St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) was a mystic. His childhood and adolescence were spent in poverty. Such poverty prepared his soul, emptied it so as to enable it to fully embrace the love of God. Together with St. Teresa of Avila, St. John the Cross worked to reform the Carmelite order. As expected, reformers were met with opposition and resistance even from good-willed people. St. John was even physically restrained inside a narrow cell for nine months! But it was then and there that he composed and left us many mystical poems. Soon after his escape, St. John wrote The Ascent of Mount Carmel and The Dark Night of the Soul which are classics in Spirituality theology.
Yesterday at the mass of the Profession of Perpetual Vow of Sr. Laetitia, Cardinal Joseph Zen quoted some sayings from St. John of the Cross. Our soul/heart is a small cup filled with jealousy. We need to empty our soul/heart before we are able to receive the blessed honey from God. If we count our troubles rather than our blessings, life becomes unbearable for us and our neighbour. This reminds me of the teaching of Mencius.
天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，增益其所不能。【孟子‧告子下】
Assigning him a major mission, heavens will frustrate his heart and will, exhaust his bones, starve his body, empty his possession and wreak havoc in his endeavours so as to boost up his confidence, master his instincts and empower him to do what he has not been able to do.
Yesterday at the mass of the Profession of Perpetual Vow of Sr. Laetitia, Cardinal Joseph Zen quoted some sayings from St. John of the Cross. Our soul/heart is a small cup filled with jealousy. We need to empty our soul/heart before we are able to receive the blessed honey from God. If we count our troubles rather than our blessings, life becomes unbearable for us and our neighbour. This reminds me of the teaching of Mencius.
天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，增益其所不能。【孟子‧告子下】
Assigning him a major mission, heavens will frustrate his heart and will, exhaust his bones, starve his body, empty his possession and wreak havoc in his endeavours so as to boost up his confidence, master his instincts and empower him to do what he has not been able to do.
The religious experience of mystics is not easily accessible to ordinary people. Neither is it easy for them to pass on their experience to us. We can only thank God for showing us what can possibly be accomplished in the mystical union with Him. The reading of Numbers today paints us the picture of another mystic. Balaam rendered divination services for a fee. Balak, the king of Moab, hired him to curse Israel. God intervened and Balaam blessed the Israelites instead. He uttered several oracles. You will be interested in one of them.
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth (Numbers 24:17).
I always wonder how Matthew could have missed this important piece of oracle, telling us the birth of the Messiah in the future.
Of course, Jesus did not crush Moab, nor did he conquer the sons of Sheth. Again, the vision of Balaam might not be very clear. Nor could he have any final say on the canon of the Older Testament. Here is how Balaam described himself. From this, we are able to deduce how mystics like St. John of the Cross, operate.
And the Spirit of God came upon him,
and he took up his discourse, and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes uncovered: (Numbers 24:2b-4)
And he took up his discourse, and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes uncovered (Numbers 24:15-16),
Though it sounds very formulaic, there should be a grain of truth in it.
Balaam claimed that his eye was opened. He could hear the words of God and knew the knowledge of God. He could see the vision of the Almighty. He fell down but having his eyes uncovered. Perhaps, like the life of St. John the Cross had testified, poverty and harshness in life uncover the eyes of man.
On the other hand, I cannot explain why Balaam used "eye עָיִן" but not "eyes עֵינָיִם".
Therefore, I hypothesize that a mystic can both see and hear God in his/her contemplation. However, what he/she sees shall be something extraordinary such that human language may not be able to express fully. After all, man has evolved into a visual animal. He trusts in and relies heavily on his vision for survival. Therefore, an authentic encounter with God in contemplation, in ecstatic state should consist in at least both vision and hearing; and perhaps more. God's revelation is multi-dimensional.
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth (Numbers 24:17).
I always wonder how Matthew could have missed this important piece of oracle, telling us the birth of the Messiah in the future.
Of course, Jesus did not crush Moab, nor did he conquer the sons of Sheth. Again, the vision of Balaam might not be very clear. Nor could he have any final say on the canon of the Older Testament. Here is how Balaam described himself. From this, we are able to deduce how mystics like St. John of the Cross, operate.
And the Spirit of God came upon him,
and he took up his discourse, and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes uncovered: (Numbers 24:2b-4)
And he took up his discourse, and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes uncovered (Numbers 24:15-16),
Though it sounds very formulaic, there should be a grain of truth in it.
Balaam claimed that his eye was opened. He could hear the words of God and knew the knowledge of God. He could see the vision of the Almighty. He fell down but having his eyes uncovered. Perhaps, like the life of St. John the Cross had testified, poverty and harshness in life uncover the eyes of man.
On the other hand, I cannot explain why Balaam used "eye עָיִן" but not "eyes עֵינָיִם".
Therefore, I hypothesize that a mystic can both see and hear God in his/her contemplation. However, what he/she sees shall be something extraordinary such that human language may not be able to express fully. After all, man has evolved into a visual animal. He trusts in and relies heavily on his vision for survival. Therefore, an authentic encounter with God in contemplation, in ecstatic state should consist in at least both vision and hearing; and perhaps more. God's revelation is multi-dimensional.
Dear Lord, mystical union with You is the crown of our religious experience. If it be Your will, grant that my path may lead to such a destiny. Amen.
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