Every time you feel in
God’s creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be
arrested by them alone, but, passing them by, transfer your thought to God and
say: “O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how
infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy art Thou Thyself, Creator of
all!”
~~Nicodemus of the Holy
Mountain
In all times since Christianity began there have been
ascetics called to a life of prayer. Some established themselves among their
neighbors in cities and towns, though many, seeking to remove themselves from
certain distractions in order to better concentrate, moved to wilderness
places. Many moderns (perhaps especially Protestant moderns!) have considered
this an escape from the world’s rigors, but at its basic element it was never
an escape away from the world; it was
rather an epic journey, a quest, into
a spiritual world sorely neglected by the masses, for it was these latter
persons for whom these ascetics prayed and gave counsel. Though they have
errantly been perceived as ‘abandoning ship,’ these ministers of intercession
perceived culture as shipwrecked already, and themselves, rightfully so, as
those in lifeboats, rescuing as many as had the wisdom and gave the effort to
be saved.
Additionally, an ‘escape’ to the wilderness was hardly that.
It is only in the last 150 years or so that people have begun to see the value
or beauty of wilderness; for the vast part of civilized history, people have
considered wilderness something to be avoided at all costs – a place of
constant danger, the habitation of wild beasts, the abode of deprivation. The
superstitious even considered it to be the haunt of evil and of malevolent
spirits. Persons called to live in these environs would be bereft of even the
most modest of human conveniences, not the least of which would be easy access
to other humans. But for wilderness ascetics, living here was the cost of doing
this kind of battle on behalf of others.
Nicodemus of the HolyMountain was one such ascetic, of the Greek Orthodox Christian
tradition. He lived from 1749 to 1809 in
Greece and Turkey, and spent much of his ministry researching, teaching and
writing about historic Christian spiritual practices. He was instrumental in
the revival of what has been called The Jesus Prayer – “Lord Jesus Christ, Son
of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner” – an ancient prayer based upon the prayer
of the tax collector/publican in Luke18:9-14, especially verse 13. Prayer
of this form was called Hesychasm, or Hesychastic Prayer. Nicodemus also
championed a movement recognizing God as the source of all beauty, that it is
the beauty of God’s holiness that
allows us, created in God’s image, to appreciate lovely things. This provides
the context for my quote of the month, again:
Every time you feel in
God’s creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be
arrested by them alone, but, passing them by, transfer your thought to God and
say: “O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how
infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy art Thou Thyself, Creator of
all!”
Praise God, from Whom all beautiful blessings flow!
~~RGM, May 24, 2013
P.S. Next up? Haven’t decided yet – it’ll be either a POTM
or an essay from my nature journal…
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