at some peculiar kind of other-worldliness, a rejection of ordinary experience. It begins in the humble recognition that human things can be very holy, full of God.”
All these are great sayings and are eminently practical.
(3) That last quotation leads up to another fact very encouraging to us ordinary people, and that is the capability of all of us to live the spiritual life.
“After all, the shepherds got there long before the Magi; and even so, the animals were already in position when the shepherds arrived.”
“The essence of the story of the Magi is that it is no use to be too clever about life. Only in so far as we find God in it, do we find any meaning in it.”
And more than that.
“The child who began by receiving those unexpected pilgrims had a woman of the streets for His most faithful friend, and two thieves for His comrades at the last.”
“The third-rate little town in the hills, with its limited social contacts and monotonous manual work, reproves us when we begin to fuss about our opportunities and our scope.”
(4) But passing over for lack of space the fine chapters on the Cross and the Church—what will stay by me in this book is the description of the Star-life possible to us here and which will continue in the after life.
“We have been shown the sky of stars, enchanting and overwhelming us: and now we realize that we are living the star-life too.”
“We recognize God’s ceaseless pressure on and in our spirits, His generous and secret self-giving on which we depend so entirely.”
And this life, which is Eternal Life, cannot, it is clear, be ended by Death.
“I expect the life of the age that is drawing near,” and therefore we end in our Creed on a “note of inexhaustible possibility and hope.”
“God is the Lord, through whom we escape death.”
“It is true that we cannot conceive all that it means and all that it costs to stand in that world of purity and wonder from which the saints speak to us . . . but because we believe in One God, the Eternal Perfect . . . so we believe in that world prepared for all who love Him; where He shall be All, in all.”
May this noble book stimulate us all to a nobler life!
A. F. LONDON.
PREFACE
In this little book, which is based upon the principal articles of the Nicene Creed, I have tried to suggest to the modern Christian how close the connection is between the great doctrines of his religion and that “inner life” which is too often regarded as a more spiritual alternative to orthodoxy: how rich and splendid is the Christian account of reality, and how much food it has to offer to the contemplative soul. We sometimes forget that, with hardly an exception, the greatest masters of the spiritual life speak to us from within the Church; accept its teachings, and are supported by its practices. They tell us, because of their own vivid sense of God, what full life within that Church really means and can be; they do not invite us to contract out of it. Their chief gift to us, their average brothers and sisters, does not consist in the production of striking spiritual novelties, but rather in the penetrating light which they cast on the familiar truths of religion; showing us that these truths are many-levelled, and will only yield up their unspeakable richness and beauty to those who take the trouble to dig below the surface, and seek for the Treasure which is still hidden in the field. If these chapters encourage others to explore their resources, and do a little quiet home digging for themselves—instead of relying upon foreign imports, doubtfully labelled “Higher Wisdom,” “Eastern Mysticism,” and the rest—their main purpose will have been achieved.
The first part of the book deals with the ruling fact of religion, the Reality and Nature of God; the second with the way that Reality and Nature are revealed within human life, and we lay hold of them; the third, with the kind of life they demand from us, and make possible. These are truths common to all Christians, whatever their “theological colour” may be; and moreover they are the truths which lie at the root of all valid Christian action, and give its special colour to the Christian outlook on the world. So, if it be thought that these meditations dwell too exclusively on the inner life and have no obvious practical bearing on the social and moral problems which beset us, let us remember that such a retreat to the spiritual is the best of all preparations for dealing rightly with the actual. For our real hope of solving these problems abides in bringing them into relation with the eternal truth of God; placing them within the radiance of Charity.
E.U.
Feast of St. Mary Magdalen,
1933.
CHAPTER I
I BELIEVE
God is love, and he that abideth in love abideth in God and God abideth in him . . . we love because he first loved.—St. John.
We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavouring to know God, for beholding His greatness, we realize our littleness. His purity shows our foulness, and by meditating on His humility we find how very far we are from being humble.—St. Teresa.
Everyone who is engaged on a great undertaking, depending on many factors for its success, knows how important it is to have a periodical stocktaking. Whether we are responsible for a business, an institution, a voyage, or an exploration—even for the well-being of a household—it is sometimes essential to call a halt; examine our stores and our equipment, be sure that all necessaries are there and in good order, and that we understand the way in which they should be used. It is no good to have tins without tin openers, bottles of which the contents have evaporated, labels written in an unknown language, or mysterious packages of which we do not know the use. Now the living-out of the spiritual life, the inner life of the Christian—the secret correspondence of his soul with God—is from one point of view a great business. It was well called “the business of all businesses” by St. Bernard; for it is no mere addition to Christianity, but its very essence, the source of its vitality and power. From another point of view it is a great journey; a bit-by-bit progress, over roads that are often difficult and in weather that is sometimes pretty bad, from “this world to that which is to come.” Whichever way we look at it, an intelligent and respectful attitude to our equipment—seeing that it is all there, accessible and in good condition, and making sure that we know the real use of each item—is essential to success. It is only too easy to be deluded by the modern craving for pace and immediate results, and press on without pausing to examine the quality and character of our supplies, or being sure that we know where we are going and possess the necessary maps. But this means all the disabling miseries of the unmarked route and unbalanced diet; and at last, perhaps, complete loss of bearings and consequent starvation of the soul.
Karl Barth has told us, that on becoming a Calvinist minister, he paused to examine his own spiritual stock in trade; and found to his horror that it was useless to him. He seemed to have nothing to feed on, nothing to depend on, nothing to give. It looked imposing ; but much of the food was stale and unnourishing, some of the tins seemed empty, and some were so tightly sealed that he could not reach their contents. He was the child and servant of that Infinite God, whose every word nourishes the souls of men. But he was receiving nothing from Him: the real contents of the stores
