ST GREGORY OF NYSSA ON MAT 5:8
Sharing wisdom from ancient writings…
EXCERPTS taken from the 2nd Reading of the Office Of Readings 1 Jul 2017:
BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART,
FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD (Mat 5:8)
"I do not think that this is simply intended to promise a direct vision of God if one purifies one’s soul.
On the other hand, perhaps (it is saying): The kingdom of God is within you. That is, we are to understand that when we have purged our souls of every illusion and every disordered affection, we will see our own beauty as an image of the divine nature.
(And this): In you there is a certain desire to contemplate what is truly good. ...So if, by love and right living, you wash off the filth that has become stuck to your heart, the divine beauty will shine forth in you.
Think of iron, which at one moment is dark and tarnished and the next, once the rust has been scraped off, shines and glistens brightly in the sun. It is the same with the inner core of man, which the Lord calls the heart. It has been in damp and foul places and is covered in patches of rust; but once the rust has been scraped off, it will recover itself and once more resemble its archetype. And so it will be good, since what resembles the good must be good itself.
(Or this): Although you do not have the strength to withstand the direct sight of the great and inaccessible light of God, if you look within yourselves once you have returned to the grace of the image that was placed in you from the beginning, you will find in yourselves all that you seek.
For to be God is to be pure, to be free from weakness and passion, to be separated from all evil. If these things are all true of you then God is within you.
If your thought is kept pure from evil habits, free from passion and weakness, separated from all stain, you are blessed because your vision is sharp and clear. You are able to see what is invisible to those who have not been purified. The eyes of your soul have been cleansed of material filth and through the purity of your heart you have a clear sight of the vision of blessedness.
What is that vision? It is purity, sanctity, simplicity, and other reflections of the brightness of the Divine nature. It is the sight of God."
Full article from the Office of Readings
(Scroll to the 2nd reading)
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