Some of these people are unbelievably deceived by the devil, who will even send them a sort of dew which they suppose to be the heavenly food of angels. It seems to come softly and delicately out of the skies, marvelously finding its way into their mouths. Thus they are in the habit of gaping openmouthed as if they were trying to catch flies. Make no mistake. All this is an illusion despite its pious overtones, for at the same time their hearts are quite empty of genuine fervor. On the contrary, these weird fantasies have filled them with such vanity that the devil can easily go on to feign odd noises, strange illuminations, and delicious odors. It is a pitiful deceit.
Yet these folk do not see it and remain convinced that they are emulating saints like Martin, who, in a revelation, saw Christ standing among angels clad in his cloak; or Stephen, who saw the Lord standing in heaven; or the disciples, who stood watching while he was taken up into the clouds. They feel that, like them, we also should keep our gaze fixed on the heavens. Now I agree that we should lift up our eyes and hands in bodily gestures of devotion as the Spirit moves us. But I insist that our contemplative work shall not be directed up or down, to this side or that, forward or backward, as if it were a machine. For it is not a work of the flesh but an interior vital adventure pursued in the Spirit.
CHAPTER 58
That certain instances in the lives of St. Martin and St. Stephen are not to be taken as literal examples of straining upward during prayer.
Regarding what some folk say about St. Martin and St. Stephen, let us remember that although they did see visions of Christ, these were extraordinary graces intended to confirm a spiritual truth. These people know very well that Christ never actually wore St. Martin’s cloak—as if he had any need of the like to protect him from the elements! No, this manifestation was for the instruction of us who are called to be saved as members of Christ’s one body. Christ was confirming in this symbolic way what he had already taught in the Gospel. There we read that anyone who clothes the poor or ministers to those in material, physical, or spiritual need for the love of Jesus has actually ministered to Jesus himself and will be rewarded by him. In this particular instance the Lord in his wisdom decided to ratify the Gospel teaching with a miracle and so he appeared to St. Martin clothed in the cloak Martin had given to a poor man. Every revelation like this given to men on earth has a deeper spiritual significance and I believe that if the person receiving it could have grasped this deeper meaning in another way the vision would have been unnecessary.1 So let us learn to go beyond the coarse rind and feed on the sweet fruit.
How are we to do this? Certainly not as the heretics do, for they are like drunkards who have drained the fair cup and then smashed it against the wall. Let us remain in the truth and avoid this sort of uncouth behavior. We should not so gorge ourselves on the fruit that we become sick of the tree, nor drink so wantonly that we smash the cup when we are filled. Now the tree and the cup represent extraordinary visions and other felt graces such as the gestures of devotion I have spoken of. The fruit and the wine represent the deeper spiritual significance of these graces. If these gestures are inspired by the Spirit, they are meaningful and genuine; if not, they are hypocritical and false. When they are authentic they are rich in spiritual fruit and so let us not despise them. Do not noble folk reverently kiss the cup for the wine it bears?2
As for our Lord’s physical ascension in the sight of his mother and his disciples, are contemplatives to understand this as an invitation to go stargazing during prayer, in hopes of glimpsing him enthroned in glory or standing in the heavens as St. Stephen saw him? Certainly, he does not expect us to search the heavens during the time of our spiritual work in order to behold him standing, sitting, lying down, or in any other posture for that matter. We do not really understand the nature of our Lord’s glorified humanity or know what position he has assumed in heaven. This is trivia besides. What we do know is that his human body and soul are united forever with his divinity in glory. We do not know or need to know his activities, but only that he possesses himself in complete freedom. When in a vision he reveals himself in this or that posture, it is to emphasize a spiritual message and not to manifest his celestial demeanor.
Let me clarify this further with an example. Standing is symbolic of assistance or support. Before battle, for instance, one friend will say to another: “Take courage, comrade. Fight bravely and don’t lose heart, for I will stand by you.” Obviously he does not refer to physical posture when he says “I will stand by you,” for perhaps they are moving in a cavalry troop toward a battle to be fought on horseback. He means that he will be there ready to help. Similarly, our Lord appeared standing to St. Stephen during his martyrdom to reassure him. He had no intention of giving us a lesson in daydreaming. Rather, it was as if he had said to all martyrs in the person of St. Stephen: “Look, Stephen! I have sundered the firmament to reveal myself to you standing here. Know that I am really at your side with my almighty strength ready to help you. So stand fast in your faith and bear courageously the deadly assault of those who stone you, for I will crown you with glory for your witness of me, and not only you but anyone else who suffers because he loves me.”3
I hope you understand now that these physical revelations were intended to convey a spiritual truth, though it may be concealed from the superficial observer.
CHAPTER 59
That Christ’s bodily ascension shall not be taken to prove that men should strain their minds upward during prayer; that time, place, and the body should be forgotten in contemplation.
But now you object that since our Lord ascended to his Father physically as both God and man, the ascension has both a physical and a spiritual lesson for us. To this I must reply that at his ascension our Lord’s humanity had been transformed and his body, though physical, was an immortal body. He had been dead but in his resurrection he put on immortality. We know that our bodies, too, shall rise in glory on the last day. They will be spiritualized then and as mobile as our thought is now. Up or down, left or right, behind or before, will all be the same, so the theologians tell us. But we have not yet received this glory and so we can only go up to heaven in a spiritual way, which has nothing to do with direction as we commonly speak of it.
I want you to understand clearly that those who work spiritually, especially contemplatives, must be careful about the interpretation of what they read. We read “lift up” or “go in” or of a “stirring” but we must realize that these expressions are not meant in a literal, physical sense. “Stirring” does not refer to physical movement any more than “rest” refers to stationary position. For when our work is authentic and mature it is entirely spiritual, far removed from movement or repose. Besides, “stirring” could actually be better expressed as a sudden transformation than a motion. In any case, you must forget all about time, place, and matter in this spiritual work.
Be careful, then, about interpreting the ascension in gross, literal terms. Do not strain your imagination during prayer in a foolish attempt to force your body aloft as if you wanted to climb over the moon. In the sphere of the spirit all this is nonsense. As far as the physical reality of the ascension is concerned, remember that only Christ has ascended physically, as the Scriptures attest when they say, “There is no one who may ascend into heaven but only he who descended from the heavens when he became man out of love for men.”1 So that, even if it were possible for us to ascend physically now (which it is not), the cause would be an overflow of spiritual power and not the straining of our imagination up or down, to left or right. This is futile and you will be wise to avoid this error.
CHAPTER 60
That the loftiest and surest way to heaven is measured by desires and not by miles.
Perhaps Christ’s ascension is still a stumbling block to you. He ascended physically in the presence of all his disciples and sent the Holy Spirit as he had promised and you feel all this proves that you should literally direct your mind upward during prayer. We do, indeed, believe that Christ in hi
s risen humanity ascended to his Father but let me try to explain again why this should not be misconstrued in a literal sense. I will speak as plainly as I can though my explanation may not yet be adequate.
Yes, Christ did ascend upward and from on high sent the Holy Spirit but he rose upward because this was more appropriate than to descend or to move to left or right. Beyond the superior symbolic value of rising upward, however, the direction of his movement is actually quite incidental to the spiritual reality. For in the realm of the spirit heaven is as near up as it is down, behind as before, to left or to right. The access to heaven is through desire. He who longs to be there really is there in spirit. The path to heaven is measured by desire and not by miles. For this reason St. Paul says in one of his epistles, “Although our bodies are presently on earth, our life is in heaven.”1 Other saints have said substantially the same thing but in different ways. They mean that love and desire constitute the life of the spirit. And the spirit abides where its love abides as surely as it abides in the body which it fills with life. Does this make any more sense to you? We need not strain our spirit in all directions to reach heaven, for we dwell there already through love and desire.
CHAPTER 61
That in the right order of nature the flesh is subject to the spirit and not the reverse.
All the same when at the Spirit’s bidding we lift up our eyes and hands toward the heavens where the stars are fixed, we praise God with a beautiful gesture of devotion. If the Holy Spirit inspires such prayer in us, we must follow him but otherwise we should not be preoccupied with gesture because every physical gesture should be subject to the spirit and not the reverse.1
Our Lord’s ascension bears this out. In his divinity, Jesus had never been (nor could ever be) separated from the Godhead. But when on earth the time he ordained had come for him to make his way back to the Father, he returned to his Father bodily in his Manhood. Yes, mightily and in the power of the Spirit he, as one Person, returned to the Father in his humanity. This mystery was most fittingly dramatized by his rising upward.
In a similar though less complete way, the right relationship of matter to spirit will be experienced by those who generously give themselves to the interior work of love described in this book. Even though the contemplative may not consciously advert to it, his body will be influenced by the disposition of his spirit. For when he recollects himself and begins this work, his body, which may perhaps be lounging in relaxation, suddenly springs to attention. The inner alertness of his spirit affects the exterior disposition of his body, and how fitting that it should.
It is man’s dignity to stand upright, his face toward the stars and not toward the earth like the beasts, for he is the most exalted of all God’s works. The nobility of his spiritual destiny, which calls him to reach out spiritually toward God, is reflected in the bearing and dignity of his upright posture. But mark well. I said that he reaches out “spiritually” toward God, not “physically.” For can a non-material spirit be directed hither and yon like a physical thing? By no means.
And therefore, be careful not to interpret the spiritual in material terms. It is necessary to use such words as “up,” “down,” “in,” “out,” “behind,” “before,” “left,” and “right,” for regardless how spiritual our subject, we are men and must rely on the vocabulary of ordinary human language for communication. Language belongs to the realm of matter because our words derive from human experience and are spoken with the physical tongue. Does this mean, however, that they must be understood in a literal sense? Of course not. As human beings we can go beyond their immediate significance to grasp the spiritual significance they bear at another level.2
CHAPTER 62
How a man may know when his spiritual work is beneath him, outside him, on a par with him, interior to him, and when it is above him but beneath God.
I think you would find it easier to read the spiritual meaning behind ordinary expressions if I explained certain terms commonly used in reference to the contemplative work. This may give you greater confidence in discerning accurately when you are dealing with things exterior and beneath yourself, with those interior and equal to yourself, and with those transcending yourself though still beneath God.
Beneath you and external to you lies the entire created universe. Yes, even the sun, the moon, and the stars. They are fixed above you, splendid in the firmament, yet they cannot compare to your exalted dignity as a human being.
The angels and the souls of the just are superior to you inasmuch as they are confirmed in grace and glorious with every virtue, but they are your equals in nature as intelligent creatures. By nature you are gifted with three marvelous spiritual faculties, Mind, Reason, and Will, and two secondary faculties, Imagination and Feeling. There is nothing above you in nature except God himself.
When you are reading books about the interior life and come across any references to yourself, understand it to mean your whole self as a human being of spiritual dignity and not merely your physical body. As man you are related to everything in creation through the medium of your faculties.
If you understand all this about the hierarchy of creation and your own nature and place in it, you will have some criteria for evaluating the importance of each of your relationships.
CHAPTER 63
Of the spirit’s faculties in general; how the mind as a principal power comprehends in itself all the other faculties and their works.
Reason, Will, Imagination, and Feeling are man’s vital working powers through which he processes the data of reality. Mind is the comprehensive faculty which receives, sorts, and retains the knowledge acquired through the other four faculties. Since the nature of the Mind’s task is so different from that of the other faculties, it is not properly said to work but to understand.
I call some of man’s faculties primary and others secondary not because man’s spirit is divisible but because the data they process is divisible into two main categories. The first includes all the data related to spirit, which I call primary, and the second includes everything related to matter, which I call secondary. When the two principal powers, Reason and Will, deal directly with spiritual things, they can function independently of Imagination and Feeling.
Imagination and Feeling deal with the material, both present and absent. They reside in the body and function through the medium of the body’s five senses. But whereas Reason and Will function autonomously, Imagination and Feeling require the assistance of Reason and Will in order to grasp even material things in their entirety. The nature, causes, character, and excellence of material things are inaccessible to Imagination and Feeling unaided by the primary faculties.
To sum up, then, Reason and Will are called primary because they are not material and can function independently of the other faculties in the sphere of the spiritual. Imagination and Feeling are called secondary because they deal with the material and operate in the body through the medium of the five senses. Mind is a primary faculty because although it does not deal directly with the data of reality, it encompasses in itself the other four faculties, together with the knowledge they acquire. I will explain this further.
CHAPTER 64
Of the other two principal powers, Reason and Will; how they functioned before original sin.
Reason is the faculty which enables us to distinguish the bad from the good, the good from the better, and the better from the best. Or as the case may be, the good from the bad, the bad from the worse, and the worse from the worst. Before man sinned he did this naturally and easily but now Reason, blinded as a consequence of original sin, errs unless it is illumined by grace. The Mind embraces both Reason and its object.
After Reason has determined what is good, the Will moves toward it with love and desire and finally rests in it with satisfaction, delight, and full consent. Before original sin, man was in no danger of choosing and loving a false good because in his primordial integrity he experienced each thing as it really was. All his faculties were
sound and he was not liable to be deceived by any of them. But in the present order of things, man cannot consistently choose the good without the assistance of grace. Original sin left him wounded and blind so that he is easily deceived by appearances and chooses an evil which has disguised itself as good.
Again, the Mind embraces both the Will and its object.
CHAPTER 65
Of the first secondary power, the Imagination; how it functions and how original sin has harmed it.
With the faculty of Imagination, we depict to ourselves the likeness of things present or absent. Imagination itself and all the images it acquires are contained in the Mind. Before original sin, Imagination co-operated completely with Reason. Like a handmaid, it faithfully reflected each image as it really was and thus Reason was never deceived in its judgments by the distorted likeness of any material or spiritual thing. Now, however, this integrity of our nature is lost, and Imagination never ceases day or night to distort the image of material creatures, to create counterfeits of their spiritual essences or to conjure up fantasies of spiritual things in our minds. Without the help of grace, it is liable to great error in perceiving and thus produces many counterfeits of reality.
The undisciplined nature of Imagination is evident in the experience of neophytes newly turned from the world and beginning to give themselves to the contemplative way of life. It is with great difficulty that they wrench their minds away from the myriad delightful thoughts, images, and daydreams of their past which the unruly Imagination continually projects onto the screen of their minds. This habitual undisciplined activity of the Imagination is one of the painful consequences of original sin. As these neophytes progress in the practices of the contemplative life, however, meditating faithfully on their own human frailty, the Passion of Christ, his transcendent goodness, and the other truths of the interior life, Reason is gradually healed, regaining its rightful ascendancy over the Imagination.
The Cloud of Unknowing Page 12
