April 12, 2011

Before the Mirror of Eternity

In today's gospel (John 8:21-30), Jesus is asked, "Who are you?" It fascinates me that he answers by talking about the Father. In the mysterious divine unity, Jesus cannot talk about who he is without speaking of the Father.

I've been spending a lot of time this semester reading on the Blessed Trinity. Much of it is very beautiful and inspiring, but none of it is easy.

But as I was praying through the passage yesterday, I began to think that the study and contemplation of the Blessed Trinity is a fulfillment of the beautiful advice of St. Clare to St. Agnes of Prague: "Place your mind before the mirror of eternity."

For the divine economy by which we are saved is the processions of the Blessed Trinity, in mirror image, as it were.

In eternity, the Father generates the Son, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

God's passionate desire for our beatitude, our salvation revealed in time, works a 'recession' that goes the other way: The Spirit conceives the humanity of Christ, which becomes the Way for us to enter into the delighted unity of the Father and the Son, 'filiated' to the Father as sons and daughters in the Son.

Our contemplation, then, is the placing of our minds and hearts before the mirror of eternity, for the eternal processions and relations of the Blessed Trinity are the mirror image of their revelation to us as our salvation.

3 comments:

Judy Kallmeyer said...

You should write a book of reflections on the Trinity!

Tc said...

"...before the mirror of eternity."

One of my favorite lines on which to meditate. Thanks for bringing it to mind, Father.

Unknown said...

"Mirror of Eternity" reminds me of Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, and linking it in with Creation being a book and mirror.

How the Father and Son relate, and how the Holy Spirit proceeds is one of awesome and awe-inspiring study for myself, especially when we consider the twofold nature of Jesus which then relates to our humanity, which relates to Creation and then back to God... it's all connected with the system of reductio.

St. Bonaventure FTW!