Pilgrim of the Absolute

Leon Bloy
Pilgrim of the Absolute
(also literary criticism titled “Wrestlers of Christ” by Karl Pfleger)

“The word excess – when it comes to the love one must bear God- it seems unintelligible to me.”

“There is but one sadness, and that is for us not to be saint.”
-Bloy

For Bloy, the ambition of being a saint let to nothing but sadness. This mystic of 19th Century Paris led a life of poverty, suffering, and infamy. His literary genius garnered recognition, but proved an ineffective means of providing for his family, especially as his pen increasing let fly scathing criticisms of the lukewarm consumerist culture of his age. His friends described him as “a Job in the dung heap of modern culture.” The deeper his rebuke of cultural excess, the deeper his isolation and poverty. For goodness and right, Bloy knew no measure. To survive he begged on the streets, begged from associated, and maintained a routine of devout Catholicism. By the time of his death, he’d written 30 books, and lost two children to malnutrition, the fruit of his poverty.

To snag a lyric from Ryan Adams, himself a modern self-martyr, “Is it possible to love someone too much? You bet.” St. Augustine spoke of exceeding the measure of one’s condition as the essence of disorder. Living in the “Absolute” is not for us to do. We are relative, while God alone is absolute. Bloy’s life provides a haunting display of a man ripe with sincerity and authenticity, yet out of order. Like Nietzsche, or other brazen arsonists of their own souls, Bloy’s suffering fire must be quenched by the tears of readers. My tears have been shed, and thanks to the love of my compassionate wife, the spell Bloy cast over my heart has been broken. The tragedy of his pursuit of absolutes only becomes clear when I turn by face back to The Absolute, and give thanks for all that I have been given.

The Interior Castle

by St. Teresa of Avila

"Personally, I would always choose the path of suffering."

"You should never consider yourself to be so powerful that you act or even think about acting without consulting a wise and cautious guide whose primary purpose is to serve God."

"It is lov'es nature to reveal itself through service in a thousand ways."

"Let's eagerly endure everything that comes to us."

The Seven Storey Mountain

by Thomas Merton

"The truth is, in any kind of a religious Order there is not only the possibility but even in some sense the obligation of leading, at least to some extent, the highest of all lives - contemplation, and the sharing of it's fruits with others."

"So Brother Matthew locked the gate behind me and I was enclosed in the four walls of my new freedom."

Prayer

by Frank C. Laubach

What if you programmed your cellphone to ring every hour as a reminder to pray? What if your outlook program popped up "Pray" three times a day instead of work related tasks? What if you used time standing in lines to pray for the person in front of you?

Frank Laubach would ask these questions. He would not have forgotten WWII, the atomic bomb, and a world teetering on the verge of annihilation. He would not have laughed mockingly at those who carved out a moment to bow their head. He would not satirically show prayer as a way to catch up on your sleep. He would remind us of the urgency of God's kingdom. He would shout, "PRAYER IS THE MIGHTIEST FORCE IN THE WORLD" and know that no science, no "progress", no philosophy could lead him to believe otherwise.

Flip the script. Instead of harboring pride for how many minutes a day we do pray, why not bow down and ask God for strength - strength to fill the minutes we missed with prayer. Don't pray at all? Fine, start. Laubach cuts through the clutter of limits to prayer. Do we have to have our eyes closed to pray? Or course not. In fact, any limit we place on prayer takes us further from the truth, not closer. Pray with eyes wide open, standing up in a nightclub - as long as you don't deny yourself ANY desire to pray.

Is it easy? Well, you're not doing it because it's easy. You're doing it because it's impossible, and with God, you expect the impossible. Jesus spoke of moving mountains. Let us not cut ourselves short. Let us not rest on our laurels. Laubach says we must earn this connection to God, the same way Jesus did. We earn it by "perfect obedience, the kind Jesus gave His Father every minute and every second."

Let's start with a second, forgive ourselves when we fail, and pick up where we left off - seeking to give ourselves in obedience to God.

"The Great Omission" by Dallas Willard

“If we can not afford to be generous, we possess little.”
D. Willard

Until we learn that little acts of generosity are all we are capable of making, we will be trapped in fearful theory. Our expectations and grandiose dreams will paralyze our good intentions. Just as a rich man’s journey begins through the eye of a needle, each believer must come to see God is his full glory before recognizing his own frail abilities. There is great humility in simple beginnings, as we each stay bowed to God in order to make spiritual gains. By making practical progress, we grow in our discipleship with Christ.
Disciple is the word used by Christ during his great commission. He seeks to make disciples of men. Christ seeks follower of his words and deeds. One who would brave to suffer the infamy of the cross to convey the message of God. George MacDonald says, “The Son of God suffered unto death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like his.” Disciples.
Willard uses the pages of this book to explain how Christianity apart from discipleship isn’t the way of Christ. He offers this paradox –the greatest deterrent to devotion to Christ is service for Christ. As Jesus himself was tempted by the devil with power over all the kingdoms of the earth, he replied with these words: “Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.” (Luke 4:8)
Love knows no limits. It seeks to give more than it is capable of giving. It reaches outside itself, summoning powers greater than itself to accomplish tasks we never knew were possible. How do we get there? Discipline. Obedience. Prayer. Dallas leans heavily on the words of Joshua 1:8, who pointed the way with these words:
“Don’t for a minute let this Book of the Revelation out of your mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night. Making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going.”
Goodnight Pilgrims. May your way be straight and your words be true.

Prayer

My first book review would be "Love in the Ruins", by Walker Percy, however I've not read the book, nor can I find it. It's buried within the confusing cleanliness brought about by my recent marriage. This is a good thing, once I get used to it. Books that once lay open on the couch suddenly hide themselves in dresser drawers or amidst the camouflage of spines on our bookshelf. It's like searching for Chiwawa poo along a rocky driveway in early morning light.

Instead, today's book is "Experiencing God through Prayer" by Madame Guyon. In conversation I had trouble recalling her first name, as one would if asked the first name of Mr. Rogers. Likewise, her writings permit the reader a glimpse at the veil, but not behind the curtain. Her writings on prayer do not focus on revealing herself, but rather on revealing the immediate availability of God to all. This is good news, my friends. The reader is not invited into details of M. Guyon's personal life. Instead, the reader is guided by M. Guyon's faith in the scripture message. She quotes Luke, saying, "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). This book is not intended for unbelievers, but for those struggling with against self-will and dry spells, this short read is filled with nuggets like these:


"Prayer is nothing more than turning our hearts toward God and receiving in turn his love."

"Great faith produces great abandonment"

"Every saint will differ in glory according to the perfection of that union with Him."

"No amount of self-effort will bring you into His presence"

"God is our center"