Meditation 69
Abba Isaac’s Tetramorph
As important as
the spiritual growth in the Tetramorph already revealed in the gateway
is, let us take three examples from the prayer life of the saints. The
first one comes from the desert fathers, the second from the ancient
fathers of the Icelandic church (eleventh century) and the third and
last from sixteenth century Spain from the treasure house of St.
Teresa of Avila. They have all one thing in common: they make the Our Father a pattern in
contemplative prayer. This sheds light upon the fact how this living
tradition has flowed through the veins of the Church to the limits of
the habitable world independent of time.
The first example comes from Abba Isaac in Collatio. The abba expounded the four different kinds of the prayer by referring to the words of St. Paul, “I exhort therefore first of all that supplications (deisis), prayers (prosefchas), intercessions (entefchis) and thanksgivings(efcharistas) be made” (1 Tim. 2. 1). [1] The abba said to Cassian, “we cannot possibly doubt that this division was not idly made by the Apostle.” [2] The abba laid down the order of the different kinds in following way,
A. “Supplication is an imploring or petition concerning sins, in which one who is sorry for his present or past deeds asks for pardon.” This living tradition is reflected still today by the Ave Maria of the Western Church and the Jesus prayer of our brethren and sisters in the Eastern Church as a continuous prayer. – This is the desert prayer in the courtyard of the Sanctuary.
B. “We pray, when we renounce this world and promise that being dead to all worldly actions and the life of this world we will serve the Lord with full purpose of heart. We pray when we promise that despising secular honors and scorning earthly riches we will cleave to the Lord in all sorrow of heart and humility of spirit.” – This sets it marks on the prayer at the entrance into the Holy and the first two tools.
C. “In the third place stand intercessions, which we are wont to offer up for others also, while we are filled with fervor of spirit, making request either for those dear to us or for the peace of the whole world, and to use the Apostle's own phrase, we pray for all men, for kings and all that are in authority (1 Tim. 2:1, 2)” – This is the core of the prayer at the golden altar in the Holy.
D. “Then in the fourth place there stand thanksgivings which the mind in ineffable transports offers up to God, either when it recalls God's past benefits or when it contemplates His present ones, or when it looks forward to those great ones in the future which God has prepared for them that love Him.” [3] – This is the core of the prayer within the curtain in the Holy of Holies.
By referring to the diagram above we see that Abba Isaac's Tetramorph refers to this growth of fervent love already discussed. As the soul ascends the Ladder of Love she is filled with fervor as she approaches more the purity of the heart and thus the Spirit overwhelms her by His sanctifying grace with groaning that cannot be uttered and thus the soul is enraptured from herself as the abba emphasized,
Sometimes however the mind which is advancing to that perfect state of purity and which is already beginning to be established in it, will take in all these at one and the same time, and like some incomprehensible and all devouring flame, dart through them all and offer up to God inexpressible prayers of the purest force, which the Spirit Itself, intervening with groaning that cannot be uttered, while we ourselves understand not, pours forth to God, grasping at that hour and ineffably pouring forth in its supplications things so great that they cannot be uttered with the mouth nor even at any other time be recollected by the mind. [4]
This burning fervor of the Spirit – this amor impaciente of John of the Cross – leads the soul to the stage of pure prayer as a true contemplation and as Abba Isaac said “there follows after these different kinds of supplication a still more sublime and exalted condition which is brought about by the contemplation of God alone and by fervent love, by which the mind, transporting and flinging itself into love for Him, addresses God most familiarly as its own Father with a piety of its own. And that we ought earnestly to seek after this condition the formula of the Lord's prayer teaches us, saying “Our Father.” [5] Above (Med. 37) we have also discussed Abba Chearemon’s Tetramorph of love based on (1) The pig feeder; (2) The hired worker; (3) The son and (5) The fear of love.
The first example comes from Abba Isaac in Collatio. The abba expounded the four different kinds of the prayer by referring to the words of St. Paul, “I exhort therefore first of all that supplications (deisis), prayers (prosefchas), intercessions (entefchis) and thanksgivings(efcharistas) be made” (1 Tim. 2. 1). [1] The abba said to Cassian, “we cannot possibly doubt that this division was not idly made by the Apostle.” [2] The abba laid down the order of the different kinds in following way,
A. “Supplication is an imploring or petition concerning sins, in which one who is sorry for his present or past deeds asks for pardon.” This living tradition is reflected still today by the Ave Maria of the Western Church and the Jesus prayer of our brethren and sisters in the Eastern Church as a continuous prayer. – This is the desert prayer in the courtyard of the Sanctuary.
B. “We pray, when we renounce this world and promise that being dead to all worldly actions and the life of this world we will serve the Lord with full purpose of heart. We pray when we promise that despising secular honors and scorning earthly riches we will cleave to the Lord in all sorrow of heart and humility of spirit.” – This sets it marks on the prayer at the entrance into the Holy and the first two tools.
C. “In the third place stand intercessions, which we are wont to offer up for others also, while we are filled with fervor of spirit, making request either for those dear to us or for the peace of the whole world, and to use the Apostle's own phrase, we pray for all men, for kings and all that are in authority (1 Tim. 2:1, 2)” – This is the core of the prayer at the golden altar in the Holy.
D. “Then in the fourth place there stand thanksgivings which the mind in ineffable transports offers up to God, either when it recalls God's past benefits or when it contemplates His present ones, or when it looks forward to those great ones in the future which God has prepared for them that love Him.” [3] – This is the core of the prayer within the curtain in the Holy of Holies.
By referring to the diagram above we see that Abba Isaac's Tetramorph refers to this growth of fervent love already discussed. As the soul ascends the Ladder of Love she is filled with fervor as she approaches more the purity of the heart and thus the Spirit overwhelms her by His sanctifying grace with groaning that cannot be uttered and thus the soul is enraptured from herself as the abba emphasized,
Sometimes however the mind which is advancing to that perfect state of purity and which is already beginning to be established in it, will take in all these at one and the same time, and like some incomprehensible and all devouring flame, dart through them all and offer up to God inexpressible prayers of the purest force, which the Spirit Itself, intervening with groaning that cannot be uttered, while we ourselves understand not, pours forth to God, grasping at that hour and ineffably pouring forth in its supplications things so great that they cannot be uttered with the mouth nor even at any other time be recollected by the mind. [4]
This burning fervor of the Spirit – this amor impaciente of John of the Cross – leads the soul to the stage of pure prayer as a true contemplation and as Abba Isaac said “there follows after these different kinds of supplication a still more sublime and exalted condition which is brought about by the contemplation of God alone and by fervent love, by which the mind, transporting and flinging itself into love for Him, addresses God most familiarly as its own Father with a piety of its own. And that we ought earnestly to seek after this condition the formula of the Lord's prayer teaches us, saying “Our Father.” [5] Above (Med. 37) we have also discussed Abba Chearemon’s Tetramorph of love based on (1) The pig feeder; (2) The hired worker; (3) The son and (5) The fear of love.
