“This becomes still more clear when in the commentary on the Spiritual Canticle we see, placed over against each other, the hiding of the Bridegroom in the Bosom of His Father and His discovery by the Bride, when He sleeps in her own lap by virtue of her overshadowing. “Beloved,” the bride cries to her loved one, “Beloved, where dost Thou hide Thyself?” “O Bride,” says St. John of the Cross, “Your Bridegroom is the treasure hid in the field of your own soul, a treasure for the obtaining of which the wise merchant gave all his possessions.
It is reasonable to renounce all your private interests if you receive this treasure; to withdraw from all created things and to hide, secret, yourself in the innermost hiding place of your soul. There you will shut the door, that is, withdraw your will from all created things and pray to your Father in secret. Thus hidden with your Bridegroom you will feel His presence in secret, enjoy and caress Him in secret and rejoice with Him in being secret, i.e., beyond everything the senses can reach and tongue can express. Now then, lovely soul, now you know that the lover you seek is hidden in your soul; be diligent to remain in secret with Him and you will feel Him and embrace Him with the most tender love. It arouses no surprise that St. John, where he speaks of the bounties of God – He dispenses thousands, he says – should lay particular stress on the Incarnation of God. That is the ground, there shines the ideal of our mystic union with God. And our example, nay our Mother, in this is Mary.”
St. Titus Brandsma
What do you think of this quote? Write it on the comment section.
📸 Roberta Sorge | Unsplash
