in the live of grace: her
Royal Image of Glory. This growth St. Paul referred to when he said,
The vestments of the high priest shed an unique light on how the soul is “stripped” of her covering – the rags of the fleshly man in order to be clothed in the vestments of her Royal Archetype in the live of grace – our Lord and Redeemer and how He “sets us in purity”, or as Jan van Ruysbroeck put it,
These holy vestments are as John of the Cross emphasized the necessary “garb and disguise . . . for her [the soul] to reach her goal, which was this loving and delightful union with her.” [2] As an holy image of God's intentional plan the vestments of the high priest reveal the Christification of the soul in the effective grace of the sacraments. When the soul discerns this Ladder of Love within she discovers the grace of her Royal Image when Jesus Christ draws her to Himself. In this grace the soul becomes partaker in His life and lives in Him and for Him. In her assimilation to this Heavenly pattern the soul becomes a pathway or thoroughfare of this same grace as a corredemptrix or fellow worker of Christ. The Blessed Virgin is as always our Hodigitria regarding all this mystery: “let it happen to me as you have said” (Lk 1. 38).
By referring to Meditation 12 above of the Jacob's Ladder of the Sanctuary the vestments of the high priest are thus in conformity to its ground plan:
And in this earthly
state we do indeed groan, longing to put on our heavenly home over the
present one; if indeed we are to be found clothed rather than stripped
bare. Yes, indeed, in this present tent, we groan under the burden, not
that we want to be stripped of our covering, but because we want to be
covered with a second garment on top, so that what is mortal in us may
be swallowed up by life. It is God who designed us for this very
purpose, and he has given us the Spirit as a pledge (2 Cor 5. 2-5).
The vestments of the high priest shed an unique light on how the soul is “stripped” of her covering – the rags of the fleshly man in order to be clothed in the vestments of her Royal Archetype in the live of grace – our Lord and Redeemer and how He “sets us in purity”, or as Jan van Ruysbroeck put it,
This contemplation
sets us in purity and clearness above all our understanding, for it is
a singular adornment and a heavenly crown, and besides the eternal
reward of all virtues and of our whole life . . . Only he with whom it
pleases God to be united in His Spirit, and whom it pleases Him to
enlighten by Himself, can see God, and no one else. [1]
These holy vestments are as John of the Cross emphasized the necessary “garb and disguise . . . for her [the soul] to reach her goal, which was this loving and delightful union with her.” [2] As an holy image of God's intentional plan the vestments of the high priest reveal the Christification of the soul in the effective grace of the sacraments. When the soul discerns this Ladder of Love within she discovers the grace of her Royal Image when Jesus Christ draws her to Himself. In this grace the soul becomes partaker in His life and lives in Him and for Him. In her assimilation to this Heavenly pattern the soul becomes a pathway or thoroughfare of this same grace as a corredemptrix or fellow worker of Christ. The Blessed Virgin is as always our Hodigitria regarding all this mystery: “let it happen to me as you have said” (Lk 1. 38).
By referring to Meditation 12 above of the Jacob's Ladder of the Sanctuary the vestments of the high priest are thus in conformity to its ground plan:
(1) The naked feet – the
entrance or gateway into the courtyard.
(2) The breeches – the altar of burnt offerings or the cross.
(3) The tunic – the bronze laver.
(4) The turban – the entrance into the Holy.
(5) The rope – the golden table of loaves.
(6) The ephod – the lamp stand.
(7) The breastplate – the golden altar of incense.
(8) The two emeralds – the curtain into the Holy of Holies.
(9) The golden rosette – the ark of the covenant., the Light
of Glory in the silence of the heart.
(2) The breeches – the altar of burnt offerings or the cross.
(3) The tunic – the bronze laver.
(4) The turban – the entrance into the Holy.
(5) The rope – the golden table of loaves.
(6) The ephod – the lamp stand.
(7) The breastplate – the golden altar of incense.
(8) The two emeralds – the curtain into the Holy of Holies.
(9) The golden rosette – the ark of the covenant., the Light
of Glory in the silence of the heart.
Let us thus turn our spiritual eye in faith to this Royal
Image of Glory – our Archetype in the live of grace – in order to
engrave it in our memory. In his left hand the high priests carries the
thurible or incense vessel, a token of the offerings of praise which
the soul carries forth as sweet offerings on this Sacred Way. In his
right hand we see the Book of Life which the soul will also study
attentively when she has been instructed in the spiritual alphabet in
order to read this Book of Life. Let us kneel down and pray,
Dear brothers and sister in Christ! This Royal Image of Glory is the authentic real presence of our Archetype – our Lord Jesus Christ – in our own hearts. When we begin to walk this Sacred Way of repentance in obedience, spiritual poverty and purity it will begin to shine in its glory in our own hearts as it did formerly in the hearts of the holy fathers and mothers of the Church. Thus it was revealed in an authentic way and shone in its glory in the heart of St. Seraphim of Sarov and he told us also what prevents it authentic appearance saying,
These words were written almost 200 years ago and the situation has not improved since then. How many Roman Catholics and Orthodox can honestly admit that they really practice the teachings of the holy fathers on the prayer life? And this is not only valid for laymen, but also priests and religious in the orders. As a matter of fact the number of priests decreases continuously who are able to give spiritual guidance at the same time as the demand on behalf of laymen grows continuously.
This truth the Blessed Virgin has repeated numerous times in Medjugorje. She reminds us also that we have forgotten the power hidden in the prayer,
The blessed Virgin thanks even all those who have opened their hearts, but urges also all who are still burdened with sin to pray. She even says that one of the reason why she has been appearing for such a long time in Medjugorje is to teach us to pray. She is our teacher in the world of prayer and tell us that we cannot understand the peace message of the Gospels otherwise than by praying and fasting, that we open our hearts so that they will become a powerhouse of prayer. Peace, peace, peace must come . . . peace must be between God and men and amongst men themselves.” This is the message that she repeats constantly. And she wishes that we pray for those that have lost their faith, the atheists, to effectuate the duty of intercession,
The Prayer of the heart is the same thing in order to love God. That is the message of our Lady the 28th of February 1985,
The 29th of November 1984 she said, “Dear loved ones! Let it be clear to you that I am your mother and have come to earth to teach you to obey in charity and to pray in charity.” When we begin to know God in the love of the prayer life, we are also able to love our neighbors, “Dear children! Today I urge you all to pray. The prayer must become another life for you. Dear children! Give Jesus your time and He will give you everything that you want. He will reveal to you what it is to be perfect” (25th of September 1987). Our Lady is constantly saying that we must open our hearts in prayer: “Dear children! I beg you to open your hearts in prayer” (31th of January 1985). This is what will lead us to holiness, “Dear children! Pray daily and change your way so you can be holy” (13th of November 1986). She point always to the fact that it is the prayer that is the Royal way to holiness and that prayer demands nothing on our behalf other than to pray and that God will meet all our needs, “I beg you my children that you open your hearts and begin to pray” (20th of March 1986). Open them “as flowers open themselves in spring and turn to the sun” (31th of January 1985).
It is this prayer of the heart that leads to illumination: “Today I want to tell you that you must cultivate your hearts just like your fields” (25th of April 1985). She says that the human heart is like an unclean room, “You use your time to clean a room that you use sparingly in your house, but then you forget your hearts. You must use more time to this cleaning work and clean every aspect of your hearts in love” (17th of October 1985). She give us warning regarding the impurity of the human heart and says: “Pray, dear children! You can only see all this evil in the heart by this way and offer it to the Lord so that He can clean your hearts” (4th of December 1986). “Nothing is as urgent as this,” she said the 28th of January 1987.
This is one and the same truth which we face in the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle as a true Recycling Plant of the Holy Spirit. In the Sanctuary we open our hearts literally as almond blossoms in spring and turn to the Sun of Justice, her Son. Thus our contemplation in the Sanctuary becomes a sunbathing in this solarium of the Holy Spirit which we will she later on revealed at the lamp stand (Med. 59).
Let us thus first turn our attention to the general arrangement of the Tabernacle as an abode of the living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and His Son whom the Spirit reveals in the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle as it is our blueprint in the prayer life to the purity of the heart.
Holy Heart of Jesus,
Tabernacle of God the Highest, burning oven and fountain of all mercy.
I adore you, I love you and I worship you and in my sorrow because of
all the wounds I have inflected upon your Sacred Heart I place my own
sinful heart before you as to heal it in your lovable mercy. May your
Holy Spirit infuse into my heart complete obedience as to your holy
commandments, poverty of spirit and purity in order to be able to live
in you and for you and I ask you in your immeasurable mercy to give me
the grace of a holy death. Amen.
Dear brothers and sister in Christ! This Royal Image of Glory is the authentic real presence of our Archetype – our Lord Jesus Christ – in our own hearts. When we begin to walk this Sacred Way of repentance in obedience, spiritual poverty and purity it will begin to shine in its glory in our own hearts as it did formerly in the hearts of the holy fathers and mothers of the Church. Thus it was revealed in an authentic way and shone in its glory in the heart of St. Seraphim of Sarov and he told us also what prevents it authentic appearance saying,
In the times in which
we live, we have reached such a degree of luke warmness, almost
everywhere, in the holy faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, such an
insensibility towards communion with God, that really one can say, we
have departed almost entirely from the true Christian life. Passages of
the Bible seem strange to us today . . . Some people say, “These
passages are incomprehensible.” Our lack of understanding result from
the fact that we have departed so far from the primitive simplicity of
Christian knowledge. Under the pretext of education, of enlightenment,
we are involved in such an obscurity of ignorance that today we find
inconceivable these things of which the ancient had so clear an
understanding, that they were able to speak to each others of God's
appearance to men, as of things well known, and not at all strange. [3]
These words were written almost 200 years ago and the situation has not improved since then. How many Roman Catholics and Orthodox can honestly admit that they really practice the teachings of the holy fathers on the prayer life? And this is not only valid for laymen, but also priests and religious in the orders. As a matter of fact the number of priests decreases continuously who are able to give spiritual guidance at the same time as the demand on behalf of laymen grows continuously.
This truth the Blessed Virgin has repeated numerous times in Medjugorje. She reminds us also that we have forgotten the power hidden in the prayer,
You
have forgotten that you can even hinder the war. You can even change
the law of nature.
She has also spoken of the importance of the Prayer of
the heart in an unveiled language,
In all your prayers, pray for the opening of hearts
which are gripped by sin. I wish for this. God wishes it through me.
The blessed Virgin thanks even all those who have opened their hearts, but urges also all who are still burdened with sin to pray. She even says that one of the reason why she has been appearing for such a long time in Medjugorje is to teach us to pray. She is our teacher in the world of prayer and tell us that we cannot understand the peace message of the Gospels otherwise than by praying and fasting, that we open our hearts so that they will become a powerhouse of prayer. Peace, peace, peace must come . . . peace must be between God and men and amongst men themselves.” This is the message that she repeats constantly. And she wishes that we pray for those that have lost their faith, the atheists, to effectuate the duty of intercession,
They are my children
too and I suffer much because of them. If they only knew what will
happen to them if they are not converted.
The Prayer of the heart is the same thing in order to love God. That is the message of our Lady the 28th of February 1985,
Dear children, I am
inviting you to live these words: I love God. Dear children, by loving
you can receive anything, even things that seem impossible to you. Our
Lord wants you to belong to Him entirely, and so do I. I thank you
because you have responded to my call.
The 29th of November 1984 she said, “Dear loved ones! Let it be clear to you that I am your mother and have come to earth to teach you to obey in charity and to pray in charity.” When we begin to know God in the love of the prayer life, we are also able to love our neighbors, “Dear children! Today I urge you all to pray. The prayer must become another life for you. Dear children! Give Jesus your time and He will give you everything that you want. He will reveal to you what it is to be perfect” (25th of September 1987). Our Lady is constantly saying that we must open our hearts in prayer: “Dear children! I beg you to open your hearts in prayer” (31th of January 1985). This is what will lead us to holiness, “Dear children! Pray daily and change your way so you can be holy” (13th of November 1986). She point always to the fact that it is the prayer that is the Royal way to holiness and that prayer demands nothing on our behalf other than to pray and that God will meet all our needs, “I beg you my children that you open your hearts and begin to pray” (20th of March 1986). Open them “as flowers open themselves in spring and turn to the sun” (31th of January 1985).
It is this prayer of the heart that leads to illumination: “Today I want to tell you that you must cultivate your hearts just like your fields” (25th of April 1985). She says that the human heart is like an unclean room, “You use your time to clean a room that you use sparingly in your house, but then you forget your hearts. You must use more time to this cleaning work and clean every aspect of your hearts in love” (17th of October 1985). She give us warning regarding the impurity of the human heart and says: “Pray, dear children! You can only see all this evil in the heart by this way and offer it to the Lord so that He can clean your hearts” (4th of December 1986). “Nothing is as urgent as this,” she said the 28th of January 1987.
This is one and the same truth which we face in the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle as a true Recycling Plant of the Holy Spirit. In the Sanctuary we open our hearts literally as almond blossoms in spring and turn to the Sun of Justice, her Son. Thus our contemplation in the Sanctuary becomes a sunbathing in this solarium of the Holy Spirit which we will she later on revealed at the lamp stand (Med. 59).
Let us thus first turn our attention to the general arrangement of the Tabernacle as an abode of the living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and His Son whom the Spirit reveals in the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle as it is our blueprint in the prayer life to the purity of the heart.
[1].
The Adornment of the Spiritual
Marriage, III. 1.
[2]. The Dark Night of the Soul, II. 21, 12.
[3]. Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, p. 229. The experience which Motvilov gives such a vivid description of should be an urge for all true Christians as to attain to the glory of the God image (Gn 1. 26) within,
“All the same, I don't understand how one can be certain of being in the Spirit of God. How should I be able to recognize for certain this manifestation in myself?”
“I've already told you,” said Father Seraphim, “that it's very simple. I've talked at length about the state of those who are in the Spirit of God; I've also explained to you how we can recognize this presence in ourselves. . . What more is necessary, my friend?”
“I must understand better everything that you have said to me.”
“My friend, we are both at this moment in the Spirit of God. . . Why won't you look at me?”
“I can't look at you, Father – I replied – your eyes shine like lightning; your face has become more dazzling than the sun, and it hurts my eyes to look at you.” “Don't be afraid,” said he, “at this very moment you've become as bright as I have. You are also at present in the fullness of the Spirit of God; otherwise, you wouldn't be able to see me as you do see me.”
And leaning towards me, he whispered in my ear, “Thank the Lord God for His infinite goodness towards us. As you noticed, I haven't even made the sign of the cross; it was quite enough that I had prayed to God in my thoughts, in my heart, saying within myself, ‘Lord make him worthy to see clearly with his bodily eyes, the descent of your Spirit, with which you favor your servants, when you condescend to appear to them in the wonderful radiance of your glory.’ And, as you see my friend, the Lord at once granted this prayer of the humble Seraphim. . . How thankful we ought to be to God for this unspeakable gift which He has granted to us both. Even the Father of the Desert did not always have such manifestations of His goodness. The grace of God – like a mother full of loving kindness towards her children – has designed to comfort your afflicted heart, at the intercession of the Mother of God herself. . . Why then, my friend, do you not look me straight in the face? Look freely and without fear; the Lord is with us.”
Encouraged by these words, I looked and was seized by holy fear. Imagine in the middle of the sun, dazzling in the brilliance of its noon tide rays, the face of the man who is speaking to you. You can see the movements of his lips, the changing expression of his eyes, you can hear his voice, you can feel his hands holding you by the shoulders, but you can see neither his hands nor his body – nothing except the blaze of light which shines around, lightning up with its brilliance the snow-covered meadow, and the snowflakes which continue to fall unceasingly.
“What do you feel?” asked Father Seraphim.
“An immeasurable well-being,” I replied.
“But what sort of well-being? What exactly?”
“I feel,” I replied, “such calm, such peace in my soul, that I can find no words to express it.”
“My friend, it is the peace our Lord spoke of when He said to His disciples, ‘My peace I give unto you,’ the peace which the world cannot give; ‘the peace which passeth all understanding.’ What else do you feel?”
“Infinite joy in my heart.”
Father Seraphim continued: “When the Spirit of God descends on a man, and envelops him in the fullness of the His presence, the soul overflows with unspeakable joy, for the Holy Spirit fills everything He touches with joy . . . If the first-fruits of future joy have already filled your soul with such sweetness, with such happiness, what shall we say of the joy in the Kingdom of Heaven, which awaits all those who weep here on earth. You also, my friend, have wept during your earthly life, but see the joy which the Lord sends to console you here below. For the present we must work, and making continual efforts to gain the STATURE OF CHRIST . . . But then this transitory and partial joy which we now feel will be revealed in all its fullness, overwhelming our being with ineffable delights which no one will be able to take from us” (Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, pp. 225-7).
[2]. The Dark Night of the Soul, II. 21, 12.
[3]. Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, p. 229. The experience which Motvilov gives such a vivid description of should be an urge for all true Christians as to attain to the glory of the God image (Gn 1. 26) within,
“All the same, I don't understand how one can be certain of being in the Spirit of God. How should I be able to recognize for certain this manifestation in myself?”
“I've already told you,” said Father Seraphim, “that it's very simple. I've talked at length about the state of those who are in the Spirit of God; I've also explained to you how we can recognize this presence in ourselves. . . What more is necessary, my friend?”
“I must understand better everything that you have said to me.”
“My friend, we are both at this moment in the Spirit of God. . . Why won't you look at me?”
“I can't look at you, Father – I replied – your eyes shine like lightning; your face has become more dazzling than the sun, and it hurts my eyes to look at you.” “Don't be afraid,” said he, “at this very moment you've become as bright as I have. You are also at present in the fullness of the Spirit of God; otherwise, you wouldn't be able to see me as you do see me.”
And leaning towards me, he whispered in my ear, “Thank the Lord God for His infinite goodness towards us. As you noticed, I haven't even made the sign of the cross; it was quite enough that I had prayed to God in my thoughts, in my heart, saying within myself, ‘Lord make him worthy to see clearly with his bodily eyes, the descent of your Spirit, with which you favor your servants, when you condescend to appear to them in the wonderful radiance of your glory.’ And, as you see my friend, the Lord at once granted this prayer of the humble Seraphim. . . How thankful we ought to be to God for this unspeakable gift which He has granted to us both. Even the Father of the Desert did not always have such manifestations of His goodness. The grace of God – like a mother full of loving kindness towards her children – has designed to comfort your afflicted heart, at the intercession of the Mother of God herself. . . Why then, my friend, do you not look me straight in the face? Look freely and without fear; the Lord is with us.”
Encouraged by these words, I looked and was seized by holy fear. Imagine in the middle of the sun, dazzling in the brilliance of its noon tide rays, the face of the man who is speaking to you. You can see the movements of his lips, the changing expression of his eyes, you can hear his voice, you can feel his hands holding you by the shoulders, but you can see neither his hands nor his body – nothing except the blaze of light which shines around, lightning up with its brilliance the snow-covered meadow, and the snowflakes which continue to fall unceasingly.
“What do you feel?” asked Father Seraphim.
“An immeasurable well-being,” I replied.
“But what sort of well-being? What exactly?”
“I feel,” I replied, “such calm, such peace in my soul, that I can find no words to express it.”
“My friend, it is the peace our Lord spoke of when He said to His disciples, ‘My peace I give unto you,’ the peace which the world cannot give; ‘the peace which passeth all understanding.’ What else do you feel?”
“Infinite joy in my heart.”
Father Seraphim continued: “When the Spirit of God descends on a man, and envelops him in the fullness of the His presence, the soul overflows with unspeakable joy, for the Holy Spirit fills everything He touches with joy . . . If the first-fruits of future joy have already filled your soul with such sweetness, with such happiness, what shall we say of the joy in the Kingdom of Heaven, which awaits all those who weep here on earth. You also, my friend, have wept during your earthly life, but see the joy which the Lord sends to console you here below. For the present we must work, and making continual efforts to gain the STATURE OF CHRIST . . . But then this transitory and partial joy which we now feel will be revealed in all its fullness, overwhelming our being with ineffable delights which no one will be able to take from us” (Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, pp. 225-7).
