The Whole Tamale...(#6)
which is an apt description of this final cited instructional work, it likely THE finest one volume work written in English upon the subject of the spiritual life and practice thereof.
It is exhaustive, exhausting, and most definitely not for everybody, unless reading the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence is something you do for light entertainment at breakfast.
It is written in English, but composed by a man who went to his reward in 1641, his name is Father Augustin Baker O.S.B. (Benedictine), his credentials being he was the spiritual director of a large Benedictine abbey of nuns. He never exactly wrote a book, but the nuns were so enthused as to his teaching that, after his death and with the aid of another priest who was well acquainted with Father Baker, all Father Baker's papers and notes from which he taught were assembled into a book.
The book itself was received with wild acclaim by English Benedictine monasteries, and remained a staple of spiritual instruction until the onset of modern rot. The name of his book is "Sancta Sophia" or "Holy Wisdom". It was reworked from Elizabethan English into "modern" English in the early 1800s, which usage is not far removed from the prior mentioned United States founding documents, hence the advance notice on diction and writing style, including this blog writer's favorite pastime, the sentence which never ends...think of it as trendy stream of consciousness writing. This latter version was published by Burns, Oates, & Washbourne Ltd. both in England and the United States, still able to be found in original printings but far easier to find in facsimile reprint.
A word now as to formal spiritual practice before discussing Baker's work further. There are numerous things people do in order to excite their love of God, ranging from listening to a barn-burner of a sermon, to rousing foot stomping hymn singing, to deep study of scripture, attending services/Masses, running on through reciting assorted pius "acts", performing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, rosaries, rote recitals of etc etc......These things all have an aim in furthering devotion to God, so that we can approach God with love in contemplative prayer and be united to God in love. Unfortunately, these things are all too often treated as the goal and done only for themselves (perhaps of religious obligation by consecrated priests/religious) and it forgotten they are only aids and stepping stones to the greatest goal of all, which is our cleansing ourselves (only by and with the grace of God) from all rust or stain, until we are gone and only God is reflected in us and we love him fully as possible while shackled to human flesh. It would seem the merely performative type prayer is precisely what Jesus warned against in his criticism of his time's own authorities.
Conversely, as stated above, those practices are exceptionally worthy when practiced rightly, and even may/should be done in a contemplative manner while seeking God through love. The Catholic practice of "adoration of the Blessed Sacrament" is a wonderful example, the Catholic belief holding that the consecrated bread IS Jesus under the appearance of bread, and them sitting or kneeling before it in simple adoration and love. Meanwhile, in the "real world", what often happens is that they are told that simply being there is enough, and so these "adorers" are there in body only while they tap away on assorted electronic devices, flip through pages of books and magazines, treat it essentially as a library reading room, and miss the point entirely, while also distracting any true adorers, and as if they would behave that way before the very throne of God. Again, proper approach is everything.
Father Baker forgot none of this....He starts with a brilliant and rousing "The Meaning Of It ALL" introductory, and then covers nearly every topic and stumbling block possible, to include (for obvious purposes) problems arising in the monastic setting (such as what do you do when you are right and your superior is dead-wrong).
He finishes this monumental work with a massive compendium of spiritual exercises, all of which designed to foster love for, and devotion to God, all with the aim of union with the beloved, and all thoroughly treated beforehand in regards to the proper way to approach these devotions. If there is a "problem" with his work, it is simply that he gives so MUCH that it might be easy to miss such critical points while those in a rush go tearing off to the exercises in their hurry to "get fixed", where I think any reader here might see that would be a bit of a problem.
Same as with other works mentioned, skip all the introductions written by others, as this work is loaded with them from every prior edition published, including the rave reviews of abbots and bishops, even to later dealing with Father Baker quoting a small bit from another writer, where that other writer, years after Father Baker's own passing, was condemned for the heresy of Quietism in some OTHER writings. Quietism was/is essentially the same thing as modern-by-your-own-effort-mind-emptying of which I have previously warned (nor was it anything to which Father Baker subscribed). It is an error all too easy in which to stray, as its technical methods can be valid WITH THE PROPER APPROACH, but its errors are exactly in that approach of simply an ego-powered shutting down mental processes with no higher goals of loving union with God and under the guidance of no higher power. Functionally, Quietism is modern meditation technique. That topic will be somewhat dealt with in the last entry in this little blog under non-Christian sources, by way of providing a bit of info for the old contrast/compare exercises of your favorite teachers' examinations.
(photo compliments of Jason Strull at Unsplash.com--such attribution not required of the domain, but it a marvelous photo so imbued with the idea of a search into infinity for meaning, that the photographer deserves every plug I can manage...if he EVER stumbles across these scribblings, I hope he approves personally of its use in these topics)
