Meditation 60
The Christification as Revealed by the Lamp stand

As a prefiguration of the sacrament of Anointment the lamp stand proclaims the same truth as revealed to Isaiah the prophet, “and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Yahweh binds up the hurt of his people, and heals the stroke of their wound.” (Is 30. 26). The Holy Spirit reveals how God intends to cure the soul's primeval powers of all the remains of the impediments of  pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust by drawing the soul to the inscrutability of the Trinitarian mystery as revealed by the lamp stand in accordance with His words, “I will draw all to myself” (Jn 12. 32), all souls who give heed to His words and do not resist in their protestant attitude of the flesh. Here at the lamp stand the emphasize is on the sacrament of Anointment of the sick as a sacrament of the living. 

The lamp stand is indeed a blueprint or plan of the Christification where we see in an authentic way how the soul is gradually drawn towards the center lamp of the lamp stand by its illumination in its gracious effects as exposed by the nine almond blossoms on each of the arms referring to the Humanity and Divinity of Christ appearing in authentic effects by the moral and infused virtues in the soul. As has been stated above this takes place in the illumination of the nine jewels or foundation stones of the new Jerusalem, both exposed by the nine articles of the vestments of the high priest (Med. 21) and as infused illumination of the nine celestial hierarchies (Med. 46). This development is still further repeated or emphasized by the two rows of loaves on the golden table (Med. 53) as descending of Christ to earth in His Humanity by the first row in order to take the soul up or ascend to heaven as exposed by the second row of loaves. This is nothing but the final union with God, a “share in the divine nature” (2 Pt 1. 4) concluded by the sacrament of Matrimony or the Spiritual marriage. It is here where Christ becomes all in everything where the soul finds her fullness and everlasting peace,
He is the Beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that he should be supreme in every way; because God wanted all his fullness to be found in him and through him to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, by making peace through his death on the cross (Col 1. 19, 20).

Literary speaking the soul becomes a new creation in her assimilation to her Royal Image in glory, “So for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old order is gone and a new being there is to see” (2 Cor 5. 17). This God accomplishes by drawing all to myself (Jn 12. 32). It is this precious truth which is revealed by this blueprint of the Christification. We can thus draw following diagram to shed light on this mystery.


On each of the arms of the lamp stand these two aspects of the Christification are revealed by the number of the almond blossoms, nine on each branch or arm, altogether eighteen (9 + 9) referring to the growth of the soul in the moral and infused virtues. Thus God “draws” the soul gradually to the center lamp of the lamp stand which is also the center or essence of the soul in the sanctifying grace of the Sacred Heart. On the diagram above the moral virtues are exposed with a brown hue.
   This power of attraction is also revealed as ascend on the stem by its four almond blossoms. The stem itself with its four almond blossoms refers thus to Christ's wisdom, justice, sanctification and redemption (see 1 Cor 1. 30) and the three arms above each other shed light upon the fact how the powers of the soul are lifted up in the live of grace in the three great nights of the prayer life: the night of the senses, the night of the spirit and the night of redemption. The stand itself reveals the Trinitarian mystery and sheds light upon the growth in the Tetramorph in four stages,
When the Paraclet comes, whom I send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness (Jn 15. 26).


We can never discern the mystery of the lamp stand otherwise than in the light of the Incarnation of Christ Jesus. The lamp stand is thus an exact image of the Spirit's efficiency and power when He is sent into the world to reveal Christ in each member of the Church in a personal way shedding light on the formation of the soul to her Royal Archetype. We can certainly name these effects the traces of the Trinity both hidden in the mystical body of the Church as well as in the human nature individually, as traces of the divine virtues of faith, hope and charity in the mystery streaming from the root or the base of the lamp stand. This ascend or analepsis is actually identical to the procession of love exposed on the explanatory diagram of Rublev’s icon above (Med. 49), that is an ascend from the tomb through the Eucharist towards the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
  
Such “trace” represents something by way of “effects” as Thomas Aquinas pointed to, [1] effects on the primeval powers of the soul, that is, on the wrath or incentive power which intensifies the desire in order to attack the remains of the egoistic self and urges the intellect to a wrestle like Jacob (Gn 32. 22-33) with this mystery and thus the soul is enraptured into the Holy of holies in the “flight of the spirit” which we will return to later. On fig. 60 we see thus how the three powers of the soul (marked by the letters A, B and C) are lifted up in their formation or assimilation to their Royal pattern, our Lord Jesus Christ.

It was the Jesuit philosopher, theologian and one of the principal figures in the neo-Thomistic revival sponsored by Pope Leo XIII – Cardinal Louis Billot (1846-1931) – who gave this truth a new meaning in his works. [2] According to his theory where he revived and adopted the doctrines of Thomas Aquinas regarding the instrumental efficiency of the sacraments, he emphasized that they cause ex opere operato and instrumentally “character” or a spiritual ornament which will be a “disposition entitling the soul to grace.“
  

The light which Billot sheds upon the growth of the soul in its Christification in the live of grace by the seal of the sacraments as character or spiritual ornament manifests simultaneously the live giving power (reviviscentia) of the sacraments as well as the validity of the vestments of the high priest of the Old Covenant as a prefiguration of Christ as the high priest of all blessings. It are indeed the items of these vestments which expose the growing ability of the soul to receive the influx of the Light of Glory gradually in more intensive way. God reveals thus this “spiritual ornament” or “disposition“ entitling the soul to grace in an unique manner in front of the lamp stand. This inner transformation can be named “overshadowing” of the splendors of the lamps of the lamp stand, a casting of its shadow. We see an example of such casting of shadows in the Acts, “They even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mattresses, so that Peter came by, at the least his shadow might overshadow them” (Ac 5. 15). We have already seen another example of such overshadowing above (Med. 21) when St. Seraphim of Sarov was overshadowed and shared his experience with the Russian aristocrat Motvilov.

In his commentary on the splendors of these lamps John of the Cross shed an excellent light upon the nature of such overshadowing,

By what was said and what we shall now say it will be more plainly understood how excellent the splendors of these lamps are, for by another name they are called “overshadowings.” To understand this expression, it should be known that an overshadowing is the equivalent of casting a shadow; and casting a shadow is similar to protecting, favoring, and granting graces. For when a person is covered in shadow, it is a sign that someone else is nearby to protect and favor. As a result the Angel Gabriel called the conception of the Son of God, that favor granted to the Virgin, an overshadowing of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [Lk 1. 35]. [3]

And this great master of the spiritual life continues his discussion of this mystery shedding light upon the mystery of this shadow of God's splendor,
For a clear understanding of the nature of this casting of the shadow of God or these overshadowing of great splendor, which is all the same, it should be observed that everything has and makes a shadow according to its size and its properties. If an object is opaque and dark, it makes a dark shadow; if it is transparent and delicate its shadow is transparent and delicate. Thus the shadow of a dark object amounts to another darkness in the measure of the darkness of the object, and the shadow of something bright amounts to something else that is bright according to the brightness of the object. [4]

When the soul discern the glorious effects of these splendors of the lamps she is as Seraphim from Sarov said filled with joy, “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.” [5] These gratified touches of the Holy Spirit are divine attributes that He casts on the soul,
What, then, will be the shadows of the grandeur of his virtues and attributes that the Holy Spirit casts on the soul? For he is so close to it that his shadow not only touch but unite it with these grandeur in their shadows and splendors . . . Finally, it enjoys God's glory in the shadow of his glory. All this occurs in the clear and enkindled shadows of those clear and enkindled lamps. And these lamps are within the one lamp of the undivided and simple being of God, which is actually resplendent in all these ways. [6]

All this mystery, all these splendors of the seven lamps of the lamp stand, all this healing of the sacrament of Anointment as a part of the Eucharistic mystery is concealed in this small and circular shaped unleavened bread which we call hostia as has already been stated above. This was a truth which was dear to Jan van Ruysbroeck when he discussed the glorious effects of the sacrament of the Altar, this inscrutable but simple communion with God in His divine materialism where the soul “tastes God, eats, devours, assimilates Him, and in turn is eaten and consumed” [7]  and reaches thus the summit of the mountain of spiritual illumination – ascends Mount Zion – and becomes a “secret friend of God” as he put it into phrase in the 8. chapter of The Sparkling Stone. It is thus how God decorates His becoming bride still further by His adornments before the spiritual marriage and thus the soul enters her inheritance in the eternal beatitude in glory,

In this most high gift of the sacrament He also gives us His spirit, full of glory and rich gifts of virtue, and unspeakable marvels of charity and nobleness. And herewith we are nourished and adorned and enlightened in the unity of our spirit and in the higher powers, through the indwelling of Christ with all His riches. Moreover He gives us in the sacrament of the Altar His most high personality in incomprehensible splendor. And through this we are lifted up to and united with the Father, and the Father receives His adopted sons together with His natural Son, and thus we enter into our inheritance of the Godhead in eternal blessedness. [8]

Among the Israelites in ancient times religious meals were always accompanied by a berakah, a blessing and thanksgiving for all the favors received. The Greek word eufcharistia means thus thanksgiving which is the core of the Christian sacramental celebration of the Paschal Mystery, that is to say Christ's death on the Sacrificial Hill of the Cross and His rising from death in His ascension to heaven in order to lead human beings who willingly receive His atonement to His heavenly Father in glory. This He does by giving humanity share and participation in a new nature that every member of His community of grace share with Him as the Founder of the Faith.
   In the Eucharist Jesus becomes so utterly one with His creation in the hostia that He gives humanity a participation in His own virtues in this humble “abode of the Almighty,” as we can read in an excerpt attributed to Thomas Aquinas,

Surely the small size of the host signifies humility, its simplicity perfect obedience, its thinness virtuous temperance, its whiteness purity, the absence of leaven benignity, its baking patience and charity, the inscription which it bears spiritual discretion, its unaltered composition permanence and its circular shape consummate perfection. O bread of life, unleavened bread, hidden abode of the Almighty! Under humble visible accidents lie hidden astounding and sublime realities!

What can be difficult for a soul living in such an immanent closeness and companionship with God Almighty under the humble exterior visibility of His divine materialism,
Great is this favor, my Spouse; a pleasing feast. Precious wine do You give me, for with one drop alone You make me forget all of creation and go out from creatures and myself, so that I will no longer want the joys and comforts that my sensuality desired up till now. Great is this favor: I did not deserve it. [9]

And Teresa added to give her daughters an admonition of the sublime nature of the Eucharist, “It is like approaching a fire; even though the fire may be a large one, it will not be able to warm you if you turn away and hide your hands, though you will get more heat than you would if you were in a place without one. But it is something else if we desire to approach Him. If the soul is disposed (I mean, if it wants to get warm), and it remains there for a while, it will stay warm for many hours.  [10]
 
And facing this mystery His creation becomes enraptured in wonder, "I, whom am but straw, receive the Fire, and – unheard of wonder! – am inflamed without being consumed, as of old the burning bush of Moses.[11]

Let us scrutinize  how the Holy Spirit instructs us to keep this fire of love continuously blazing in our hearts in following meditation.
[1]. Summa theologiae,  I-II. 1, 6.
[2]. De Ecclesiam Sacramentum, Rome, 1900.
[3]. The Living Flame of Love, 3. 12.
[4]. Ibid, 3. 13.
[5]. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, p. 226.
[6]. The Living Flame of Love, 3. 15.
[7]. The Sparkling Stone, chapters 9.
[8]. The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, XLVII.
[9]. Meditations on the Song of Songs, 4. 9.
[10]. Way of Perfection, 35, 1.
[11]. Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, p. 181.