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Wisdom Saying
Since happiness is nothing other than
the enjoyment of the highest good
and since the highest good is above,
no one can be made happy unless he rise above himself,
not by ascent of the body,
but of the heart.
But we cannot rise above ourselves
unless a higher power lift us up.
No matter how our interior progress is ordered,
nothing will come of it
unless accompanied by divine aid.
*St. Bonaventure (b. 1217). The Soul's Journey into God.
Musings of a Modern Day Mystic
Humbly to seek Your help, my Friend, means I take all I am and hope to be into the Divine Care, Your Compassion for me. Then, I am not alone, and feeling alone I offer that to You.
If glad, I offer that; if sad, I offer that, also. Nothing I feel or think is apart from being a precious offering.
In this offering I am rising above myself. This rising above is not abandoning myself, for what, then, would I be offering you. My emptiness is not nothingness, for my being, the being of all being, is in Being. Rather, rising above myself means only this self-offering of the self.
This rising above comes from my heart to You, and this my heart is center of the energies of my total, mysterious life. In this offering from the heart, I offer all, all I am and all I am not, all I had hoped to be and will never be.
Possibly, this is the offering that brings the most sadness. This offering of what I had hoped to be and might not be, or will not be. Is it like the Sun that knows itself to be the Sun, but wonders if its Light will ever enjoy the freedom from the cloud mass of accumulated experience, self-deception, and collective trivialities, especially moral and religious, that create a falseness that is more false for claiming to be true?
However, hope lifts me up, when I cannot lift myself up. Grace are the wings bringing me again into You.
In this offering, however, we find a freedom, which might take time to know. This is freedom from the false self, the self we had thought ourselves to be and even hoped we would be, but we could not be. This self is the self we thought was hurt by the past events and persons and had lost itself.
The freedom I experience must be, then, from that false self to the true self. This self is undefined and in God, eternally. This self is child of the Divine, but not in any religious or spiritual sense. Is the sunshine any less what it is for not being labeled religious or spiritual?
When I find you, or rather am discovered in You by You, then I am truly free. That is my hope, not a mere wish or optimism. This hope is a sureness that leads me to turn my face to Your Face and know that as long as I turn toward You, You will lift me up again. You will not abandon me, and you will not leave me to feelings of desperation and desolation. This will be my good and my gift to others and myself.
But this is not any good, but the highest good. I aspire to the highest good, for every soul finds its rest and home only there. I pray for grace to be led to that good, even though I may not know the way by which I am being led to it.
Suggested Reflection
What does it mean for you to be lifted by God beyond yourself?
Brian is available to respond to requests pertaining to seeking a Spiritual Director, his speaking, doing classes, workshops, or retreats for churches or other spiritual groups. He will inform regarding how to receive his other writings or offer replies to comments or questions.
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*Brian K. Wilcox lives with his wife, Rocio, and their two dogs, St. Francis and Bandit Ty, in Clearwater and Punta Gorda, Florida. He is a United Methodist pastor and vowed member of Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community in Georgia. His passion is living a contemplative life and inspiring others to experience a deeper relationship with Christ through contemplative prayer and living.
*Quote from St. Bonaventure is from "The Classics of Western Spirituality." Trans. E. Cousins.
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