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October 21, 2024
“For the soul is made after the image and likeness of God, as divine Scripture also shows, when it says in the person of God Genesis 1:26: ‘Let us make man after our Image and likeness.’ Whence also when it gets rid of all the filth of sin which covers it and retains only the likeness of the Image in its purity, then surely this latter being thoroughly brightened, the soul beholds as in a mirror the Image of the Father, even the Word, and by His means reaches the idea of the Father, Whose Image the Saviour is. Or, if the soul’s own teaching is insufficient, by reason of the external things which cloud its intelligence, and prevent its seeing what is higher, yet it is further possible to attain to the knowledge of God from the things which are seen, since Creation, as though in written characters, declares in a loud voice, by its order and harmony, its own Lord and Creator.” -St. Athanasius (Against the Heathen, 34)
St. Athanasius was the great Church Father from the 3rd century who opposed Arianism. He was a staunch defender of Christian orthodoxy and the Patriarch of Alexandria. He was declared a Doctor of the Church. Here he compares the soul to a mirror, that once purified of sin, reflects and communicates with God Himself.
This is fascinating because St. Athanasius also suggests that the soul can be either brightened or clouded. When brightened, it beholds God the Father and the Word. When clouded, it cannot adequately access its divine intelligence and corresponding teaching. This corresponds well with the IFS notion of “blending” and “unblending.” When the inmost self (or nous) is darkened, or when the inmost self is unintentionally blended with a burdened part, it cannot access God’s grace, and it cannot adequately impart faith, hope, and love. But when it is purified, or brightened, when one is self-led, then the soul beholds God as if looking into a mirror. I assume here that the soul in this case more specifically refers to the inmost self which is sometimes called the “eye of the soul.” I have often equated the inmost self with the Greek term “nous” which connotes spiritual perception, the heart, as well as the intellect or mind.
The early Church Fathers and monastics would see the process of undarkening the soul as involving the removal of sin and the development of virtue.
“Having nothing to prevent him from knowing the Divine, his purity allowed him ceaselessly to contemplate the Father’s image, the Word of God.” -St. Athanasius (Against the Heathens, 2)
Here St. Athanasius explores the idea that we are to transcend the sensible world and all its corresponding vices to enter an awe-inspiring fellowship with God. This is done through the “power of his mind” as we “take pleasure in contemplating Him.” I would argue that this is near impossible to achieve when we have actively blended and burdened parts. It can only be experienced when we have internal integration. We cannot experience union with God, or with anyone, without some measure of this internal unity.
St. Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th century German mystic, Benedictine abbess and Doctor of the Church, describes angels as “mirrors of the divine light.” (Book of Divine Works 3.1.6) who reflect God’s light in their unending praise. When Lucifer and some of the other angels rebelled, it was because they wanted that mirror to reflect themselves rather than God. Created in His image, humans can also reflect the divine light as a mirror, but like the fallen angels we can turn it on ourselves rather than on Him. In uniting Himself to us, Christ shows us what it is to reflect the light of God’s love both in our hearts and to others.
In one of her visions, St. Hildegard hears God say, “I have composed humankind, who was rooted in me like a shadow.” (Divine Love 3.3.2). Because of the Incarnation, and through Christ, we can now see ourselves with clarity. Our humility overcomes Lucifer’s pride, and we allow ourselves to be mirrors of His great love. It is in this sacred and illuminated internal space of calm and clarity, that we know right from wrong, that we know our true calling, that we realize our worth, and that we experience inner peace and true joy.
In her autobiography, St. Hildegard says:
Some time later I saw an extraordinary mystical vision, at which all my inward parts trembled, and my body lost all capacity of feeling – for my knowing was changed into another mode in which as it were, I did not know myself. It was as if the inspiration of God were sprinkling drops of sweet rain into my soul’s knowing, the very same with which the Spirt instructed John the Evangelist when he drank in from the breast of Jesus the most profound of revelations. (Vita)
We are not likely to have profound visions like St. Hildegard, but we can sit in stillness connecting with our interior world and allowing God’s light to reflect in our soul as we receive grace and listen and watch for what He wants to reveal to us.
I invite you to a moment of recollection. This is a prayerful calling to mind of all your parts, becoming aware of the inmost self, our deep spiritual center, and opening of your heart to God’s presence.
As your parts rest in a kind of gentle internal quiet, notice your body relax, your shoulders drop, and your face soften. As your breathing both deepens and slows, you become more aware of that deep spiritual center, your inmost self. Notice how calm and restful that feels. Notice the presence of Jesus, the Word, who is Himself the perfect icon of the Father. Notice the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, whose love flows from the Father, through the Son, and into your heart.
Allow yourself to rest in that beautiful and perfect love.
Notice how you reflect that enduring love.
You were created in His image to embody that creative love.
This love, flowing from the source of all love, can be shared with each and every one of our parts. This love draws our parts together into a sacred communion.
Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:1) where He has made His dwelling place.
Your soul, and in particular your inmost self, is a mirror reflecting His light and His goodness and His beauty.
St. Athanasius famously said, “The psalms seem to me to be like a mirror, in which one can see himself and the stirrings of his own heart; he can recite them against the background of his own emotions.” Let us reflect on the words of the Psalmist in the temple of the Lord (Psalm 84), now a temple of the Holy Spirit within:
How lovely is thy dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yea, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at thy altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in thy house,
ever singing thy praise!
Blessed are the men whose strength is in thee,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
look upon the face of thine anointed!
For a day in thy courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the man who trusts in thee!
May God bless you on your journey this week!
Christ is Among us!
Dr. Gerry
Dr. Gerry Crete, Ph.D., LPC, LMFT
Dr. Gerry Crete is the founder and practice director of Transfiguration Counseling and Coaching and author of Litanies of the Heart: Relieving Post-traumatic Stress and Calming Anxiety Through Healing Our Parts, published by Sophia Institute Press. A therapist with expertise in trauma and anxiety disorders, Dr. Crete is trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS), Ego State Therapy, and Clinical Hypnosis. He is also an EMDR certified therapist and consultant. Dr. Crete works with individuals, couples, and families, including seminarians, priests, and religious, and teaches at Saint Vincent’s Seminary in Latrobe, PA.
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