{"id":31032,"date":"2012-12-14T10:05:15","date_gmt":"2012-12-14T18:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=31032"},"modified":"2016-12-14T16:42:23","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T00:42:23","slug":"the-thicket-of-the-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-thicket-of-the-cross\/","title":{"rendered":"The Thicket of the Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>hough holy doctors have uncovered many mysteries and wonders, and devout souls have understood them in this earthly condition of ours, yet the greater part still remains to be unfolded by them, and even to be understood by them.<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/a>

CONTEMPLATION : St. John of the Cross sculpture by Magdeleine Weerts
Our whole life is a prayer, a loving and adoring contemplation that nothing must interrupt.<\/p><\/div>We must then dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures: however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit. Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides.<\/p>\n

For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ: In him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God.<\/i> The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them, unless it first crosses into and enters the thicket of suffering, enduring interior and exterior labours, and unless it first receives from God very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses, and has undergone long spiritual training.<\/p>\n

All these are lesser things, disposing the soul for the lofty sanctuary of the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ: this is the highest wisdom attainable in this life.<\/p>\n

Would that men might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first, and in truth, to enter the thicket of the cross.<\/p>\n

Saint Paul therefore urges the Ephesians not to grow weary in the midst of tribulations, but to be<\/i> steadfast and rooted and grounded in love, so that they may know with all the saints the breadth, the length, the height and the depth \u2013 to know what is beyond knowledge, the love of Christ, so as to be filled with all the fullness of God.<\/i><\/p>\n

The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it.<\/p>\n

(From today’s Office of Readings: A Spiritual Canticle of Saint John of the Cross<\/em> (1542-1591), whose feast is today.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though holy doctors have uncovered many mysteries and wonders, and devout souls have understood them in this earthly condition of ours, yet the greater part still remains to be unfolded by them, and even to be understood by them. We must then dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures: however deep we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meditations","category-saint"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-84w","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":87965,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/thicket-of-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":31032,"position":0},"title":"The Thicket of the Cross","author":"Thom","date":"14 December 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Though holy doctors have uncovered many mysteries and wonders, and devout souls have understood them in this earthly condition of ours, yet the greater part still remains to be unfolded by them, and even to be understood by them. We must then dig deeply in Christ. He is like a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/St.-John-of-the-Cross.jpg?fit=799%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/St.-John-of-the-Cross.jpg?fit=799%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/St.-John-of-the-Cross.jpg?fit=799%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/St.-John-of-the-Cross.jpg?fit=799%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2043,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/benedict-xvi-on-silence\/","url_meta":{"origin":31032,"position":1},"title":"Benedict XVI on Silence","author":"Thom","date":"25 January 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday for World Communications Day, Pope Benedict XVI rather counter-intuitively gave an address on silence. In the spirit of the Desert Fathers, and of the monastic admonition to silence, the Pope spoke of the relationship between \"silence and the word\". No dialogue is possible without both of them. In silence,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Meditations"","block_context":{"text":"Meditations","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/meditations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Pope-Benedict-XVI-001-300x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":87766,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/quasquicentennial-news-roundup\/","url_meta":{"origin":31032,"position":2},"title":"Quasquicentennial News Roundup","author":"Thom","date":"19 October 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, our local newspaper the Tacoma News Tribune, ran this photo in their \"Looking Back\" section. I have reproduced the caption exactly as it appeared in today's paper. Note the snarky tone when referring to the Altar Boys. Not to mention the use of \"processional\" as a noun. Oh,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "community"","block_context":{"text":"community","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/HR_1941OCT19GoldenAnnv.jpg?fit=1033%2C820&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/HR_1941OCT19GoldenAnnv.jpg?fit=1033%2C820&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/HR_1941OCT19GoldenAnnv.jpg?fit=1033%2C820&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/HR_1941OCT19GoldenAnnv.jpg?fit=1033%2C820&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83552,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/a-tale-of-two-thomases\/","url_meta":{"origin":31032,"position":3},"title":"A Tale of Two Thomases","author":"Thom","date":"10 December 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On this day in 1968, the great Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton died. Despite his valuable spiritual writings, including The Seven Storey Mountain and New Seeds of Contemplation, and the Christian virtue with which he lived his life, the Church will never name him a saint. To say that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=popesonparade-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0156010860","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":89856,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/alphonsus-liguori-the-saint-and-his-feast\/","url_meta":{"origin":31032,"position":4},"title":"Alphonsus Liguori, the Saint and His Feast","author":"Thom","date":"02 August 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Depending on your particular calendar, today or yesterday was the feast of Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), a great saint and Doctor of the Church who founded the Redemptorists and wrote on the spiritual life. I particularly enjoy his Way of the Cross and a short book (pamphlet, really) called How\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2018 transitions in Tacoma"","block_context":{"text":"2018 transitions in Tacoma","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/2018-transitions-tacoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/8_1_St_Alphonsus_Liguori-3.jpg?fit=533%2C771&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/8_1_St_Alphonsus_Liguori-3.jpg?fit=533%2C771&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/8_1_St_Alphonsus_Liguori-3.jpg?fit=533%2C771&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":86225,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/immaculata-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":31032,"position":5},"title":"Immaculate Mary","author":"Thom","date":"08 December 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us join together with the Angels and the Saints of all ages in singing the praises of the Mother of God.","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Notre_Dame_du_Rosaire.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Notre_Dame_du_Rosaire.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Notre_Dame_du_Rosaire.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Notre_Dame_du_Rosaire.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Notre_Dame_du_Rosaire.jpg?fit=1200%2C968&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31032"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87964,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31032\/revisions\/87964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}