Loving A Hidden God
THE COUNSEL OF MERCY
Realizing that our weak sight cannot bear the brightness of the light of God that we are beginning to see in the distance, we come to the fifth stage of our journey at which we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit called The Counsel of Mercy. (Matthew, 5.7) Previously our concern was to cleanse our restless spirit from its passion for the earthy and to wipe away the grime that such passion accumulates. Now we begin diligently to turn ourselves towards developing perfect love for our neighbor.
On Christian Doctrine, 2.11.
The gift of the Holy Ghost that Augustine calls The Counsel of Mercy moves us beyond our concentration on ourselves to a love for others. Now convinced of our own need for mercy from God, we are told:
Forgive and you shall be forgiven;
give and it shall be given to you.
Luke, 6.37-38
This is an important step in our efforts to finally come to love and vision of the hidden God. As Augustine warns us:
Unless we take counsel within ourselves so that we can exercise perfect mercy towards others, God will not guide us towards our goal not will he grant us full, face-to-face vision of himself.
Commentary on Psalm 12, 2.
This gift of the Holy Ghost called "Counsel", supports our first effort to reach beyond ourselves and it makes good sense that it should begin with those we can see and hear and touch, other humans that share our journey. It is also appropriate that the first objects of our love should be those closest to us, our families and friends. Through our fervent affection for them we can begin to see that true love is not simply an intellectual exercise. It is a passion of the whole person that can be satisfied only by union with the beloved.
Augustine in Letter 171A to Maximus says that such love for human beings at very least means that we forgive them and do not seek revenge for past hurts. It also means that we have compassion for them in their troubles, helping them as far as we can and calling upon God for the help that is beyond our capacity to give. It is only through such forgiveness and compassion we can be identified with the merciful called "Blessed" in the Beatitudes. (Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, 11.4.1)
Such altruistic love for others has the effect of purifying us. When we turn to others in love we overcome our tendency towards narcissistic selfishness. In reaching out to others in love we begin to free ourselves from ourselves and create a space in our lives for others to enter in. Thereby, we create one conditions for a perfect love of the God who is as yet still unseen.
If we so perfect our love that we are able to forgive and have compassion even
for our enemies, then we are ready to move on to the sixth stage of our journey: final
purification. (On Christian Doctrine 2.7.11) But before we can take that dramatic
step, we must first have an honest and realistic perception of what love is, its
difficulties, obstacles, joy and sorrows. This is the goal of the reflections that follow.