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On
Cleaving to God
Attributed
to:
Saint
Albert the Great
Translator's
Introduction
Chapter 1 - On the highest and supreme perfection
of man, in so far as it is possible in this life
Chapter 2 -
How one can cling to and aim at Christ alone, disdaining everything else
Chapter 3 -
What the perfection of man consist of in this life
Chapter
4 - How man's activity should be purely
in the intellect and not in the senses
Chapter 5 -
On purity of heart which is to be sought above all things
Chapter 6 -
That the devout man should cleave to God with naked understanding and
will
Chapter 7 -
How the heart should be gathered within itself
Chapter 8 -
How a religious man should commit himself to God in all circumstances
whatsoever
Chapter
9 - How much the contemplation of God is to
be preferred to all other exercises
Chapter
10 - That one should not be concerned about
feeling tangible devotion so much as about cleaving
to God with one's will
Chapter
11 - How one should resist temptations and
bear trials
Chapter
12 - How powerful the love of God is
Chapter
13 - The nature and value of prayer, and how
the heart should be recollected within itself
Chapter
14 - That we should seek the verdict of our
conscience in every decision
Chapter
15 - How contempt of himself can be produced
in a man, and how useful it is
Chapter
16 - How God's Providence includes everything
This
famous and much loved little treatise, On Cleaving to God, (De Adhaerendo
Deo) has always been attributed to Saint Albert the Great, who lived
from about 1200 to 1280, and was one of the most respected theologians
of his time. He was moreover a voluminous writer in the scholastic
tradition, and, amongst other things, Bishop of Ratisbonne and
one of the teachers of Eckhart at Paris University. The Latin text
of which this is a translation is found in volume 37 of his Opera Omnia
published in Paris in 1898.
However
almost all modern scholars are agreed that the work could not have
been written by him, at least certainly not in its present form. It
contains many implicit references and quotations from writers who lived
well after Albert the Great. It is quite clear from the opening words
of the treatise that it is in essence the private anthology of a contemplative
or would-be contemplative, culled from many different sources, and
including thoughts of his own. From the references included, it would
seem to belong, at least in its present form to an unknown writer of
the fifteenth century.
However,
it has often been pointed out that the first nine chapters seem to
be of a somewhat different character to the remaining seven. Indeed
most of the directly contemplative and mystical material in the work
is contained in this first half, while the second section is concerned
largely with more general matters of ordinary Christian piety. It has
therefore been suggested that it is perhaps possible that a later hand
has to some extent reworked and extended an original, shorter text,
that could perhaps even go back to Albert the Great. Albert, we know,
wrote a commentary on the teachings of the famous St. Dionysius, and
this work, particularly in the first nine chapters is full of “Dionysian” themes.
This could indicate that these chapters at least may belong to Albert
the Great, or, alternatively, it could explain how it came to be attributed
to him. The fact remains, whichever way round, that the work stands
on its own merits as a classic of Western contemplative mysticism in
the Via Negativa tradition. It has indeed been frequently called a
supplement to the Imitation of Christ.
In
view of all these considerations, and in view of the fact that the
work has always been attributed to Albert the Great (and all libraries
and catalogues include it under his name), I have felt it best to leave
it attached to his name, though with the above reservations. After
all, Anonymous has dozens of works attributed to him that were actually
written by someone else, so perhaps for once it is only fair to attribute
an anonymous work to an actual person. Anyone who has ever tried to
look for a work by Anonymous in a big library catalogue will, I feel
confident, be grateful to me!
On
the highest and supreme perfection of man, in so far as it is possible
in this life
I have
had the idea of writing something for myself on and about the state
of complete and full abstraction from everything and of cleaving freely,
confidently, nakedly and firmly to God alone, so as to describe it
fully (in so far as it is possible in this abode of exile and pilgrimage),
especially since the goal of Christian perfection is the love by which
we cleave to God.
In fact
everyone is obligated , to this loving cleaving to God as necessary
for salvation, in the form of observing the commandments and conforming
to the divine will, and the observation of the commandments excludes
everything that is contrary to the nature and habit of love, including
mortal sin. Members of religious orders have committed themselves in
addition to evangelical perfection, and to the things that constitute
a voluntary and counselled perfection by means of which one may arrive
more quickly to the supreme goal which is God. The observation of these
additional commitments excludes as well the things that hinder the
working and fervour of love, and without which one can come to God,
and these include the renunciation of all things, of both body and
mind, exactly as one's vow of profession entails. Since indeed the
Lord God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit
and in truth, in other words, by knowledge and love, that is, understanding
and desire, stripped of all images. This is what is referred to in
Matthew 6.6, 'When you pray, enter into your inner chamber,' that is,
your inner heart, 'and having closed the door,' that is of your senses,
and there with a pure heart and a clear conscience, and with faith
unfeigned, 'pray to your Father,' in spirit and in truth, 'in secret.'
This can be done best when a man is disengaged and removed from everything
else, and completely recollected within himself. There, in the presence
of Jesus Christ, with everything, in general and individually, excluded
and wiped out, the mind alone turns in security confidently to the
Lord its God with its desire. In this way it pours itself forth into
him in full sincerity with its whole heart and the yearning of its
love, in the most inward part of all its faculties, and is plunged,
enlarged, set on fire and dissolved into him.
How
one can cling to and seek Christ alone, disdaining everything else
Certainly,
anyone who desires and aims to arrive at and remain in such a state
must needs above all have eyes and senses closed and not be inwardly
involved or worried about anything, nor concerned or occupied with
anything, but should completely reject all such things as irrelevant,
harmful and dangerous. Then he should withdraw himself totally within
himself and not pay any attention to any object entering the mind except
Jesus Christ, the wounded one, alone, and so he should turn his attention
with care and determination through him into him - that is, though
the man into God, through the wounds of his humanity into the inmost
reality of his divinity. Here he can commit himself and all that he
has, individually and as a whole, promptly, securely and without discussion,
to God's unwearying providence, in accordance with the words of Peter,
cast all your care upon him (1 Peter 5.7), who can do everything. And
again, In nothing be anxious (Philippians 4.6), or what is more, Cast
your burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain you. (Psalm 55.22) Or
again, It is good for me to hold fast to God, (Ps. 73.28) and I have
always set up God before me. (Psalm 16.8) The bride too in the Song
of Songs says, I have found him whom my soul loves, (Canticle 3.4)
and again, All good things came to me along with her. (Wisdom 7.11)
This,
after all, is the hidden heavenly treasure, none other than the pearl
of great price, which must be sought with resolution, esteeming it
in humble faithfulness, eager diligence, and calm silence before all
things, and preferring it even above physical comfort, or honour and
renown. For what good does it do a religious if he gains the whole
world but suffers the loss of his soul? Or what is the benefit of his
state of life, the holiness of his profession, the virtue of his habit
and tonsure, or the outer circumstances of his way of life if he is
without a life of spiritual humility and truth in which Christ abides
through a faith created by love. This is what Luke means by, the Kingdom
of God (that is, Jesus Christ) is within you. (Luke 17.21)
What
the perfection of man consist of in this life
Now the
more the mind is concerned about thinking and dealing with what is
merely lower and human, the more it is separated from the experience
in the intimacy of devotion of what is higher and heavenly, while the
more fervently the memory, desire and intellect is withdrawn from what
is below to what is above, the more perfect will be our prayer, and
the purer our contemplation, since the two directions of our interest
cannot both be perfect at the same time, being as different as light
and darkness. He who cleaves to God is indeed translated into the light,
while he who clings to the world is in the dark. So the supreme perfection
of man in this life is to be so united to God that all his soul with
all its faculties and powers are so gathered into the Lord God that
he becomes one spirit with him, and remembers nothing except God, is
aware of and recognises nothing but God, but with all his desires unified
by the joy of love, he rests contentedly in the enjoyment of his Maker
alone.
Now the
image of God as found in the soul consists of these three faculties,
namely reason, memory and will, and so long as they are not completely
stamped with God, the soul is not yet deiform in accordance with the
initial creation of the soul. For the true pattern of the soul is God,
with whom it must be imprinted, like wax with a seal, and carry the
mark of his impress. But this can never be complete until the intellect
is perfectly illuminated, according to its capacity, with the knowledge
of God, who is perfect truth, until the will is perfectly focused on
the love of the perfect good, and until the memory is fully absorbed
in turning to and enjoying eternal happiness, and in gladly and contentedly
resting in it. And since the glory of the beatitude which is achieved
in our heavenly homeland consists in the complete fulfilment of these
three faculties, it follows that perfect initiation of them is perfection
in this life.
How
man's activity should be purely in the intellect and not in the senses
Happy
therefore is the person who by continual removal of fantasies and images,
by turning within, and raising the mind to God, finally manages to
dispense with the products of the imagination, and by so doing works
within, nakedly and simply, and with a pure understanding and will,
on the simplest of all objects, God. So eliminate from your mind all
fantasies, objects, images and shapes of all things other than God,
so that, with just naked understanding, intent and will, your practice
will be concerned with God himself within you.
For this
is the end of all spiritual exercises - to turn the mind to the Lord
God and rest in him with a completely pure understanding and a completely
devoted will, without the entanglements and fantasies of the imagination.
This sort of exercise is not practised by fleshly organs nor by the
exterior senses, but by that by which one is indeed a man. For a man
is precisely understanding and will. For that reason, in so far as
a man is still playing with the products of the imagination and the
senses, and holds to them, it is obvious that he has not yet emerged
from the motivation and limitations of his animal nature, that is of
that which he shares in common with the animals. For these know and
feel objects by means of recognised shapes and sense impressions and
no more, since they do not possess the higher powers of the soul. But
it is different with man, who is created in the image and likeness
of God with understanding, will, and free choice, through which he
should be directly, purely and nakedly impressed and united with God,
and firmly adhere to him. For this reason the Devil tries eagerly and
with all his power to hinder this practice so far as he can, being
envious of this in man, since it is a sort of prelude and initiation
of eternal life. So he is always trying to draw man's mind away from
the Lord God, now by temptations or passions, now by superfluous worries
and pointless cares, now by restlessness and distracting conversation
and senseless curiosity, now by the study of subtle books, irrelevant
discussion, gossip and news, now by hardships, now by opposition, etc.
Such matters may seem trivial enough and hardly sinful, but they are
a great hindrance to this holy exercise and practice. Therefore, even
if they may appear useful and necessary, they should be rejected, whether
great or small, as harmful and dangerous, and put out of our minds.
Above
all therefore it is necessary that things heard, seen, done and said,
and other such things, must be received without adding things from
the imagination, without mental associations and without emotional
involvement, and one should not let past or future associations, implications
or constructs of the imagination form and grow. For when constructs
of the imagination are not allowed to enter the memory and mind, a
man is not hindered, whether he be engaged in prayer, meditation, or
reciting psalms, or in any other practice or spiritual exercise, nor
will they recur again. So commit yourself confidently and without hesitation,
all that you are, and everything else, individually and in general,
to the unfailing and totally reliable providence of God, in silence
and in peace, and he will fight for you. He will liberate you and comfort
you more fully, more effectively and more satisfactorily than if you
were to dream about it all the time, day and night, and were to cast
around frantically all over the place with the futile and confused
thoughts of your mind in bondage, nor will you wear out your mind and
body, wasting your time, and stupidly and pointlessly exhausting your
strength.
So accept
everything, separately and in general, wherever it comes from and whatever
its origin, in silence and peace, and with an equal mind, as coming
to you from a father's hand and his divine providence. So render your
imagination bare of the images of all physical things as is appropriate
to your state and profession, so that you can cling to him with a bare
and undivided mind, as you have so often and so completely vowed to
do, without anything whatever being able to come between your soul
and him, so that you can pass purely and unwaveringly from the wounds
of his humanity into the light of his divinity.
On
purity of heart which is to be sought above all things
If your
desire and aim is to reach the destination of the path and home of
true happiness, of grace and glory, by a straight and safe way then
earnestly apply your mind to seek constant purity of heart, clarity
of mind and calm of the senses. Gather up your heart's desire and fix
it continually on the Lord God above. To do so you must withdraw yourself
so far as you can from friends and from everyone else, and from the
activities that hinder you from such a purpose. Grasp every opportunity
when you can find the place, time and means to devote yourself to silence
and contemplation, and gathering the secret fruits of silence, so that
you can escape the shipwreck of this present age and avoid the restless
agitation of the noisy world. For this reason apply yourself at all
times to purity, clarity and peace of heart above all things, so that,
so far as possible, you can keep the doors of your heart resolutely
barred to the forms and images of the physical senses and worldly imaginations
by shutting off the doors of the physical senses and turning within
yourself. After all, purity of heart is recognised as the most important
thing among all spiritual practices, as its final aim, and the reward
for all the labours that a spiritual-minded person and true religious
may undertake in this life.
For this
reason you should with all care, intelligence and effort free your
heart, senses and desires from everything that can hinder their liberty,
and above all from everything in the world that could possibly bind
and overcome you. So struggle in this way to draw together all the
distractions of your heart and desires of your mind into one true,
simple and supreme good, to keep them gathered within yourself in one
place, and by this means to remain always joined to things divine and
to God in your mind, to abandon the unreliable things of earth, and
be able to translate your mind continually to the things above within
yourself in Jesus Christ.
To which
end, if you have begun to strip and purify yourself of images and imaginations
and to simplify and still your heart and mind in the Lord God so that
you can draw and taste the well of divine grace in everything within
yourself, and so that you are united to God in your mind by a good
will, then this itself is enough for you in place of all study and
reading of holy scripture, and as demonstration of love of God and
neighbour, as devotion itself testifies.
So simplify
your heart with all care, diligence and effort so that still and at
peace from the products of the imagination you can turn round and remain
always in the Lord within yourself, as if your mind were already in
the now of eternity, that is of the godhead. In this way you will be
able to renounce yourself through love of Jesus Christ, with a pure
heart, clean conscience and unfeigned faith, and commit yourself completely
and fully to God in all difficulties and eventualities, and be willing
to submit yourself patiently to his will and good pleasure at all times.
For this
to come about you must repeatedly retreat into your heart and remain
there, keeping yourself free from everything, so far as is possible.
You must always keep the eye of your mind clear and still. You must
guard your understanding from daydreams and thoughts of earthly things.
You must completely free the inclination of your will from worldly
cares and cling will all your being to the supreme true good with fervent
love. You must keep your memory always lifted up and firmly anchored
in that same true supreme good and only uncreated reality. In just
this way your whole mind gathered up with all its powers and faculties
in God, may become one spirit with him, in whom the supreme perfection
of life is known to consist.
This is
the true union of spirit and love by which a man is made compliant
to all the impulses of the supreme and eternal will, so that he becomes
by grace what God is by nature.
At the
same time it should be noted that in the very moment in which one is
able, by God's help, to overcome one's own will, that is to cast away
from oneself inordinate love or strong feeling, in other words so as
to dare simply to trust God completely in all one's needs, by this
very fact one becomes so pleasing to God that his grace is imparted
to one, and through that very grace one experiences that true love
and devotion which drives out all uncertainty and fear and has full
confidence in God. What is more, there can be no greater happiness
than to place one's all in him who lacks nothing.
So why
do you still remain in yourself where you cannot stay. Cast yourself,
all of yourself, with confidence into God and he will sustain you,
heal you and make you safe. If you dwell on these things faithfully
within, they will do more to confer a happy life on you than all riches,
pleasures and honours, and above all the wisdom and knowledge of this
present deceitful world and its life, even if you were to excel in
them all that ever lived.
That
the devout man should cleave to God with naked understanding and
will
The more
you strip yourself of the products of the imagination and involvement
in external, worldly things and the objects of the senses, the more
your soul will recover its strength and its inner senses so that it
can appreciate the things which are above. So learn to withdraw from
imaginations and the images of physical things, since what pleases
God above everything is a mind bare of those sorts of forms and objects,
for it is his delight to be with the sons of men, that is those who,
at peace from such activities, distractions and passions, seek him
with a pure and simple mind, empty themselves for him, and cleave to
him. Otherwise, if your memory, imagination and thought is often involved
with such things, you must needs be filled with the thought of new
things or memories of old ones, or identified with other changing objects.
As a result, the Holy Spirit withholds itself from thoughts bereft
of understanding.
So the
true lover of Jesus Christ should be so united through good will in
his understanding with the divine will and goodness, and be so bare
of all imaginations and passions that he does not even notice whether
he is being mocked or loved, or something is being done to him. For
a good will turns everything to good and is above everything. So if
the will is good and is obedient and united to God with pure understanding,
he is not hurt even if the flesh and the senses and the outer man is
moved to evil, and is slow to good, or even if the inner man is slow
to feel devotion, but should simply cleave to God with faith and good
will in naked understanding. He is doing this if he is conscious of
all his own imperfection and nothingness, recognises his good to consist
in his Creator alone, abandons himself with all his faculties and powers,
and all creatures, and immerses himself wholly and completely in the
Creator, so that he directs all his actions purely and entirely in
his Lord God, and seeks nothing apart from him, in whom he recognises
all good and all joy of perfection to be found. And he is so transformed
in a certain sense into God that he cannot think, understand, love
or remember anything but God himself and the things of God. Other creatures
however and even himself he does not see, except in God, nor does he
love anything except God alone, nor remember anything about them or
himself except in God.
This knowledge
of the truth always makes the soul humble, ready to judge itself and
not others, while on the contrary worldly wisdom makes the soul proud,
futile, inflated and puffed up with wind. So let this be the fundamental
spiritual doctrine leading to the knowledge of God, his service and
familiarity with him, that if you want to truly possess God, you must
strip your heart of all love of things of the senses, not just of certain
creatures, so that you can turn to the Lord your God with a simple
and whole heart and with all your power, freely and without any double-mindedness,
care or anxiety, but with full confidence in his providence alone about
everything.
How
the heart should be gathered within itself
What is
more, as is said in the book On the Spirit and the Soul (of St. Augustine),
to ascend to God means to enter into oneself. He who entering within
and penetrating his inmost nature, goes beyond himself, he is truly
ascending to God. So let us withdraw our hearts from the distractions
of this world, and recall them to the inner joys, so that we can establish
them to some degree in the light of divine contemplation. For this
is the life and peace of our hearts - to be established by intent in
the love of God, and to be sweetly remade by his comforting.
But the
reason why we are in so many ways hindered in the practical enjoyment
of this matter and are unable to get into it is clearly because the
human mind is so distracted by worries that it cannot bring its memory
to turn within, is so clouded by its imaginations that it cannot return
to itself with its understanding, and is so drawn away by its desires
that it is quite unable to come back to itself by desire for inner
sweetness and spiritual joy. Thus it is so prostrate among the sense
objects presented to it that it cannot enter into itself as the image
of God.
It is
therefore right and necessary for the mind to raise itself above itself
and everything created by the abandonment of everything, with humble
reverence and great trust, and to say within itself, He whom I seek,
love, thirst for and desire from everything and more than anything
is not a thing of the senses or the imagination, but is above everything
that can be experienced by the senses and the intellect. He cannot
be experienced by any of the senses, but is completely desirable to
my will. He is moreover not discernable, but is perfectly desirable
to my inner affections. He cannot be comprehended, but can be loved
in his fullness with a pure heart, for he is above all lovable and
desirable, and of infinite goodness and perfection. And then a darkness
comes over the mind and it is raised up into itself and penetrates
even deeper.
And the
more inward-looking the desire for it, the more powerful this means
of ascent to the mysterious contemplation of the holy Trinity in Unity
and Unity in Trinity in Jesus Christ is, and the more interior the
yearning, the more productive it is. Certainly in matters spiritual
the more inward they are the greater they are as spiritual experiences.
For this
reason, never give up, never stop until you have tasted some pledge,
as I might say, or foretaste of the future full experience, and until
you have obtained the satisfaction of however small a first fruits
of the divine joy. And do not give up pursuing it and following its
scent until you have seen the God of gods in Sion. Do not stop or turn
back in your spiritual journey and your union and adherence to God
within you until you have achieved what you have been seeking.
Take as
a pattern of this the example of those climbing an ordinary mountain.
If our mind is involved by its desires in the things which are going
on below, it is immediately carried away by endless distractions and
side tracks, and being to some extent divided against itself, is weakened
and as it were scattered amongst the things which it seeks with its
desires. The result is ceaseless movement, travel without an arrival,
and labour without rest. If on the other hand our heart and mind can
withdraw itself by its desire and love from the infinite distraction
below of the things beneath it, can learn to be with itself, abandoning
these lower things and gathering itself within itself into the one
unchanging and satisfying good, and can hold to it inseparably with
its will, it is correspondingly more and more gathered together in
one and strengthened, as it is raised up by knowledge and desire. In
this way it will become accustomed to the true supreme good within
itself until it will be made completely immovable and arrive securely
at that true life which is the Lord God himself, so that it can now
rest in him within and in peace without any changeability or vicissitude
of time, perfectly gathered within itself in the secret divine abode
in Christ Jesus who is the way for those who come to him, the truth
and life.
How
a religious man should commit himself to God in all circumstances
whatsoever
I am now
completely convinced that you will recognise from these arguments that
the more you strip yourself of the products of your imagination and
all worldly and created things, and are united to God with your intellect
by a good will, the closer you will approach the state of innocence
and perfection. What could be better? And what could be more happy
and joyful? Above all it is important for you to keep your mind bare
- without imaginations and images and free of any sort of entanglement,
so that you are not concerned about either the world, friends, prosperity
or adversity, or anything present, past or future, whether in yourself
or in others - not even your own sins. But consider yourself with a
certain pure simplicity to be alone with God outside the world, and
as if your mind were already in eternity and separated from the body
so that it will certainly not bother about worldly things or be concerned
about the state of the world, about peace or war, about good weather
or rain, or about anything at all in this world, but with complete
docility will turn to God alone, be empty for him and cleave to him.
So now in this way ignore your body and all created things, present
or future, and direct the high point of your mind and spirit directly,
as best you can, naked and unencumbered on the uncreated light. And
let your spirit be cleansed in this way from all imaginations, coverings
and things obscuring its vision, like an angel (not) tied to a body,
who is not hindered by the works of the flesh nor tangled in vain and
wandering thoughts.
Let your
spirit therefore arm itself against all temptations, vexations, and
injuries so that it can persevere steadily in God when attacked by
either face of fortune. So that when some inner disturbance or boredom
or mental confusion come you will not be indignant or dejected because
of it, nor run back to vocal prayers or other forms of consolation,
but only to lift yourself up in your intellect by a good will to hold
on to God with your mind whether the natural inclination of the body
wills it or not.
The religious-minded
soul should be so united to God and should have or render its will
so conformed to the divine will that it is not occupied with any created
thing or cling to it any more than before it was created, and as if
nothing existed except God and the soul itself. And in this way it
should accept everything confidently and equally, in general and in
particular, from the hand of divine providence, agreeing in everything
with the Lord in patience, peace and silence.
The thing
is that the most important thing of all for a spiritual life is to
strip the mind of all imaginations so that one can be united in one's
intellect to God by a good will, and conformed to him.
Besides,
nothing will then be intermediary between you and God. This obvious,
since nothing external will stand between you when by the vow of voluntary
poverty you will have removed the possession of anything whatsoever,
and by the vow of chastity you will have abandoned your body, and by
obedience you will have given up your will and your soul itself. And
in this way nothing will be left to stand between you and God. That
you are a religious person is indicated by your profession, your state,
and now your habit and tonsure and such like, but whether you are only
a religious in appearance or a real one, you will find out.
Bear in
mind therefore how greatly you have fallen away and sin against the
Lord your God and all his justice if you behave otherwise and cling
with your will and love to what is created rather than to the Creator
himself, putting the created before the Creator.
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