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BOOK REVIEW
The Spiritual Guide, by Miguel de Molinos, ed. Trevor Boiling, The Lutterworth Press, 2006,
144 pages; ISBN: 0-7188-3054-7
Reviewed by John K Kotsonis, Ph.D (Physics), Ph.D Candidate (Patristics), St. Elias School of Orthodox Theology
This very interesting book was written by a Roman Catholic
priest and published in Rome in 1675. Ten years later, the author, Fr Miguel de
Molinos, was condemned for heresy by the Inquisition on the basis of this book
and died in prison nine years after that.
“Guida
Spirituale” has been translated in English, German, and Dutch, and has enjoyed
considerable popularity in Protestant circles. The present translation was part
of Dr Boiling’s doctoral work at Birmingham University.
Review
After a
detailed introduction by Dr Boiling, the book contains:
A message to the reader;
Introduction (by the author) in 4 parts;
First Book in 17 chapters, containing 136 numbered
statements;
Second Book in 18 chapters, containing 134 statements;
Third Book in 22 chapters, containing 209 statements.
This simple hierarchical structure from Books to Chapters to
Statements makes this work relatively easy to follow. That being the case,
there is a certain amount of conceptual repetition throughout this work, often
to look at the same issue from different angles. What’s more, the author does
not appear to be a very exact of systematic theologian, but rather an
enthusiastic preacher whose goal is to convert people to his ideas and
practical religious perspective. Therefore, we occasionally see statements that
appear to be making conflicting points about the same theological issue. So,
the reader may often wonder what exactly Fr Molinos believed on central
Christian topics, which probably made this work suspect in the eyes of the
Roman Catholic heresiologists.
As an
aside, considering the last point made above, it is understandable that the
message of this work is paralleled in the introduction to that of Eastern
religions and meditative practices. This review, however, is done from a
strictly Orthodox Christian perspective, with equal emphasis on Christian Doctrine
and Holy Tradition, to the extent possible. Since the heart of Fr Molinos’ work
was the practice of prayer and desired direct contact with God (essentially a
mystical angle) the bulk of this review looks at those elements primarily.
The Introduction
(by Dr Boiling) gives us some historical background. Here it becomes clear that
the translator disagrees with the court’s verdict, e.g., in sentences like
“There is very little that is exceptionable in the ‘Spiritual Guide’ for it is
simply a short and very readable presentation of traditional mystical
teaching…” Examples of other Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) authors who
preceded Fr Molinos and purportedly agreed with his teachings, e.g., St Teresa
of Avila, St John of the Cross, Richard of St Victor, et al, are listed.
However, as stated above, this review is focused on this work exclusively - not
on those other authors, as important as they may be.
From the structure and content of
this book, it is clear that Fr Molinos liked making simple lists and looking at
key issues from two (sometimes more) perspectives. In that vein, he offers a
definition of two types of prayer: the “discursive meditation” and the
“interior or silent contemplation.” The mode of the former is mentally active
and of the latter much more passive. On the basis of that distinction, Dr
Boiling refers to the Buddhist Vipassana meditation as a parallel
mental/spiritual practice “which has clear affinities with Fr Molinos’
‘acquired contemplation’ described in the first book of the Spiritual Guide.”
In the paragraph that follows, we are presented with a mental practice or
attitude that has very little to do with Orthodox Christian prayer (which is a
deliberate communication with a Divine Person like Jesus Christ.) It is
important to state here that the Fathers of the Church never equated mental
silence with prayer. Of course, it is also true that as our prayer advances,
pulling our life in the right direction at the same time, the mind quiets down
and ego-driven thought-chatter diminishes, all the way to zero. However, this
takes place as a result of our heart-felt prayer, and not as a precursor
to, or replacement of, it.
In studying
this work, we can see that Fr Molinos believed that the more passive quiet
contemplation comes after experience in more active, discursive modes of
prayer. However, his language is never clear or definitive enough (especially
in comparing and contrasting his statements in different chapters) to prove
that he is talking about Christian prayer. Therefore, strong similarities of
his teachings with beliefs and practices of Eastern religions persist
throughout this work and the reader is never convinced that Fr Molinos really
believed in a personal God instead of and abstract “Godhood” state which is
claimed to be attainable through such Eastern meditative practices. So, here we
also read about the teachings of the Buddhist philosopher Nishida Kitaro whose
concept of “absolute nothingness… accords equal status to the universal and the
individual, just as all orthodox mystics do, Molinos included…” If by
universal/individual Kitaro means God/human, this is plain wrong: Orthodox
Christianity believes firmly that we, humans, are creatures, created by God,
and are never nowhere near “equal” to Him, even in the state of theosis where
we unite with Him (i.e., with His energies, never with His essence.)
Dr Boiling
continues: “Now the function of Buddhist yoga – just as it is of Molinos’
prayer – is to still the discursive and discriminative functions of the mind to
allow it to return to potentiality, so that the world may be perceived once
more in all its ‘suchness,’ or ‘nothingness.’ In this state we are aware again
of the joyous and spontaneous play of the Void.” In contrast to this
understanding, Orthodox Fathers taught the Heart (or Jesus) Prayer, where one
introduces a brief sentence that has been specifically designed for this
purpose (e.g., Lord Jesus Christ, Son Of God, have mercy on me a sinner) that
addresses and supplicates God on a personal level. After considerable practice,
certain mental and psychological effects follow, like the gradual diminution of
ego-driven thoughts. At an advanced stage, the Holy Spirit takes over and (from
a human perspective) prays silently for us. Some differences between such Orthodox
Heart Prayer and what was described above, include God (as a Divine Person)
being actively and in humility supplicated to help us; that the mental clutter
recedes and eventually disappears as a result (not a pre-requisite) of such
devotion, etc.
Given the
emphasis that Orthodox Christianity places on our need to live within the
Church, and on a balanced approach to the corresponding triad of (a) right
action, (b) participation in the Sacraments, and (c) prayer (including the
Heart Prayer), the following statement by Fr Molinos (quoted in the
Introduction) has to be regarded as totally foreign: “…the most immediate way
to be united to the Highest Good, to your primordial origin and supreme peace,
is the Void. Endeavour always to be immersed in this Void of your nothingness,
for it’s God’s way of working miracles in your soul. Clothe yourself in this
Void and strive for it to be your constant support and dwelling place, until
you lose yourself in it, and I assure you that if you’re always in the Void, then
God will be fully in your soul.” Juxtaposed to a yogi who tries to empty his
mind to enter the “Void”, the Orthodox Christian model is like the blind beggar
Bartimaeus who was calling out in desperation “Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me.” We don’t act to empty our mind by stopping
thoughts through mental effort (which would be impossible, anyway.) Instead, we
focus on a prayer to God, a personal supplication that He save us, and He
gradually frees us from the uncontrollable torrent of ego-driven thoughts and
their detrimental effects. We don’t focus on nothingness or “the Void,” but on
the Divine Person of God, Who then manifests clearly in our heart, mind and
life overall.
In the first part of this work, “To the Reader,”
Fr Molinos states that his writings are consistent with the Gospel and the
teachings of the (Roman Catholic) Church, quoting several saints who “endorse,
propound and teach as experts the doctrine of this book.”
Fr Molinos asserts here that this book has been purposefully written in a
simple style in order to make its practical message accessible to the common
people. In addition, he encourages his readers to not only read and think about
his teachings, but also experience his topic, i.e., religious contemplation,
for themselves, first hand.
In the Introduction the author starts
by summarizing the essence of this work: “(1) There are two ways to approach
God, one by reasoning and discursive thinking, the other through pure faith,
indistinct, general and intuitive awareness. The first is called meditation;
the second interior recollection or acquired contemplation. The first is the
way of beginners, the second of proficients. The first is based on information
from the senses, the second is detached, pure and interior.” This statement
sets the tone of the whole work: the author uses strong language with some
propensity to exaggerate. For example, when he says, “There are two ways to
approach God” he focuses exclusively on the third component of the triad
mentioned above, i.e., prayer and prayer-like activities, and neglects the
other two that are also believed to be very important.
Another interesting statement here is: “(7) We think more
highly of God knowing that he is beyond our comprehension, and that he
transcends all understanding, than we do by conceiving him according to some
image or thing of beauty, which is to understand him in our crude manner... And
so greater love and esteem for God flow from this indistinct, obscure and
negative method of cognition than any other method that is precise and based on
the senses as the former is more proximate to God and abstracted from all
particularities.” Clearly, Fr Molinos understood the apophatic approach of the
Fathers, a very useful tool for a Christian mystical writer.
In describing contemplation, Fr Molinos states: “(18) There
are two ways of contemplation, one imperfect, active and acquired, the other
infused and passive. The active way (which we have been speaking about until
now) is the one we can attain by our own efforts, assisted by divine grace. It
consists in withdrawing the faculties and senses and in preparing ourselves for
whatever God sends us…” He then discusses what he calls “infused and passive
contemplation”: “(26) The other contemplation is perfect and infused, and is
described in the following way by St Teresa: ‘God speaks to us and suspends our
understanding, interrupting our thoughts and robbing us of the power of speech
so that although we want to speak, we can’t, except with great difficulty.
We’re aware that the heavenly teacher, without recourse to words, is
instructing us by suspending our faculties, for if we use them we would do
ourselves more harm than good. We’re now in the state of bliss without knowing
why. We burn with love with no idea how we love and although we delight in what
we love we don’t know the origin of this joy. We understand well enough that
this bliss is not what the mind can come to desire. Yet the will embraces this
delight, without knowing how. And although we’re incapable of understanding
anything, yet we perceive that this bliss cannot be earned by any kind of
effort whatsoever. It is a gift of the Lord of heaven and earth, who in short
gives by his own power, to whom he pleases, and as he pleases. It is God alone
who does it all, for his activity transcends our own nature.’” These words
could easily have come from an Orthodox theologian as well, provided that the
person who has these experiences lives within the precepts of the Church, as St
Teresa did.
In the First Book Fr Molinos starts by
stating his main topic and offering a high-level solution: “(4) Your main
effort and concern must be to pacify … your heart, in order that the supreme
king may rest in it, and the way to stay calm is to enter within yourself by
means of interior recollection. Interior prayer and loving recollection in the
presence of God are your complete protection… (5) You must seek within
yourself, by means of interior prayer, and with his divine grace, silence in
turmoil, solitude in the crowd, light in the darkness, indifference in abuse,
courage in faintheartedness, strength in fear, resistance in provocation, peace
in war and calm in anxiety.” These words again are in good keeping with
Orthodox belief, although we are not given details on what kind of prayer helps
us gain and safeguard our interior peace. What he does state later on is: “(8)
Rest assured then, that you mustn’t turn back when you can’t think discursively
in prayer as this is … an obvious sign that God wants you to journey in faith
and silence with him, and to follow a path that’s most advantageous and easiest
for you.”
He draws from other related work, like: “(17) Most saints
and experts on mysticism think that you can’t attain perfection and union with
God through meditation and discursive thought alone, as these are useful when
commencing the spiritual way (and until such time as you acquire the habit of
self-knowledge,)… (18) The many people who engage all their lives solely in
meditation are surely to be pitied when they force themselves to reason even
though God deprives them of discursive thought in order to carry them onto
another state and more perfect prayer…. They rack their brains with the reading
of detailed points, speculative thought, and tortuous reasoning, constantly
seeking God on the outside when he is within themselves.” Here Fr Molinos is
continuing to build up the difference between discursive thought and quiet
contemplation, but he hasn’t yet explained clearly how one acts or not to
acquire quiet contemplation or stillness of thought. The only method that he is
implying is an attempt to silence thought through sheer willpower, with the
hope that God will then fill the empty mind with His presence.
Here is a summary of that last position: “(22) St
Bonaventure teaches us not to think of anything, not even God, because it’s an
imperfection to form images and ideas in our mind however ingenious they may
be, whether they concern the will, goodness, the Trinity or Unity, or the
divine essence itself, as all these images and ideas, even though they may
appear God-like, they are not in themselves God, who allows no images of
himself or any representation whatsoever… (24) Clearly it’s very distressing…
to journey only with holy faith along the dark deserted road to perfection. However,
it has to be said that you can attain it only by this safe but difficult route…
Believe with courage, be quietly silent and persevere with patience, if you
wish to be happy and attain divine union, consummate quiet and supreme interior
peace.” In quoting this passage, Fr Molinos is clear that the faithful needs to
impose silence of thought in order to gain theosis. As opposed to an Orthodox
view that a simple brief prayer to our personal Savior is focused on and
mentally repeated effortlessly from the depths of our heart, with fervor,
patience, humility, contrition, and without paying attention to distractions;
that, with the grace of God, this prayer gradually establishes itself in our
heart and quiets the mind by replacing unnecessary and ego-driven mind-chatter;
that even this simple prayer slowly recedes and gives way to joyful silence as
the Holy Spirit fills our mind and heart and takes over our praying in His own
way.
In other words, for the Orthodox, divinely inspired and supported silence of
the mind is the result (not the pre-requisite) of unceasing prayer to God, as
the faithful lives within the Church, i.e., by combining unceasing prayer with
right action and the Holy Sacraments.
In Chapter 4, the author lists and discusses difficulties
that one encounters during the long-term practice of a comprehensive prayer
regimen, e.g., “(25) There are two kinds of prayer: the one, tender, pleasant,
loving and full of feeling and emotion; the other, obscure, arid, full of
temptation and darkness. The first is for beginners; the second for proficients
and those on the way to perfection. God gives the first to win us over; the
second to purify us. With the first he treats us like children and weaklings;
with the second God begins to treat us like grown men.” In contrast, the
Orthodox tradition of the Heart Prayer teaches us that although difficulties
and disappointment happen along the way, a mystical sweetness gradually
establishes itself in the mind and heart of the faithful and grows all the way
to when the Holy Spirit takes over praying for us, and we find ourselves in
divine silence, perfectly fulfilled, united with God.
This chapter also contains a good list of stages that one
goes through as he/she matures in their prayer practice. Here, it doesn’t appear
that Fr Molinos’ heart was far from Orthodox tradition, as witnessed by the
last two paragraphs: “(135) How well the Venerable Gregorio Lopez, that most
profound of mystics, understood and practiced this act of pure love. His life
was one continual prayer, a continuous contemplation, and love for God, so pure
and spiritual that it never involved the affections and emotions of the senses.
(136) For the space of three years he uttered the prayer ‘Thy will be done in
time and eternity’, repeating it each time he breathed, until God revealed to
him the treasure of this pure, continual act of faith and love in silence and
resignation. Subsequently he himself said that for the thirty-six years he
lived afterwards he always continued in this pure love, never uttering his
former prayer again, or anything that derived from the senses…” This is superb.
However, in other places, he tends to de-emphasize key elements of Christian
prayer and frequently speaks in absolute terms, (e.g., there are two types of
this or that) which is dangerous.
The Second Book contains a good
exposition of the relationship with a spiritual guide, the risks of excessive
effort and the need for an all around spiritual discipline. Some of the points
made here include: (a) obedience to a spiritual director is necessary to avoid
the traps that we encounter along the spiritual journey; (b) Too much spiritual
fervor can hinder one’s progress; (c) Regular and frequent participation in the
Holy Eucharist is essential for our spiritual well being and advancement
towards theosis; (d) a reasonable degree of discipline applied to our interior
and exterior life is also very necessary for our gradual improvement; and (e)
the best thing to do when we fail is to start over again in faith and humility.
A more explicit suggestion to live within the Church and avail ourselves of the
sacraments, e.g., confession, would be good here, but, as stated before, other
than some mention of the Holy Eucharist, this work does not refer to the need
for a comprehensive Christian life very often.
The Third Book (final part of this
work) discusses further and summarizes points made in the first two parts,
especially on “infused and passive contemplation”, humility, wisdom and
interior peace. Again here Fr Molinos opens the discussion with one of his
characteristic statements: “(1) There are two kinds of spiritual persons: those
who are interior, and those who are exterior…” neglecting to acknowledge that
most people combine both tendencies to various degrees and some reach theosis
by allowing God to help them integrate successfully such diverse elements in
their life.
Also, here we find unexpected statements, like:
“(70)…Tribulation is the great treasure with which God honors those who follow
Him in this life. For this reason wicked people are necessary to those who are
good, as too is the devil who so troubles us by seeking our ruination, but who
actually does us the greatest service imaginable. To be of any value to God
human life and suffering must be inseparable, just as the body and the soul
are, or the soul and grace, and the earth and the sun…” What a surprising
statement! Where did it come from? Clearly, I don’t think it is even remotely
connected to Orthodox Christian teachings.
Later on he writes: “(74) The seekers after perfection
become great only through fire, distress, grief, torment, afflictions, and self
abasement willingly accepted.” The Orthodox, however, believe that although
martyrdom is occasionally required of us, we “become great” i.e., reach
theosis, through humility, repentance, and, primarily, love, in the context of
Christian living within the Church and unceasing prayer to our Creator and
personal Savior.
On the other hand, one of his better statements here is:
“(169) It is self-evident that divine wisdom produces humility and the
knowledge acquired by the learned leads merely to pride.” Excellent point!
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