Salamanca y Alba de Tormes
Further explanation of the language of Heaven is perhaps necessary, for it shouldn't be perceived as negative, or what was written regarding suffering and dying to aspects of this world. The crux of San Juan de la Cruz and all the Christian mystics and saints, and indeed of Jesus Christ, is that one must travel the narrow path in order to have ultimate union with God. Jesus shows us the Way, and if one reads the Gospels without filtering it to our times and culture, the reality is there. The point of the language of Heaven being pain and joy is not meant to be negative. Another way to express it is suffering and love. One must learn to love to suffer--to LOVE it. Physically this is not easy, not in the external senses, but one can learn to move through the external senses to a level San Juan calls the passions in which one learns through the virtues how to control the 11 passions, and then into a level or ring called the internal senses. The internal senses deal with images; this is the level at which the devil can most stir and distress the images every soul has deep within. Also, at this level one can be influenced by the angels in positive ways. Wasn't it St. Augustine who said that perfection of the soul comes through perfection of the virtues? Or maybe it was St. John of the Cross. Regardless, once into the ring of the internal senses, the next step comes from desire of the intellect and cooperation of the will. These two aspects reside in the center of the soul.
Once the images within can be adjusted to seeing that one can love to suffer, that suffering is a state of being in which all experience, one can alter the image from negative to positive because one can see the image of Christ and then know through the intellect that He suffered out of love for us. In this way, He loved to suffer because He knew that it would bring our redemption. From this the suffering became joy, and it could be say in this beautiful sense that he "enjoyed" doing the will of the Father, that He loved to suffer. Thus He suffered to love.
This is true for us, if we want to walk the way of perfection, to seek union with God which Jesus Himself said required following Him, that the way is narrow, but to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. Or we can choose not to follow Him, or to partially follow Him. The partial keeps us in the outer levels or rings, such as not being able to detach from material objects--food, possessions that we touch and see, listening to our cultural "noise", watching that which creates harmful or useless images in our internal senses.
So when I wrote of the language of Heaven being pain and joy, it means learning to love to suffer and thus to suffer to love. From pain comes greater joy; from suffering comes true, deep, lasting, redemptive love. Think about this and place any situation of suffering or pain from life, and it will be true that greater joy and love is wrought from the pain and suffering. A heightened image of joy and love may be required beyond what we consider from our external senses or even at the level of the unpurified passions.
Some details from the museo at the Monasterio de las Encarnacion, visited yesterday, include the chalice from which St. John of the Cross consecrated the wine and sipped the transubstantiated Blood of Christ and also from which Pope John Paul II consecrated and sipped in 1982 on the 400th centenary of St. Teresa's death. A piece of embroidered cloth by St. Teresa was there, among other items of writing, documents of foundations she formed, a whimple she wore, and the original, small drawing of Jesus hanging on the Cross, from the perspective of God looking down. St. John drew this either in ecstasy from seeing from a higher perspective or while levitating. There also is at the Encarnacion the grill which stood between St. Teresa and St. John when each sat on the other side conversing of spiritual matters and praying when each levitated in their chairs and simultaneously had a vision of the Holy Trinity.
Last evening a young man whose family land and home abutts the Abbey of Gethsemane in Trappist, KY asked me to dine with him after we had attended Mass at the Santa, a more recent church in Avila which has original artwork of St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross, in addition to St. Teresa's finger--incorrupt, of course. The Carmelite monks have a monastery there, as well. Two monks were in the confessionals; neither spoke English. God will provide, but not now. I thoroughly appreciated hearing about Michael's life, his family of mother and father who converted to Catholicism when first married, and their ten children, all very accomplished. The father has been an attorney for the lay Dominican community in New Hope, KY, of which I visited in April when staying at the Abbey of Gethsemane. We had the bond of the Trappists. A young woman from Texas joined us; she just graduated from Washington University in Missouri, and she is considering converting to Catholicism. Her uncle recently converted, and he had been an Episcopal rector, or priest, as they say. She is a Spanish major so ordered for us.
This morning our group of 20 college students and recent grads and four older students (included the gray-haired) went by bus with our professor and guides to Salamanca, to the west of Avila about an hour's drive. The Cathedral of Salamanca includes an old and new. The old was completed in the 11th century, and built into the side of this simple but powerful House of God was the new Cathedral, Gothic style, completed in the early 1600's. The face of the Cathedral and exterior walls display exquistely carved images and symbols of Christianity, including frightening demons and reptiles, saints, the vices and virtues in image, and scenes from Scripture. The buildings of Salamanca are sandstone compared with the limestone of Avila. The effect was that of three-dimensional Spanish lace. How more could these intricate carvings be described in words? Inside the new and the old Cathedrals were beautifully ornamented, carved, scultped, painted altars, Crucifixes, relics, reredos, statues, and columns. I prayed before Our Lady of Sorrows (Soledad) and lit candles; I prayed before Christ crucified and lit candles; I prayed before the Blessed Sacrament in a side chapel. Understand that in large, public Cathedrals, the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in a side chapel out of respect since many people coming into the Cathedral do not comprehend His real Presence and thus might not demonstrate reverence.
An observation which came to me while praying and walking about taking in more than my internal senses can repeat in words is the sense that we have short-changed our faith, our love for God, our giving all for God. Why aren't our churches even remotely comparable to even one altar in some of these Cathedrals and churches? It reflects more than simplicity, as the old Cathedral was simple except for the panels of Flemish paintings depicting the life of Christ behind the high altar. I considered that we are too busy watching television, listening to radios, playing games on computers. We are too willing to spend our money on dinners out, fast food, cigarettes, beer or soda pop, clothing and several pairs of shoes, movies, non-pilgrimage vacations, cars, second homes and various hobby supplies. We wouldn't spend the time necessary to create anything so beautiful; we wouldn't spend the money. There isn't the willingness to sacrifice or suffer in order to build something so lasting and effective to create heavenly images for the internal senses. I consider how quickly churches are now built; and although lovely and functional in a basic way, the debts take years to pay. No, we want to be quick, then move on to something else before paying for what we have. We grumble about paying for anything of spiritual value and worth--so unlike the people who gave all their lives and offered their material resources over long periods of time for the love of God.
The University of Salamanca is one of the earliest universities if not the only one for students of theology. It existed in the 14oo's. St. John of the Cross was educated here for four years, following his training in Medina through the kindness of a benefactor and hospital administrator, as St. John's mother was widowed and left quite impoverished through unfortunate family manueverings. Fray (Father) Leon de Luna was one of his instructors, and this man also suffered much in his Faith. Fray Leon de Luna translated the Song of Solomon into native tongue and for this was arrested in his classroom and imprisoned for a long while. Upon his release, he returned to the classroom and said, "As I continue from yesterday's teaching...." Could we consider him a living martyr?
On to Alba de Tormes, north of Salamanca and northwest of Avila, tranquility and expanse of land soothed the external senses, calmed my passions, and created open images in the internal senses. Alba de Tormes is the location of one of St. Teresa's foundations of Discalced (unshoed) Carmelites, the location of her death on October 4, 1582, and the location of her transverberated heart, an incorrupt arm, and her incorrupt body, the latter enclosed in a sepulchre but still exuding a perfumed odor. But more on this lovely town and Carmel filled with Santa Teresa's holiness and sacramentals on the next post.
Once the images within can be adjusted to seeing that one can love to suffer, that suffering is a state of being in which all experience, one can alter the image from negative to positive because one can see the image of Christ and then know through the intellect that He suffered out of love for us. In this way, He loved to suffer because He knew that it would bring our redemption. From this the suffering became joy, and it could be say in this beautiful sense that he "enjoyed" doing the will of the Father, that He loved to suffer. Thus He suffered to love.
This is true for us, if we want to walk the way of perfection, to seek union with God which Jesus Himself said required following Him, that the way is narrow, but to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. Or we can choose not to follow Him, or to partially follow Him. The partial keeps us in the outer levels or rings, such as not being able to detach from material objects--food, possessions that we touch and see, listening to our cultural "noise", watching that which creates harmful or useless images in our internal senses.
So when I wrote of the language of Heaven being pain and joy, it means learning to love to suffer and thus to suffer to love. From pain comes greater joy; from suffering comes true, deep, lasting, redemptive love. Think about this and place any situation of suffering or pain from life, and it will be true that greater joy and love is wrought from the pain and suffering. A heightened image of joy and love may be required beyond what we consider from our external senses or even at the level of the unpurified passions.
Some details from the museo at the Monasterio de las Encarnacion, visited yesterday, include the chalice from which St. John of the Cross consecrated the wine and sipped the transubstantiated Blood of Christ and also from which Pope John Paul II consecrated and sipped in 1982 on the 400th centenary of St. Teresa's death. A piece of embroidered cloth by St. Teresa was there, among other items of writing, documents of foundations she formed, a whimple she wore, and the original, small drawing of Jesus hanging on the Cross, from the perspective of God looking down. St. John drew this either in ecstasy from seeing from a higher perspective or while levitating. There also is at the Encarnacion the grill which stood between St. Teresa and St. John when each sat on the other side conversing of spiritual matters and praying when each levitated in their chairs and simultaneously had a vision of the Holy Trinity.
Last evening a young man whose family land and home abutts the Abbey of Gethsemane in Trappist, KY asked me to dine with him after we had attended Mass at the Santa, a more recent church in Avila which has original artwork of St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross, in addition to St. Teresa's finger--incorrupt, of course. The Carmelite monks have a monastery there, as well. Two monks were in the confessionals; neither spoke English. God will provide, but not now. I thoroughly appreciated hearing about Michael's life, his family of mother and father who converted to Catholicism when first married, and their ten children, all very accomplished. The father has been an attorney for the lay Dominican community in New Hope, KY, of which I visited in April when staying at the Abbey of Gethsemane. We had the bond of the Trappists. A young woman from Texas joined us; she just graduated from Washington University in Missouri, and she is considering converting to Catholicism. Her uncle recently converted, and he had been an Episcopal rector, or priest, as they say. She is a Spanish major so ordered for us.
This morning our group of 20 college students and recent grads and four older students (included the gray-haired) went by bus with our professor and guides to Salamanca, to the west of Avila about an hour's drive. The Cathedral of Salamanca includes an old and new. The old was completed in the 11th century, and built into the side of this simple but powerful House of God was the new Cathedral, Gothic style, completed in the early 1600's. The face of the Cathedral and exterior walls display exquistely carved images and symbols of Christianity, including frightening demons and reptiles, saints, the vices and virtues in image, and scenes from Scripture. The buildings of Salamanca are sandstone compared with the limestone of Avila. The effect was that of three-dimensional Spanish lace. How more could these intricate carvings be described in words? Inside the new and the old Cathedrals were beautifully ornamented, carved, scultped, painted altars, Crucifixes, relics, reredos, statues, and columns. I prayed before Our Lady of Sorrows (Soledad) and lit candles; I prayed before Christ crucified and lit candles; I prayed before the Blessed Sacrament in a side chapel. Understand that in large, public Cathedrals, the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in a side chapel out of respect since many people coming into the Cathedral do not comprehend His real Presence and thus might not demonstrate reverence.
An observation which came to me while praying and walking about taking in more than my internal senses can repeat in words is the sense that we have short-changed our faith, our love for God, our giving all for God. Why aren't our churches even remotely comparable to even one altar in some of these Cathedrals and churches? It reflects more than simplicity, as the old Cathedral was simple except for the panels of Flemish paintings depicting the life of Christ behind the high altar. I considered that we are too busy watching television, listening to radios, playing games on computers. We are too willing to spend our money on dinners out, fast food, cigarettes, beer or soda pop, clothing and several pairs of shoes, movies, non-pilgrimage vacations, cars, second homes and various hobby supplies. We wouldn't spend the time necessary to create anything so beautiful; we wouldn't spend the money. There isn't the willingness to sacrifice or suffer in order to build something so lasting and effective to create heavenly images for the internal senses. I consider how quickly churches are now built; and although lovely and functional in a basic way, the debts take years to pay. No, we want to be quick, then move on to something else before paying for what we have. We grumble about paying for anything of spiritual value and worth--so unlike the people who gave all their lives and offered their material resources over long periods of time for the love of God.
The University of Salamanca is one of the earliest universities if not the only one for students of theology. It existed in the 14oo's. St. John of the Cross was educated here for four years, following his training in Medina through the kindness of a benefactor and hospital administrator, as St. John's mother was widowed and left quite impoverished through unfortunate family manueverings. Fray (Father) Leon de Luna was one of his instructors, and this man also suffered much in his Faith. Fray Leon de Luna translated the Song of Solomon into native tongue and for this was arrested in his classroom and imprisoned for a long while. Upon his release, he returned to the classroom and said, "As I continue from yesterday's teaching...." Could we consider him a living martyr?
On to Alba de Tormes, north of Salamanca and northwest of Avila, tranquility and expanse of land soothed the external senses, calmed my passions, and created open images in the internal senses. Alba de Tormes is the location of one of St. Teresa's foundations of Discalced (unshoed) Carmelites, the location of her death on October 4, 1582, and the location of her transverberated heart, an incorrupt arm, and her incorrupt body, the latter enclosed in a sepulchre but still exuding a perfumed odor. But more on this lovely town and Carmel filled with Santa Teresa's holiness and sacramentals on the next post.
posted by The Catholic Hermit | 11:05 AM
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