Today dear children my thoughts have turned to love, and so I bring you a medieval mystic from Belgium who called herself Beatrijs of Nazareth (1200 - 1266).
She wrote her best known work, a treatise "On Seven Ways of Divine Love" in 1236.
I give you an excerpt here for your consideration, but enjoin you to take some time to read the entire short work, because it is beautiful and very thought provoking. Loves like this, I wish to know in all their intimacy.
The Soul is given a second way of love. Sometimes she serves the Lord for nothing, only from love, without reason or reward, even of mercy or bliss. A noble Lady may serve her Lord out of great love, without seeking reward, simply taking pleasure in being allowed to serve Him. In the same way, the Soul may simply desire to be loyal, to serve Love with love, without measure, beyond thought of measure, exceeding every human idea and reason.
This Soul may be burning with bright desire. She may find that her labours are simple and her misfortunes easy to bear: she may be happy even in melancholy. With her whole being she may desire to give great pleasure. Then she will find pleasure in being able to give pleasure to the Lord, to have Love use her, to aid and to honour Love.
Pax
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1 comment:
I've seen 21 of those, that's it.
Most of them don't appeal to me!
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