" "The soul while it is burdened with temporal and transient
things is not free. Before it can aspire to freedom and nobility it must
cast away all the things of the world." "Nobody can be really poor
unless God make him so; but God makes no man poor unless he be in his
inmost heart; then all things will be taken from him which are not
God's. The more spiritual a man is, the poorer will he be, for
spirituality and poverty are one...." Pseudo-Tauler even affirms that a
man "can possess abundant wealth and yet be poor in spirit." The meaning
of this is clear: He whose heart is not wrapped up in the things of the
world, will find his way to God; a soul which is without desire is rich.
But there was a still greater contrast between the naive religion
represented by St. Francis of Assisi and the religion of Eckhart. The
former lived entirely in the obvious and visible; the love of all
creatures filled his heart and shaped his life. The heart of the mystic
too, was filled with love, but it was love transcending the love of the
individual, love of the primary cause.
Pages:
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188