February 2004 Christian Spirituality      Continued from previous issue By George A Lane SJ

Continue from ...... THE IDEAL OF CONTEMPLATION As far as scholars have been able to determine, Pseudo-Dionysius lived around 600 AD. He was probably a hermit in the deserts of Syria. His contribution to the ideas of Evagrius consists of a refining of techniques. How was one to achieve the ideal of contemplation? The work of Pseudo-Dionysius was an attempt to transfer a "spiritual" ideal into a programme of mystical psychology. The negative method of theology is the key to the programme. This consists of looking at the things of this world, finding various perfections in them, and attributing these perfections to God. However, evil, sin, and any imperfection, is not of God. Pseudo-Dionysius transferred this method to the psychological realm so that in order to achieve mystical union with God in contemplation, one goes through a carefully calculated set of steps for gradually bringing the mind under control and emptying it of all its worldly contents. It is said that Dionysius is supposed known to the Apostles. His works enjoyed great popularity in the West; and he supplied a vocabulary which would later be used by such mystics as Meister Eckhart and John of the Cross. The Origenist school itself was very limited, but its influence has been immeasureable down through the centuries. In this spirituality all is to be sacrificed for prayer, that is, contemplation, which is the raising of the intelligence above and beyond all things to God. This is the highest of all human activities; to achieve this is to be perfect, for it makes man like the angels; it effects heaven on earth. It is clear, however, that this style of prayer is more strongly determined by the Alexandrian philosophical tradition than it is by Sacred Scripture. It is interesting to note, too, that this school of spirituality developed somewhat apart from the ordinary Christian community in the midst of a people who wanted to separate themselves from the Alexandrian Church in protest against it. There are many questions which arise: should men do what angels do? Should man on earth do what he will do in heaven? Or more fundamentally, is heaven totally different from earth, a kind of pure gazing? And will heaven be a purely intellectual exercise where our bodies (despite the orthodox doctrine of the resurrection of the body) have no place at all? It is perhaps not fair to pass judgement on this movement. At the same time it would be a serious mistake if we uncritically accepted some of these techniques and ideals of spirituality. We must ask ourselves where our notion of prayer comes from. Is it a bit Evagrian? Does it have to be de-Alexandrianized? While prayer itself remains an essential of the Christian life, the precise form it take in any culture must be suited to the mentality of that age and it must also conform to the principal of the Gospel.

- To Be Continued -