THE JEWELS OF BETROTHAL
– On the teaching of Saint John of the Cross and the Sanctuary –
In his Apostolic
Letter proclaiming St. John of the Cross a Doctor of the Church, Pope
Pius XI wrote that he "points out to souls the way of perfection as
though illumined by light from on high, in his limpidly clear analysis
of mystical experience. And although [his works] deal with difficult
and hidden matters, they are nevertheless replete with such lofty
spiritual doctrine and are so well adapted to the understanding of
those who study them that they can rightly be called a guide and
handbook for the man of faith who proposes to embrace a life of
perfection."
The American trappist and author Thomas Merton agreed wholeheartedly with the judgment of most authorities when he called John of the Cross an incomparable guide in the spiritual life and "the greatest of all mystical theologians." After having contemplated the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle for some fifteen years I began myself to discern how profoundly John of the Cross had experienced the illumination of the sparkling jewels of the Celestial Jerusalem in human hearts and identified God's Tabernacle with "the dark night of the soul" in her purification "as though it were a tabernacle in which he [God] dwells." [1] John of the Cross experienced the same mystery as so numerous other of the holy fathers and mothers of the Church beautifully expressed by St. Catherine of Genoa in her Dialogues, "The heart is made the tabernacle of God, into which, by himself and also by others, many graces are infused, which bear in secret wondrous fruits. This creature has a heaven within herself." [2]
Who among mortals beings has discerned with such lucidly the burning flames of love in front of the lamp stand in the Holy (Med. 57-60) and in as a profound manner as indeed this seraphic spiritual doctor, John of the Cross? In his Llama de amor viva he shares this experience with us,
And when the veil into the Holy of holies is teased away in "this sweet encounter" of the soul and her Beloved "The soul now feels that it is all inflamed in the divine union, its palate is all bathed in glory and love, that in the intimate part of its substance it is flooded with no less than rivers of glory, abounding in delights, and from the depths flow a river of living water [Jn 7. 38], which the Son of God declared will rise up in such souls. It seems, because it is so forcefully transformed in God, so sublimely possessed by him, and arrayed with such rich gifts and virtues, that it is singularly close to beatitude – so close that only a thin veil separates it" [3]. The soul has been transformed into a living Tetramorph and the water of grace streams from it as it streamed from the center in the garden of Eden. The soul has been transformed into a living spring of love as the Blessed Virgin revealed to Bernedette in Lourdes: we have only to dig into the earth of humility.
On his walk along the Sacred Way of the Sanctuary St. John of the Cross discerned his ascending up the steep mountain slopes of Mount Carmel as a ladder of love with nine rungs or steps of growing love, just as St. Teresa of Avila exposed the mystery of the prayer life as nine states of continuously deeper encounter with His Majesty in her contemplation. And when she reached her deepest center – el centro – of her being she faced her Jesu Cristo as her Royal Archetype. St. John faced also this same truth as he discussed in the 21st chapter of The Dark Night,
Saint John is actually referring to three of the items of the vestments of the high priest as revealed in the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle. The first article is the white tunic of faith the soul is clothed in on her way through the courtyard. It is thus not fair when some ignorant Protestants accuse the saints of the Catholic Church for undermining the value of faith in our Lords redemption,
The vestments of the high priest are thus the bridal garments of the soul or the "Adornment for the Spiritual Marriage" as Ruysbroeck emphasized. In Meditation 21 we discussed these garments of love in the light of the sparkling jewels of the Celestial City given in the silence of the prayer (Med. 22) and the seraphic Doctor called them thus THE JEWELS OF BETROTHAL. [6] In a most wondrous chapter in his Spiritual Canticles he shares this mystery with us – a mystery – which is interwoven with the garland of the virtues when the soul becomes a replica of the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle in Gilgal (see Med. 6), (Med. 59) and (Med. 77),
In this stanza the bride returns to address the Bridegroom in the communion and refreshment of love. She describes the solace and fruition the bride-soul and the Son of God possess in the wealth of the virtues and gifts of each other, and in the interchange of these treasures that they enjoy mutually in the communion of love. In speaking to him, therefore, she asserts that they will weave rich garlands of gifts and virtues acquired and gained at a pleasant and suitable time, made beautiful and attractive in the love he bears for her, and sustained and preserved through her love for him. She calls this enjoyment of the virtues a weaving of garlands from them, for both the bride and the Bridegroom enjoy them together in their love for each other, as though these virtues were flowers twisted into garlands,
With flowers and emeralds
The flowers are the soul's virtues and the emeralds are the gifts received from God . . . These are the garlands she declares they must weave, that is, she must be girded, surrounded with an assortment of flowers and emeralds that are perfect virtues and gifts, so that, wearing this beautiful and costly adornment, she may appear worthily before the King and deserve that he make her equal and place her at his side like a queen; this she merits through the beauty of such variety. Hence David speaks to Christ on this subject: The queen stood at your right hand, clothed in a garment of gold [Ps 45. 9]. This would be similar to saying: She stood at your right, clothed in perfect love and surrounded with variety of perfect gifts and virtues.
And she does not say I alone shall weave the garlands, or you alone will, but we shall weave them together. The soul cannot practice or acquire the virtues without the help of God, nor does God effect them alone in the soul without her help. Although it is true that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, having come down from the Father of lights, as St. James says [Ja 1. 17], yet this gift is not received without the ability and help of the soul receiving it. So the bride in the Song of Songs said to the bridegroom: Draw me, we shall run after you [Sg 1. 4]. The movement toward good, therefore, comes only from God, as is declared here. But she does not state that he alone or she alone runs, but that we shall both run, which means that God and the soul work together. [7]
We see an ante type of this in the Book of Esther, "The girl pleased him (the king) and won his favor. Not only did he quickly provide her with all she needed for her dressing room and meals, but he gave her seven special maids from the king's household and transferred her and her maids to the best part of the harem" (Est 2. 9). Dear reader. These seven maids are the seven spirits of God shining on the lamp stand in the Holy. In their fiery mystery we are drawn into "the best part" of the Sanctuary: the Holy of holies. Even we, wretched sinners as we are, because His Majesty is a generous King and loves those who love Him and desires "this sweet encounter."
NOTES
The American trappist and author Thomas Merton agreed wholeheartedly with the judgment of most authorities when he called John of the Cross an incomparable guide in the spiritual life and "the greatest of all mystical theologians." After having contemplated the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle for some fifteen years I began myself to discern how profoundly John of the Cross had experienced the illumination of the sparkling jewels of the Celestial Jerusalem in human hearts and identified God's Tabernacle with "the dark night of the soul" in her purification "as though it were a tabernacle in which he [God] dwells." [1] John of the Cross experienced the same mystery as so numerous other of the holy fathers and mothers of the Church beautifully expressed by St. Catherine of Genoa in her Dialogues, "The heart is made the tabernacle of God, into which, by himself and also by others, many graces are infused, which bear in secret wondrous fruits. This creature has a heaven within herself." [2]
Who among mortals beings has discerned with such lucidly the burning flames of love in front of the lamp stand in the Holy (Med. 57-60) and in as a profound manner as indeed this seraphic spiritual doctor, John of the Cross? In his Llama de amor viva he shares this experience with us,
1. O living flame of love
that tenderly wounds my soul
in its deepest center! Since
now you are not oppressive,
now consummate! if it be your will:
tear through the veil of this sweet encounter!
2. O sweet cautery,
O delightful wound!
O gentle hand! O delicate touch
that tastes of eternal life
and pays every debt!
In killing you changed death to life.
3. O lamps of fire!
in whose splendors
the deep taverns feeling,
once obscure and blind,
now give forth, so rarely. so exquisitely,
both warmth and light to their Beloved.
4. How gently and lovingly
you wake in my heart,
where in secret you dwell alone;
and in sweet breathing,
filled with good and glory,
how tenderly you swell my heart with love.
that tenderly wounds my soul
in its deepest center! Since
now you are not oppressive,
now consummate! if it be your will:
tear through the veil of this sweet encounter!
2. O sweet cautery,
O delightful wound!
O gentle hand! O delicate touch
that tastes of eternal life
and pays every debt!
In killing you changed death to life.
3. O lamps of fire!
in whose splendors
the deep taverns feeling,
once obscure and blind,
now give forth, so rarely. so exquisitely,
both warmth and light to their Beloved.
4. How gently and lovingly
you wake in my heart,
where in secret you dwell alone;
and in sweet breathing,
filled with good and glory,
how tenderly you swell my heart with love.
And when the veil into the Holy of holies is teased away in "this sweet encounter" of the soul and her Beloved "The soul now feels that it is all inflamed in the divine union, its palate is all bathed in glory and love, that in the intimate part of its substance it is flooded with no less than rivers of glory, abounding in delights, and from the depths flow a river of living water [Jn 7. 38], which the Son of God declared will rise up in such souls. It seems, because it is so forcefully transformed in God, so sublimely possessed by him, and arrayed with such rich gifts and virtues, that it is singularly close to beatitude – so close that only a thin veil separates it" [3]. The soul has been transformed into a living Tetramorph and the water of grace streams from it as it streamed from the center in the garden of Eden. The soul has been transformed into a living spring of love as the Blessed Virgin revealed to Bernedette in Lourdes: we have only to dig into the earth of humility.
On his walk along the Sacred Way of the Sanctuary St. John of the Cross discerned his ascending up the steep mountain slopes of Mount Carmel as a ladder of love with nine rungs or steps of growing love, just as St. Teresa of Avila exposed the mystery of the prayer life as nine states of continuously deeper encounter with His Majesty in her contemplation. And when she reached her deepest center – el centro – of her being she faced her Jesu Cristo as her Royal Archetype. St. John faced also this same truth as he discussed in the 21st chapter of The Dark Night,
The soul, then, touched with love for
Christ, her Spouse, and aspiring
to win his favor and friendship, departs in the disguise that more
vividly represents the affections of her spirit. Her advance in this
disguise [the saint is referring to the vestments of the soul's High
Priest, Christ] makes her more secure against her adversaries: the
devil, the world, and the flesh. The livery she thus wears is of three
principals colors: white, green and red. These three colors stands for
the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, by which she
not only gains the favor and good will of her Beloved but also advance
very safely, fortified against her three enemies. [4]
Saint John is actually referring to three of the items of the vestments of the high priest as revealed in the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle. The first article is the white tunic of faith the soul is clothed in on her way through the courtyard. It is thus not fair when some ignorant Protestants accuse the saints of the Catholic Church for undermining the value of faith in our Lords redemption,
Faith is an inner tunic [hidden under the
high priest's robe and ephod as our Royal Archetype] of such a pure
whiteness that it blinds the sight of every intellect. When the soul is
clothed in faith the devil is ignorant of how to hinder her, neither is
he successful in his efforts, for faith gives her strong protection –
more than do all the other virtues – against the devil, who is the
mightiest and most astute enemy.
As a result, St. Peter found no greater safeguard than faith in freeing himself from the devil, when he advised: "Resist him, steadfast in faith" (1 Pt 5. 9). To obtain the favor of the Beloved and union with him, the soul can have no better inner tunic than this white garment of faith, the foundation and beginning of the garments of the virtues. Without faith, as the Apostle says, it is impossible to please God [Heb 11. 6]; and with faith it is impossible not to please him, since he himself declares through the prophet Hosea, Desposabo te mihi in fide [Hos 2. 20], which is similar to saying: If you desire, soul, union and espousal with me, you must come interiorly clothed in faith. [5]
As a result, St. Peter found no greater safeguard than faith in freeing himself from the devil, when he advised: "Resist him, steadfast in faith" (1 Pt 5. 9). To obtain the favor of the Beloved and union with him, the soul can have no better inner tunic than this white garment of faith, the foundation and beginning of the garments of the virtues. Without faith, as the Apostle says, it is impossible to please God [Heb 11. 6]; and with faith it is impossible not to please him, since he himself declares through the prophet Hosea, Desposabo te mihi in fide [Hos 2. 20], which is similar to saying: If you desire, soul, union and espousal with me, you must come interiorly clothed in faith. [5]
The vestments of the high priest are thus the bridal garments of the soul or the "Adornment for the Spiritual Marriage" as Ruysbroeck emphasized. In Meditation 21 we discussed these garments of love in the light of the sparkling jewels of the Celestial City given in the silence of the prayer (Med. 22) and the seraphic Doctor called them thus THE JEWELS OF BETROTHAL. [6] In a most wondrous chapter in his Spiritual Canticles he shares this mystery with us – a mystery – which is interwoven with the garland of the virtues when the soul becomes a replica of the Sanctuary of the Tabernacle in Gilgal (see Med. 6), (Med. 59) and (Med. 77),
With flowers and emeralds chosen on cool
mornings
we shall weave garlands
flowering in your love,
and bound with one hair of mine.
we shall weave garlands
flowering in your love,
and bound with one hair of mine.
In this stanza the bride returns to address the Bridegroom in the communion and refreshment of love. She describes the solace and fruition the bride-soul and the Son of God possess in the wealth of the virtues and gifts of each other, and in the interchange of these treasures that they enjoy mutually in the communion of love. In speaking to him, therefore, she asserts that they will weave rich garlands of gifts and virtues acquired and gained at a pleasant and suitable time, made beautiful and attractive in the love he bears for her, and sustained and preserved through her love for him. She calls this enjoyment of the virtues a weaving of garlands from them, for both the bride and the Bridegroom enjoy them together in their love for each other, as though these virtues were flowers twisted into garlands,
With flowers and emeralds
The flowers are the soul's virtues and the emeralds are the gifts received from God . . . These are the garlands she declares they must weave, that is, she must be girded, surrounded with an assortment of flowers and emeralds that are perfect virtues and gifts, so that, wearing this beautiful and costly adornment, she may appear worthily before the King and deserve that he make her equal and place her at his side like a queen; this she merits through the beauty of such variety. Hence David speaks to Christ on this subject: The queen stood at your right hand, clothed in a garment of gold [Ps 45. 9]. This would be similar to saying: She stood at your right, clothed in perfect love and surrounded with variety of perfect gifts and virtues.
And she does not say I alone shall weave the garlands, or you alone will, but we shall weave them together. The soul cannot practice or acquire the virtues without the help of God, nor does God effect them alone in the soul without her help. Although it is true that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, having come down from the Father of lights, as St. James says [Ja 1. 17], yet this gift is not received without the ability and help of the soul receiving it. So the bride in the Song of Songs said to the bridegroom: Draw me, we shall run after you [Sg 1. 4]. The movement toward good, therefore, comes only from God, as is declared here. But she does not state that he alone or she alone runs, but that we shall both run, which means that God and the soul work together. [7]
We see an ante type of this in the Book of Esther, "The girl pleased him (the king) and won his favor. Not only did he quickly provide her with all she needed for her dressing room and meals, but he gave her seven special maids from the king's household and transferred her and her maids to the best part of the harem" (Est 2. 9). Dear reader. These seven maids are the seven spirits of God shining on the lamp stand in the Holy. In their fiery mystery we are drawn into "the best part" of the Sanctuary: the Holy of holies. Even we, wretched sinners as we are, because His Majesty is a generous King and loves those who love Him and desires "this sweet encounter."
NOTES
[1]. The
Dark Night, II. 16, 11.
[2]. Dialogues, 2. 10.
[3]. The Living Flame of Love, 1.1.
[4]. The Dark Night, II. 21, 3.
[5]. Ibid, 21. 4.
[6]. Spiritual Canticle, 19. 6.
[7]. Ibid, 30. 2, 6.
[2]. Dialogues, 2. 10.
[3]. The Living Flame of Love, 1.1.
[4]. The Dark Night, II. 21, 3.
[5]. Ibid, 21. 4.
[6]. Spiritual Canticle, 19. 6.
[7]. Ibid, 30. 2, 6.