glorycloud's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a progressive awareness of the presence of God in the soul It is 11:38 AM Thursday morning here in Western Michigan. It is 38 degrees and sunny this morning. I keep wondering when we will start having Spring like weather. When will we see tulips blooming here in Holland MI.? I got up this morning around 8:10 AM. When I came upstairs I found Carol cooking breakfast (she was listening on her cell phone Dr. John Piper from 'Desiring God Ministries'). She said she was not in the mood for oatmeal for breakfast so she was making French toast. Carol and I ate breakfast and then read Calvin's 'Institutes of the Christian Religion' for devotions along with the book 'The Valley of Vision'. We had a time of prayer and then Carol got ready to go to the Book Nook (our local library used books store) to cover for a volunteer from 10 AM till 1 PM. I have spent the morning writing in my paper diary and reading from a book titled, 'Platonism & Mystical Theology: The Spiritual Doctrine of St Gregory of Nyssa' by Jean Danielou. Last night I mainly read till I went to bed a book titled, 'The Letters Of William Gaddis' Edited By Steven Moore Afterword By Sarah Gaddis. I also read last night, 'William Gaddis' Literary Criticism by Steven Moore Expanded Edition. I do not know what I will read this afternoon. I should get back into reading. 'The Hive' A Novel by Camilo Jose Cela Translated By James Womack. I have a used book being delivered by Amazon today. I will close to wait for the afternoon to come. I have to will myself to keep moving forward. Each movement I make through time is an act of faith. I will close with a quote from the book, 'Platonism & Mystical Theology' that spoke to me this morning- "The restoration of the image is a process that can be envisaged, then, as consisting of different stages. Its starting point is Baptism; its first realization comes with apatheia. Then a return to angelic knowledge through the nights of the senses and all concepts is brought about by theoria. It is the higher states of this process that lead to the mystical life proper. Progressively, through increased participation, the Participated One reveals himself; through the gift we begin to discover the Giver-so much so that an awareness of grace gradually becomes the experience of a Presence, a presence always veiled but always drawing closer, setting the heart on fire with a love that is ever more fervent. We shall see that what typifies the mystical life is those intense states where the soul is, as it were, wrested from itself through love, and which are described by means of such terms as wound, inebriation, or ecstasy.' pg. 203 Jean Danielou 12:10 p.m. - 2023-04-06 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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