Conceptions of The Love of God Chapter 5 S. Teresa of Jesus of the Order of our Lady of Carmel St. Teresa of Avila From the Book, "Minor Works Of St. Teresa Conceptions Of The Love Of God Exclamations, Maxims And Poems" |
Conceptions of The Love of God On Some Verses Of The Canticle. Chapter 5 Treats ● The strong, trustful and faithful love born in the soul through the consciousness that it is protected beneath the "shadow" of God, which knowledge is usually given by Him to those who have persevered in His love and have suffered for Him. ● Of the great benefits produced by this love. ░░░░░░░░░░░░ Chapter Contents 1. I sat down under His shadow. 2. The "shadow" of God. 3. Such favours rarely shown to the imperfect. 4. The prayer of union. 5. The tree of the Cross. 6. Further favours. 7. Our unworldliness. |
Chapter 5 Chapter V
"I SAT DOWN UNDER HIS SHADOW
WHOM I DESIRED,
AND
HIS FRUIT WAS SWEET
TO MY PALATE."
1. I sat down under His shadow.
1.
Now let us question the bride.
Let us learn from this blest soul,
drawn to the divine mouth
and
fed at these heavenly breasts,
- what we should do,
and
- how we must speak and behave,
if our Lord should ever bestow on us
so great a favour.
She answers:
'I sat down under His shadow
Whom I desired,
and
His fruit was sweet to my palate.' [1]
'He brought me into the cellar of wine,
He set in order charity in me.' [2]
2. The "shadow" of God.
2.
She says:
"I sat down under His shadow
Whom I desired."
O my God !
How this soul is
drawn into
and
inflamed by this Sun itself !
She declares
that she sat
under the shadow of Him
Whom she desired.
And again she
calls Him an "apple tree",
and
says "His fruit is sweet to my palate."
O souls who practise prayer,
ruminate upon these words !
In how many different ways
we can picture God !
In how many manners
we can feed our souls on Him !
He is the Manna
Who knows how to take
whatever flavour we wish to taste. [3]
How heavenly is this shadow !
Who can explain all
that our Lord signifies by it ?
I remember
how the angel said
to our most blessed Lady:
"The power of the Most High
shall overshadow thee." [4]
How safely the soul must feel protected
when God shows it this immense grace !
Well may it sit down,
assured against all danger !
3. Such favours rarely shown
to the imperfect.
3.
Notice that,
except in the case of people to whom
our Lord gives some special call,
like St. Paul,
whom He at once raised
to the heights of contemplation,
manifesting Himself
and
speaking to the Saint in such a way
as to place him at once permanently
in an advanced state of holiness,
God, as a rule
— indeed, nearly always —
keeps these very sublime
caresses and consolations
for those who have laboured greatly
in His service.
These souls have
- longed for His love
and
- striven to please Him in every way,
- have fatigued themselves
by many years of
meditation
and
search for their Bridegroom,
and
- are thoroughly weary of the world.
They do indeed
"sit down" and rest in the truth,
seeking neither comfort, quiet nor rest
except where they know
these are really to be found.
Resting
"under the protection of the Almighty", [5]
they desire no other.
How right they are
to trust in Him,
for He fulfils all their desires.
Happy he
who deserves
to shelter beneath this shadow,
even as regards temporal matters,
but happy in an infinitely greater way
when such matters relate to the soul itself,
as I have often been given to understand.
4. The Prayer of Union.
4.
During the joy which I described,
the spirit feels itself
utterly surrounded and protected
by a shadow
and, as it were,
a cloud of the Godhead
from whence the soul receives
such a delicious influence and dew
as, at once and with good reason,
to lose the weariness caused
by earthly things.
This peace is so deep
as to render even breathing troublesome,
the powers being so soothed and quiescent
that the will is disinclined
to admit of any thought,
even though it is a good one,
nor does it seek for any,
nor try to reflect. [6]
Such a person need not
endeavour to raise her hand,
or
stand to reach the fruit
— I mean she need not make use
of the reason —
for our Lord gives her the apple
from the tree
to which she compares her Beloved, [7]
already picked and even assimilated.
Therefore she declares:
"His fruit is sweet to my palate,"
for here the soul simply enjoys,
without any work of the faculties.
5. The Tree of the Cross.
5.
This may well be called
the "shadow" of the Divinity,
for we cannot see it clearly here below,
but only veiled beneath this cloud,
until the radiant Sun,
by means of love,
sends out a message
making known to the soul
that His Majesty is near
in nearness ineffable.
I know that anyone
who has experienced it
will recognise
how truly this meaning may be ascribed
to these words of the Bride.
I think the Holy Ghost must here
be the Medium
between God and the soul,
inspiring it with such ardent desires
that it becomes ignited
by the divine fire
to which it is so close.
What are these mercies, O Lord,
that Thou dost bestow upon the soul ?
Blessed and praised be Thou for ever,
tender Lover as Thou art !
Is it possible, my God and my Creator,
that there are souls who love Thee not ?
Unhappy creature that I am !
It is I
who have lived so long
without loving Thee !
Why did I not deserve
to know Thee better ?
to know Thee better ?
Now
this divine apple-tree
bows its branches
bows its branches
so that, from time to time,
the soul
- may gather its fruit
by considering
Christ's marvels,
and
the multitude of mercies
He has shown,
and
- may see and taste the fruit
that our Lord Jesus Christ produced
by His Passion,
when with wondrous love,
He watered the tree
with His precious blood.
6. Further favours.
6.
The Bride told us
- that she joyed in the nourishment
from His breasts, and
- that the Bridegroom thus supported her
when she was new to the divine mercies.
Now that she grows older,
He makes her capable
of receiving still greater gifts,
maintaining her with "apples,"
for He wishes her to understand
that she must work and suffer.
But He is not content even with this.
It is a wonderful thing,
and
we should often meditate upon
how, when He sees
that a soul is all His own,
that a soul is all His own,
serving Him solely
and
free from all self-interest,
simply
because He is its God
and
because of the love it bears Him,
He never ceases imparting Himself
in different ways and manners,
befitting Him
Who is Wisdom itself.
After the kiss of peace
there seemed no more to give,
yet the favour I have just related
is far more sublime.
I have not described it thoroughly,
having only touched upon the subject.
You will find a much clearer explanation
in the book I mentioned, [ 8]
if God is pleased
that it should be read.
7. Our unworldliness.
7.
Is there anything left to wish for
after all I have enumerated ?
Alas, how impotent are our desires
to obtain Thy wondrous gifts, Lord !
How abject should we remain,
didst Thou merely give us
that for which we asked !
Let us now see
what else the bride says.
Foot Notes: [1] Cant. ii. 3: Sub umbra illius quern desideraveram sedi, et fructus ejus dulcis gutturi meo. St. John of the Cross, Living Flame, st. xxxiv. 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blog Addition: Regarding Paragraph #1's Footnote reference #1 'I sat down under His shadow Whom I desired, and 'His fruit was sweet to my palate.' [1] Cant. ii. 3 "As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired: and his fruit was sweet to my palate." [ Cant 2: 3 ] _____________________ [2] Cant. ii. 4: Introduxit me in cellam vinariam; ordinavii in me charitatem. Life, ch. xviii. 17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blog Addition: Regarding Paragraph #1's Footnote reference #2 'He brought me into the cellar of wine, He set in order charity in me.' [2] Life, ch. xviii. 17. "...the two faculties begin ( intellect/reason and Imagination) to drink deep, and to perceive the taste of this divine wine, they give themselves up with great readiness, in order to be the more absorbed: they follow the will, and the three rejoice together. ... God, from time to time, drawing them to Himself. [ Life: Ch. 18: #17 ] ... Our Lord said to me: It undoes itself utterly, My daughter, in order that it may give itself more and more to Me: it is not itself that then lives, it is I. [ Life: Ch. 18: #18 ] _____________________ [3] Wisdom xvi. 21 says that the manna had "in it all that is delicious and the sweetness of every taste "; that it served every man's will and was turned to what every man liked. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blog Addition: Regarding Paragraph #2's Footnote reference #3 He is the Manna Who knows how to take whatever flavour we wish to taste. [3] Wisdom xvi. 21 thou didst feed thy people with the food of angels, and gavest them bread from heaven prepared without labour; having in it all that is delicious, and the sweetness of every taste. [Wisdom 16: 20] For thy sustenance shewed thy sweetness to thy children, and serving every man's will, it was turned to what every man liked. [Wisdom 16: 21] _____________________ [4] St, Luke i. 33; Virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blog Addition: Regarding Paragraph #2's Footnote reference #4 I remember how the angel said to our most blessed Lady: "The power of the Most High shall overshadow thee." [4] The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee [Luke 1:35 ] _____________________ [5] Ps. xc. 1: Qui habitat in adjutorio Altissimi, in protectione Dei coeli commorabitur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blog Addition: Regarding Paragraph #1's Footnote reference #209 Resting under the protection of the Almighty," [5] they desire no other. Ps. xc. 1: (90 : 1) 1 The praise of a canticle for David. He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob. 2 He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust. 3 For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word. 4 He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust. [ Psalm 91: 1 - 4 ] Qui habitat in adjutorio Altissimi, in protectione Dei coeli commorabitur. He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Heaven _____________________ [6] Castle, M. v. ch. i. 3 in fine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blog Addition: Regarding Paragraph #4's Footnote reference #6 This peace is so deep... the powers being so soothed and quiescent that the will is disinclined to admit of any thought, even though it is a good one, nor does it seek for any, nor try to reflect. [6] Castle, M. v. ch. i. 3 in fine. if you would purchase this treasure of which we are speaking, God would have you keep back nothing from Him, little or great. He will have it all; In proportion to what you know you have given, will your reward be great or small. .... during the short time this state lasts, it is deprived of all feeling whatever, being unable to think on any subject, even if it wished. No effort is needed here to suspend the thoughts: In fact, it has died entirely to this world, to live more truly than ever in God. This is a delicious death, for the soul is deprived of the faculties (which) it exercised while in the body: 'delicious' because, (although not really the case), it seems to have left its mortal covering to abide more entirely in God. So completely does this take place, that I know not whether the body retains sufficient life to continue breathing; On consideration, I believe it does not; At any rate, if it still breathes, it does so unconsciously. [ Interior Castle: Mansion 5: Ch. 1: # 3 ] _____________________ [7] Cant. ii. 3: Sicut malum inter ligna silvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blog Addition: Regarding Paragraph #4's Footnote reference #7 for our Lord gives her the apple from the tree to which she compares her Beloved, [7] already picked and even assimilated. Cant. ii. 3 As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired: and his fruit was sweet to my palate. [ Canticle 2: 3 ] As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons Sicut malum inter ligna silvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios. _______________________ [8] Life, chs, xvii to xix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blog Addition: Regarding Paragraph #6's Footnote reference #8 You will find a much clearer explanation in the book I mentioned, [ 8] if God is pleased that it should be read. |
End of Conceptions of The Love of God Chapter 5 S. Teresa of Jesus of the Order of our Lady of Carmel St. Teresa of Avila From the Book, "Minor Works Of St. Teresa Conceptions Of The Love Of God Exclamations, Maxims And Poems" |
Note: Attempt was made to display the quotes of the other books being cited by the editor's foot notes. But, they may not be the actual intended passages that were cited by the editor since the editions/translations used by the editor may have different paragraph numbering than those available to this blog. |
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