God Means Everything The goal of mysticism is divine union. The goal of prayer is divine union—union with what is, with the moment, with yourself, with the Divine, which means everything. God is another word for the heart of everything. St. Bonaventure said that all of creation is the fingerprint and the footprint of the Divine One (vestigia Dei). Everything is objectively the Body of God, which Paul unpacks in three places: people (1 Corinthians 12:12-30), physical elements of bread and wine (1 Corinthians 11:23-27), and ourselves as part of the physical universe (Romans 8:14-23). All came forth from the Creator and reveals in some unique way the Creator. One would think that the three monotheistic religions would have been the first to see this, and especially Christians whose distinguishing doctrine is the Incarnation. When you say you love God, you are saying you love everything. That’s why mystics can love the foreigner, can love the outsider; in fact they cannot not love them, because they see truthfully and fully! Adapted from Silent Compassion: Finding God in Contemplation (a forthcoming book from Franciscan Media)
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 00:02:52 +0000
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