Good Contemplation
You
will note that the Lord establishes as the prime good contemplation, that is
the gaze turned in the direction of the things of God. Hence we say that the other virtues, however
useful and good we may say they are, must nevertheless be put on a secondary
level, since they are all practiced for the sake of this one. ‘You are full of worry and are upset over
many things when actually it should be over a few or even one.’ In saying this the Lord locates the primary
good not in activity, however praiseworthy, however abundantly fruitful, but in
the truly simple and unified contemplation of Himself. He says that not much is needed for perfect
blessedness. He means here that type of
contemplation which is primarily concerned with the example of a few saints. Contemplating these, someone still on the
upward road comes at last to that which is unique, namely the sight of God
Himself, which comes with God’s help.
Having passed beyond the activities and the ministry of holy men he will
live solely on the beauty and the knowledge of God. ‘Mary therefore chose the good part and it
will not be taken away from her.’ But
one must look carefully at this. In
saying ‘Mary chose the good part,’ He was saying nothing about Martha and in no
way was He giving the appearance of criticizing her. Still, by praising the one He was saying that
the other one was a step below her.
Again, by saying ‘it will not be taken away from her’ He was showing
that Martha’s role could be taken away from her, since the service of the body
can only last as long as the human being is there, whereas the zeal of Mary can
never end.
John Cassian (c. 360-435)
John Cassian (c. 360-435)
No comments:
Post a Comment