Sentire cum Ecclesia: Albertus Magnus: "De Adhaerendo Deo"

Chapter 4: How man's activity should be purely in the intellect and not in the senses [Qualiter operatio humana debeat esse in solo intellectu, et non in sensibus?]

Happy therefore is the person who by continual removal of fantasies and images [per abstersionem continuam phantasmatum et imaginum], by turning within, and raising the mind to God, finally manages to dispense with the products of the imagination [obliviscitur phantasmatum], and by so doing works within [operatur interius], nakedly and simply, and with a pure understanding and will [nudo ac simplici ac puro intellectu et affectu], on the simplest of all objects, God [circa objectum simplicissimum Deum]. So eliminate from your mind all fantasies, objects, images and shapes of all things other than God [Omnia igitur phantasmata, species, imagines, ac formas rerum omnium citra Deum a mente rejicias], so that, with just naked understanding, intent and will, your practice will be concerned with God himself within you. For this is the end of all spiritual exercises - to turn the mind to the Lord God and rest in him with a completely pure understanding and a completely devoted will, without the entanglements and fantasies of the imagination [Nempe finis omnium exercitiorum hic est, scilicet intendere et quiescere in Domino Deo intra te per purissimum intellectum, et devotissimum affectum sine phantasmatibus et implicationibus].

This sort of exercise is not practised by fleshly organs nor by the exterior senses, but by that by which one is indeed a man [per quod quis homo est]. For a man is precisely understanding and will [homo vero quis est intellectu et affectu] {!}. For that reason, in so far as a man is still playing with the products of the imagination and the senses, and holds to them, it is obvious that he has not yet emerged from the motivation and limitations of his animal nature [nondum exisse motus et limites bestialitatis suae], that is of that which he shares in common with the animals. For these know and feel objects by means of recognised shapes and sense impressions and no more, since they do not possess the higher powers of the soul. But it is different with man, who is created in the image and likeness of God with understanding, will, and free choice [secundum intellectum et affectum et liberum arbitrium, ad Dei imaginem et similitudinem creato], through which he should be directly, purely and nakedly impressed and united with God, and firmly adhere to him [pure et nude imprimi, et uniri, firmiterque inhaerere] {Notice the use of inhaerare…. I wonder if there was any significant difference between adhaerare and inhaerare in Albert's time.}.

For this reason the Devil tries eagerly and with all his power to hinder this practice so far as he can, being envious of this in man, since it is a sort of prelude and initiation of eternal life [quodammodo praeambulum et initium vitae aeternae]. So he is always trying to draw man's mind away from the Lord God, now by temptations or passions, now by superfluous worries and pointless cares [nunc sollicitudine superflua et cura indiscreta], now by restlessness and distracting conversation and senseless curiosity [nunc turbatione, et conversatione dissoluta, curiositateque irrationabili], now by the study of subtle books [nunc per studia librorum subtilium], irrelevant discussion, gossip and news [colloquia aliena, rumores et novitatem] {Facebook! Yahoo! Google!}, now by hardships, now by opposition, etc. Such matters may seem trivial enough and hardly sinful [etsi nonnumquam levia et tamquam nulla videantur peccata], but they are a great hindrance to this holy exercise and practice [tamen magna sunt impedimenta hujus sancti exercitii et operis]. {Note the pragmatic valuation: even what is not "sinful" is still not glory, and therefore to be "hated".} Therefore, even if they may appear useful and necessary, they should be rejected, whether great or small, as harmful and dangerous, and put out of our minds.

Above all therefore it is necessary that things heard, seen, done and said, and other such things, must be received without adding things from the imagination, without mental associations and without emotional involvement [sine phantasmatibus, imaginibus et occupationibus], and one should not let past or future associations, implications or constructs of the imagination form and grow [nec etiam ex consequenti vel antea vel tunc super hoc phantasmata et implicationes formentur et nutriantur]. For when constructs of the imagination are not allowed to enter the memory and mind, a man is not hindered, whether he be engaged in prayer, meditation, or reciting psalms, or in any other practice or spiritual exercise, nor will they recur again.

So commit yourself confidently and without hesitation, all that you are, and everything else, individually and in general, to the unfailing and totally reliable providence of God, in silence and in peace, and he will fight for you {cf. Sir 4:28}. He will liberate you and comfort you more fully, more effectively and more satisfactorily than if you were to dream about it all the time, day and night, and were to cast around frantically all over the place with the futile and confused thoughts of your mind in bondage, nor will you wear out your mind and body, wasting your time, and stupidly and pointlessly exhausting your strength. So accept everything, separately and in general, wherever it comes from and whatever its origin, in silence and peace, and with an equal mind, as coming to you from a father's hand and his divine providence [Cuncta ergo et singula, undecumque et qualitercumque occurrentia ortum habeant, sic accipe cum taciturnitate et tranquillitate aequanimiter, quemadmodum de manu paternae divinaeque providentiae tibi venirent]. So render your imagination bare of the images of all physical things as is appropriate to your state and profession, so that you can cling to him with a bare and undivided mind [nuda mente et sincere inhaereas ei], as you have so often and so completely vowed to do, without anything whatever being able to come between your soul and him, so that you can pass purely and unwaveringly from the wounds of his humanity into the light of his divinity [pure fixeque fluere possis a vulneribus humanitatis in lumen suae divinitatis].

Readings from…

FULGENTIUS OF RUSPE (468–533): The sacrifice of bread and wine

In the time of the Old Testament, patriarchs, prophets, and priests sacrificed animals in honor of the Son as well as the Father and the Holy Spirit. Now in the time of the New Testament the holy Catholic Church throughout the world never ceases to offer the sacrifice of bread and wine, in faith and love, to him and to the Father and the Holy Spirit, with whom he shared one Godhead.

In those ancient victims the body and blood of Christ were prefigured: the body which the sinless one would offer as propitiation for our sins, and the blood which he would pour out for our forgiveness. The Church's sacrifice, on the other hand, is an act of thanksgiving and a memorial of the body Christ has offered for us and the blood he has shed for us. With this in mind, blessed Paul says in the Acts of the Apostles: Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as bishops to rule the Church of God, which he won for himself by his blood. Those sacrifices of old pointed in sign to what was to be given to us. In this sacrifice we see plainly what has already been given to us.
-- Ad Petrum 62: CCL 91A, 750-751.


AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (354–430): God Calls Us to Conversion

God calls us to correct ourselves and invites us to do penance. He calls us through the wonderful gifts of his creation, and he calls us by granting time for life. He calls us through the reader and through the preacher. He calls us with the innermost force of our thoughts. He calls us with the scourge of punishment, and he calls us with the mercy of his consolation.
-- Commentary on Psalm 102, 16

As I read in the missal this morning for Ash Wednesday: "Direct our hearts to better things, O Lord; heal our sin and ignorance. Lord, do not face us suddenly with death, but give us time to repent."

Prayer. Lord, see your work in me, not my own. For if you see my own work, you condemn me; but if you see yours, you crown me.
-- Commentary on Psalm 137, 18


FRANCIS DE SALES (1567–1622):

Do not pay any attention to the kind of work you do, but rather to the honor that it brings to God, even though it may seem quite trivial. Desire only to do the Divine Will, following Divine Providence, which is the disposition of Divine Wisdom. In a word, if your works are pleasing to God and recognized as such, that is all that matters. Work hard every day at increasing your purity of heart, which consists in appraising things and weighing them in the balance of God's will.
-- Letters 280; O. XIII, p. 53


G. K. CHESTERTON (1874–1936):

A MAN can be a Christian to the end of the world, for the simple reason that a man could have been an Atheist from the beginning of it. The materialism of things is on the face of things: it does not require any science to find it out. A man who has lived and loved falls down dead and the worms eat him. That is Materialism, if you like. That is Atheism, if you like. If mankind has believed in spite of that, it can believe in spite of anything. But why our human lot is made any more hopeless because we know the names of the worms who eat him, or the names of all the parts of him that they eat, is to a thoughtful mind somewhat difficult to discover.
–– 'All Things Considered.'

Sentire cum Ecclesia: Albertus Magnus: "De adhaerendo Dei"

Chapter 3: What the perfection of man consist of in this life [Quae sit conformitas perfectionis hominis in hac vita?]

Now the more the mind is concerned about thinking and dealing with what is merely lower and human, the more it is separated from the experience in the intimacy of devotion of what is higher and heavenly [a superioribus et coelestibus per devotionis intima elongatur], while the more fervently the memory, desire and intellect is withdrawn from what is below to what is above, the more perfect will be our prayer, and the purer our contemplation, since the two directions of our interest cannot both be perfect at the same time, being as different as light and darkness. He who cleaves to God is indeed translated into the light, while he who clings to the world is in the dark [Quippe qui Deo adhaeret, versatur in lumine: qui vero mundo adhaeret, in tenebris est]. So the supreme perfection of man in this life is to be so united to God that all his soul with all its faculties and powers are so gathered into the Lord God that he becomes one spirit with him, and remembers nothing except God, is aware of and recognises nothing but God, but with all his desires unified by the joy of love, he rests contentedly in the enjoyment of his Maker alone [et omnes affectiones in amoris gaudio unitae, in sola Conditoris fruitione suaviter quiescant].

Now the image of God as found in the soul consists of these three faculties, namely reason, memory and will, and so long as they are not completely stamped with God, the soul is not yet deiform in accordance with the initial creation of the soul. For the true pattern of the soul is God, with whom it must be imprinted [Imago enim Dei in his tribus potentiis in anima expressa consistit, videlicet, ratione, memoria, et voluntate. Et quamdiu illae ex toto, Deo impressae non sunt, non est anima deiformis juxta primariam animae creationem. Forma nempe animae Deus est, cui debet imprimi], like wax with a seal, and carry the mark of his impress. But this can never be complete until the intellect is perfectly illuminated, according to its capacity, with the knowledge of God, who is perfect truth, until the will is perfectly focused on the love of the perfect good, and until the memory is fully absorbed in turning to and enjoying eternal happiness, and in gladly and contentedly resting in it. And since the glory of the beatitude which is achieved in our heavenly homeland consists in the complete fulfilment of these three faculties, it follows that perfect initiation of them is perfection in this life [Et quia in horum consummata adeptione consistit gloria beatudinis, quae perficietur in patria, liquet quod istorum perfecta inchoatio est perfectio in hac vita].

Albertus' words and way of life remind us of an important Catholic truth, namely, that fervent 'charismatic' devotion to God is not incompatible with plodding, conventional, canonically ordered discipline and obedience in the Church. Only where 'enthusiasm' exceeds the bounds of the will is there a true conflict between one's station in life and in the Church and one's innermost longings for God. Likewise, it must be said, only when "those holding the reins" let their own "three faculties" of the imago Dei--reason, memory, and will--become so detached from God as the object of all worship is there any grounds for feeling like "the Church is just an institution." The Magisterium is the mystical organ that corresponds to our individual reason, the liturgy and devotional traditions are the mystical organ of our individual memory, and the episcopacy is the sacramental organ of individual will. Only when the faithful and the hierarchy see the only center of their reason, memory, and will as the One Flesh of the Eucharist, can they see each other aright. More importantly, only by seeing the world as an altar on which the One Flesh was and is offered to the Father in the Spirit, can any of us see the world aright.

Sentire cum Ecclesia: Albertus Magnus: "De adhaerendo Dei"

Chapter 2: How can one cling to and seek Christ alone, disdaining everything else? [Qualiter quis, omnibus aliis spretis, soli Christo inhaereat et intendat?]

Certainly, anyone who desires and aims to arrive at and remain in such a state must needs above all have eyes and senses closed and not be inwardly involved or worried about anything [opus est omnino, ut velut clausis oculis et sensibus, de nulla re se penitus implicet aut perturbet], nor concerned or occupied with anything, but should completely reject all such things as irrelevant, harmful and dangerous. Then he should withdraw himself totally within himself and not pay any attention to any object entering the mind except Jesus Christ, the wounded one, alone, and so he should turn his attention with care and determination through him into him –– that is, through the man into God, through the wounds of his humanity into the inmost reality of his divinity [nec aliud umquam objectum inibi mente attendat, quam solum Jesum Christum vulneratum: sicque per eum in eum, id est, per hominem in Deum, per vulnera humanitatis ad intima divinitatis suae].

Here he can commit himself and all that he has, individually and as a whole, promptly, securely and without discussion, to God’s unwearying providence, in accordance with the words of Peter, cast all your care upon him (1 Peter 5.7), who can do everything. And again, In nothing be anxious (Philippians 4.6), or what is more, Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain you. (Psalm 55.22) Or again, It is good for me to hold fast to God, (Ps. 73.28) and I have always set up God before me. (Psalm 16.8) The bride too in the Song of Songs says, I have found him whom my soul loves [Inveni quem diligit anima mea], (Canticle 3.4) and again, All good things came to me along with her. (Wisdom 7.11)

This, after all, is the hidden heavenly treasure, none other than the pearl of great price, which must be sought with resolution, esteeming it in humble faithfulness, eager diligence, and calm silence before all things [taciturnitate tranquilla, etiam usque ad corporalis commodi], and preferring it even above physical comfort, or honour and renown. For what good does it do a religious if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul? Or what is the benefit of his state of life, the holiness of his profession, the virtue of his habit and tonsure, or the outer circumstances of his way of life if he is without a life of spiritual humility and truth in which Christ abides through a faith created by love? [Aut quid relevat status, professionis sanctitas, perfectionis habitus, tonsura, et exterioris dispositio conversationis, sine vita in spiritu humilitatis et veritatis, ubi Christus habitat per fidem charitate formatam?] This is what Luke means by, the Kingdom of God (that is, Jesus Christ) is within you. (Luke 17.21)

Remember, of course, that, according to the recieved history of the Middle Ages, as it was largely propagated by Protestant and Enlightenment historians, and as it took deep root in the collective consciousness of Protestant and post-Reformation nations (such as the United States and England), medieval Catholicism was all about "works salvation" and senseless mortification. Only with the rise of Luther and the magisterial Reformers did Christendom, after centuries of papist corruption and myriad Romish perversions, get a taste once more of the authentic streams of Christian spiritual devotion. And yet we plainly see how "self-conscious" Albertus is of the vanity of mere religious profession if it lacks a vital inner devotion to and delight in Jesus. Albertus wrote in the heart of the Middle Ages and his influence can hardly be overstated. Hence, the myth of a hyper-ritualized, mechanical, "works-based faith" in the Catholic Church is compromised even where it should be most blatant.

Sentire cum Ecclesia: Albertus Magnus: "De adhaerendo Dei"

[I'd like to think this post marks the inauguration of a semi-new feature of FCA. I have posted quotations from Saints and Doctors and other notable Catholics for a few years now, and have lately taken to reading/posting the Summa contra gentiles chapter by chapter. I decided I'd also occasionally like to post readings from other works in the Tradition, which allows me and readers "sentire cum Ecclesia" (to think with the Church). The first work is by St Thomas Aquinas' master, Albert the Great (1193/1206–1280). It is probably the shortest work of his and is available online, so I thought it would be a good place to start. Albertus Magnus is one of the Church's 33 Doctor's (so far), which means he is one of the few figures deemed by the Church worthy of a universal authority as a teacher of the faith. Indeed, one of his monickers is "Doctor Universalis." (He was a German, too!) According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "Ulrich Engelbert, a contemporary, calls him the wonder and the miracle of his age: 'Vir in omni scientia adeo divinus, ut nostri temporis stupor et miraculum congrue vocari possit' (De summo bono, tr. III, iv)."]

On Cleaving to God (De adhaerendo Deo)

Chapter 1: On the highest and supreme perfection of man, in so far as it is possible in this life (De ultima et summa perfectione hominis, quantum in hac vita possibile est)

I have had the idea of writing something for myself on and about the state of complete and full abstraction from everything and of cleaving freely, confidently, nakedly and firmly to God alone [ab omnibus plena et possibili abstractione, et cum solo Domino Deo expedita, secura, et nuda firmaque adhaesione], so as to describe it fully (in so far as it is possible in this abode of exile and pilgrimage), especially since the goal of Christian perfection is the love by which we cleave to God. In fact everyone is obligated, to this loving cleaving to God as necessary for salvation [ipsius Christianae perfectionis finis sit charitas, qua Domino Deo adhaeretur. Ad quam quidem adhaesionem charitativam omnis homo de necessitate salutis tenetur], in the form of observing the commandments and conforming to the divine will, and the observation of the commandments excludes everything that is contrary to the nature and habit of love, including mortal sin.

Members of religious orders have committed themselves in addition to evangelical perfection, and to the things that constitute a voluntary and counselled perfection by means of which one may arrive more quickly to the supreme goal which is God. The observation of these additional commitments excludes as well the things that hinder the working and fervour of love, and without which one can come to God, and these include the renunciation of all things, of both body and mind, exactly as one’s vow of profession entails.

Since indeed the Lord God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth, in other words, by knowledge and love, that is, understanding and desire, stripped of all images. This is what is referred to in Matthew 6.6, ‘When you pray, enter into your inner chamber,’ that is, your inner heart, ‘and having closed the door,’ that is of your senses, and there with a pure heart and a clear conscience, and with faith unfeigned, ‘pray to your Father,’ in spirit and in truth, ‘in secret.’ This can be done best when a man is disengaged and removed from everything else, and completely recollected within himself. There, in the presence of Jesus Christ, with everything, in general and individually, excluded and wiped out, the mind alone turns in security confidently to the Lord its God with its desire [ubi universis et singulis exclusis et oblitis, coram Jesu Christo, tacito ore, sola mens desideria sua secure Domino Deo suo fiducialiter pandit]. In this way it pours itself forth into him in full sincerity with its whole heart and the yearning of its love, in the most inward part of all its faculties, and is plunged, enlarged, set on fire and dissolved into him.