THE AVE MARIA ANDREAS and Stella had recently returned from travelling in Poland. There they had been the guests of a great landlord, who had showed them all the corners of his immense estates. Andreas had brought back some rare plants and a peculiar kind of mistletoe from which he wanted to extract some unknown medicine. He spoke to me for a long time about these preparations, then the conversation turned to the Polish people, whom he praised. Have you ever noticed, dear Doctor, how those people love the holy Mother of God, their swienta Matka Boza ? They truly are, said Stella, very much devoted to the Virgin, and in all classes of their society, except the intellectuals who used to go to Germany for their studies. It is a curious thing that such a popular cult, which flashes spontaneously from the hearts of the crowd, is almost always created on the plains, among the forests where there are many oaks. Yes! I replied. They have their famous pilgrimages to Czenstochowa, likewise to the vanished forest of Beauceronne where there is the ancient black Virgin of Chartres. Also in Britanny, where people love the Virgin very much, there are plenty of oaks; even in Meudon the seminarists of Fleury erected a statue of the Virgin carved from oak. But, objected Stella, Lourdes, Salette, Puy-en-Velay are in the mountains. Yes, answered Andreas, but those centres were created from Above, they dont stem from human beings. Why, I asked, are all the miraculous Virgins on the plains black, and why do people often admire them in crypts? What is the reason for this? But, dear Doctor, the oak, mistletoe and crypts all go together. You know that the most wonderful medicines can be extracted from the most harmful substances. The mistletoe is a pariasite, and the oak is a tormented tree, just like the olive, which suffers a lot in order to grow, and which yields the olive oil from which the symbol of peace has been made.………………………………………… …………………………I believe dear Doctor, that you have not yet read the Gospels in a proper way. My God ! I said, the Gospels, like all sacred books, contain many meanings, which can be discovered by means of literal and numerical calculations of the words, numbers of the letters, chapters and verses. Just as every language has its hieroglyphic aspect, so ordinary translations are susceptible to such manipulations, but Latin, Greek and Aramean versions are still the best. You are going too fast, Andreas interrupted me. In order that such a study will show a true result, it would be indispensable for you to know at least the science of numbers and letters. But, nobody, do you hear, nobody, even the most reputable ones, knows anything beyond the first letter of the alphabet of those sciences. Even so, what sort of certainty would those theosophical operations, transpositions, magic squares, and so on have? As I did not reply, Andreas continued : The Gospels then do not have many meanings, as you, an occultist, understand this expression. The different meanings of the sacred books are just like new sentences which appear in a cryptographical text when read with different grids. The Gospels are always one, always central. In them the reader perceives the centre of the plan in which his spiritual life develops. Therefore, the signification of the word of the Logos appears to us as more or less high, profound or universal, depending upon how far we ourselves are distant from the true Centre. Do you realize now, my dear Doctor, that every word in that book is an absolute one? It is true, said Stella. When I am a little tired, I say that I am terribly fatigued. But it is not strictly the case. We always apply exaggerated terms, extravagant even in the smallest things. But the Gospels give an exact expression to every idea, feeling and fact. That is what literary men call its simplicity. As I nodded my head, being completely astonished at never having thought about such evident things, Andreas continued : The angel saluted her. It was politeness. Do you know what politeness is, or rather, what it should be? It is, I answered laughingly, to ask, with feigned sympathy for news about the health of a bore. Or, .said Andreas seriously, if someone bores you and you do not like him, then your politeness is a lie : it comes from darkness and produces darkness. It is not an enormous business, of course, but how can we undertake great things, if we cannot do the small ones? The salutation of Gabriel is thus animated with sincere feeling. What are the qualities of angels? Obedience and innocence! Without these they would not be angels at all. If Gabriel saluted her, it was because he recognized in that woman, purity and obedience greater than he himself possessed. And, truly, the spirit of Mary, when it came into the world, was pure and she kept herself pure during the whole of her lifetime. Then you do recognize the immaculate conception? Look Doctor! If a sick woman has a child, will it be healthy? If the character, temperament, mentality and, briefly, the whole human nature of Christ were perfect, could the one, who was the laboratory of that diamond, be perverted, even in the slightest degree? And what meaning do the words full of Grace have? They surely dont concern physical beauty alone? Why not dear Doctor? The holy Virgin was very beautiful but not in the way in which people, except for a few rare artists, understand that word. The intensity of her inner life modelled her face; it was extremely mobile and because, in every action, she did everything wholeheartedly, her face expressed the ideal type of whatever faculty she was using. I am not sure whether or not I have spoken in an understandable way. Oh yes! For it seems to me that when, for example, she prayed, for an artist, she must have been the living incarnation of Prayer; when she gave alms, it was Charity itself, and so on. That is just what I wanted to say, dear Doctor. But there is another thing. What the Church calls Grace is the power which Heaven sends to us gratuitously, even when we believe we merit it by our good deeds. To you, Doctor, grace is an operation by which Heaven replaces a sick cell in us whether physical, mental, or astral, no matter which kind it may be, with a pure cell, which comes from its Treasure, But, in the case of the Virgin, all visible and invisible organisms had already been renewed ; all that remained, if it is possible to say so, was the web of Natures work. It seems to me, I said, that there was something like this said by Henricus Madathanus. That is possible Doctor, for the first Rosicrucians loved the Virgin, even though they were Protestants. And also, I said, wouldnt there be something in common between the grace she received and the nine choirs of Angels? Actually, from the Catholic point of view there is. St. Bonaventure spoke about it. But, I am repeating it to you again. It is only a detail, but it is still too difficult for us. But you didnt tell me anything about the name of Mary? Oh, Doctor, you know as well as I do about all those mystico- Hebrew glosses, to which that name has given birth. I dont want you to lose your time. Believe me, we will review it some centuries later. If only Providence will grant me the favour of finding you again, I replied. Ah yes! he exclaimed with a charming laugh. That would be a nice favour! Let us speak about it ! You shouldnt have such ideas, Doctor! Oh ! cried Stella gently with a tone of reproach in her voice, why do you say such a thing? You will make him suffer! But he, rising, embraced her with one of his arms. Well, Doctor, he said to me gravely, because you want so strongly to accompany me, I promise you, that I will ask Heaven to give to you, no, rather to both of us, the force to fulfill Its will forever. That is the surest means of which I know, in order to remain together, and forever. I too rose, and it seemed that a lighter air filled the room; a perfume of spring invaded my being. I was not thinking anymore and I relaxed as if in a bath of rejuvenating light. It was not the first time that similar feelings, which were always sudden, had rushed into me. Their purity, their force by far surpassed everything I had ever imagined after reading accounts of ecstasies. And I was not merely tasting these inexpressible effects of their charm. Always, after having experienced one of these very brief moments of paradise, I noticed that, without the slightest effort on my part, I acquired a kind of prestige, I exercised an indefinable attraction for other people. When my sick patients left me, they said that they experienced a noticeable improvement, a relief which was moral as well as physical, the cause of which neither they nor myself could ever explain. After a few moments, Andreas started to smoke again and continued his discourse, The blessing, which Gabriel gave to Mary, was specially chosen for her. She was the first creature in which was accomplished the mystery the Church calls Christs birth inside us. She is the perfect type of an obedient being, humble and loving. Actually, woman, or better still, the whole of the female side of the Universe, lives more conformably under the Law than the male counterpart. And the life of the Virgin was fully conformable, in every way to that Law. So, properly speaking, it is not to the imitation of Jesus Christ to which we should devote ourselves, for the model is an almost too perfect one, but, to His Mother. I opened my mouth to ask about the reasons for such an exceptional elevation, but Andreas anticipated me. After all, he said, dont conceal from yourself that everything I have said to you is only an approximation. The Christ and the Virgin are mysteries. Their figures surpass our intelligence. Their secret is like creation itself; we cannot know it without knowing the cause of Life. Perhaps some day the Logos will unveil Itself; but we will never be worthy of such a favour, and if we receive it, it will always be a gratuitous Grace for us. Thus, the blessing of Jesus, which Elizabeth celebrated, is just the recognition and love from those whom He saves. It is all very simple, Doctor! And yet only a few think about even such a simple thing. Pious people, or those so-called, know very well how to ask when they have need of something, but they almost always forget to thank. We should not do so because Heaven takes offence at our impoliteness, because our gratitude, no matter how insignificant, is pleasant in its eyes, and sets a good example for the beings which it is our mission to educate. What about the third part of the Ave Mania, I said. It seems quite clear to me. The holiness of the Virgin is deduced from the titles given to her by the Angel Gabriel. However, is the role of interceder, as ascribed to her, a real one? Yes, dear Doctor! You know that everything that happens on this earth leaves a trace. The Virgin lived here, the elements of her body came from physical matter, and the luminous trail produced by her departure can be more easily found by us than, for example, the wake of her Son, whose physical body was foreign to our planet. A Druidic triad says something analogous about the body of the Logos. It is a distant intuition, replied Andreas, but let us talk about it another time. Yes, I answered, it really is pretty late. But one last question before I leave. Why is the Third Order added to Pray fair us poor sinners, which is Now and at the hour of our death? You dont know your true self, dear Doctor. The actual field of our consciousness is a very narrow one, it doesnt embrace more than a little corner of our being. Thus, when we pray, our body participates in our action; the spirit of its material cells—if I may say so—emerges and seeks the light, like a dog, asking for work, like a somnambulist seeking a lost object. Our spirit will more quickly find a trace of light, which has been emanated at some previous time from a physical body, similar to our own. Thus the prayer of the Virgin is more easily heard. But, at the hour of our death? queried Stella. Well, you know that after death there is an individual judgment. At this tribunal justice is represented by the geniuses which had the mission of watching over, helping and guiding us. If we took advantage of their good offices, they say so. But Heaven always interferes so as to mitigate our errors, and to excuse our negligences. Thus, the Heavenly form, the ray of the Absolute closest to our earth is the Virgin. That is why religion presents her to us as helpful for those who are suffering. I thanked my host and hostess and took leave, for the noise of the milk carts, descending from Montfermeil to Paris announced the approaching dawn. And so I returned home, walking slowly, under the ash-coloured dawn, through the streets gleaming with rain, in which moved the vague silhouettes of the sweepers. **************************************************************** Excerpts from Chapter XXXVI ‘The Ave Maria’ of ‘Initations’ by Paul Sedir, translated from the French by Mouni Sadhu and published by Regency Press, London 1967. As far as I can make out the original French edition of ‘Initiations’ by Paul Sedir was first published in 1922.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 13:50:39 +0000
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