"Know to what extent the Creator has honoured you above all the rest of creation. The sky is not an image of God, nor is the moon, nor the sun, nor the beauty of the stars, nor anything of what can be seen in creation. You alone have been made in the image of the Reality that transcends all understanding, the likeness of imperishable beauty, the imprint of true divinity, the recipient of beatitude, the seal of true light. When you turn to him you become that which is himself...
There is nothing so great among beings that it can be compared with your greatness. God is able to measure the whole heaven with his span. The earth and the sea are enclosed in the hollow of his hand. And although he is so great and holds all creation in the palm of his hand, you are able to hold him, he dwells in you and moves within you without constraint, for he has said "I will live and move among them' (1st Corinthians 6:16)."
- Gregory of Nyissa, Second Homily on the Song of Songs, as quoted in The Roots of Christian Mysticism (Olivier Clement)
very nice
ReplyDeletePP, I have really appreciated the book. It has given me a great deal to think about concerning how the Early Church Fathers (and Mothers) saw their relationship to God and the mystical versus how we have come to see it.
DeleteExcellent quote . . . .
ReplyDeleteJohn, I love this book. It gives a very different flavor to much of early Christianity, and how it has been passed down to us.
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