MEDITATIONS ON CHRISTIAN DOGMA TREATISE I. 1. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
COELLO, Claudio
St John of God with an Angel
MEDITATIONS ON CHRISTIAN DOGMA TREATISE
TREATISE I.
1. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
I. "All men are vain in whom there is not the knowledge
of God" (Wisd. xiii. 1). Ignorance and want of reflection^
about divine things are two fruitful sources of anxiety, ;
doubt, discontent, and sin in the world. " With desolation
is all the land made desolate, because there is none that
considereth in his heart" (Jer. xii. 11). We need, not only
to have learnt once for all, but to revolve continually in our
minds, the great truths which God has revealed. The will,
which is the embodiment of human energy, is a blind faculty,
and, if left to itself, stumbles in the darkness ; the intelligence
is the torch that guides its footsteps. The intelligence must
be formed by the knowledge of God and meditation on Him
in order to be adequate to its great task ; otherwise the will
cannot burn with affection towards God and crave for moral
goodness. We need this light always burning before us to
illumine our path and help us to pick our steps. How great
is the blindness and how lamentable the miscalculations and
failures of those who have not this light ! Consider how
much you need the science of God, and how deficient you
are in it. Resolve to apply yourself to it. Ask God to
infuse it into your soul.
II. The remedy for ignorance and inconsideration is to
be found in knowledge and meditation on Devotional Theology. As a science it will perfect the understanding, as devotion, the will. By this we shall learn to know of God and
His attributes, the deep mysteries of the Trinity, the holy
spirits who will be our companions for eternity, the significance of creation. We shall understand more about Our
Lord Jesus Christ in His double nature as God and man,
and the lessons of His life ; His Blessed Mother also, in
whom we can study mere human nature brought to its
highest expression by the plenitude of grace and close
association with the three Divine Persons. We shall be
able to cast light upon the great problems that have perpetually exercised men s minds the origin of evil, the per
mission of sin and suffering, the object of our existence, the
law of our perfection and happiness, the secrets of the future
life, the designs of God s Providence. We shall study God s
commands, the nature of virtue, the graces by which we are
aided; and we shall receive comfort, strength, illumination,
certainty, such as earthly science cannot give us. This
divine study will lead us through knowledge to the love of
God and the practical ordering of our lives. Beseech God
to give you Wisdom that sitteth by His throne, to send her
from the throne of His Majesty, to be with you, and labour
with you, and preserve you by her power (Wisd. ix.).
III. To attain to this divine science, the prime necessity, beyond all talent and cultivation, is purity of soul. Only the
pure of heart can see God. " Wisdom will not enter into a
malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins " (Wisd.
i. 4). The intellect must be purified by faith, which eliminates perturbing errors and dispels the mists that cloud the
spiritual vision. The will is purified by innocence of life and
adhesion to God in love. These faculties, like all others,
are susceptible of cultivation, and of being perfected to an
extent incredible to those who have not personal experience
of it; they become sensitive to the finer vibrations of divine
light and divine warmth which are lost upon the coarser
sensibilities of the worldly, the selfish, the proud. Deplore
the many impurities of your mind and affections. Ask God
to send His angel with a burning coal from the altar to
touch your heart and lips, and to purify you, if needs be, by
fire, so that you may be capable of dwelling on His mysteries, singing His praises and loving Him. "To know
Thee is perfect justice: and to know Thy justice and Thy
power is the root of immortality " (Wisd. xv. 3).
Comments
Post a Comment